Law and other legal jazz

Once upon a time I thought I wanted to be a lawyer. I was (am) good at debating, researching, remembering, and applying information to current situations. now that i'm sitting here listening to audio lectures for my business law course, i'm glad i chose a different career path. The material is relatively interesting but the hokey-pokey, in-out, usually-sometimes-maybe, no, it's not for me. At least not intensively anyways.
I finished reading The Footprints of God by greg Isles. Great book to read during lent. It daubles into the Catholic religious beliefs of this time of year but isn't too overwhelming. All in all artificial intelligence was the idea and WHOA did it make me more aware. Immortality at an expense. It was the first book of his that i've read and i will read another.
I've shifted gears and jumped into Jodi Piccoult's Salem Falls. 100 pages and so far, GREAT! It's keeping me up at night and i'm loving it. At least it's something that fills the otherwise boring moments of staring into nothing.
I'm also workign through Birthing From Within. The journal i created the other day is for this book. It has me fascinated. Focus on what's inside, what is inside your heart and soul rather than just on what doctors say happens and is normal. Explore and develop an internal preparation. Ready? I'm working on it!
I've also just bought A New Earth. Stay tuned for updates as i embark on that next adventure.
I am wishing the world a Happy Easter. What are some of your traditions? In my family, someone always buys my grandma an Easter Lilly which opens beautifully just in time for Easter Sunday. I'm looking for some not-so-common-but-cool traditions to kick up into my home.
Cheerio!

Sunshine

What absolutely beautiful warm sunshine we have today. It's spectacular!

Steven played hookie from nursery today. He didn't sleep well last night and, to be honest, neither did i. So, when we woke this morning and he said he didn't want to go i was ok with being me and him home together today. Plus we would have already been running late. It's been such an enjoyable day.

We played some virtual mini golf this morning. He is definitely a competitor. I can't imagine where he would get that from {see: me avoiding eye contact, whistling, trying to change the subject...lol!}. We went for a walk together and had a marvellous time. It wasn't a long or a far walk but it was us together out in the fresh air. It was nice.

I've done a few loads of laundry with more in progress right now. It's actually less daunting than i thought. With the laundry task under control, i've started to plan a clothing reorganization so i have a better (more realistic) idea of what's staying, what's being passed along, and what's clean out going gone.

The brain choas is still what it is but i'm focused on taking things one small step at a time. It's helping me to better deal.

I started studying one of my courses yesterday. It was good. Me, my texts, my binder, my computer, my couch, some music, the dog. More of that still to happen later today.

A few missions for today:
Mission: Keep plugging at the laundry. 2 mandatory loads stilll to do. Anything more is gravy.
Mission: Water the plants. They are beginning to look beautiful again with the sunshine that is touching them.
Mission: Pick up the bags that are laying around the living room. I'm still trying to understand how they got to where they are.
Mission: Grab the camera and play some. Potential for pics in the post tomorrow :)

Until the next one, i'm Ready.

Hello Life

Let's start living - really living. Not existing or flitting from one moment to the next or even silently shifting gears. Let's embrace this day the world has given us to live.

I've got a cloudy mind. My mind feels bruised. Many things swirling around seeming out of order, twisted, and tangled. I'm READY today to start sorting out the mumble jumble in there. I'm putting my plan to paper so i can have a focus point instead of just a bunch of swirling info, some of which is screaming for attention.

Already this morning i've put pictures into frames. I'm on a mission to find the other pictures i can't quite remember where i put. I've finished cutting out the beautiful paper i picked up for a journal. Mission: finish that mini project up this afternoon. What's the journal for? Life. A place to jot down little ideas, thoughts, worries, wonders. Do you have a place for this?

Laundry is screaming at me. It is beginning to look like the clothes in my house have a really gross flu bug and are vomitting everywhere. Mission: get laundry to laundry room to be sorted and started. Two loads, just two simple loads, washed, dried, folded AND put away. That's a goal for today.

I found that there is still a big tub of {i can't believe i'm saying this} Christmas stuff sitting out. Mission: get tub to basement storage with the rest of the Christmas stuff. Christmas, as much as i love you, i like that you only come around once a year.

Immediate Mission: pick up Steven from preschool.

I'm off running. I'm ready.

Keepin' on

So there goes more time. Another week, weekend, and almost monday. Absolutely a whirlwind of blank.

I feel like a human pin cushion. Between having to go for blood tests, get hooked up to IV drips, shot up with meds, wheeled around and tossed aside, i'm tired. Physically and emotionally exhausted. I do keep trucking forward. It's essential in life. No matter what comes my way i will buck up and keep going. I'm ready.

Very exciting is that i'm awaiting a phone call to let me know when my ultrasound is so i can see my little creation. Stay tuned :)

But now, the textbooks that are somewhere on the floor are screaming at me for attention. Imagine that!

Rambling

"Peace, it does not mean a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart." - unknown

so the blog posts have been few but i've been violently ill. Valentines day was spent with my dear husband by my side in the hospital where i was treated for dehydration. Today i spent in the hospital for spasms in my stomach. i'm really hoping things start looking up soon. The good thing is Baby is doing good. Some blood tests next week and then the big ultrasound date :) I'm pumped.

it's a real short one today but i'll make time to post more again.

