This is me.
Just a mother and wife, living on the Canadian prairies.
Making life worth remembering :)
My hobbies are;
Making jewelry, baking, and not just baking,I am an adventure in the kitchen, I try to make everything!
I design pixel art, for a game called second life.
But my biggest hobby is my kids and husband....they keep my busy all day.
I love my life, life is what you make of it...even when it is hard at times.
Favorite Quote :
I rather have 3 minutes of complete happiness, then a life time of nothing special.
Steel Magnolia's
Making life worth remembering :)
My hobbies are;
Making jewelry, baking, and not just baking,I am an adventure in the kitchen, I try to make everything!
I design pixel art, for a game called second life.
But my biggest hobby is my kids and husband....they keep my busy all day.
I love my life, life is what you make of it...even when it is hard at times.
Favorite Quote :
I rather have 3 minutes of complete happiness, then a life time of nothing special.
Steel Magnolia's
When I was on TVMy mom at a tv show called "Onverwachts Bezoek"She was asked to tell about me and how life is with me having to move to a different country.
And she told the hostess Marion that it felt is if her insides were pulled out. She was sick for a long time after I left. A mothers bond with her daughter is strong, especially when it is a good one. here you see her and my grandmom.
She was packing her suitcase to visit us in Canada. Very unexpected!! Of course most of what she put in her suit case was stuff for the girls, and some real dutch goodies. the darn thing didn't want to close.
That is the problem with small suit cases...or is there just too much inside of it? My mom and Marion talked about how I was as a child.
And of course my mom told all. How I loved playing with my mom, we always did everything together. We made plans together, we cooked together. And if we couldn't sleep, we got up out of bed and made dinner, in the middle of the night. They filmed my mom in her daily life.
She was feeding her chickens. My mom always loved farm life, her mom had a farm where they held pigs and goat and chickens. And then it was time to go to the airport in Holland, called Schiphol.
I think my mom was super brave, for someone that really don't like to fly, she was brave and did it anyways. I Here you see my mom walking at the air port.
It must have been very confusing for her. But I also can imagine that it was an exciting time. Here my mom was waiting for the second plane.
I can tell that she was already getting really tired. She had to go to an other plane, because the place where we are is not really connected to airports or railroads. So when you come here, there is still a lot of traveling you need to do before you actually get here. Finally, boarding the second plane.
My mom is reading a magazine inside the plane to kill time.
It was a long trip but she did it!! Mom in Regina.
I guess it was like middle of the night when she finally arrived in swift current. at the bus station in Regina.
My mom said I can almost feel her!! we are getting close now!! I had no idea, this was filmed the same day.
What can I say...... chubby?
My mom telling the world how much she misses me.
I was in so much pain when i saw her pain. It was very very hard to watch. Then they sat me down and told me to watch some video's.
It started to rip me apart from the inside. It took me a lot of tissues and tears. As you can see, I hadn't slept for days at that point. So many things went through my head. I was feeling so empty and sad. This is my friend Mira, i was so shocked she did this for me.
Of all people i would never expect her to go sit there and tell the world how much she misses me. I cried for days after...I miss her too. She is very close to my heart. My brother Dennis.
He told the world I had to get back home quickly. Because he hates flying! Well Dennis, like you always told me, become brave and life will get easier. I am brave...now it is your turn...I miss you Pestkop! ;) My grand mom.
She is my haven, she showed me how to be strong. How to get up after life knocks you off your feet. She means the world to me, and I know I will never see her again. I was interviewed outside just outside of Swift current so people could see how it was here.
It was very cold, minus 23C and a wind chill of minus 35C. But I didn't feel any of it, I just wanted to make people understand that going through an immigration isn't all fun and games...it comes with pain. I had no idea that my mom was in town that same time. we also went to a small village within Swift current called Doc Town.
The houses there are more then 100 years old and you can still see wagons and old saloons and tine wood houses and churches, this is how Swift current used to look like. Me and Marion went to dinner at a restaurant.
And we talked about my life without my family. I felt like falling apart, but I managed to stay calm. Me and Marion doing some cooking.
On the menu: Mule deer and beans. If you want to know what a mule deer is, well it is a large deer. They are large numbers of them around here. I hate to see them get killed, but I guess it is something that needs to be done to keep the population under control. The way I make Mule deer dish: Cut the meat in small pieces, then fry them in a skillet, then when it is done open a can of mushroom soup and poor that into it, put a lit on the pan. Let is cook on low for 5 more minutes, make sure to stir it. For people that love wild meat, this is your chance to try it. In the Netherlands people don't eat deer, the only ones that are allowed to shoot them is the royal family. Amber and Odie
Marion telling the viewers that tomorrow I would see my mom.
And that I didn't know about it. sneaky sneaky This is the dutch bakery from baker Jack.
