30 Days of Blogging

Hi guys - quick note to say we're home again home again with our two wonderful, healthy, perfect little boys. I'll try to post as time goes by how things are going - but in case the next few weeks (months? years?) get busy and/or uncreative, lol, I wanted to introduce you to a blog game I'm going to be starting as of September 1st (as will my friend Alex over at My Life, My Glory - click here to check it out). Basically, it's a 30 days of blog posts experiment. Here is the topic list, that you will see up as of Sept. 1:

Day 1 - your favorite song

Day 2 - your favorite movie

Day 3 - your favorite television program

Day 4 - your favorite book

Day 5 - your favorite quote

Day 6 - 20 of my favorite things

Day 7 - a photo that makes you happy

Day 8 - a photo that makes you angry/sad

Day 9 - a photo you took

Day 10 - a photo taken over 10 years ago of you

Day 11 - a photo of you recently

Day 12 - something you are OCD about

Day 13 - a fictional book

Day 14 - a non-fictional book

Day 15 - your dream house

Day 16 - a song that makes you cry (or nearly)

Day 17 - an art piece (drawing, sculpture, painting, etc)

Day 18 - my wedding/future wedding/past wedding

Day 19 - a talent of yours

Day 20 - a hobby of yours

Day 21 - a recipe

Day 22 - a website

Day 23 - a youtube video

Day 24 - where I live

Day 25 - your day, in great detail

Day 26 - your week, in great detail

Day 27 - my worst habit

Day 28 - whats in my handbag/purse

Day 29 - hopes,dreams and plans for the next 365 days

Day 30 - a dream for the future

I will throw in updates about the boys, thoughts on pop culture or politics, all that stuff, as I see fit as well; but this will make for a fun theme through my blog the next month. Be sure to check it out - and again, check out Alex's too at the link above (and at the side). Fun fun! :)

Announcement

So we can now share a bit.

We are parents again.

LT's birth mother had another little boy.

We'll call him Little J.

Coming home this weekend.

XO - Sar

Holy wow Batman ...

I can't say much right now
But this week has been utterly amazing
A new job, amongst other life-changing news
Some big transitions for our family
Which I'll be better able to share in time
But please - for now -
Please pray for us, our family,
As we've come upon those forks in the road of life
That you never see coming
But is so exciting when you do

Blocked

As in writer's block.

Lots going on here, been super-busy, but all that work-a-day stuff that's not so much worth posting so much. Anyone want to hear what Little Tyke had for breakfast this morning? Or how many assignments I marked this afternoon? Or how much laundry Ari did yesterday? Yeah ...

But we're well, we're happy; LT's talking is coming along, which was a concern for awhile; I'm getting some nibbles for work for the upcoming school year; my mom is only about 2 months away from moving from 6 hours away, to about 45 mins. away. Life has a funny way of working itself out the way it should be, and we're either there or getting there on most fronts. Hope you all are enjoying the end of summer, and the rain from earlier this week didn't get y'all down too badly. :)

Congratulations, California

This week has been a proud one for California - barely 7 days after a federal judge ruled Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage, unconstitutional, today the stay on same-sex marriages has been lifted and homosexual couples will be allowed to get married as of August 18 (Wednesday of next week).

I have truly been blessed in having been able to marry the person I love - it's a right I have to admit to having taken for granted. But I am a Christian; he is Jewish. Perhaps not much more than a century or two ago, our marriage would have been looked down upon. As it was, it wasn't a 100% smooth road melding our two traditions and having people join us on this ride - although it has turned out to be one of the funkiest and most interesting journeys I've ever embarked on. I can't imagine looking someone I love in the eye, being with them, and knowing full well we will never be able to have quite the same experiences and acceptance as others, and that could be legally recognized and acceptable. This is a huge step in the US, and for that I applaud everyone involved in that legal process.

My message is simple; if you are against gay marriage, don't participate in one! :) Honestly, what is your worry? That they are hell-bound? Well, I personally doubt it but let's say you're right; that's kinda their problem isn't it? I still have a hard time believing God would punish His people for simply following his command to love one another though. And if it's about the sanctity of marriage and all that, well hey! As David Frum pointed out on CNN.com earlier this week, Bristol Palin, Britney Spears, and Jennifer Lopez have already taken care of that one folks. :)

Congratulations to the California GLBT community; may the rest of the US follow suit in due course. And hey, to my own country of Canada - congratulations on being 5 years ahead of the curve on this one! :) The time has come.

Getting to Know Me

1. Do you think mustaches are sexy?
When accompanied by a goatee. If accompanied by full beard, or no beard at all, no way.

