Unbigoted Boy

I am proud and relieved that my efforts have paid off and my son is a truly enlightened Albertan. He is the result of a mixed marriage, Alberta style. Big Lug is a true born and bred Calgarian, I'm an Edmontonian. Kidlet is unique. It's amazing when someone can say "I'm not from someplace else, I was born in Calgary". It's even more amazing when someone can say "I'm a second generation Calgarian."

Kidlet provided some mirth and merriment on the bus Wednesday evening when I told him what our Thanksgiving plans are. It's not often you see someone clap their hands with delight and say "Goodie, we're going to Edmonton! I love Edmonton!" I have worked very hard at instilling not just civic pride but provincial pride in my son. Big Lug, however, sometimes has to grit his teeth, especially when the Edmonton Oilers or the Edmonton Eskimos go further than the Calgary Flames or the Calgary Stampeders in the playoffs. Most painful was the hockey season when it looked like the Edmonton Oilers were going to win the Stanley Cup.

Part of the reason why we are going to my hometown for Thanksgiving is as a present for my 90 year old grandma. She's four feet, nine inches of strong will, intermingled with love, affection and pride who might not be able to see well with her eyes but still has a sharp mind. It's also easier for Big Lug and I to put our one child in the truck than it is for my brother and sister-in-law to put their three children in the station wagon. Last, it's a give of love. Big Lug knows that despite the fact I'm learning to call Calgary home, fall is when I get the most homesick. Edmonton is beautiful this time of year, with the trees in the river valley changing to their fall colours.

Proverbs 9:11 For by God will your days be multiplied, and the years of your life shall be increased.

Breast Foot Forward

BEEP BEEP BEEP! Normally the sound of an alarm going off at 6:30 a.m. on a Sunday is a rude sound. I had to get up early to participate in the CIBC Run For The Cure. That’s the official name. The reality is people run 10 km, 5 km, walk 5 km, walk 5 km with strollers, walk 5 km with pets, or even walk 1 km. The one thing they all have in common is they are doing it for Breast Cancer. The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce does this from coast to coast.
It hadn’t been an easy goal for me to achieve. Between a twisted ankle, ear infection and medication that has a side effect of shortness of breath, by the time I was healthy enough to participate, there was only a week to go. Big Lug surprised me by being my biggest contributor. A gal pal also made a contribution.

Due to the temperature, I had to layer up. I wore a long sleeve pink shirt, a short sleeved pink knitted vest, and grey sweat pants with grey shorts on top. When I poked my head out the door, I threw on my dark brown knitted hoody. Thanks to the v-neck, you could tell that I was wearing pink underneath. To finish the ensemble, I put on my black western hat with a pink & blue breast cancer hatband I had crocheted.

I was a bundle of nerves before the race. It took seeing a few familiar faces and getting some real food in me to get settled down. I dedicated the walk to the memory of my Great Grandma Kate and my Auntie Joan. Although my great grandma passed away at a young age due to a heart attack, she was a breast cancer survivor. My aunt is also a survivor.

The walk itself was an amazing experience. Men and women, some pushing strollers, some walking dogs, some walking, various ages, some women wearing pink CIBC t-shirts, thankfully most women in CIBC white. Pink is usually a sign of a breast cancer survivor. I caught up with a 60 something woman who was glad to have someone to pair with. It was touching to see how some yards were decorated as a show of support. It was sweet seeing an old woman sitting in a lawn chair, with her tree bedecked in pink coloured toilet paper, waving to the walkers as they went by. Another household had booked a yard decorating company to put pink flamingos out and a sign of encouragement. I almost cried with joy when the woman I had paired with looked at her watch and thanked me for helping her get her best time ever. We both made the walk in just over an hour.

My son decided to join me for the final corner to the finish line. It was a thrill to have him beside me, Big Lug enthusiastically taking pictures. Afterwards I had the delight of meeting Catriona Le May Doan, getting her autograph and even her being willing to pose for a picture. As well, I was able to get my picture taken with Dan, Robyn and Doug, Country 105’s The Odd Squad. With Country 105 being one of the radio sponsors of the run, they were busy representing the station.

