Spring..err.....Fall....Cleaning...

I took a look around my house yesterday and realized that my family has a severe problem. We keep everything!!! If we replace something old and broken, we keep the old and broken thing as well as the thing we've replaced it with. It was getting ridiculous!! So yesterday I put my foot down and made some changes. In our living room, we had an old broken TV and a new TV, an old nasty couch and a newer couch, an old TV stand and a better TV stand, so I gave away what I could (can you believe my neighbor wanted my old broken TV?) and chucked the nasty couch, and the old TV stand. I washed my carpet and the walls. I can't believe the ROOM I have now! We can actually move without bumping into things! I did the same thing to the kitchen last weekend. Next weekend I'm going to tackle the upstairs. I've decided that this will be my Saturday gig for the next little while till every room has been purged. I don't know if it's because I'm trying to simplify things before my surgery or because our house really is that bad, but it feels good to redecorate with a minimalist attitude. It seems that the kids like it too...they seem much more comfortable and today Declan said, "Mom, this is WAYYYY better than the last room!".

But today is Sunday and a day of rest...no more cleaning for me today. Today I think about my Lord and Saviour who has blessed me abundantly. He has given me more than I could ask or think...Eternal life (what a gift!!), good health, a home, children, a husband, a good job, a music career...life abundant! I am so thankful.

What did you do this weekend?

Protective...good or bad?

People who know me well know that I am very protective of people that matter to me. I don't like seeing someone I care about get hurt or be taken advantage of. There have been times when I've let that protective side of me take action (most of the time it was not needed, my friends and family can take care of themselves quite well) and not always with good results.

Protectiveness (is that a word?) can be a good thing when looking out for your children. It helps keep them from things or people who could harm them. On the other hand, a little harm is what allows us to grow as human beings. I wouldn't be the person I am today had I not gone through some of the rough times I had as a child. Where do you draw the line? When is it okay to be protective and step in to help and when is it not okay? There are many schools of thought on this subject, but I can't say I've really found the answer to that question.

I have a friend who is currently going through some stuff. I feel that this friend is being taken advantage of and I would love to step in and "save the day" but at the same time, is it really my place to do so? Being outside of the situation, I feel like I can see the solution plain as day but my friend doesn't seem to see the same answer. Now, I could be (and frequently am) wrong about the answer to the problem. If I am wrong, it could ruin this person if I took any action. If I'm right, my friend's life could get much easier. So what's a person like me to do? Sit and watch and listen as my friend goes through all of this without saying anything? I'll tell you the answer I learned from a very wise lady I know (thanks Mom)...

My Mom taught me through her own actions in this area that sometimes the best thing that we can do for our friends and family when we see them going through hard times is to pray for them. We don't know all the answers since often we don't know the whole story (we only get one side). It is better to trust the One who sees and knows all than to trust our own judgement. So this is how I'm spending my weekend. Praying for my friend, and trusting that God has everything in hand and knows how to deal with the situation.

When I decided to pray for my friend, this song came to my head. I can't remember where I heard it but it suits this situation...

You know better than I
You know the way
I don't always need to know why
I'll take what answers You supply
For You know better than I

Thank you Lord that You know better than I...

Soup...

I made four types of soup yesterday and froze them for future use. I made Brocoli and Cheese soup, New England Clam Chowder, Hamburger Soup and Mushroom Chowder. Declan and Rowan taste tested each one and gave their approval. Today I intend to make Beef Barley soup, Split Pea soup and possibly a chicken soup of some kind.

In case you didn't know, I'm a soup maniac! I love soup! When it's cold outside, a bun and soup is the perfect meal for me. Since my kids have inherited my love for soups, (and it's a great place to hide those veggies they don't like eating), I keep my freezer well stocked with soups in the winter. Declan's favorite? Brocoli and Cheese soup. A helpful hint for others who have picky children...Declan likes the taste of veggies, he just hates the texture. When I figured out what the problem was, I started running my veggies through the puree cycle on my blender. Declan will eat any veggie I give him as long as he can't see it and can't feel pieces of it in his mouth. As such, creamed soups are awesome for him. I usually keep potatoes in chunks but any other veggie is pureed. Rowan is not a huge meat fan but she'll eat small pieces in soup.

I find most of my soup recipes on allrecipes.com. If you feel like making soup, that's a great site to start looking for recipes. I typically only try recipes that have 5 stars and I always read the comments because often someone has tried a variation that looks good to me. I've only had two soup recipes that I didn't like - one because I found out I'm not a fan of italian sausage and one was just too salty - easily remedied for next time.

So if you want to fill up your freezer with something quick and easy that you can take to work for lunch or have for supper on those nights when you can't figure out what to cook...try soup!!!

One week down...six to go...

