A Quiet Moment (because no one's up yet!)

Sometimes I truly love being the only one awake in the house in the wee morning hours.  There's something almost magical about the early morning - still dark outside, everyone sleeping (even the dog) and me, just puttering around, tiptoeing because I really want to enjoy this moment in time for as long as possible. I don't even think about making the coffee yet -
Ahhh, then the alarm goes off in someone's room and the day bursts in!

Hope you can find a quiet moment, just for yourself moment, time to do what you want moment, today.

Keep smiling!

More Shopping Adventures

The other day I was shopping at my favourite grocery store - Fresh Co. - when a woman was coming toward me down an aisle.  Now, I have blogged before about being in the grocery store and convincing another customer to purchase something.  I can be fairly persuasive - and chatty.  A good combination. But this woman got me!  She walked up to me, and started going on about the merits of this all natural brown sugar - and it was on sale.  It's a 10lb bag of natural sugar! Not refined.  It's great in tea, coffee, you can sub it in for baking - everything! Well, I picked up that bag (from her cart), checked it out, she followed me to where it was in the store and voila!  I bought a bag.  I had a chuckle to myself in the checkout line...I was upsold.  Me!  Imagine.  What is this world coming to?  I better get back on my game.  LOL!

Keep smiling!

Published!

Adventure Mommy has officially been published.  I found a website that took all my blog entries including pics and printed it, bound it and shipped it to my door. I so love technology!  And when I received my book, I was in awe.  Seriously.  Not to toot my own horn too loudly, but sometimes you do have to do a bit of tooting. No pun intended!  I read my book from cover to cover - and some of the entries made me cry, some made me laugh (like the Window Washing entry) but mostly I was just amazed.  Wow.  I wrote this.  That's pretty awe-se-mazing!

My mom has been the only other person (so far) to read my book.  She borrowed it over the holidays.  When she returned it to me, she told me that some of the entries made her cry too.  That's how I write.  That is why I write.  To evoke emotion.  I know when I've got a good entry - because when I read it back to myself, I either laugh, cry or say Ah-haa!!  That was a beauty!

Keep smiling!  And thanks for sharing my journey.

Crossword Confusion

I love to do the daily crossword.  I tell myself that it will keep my mind sharp - and who doesn't want that?
I'm working on the crossword today - which seems exceptionally difficult - maybe because it's January 1st and we enjoyed a great evening celebrating with our friends (aka too much drink!)  For sure this is the case today for the Yes Man...

Crossword clue: Cold War pres. 3 letters

Adventure Mommy to Yes Man: Cold War pres.
Yes Man - lowering his glasses: J. Edgar Hoover
Adventure Mommy: What??  He was the head of the CIA
Yes Man: Kennedy
Yes Man: Nixon
Adventure Mommy: No, it was the guy in the wheelchair
Yes Man: Speedy

I am still cracking up over that!!  I love Sunday mornings with the paper and the Yes Man.  And I know it's Tuesday - but whatever!  I love Tuesday mornings too!

They say that how you spend January 1st sets a precedent for the rest of the year. Bring it on!

Keep smiling!

Happy New Year 2013!

Bet 'cha thought that Adventure Mommy had fallen off the face of the earth! Well, I'm here to tell you that a) I haven't and b) to wish all my followers a very happy, healthy, wonder-filled 2013!

First, a gigantic thank you to all my followers - Adventure Mommy had 4,133 hits to date.  Whew and wow!  I am blown away that people are interested in what I have to say.  Thank you again and I hope that I can keep you reading in 2013!

And also, I want to take a moment to reflect on the past year...

We said goodbye to a very wonderful family member this year - Unk.
And our family also experienced other changes - such is life.  To the Yes Man's sister - you are starting a new life.  May it be everything that you hope for and more.  And keep your kids filled with hope and love - you said it right on, Nance. Go girl!

To my cousins - part 1 and 3 of the 3 Mouse-ke-teers, you are always in my thoughts and may you find the strength and courage that you may need in the coming year.  And remember that part 2 (that's me) is always ready with a big hug, or a laugh or a shoulder if you need it.  I love you both.

To my kids, 2012 was a blast - all the Lego building, dancing, swimming and hockey hockey hockey playing that kept us busy.  And the last few days of tobogganing have been awe-se-mazing!!  I haven't had that much fun being a kid in ages.  LOL!

Mom and Mom & Dad, what a great year with you.  And I am so thankful that you are all still happy, healthy and vibrant.  May 2013 be an even better year than 2012.

And to the Yes Man, my favourite person in the world...thank you.  2013 is looking good already!

Surround yourself with love and the world blossoms before your eyes.

Keep smiling and Happy New Year!

The Great Unk

The Yes Man shines again!  Really, I could write a book just about him and his perfectly balanced life.  I mean that seriously.  Not that he's perfect, but he is perfectly balanced.  He is a Libra after all.

Anyway, Brad's great uncle, Unk as we affectionately called him, passed away last week.  We were fortunate to have the opportunity to see Unk the night before he died.  Our daughter Naomi cried when she saw Unk.  And the Yes Man said "Remember Naomi, it's not about how you die.  It's how you live.  Party on."

Well said Yes Man.  Well said.  This is why I love this man.

And a few days later we toasted to Unk, and to his well lived life.

It's That Time of Year - Take a Leap!

Christmas upon us again!!  In between volunteering at various Christmas-y things around the hood, and the mad scramble at school to finish up projects and presentations, Adventure Mommy found some time  this afternoon to enjoy a coffee and a leisurely shop through Wal-Mart.  Ha! Ha!  Leisurely my you-know-what!  It was a mad traffic jam - and that was inside the store!  Another customer suggested that Wal-Mart should put in traffic lights...and what about those long lineups to cash out?  Just keep smiling...

I digress.  My afternoon was leisurely.  My friend, Steph, and I shared some big laughs and some deep thoughts.  I should mention that on Friday we both attended a party hosted by our friend Kim - and she had a medium join in the fun.  This lady "read" about 30 ladies at that party.  The energy around us was huge (that was my interpretation).  Anyway - more on the medium later...it was very interesting indeed.

Back to shopping - I noticed there were some grumpies out there today - ok I get that.  But there were some just as smiley as me.  I even had a few laughs with some of the other customers.  And I came across an Ahh-haa moment I found in the book section at Winners - check it out:

The last line got me - She Leaps Within.  Ahh-haa alright.  Time to leap.

Keep smiling!