My feet are sore; it’s taken me more time than usual to create this blog but I wanted to make a blog entry while everything was still fresh in my mind. Many thanks to those who sent prayers and positive thoughts in my direction, as well as Marchmount Cleaning Services Inc. for providing me with workout gear. A special thanks to Big Lug and Ell for being my two contributors.

Proverbs 6:4 Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.

Good Advice

Good Advice

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.--Plus if you smile while you are walking, it makes people wonder what’s on your mind or what you are listening to through your headphones.
2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you have to.--You don’t have to buy a lock, just put duct tape on your man’s mouth.
3. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to __________ today.'--You’ll know if your man has read this if he’s trying real hard to get some.
4. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.—McCain’s Tater Tots combine the best of both worlds and you are supporting the Prince Edward Island potato industry
5. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli , almonds & walnuts.—Wild Alaskan salmon is Wild Vancouver Island Salmon that has swum further up the Pacific Ocean.
6. Try to make at least three people smile each day.—I always like to make Me, Myself and I smile.
7. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead, invest your energy in the positive present moment.—Great, now men who don’t like their mother-in-law have a perfect reason for avoiding her.
8. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.—That's why if you want to get hit on by a college boy, go to a bar that has free appetizers during Happy Hour.
9. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.—My Mama always said Life Isn’t fair, Life isn’t unfair, Life just is.
11. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.—Or as my best gal pal likes to say “Dance like no one is looking”.
12. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.—The Klingons also have a saying: Revenge is a dish best served cold.
13. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.—Plus when you make peace with the past, it can get you a nice sucking up present.
14. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.—I’m not perfect but I’m Canadian and that’s good enough for me.
15. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.—The lower bowl Flames versus Oilers hockey tickets that Big Lug’s boss gave him has definitely charged up my happiness and it’s not even 10 a.m.
16. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'—RIP Dale. Your NASCAR legacy lives on. Scott Phillips, thanks for keeping Allan Jackson's "Where Were You?" on Country 105's playlist.
17. Forgive everyone for everything.—To put this into Redneck speak, What goes around comes around.
18. What other people think of you is none of your business.—If you are going to follow #1, #4, #7, #8 and #11, this one will become law, not just a casual suggestion.
19. GOD heals everything.—AMEN!!!!!!!!!!
20. However good or bad a situation is, it will change. If you are having trouble believing that, reread #19 five times
21. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch!!!—That’s why #17 is very important.
22. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.—I walk two blocks one way, I’m in an assisted rent complex. I walk two blocks a different direction, I’m in a section where a cheap house is $750,000. If all three of us walk five blocks together, we’ve got a great view of the mountains. Life is good.
23. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for __________.—giving in to my husband’s attempts to get some. Prairie redneck women aren’t ashamed to admit they like to try to get some. It’s just not the be all, end all of their thought process.
24. Today I accomplished _________.—Stoking Corney’s ego. You go GIRL!
25. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

Proverbs 3:1-2 Forget not my law, but let your heart keep my commandments; for length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to you.

What's that noise?

Country 105's Hot Rod Harriet's tale of woe http://www.country105.com/Blogs/MicsOff/BlogEntry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10009001 about a mouse in the house brought back memories of when a mouse got into my house. The first twenty-four hours I went into denial about what the droppings and noises were. I went another day hoping that with two cats, the problem would soon disappear. I'd forgotten that cats tend to like to play with their prey before they kill it. To Jude and Faith, the mouse was just a fun toy.

Big Lug definitely wasn't too helpful about the potential mouse problem. He went off on a rant about my laid back attitude towards housekeeping. When I said I wasn't that bad, he pointedly asked me when was the last time I swept the kitchen floor.

Matters finally came to a head on a Sunday morning. I had gotten up early to make some baking to bring to church. I had made a vow to sweep the kitchen floor more frequently and reached behind the microwave stand to grab the broom. That's when everything sort of went slow motion. I saw the mouse, I heard it's little feet scratching on the floor as it ran for cover behind the fridge and the cats SITTING by the fridge watching me. I guess I was probably fun to watch because I went total chick.

