An Awesome Find

A couple weeks ago Trevors school had a contest for earth day. The contest was for the entire week and it was to see which classroom could have the least garbage. Every day after recess and lunch their garbage was collected and put in the contest garbage bag. So you can imagine packing a lunch and snack was a little tricky through that week.

I am not a processed food lover anyway but in all honesty when packing the lunch an individually wrapped nutri-grain bar is an easier solution.

This week though Trevor wanted no garbage (this included orange peels which I think takes it the extreme I mean really can't you compost orange peels, lol) so the sandwich went the way of the thermos filled with soup, the nutri-grain bar was unwrapped and placed into a tupperware container and the juice box was no more, replaced by the plastic sippy cup (non-toddler version of course).

I get the point of this exercise but honestly it was more a displacement of garbage because instead of it ending up at the school it ended up in my garbage.

Now I wish I had found the following product that I came across last night weeks before this contest because it would have made packing the lunch a little easier. This is my first year with Trevor in full time class so it is the first year of the packed lunch but I can't imagine over the course of his school years just how many plastic sandwich bags will find their way into the landfill. But no more, check this product out,

www.cottontopquilts.etsy.com

It is a reusable sandwich bag, the description is as follows:

Reusable Sandwich Pouch

-made from designer 100% cotton exterior, lined with nylon , a water and stain resistant fabric

-pouch measure 6.50x7.00, a generous velcro closure is used for added freshness to your sandwich

- a convenient 3 inch strap makes it easy for those little hands or adult fingers to carry pouch

-no seams are exposed , no crumbs getting caught in the threads-pouch can be wiped out with a damp cloth, or machine wash warm and line dry

I haven't purchase one yet but I will, just can't decide which one I like the best, here are a few more examples of these bags. What a great way to cut down on garbage and look stylish doing so!!

On a different note it looks like my power of optimism may be working out for me earlier than I thought it would, more details to follow.

Finally my boys (the Canucks) play again tonight, they were winning last game with just over 2 minutes to go and then lost in overtime, I am optimistic ;) that the result will be better tonight

Optimism

Last night I found myself watching the Michael J Fox special Adventures of an Incurable Optimist and I have to say I was very inspired.

Michael is a hometown boy who I am very proud of and I sat down last night thinking it would be too hard to watch (it just makes me so sad) but the message he was telling last night was so powerful for me that I honestly saw past his disease and really felt I heard the message.

Optimism I believe is truly a life changing attitude. Now I believe in faith as well but if you have faith aren't you essentially a true optimist.

With all that has been going on in my life over the last few years I may have faltered in my true optimistic beliefs but I am getting that back. I am optimistic I will find a job, I can build my business to be the best it can be, I will be the best Mom and Wife and Friend, and I will live my life with a smile on my face.

Do you have a story of a true optimist?, if so lets hear it. I think with all going on in the world today bright stories and examples of others optimism may just be the push we all need to get going in the right direction.

My boys didn't get it done last night but.......with an optimistic smile on my face she says....they will!!!!!!!

Cheers

I need my bed back please

Meet Brendan

he is the reason I wake up every morning with a sore back and not feeling as rested as I can. You see we are going through the "I will not sleep in my own bed" phase.

Every night Brendan wakes up around 1 a.m. and finds his way downstairs (if I am still up, usually the case) or into our room if we are in bed. He refuses to go back to his bed.

I have done the supernanny thing, waiting him out and continuing to put him back into his bed, yeah that doesn't work, he is the most determined kid I have ever seen and even as a baby he could go hours and hours without giving in.

Brendan loves arts and crafts so I have bribed him with paint, stickers, glitter glue etc, yep that doesn't work either.

So if anyone out there has any ideas I would greatly appreciate it, I just keep thinking it's a good thing Rory and I decided on only 2 kids because at this rate #3 would never arrive, lol.

Oh and big game night tonight. The Canucks can go up 3 - 1, so fingers, toes, and nose crossed. Go Canucks Go!!!

Getting off the train

So as the title states I am getting off the train. What am I talking about, what train? Have you ever gone through a moment of your life where you felt you were on a train going nowhere?? Well this has been me for a while.

It is time to catch up with all that has been going on since my last post, this should make the above make a little more sense.

Since selling our house my main focus has been to find a job, as I mentioned in an earlier post I had found a job and it was so horrible that I could not stay on. Since it was my first interview in years (I have been running a daycare and working on my scrapbooking business during the last two years) and I nailed it I didn't think finding another job would be an issue. Well......that was two months ago now, I have been on numerous interviews and even quite a few second and third interviews but I have not received the call that I have been waiting for.

Without a proper focus (of course I focus on my family) the days just seem to go on and on and on and I felt like I was going nowhere fast hence the train metaphor. This changes now, I have decided after great thought to shift the focus of my days to building my scrapbooking business. I will still go on interviews of course, I need a job, but I think that if I can shift the focus than maybe something will happen when I least expect it.

As a family we have had a lot of fun though. We have had a few dinner parties to introduce our friends and family to the new digs. Easter of course, the Easter Bunny was very generous, took a weekend away to Seattle with the boys (Rory stayed home but my Mom joined us),

and celebrated Trevors 7th birthday. Here are some pics of the great day, actually I should say days. We had a family party on the Saturday and the kids party on Sunday.

So now we will focus on next weekend. We are taking Rory's Mum out to lunch on Saturday and then will be spending the day as a family with my Mom on Sunday. Rory asked Trevor what he wanted to get for me for Mothers Day (I really want nothing but great quality time with the family) and his first answer was "mmmm I don't know" and then says "I know....makeup", well if you know me you would know that I am not much of a girlie girl and makeup really isn't me, but I think that it is so cute that he would think this is a great Mom gift.

So now that I am planning to get back to posting everyday, part of the shifting the focus deal, be aware that there will probably be a lot of hockey talk. My boys (the Canucks) are doing great in the second round of the playoffs against the Blackhawks.

I was so excited to get tickets to the game this past Saturday (really hard ticket to get here in Vancouver) but even on the way to the game I was thinking maybe I shouldn't go. I am not a very superstitious person but when it comes to hockey I am. So considering I haven't been to a winning game all season and since they not only lost but lost bad I thought maybe I should stay away.

Well yep, should have stayed away. They lost and they lost bad! They have played 7 games thus far this post season and have lost ONE, thinking I will just watch on my t.v. from now on :)

So finally I have been doing some spring cleaning with my scrapbook layouts and have listed quite a few layouts on ebay for a low starting price of just 0.99 cents. As well I have a 20 page custom scrapbook page auction which is still at a really inviting price.

Check it out here

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=370197112163&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT

Cheers,

talk to you tomorrow