Words

Cherry ice cream. Can i get enough? Delicious is about all i can say about this. Yum yum.

A few quotes i want to share that i stumbled across on an aimless www adventure:

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. ~Teddy Roosevelt

We sat side by side in the morning light and looked out at the future together. ~Unknown

Death twitches my ear; "Live," he says, "I am coming." ~Virgil

These words have moved me (as have many others). I'm a fan of quotes, phrases, quips, etc. If you have some that you live by, drop me a line.

I have a midterm assignment due one week today and really should be plugging away. The final exam is in one month and i'm on a mission. I am ready to pour my all into the studies so i can fully grasp the concepts (though it really would be more entertaining to grab my camera and snap away).

A simple photo taken by yours truly last fall of a random apartment block in this big beautiful city. What do you think?

Until the next one, i'm ready!

Pics

I figure if i have something to do with my pictures i may not be so afraid of taking more of them. it sounds ridiculous but the more i want to learn about photography, the more i want to capture moments, the more afraid i am to pick up the camera and just click away. i know that you only get better by doing but i'm afraid to just do. as part of my 2008, i am ready to make a difference. i am ready to learn.


a shot of my handsome little man from last fall. i'm still amazed at how grown up he looks...only 3½ in this pic.
it was just the two of us (and the animals, of course). we skipped out into the backyard to run, romp, and just enjoy that last flavour of the crisp fall air before it got too cold out. I love the look in his eyes, his perfect lips.

Plugging away

I've actually picked up my camera and taken some shots of our wedding bands in "P" mode [hip hip horray!]. I can'ts say i've quite figured out what the mode did yet but i'm excited that i actually got pictures in something other than "auto". I also learned that i suffer from camera shake. Yes, the dreaded camera shake! I now know what i have and want to figure out why. Am i pressing the shutter release too fast? Am i breathing the camera in such a way that it makes things worse? Am i not standing in a stable position? Am i doing something that i havent' figured out yet? So many things to consider and try different. I'm excited by this discovery because i know it's something i can work towards fixing.

Another major discovery was learning that my doggie, Shadow, freaks out when i take the camera out. So long as she didn't see it, pretty dog, happy dog. The second she realized I had it out snapping shots, POW, psycho dog BARK BARK JUMP BARK JUMP BARK BARK. You get the point.

Spectaculr proud momma me. Steven is learning to spell and print his name. Standing ovation for my boy!

I need to kick my tail feathers up and get moving on the course i'm taking. Procrastination is not doing me justice. I am a touch behind. Let's go, I'm ready.
Baby way, i'm getting a big belly. I know every pregnancy is different and blah blah blah. But i never expected to be growing this fast. Doctor appointment is next monday. Hip Hip Horray! Hopefully, my little cricket will cooperate and let us hear a heartbeat. C'mon darling, cooperate. COOPERATE.

I plan on putting together a dinner plan for us next week which i hope to post tomorrow. Simple, sweet and tasty, that's the goal.
Now i'm off to bed, another day awaits in the morning.

Off i go, i'm ready.

A week in time

One whole week of this year has past. I already feel as though i've accomplished much. Mike and i have been to two, yes two, movies in theatres. I have spent more focused one-on-one time with Steven...playing games, reading books, watching shows. We didn't fuss about laundry that needed doing or dishes that needed putting away. We sat together, played together, laughed together and didn't once taint our time with anything but a focus on us. Chalk one up on the board! i am ready.

I am determined to learn more about the dslr i own. it has a pretty black case and a couple different lenses. i know that i've snapped some pretty shots with it in AUTO mode. every time i've felt brave enough to turn the dial to anything else, weird things seem to happen, i get scared, and right back to AUTO we go. I am ready to overcome my fear of the camera! i am ready to learn more.

I will also read more. I've managed to misplace Angels & Demons by Dan Brown which i was quite enjoying just before christmas. i'm hoping that once all the hoopla settles and life returns to normal (read: all xmas decor is back in boxes and under the stairs again) that the book will magically reappear. i know i set it somewhere thinking i'd be right back to pick it up. now don't we all know how these stories end? So, in place, i've picked up At First Sight by Nicholas Sparks - a favorite author of mine. This evening, while out at the bookstore with Steven and my sister, i picked up Birthing From Within by Pam England and Rob Horowitz, one midwife, the other a psychologist. i'll post a review once i've read through it.

Let's get to it now, i'm ready.

Words

Ever stop and wonder how really important words are? Having become a recent blog reader, i'm seeing more and more a focus on picking a word for the year. So this got me thinking. What do i want my word to be? What will inspire me, challenge me, soothe me, encourage me, push me, calm me, keep me focused?

This, of course, led me to persevere and ponder on what i envision my year to be. Who am i?
I am a mother, a wife, a professional, a student, a friend, a daughter, a granddaughter, a sister, an individual.

I tossed around a few words, phrases, thoughts and came to my word...READY.

let's go, i am READY.