Big Lug's version of what happened is he woke up to a high pitched EEEEEEEEEE coming from the kitchen. He stumbled out of bed to see me standing on a chair. I pointed to the fridge and said Theresamousebehindthefridgegetridoftheeffingthingnow! When he asked me what the Hell was going on, I replied ItoldyouthereisamousebeingthefridgeIhatemicegetridofit. After the second time, it dawned on him the last time he saw me go Total Chick was when a friend's cat had caught a mouse. He told me to calm down and tell him exactly what was going on.

In Big Lug's defense, by no stretch of the imagination am I a girly girl. I am definitely 99 99/100th pure Tomboy. To see his wife who would nonchalantly catch a spider in the house and get rid of it, who preferred denim to lace and only owned three pairs of shoes to turn into a shrieking, up on the chair woman was hard for him wrap his brain around. Unfortunately my big, strong tough guy did me the double cross of expecting me to Tomboy up and help him get rid of the mouse. Even worse, I did know what to do and how to do it.

I gave Big Lug a metal bowl and told him to put it over the mouse if it made a break for it. I shut the cats in our bedroom and our three year old in his bedroom while Big Lug kept an eye on the fridge. Cats and Kidlet out of the way, next step was for Big Lug to pull out the fridge while I stood guard with the bowl. I'll spare you the details of his monologue about when was the last time I swept underneath the fridge. He took the back off the fridge and said "I can see the damn thing's eyes. Are you ready?" He got the mouse out and I was able to quickly put the small metal bowl over top of it. The next step was to slide a piece of card stock between the bowl and the floor to capture the mouse. Unfortunately I didn't make it clear to Big Lug he was the one who was supposed to pick it up. There are times when it's not worth it to argue, a woman has to do what a woman has to do. If you think mice are cute, it's time to stop reading and leave this blog.

The final step was to go to the bathroom and flush the mouse. There was no way I was going to do a catch and release. I wanted the mouse GONE!!!!!!!!!!!! Within 48 hours I threw out $80 worth of food, bought $100 worth of Tupperware to store food in and upgraded my housekeeping standards. We also bought $25 worth of traps in case anymore mice had the same bright idea of coming into our house. The last four years we have been mouse free.

Redneck Love

Big Lug took today off. As I type this, he's busy online checking out prices for Sirius Satellite receivers. I don't Dr. Phil or Oprah but this good ole girl sure could do NASCAR channel's Tradin' Paint no problem.

On Sunday we had to get a home unit for the receiver so we could at least listen to the race on NASCAR channel. We don't blame TSN for not bumping their CFL coverage for the weather delayed Richmond race. Canadian football is definitely as important as NASCAR races to Canadian Rednecks. We do however blame Shaw for not having Hot Pass coverage of the race. Big Lug jokingly said with how much fun I was having listening to the race on radio, I'd be asking for a second receiver. I snorted, rolled my eyes and let loose with a "Yeah right."

Thanks to Kidlet's diabolical plan to get a ride to school, I got to listen to one of the NASCAR channel's talk shows during our drive to Starbuck's. Big Lug's logic was that as long he was on the road so early, he might as well take his favourite gal to Starbucks. The smell of Big Lug's Venti Latte intermingled with the smell of my Tall Strawberries & Crème Frappuccino in our 1997 Blazer. To offset the Yuppiness of those fancy drinks was the Good Ole Boy hilarity of the Morning Drive. By the time we got back home, I was giggling and sheepishly asking Big Lug pointed questions about how much a second receiver cost.

Never mind jewellery, flowers or chocolates, redneck love is buying your wife a Sirius Satellite Receiver so she can listen to the NASCAR channel while she's at home. Don't worry Country 105, I'll still listen to the Odd Squad in the early morning. As for the Scott Phillips show and the Drive Home Show, that's why I prefer my 1987 AM/FM Walkman to a 2007 iPOD when I'm out of the house.

Proverbs 12:4 A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband, but she that brings shame is as rottenness in his bones.

When The World Stopped Turning

Tuesday, September 11, 2001 got off to an annoying start. Beyond a shadow of a doubt Big Lug was sick with the flu including being feverish, stuffed up, achy, nauseous, and tired. I was some what irritated because I knew he’d be sick like this for a solid week. I decided to break my self-imposed rule of not getting online and see if any of my stock car friends were having a miserable morning.

