Remember My Birthday Post... A 35 Things Recap

Some of you might remember my blog post from my 35th birthday in August.  As 2012 winds down, I thought I would do a little recap of what I've accomplished or haven't accomplished so far.   I'm not trying to make myself feel bad... I don't really hold that list as written in stone.  I don't plan on being hard on myself.  I wrote the list to give me some goals and ideas to look forward to and as I've learned over time, goals are always more attainable when written down and reviewed.  So here it is:

1.  This one makes me laugh.  Yes, I have stripped many many times.  In the comfort of my own bedroom and bathroom (sorry about too much information).  Oh and yes, the wallpaper in our upstairs hallway has been almost completely stripped but that is thanks to the kids.  One evening they decided to take as much as they could down and I was probably on my laptop looking through pinterest as they were doing it!  Thanks kids!  Maybe in January I'll plan to paint... we'll see!

2.  No I have not lost any weight... and it won't start now as we go into Christmas!

3.  YES our vacation to Florida and Walt Disney World is planned!

4.  This one will be easy - go on that vacation - at the end of January!

5.  I am volunteering at our school every Friday morning and for most of their classes special events.  Tomorrow I am helping in Grace's and Alex's classes.

6.  I have certainly continued blogging... and loving it!

7.  Work on the blocks for my winter quilt... still behind on that!

8.  Yes I did complete a very special "pink" quilt for some special girls out in B.C.

9.  I did make a batch of salsa... and it is yummy!

10.  I am trying to drink more water.  I've brought out my water container that I try to finish every day... it is harder than you might think!

11.  I am having no trouble drinking more red wine.  After years and years of drinking only white wine, I now prefer red... that was easy!

12.  Ian and I did go away to Quebec City over a week ago... it was heavenly.

13.  Watch less t.v. - yes I do!  After becoming a Jockey Consultant, I spend many evenings doing all things "Jockey".

14.  I am not sewing very much... and I miss being with my wonderful sewing machine.  This morning I hemmed 2 pairs of pants and realized that I am really missing it!

15.  Make lots and lots of jam!  No problem there.  I've had record sales for jam this fall and continue to make batches and batches.

16.  No I am not finding it easy to purchase more eco-friendly products.  I have many in my cupboards but I still want to purchase and use more!  Still working on this goal.

17.  Still trying to teach our kids to eat more healthy foods...

18.  Eat more fruits and veggies myself - always a challenge in the winter months but I think I'm doing it!

19.  Ha!  This goal was to run 5 km... maybe in the spring??

20.  I've decided I am not going to read the 3rd book in the 50 Shades trilogy... moving on to better reads.

21.  I have not made my own pasta yet... saw the attachments today for my kitchenaid mixer and not sure if I want to make that purchase.

22.  Hug and kiss my kids more.  Oh this is a good one, especially after the many tragedies that have occurred recently.  I love this goal and I am doing it every day!!!!

23.  Kiss my husband more... that is for only me to know (but I will say that during November it was a bit less due to his silly mustache!)

24.  I am trying to breath through my stress.

25.  I need to work on this one... call my mom more often!

26.  I am not going to bed earlier - too many things to do! 

27.  All of my teaching supplies from years ago are still in my basement.  That is a MARCH project!

28.  I think my big deep freeze is in pretty good shape - I did this job early in the fall!

29.  Take a yoga class... I tried but the one I wanted was full.  I am on her waiting list.

30.  Yes I made zucchini relish and it is delish!

31.  Take skiing lessons:  I am hoping a friend will help me with this one!

32.  We are planning on skiing a few times this winter and have already been in touch with a friend who will help us teach the kids (and myself!).

33.  I am not walking as much as I should these days...

34.  This is a good one:  Show my husband that he is the most important person to me.  I think we have a very strong relationship.  I had the best time on vacation with him recently and didn't want it to end.  Every day we are a team and I feel comfort from that... he is my favourite person.  I hope that I show that to him as much as I should.

35.  Love myself a little bit more.  This fall I found myself floundering (is that a word?).  Then something came along, an opportunity that initially I put aside but then realized that I really really wanted to go for it.  Being a mom and a farmer's wife (and proud of it), my own desires can easily get put aside but this time I made the choice to do something JUST FOR ME.  I think this is a great way to love myself more. 

