Love Thursday

Posted on Thursday, October 12, 2006 at 06:58

I have this nasty little problem with depression. I have it pretty much under control unless of course I become mindless and forget to take the little blue pill for my tyroid everyday. Just that one wee gland in your throat can wreck havoc on even the most upbeat individuals. So, I have been off in my grumpy place, feeling sorry for myself and ranting inside my head about how I felt that I was finally getting things under control with my latest added medication and now I was backsliding. Not once did it occur to me that I was forgetting to take my thyroid. Can we say duh? All together now.... DUH!

Anyway, I am feeling much better now. It appears that our welfare situation is under control (hooray!) and my only pressing concern is the fact that my new medication makes people literally want to eat sugar straight from the bowl the cravings are so bad. I don't know whats worse... gaining weight and being happy or losing some weight and feeling terrible. For example: last night I needed a sugar fix so badly that I made up a cake mix and very seriously contemplated sitting on my bed with a good book, the batter and a very large spoon.

*Sigh*

Well now, all that said, today is after all, LOVE THURSDAY...

I was honestly sitting here thinking that I didn't really have a whole lot to offer for love Thursday this week until I watched my youngest darling with our dog. She was petting her every so nicely, and then leaned forward and licked the top of the dogs head. When I asked her why she was licking my dog, she answered, in all sincerity and with great affection: "because she likes it"

Apparently, love is licking the dogs head... just because she likes it.

I love you to Missy Maggie Boo-hoo... you with all your loving floppiness and snuggly soft fur but I regret to say that I do not love you enough to lick your beautiful head. I will leave that up to Boo thankyouverymuch.

Todays Journal Prompt

Did you have a childhood pet? What are you fondest memories of it?

Thank goodness its Friday

Posted on Friday, October 6, 2006 at 07:53

Stuff and Nonsense

Wow what a week. Things were really busy here - I was at out of the house appointments nearly everyday but am proud to say that we actually had a home cooked dinner every night this week that wasn't simple things like soup.

I wasn't able to actually follow the menu plan because we needed extra ingredients like table cream and cheese and we didn't have the money to purchase them so I had to forgo some of the main courses. Oh well, hopefully we get some money next week and I can get some of the basic staples. We went to the food bank but the supplies are so low that they are only allowing 1 box of Kraft dinner, 2 small cans of soup, 1 can of tuna, 1 box of cereal etc per family. Fortunatly they had a ton of bread and bagels that are not worth any points (we have 35 "shopping" points for our family) so we stocked up on those and put them in the freezer. If your family happens to be able to afford extra canned goods for the food bank, please don't forget to donate whenever you can... there are so many families like ours that rely on the food banks who can only go once a month because of limitations that the food banks put on thier programs and often, we are not getting enough canned and dry goods to make it through two weeks. Thank goodness for our freezer stock because when that is gone, I don't know what we are going to do for meats and vegetables as those are not provided at the food banks. It is a continual battle with welfare - I don't think that they realize that we are not having to ask for assistance from them because we WANT to. I have no choice if I want to be able to feed and house my children and I am so tired of being treated like a dead beat who is trying to use the system. God willing this is a VERY temporary situation for us... but it would be nice to be treated like human beings. Some days I feel like we need to stand on a busy street corner with our daughters and a large sign that says "We want to work but cannot do so for awhile - please tell welfare to stop cutting off our assistance for no reason my children are hungry!" Kind of like that guy that we saw a few months ago standing on the street corner with a sign saying "Childrens Aid Destroys Families!" Unfortunatly, my pride does not allow me the liberty of doing such a thing. Sigh.

The week however, feels productive and I can end on a good note knowing that I did all that I could to achieve my goals.  

Love Thursday

(a day late I know, but humor me)

Today Bughead was working on his computer and using our network, doing other things on my computer downstairs. I of course, being the internet junkie that I am, wanted to use the laptop so I plopped myself down on Boo's bed so that we could be in the same room together. As usual when he and I are in the same room, the girls start filtering in one at a time, and the fun begins. The Bug will have the two littles tickling his back and playing with his hair - putting in little ribbons and hair elastics (he is needy that way LOL) while Ashley and I chat on the bed and I threaten her very life for playing around with my feet. Usually someone will put on some type of music and then of course everyone starts singing. Today, we were singing along to "It Ain't Gonna Rain No More" which is one of the coolest songs because even if you don't know the words, the chorus is really easy - and its one of those songs that you can sing REALLY loudly because its fun. The chorus goes like this:

It ain't gonna rain no more no more

It ain't gonna rain no more!

