Winners Wonderland

Ahhhh, nothing beats the winter blues like a little retail therapy with my almost-14 year-old daughter! We toughed out the slightly nasty, high-maintenance crowds at Winners (ugh, I hate Winners) because Mommy had a withering, sighing gift card in her wallet from about a year ago. Can you tell I'm not a fan of Winners?! But, the fresh, light Spring fashions for both clothing and the home seemed to breathe new life into this thirtysomething ole girl and I found myself in the Juniors section with Rylee, oohing and ahhing over the silliest frocks! Wow, do some people really wear that stuff!? I steared clear from the jean section because I didn't want to ruin the suddenly wonderful mood I was in: all butterflies and dandelions for me!! So, what do I find hanging up beside me as Rylee and I curse and point and laugh at the hideous outfits in the clearance section (yes, we KNOW why there's a clearance on the clearance section!)? The cutest, palest, almost see-through country blouses in the prettiest spring colours. And all they had left in sizes??? Yes, I gasped...SMALL. Would a small in Juniors fit? Darn it, for $19.99 I had to try! Lo, and behold, I saunter to the change rooms in that glorious mood that somehow found me the minute the car parked near the stores, and found, to my surprise, they fit. Perfectly. They were practically singing my name.....in a soft, sensuous voice whispering of daises and violets and green grass....looking at myself in the fluorescent-cad mirror, with my pale, winter skin and my mousy brown hair I feel young and fresh and full of hope in those blouses. Like a young girl facing a spring full of wonder and innocence. I could barely see the grey hair in my Winners daydream.
Needless to say Rylee and I came out of the store with our purchases (of course a 14 year-old girl is going to find SOMETHING to buy) with a bounce to our step and renewed sense of joy towards the month of March. Because, after all March means one thing: Spring...eventually.

No-Phone Zone!

Watching a bit of the Oprah show today, I was amazed at how such an issue has evaded our society until now! I have always been an avid texter and can confess am addicted to my Blackberry. My almost 14-year old daughter, (who should have her cell surgically attached to her hand to make things easier!), can attest to that.

However, when both of my children were pleading with me to put my phone down at times when I was driving them to school or sporting events, fighting traffic and cursing I couldn't get the right symbol I wanted to send to the eager texter on the other end of my Smartphone wonder, I realized something: life is too precious to waste over a smiley face and LOL.

Not that I put the phone down right away. It's been a slow progress. It helps being from British Columbia, Canada, where as of January 1st of 2010 everyone in our Province was not only celebrating the New year and perhaps suffering from a few hangovers, but we were also adjusting to a Hands-Free Zone.

It is now illegal to be texting or talking while driving a vehicle in our province; the fine is hefty and the points a driver can accumulate are not worth it. Who wants to lose their license over a cell phone!!???

So, I too, had my AHA moment watching horrendous video of accidents caused by texting and driving, and just by the mere fact of being 'busted' by the police for such a stupid infraction, have put down the phone. Well not down, but away, in my purse, in the back seat (where my ingenious son now has the ability to rifle through it to find gum!)

I hope you all join the pledge, not only for Oprah,(because, really, does she need another big birthday wish?) but for ourselves and for everyone out there who are at the mercy of our driving!

Starting from scratch

Perhaps it is a tired cliche` for my life, some exhausted metaphor, but losing the log-information to my old, abandoned blog tells the tale. Why would I bother looking it anyway? I haven't touched it in years (has it really been years? Yes!), and wouldn't know what to do or say if I found it in the first place. Would I find it sophmoric and unrealistic? Would I be heavily disappointed or almost embarrassed upon reading the words on the page? Who knows. Too late now. So much has happened--and not happened--in the meantime. The sheer abandonment of my old blog tells me I need to shed it all, and start over...from scratch.
Which is exactly what I plan on doing. Once I get over it. The 'scratch' part that is. Who knew it would be so hard to be almost 35 years-old and looking at Square One again? This isn't the first time (and probably won't be the last), however I stare at it with frightened,child-like wonder, thinking to myself: "Where did I go wrong that I'm back at Square One again?" Honestly, it's not that people go wrong. Really, it's shedding the past mistakes and misdemenours of our lives and just going full-speed ahead with new ideas, new theories, and a new attitude.
So why does starting from scratch feel so daunting? Desperate, even?
Who knows, but that's where I am again. And maybe, this time, I will be a bit more dedicated, and dare I say, loyal to this blog.