And She's Back ...

So, it's been a while, but I am back. I was feeling a little overwhelmed, so I got back into exercising to try to improve, well, actually, everything. And it has helped. I am still in a great big mess and I'm still carrying my bank card in my lunch bag or back pocket, along with my lipgloss, but I have been much more physically active, and that's always a good thing.

As I am part-time at the moment, I have been coming home early and taking bike rides with DJ before picking up the girls at daycare. It's my new favourite thing to do. DJ talks non-stop, and sometimes it's hard to hear him, but I love that he talks to me and that it seems to be his favourite thing right now too.

As a result, of course, I have had less time to blog. My apologies. I will be posting regularly again. In the meantime, here's what some of my favourite bloggers have been doing:

Emily celebrates Memorial Day

I really wish I could wear these sandals

Favourite room designs

Will and Kate are coming to Canada!

Princess Kate has style

ADD Stole My Car Keys

There is a long weekend coming up, thank God, because organizationally, I am at the end of my rope. My purse is so full of receipts and Lord knows what else, that I have given up on it; it sits on the front seat of my van, unused. My bank card is in the console, my remaining lipstick is in my coat pocket, my chequebook is under the seat. My son, DJ, has plenty of clean socks, but only one pair of available jeans; Princess has no socks, and so must wear her brothers; Baby has socks, but none of them match. My bed is broken, so I am sleeping on DJ's bottom bunk, and I can't get my room tidy enough to photograph my bedroom set so I can put it on Kijiji to sell. I sent DJ off to school with an apple for his snack, and left work on my break to go to the grocery store, get him some lunch and deliver it (upside, I got to see my awesome kid for a couple of minutes in the middle of the morning). And don't even get me started with all the clean clothes ALL OVER THE UPSTAIRS because I can't get them organized and away!!!! AAARGH! Deep breath.

As I look out the window, I see that the sun has finally come out, and my house, messy and disorganized as it is, still stands. We have had no floods, and we have had no fires to destroy our community as they are having in Manitoba and Alberta. I will pick my kids up and we will sit down to dinner together, play outside with the neighbors for a while, and go to bed, safe and secure. And in the morning, we will start all over again, disorganized as hell, but together, safe, and secure. I do love my life. Another deep breath.

Totally ADD is a great site for ADD information with a ton of humour thrown in. It was founded in 2009 by comedian Rick Green (of Red Green fame), Dr. Umesh Jain, and Rick's wife, Ava Green. It features another comedian Patrick McKenna. I am avidly waiting for their next book ADD Stole My Car Keys, and that's where the title of this post came from.

ADD Stole My Car Keys

I Just Had to Share This ...

My friend, Robin, writes so beautifully and expresses her beliefs so well. Enjoy!

SunshinePose: Fresh Attitude: "The only thing you really have control over is your attitude. This may seem small, but you see your ATTITUDE determines everything. Einstei..."

My Fantastic Mother's Day

This is coming a little late, but I have to talk about my fantastic Mother's Day. I fed the kids at the pancake breakfast after church, and then had a lobster feast on my deck with the BD (Baby Daddy) and my father-in-law. FIL had brought over five two pound lobsters, potato salad and bread. Then he did the dishes and cleaned my van while BD and I went for a lovely long ride on the motorcycle.

In the evening I made supper for my mom and dad, my godmother, and my brother and sister-in-law and the kids. A little crazy, but very pleasant. We had lobster again plus gluten-free chocolate cake (courtesy my mom) and a gluten-free lemon dessert I made. Yum!

Of course, all of this was planned in advance. What I totally was not expecting was a kobo eReader from BD and the kids! For someone like me, who would spend every waking moment reading if that were possible, a Kobo is the perfect gift.

kobo eReader

I am going to get a nice cover for it so I can keep it with me without worrying that it will get damaged in my purse. How about this leather cover?

  

Pink leather kobo case

and this  

Gizmo Dorks Scratch Defender

and this looks very handy

Gizmo Dorks Touring Bundle

It also comes pre-loaded with 100 classics. Right now I am reading Jane Austen's Emma. I love Jane Austen, but somehow I never got around to reading Emma before, and I am loving it.

Update: Popped by Indigo today and picked up this in pink.

Indigo kobo Accessories

There was a great selection in-store, but they are also available online. (I also picked up a new Jillian Michaels' DVD, but more about that later.)

Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30

And in Other News ...

Go the -- to Sleep

Go the -- to Sleep has gone viral on the strength of pre-orders. Check it out in this article: A Whim, A Book, And, Wow! "Over the weekend, “Go the — to Sleep,” which was due to hit stores in October, began climbing the Amazon best-seller list on the strength of pre-orders. After a reading on Saturday, Mr. Mansbach was surprised to see it rank in the top 200 on Sunday. By Tuesday, it rose to No. 3, and then briefly peaked at No. 2 on Wednesday. On Thursday, it was ranked No. 5."

One Must Have a Sense of Humour!

These are my two favourite pairs of shoes; I have them both in black and wear them as often as I can. I can't wait until the weather is warm enough to get back into my sandals! At my work, however, I am the only one in platforms. I mean, the ONLY one, and I have wondered once or twice if it were possible to actually fall off one's shoes.

Nine West Almund

Nine West Getby

Well, my neighbor and her very fashionable mother popped over yesterday, and her mom has a cast on her foot. It seems she fell off a pair of platform wedge slides. Oh dear! Of course, I am not giving up my darling shoes. No way! So of course, I said, "And what did you do with the shoes?"

MacBooks and iPhones and Novels, Oh My!

My home computer is out for repairs, so I am blogging from a friend's on my lunch. I keep saying that when my computer finally dies I will get myself a nice new Mac, but as my brother's friend is so darn good at repairing computers, that may take a long time ... kind of a mixed blessing. The Mac vs. PC debate is, for me, a moot point. Where I work, there will never be anything but PC's, but my sister has a MacBook Pro, and whenever I visit her, the first thing I go for is her computer. It's so sleek and easy to use with the "Multi-Touch Trackpad" (didn't know what it was called, so I Googled it), not to mention, it looks darn good, and I just like it.

MacBook Pro

I am also due for an upgrade to my cell phone very soon, and I am seriously considering getting a Smart Phone. I love my phone; I talk on it a lot, and I do some texting. The beauty of the Smart Phone, for me, is the organizational aspect. Although I am leery of using WiFi in public places, the convenience of having something like an iPhone on which I could check my online calendar (including my work calendar) and have everything in one place is enticing. It's as small as a notebook, and could fit in my pocket as I go about my day's work as well, so I could always have my reminders with me.

For me, the temptation would be staying away from all the fun things that come with or can be downloaded onto said iPhone. Hmmm. What to do ...?

On a side note, check out some of these really cool iPhone covers on iPhone 4 Covers Blog .

Or how about these literature themed skins from Out of Print?

I studied all of these in high school and loved them!

The Art of Fabulous Cookies

The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle just blows me away; the creativity and attention to detail are incredible. These photos of her cookies look good enough to frame and hang on a wall. Check out her complete Cinco de Mayo post.

Five Things About Me

• I am a “germophobic slob”; I have a messy house, but I pay someone to clean it weekly.

• I LOVE MAC make-up. Right now my favorite is Viva Glam VI lipglass. I wear it every day.
  

  

  Viva Glam VI Lipglass

• My most precious material possessions are the professional photographs I have of my children.

• I can’t stand heart-shaped anything, especially jewellery.

• I am deathly afraid of sharks, even though the likelihood of my ever seeing one in real life is virtually nil. I can’t even look at pictures of them in National Geographic.