I have to tell you these people are wonderful people. If it wasn't for my food allergies I would go there every day. But the temptation is too big and I will make myself sick :S If you are ever in the neighborhood visit the bakery and try their cinnamon buns...they are awesome!!! Baker Jack and his wife.
When he said I have to practice my dutch again with all these dutch people here, his wife poked him with her elbow LOL Baker Jack asking me if I would like to see a gingerbread house he made.
Here I followed him in, as you can see my mom is standing at the ovens.
I didn't even see it. And I walked right at her. My mom was so nervous, an other camera man was hiding inside a closet.
I did see him but I thought that was just part of the show...how little did i know. And the baker Jack asked her to say ginger bread house in dutch. And i thought at the same time wow her voice sounds like that of my mom. And for some reason I didn't feel like having fun anymore, I wanted to go home at that moment. I wished my mom was here. Then I saw my mom, OMG it was so unreal.
Wishing my mom was there and then her standing there...too weird. My mom stayed with us for 6 days afterwards. We had lots of talks, we went shopping and just like the old times...we did what we did best... enjoy life. I miss my mom and my family every day. After my mom left to go back home, I fell into a deep depression, that lasted for 4 years. I couldn't get myself out of bed, I had a hard time talking to my friends that were in Europe. I just didn't function anymore. All I could do was wake up in the morning, taking care of my children...and just be. I didn't enjoy my life at all anymore. The years of being away from my family were getting so hard, knowing that my mom was so sick and I couldn't do anything. It broke me down. I am ok now, it took me a long time be get this far. But I can finally say that I am ok. I still have a hard time sleeping at times, but it is getting better. Our new tv...Stan said to me, you know what, I never really gotten anything for myself.
A boy toy or something just for me. So he went out and came back with this huge flat screen tv. He finally got his boy toy. The only problem is, it is the girls that use it, because Stan doesn't watch tv. Some old pictures of meMom and dadI miss them everyday and it is hard for me to see them on a picture, it makes me cry.
It is nice to see them but it hurts. Because I can't go to them or hug them and just talk to them. It is so expensive to buy a plane ticket. We simply can't afford it. And my mom doesn't speak English so she needs someone to go with her so she can visit, because my dad refuses to fly. I miss my family every moment of the day. |
Amber being kraftyMolly in her new jacketShe don't like it
Snow storm.The girls roomThe girls room is almost done, all we need to do is new paint and hoppa done!
They love their new floor...and the beds look great now too :) Emma and AmberSay cheese!!
Emma9 years going on 30. Emma is very headstrong. But she got that from her dad. She does very well in school, she loves to read books and to write her own stories. I hope she will continue what she is doing , because someday she will wake up and know that her life is mend to make people read her stories. Amber7 beautiful years, lets have the next 7 and the next and the next! :) Amber is a bit of a hand full because she is so hyper. She is excited the moment she wakes up. She sings almost all day long and she always makes sure we know she loves us. The new bedsNice Pine beds for the kids.
I have searched for so long to get the kids some good beds. It was really difficult to find good ones. I went to Walmart to look for a good bed but I found the wood a bit flimsy. So we looked for second hand beds that were good, but all they were selling were very old beds that were dirty. So when I saw these two in Kijiji I was sooooo praying for these . I send a message and I got a message back right away. We picked the beds up 2 days later. The kids sleep really well now, and they wake up much better, feeling rested and good. It just made me so happy to know that they have a good night sleep. Amber 7 years oldAmber grows and grows and she loves life.
Always singing always smiling. Her big sister and her dad went to the store to pick out the birthday cake. That is our tradition, dad takes the girls to the store to buy a cake. Make each of the girls choose for each other, and both choose a cake for me, and we choose the one for dad. So that we all have a great time shopping and picking the right cake for that day :) Happy birthday baby girl, I love you :) LaikaThe thing that no one really knows is what happened before men sat foot on the moon.
The Russians send this poor dog into space. They told everyone she ran out of air and died while falling asleep. Well that is not how it all went down. I linked the picture to the Wikipedia so you can read if you like how the store really went. The reason why i placed this picture is because well, I am part Russian and I am an animal lover. What they did was wrong, they should have used a person, like a prisoner that is on death row, or child killer. They can be shot into space for all I care. But not this poor dog. She hasn't done anything wrong, all she did was pass all the tests...and that got her to be chosen to die in space. So in memory of Laika, I hope she found some peace..as for the people that got her into space...F you! I don't care about the crap that they needed to do these tests so we would all benefit. We don't benefit...no one will benefit from this. My Necklace I made Few weeks ago I bought these large beads made from stone on E bay and I love them.
I used some seed beads and spacers to finish the necklace. And no I am not selling this one...it is mine!! ;) into the wilderness!Stan wants to buy a piece of land just outside of Swift current.
