Can there be more snow? Forget I asked. Of course there can! We started the month with oodles of it and we are ending it with more on the ground!
We crammed a ton into a short month and hit the ground running - er, slipping! My month started with a dreadful cold that even the oil of oregano could not help. I know the key to weight loss is taking care of myself and to do that I need to get sleep, to that end I'm now enjoying the sleep pod Zenbar. It is divine! I managed to transfer domain names to a preferred carrier, Go Daddy. So very proud of myself! Lots of good stuff planned :D Not that it is a race, but I managed to complete my One Little Word on the day it was assigned. Finally enjoying light on the main floor of the house, a contractor was hired to drywall the holes left by the electrician - and take out the columns! Sometimes the lack of consistency and common sense displayed by academic bureaucrats can be so very frustrating. Life | Scripted, the Kal Barteski course at Studio Calico started and I have all of the materials and am enjoying this new creative outlet. Cole took off as JOL (Junior Outdoor Leader) with the school trip to Temagami. It was weird having him gone for almost a week! Oh how I love the ladies of my Desire Map Book Club. What a spectacular and vulnerable experience. Caden got braces! Well, on top, the lower braces will be installed in March. SNOW! Within the first week events were being cancelled due to weather. Ugh. I signed up for Susannah Conway's upcoming "The Sacred Alone" course -it seems fitting. Deliriously proud of Claire for her reaction to the NEK nominations. The winter Olympics in Sochi brought lots of scary drama and fear of terrorism which tapered off by the end. The kids have been registered for school next year. Best to just get it done the day registration opened! The Peel Music Festival competition schedule was released and April is going to be full of singing around here. As much as I thought I was prepared to embrace Mercury in Retrograde, I was not prepared. Not at all. Reformer Pilates is a practice firmly entrenched in my life - as is Kundalini meditation. Breath of fire, baby! I attended my first yoga flow class - um, yeah. I joined Bettina and other eager students for her teaching "Introduction to the Enneagram" course. It was amazing. So enlightening! DAYS were spent coordinating and purging the ephemera in my room in an effort to make it more a sanctuary than a holding room for kid crap, paper and laundry. Papers and files were sorted and purged. With Karen, Helen and Jill, I enjoyed a fun ladies night at the Irish Temper. Chloé sprained her ankle running in her Uggs through the dining room at school - her participation in the play was off and she was put to work building sets. Claire came home from university to go to the Justin Timberlake concert. Cole made sure Hanne had a lovely Valentine's celebration. I attended a workshop on "How to Write a Bestseller" at the Oakville Library. It was very informative even if it isn't something I'm planning on doing it's nice to understand the process and links to other ideas. PANIC! The evening before we were going out of the country, we realized Claire had left her passport in Kingston. She and Cole gassed up the truck and they were off - and back - in time to get to the airport! With the kids left in good hands, Claire and I headed to the Bahamas for a few days of sun and salt water. Olympics mania - especially hockey - was evident even in the tropics. The annual Middle School Science Fair has arrived and Caden spent HOURS preparing his project. I watched Frozen with the kids, I now understand their love of it and agree that Caden is, indeed, Olaf! Claire, rested and looking great, headed back to Kingston to prepare for midterms. This was all for nothing as upon her arrival back to school she was wound right back up again. :( . Chloé is rocking tech crew! She put away the crutches and is now back in the play. So proud of my talented girl. Thanks to friends, I found an accountant! After weeks, months, years of consideration, I joined Marie Forleo's Bschool program. I'm looking forward to learning what she's teaching. For the first time in 20+ years, I went on a date. I had an early morning meeting with a huge resource for the store - enjoying the process. Months of hard work and peparation culminated in a brilliant all school musical - I'm proud of all the performers and participants (especially mine)!
In the lives of the kids:
Claire | Is learning to stick up for herself! So empathetic and kind, Claire often absorbs the negative energy of those who would rob her of her good nature. It is affecting her health and she is starting to realize it.
Cole | Lots of talk around here about University options. Right now Cole is keen on RMC (Royal Military College) and is, of course, researching the opportunity thoroughly. The goal continues to be war correspondent. Scary for most, but not considering who Cole is and wants to be.
Chloé | What a month! Between social fallout from the semi-formal, mean girls, square peg syndrome and a sprained ankle, my girl had a rough go. I'm glad she is finding her social niche with the drama/artsy crowd. It's where she belongs.
Caden | He keeps growing and his voice keeps getting deeper. I'm finding it odd looking UP at my baby! Every day he seems to grow taller!
Life in general:
Weather | Flood warnings! We've had no break this winter so no thaw. As much as we want warmer weather it will bring a lot of water - more than our system is developed to handle. Keeping an eye on the catch basins and checking the basement.
News | Toronto (and other) City Halls raise rainbow flag rather than Canadian flag to honour Olympics. (Help me - I agree with Rob Ford!) More unrest in Turkey. Another wild winter storm hits eastern seaboard of US and Canadian maritimes. Syrian peace talks fail. After chaos and violence, President of Ukraine flees his residence. Drug kingpin was arrested in Mexico - not looking forward to the fallout.
Sports | Olympics! I am a self confessed junkie. I loved that CBC had 24/7 coverage of all the sports - big and small. So proud of how the Canadian athletes performed and behaved. Well done! Plenty of gold, lots of great stories, tons of effort and great sportsmanship. Of particular note was the Gold medal for both men and women in curling and in hockey. So good!
Discovery | I am an 8w7 on the Enneagram and I'm okay with it :) AND by way of my sister, Beth, I discovered a way to buy furnace filters online and have the delivered directly to the house - no more awkward lugging from Canadian Tire.
Looking forward, goals I want to keep at the forefront include:
Work | I have a few fun ideas rattling around. It's time to execute!
Health | This month I'll focus on drinking more water. Significantly more water. Every day.
Home | Time to settle into a writing and creating routine that works around kid's schedules and the focus on my health. I miss it!
Fun | This term is short but draining. March Break is coming up and we're making plans!
Me | I am feeling frustrated with adults who don't seem to understand accountability. Especially those who spend their time outside the arena and still have something to say. At the same time, I continue to be incredibly joyful and at peace. The only time that calm joy is interrupted is when someone hurts my kids and I have to figure out how to handle that - effectively and with grace.
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A couple of years ago I consistently wrote up posts summing up the month that had just past. Then life got both complicated and overwhelming, so much so I was just going from day-to-day in complete survival mode. With this new year I'm getting back into the practices of my past that I have missed.