Well, one week and four exams later, I have an average of 96%. So far so good. I had 3 exams between 96% and 99% and then one that was 91% which brought my average down. Oh well, at least I'm still passing as of right now. Next week will bring it's own set of challenges I'm sure. It's been great to learn something new and really challenge myself. I have had to learn again how to let go of my perfectionist nature and let myself make mistakes. Not an easy task for me, I can assure you, but I'm learning. It's great to be part of a company that knows that mistakes are normal.

Anyway, I'm off to practise...gotta sing at church tomorrow!

Back at Sun Life...

So I started a new "day job" journey returning to my roots at Sun Life this week. I'm starting in a new department so now I will be taking calls and handling paperwork for the Individual Life Insurance Department. I have 7 weeks of intense training in front of me. In that time, I will complete 12 assignments, 12 closed book exams (must get a 90% average and I'm only allowed 1 retake through the entire training time) and many many hours of mentoring time and case work studies. Today was the first day that I started panicking. I love the training Sun Life provides and I feel confident in their ability to teach me, I'm just not sure how confident I am in my ability to learn! We did our first two rounds of Computer Based Training (CBT's) today and I had totally forgotten how much information was in those crazy courses! I felt like my brain would explode after the first one! There are 10 more of these?!?! Aack!

On the up side, it was great to see some familiar faces again and be welcomed back by people I have missed dearly. I've also gotten to know some new faces which has been a lot of fun so far. There are a total of 7 students in my class...a big change from the 23 I had the first time I did this! There have been some changes at Sun Life and I'm looking forward to seeing some new computer systems and working with some new policies and procedures. It should be a lot of fun!

Stay tuned to find out how I'm doing with all this crazy studying ahead of me! And now...back to the books!!!

The Power Lab...

My son, Declan has been attending Daily Vacation Bible School (DVBS) at our church this past week. This program was designed mostly for kids who don't normally attend church or sunday school. There were well over 100 kids there this week. They did science experiments and learned songs and bible verses that talked about how God gives us the power to be thankful, to help others, to tell others about Him, to be courageous, and to live for Him. Yesterday was parent day. I had the wonderful opportunity to witness these beautiful children dance and sing praises to God. I was in tears most of the time. There is no better sight than seeing children who didn't know Jesus before the week smile and sing and move to the rhythm of God's love for them. It touched me so much. The kids were telling us all the things that God gives us power to do and after every one they would all shout, "Ah-ha!". It was so cute! Even Rowan got involved! When the scientists thought that the kids were being a little loud and needed to be still and pay attention, they would say, "ooooooooooooo" and the kids would follow by saying, "ahhhhhhhhh"! What a great idea! I may try that at home! The kids all got a T-shirt, a CD and their science experiments to take home with them at the end of the week. I love the CD! It has such great songs!

I remember attending DVBS when I was a kid. I remember it being a lot of fun and I looked forward to it every summer. If you've never sent your child to DVBS, think about it for next summer. It's inexpensive and very worth while. To the adults who invested their time to make DVBS such a success, you are truly amazing! Thank you for giving so much of yourselves to make this week so special for our children! My prayer is that the seeds you planted this week will grow strong and tall and these children will live out the lessons you taught them this week!

Sign on the dotted line...

That's right...Brad and I have finally hashed out the details of my contract and I have signed it. It feels so good to get that done and out of the way. Now I can really concentrate on actually MAKING my music! Without going into a lot of detail, I have signed on with him for the next 6 years. We are hoping to get 3 CD's made in that time. There will be concerts and tours and the hope is that a larger label will want to sign me by the time my contract with Brad is complete. I feel really good about the terms that we have agreed to and I'm looking forward to some interesting experiences and challenges in the years ahead. I'm glad we took our time getting all the details settled, it made for a better contract. It helps that I know a little more about the business now. So, I guess that you can now say I am an Indie Label Recording Artist. Sounds weird to me still, but I guess I'll get used to it.

I laid in another scratch track last night. That's 7 songs down and 5 more to write. Woo hoo! I was starting to feel pressured to finish up writing my songs but Brad, true to his calm producer type style, assurred me that there is no rush. We have set April 15, 2009 as the date we would like this album to be completed. This is a good thing as there is still so much work to do. Once all the scratch tracks are done, the hard part really starts. We then have to add drums, guitar, strings, tweak the piano and main vocal as well as lay in background vocals. Then it all has to be mixed, mastered and produced. After that there is publicity shots, posters, t-shirts, the making of the CD's, promotion packages and concert dates. When I start thinking in terms of what all needs to be done still, I start feeling slightly ill. One thing at a time...that's what I keep repeating to myself lately.

My new equipment is still on order. I'm starting to get impatient! I want my keyboard! Hopefully it won't be much longer.

That's all for now, folks! I'll keep you updated as things start to happen with the album.