It is a large piece and he said there is lots to do, build or move a house on the land and just raise the family and be happy. He forgot one thing. I don't like the wilderness, it has bugs!! my flowersfinally they are growing, took long enough but they are finally showing themselves!!
New family memberThis is Molly, our new family member.
She is a lovable smart dog, she is mixed but we don't care what she is. She is sweet and that is all we care about, she is 9 months old, and we have her on a 30 day trial bases because we also have Toopy and Cooper. Although I am not sure where Cooper is, he has been gone for almost a month. It is a male cat thing to leave when they reach adulthood. They look for an other place to be, it is nature. Except for when they are fixed. Molly is a bit weary to be around Toopy, he did try to swat at her, but then again...this is Toopy's house. So lets hope the next 29 days will be great and that they start to get along. I am going to get you!Toopy still has to warm up to her, but it is getting better.
The only one that is scared is Emma, she said, Mom one of these days I will be in the middle of a cat and dog fight. But so far so good, one scratch on the nose did the trick. Now Molly only walks closer with her butt first. At the SPCAEmma loved the cats, we told the kids we were going to the Zoo...I know I shouldn't lie but I didn't want to ruin the surprise.
I have to tell you, the SPCA here in Swift current is very clean, they take really good care of their animals. They try and place them all. The animals were all taken to the Fair here in Swift current so people would see them, giving them a greater chance to get adopted into a new home. When we were at the SPCA the girls had no idea we were there on a mission.
The lady that works there went to the back to get Molly and the girls fell in love with her the instant they saw her. Emma was so excited she started to jump and cry at the same time, she didn't believe us when we told her that we would take her home...she kept asking "really mom is she coming with us"?
May 1rstI see something...yaaaay it is my calla lilies!!!
I hope they grow, they are black and orange really pretty. The pictures below is how they are going to look :) Winter in MaySwift Current, SK
0°CCurrent: Light snow Wind: NE at 19 km/h Humidity: 100% What is wrong with this picture??? lol The snow!!! When I looked out of the window this morning I couldn't believe what I saw.
I know the weather is can be different, and it changes almost around the hour. But it is the 27th of May, and it is snowing. As you can see we were working in the back yard this week and we were planning on working to get it all done. But I am sure it won't happen this weekend. Stan was building a good wooden fence. We have to pull out some of the lilac so we can put the fence in the back too. And that way the lights get to the bottom and the bush will get fuller. I put poison on all the dandy lions and they are starting to die now. We also put grass seeds all over and they are starting to take, we spend a lot of money...but I have this nagging feeling that because of this snow the grass seeds will die. It would really bite. I have lilies coming out and calla lilies and other bulbs I put in. I hope this won't last over night because then it is bye bye for all the flowers for this year. Emma's hair cutbefore
after.
Emma had long hair and it started to become so tangles every day. It was a pain, and I carefully asked her, would you like to have it a little shorter so it won't hurt so much? And she said (to my big surprise) yes please but not too short!!! So I cut her hair into a longer bob, just above her shoulders and she loves it. She can manage her own hair now and she feels pretty!! Making a snackAmber loves her sandwich with peanut butter or with hazelnut spread.
But when she has to cut her slices well.... they come out pretty thick. No problem, she ate it all...healthy eater!! Emma 3 and half years old.cute :)
She was chubby and so was her sister. Now they are lean and very tall. Emma reaches to my shoulder with her head and amber not far behind. They are getting really tall or I am shrinking! wahahaaaaOkay so I didn't have a good hair day.
My mom and aunt.This is my mom and my aunt at Niagara falls.
My mom is on the right. My aunt wanted to see all of Canada. She didn't really understand how big Canada really is, every day she said oh lets go here or lets go there...I was walking on my eye brows when they left...I was never that tired. But they had a great time. I just wished my mom would come over again in the summer time so she can see how pretty things are. WinterOne day, I think it was February, I looked outside and the snow flakes were huuuge!!
Within the hour we had a thick layer of snow everywhere, and the funny thing was, it wasn't cold at all. I stood there in the door opening for at least 20 minutes just taking it all in, I love snow. SnowWhen it snows, everything feels so clean and fresh.
I love snow, I love the cold. I love the quietness and the whispering sounds of the wind. I have to say my favorite time of year is wintertime. Dog chickens and catsWe also had chickens and cats.
The snow wasn't that high yet, the dog could still move around normally. The next day the snow came up to my butt...no I am not short. The snow was that high. It was pretty up north, I will post some pictures so you can see. Amber as a babyHere you see Amber as a baby, she is 4 months old.
A very happy baby and always smiling. Me and EmmaEmma must have been the easiest baby in the world.