When I first saw a thread titled “Planes crashes into World Trade Centre” I innocently assumed it was a Cessna or something and didn’t pay any attention. When a similar one appeared, however, I did look. That’s how I found out life as I knew it would be turned upside down. As I read, I felt both sorrow and rage. Sorrow for my American friends and rage that someone would be doing this to America. I phoned the newsline of Country 105 to ask if they had received any information. I couldn’t believe there wasn’t any mention of what was going on. Since it hadn’t been received off the official news “ticker”, they had no way of knowing if it was official. I did, however, start to suspect something was up when 7:15 a.m. passed and Beat The Bomb didn’t happen. By this time I had the T.V. on and was trying not to scream out WHY GOD?!

During the 7:30 a.m. news, I heard the newscaster say in a disdainful voice “Who cares about the game, America is under attack” That’s when full reality hit me. This had to be an attack on America, not just something random. When Big Lug asked me why I was leaving for work so late I told him that a couple of jets had crashed into the World Trade Centre and it was burning down. In his feverish state, what I said didn’t register on him and his reply was “That’s no excuse for being late to work.” While I was on the bus, my cellphone rang. It was my husband calling asking me why the Hell didn’t I tell him what was going on. Suddenly he being sick with the flu wasn’t such an imposition. Big Lug would spend the upcoming week watching CNN, trying to make sense of what happened.

The first way I brought a ray of sunshine to the lives of my American friends was when I announced the stranded country musicians were going to have a charity concert to raise money for the Red Cross. On Thursday, September 13th, 2001 there were no cameras to broadcast the concert live to the world. There was just a bunch of Canadian country musicians singing songs of hope and inspiration for America, with donation boxes circulating for the audience to put money in. I shared about the memorial tribute the Calgary Stampeders and Saskatchewan Roughriders held for America, with the Star Spangled Banner being sung as well as O’ Canada and again the donation boxes being made available for the American Red Cross. There was also Alberta Rides For America, a group of ranchers who got together to ride their horses from Alberta to the Montana border, raising money along the way for their neighbours who were going through troubled times.

I remember the soul searing pain I felt that someone could attack America and hurt my friends. I remember the rage I felt at a 60 year old co-worker who said “It’s just an American thing, this will all blow over by the end of the month. The Americans are being dramatic. It’s not like this will change the world.” When Kidlet is old enough to ask why I know so precisely when he was conceived, I’ll tell him about the day that changed the world.

Proverbs 11:12 He that is void of wisdom despises his neighbour, but a man of understanding holds his peace.

An Innocent Day

Monday, September 10th, 2001 was a great day. I still remember the fun I had on the weekend. The Canadian Country Music Awards had a Fan Fest. I enjoyed listening to performances while waiting in the autograph line ups, talking with other fans about the singers and the crowning moment when Terri Clark gave a security guard a real nasty look and me a hug. Thanks again Terri for signing an extra item for me!

The weather that day was warm; Country 105’s the Odd Squad were in fine form, with Doug, Dan and Robyn discussing the weekend and who would win which award that night. The phone lines were busy with people calling to talk about their Fan Fest experiences or to lend their support in the “Who Would Win What Award” verbal bantering. There was also the excitement of the Beat the Bomb game, with one lucky caller at 7:15 a.m. attempting to win up to $5,000 while the sound of an active bomb was in the background. I was listening to Country 105 on my Walkman during the morning commute and using my cell phone to try to call in. It was a difficult morning to get through and it wasn’t until I got downtown that I was able to share my anecdote of how sweet Terri Clark had been signing her CD that had brought comfort to my husband after his dad had died in 2000.

That night my husband and I watched the CCMA’s together. I was a bit worried about him because as the show progressed, I could tell he was fighting a losing battle with the flu. He wasn’t trying to play our “Who’s going to win?” game like usual. The flu couldn’t have come at a worse time, because we were trying to conceive our first child. One of my last thoughts before going to bed was that I needed something major to throw my body’s schedule off by a week and we could try again at the end of the month. I remember feeling somewhat excited about the upcoming day and hearing the Odd Squad’s thoughts about the CCMA awards, while trying to be lucky caller ten to play Beat the Bomb.

The sequel to the story will be shared tomorrow.

Proverbs 10:25 As the whirlwind passes, so are the wicked no more, but the righteous are an everlasting foundation.