Category Archives: Uncategorized

Be Going Back to the Laundry Room

The pull of the dirty, messy clothes.

I am a mess!

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The rhythm of the washing machine.

I crave this rhythm!

The quiet cave in the bottom of my house.

I find this time!

A place to rest.

A place to cry.

A place to be.

The first place I went to once we returned to our house after my mom died. (Read at your own risk!)

The place I return to.

Daily.

Allowing myself to feel deeply.

Being filled with my grief.

Sitting in it.

The boat of grief amongst the waves of sorrow.

My feelings are deep.

But I am full of gratitude for these feelings.

For this time of being.

Allowing these feelings to not turn to anger, bitterness or other things that will tie me down.

Each day is a continual letting go.

A releasing.

A moving forward, while grieving the past.

The gift of grief.

I painted this during the quiet of the morning after my bike ride.
Is this my mom’s chalk outline?
Mine?
My old self?
Or something all together different?
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In a stage of unknowing.

Being patient with myself and others.

Giving grace.

Receiving it.

Just being exactly where I am.

In the laundry room

Be Sharing Green Tea Hawaii Love

My story with Green Tea Hawaii started even before I knew that Green Tea Hawaii existed. green tea logo In the summer of 2013, my mom was in profound pain. She had a distended stomach. We thought it was a bladder infection. It was cancer. She journeyed through six months with cancer, living in tremendous pain. We shared many moments shaving her head, watching the boys, cutting her toenails, living each moment. Very unexpectantly the cancer continued to multiply and mom became an angel in heaven on Boxing Day 2013.

Back in mid-October, Mom went to see a Physician at an Integrative Cancer Clinic that supports each patient’s emotional, physical and spiritual health. At this appointment, they doctor covered many topics from eating, exercise, supplements, meditation and encouraged mom on her overall cancer journey. One moment that made her laugh, was when he suggested that she drink ten cups of green tea per day. It has shown that drinking green tea slows down and even stops cancer cell’s from multiplying. My mom was barely eating nor drinking at this point, so the thought of drinking ten cups of green tea made us giggle. If I only knew…

Fast forward now to March, where our family had been given a great gift from a University friend and teammate, their house for ten days in Hawaii. We were also given free access to this amazing product that they own called Green Tea Hawaii. They had samples all over their kitchen counter and we helped ourselves.  Green Tea Hawaii changed our lives.

Everyone I know that has tried Green Tea Hawaii talks about the benefit of the extra energy. I now ride my bike at 6:00am, just because I want to and can. (And I ain’t no morning person!) I enjoy doing Jillian Michaels DVD’s in the afternoon and evenings because I have the energy to. Plus I still have lots left in me to be a present and loving mom to my three boys under seven. Before Green Tea Hawaii, I was struggling.

I love the L-theanine in the Green Tea Hawaii as it gives me a great sense of peace. The combination of the Noni and green tea is absolutely delicious. This is a sweet tea, but contains less than one gram of stevia and sugar. (One teaspoon of sugar is about four to five grams for those visual people.)

Hot or cold.

Shaken not stirred.

Mixed with about a cup of pure water

I have finally found my drink!

The health benefits of the Green Tea Hawaii take me back to the appointment with my mom. Each sleeve of the Green Tea Hawaii equal around 45 cups of Green Tea. Yup, you read that correctly. My mom could have drank just one sleeve and had more than the benefits of the 10 cups of tea that were recommended. satchet

 

The other benefit of Green Tea Hawaii is weight loss. This is an added bonus for me as I already love the health benefits of this product. If you take one sleeve fifteen minutes before breakfast and again before lunch, it revs up your metabolism. I am not entirely sure how this works, but as of today, I have lost fifteen pounds. But nothing compares to the taste, cancer fighting and energy that Green Tea Hawaii brings me.

My dad now uses Green Tea Hawaii to help with his arthritis from his hockey playing days. My husband doesn’t drink pop or energy drinks anymore and he has more energy than before. In one weekend, he planted twenty-two cedars and fifteen HUNDRED square feet of new grass. He had a Green Tea Hawaii in the afternoon and early evening which gave him what he needed to work hard. IMG_4165IMG_4172 Lastly, I have to tell you that after I discovered Green Tea Hawaii, I went to my Naturopathic Physician. Anything that I eat or drink on a daily basis, I like to check out with her. She looked at the ingredients and loved the product for me. She only cautioned the caffeine in Green Tea can disrupt your sleep cycle, so don’t have it after five o’clock in the evening. One sleeve of Green Tea Hawaii is the same amount of caffeine in one cup of Java. She loved the calming affect of the L-theanine as well as the health benefits of the high quality Green Tea from Japan and the Noni from the Polynesian Island. I am very excited and full of gratitude that I can share this product with anyone that would like to try it. Can you tell? IMG_4654IMG_4664
Off to ECity to learn more about Green Tea Hawaii.

Full of gratitude.

Full of energy.

Full of cancer fighting Green Tea.

Feeling the Hawaiian Noni love.

Sweet and cool on a hot day.

Warm and comforting on a cold day.

Healthy.

Green Tea Hawaii.

Love!

 

Sidenote: You can leave me a comment,  text or call me if you are interested in trying a sample.  I have had many people ask since this post.

 

Be Celebrating Fathers

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Thank you dad!

This Sunday, the boys and I planned an epic adventure focusing on Sexy Neck and Papa.

Breakfast in bed.

Biking.

Brunch.

Golf.

BBQing.

Let the day begin…

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We went on a 14.6 kilometre bike ride along the lake to Cafe Marmalade.

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We stopped at the car show at the park.

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We rode some more. “Hi Dad!”

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We arrived home with a few presents for the dads.