The only time when she cried was when we were driving back from doing groceries and it was getting dark. She didn't like to be in the back of the car in the dark. Wow my hair was short in that picture lol, my hair reached my butt. And i don't have bangs anymore, weird to see myself in a picture, I look so different now. Emma as a baby.Here you see Emma when she was 7 months old.
She was always a very peaceful baby, she just never cried. Amber 6 years oldWe have a tradition that when it is the girls birthday they go with Stan to the store and pick out the best birthday cake they can find.
A little bit of father and daughter time is always fun on a birthday. Few days layer Amber cut off her hair. So to all moms hide the scissors when the kids like to cut stuff. Grass is always greener...here at home ;)Amber let go of my ear!! you are killing daddy lol lol
Amber's new bicycle.I am playing this game called second life, well to me it isn't really playing because all I seem to do on it is work.
I have a virtual store, and I sell pixels, with the pixel money rewards I bought 2 new bicycles!!! We bought Amber's bicycle at the Canadian Tire. And we got Emma's at the Walmart, she fell in love with it the first time she saw it :D Emma's new Bicycle.It totally is my color she said.
First time riding a bicycle.The girls wanted to try it and ride them themselves.
So here they are trying for the first time, of course for Amber it was too hard she has side wheels. But Emma was a bit careful, she never drove one and she did it!!! CooperThis dork is Cooper, he is the love of my life...well as a pet so to speak.
We found him under the hood of a parked car in a parking lot. He was so tiny and was crying out for help, so Stan (my husband)crawled under the car scraped his hands knees and shoulders, but he got him out. He is a lot smaller then our other cats, Stan says he is the runt of the litter...what ever that means.... To me Cooper is lovable, my shadow, he is where I am...and the pain in the butt...everything what a cat should be. weird or what?I like to do a lot of things, my weirdest thing I ever made was a flower out of plastic spoons.
You see that white flower? Those are spoons, it looks like white magnolia. It is very easy to do and the only thing you need are plastic spoons and a candle. All you do is hold the spoon above the flame , not too close, then wait till it starts to curl. Straiten it out a bit, then do that with all the spoons that will make the flower. Then when you made like 9, melt off the spoon handles, just hold above the flame, and pull. Then hold each spoon where the handle was above the flame, and melt it together, make sure you make it look like a flower thou, cause just melting it together doesn't make a flower lol The baby head you see is a baby's death mask. In the 1800 when people lost their baby they made either a picture of the dead baby or they made a cast of the head. I have one of the casts , creepy...maybe...but non the less I love it. I did it!!!!!My mom send Emma a sewing kit, with a bunny.
Emma loved it, she was struggling but she didn't want my help she said she had it under control. She was filling it up and she put everything together on her own, too bad she had some of the filling still in her hand when I took the picture, but she really did it!! Emma you did it and I am proud of you!! My gold fishGold fish are strange creatures, but did you know that every single one of them have their own personality?
She even plays tag and hide and seek. And no she is not fat, she is just round-er. My sweet heart died the last week of August 2012. I never would imagine crying for a Gold fish, but I did. Christmas 2011Emma is in somewhat of the awkward teeth age.
So I told her to smize...smiling with the eyezzz...if you know what I mean. She picked a great silver dress for this year, with a small velvet vest and glitter. Christmas 2011Amber picked out a really great dress, she wanted to look girly and sassy.
And lets be honest, she does look like a doll. Sleeping in the tub?This is Amber, I was checking in on her she was in the tub, but it was so quiet!!
So I went to see what she was up to, well...she was sleeping!!! The water wasn't deep enough to get her in trouble, but she relaxed and felt great after. I had her go in the tub because she had one of her headaches again. So sleeping in the tub isn't that bad, it only makes you really cold when you wake up from the cold water...wait did I type that out loud....busted...yup I did it once too. I fell asleep after we got back to Canada and I got sick from the trip. SistersGirls will be girls, always laughing and playing and just being girls!!
My Grandmom made that blanket Emma is using. She made it with a lot of love. And Emma loves it! HalloweenGirls will be girls.
Emma the wicked witch of the west and Amber the pretty princess. We had a lot of fun doing the make up, this was a year and a half ago now, and we still have candy left over!! I better take it out of the freezer and toss it! We never eat much of it anyways. One lady made candy apples and OMG!!!! they are so good...I never had one before. So that was a great Halloween for me as well...something new to discover :) Emma 9 years oldWhen Emma had her birthday she wasn't feeling good that day, she had a bad cold.
But nothing could take her birthday away, especially when she picked her super cake! She loves ice age the movies, and so this was her cake, and ice age cake!! DishwasherDishwashers are so overrated!
All you need is a baby that knows how to make bubbles ;) well...I asked Stan to feed Emma while I was making dinner.