How in the heck can I wash my neck

If it ain't gonna rain no more?

Of course, when you have a fun chorus like that which can be sung loudly, you have to start singing each round of the chorus differently each time, with different voices, really deeply, as loudly as you can, using exaggerated accents etc.

Love is singing at the top of your lungs with your entire family just because its fun... and not caring who hears you. Add a couple of dogs to the mix, some extremely loud music and alot of dancing and then you have an entire love fest.

Photo Friday

Miss Boo has informed me that she does not like "pictures without my colour in them momma!" but I have a fondness for black and white photographs. She is going to have a hard time when we move because I hope to frame and put some of my photography on the wall going up the stairs... all in black and white with black frames and with those clip frames that are just class and no visible frame in various sizes. I like the idea of this because its easy to resize and print my pictures without using up all the coloured ink and I can change the pictures whenever I choose to inexpensively and easily.  

"There's something like a line of gold thread running through a man's words when he talks to his daughter, and gradually, over the years it gets to be long enough for you to pick up in your hands and weave into a cloth that feels like love itself."

John Gregory Brown

The Importance of Journaling part II

Posted on Thursday, September 14, 2006 at 09:09

There are so many different ways to journal, and types of journaling. Really, the sky is the limit.

Some ideas are:

1. Faith Journal - document your spiritual journey
2. Art/Creativity Journal - find your creative side through water colours, sketching, scrapping or whatever makes your heart sing.
3. Weight Loss Journal
4. Baby/Pregnancy Journal
5. 100 Things About Me Journal - I saw one of these at a yahoo group that I am part of and it was really neat. The artist had written different things about herself... past, present and future and decorated each entry putting several different points of interest on each page.
6. Geneology/Family Memories Journal - Write down those family memories along with photos and graphics before you forget the stories that your grandma told you as a child!
7. Personal Journal
8. Homemaking Journal
9. Home Decorating/Renovations Journal
10. Fiction Writing Journal
11. Poetry Journal
12. Quotes Journal - this is a good place to do some calligraphy and write out some scriptures, quotes, poetry or passages from favorite books that touch you in a particular way.
13. Travel Journal
14. Dream Journal
15. Wine and Food Journal
16. Garden Journal
17. Marriage Journal - write back and forth to your sweetie!
18. Adoption Journal
19. Memoirs - write about your life. Stories that you have been told about you as a child, memories from your life, things that you loved as a child, teen etc.

If you are, in anyway artistic using water colours, rubber stamps, twinkle H20 water colours, pencil crayons and other art mediums to draw in your journal to enliven the pages could be very theraputic and relaxing. I am not very artistic but I want to get a sketch book and start testing my hand at some water colours starting with the inexpensive ones and if I find that I can actually do something that resembles art, move my way up to the artist quality ones.

If you are concerned that you don't have anything to write about, there are numerous sites online with writing prompts. Join an online group devoted to journal writing and get ideas and support there. As for myself, I am quite able to write about the dreary, the humdrum, the potentially boring and love every minute of it. The way I see it, someone, maybe even a hundred years from now will find my mundane life fasinating in the same way that I find the lives of those who came before me fasinating.

The Importance of Journaling Part I

Posted on Wednesday, September 13, 2006 at 09:51

I have been contemplating this topic alot recently as I have been writing more and more frequently in my personal journal... the one that I keep offline and is handwritten. I use upsaid mainly because I can download my journal entries, photos and all and save them onto disk or print them out and keep them in a binder but I also maintain the other journal as a place to organize my thoughts, vent my frustrations and just generally write about things that I don't want anyone else to read or don't believe anyone will find interesting. It used to be that I would keep a journal and then tear pages out of it because I felt silly or embarassed about what was written there. Its taken me 7 years to finally get to the point that I will write and be completely myself... and not worry that someone else will read my journal and pass judgement. I think that I finally realised that if they had the audacity to read my journal in the first place and found something there that they didn't like it served the offender right for being so darned nosy in the first place!