Well I've made it to the end of my list and I feel pretty darn good about it.  Heck, I still have almost 9 months to continue to work on some of them...

I hope that some of you have your own lists and that you review them periodically.  It is so rewarding to see accomplishment but I also think that it is good for our self-esteem and self-worth to see how far we've come.  We are all capable of change but sometimes all we need is to realize that what we are doing and how we are living is really good. 

Take care of yourself and those around you.  I am thinking of a wonderful family that we know that are going through a very, very hard time.  I am praying for them every day and wishing them peace.

Our Annual Christmas Letter

Every year we write a Christmas Letter to send out to our family and friends.  Some years I have written it and other years Ian has.  It is a nice way to summarize the past year and highlight some special events we were part of.  This year is no different and I thought what a perfect piece to add to my blog - enjoy!

This past year, for our family, is going to be difficult to describe.  Bittersweet might be one word to use.  Challenging might be another description we could use but despite some of the hardships we encountered, there were certainly some blessings to be thankful for.  Read on to find out what transpired for us this year… it was a rollercoaster ride!

January 2012 began in typical fashion as we wrapped up all of our Christmas celebrations including our annual trip to Grandma and Grandpa Garner’s home.  We celebrated the New Year with Deb’s sister Carollyn and her family, and her brother, Ben.  It was fun to be with our children for the New Year (we even did an early celebration to accommodate the little ones).  Once we returned home, we got back into our daily routine while anticipating our annual trip to Florida.  This year’s trip was going to be really exciting as we were flying to Florida for the first time as a family AND we were meeting up for a few days with some good friends and their babies.  For the first time though, we encountered illness and Deb had to go to the Emergency department of Ann and Jim’s local hospital to be treated for strep throat.  She quickly felt better and we then enjoyed a very warm and relaxing vacation at a resort in St. Pete Beach, with our friend’s, the Freitag family.   Once that part of our vacation ended, we headed back to Grandma and Grandpa McGregor’s Florida home for more R & R but our trip was about to take a turn for the worst.  When we arrived we received word that Ian’s cousin, Andrew, had been in a terrible accident and had passed away.  Our trip would change as Ann and Jim quickly made plans to be with Andrew’s parents in British Columbia and then we were making plans to get home and then fly ourselves out to B.C. as well.  Those days were a blur as we flew home and then the next day flew out to Vancouver.  This is where we feel very blessed as many of Ian’s aunts, cousins and some of our neighbours “swooped in” and took over our household and looking after our children while we went to be with Andrew’s family and wife.  These events were life-changing for us.

It is hard to say that life got back to normal after these events, but eventually our normal changed and we had to get back to our careers and our own family.  We had a lot of fun this past winter with sledding and skating.  Ian and I had always hoped to someday purchase more land and that opportunity presented itself this past year.  In April we officially became owners of another farm, very close to our own.  The kids thought we were moving to a new house but we settled that and enjoyed many afternoons sliding on our new farm – the hills are much steeper there.  Then on the day we got ownership, we enjoyed a little celebration on our new property. 

The farm work began early with spring beginning in the end of March and we were in full swing getting ready for the upcoming growing and selling season.  We hired a record number of fantastic employees this year (21 sales staff and 15 Jamaican labourers) as we were drastically expanding to 12 Market Stands (5 more than the previous year).  With all of our best laid plans to have a successful Market Season, we experienced a record-breaking drought this summer and “enjoyed” some challenging moments… such is farming life!  There is always hope for a better season next year!  Probably the best part of the summer was the arrival of our sweet neice, Charlotte (daughter of Cameron and Mandy), on June 26th - she was very timely as she came right between the strawberry and raspberry seasons!

On August 17, 2012, we celebrated 10 years of marriage – do many of you remember our wedding?  It was one of the best days of our lives and we are proud to still have a very strong marriage and to be blessed with 3 beautiful children!  We are celebrating this milestone a few different ways:  we had our good friend, Rhonda, take some amazing photos of our family (including the photo on our Christmas card), we are taking a mini-holiday this week to Quebec City and then the big celebration is going to be part of our annual vacation to Florida as we are heading to Walt Disney World for a few days (everyone is VERY excited). 