So when I walked into the living room again this is what I saw. He had put her walk thingie on top of the paint cans she she couldn't walk away from him. She did have a high chair lol Stan and Danny playing, Danny dared Stan to throw him in the snow, so Stan grabbed him and tossed him in.
I yelled don't do it!!! But too late... Danny got very upset, and for good reason.
Danny
Danny on the lawn mower, one of the few moments that he was happy.
We did have fun together, but there was something dark inside Danny, that took him to the other side. Every day I wonder how he is doing, what he is doing...is he happy? Does he stay out of trouble?? I hope with all my might he will not make the same stupid mistakes as his dad made. He was in prison more then he was outside of prison. He was a kleptomaniac and every time when we did groceries he had something in his pockets. It made me sick to know he even used Danny to hide items. And all I could do was watch him do his thing. I was so happy every time he got busted, in my own little mind I thought maybe it would cute him. But it got worse, and so did the abuse. So I took Danny and we left. Me chatting with my husbandThis looks like a life time ago.
Here I was chatting with Stan before we met in real life. It is strange to see myself sitting there, the picture was taken by my friend. Very strange to see it again...it looks surreal. I wanted to make a picture of me talking to him so I could remember it, how it felt like. Now I can show the kids, and they will understand how it all began. I had no idea how much my life would change. 6 Months later I would be married. And 8 Months later I would be flying to Canada. I would have never believed it if someone would tell me this is how your life is going to be. DogWe had a dog up north, to keep me company.
Her name was Trixie, she was a bit big to be a lap puppy but she didn't care, she was sweet. MeI was a natural beauty, the lights and the sheep skin and my stunning outfit made this look complete.
ToopyThis is our oldest dork.
He walks with a limp, he has a broken tail, he drools when he sleeps and he farts a lot. But you know what is so great about this cat? He loves you no matter what, when he walks up to you he runs towards you so he can push his head into your face. And he speaks love with his eyes... On this picture he sort of tried to yawn, but he forgot what he was doing and fell asleep like that . fenceYou see the fence on the end of the field...that is our back yard by the way :)
Stan made that fence and to looked great. We got it all on the back so we don't get the big dogs that roam around in our yard anymore. We had someone spray the back yard to get rid of weeds and it took so nice, the grass looked so healthy and nice. Kitchen in Stoney PointThis is the kitchen in stoney point, the kitchen used to be all grey.
I don't know why people like it all grey, I sure don't like grey so I made it cream white and terra cotta. Everyone that came through our door said wow i love what you did with your kitchen!!! I know...that's why I did it. This is the other side of the kitchen, it was more like a hall way with a counter.
EmmaEmma, when she was still hiding.
GiniThis is my friend Gini, she is holding Emma, they came to visit us 8 and a half years ago.
Gini is in a nursing home right now, she has cancer and she isn't going to get better. It is hard to think of her being so sick. My thoughts are with her and her family. Rest in peace Gini, died on September 7th 2012. Pixel funBeing creative with pixel dust ;)
My daughter when she was a baby, now she is into purple hair and music...time goes so fast!! But no matter what, she is my baby...even when I have to look up at her ;) when you loose a friendLast week I got a card in the mail, a friend of mine had past away.
I felt this cold empty spot in my chest and I had this really heavy feeling in my stomach. It was strange but I have been thinking of her for weeks and I was wondering how she was doing, it was so quiet. The day before I got the card I received a message from a friend telling me her mom, that I am also friends with is dying of cancer. I felt so bad, it kept me up a few nights, not knowing what to say or do. All I can do is be there for when they need me...I can listen....but I am far away. It doesn't make things any easier. When you loose a friend you loose a small piece of yourself. |
New sewing machineReading GlassesPeanut butter addict...When the jar of peanut butter is empty I give the jar to Molly.
It is like she gets the best gift in the entire world and she gets so happy and runs around with the empty jar as if it is her biggest treasure. She loves it and it keeps her busy for at least an hour . Lekkel lekkelMy lunch for today, rice and veggies.
New floor!!You see our pretty model laying like a diva on the new floor.
We were trying to fix up the old hard wood floor that is under neath and it just didn't work out the way we wanted. The floor had big chunks missing and we always ended up with splinters in our feet and socks. So yesterday we said enough is enough, lets do some shopping. We found the best floor ever, all we have to do is lay it down and click it together, it is water resistant and we don't need a sub floor. This weekend we will lay new floor in the kids room, and next month in our bedroom...I am so happy :D As you can see on the pictures, we also got ghosts :s
I am laughing out loud!Molly loves to roll around and smile...dogs can smile.
Going bonkers on a chair is so much fun, you should try it sometimes :)
This is what will happenWay to go dad!
