ahhh the rain

This year there hasn't been much of a summer for us, though that sucks in a number of ways, I honestly can't really complain too much. Though I love to be outside in the sun, going to the beach and those kinds of things, I really love the rain. I love the smell, I love the way it makes everything look fresh. I love it when it's kind of warm and it rains, I love walking in the rain, I have even danced in the rain, though not for a long time. It's just really nice, I love to sit and watch it fall, I love listening to the sound of it falling on a roof, it's relaxing in so many ways, and when it's over there is the beauty of a rainbow, I love when it rains while it's still kind of sunny out because then there are tiny rainbows all over, little prisms of light to see everywhere. I've always liked the way you can see it coming across the sky, it's really cool when you actually get to a spot where you can see the line of where the rain is stopped, one side is raining and the other side is sunny, soo neat to see!

We put the FUN back in dysfunctional

Yesterday my oldest brother (I have two and they are both older) turned 35 (Happy birthday), so a bunch of us got together today to throw him a party. It was nice and relaxing, calm with a lot of laughs. It's strange to see us all getting older and having kids (each of us has a daughter funny enough), I mean we still fight like siblings whenever we are together, we all want to be right and no one wants to concede their point, we still make fun of each other and joke around, we can throw out insults just like we did as kids, but no matter what we are always there for each other. I can always count on them when I need someone and we do get along really well despite the fact that we push each others buttons whenever we can. We have kind of always been that way, we had a rather odd upbringing. Our parents started out as hippies, living in the bush in a tent (I've always like to say that I was born into civilization because I was born in a house with a real doctor), then moved on to an off the wall religion, I remember living in an old school bus around the time I was 1, we lived in a 500 sq ft house for a number of years, that was fun with 5 people. Like I said it was a bit of an odd upbringing. My parents religion taught that everyone has to make their own choices in life, but I think they kind of forgot that part as each of us decided to go out on our own and leave the religion. As a result of that none of us have much to do with our parents. We are at the point now though that we can look back and laugh at it all, we can see the funny side to growing up that way and bond over it. We also have all our aunts and uncles (our mom's side, we never really knew our dad's side) and together we all make up a funny and dysfunctional bunch. We try and get together a few times a year (kids birthdays, Christmas, etc...) and we make up a fun filled group. As odd ball as we might be there are always a lot of laughs when we get together, our aunts and uncles argue and tease each other just as much as my brothers and I do, we a crack jokes about everyone else, I honestly can't remember a family get together where we didn't laugh most of the time. It's always funny the first few times someone brings a new girl/boy friend to a family function, we get a few weird looks until they get used to how we interact with each other. We may not be perfect but we are family, we all love and support each other, we all get along. I guess that's what a family is all about when it really comes down to it, being there no matter what and enjoying the time we spend together! I love you all!

Mother and daughter time

I spend most of my time at home with my daughter, though I do work three nights a week. I only work at night so that she is always with family, the kid has never been with a babysitter that isn't family yet! I am proud of that, I always wanted to be at home as much as I could when I had kids. During the day we will sometimes read or talk or watch a show, but we tend to do our own thing a lot as well, so it's nice to just sit with her for awhile and do something that we both enjoy. Today we sat down together wrapped in a blanket (the a/c is cold) and watched Sleeping Beauty. It's actually the first time either of us has seen it. I'm not really sure why I never watched it as a kid, it just never happened. T* was a little scared of the bad witch (Maleficent) especially when she turns into the dragon, but we both enjoyed watching it. I really like Disney movies, my boyfriend thinks I am weird for this but I don't care, now I have an excuse to watch lol. There have been a few movies that I watch with T*, we like the Barbie ones, and Tinkerbell, I think I enjoy the Disney movies more than she does right now, she is only 4. It's fun though because it helps me remember the fun of being a kid, though T8 tends to talk through most of the movie lol. All in all it was a good afternoon.

The little things

With the way things are right now, you know, work is slow, money is tight, that kind of thing, I've noticed that I'm more stressed out a frustrated than normal, and I'm sure that I'm not the only one. Because of this I feel that we should all try a bit harder to pay attention to all the small things. Not all the little things that go wrong, I mean the good things. With so much going on around us and overwhelming us we tend to overlook so much.
Usually I'm a fairly easy person to please, I don't need a lot of stuff, but I find it hard to look past the stress now. I figure that writing about the small things that usually bring a smile to my face and having others see them will not only help me to feel a better, but maybe it will help someone else as well.
So here goes:
I love when my daughter only needs to be told to do something once. I love even more when she doesn't have to be told at all. I love how she will go get herself a snack and grab something for me (or her dad) as well, just because. I love it when she comes up to me out of the blue and gives me a hug or tells me she loves me. I love when she cuddles with me. I love when my daughter tells me stories.
I love when my boyfriend will clean the snow off my car in the winter, or start my car for me when it's cold. I love how he'll ask me to go with him to run errands just because. I love how even though he's not big on P.D.As he'll still hold my hand or give me a quick kiss in public sometimes. I love how we can talk about anything at all with each other. I love that we can totally push each others buttons, make each other angry, but still come back to each other no matter what.
I love how I am close to so many in my family. I love how supportive they are. I love how much fun my family has when we get together. I love how my sister-in-law and I can call each other just to rant.
I love how I have a few friends that are just like family!
None of these things are really major, and some people might not notice them, but I think maybe we should all take the time to see them. It's easy to let the stress of life drag us down, but there are so many things that we have to be thankful for. It doesn't have to take something big, just notice the everyday. The more time we take to notice the small things the easier it will be to find them! It will help you to appreciate the people that you have in your life, and you will realize that maybe you are really lucky after all.

Like an old friend

Before I get into my own writings, quote for today:
Reading is a door to your imagination. Open it, and discover all the places you can go - Antioch Publishing ( not sure if it is their quote or someone else's).
I know I have mentioned before that I love books and reading. I love the written word, finding a new favorite author and such. At the same time I love to be able to go back to a book that I have read before and get sucked into it all over again. It's like an old friend, you know that you are going to enjoy the time you spend with it and you know that it will always be there when you need it. For the most part I have to wait a few years before I can re-read a book otherwise I get a few pages in and end up a little bored with it because I know everything that will happen and I just can't get back into it. However, I have recently found 4 books that I have been able to read four times in the last 6 or 7 months. The first time I read them it took me 5 days to get through them, each time after that it's taken me 1 or 2 weeks to finish them. No matter how many times I start them I get sucked right back into the story and want to keep going, I don't even want to put them down, I just want to keep reading and reading. They are truly like friends to me, I enjoy them completely! What books you ask? The Twilight series. Laugh if you want to, but I can honestly say that never before have I even found one book that pulls me back in so quickly. It's not just the story, it's the way that Stephanie Meyers writes. I really hope that she continues to write books. I still have yet to read her other book, The Host, but I look forward to reading it and making a new friend. I have heard from others that The Host is just as good if not better than the Twilight saga. I can't wait to make my new friend!

Music for all occasions

I was sitting at my computer, the t.v on in the background tuned to CMT when they started showing Jim Cuddy Live at the Revival and I just had to post this.
There are some bands that you can only listen to in certain moods, you have to be either happy, sad, angry etc... they will have the odd song that fits into a different mood, but for the most part it's just one mood.
However there are some bands (or just singers) that can go through ever emotion on one album. To me one of the best bands for this has to be Blue Rodeo, or even just Jim Cuddy on his own. I just find that you can listen to that music no matter how you feel and it always fits! Some songs fit better with some moods, but you can still listen to every album no matter how you are feeling. Truly great music!
Pull me through