2. What's the last concert you've been to?
Free open air concert on Parliament Hill featuring the Barenaked Ladies and many other Canadian artists for Canada Day.

3 What was your favorite 80's sitcom?
For lack of a better one off the top of my head, the Golden Girls. lol I think the ones I watched in my own right - Full House, etc. - were 1990s.

4. Were you named after anyone?
A Fleetwood Mac song for my first name, my mother/grandmother/great-grandmother for my middle name (Jean)

5. When you buy new clothes, do you wash before wearing?
For the baby. I don't usually bother for myself.

6. If you didn't blog, what would you do with your spare time?
Read and write; get involved in theatre; spend even more time mom-ing, housekeeping, etc.; video games, movies, various stuff.

7. What is your favorite department store?
Zellers if I'm going on the cheap; if I have some money to splurge, Sears or the Bay.

8. If you were to get Laser Hair Removal..where would you get it?

My legs - I am SO inconsistent about shaving them lol.

Getting To Know Me Survey

Hey all - not playing this officially this week (two dates too late!) but the questions were good ones and I wanted to throw up some answers.

1. If you were to win an award today, what would it be for?
Hmm ... best procrastinator. lol Yup. That one.

2. What is your shoe style?
Comfy and practical. This tends to mean black flats of any sort when working, sneakers or said black flats when casual any season, and a wide variety of flip flops/sandals in the summer.

3 Does your car reflect your personality?
Uh ...? My car's a car. It came in a pretty red and the right price range. I put a key in it. It turns on reliably and gets me from point A to point B. Does that reflect my personality? lol I guess so. Haven't thought much about this one.

4. If you could take over someones body for a day..whose would you choose?
Someone super skinny so I could eat all I wanted and have that actually be healthy! lol Jokes ... my body does not often (ever) impress me and needs a lot of work, but it does its job and I'm fairly happy being me at this point.

5. Love or be loved?
I would LIKE to be so selfish as to accept more love than I give. Unfortunately, that isn't often the case. I think I've found more balance of late though - I do what I feel I can for other people, and I accept what they feel they can give to me, and I've stopped 'keeping score' of who's called who more often, who's treated who to what the most, who's always late, who's punctual, who owes who what ... those things can keep you up nights. I've stopped chasing people who don't want to be chased, and I've stopped engaging with people I don't want to engage with - things I've never been able to do before. I live my life, and I enjoy and trust who I enjoy and trust - if that happens to overlap with their lives and feelings, awesome. And you know what? I have lost exactly 0 friends since I stopped counting slights and playing the 'who loves who more' game.

6. If you were on death row, what last meal would you choose?
Hmmm it's a tossup between a couple of Arby's roast beef burgers or a plate or two full of Mongolian Grill stir fry. I know either however would be accompanied by a nice bottle of wine if that's allowed - or a cherry coke if it isn't. lol NOT diet for once. ;) And sour kids.

7. Have you been on vacation this Summer, if so where?
We got to go to Walt Disney World in Orlando Florida this past June, and we just got back from a long weekend 'home' in Kitchener. Otherwise no ... a few 'tourist in our own town' things (Ottawa's great for that), but overall working.

8. What is your favorite food related guilty pleasure?
Fast food. It's awful. But I loves it.

Civic Holiday

Hi guys,

Sorry I wasn't in touch over the weekend but I'm back! (cue horror music)

It was a long weekend here in Ontario and we took the chance to fly home (thanks Mom and Dad Daigen!) on the smallest plane I have EVER seen, to see family and friends. LT was a great traveller both ways (for the most part), and it was great to see my in-laws, especially as Ari's grandma Roz was in town (such a phenomenal lady, almost 90 years old and flew in from California for a visit!), my dad and step-mom, and my mom and step-dad - who we didn't get to visit at their house, but who were invited out to a couple of the weekend's festivities. Perhaps best of all - Little Tyke's Uncle Kyle got to see him for the first time since Christmas! :) It was lovely times had by all.

I got to see my best friend Shari, as well as a host of other folks, some of whom we haven't seen in a long time. If I saw you this weekend - please know I was glad to, and I hope we can do it again sometime. If I didn't - I'm sorry I missed you and hey! Let's make it up soon. But either way - karaoke, spraygrounds, or even just goofing around in a myriad of homes and backyards were fantastic.

And one last major thank you - we had some house-sitters this weekend who not only took fantastic care of our house, our cats, etc. but they also left us a wonderful 'thank you for putting us up gift' which was so unnecessary. Steph and Gord I want to take the time to publically thank you for your amazing generosity. Hope we can return the favour for you someday! Xs and Os all around.