Kids get away with way to much now a days. So it is good to make sure you tell them who is boss. Respect has to be earned, but as a good parent you already know. Me and my girls have a great relationship. I have the bond with my girls that I had with my mom. But dad you need to make sure you explain everything to your girl. Because girls will be upset after doing something like this...and mad girls...well....go figure. The girls went to a yard sale.and this is what they got.
Pretty barbies and other weird things They are so excited every time they go out hunting for bargains and treasures. they gave me a glass coaster for my cup and a little box and basket...how sweet :)
CheeseMollyTornado warningsWe had a few warnings in our area but nothing too bad.
The hail was large, and some of the shapes and patterns were rather pretty. I had the kids pick them up from our yard after the hail storm was over. My little dark front gardennothing wanted to grow here, always tons of pine needles killing everything in the soil.
But with some effort it is growing now. I have hens and chickens and lily's and calla lily's and some other stuff I don't have a clue what it is yet. GrassI am so glad we did this, we have thrown seeds around like crazy and finally after years of mud and dirt we have grass.
Creative with sticksFlowers will grow through the twigs.
Our back yard.
Jewelry and stuffI have so many beads and material that I use tool boxes for my beads and baskets.
And clothing hangers to hang my jewelry on. I know I need to come up with an better idea on how to fix this problem, I need more room, or just a better way to store my jewelry. But for now this just has to do. Emma's GiftEmma bought me a nice little ceramic work of art and I love it.
Well done Emma you do know your mom very well :D Yard sale chickensEmma came running and said, mom the neighbor has a yard sale can I go?
So I gave her her money and when she came back she said, mom I know you are going to love this!!! I got chickens!!! our train station....is there somewhere.
And no, they don't transport people. Stan workingWe discovered a hard wood floor all over our house, everywhere were thick carpets, and stick on tile and not to mention tar paper.
Amber had problems with her health, serious problems, so she needed an inhaler. She had severe headaches and needed a cat scan and a MRI. So me and Stan said enough, we need to do something so we started to pull out the old carpet and behold, the medical problems stopped. She still has her headaches but they are far less then they used to. And I love my floors, we are still going to stain the living room floor, but our finances are a little low this season so we can wait. The floor is going to be a nice espresso color and the walls a whip creme or ivory. We have espresso colored furniture so I am sure it would look great. The GirlsThe girls, Emma and Amber.
As you can see they love monkey business and it is always fun to watch them joke around. They are my life. Before impact....NOOO don't try to kiss me when I am trying to make a picture.
Stan is always into some trouble. He never smiles on a picture, never poses...always looks away. Or he scares me or the kids when we try to make him smile. But when I tried to take an other picture of him he wanted a kiss, so this is what I see moments before impact!! LOL Summer funThe girls love summer, and last summer they had a pool, but for some reason they don't like cold water and said mom...the water is cold we are frozen...
So I put them on the grass in the sun so they would warm up a little and it worked :) Emma was very happy, she said mom one of these days we should have it so we can sit more private with a fence around us. Because every time there was cars in the alley and some people were looking and Emma is sensitive she gets shy. So I said maybe next year. we went to the park on foot, not too far from our house, but an interesting walk.
It survived the hail!!!
First thing I did after the hail, I ran out of the house to the front to see if my flower was still up. It is a prairie lily. My first flower that I grew from a seed...and it still stands yaaaaaaay!!! OzzyOzzy was Emma's cat, she loved him so much, he was her world her everything.
Then one day he got sick and started to hide in the bathroom, he wasn't happy, so we took him to the vet and they told us he was very ill, and he would need an IV and he had to stay at the vets for few days, but all that would have been more then Stan would make a month of hard work. We couldn't afford it. So we took him home hoping for the best, he had some pills and he had a few shots. But the next day he was dead. I blamed myself and I couldn't make Emma stop crying. This was a year ago now, and she still cries over Ozzy. The disease he had was parvo, it would have made all the other cats sick, but I had given them coloidal silver to drink. I am not sure if that prevented them from getting it, but I use it for my cats. When they get into a fight sometimes they get these wounds that will infect,so I spray it on and it heals faster. Stan made a new fence with old wood and we are trying to rebuild the back yard, and make it child friendly.
By the time the girls move out it will be done. I painted most of the fence, Stan is still working on building the rest of it. Happy birthday old man :)on the roofHere you see Stan on the barn roof, he was helping Jerry.
Jerry past away last year on mothers day, he was my father in law. He was a really awesome guy, hard worker, and he had a lot of humor...never a dull moment with Jerry. I knew Stan was a roof crawler ;) well....it should be in focus but it sort of isn't.
This is the Swift current river... looks like a puddle to me but it is a river.
And there she goes!!!Emma stepped up and voila she did it, all her self...riding her first bicycle ever!!
One smile says more then a thousand words.Boo booLearning sometimes comes with a little boo boo.
