Rumble Rumble Ramble

I made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for supper.  I know, my culinary prowess is astounding.  I'm thankful that I married someone who came home after working all day, then playing squash and munched away happily on his wife's offering.  (Where would the world be without peanut butter?)

I never used to really like mangoes and now I love them.  Especially when they're cold and not yet squishy. I like adding chunks of mango to my red coconut curry along with a handful of cashews, and fresh chopped cilantro.  Pure yumminess.

We are leaving for Hawaii in 2 more sleeps!  The girls have been faithfully counting down on their chart and they are getting very excited!  Ellie's main concern is that her canker sore will heal before she wants to eat her body weight in pineapple.

I like packing when you don't have to wait for the laundry to be finished first.  I can just throw all of the summer stash in the suitcases and worry about the other stuff when I get home.

I can't believe we're actually going to Hawaii.  I never thought I'd get a chance to go there.

I know I'm so "last year" or more accurately, so "8 years ago" - but I am reading Yann Martel's "Life of Pi" for the first time and I am consumed with it.  It's such a rich spiritual book.  I didn't expect that to the degree that I've experienced it.

Hannah had her third basketball game today and scored one basket, then a second JUST after the buzzer.  Will it be that my kid might actually like a sport and be good at it?  The "good" part I don't care about so much - it's the "like" that makes me chuckle a little.   The other team was pretty ruthless.  They made cages around Hannah's team when they were guarding them.  Just so you know, watching girls in grade 5-7 playing basketball has very high entertainment value.

We went skiing last Saturday.  It was such a beautiful morning up on Mount Seymour.  The bunny hill has a "Magic Carpet" to take you up the hill.  Hannah fell down in the Magic Carpet and after failing numerous times at standing up, was instructed by the nice young Australian instructor to crawl out the little opening at the side.  She did as she was told.  And we all laughed our asses off.  She laughed too.

Sometimes you don't know whether what you say will illicit laughter, stomping, door slamming, crying, eye-rolling, or silence from your newly minted 12 year old daughter.

I really like watching hockey.  There - I said it.  Corey Schneider makes me happy.  I love the "little man on campus" rising to stardom.   There's something about the sneaky smile and  the evil glint in Maxim Lapierre's eyes that makes me blush.  Mike is quite willing to indulge the previous statements because it means that I sit with him on the couch and watch sports with him.  The Canuck's Stanley Cup run from last year ruined me.

I'm a working girl again.  At least I am if you consider teaching piano for one hour a week working.  After Christmas I took on two neighborhood boys as my students.  We laugh and make animal sounds and pound the keys and beat out the rhythm with gusto.  They love to play and it makes me happy to see them exploring such a gift.

Why can I never properly finish a load of laundry?

Hannah got a letter in the mail this week from George Abbott, the BC Minister of Education.  She collected over 200 signatures from her school this fall in support of the Government settling with the BC Teacher's Federation.  Her letter included a personal opening and closing paragraph, with a lot of political jargon and rhetoric sandwiched in between.  At least she got something back.  For the record, there is no settlement in sight.  Teachers are still in phase one of their strike action.  Neither side is moving.

Every kid from grade 2-7 was wearing pink at school today.  Their shirt's said, "Acceptance - Born this Way".  The school's dance specialist choreographed a dance to Lady Gaga's "Born this Way" which the students performed and had videotaped on the schoolyard.  It will be posted to youtube at the end of the month, and is part of a global initiative to promote anti-bullying, especially toward the GLBTQ community,  and to be an example of how social media can be used to spread positive messages.  The girls were pumped.    We'll post the youtube video when it's up.

Time goes too fast.

Once a week,  my friend Karyne and I walk and run a 4 mile trail up and down along the Burrard Inlet.  The views this morning took my breath away.   The north shore mountain peaks this morning were sparkling and shining backed by a brilliant blue sky.  Karyne and I have the most varied and amazing conversations as we walk.  She's from Connecticut and is a tough cookie.  Meaning - if I'm ever in trouble, I want Karyne to fight for me.  She could possibly take Mike down.  She's passionate and fiery - just like I like 'em.  She may or may not have learned a few moves from her husband, Jack McIlhargy, who used to be an NHL enforcer back in the day.

I know I live in Vancouver.  That doesn't mean that I like sushi.  Deal with it.

I do, however, still obsess over "Sweet Chili Heat" Doritos.   Maybe I'm low-brow after all.

Sasha really really really really really loves school.  I love that she loves school.

I hope I don't sunburn my lips in Hawaii.  I did that when Mike and I were in Mexico a few years ago.  It looked like I had Botox injections gone very, very wrong.



Have you been watching or listening to the CBC "8th Fire" series?  You should have been.  We've seen and heard amazing stories of hope and healing.  We've encountered heartbreaking reminders of the legacy of residential schools.  It's going to take many more generations to recover.  There's still a chance for you to listen to some of the podcasts and watch some of the episodes online.

I posted this on facebook,  and I don't want to beat a dead horse, but this grieves me.

I really like skiing.  I'm still very much a beginner, but that's ok.

Hannah makes a lot of money babysitting.  From all accounts, she's a great babysitter, and kids love her. I'm not surprised - she's had lots of practice with her sisters.

Ellie and Sasha's latest game of choice, is a little something they made up called "Wrestling Night in Canada".  Don't ask me.  They've never even seen wrestling.  Not sure how a couple of pacifist kids thought that one up.  They even keep track of wins and losses on their Magnadoodle.  It makes a dad of only girls proud.

Our neighbors who are also our awesome friends from the old 'hood on Robertson Crescent are returning for a sequel from their epic trip of last February.  They arrive a week after we return from Hawaii.  We can't wait.  On the agenda this time - a few stops at some Vancouver eating establishments featured on the Vancouver episode of "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives". Unrelated to our Triple D field-trips,   Kiera has made me promise not to swear while they're here.  I don't know if I can do it.

Mike and I are registered and gearing up for this year's "Sun Run" again in April.  It will be Mike's 3rd, and my 2nd.    It's Canada's biggest 10k, and starts downtown Vancouver and meanders its way through Stanley Park.  It's a stunning course.

People in Vancouver drive    r e a l l y     r e a l l y     S      L      O     W   and cautiously when there is even a light dusting of snow.   It drives Mike crazy.

The massage therapist who has been working on my elbow since October has done wonders.  He's gone quite a bit in the next few months following the Canadian Olympic Track and Field Team around to their training events.  I think it's hilarious that I have the same therapist as some of Canada's most elite athletes.  (Maybe we're not so different after all.)

I'll likely dream of hula dancing tonight.