121/365

120/365

Advent

"a time of expectant waiting..."*

Advent started yesterday. And I must admit, I'm having a hard time getting into it this year. Last year, I craved the hope, joy, peace, and love of Christ during the advent season. Winter hit me hard, and I clung to the arriving miracle of Christ's birth that serves (among other things) as a reminder of His intense love for us. My daily mantra was, "Jesus is coming!"

So far this year, I've been moving through my daily activities with a mantra more along the lines of, "Jesus is coming?"

I put the tree up.

I brought out the Christmas music.

Those helped a bit.

It could just be cuz it's not even December yet. Or it could be cuz it's been relatively warm so far this winter, without the biting cold I normally associate with post-Christmas-party walks to the car. It could be cuz there's not a lot of snow on the ground. It could be cuz the malls are SO busy that I've avoided them almost completely, and am not being fed Christmas through all my senses.

It could be cuz I'm not in a desperate place spiritually..........

Maybe?

I dunno how I feel about that last point. Cuz if that's a factor, I'm not sure what I think about that.

Last year--well, I spent a good chunk of it being frustrated with God and the world. While for many, that warrants a solid slam of the door in God's face, for me it meant oscillating back and forth between whining/complaining/demanding and desperate hoping. Such is my response to change and the unknown. Advent would have been a month of desperate hope.

Don't get me wrong--I am genuinely in awe of the whole Christmas story, and was so at many points as I reflected on Advent through devotions and church services. That being said, I wonder if some of those intense feelings of hope and anticipation arose simply from the spiritual valley (desert?) I was finding myself in. If I could convince my brain to focus on the awesome part of faith, maybe I wouldn't have to think about the place I was finding myself in. Hmm...

Because this year... I'm not in that desert place. Could that be why I have such a cavalier attitude towards Advent so far this year?

I guess we shall see.



* As stated by Wikipedia

119/365

118/365

Egg-nog French toast; YUM! :)

117/365

Ugh. Ran out of decongestant.

116/365

It's the "still-have-a-cold-but-need-to-go-out-so-how-am-I-looking?" last glance in the mirror.

115/365

I hab a code id my dose.

114/365

Well, that was definitely a process I hope gets easier with practice.

113/365

"Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream..."*

* "...if you see a crocodile, don't forget to scream!" :)

112/365

Feist. In concert. :)

111/365

Equal opportunity laziness.

I love Saturdays :)

110/365

At work we have two bean bag chairs. Each were only half full (ever the optimist, my coworker stated). So I decided to put one bean bag in with the other to make one awesome bean bag chair. I quickly found out why one of the bean bag chairs was a bit wussy; it had a hole. Which I discovered as I opened the casing and tiny little dots of Styrofoam threatened to make the playroom look like the current outdoors.

So it was that at around 2pm on a Friday afternoon, I found myself sewing what I hope was the only hole, and stuffing the repaired bean bag into the same case as its partner. We now have our one awesome bean bag chair. And we only had a small "snow" storm. :)

109/365

The word of the day today is: cozy.

Life is a Song OR 108/365

I love music. I come by this naturally--both my parents had musical skill and loved listening to various genres of music. My dad spent a period of time working at a radio station; my mom has been and is currently active in the worship group of her church. In my brother and I, this genetic predisposition translated into self-taught guitar and modest piano skill, respectively; and both of us were in various school choirs.

I grew up listening to music in the car, in the shower, doing chores, doing homework, and to wake me up in the morning. As an adult, this love of music has not faded. Here is the typical soundtrack of my day:

Waking up:


On the drive to work (a la CBC Radio 2 Morning):


Throughout my work day:


and:


and:


Driving home:


Making supper:


Winding down the evening:


My iTunes collection is one of the major reasons I'm running out of space on my laptop.

And sure, I could go into all the ways that music enhances brain function, the powerful impact of a song's lyrics in conjunction with its melody, the universal way that music influences people. But that's way more of an intellectual post than I'm going for. I know that the brain response, lyrical content, and genres of music I prefer are major factors as to why I love music and listen to it so much. But today I don't need to know any more than that.

I just need to decide which song I want next.

107/365

106/365

Guess I should have worn boots to work today.*

* To my credit, it was sunny when I left the house this morning... (Yes, to nature's credit, this is Edmonton...)

105/365

Nothing like one [mildly] snowy weekend to send you into cozy-mode. Layered clothing, scarves, and mugs of tea have been a running theme throughout this long weekend. And to finish it off, I whipped up my first batch of soup made from the stock I prepared a few weeks ago.

Mushroom pumpkin. So good. I highly encourage you to check out the recipe and enjoy some yourself this winter. :)

104/365

Edmonton's first snowfall. Just enough to stick to the grass, but not enough to stick to the pavement--except my driveway, of course.

And so it begins...

11/11/11 Sure, BUT 103/365

Every year in mid-November, Edmonton hosts the Canadian Finals Rodeo (CFR). My aunt, who is Marketing Director for Ranchman's down in Calgary, is somewhat of a big deal with regards to rodeo events, particularly the fashion show, put on annually at the CFR by the Ladies of Professional Rodeo.

My aunt invites me to the fashion show ever year, but as it is always on the Friday of the rodeo weekend, I have always had to work and have never been able to attend. THIS year, however, the Friday was Remembrance Day--a Statutory holiday for Canadians. I had the day off. :)

So I took my aunt up on her offer this year, and enjoyed some wine, some western wear, and the general atmosphere of the types of parties my aunt gets to throw. :)

Yee-haw!

102/365

The Tim Tam Slam; an excellent way to start a long weekend. ...Or start a regular weekend. Or end a weekend. Or end a Monday. Or to have with Grey's on Thursday. Or to make it through Wednesday. Or to enhance the enjoyment of a free night on Tuesday....

101/365

The Wednesday night grocery shop seems to be turning into a habit. ...Time to unload.

100/365*

Don't ask me what it is; I'm not quite sure of that myself.

But in all those reflections, and reflections of reflections, I'm pretty sure my photographic posture is made visible at least 100 times (I counted 57 before I had to zoom in so far the resolution rendered everything pixelated).

* Irony of all ironies that on day 100 of my project, while moving my gear from the back seat of my car into my trunk, I leaned forward at just the wrong angle such that my portrait lens, packed not as snugly as it usually is in the bag, toppled out onto the cement below. My favourite lens is now in two pieces, and I now need to go shopping. SIGH. (On the plus side, this lens is only a fraction of the cost of my others--if I'm gonna break a lens, glad it is this one!)

99/365

:)

98/365

I was invited spontaneously to hang out with some friends and watch a movie this evening.

The spontaneity part was giving me a particularly hard time (and for no particularly good reason).

Solution: purchase comfort food for supper, (follow it up with wine), and enjoy the movie and the company.

97/365

96/365

My job description:

• Advocate for the inclusion of children with disabilities in all settings.
• Promote children's development through play-based learning.
• Facilitate effective family-centred practice.
• Work as part of a collaborative team.
• Hold bunny rabbits.

Yup; I think I

covered it all today.

...Not Even a Mouse OR 95/365

A half-decent mouse trap.

A better mouse trap.

94/365

Nothing says 80's like Polaroid. I had four exposures left in the camera. Now I have none. :)

93/365

Now that's my kind of mail delivery!