Another big change occurred in our life as our little girl, Jean, began school this past September.  Grace is now in grade 3, Alex is in grade 1 and Jean is in junior kindergarten.  It is so hard to believe that we have 3 children in school and it has been a difficult adjustment (especially for mommy).  Once the farm slowed down, there was definitely a void in Deb’s life.  As with all transitions, a new door opened and Deb has begun another little business of selling Jockey clothing for women, through home-parties.  She now has 4 jobs:  mom to 3 kids, working for McGregor’s Produce in staffing and sales, her jam-making business and now selling clothing.  If you want to get anything done, ask a busy person!  Speaking of busy people, Ian is still passionately improving and growing McGregor’s Produce, along with Cameron and his dad, Jim.  Ian and Cameron are increasing their cash crop acres as well with the purchase of our new farm but their crops were not successful with the lack of rain.  Farmers always have hope for next year though!

The kids are busy little people too but we try our best to balance their lives.  Grace is dancing on the competitive dance team in Arnprior, on jazz, ballet and musical theatre teams.  Alex plays hockey once a week and just completed a basketball session – he is a sporty little guy!  Jean is now taking dance as well, just like her big sister!  We spend a lot of time driving the kids around but are making a conscious effort to give them a lot of time just playing at home.  

As you can see, this past year has been an interesting one – hopefully not repeated.  We have much to look forward to and hope the same for you all.  Please take care and we wish you all the best in this magical season and in the New Year.

Sincerely,

Ian, Deb, Grace, Alex and Jean

My Favourite Disney Princess

I just discovered my favourite Disney Princess!  I am not opposed to Princesses - they bring enchantment, romance, music, dreaming, entertainment etc. to my daughter's worlds and they are all so loveable BUT recently Disney has introduced us to more realistic Princesses such as Tatiana from the Princess and the Frog (LOVE her), Rapunzel from Tangles (feisty and ready to take on the world with her dream) but more recently came along Merida from Brave. 

I am pretty sure this is the first Disney Princess with NO Prince involved.  She wants to live her own life and change her fate from a planned marriage.  The story centres around her relationship with her mother.  I highly recommend this movie... I bought it before we had even watched it because I just knew we would love it.  Hopefully we get to meet her at Walt Disney World this winter!

The Start of Our Christmas Season

The beginning of December brings a pause on all normal activity in our home.  All of my usual comings and goings change as we get our family ready for the Christmas season.  I like to think that the season actually begins on December 1 as our routine changes into celebration and memory-making mode.  The first thing we do is DECORATE the house.  We have quite a few decorations and while they are not all within my style range, they all have meaning and it is what happens during our decorating that means the most.  I try to take on the event with patience and understanding.  No doubt it is complete chaos and I especially noticed it this year as all three of the kids were taking things out of boxes and finding homes for everything they could put their hands on.  I continued to take deep breaths and reminded myself that once they all went to school on Monday, I could rearrange everything!  I also reminded myself that someday their enthusiasm might be lacking and I will be begging them to decorate with me.  Ian just hangs out in the background and watches... probably a safe place to be.

I love our Christmas Village.  Most pieces were gifts to me by family members.

I have made so many quilted Christmas table runners that I try to find a place for them all. 
You can see our Elf on the right-hand side; sneaky little guy; he was roasting mini-marshmallows that night.

A few years ago I made these gigantic stockings for each of us and then
bought this great stand for them BUT the stockings are too big for the stand!

A new tradition in our home, is our mischievious, sometimes forgetful, Elf, Alvin!  He joined our family last year and we really enjoy his addition to our Christmas season.  He finds himself in some pretty silly predicaments, has been seen sharing secrets with Alex and gets into the toys but he is so much fun.  This morning we found him hanging on to the front of our fridge, rummaging through the huge collection of notes sent home from school!

Oh boy, that fridge is full of notes these days!  Another part of December is special events at the school, which I love but it certainly requires me to be more organzied.  Yikes!

We share many traditions in our home at Christmas time but one of my most treasured is our annual Christmas letter.  I will share it on my blog once they have all been mailed out!  This year's was very hard to write but certainly cathartic (like this blog). 

Here's to the Christmas season and all that it brings.  Cheers!