Amber was riding but she didn't really get how to stop the bicycle. So she stopped it by stepping off while going a bit too fast. "mom...I am wounded, can you make a picture of all the blood?" Our house...in the middle of the streetAfter loosing everything 3 times it is really nice to have a place to call home again...soooo...This is our house, it needs a little TLC for sure.
But it is our home and we feel at home here. Besides we have a large park behind the house, end of the street is emergency center, we are 5 blocks from downtown and last but not least, we have nice people living in our street. We have been fixing up the house for some time now, we took the carpet out that was invested with carpet beetles. They are black and crawl into everything. The larva of that beetle eats away everything fabric. And Amber was allergic to it, and since the carpet is out she doesn't need her inhaler anymore. All we need now is a sander to clear out the rest of stuff from the glue that is on the wood and then I can stain it so it looks pretty. A realtor we know told me that doing this is adding value to the house. We do need to tackle the kitchen it is a nightmare for me, the doors of the cupboards don't shut, and everything is leaking below the sink, because the wood of the counter is starting to rot. I have been looking for second hand counter tops that could fit but they ask so much money here. Our landlady is great, we pay our rent every two weeks, Stan has a hard job, so now and then we don't have enough for all the rent but then we put it into our next rent bill. We also took some of the lilac bush out in the back, so the light can come through and the rest of the bush starts to grow because now everything is on the top, I googled it. It said to take out everything that is dead, and make sure it gets enough light to grow so that is what we did, plus I replanted some of the plants we took out. When we got here there was no grass at all, so we put down lots and lots of grass seeds but for some reason stuff started to die, and Stan thinks someone sprayed something to kill everything in our yard. There is also someone that throws empty alcohol bottles in our yard all the time and we have no idea who, because we don't drink. So someone in this neighborhood of friendly people is a real ass, and too scared to tell us in our face whats up. So you see, we are always trying to make our house a home, because the kids love it here. Stan wanted to move a few times because he feels that some of the neighbors are backstabbers. They are trying to make us look bad and I have no idea why they would do that. I always say a friendly word to all of our neighbors all the time and no one ever said they had a problem with me. Other then one of our neighbors that likes alcohol asked Stan to come over a few times and her boyfriend got wind of it and is very mad. All Stan did was fix her remote or her computer because she broke it a few times. And yes she did call late at night, but that doesn't mean they were doing something that was bad. The only time Stan touched her was when she fell and he picked her up off the ground. But that is no reason for someone to go all jealous and make up stories. But well...I guess they have nothing better to do. Tree huggerOkay okay I admit, I am a tree hugger.
I love trees, they are strong and when you wrap your arms around one, you can feel that strength. You feel energy, it is hard to really tell you what I felt so I suggest to go find a tree and give it a big hug :D Johnny Cash showThis is what we do on second life as well.
Making tribute bands for everyone to see. It is a lot of fun, especially for those who never have been to a real concert. This is as close as it gets and we even make pictures with the people. Lots of fun and very rewarding :D Black SoapI have a skin condition called vitiligo, so all sorts of soaps that I tried have caused some damage.
It either really dried out my skin or it gave me bumps and itches, I always looked beat up after a shower. But...not anymore!!! I discovered black soap, I bought it on ebay and I LOVE IT!! It took away blemishes, little spots. I feel fresh and clean and it really truly works. I even heard that it is great on skins with acne. So my best buy of this week was black soap. Yaaaay I feel sexy again ;) Oh yah before I forget, put it in a plastic bag in the fridge because it will start to mold....eeewwwwww Unbaked Cherry cheese cake.This is so easy to make, my daughters can do it!
Ingredients
Let me remind you that you can make this cherry cheese cake also into a banana or mixed fruit or any cheese cake you like, even chocolate. Just replace the cherry with something else. If you use chocolate make a chocolate sauce, you can find a good recipe right here, try it, you will love it:) Allergies for foodA lot of people are allergic to peanuts, more then I thought in the first place, there is about 5 kids in school where my daughters are that are allergic to peanuts.
When I was a kid I never heard of it. Allergic to peanuts was just weird. But it is true it is a thing that is scary and common. So I have been doing a little bit of research and I found a peanut butter that has no peanuts. It is called sunbutter and it made out of sun flower seeds. Of course i had to try it out myself to see if it any good. I can't tell people oh i found this buy it. No I test it first, and I have to say it is great!! It spreads like peanut butter, it smells a tiny bit different, but it looks the same and it almost tastes the same. I say almost because some peanut butters I tasted taste gross!!! This actually tasted really good, I have a sandwich as we speak. I probably get an allergic reaction because of the bread, some days I can eat it without any problems, some days not so much. Yesterday was a good day I had a sandwich with cheese. So I am pushing the odds on this lol. You can find Sunbutter here. So now you can say you know someone that tried the sunbutter and she said it is good :D Our viewwhen we drive out of our city, about a minute away, this is what we see...a whole lot of nothing.