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Next, it was time to make brunch. The boys were tired but were so excited to make brunch.

Here’s our juice guy:

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Spelt Waffles from scratch:

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Scrambled eggs from our professional egg cracker and scratcher. (CC calls it scratching when you are moving the eggs around in the pan. )

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A little bit of golf then BBQ.

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Everyone is going to sleep well tonight.

Happy Father’s Day!

Fatherhood.

Solid foundation.

Strength.

Humility.

Love.

Dad.

Sexy Neck.

Be Keeping Moving (and Surfing Photos)

I went to the grocery store today and wanted to lie down in the aisle when I walked by mom’s favourite balsamic infusion salad dressing… but I didn’t.  I walked on by, asked God to help me and kept on moving.  

Two steps forward.

One step back. 

Still moving.  

Tonight, I looked through some of the surfing pictures that a photographer took while we were in Hawaii.  I can’t get over my boys smiles.   They warmed my heart.    

Holding tight to memories.

Looking at smiles.

Loving my amazing boys.  

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Be Really Real (no juice here!)

I am finding it difficult to write. I deeply desire to be positive, uplifting, encouraging, but I feel none of these things.

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(Me and my journal!)
I really want to string some pretty words together but my heart is swearing! My mind is screaming. My body is weary with grief.

I feel hurt.

I feel despair.

I feel anger.

I feel frustration.

I have become aware that my words on this blog evoke emotions. My photos, especially the one of my lying on my laundry room floor in January, are difficult for some readers.

I have to admit that this blogging thing started off anonymously with twenty people I didn’t know reading my blog daily. One year after starting and during the height of my mom’s cancer journey, there were over eight hundred people checking my blog daily!. This is a strange sensation knowing that the audience I now have before me knows me and uses this blog to ‘see how I am doing’!

Now the second thing I will admit as I sit in my red chair, the rain pounding down, as I reflect on this blogging journey is that I have been serving you juice.

Good old apple juice.

Showing you a side of me that I think you want and need to see.

Keeping the information rated G for the general audience.

Tonight, I am giving you a good old gulp of red wine on the eve of the remembrance of Jesus’ crucifixion.

The night before Jesus died he washed his disciples feet, served them bread and wine, symbolizing his body and blood.

On this night I feel like I want to die. I am listening to the rain pound down hoping it will clean me up. I want to curl up. I don’t eat nor drink. I burst into tears during a children’s storybook, at the lack of communication, through this pouring rain. I HATE RAIN!

I cry out about the missed moments. Why didn’t I stand closer and notice how mom made her jam, lasagna, apple pie crust…

I am overwhelmed by the differences between men and women as I sit surrounded by males including Sexy Neck, my boys and my father. Oh mama, where are you?

I have so many questions rattling around in my head that I want to ask my mom. I can’t breathe as tears streak my face.

My mom, my first teacher and the teacher I modelled my love of my students after. The women who showed me how to spend weekends preparing for the week, lunch hours to meet the needs of the students less socially inclined and going above and beyond in many ways. To be watching my son’s teacher with her systems, testing and explanations that end in ‘I could show you the research!’ ,my legs want to run straight to my mom for a chat in her garden. My mom had such insight about schooling. But I am alone to figure this one out. Utterly alone.

I feel sick to my stomach when I see the sad faces of my friends when I talk about my mom. I see what an impact her life and death had on them I want to talk about her but their faces make me stop.

I have never felt so lonely in my life.

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Deeply missing the times I took for granted.

Tearfully desiring all the times my mom was so beautifully present, unassuming, supportive and there.

Mom cannot be replaced. Absolutely nothing in the world can fill this gaping hole. I will continue to sit in my grief as this is my season. There is nothing another human being can do to erase my pain. Don’t feel sad for me. I am not drinking my feelings away nor shopping or eating them away.

I am sitting.

I am noticing.

I am hoping.

I am waiting.

For the rain to go away.

For a glimmer of sun.

To create a new way.

A new life.

Without my mom.

Damn this hurt.

So, if you don’t hear from me for awhile it has nothing to do with you. If I don’t know the answers nor want to organize things remember I am building new neuron brain pathways. Many of my pathways led to my mom!

I am exhausted.

Overwhelmed by waves.

I am doing my work.

Rowing my boat.

Staying afloat.

On the ocean of grief.

Waiting for Jesus to walk on water.

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Be Surfing Under Rainbows with a Butterfly

The boys wanted to surf this morning. Our friends here recommended Uncle Brian’s Sunset Suratt Surf Academy. These guys are the ‘goods’! Instructors with surfing running in their blood, hearts of a lion for their sport and patience of a good father for the students.

Our boys loved it! Not only did they get to learn to surf but God’s presence and mom’s love was all over this morning.

First the boys warned up and learned the technique on the beach:

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Next they were off, pulled by the instructor’s toes to a bay covered by a rainbow.

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The boys all got up on the board. Take a close look at the photo with the instructor riding a wave on HIS HEAD! (Better photos to come!)

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Sexy Neck doing his thing…

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Six year old JC

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Four year old CC stood up with Crew’s help. He was afraid to fall off the board into the ocean. He loved riding the waves.

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Sexy Neck told me afterwards that at one time they had regrouped and a butterfly flew over the two boys and their teacher. He thought, “Nana was present!”

We came home and realized that there were butterflies all over the house we are staying at.

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If you had asked me what I want most now that my mom has died. What I want is my mom back!

Today, I feel gratitude for mornings like today watching my boys using the gifts given to them in God’s beautiful nature and feeling my mom’s presence.

Glory.

Rainbows.

Butterflies.

Men building up boys.

Surfing.

Ocean.

Vastness.

Gratitude.