That said, my personal journal is more than just a journal. I use it as a planning tool. I record my thoughts about myself, personal goals, homemaking ideas, decorating thoughts and more. I cut and paste pictures, add photos of family members, do collages and creative art (ok I am still working on the art one because I am not very good at drawing but want to try my hand at some water colours). My journal is more than just a journal... its a reflection of ME. My journal is appealing to all my family members (nosey individuals that they are) because they see me cutting and pasting and gluing into it. If you open and flip through the pages there are pictures, envelopes with hidden items and more. Its a scrapbook, a journal and a treasure hunt all in one as my husband says... and he can't stand the thought that I might have a secret hidden from him so I thoroughly enjoy torturing him with it.

Why is journaling so important?
Well to start off, its YOU. Your journal is all about you... your thoughts, your feelings. It should reflect your likes and dislikes, reveal your dreams and ambitions and so much more. If you have ever had the chance to read through the journal of an individual you can see their personality in their very handwriting and if they are completely naked in their writing, you can even see their mood in their handwriting before you even begin to read the page. When I am upset by handwriting becomes larger and messy. If I am content or happy its smaller, loopy and more elegant (if you could call my handwriting that!). I think that alot about a person is reflected in their handwriting and since a journal is a book that should be passed from generation to generation, I feel strongly that having a hand written journal is very important. Now before anyone says to themselves "Oh my gosh! I would never want to write down some of my thoughts and have my children or my childrens children read it!" remember that when they get your journal you will be dead so what do you care? If your that concerned about it, there is something to be said about having a measure of censorship in which you don't write incredibly ignorant things about your children or your husband. Your feelings today may not be your feelings tomorrow. If you want to vent about something do it in the form of a letter and then burn it... trust me on this its theraputic. Your journal isn't the place for EVERYTHING just most things. My husbands mother kept a journal about him and to this day it still hurts the things that he read about himself in there. Censorship is a good thing when its appropriate.

The first step in having a journal that is really YOU is to find a book that you will enjoy writing in. Don't worry about the cover of it if you don't want to because you can decoupage it later on with family photos, post cards, fabric pieces, cut out pictures of just about anything, old road maps or whatever you want. If you aren't artsy that way then get one with a picture that you love. Before buying your journal think about what you are going to want to do with it. If you plan on putting photos and the like inside of it you will want larger pages. If thats not your goal and you want to be able to carry it with you then smaller is better. If you know that you cant stand writing in a book that doesn't leave the page completely available for you to write easily, make sure you get one with a spiral binding so that you can flip the front half of the book over leaving the page that you are writing on completely free. The best place that I have seen to get good journals at a great price is Winners. I would imagine there are places online as well but I havent searched them out. In addition, when I see a journal style that I like (book wise I mean) and I can afford it I always purchase two because I don't always have the extra money and sometimes at Winners they rotate their stock and you can't get the same type of journal again.

My current journal is large - about 8.5x11" and has a lined page on one side, blank on the other. The spiral binding is great because I can flip the pages over to leave the page I am writing on clear of any binding etc. In addition, I love the print on the front called "The Kiss" by Gustov Klimpt.

Adding a little of "you" into your journal...
Pasting envelopes onto your journal pages and slipping in a letter from a friend, a love note from your sweetie or even a journal entry that you wrote online is a neat way to add something special to your journal. Here, I have added a letter sized envelope with one of my journal entries from The Maples. To decorate it, I have added a picture that I cut out and coloured after I cut the envelopes flap off. On other pages, I have used smaller envelopes and left the flap intact, pasting a smaller picture partially on the flap and when the picture is flipped up, you can view the contents of the envelope.

If one of the girls draws a picture that I am especially fond of, you will find it pasted to one of the pages in my book along with their name, the date and their age at the time of the drawing.

I love pouring over home decorating magazines and I am forever cutting out pictures and pasting them in my journal along with my thoughts and ideas about them as you can see below.

If I have the time and no children to distract me, one of my favorite past times is to head to our local library with a notebook and go through the home decorating books that I don't want to take the time or energy to carry home becuase of their size and weight. I grab a quiet table in a corner and go through a pile of the books, making notes as I go along. When I come home, I will write down my ideas (usually sparked by something I have seen) or the ideas that I liked from the books I was reading. If I want to ensure that I remember things clearly, I will sometimes add little sketches of the project idea.

A picture drawn by Squishy finds its way into my journal pages...

Printing out my favorite photos and pasting them into a collage helps add some personality to the journal... and can capture several months worth of memories on a single page without having to say a word...

To be continued...