We do see a lot of nature, very awesome animals. View from aboveSee me in the picture?
I am waving!! What we seeThis is what we see when we go for a drive.
Wild wild west!!! I have been looking if I could see Indians and cowboys but they all drive jeeps now :s House up NorthThis was our house, it looks nice, but inside it needed some serious TLC.
Spruce DaleThis was our house in Spruce dale.
And barns I just love this pictureBehind our house we had a birch, not a very big one, but it was so pure white.
And when it started to freeze if made it sparkly. And with the sun, and against the blue of the sky, it just asked be have its picture taken. Stoney PointThis was out house in Stoney point.
I am a very clean person so every house we had I kept sparkly clean, Stan got annoyed by it sometimes because he said I was always cleaning. But I think you feel better when things are clean and organized. This house was very small but I made it our home. This is a before picture...you can see Emma and her toys and you can see that even with all the stuff I am clean.
I painted one wall a dark red, it was getting darker that made the picture darker but the rim was gold, and the other walls were golden yellow.
I also had furniture that looked great with it. From Bali. Then we moved to Tilbury because we got the deal of a life time, owning our own house!! TilburryThis was our house in Tilbury.
We were buying this house on a rent to own basis and one a few times the guy we tried to buy it from came to our door drunk, saying we had to pay so numerous times I gave him money and he said you have a receipt by the end of the day. Well...they never came and so I started to demand that he was going to give us the receipts or I wouldn't pay anymore. He went to his lawyer and we got a letter from the lawyer saying that we broke the contract. So he had all the rights to kick us out. You would not believe how much we had done in that house, we had to fix it all up, because the people that lived in it before us sort of trashed it. So we had to paint and wall paper new floors etc etc. So when we got the letter we also spoke to the women that lived in the house before us. Well...we were told by the guy that we were buying the house from that they never paid and that they trashed the house. Truth is, he kicked them out for the same reason, they went through the same thing as us. The owner of the house used to live in it and he was a hoarder, he was the one that trashed the place, the lady that he kicked out lived there for only 9 months, she never skipped a payment but he always demanded cash money. So here we were, we had to pack up and leave because in all honesty, you can not win from a drunk. He came to our door and harassed me a few times for money while it wasn't even due, and we paid a lot of money, we lived there 11 months because that was the legal time we could live in it and he could kick us out without any explanation to the court. so if you ever rent or want to buy a house from this man.....run for the hills!!!!
the kitchen in Tilbury before.
The kitchen during my painting.
Kitchen when I was done.
It was warmer and more inviting. The owner of the house came around more and more. After we moved out we heard he moved back in...because he was kicked out of the house he was in. the bedroom upstairs.
Some idiot had painted everything upstairs black! So the first thing I did was buy paint. I used a vanilla and a soft strawberry cream pink.
The colors were really soft and pretty and it made it look so much brighter and nice. I miss the house that was going to be our home. Around the cornerThis swamp was around the corner from where we lives up north.
Can you imagine being outside and all you hear is nothing. Sometimes you hear a breeze going through the trees. Sometimes the flapping of wings from a bird, but other then that, no sounds. When I took that picture I was standing on the edge of the dirt road. There was only dirt roads there. and I could hear myself breath. It felt cleansing, it felt good...it gave some sort of a heeling feeling to my soul. This was just after the first snowfall, the water wasn't frozen yet. I believe when people in Holland think of immigrating to Canada, that this is what they want to find. A true place of soul happiness. well... I can explain...Me talking to my husband again and yes...I do wear a hat.
I made that hat look good...right? My old houseThis was my old house where i lived before I met Stan.
It looked a little like an old farm house, it was a great little house and I loved living there. You know, when you have everything, a good job, nice house, a car and friends and family, you don't expect you can loose it all in a matter of one decision. I wanted to be happy, I needed someone to love me for me. Not use me for what I can do. All I was doing was helping others all the time. And I got nothing back, just a feeling of being tired and really empty. Then I met Stan and I was thinking to myself...what if this is more then it looks. What if I fall for this man, what if what if... Then it happened, we were both in love and we both wanted to be with each other, the only things that was standing in our way was...well a huge distance. He was in Canada and I was in the Netherlands. So when he finally bought a ticket we didn't expect much of it. We were planning just a visit and see what we would feel. But what we felt was more then we could imagine. So we tried for him to stay, and trust me we tried it all. In the following months of all sorts of things we tried I got pregnant. But because of all the stress, I lost the baby. It was a devastating blow for me. And it sort of pushed me over the edge. I felt that is I would stay longer in this country that it would kill me. So I made a decision and I said...I will move with Stan to Canada. |