I am good enough...but I can always do a little bit better

Recently, I had a day where I really felt at peace with my life. I want to record this so that I can read it when I have those days where I do not feel like I am good enough. On that day, I felt good enough as a wife and mother. I felt that even though the battle with screen time is very real in our home, even though I get upset sometimes, even though my house is often a mess, there is always cleaning to be done and the laundry is hardly ever all put away, etc etc etc, I am enough as a wife and mother. I am where I am supposed to be (at home with my kids), doing what I am supposed to be doing (somedays that is the bare minimum -just trying to keep sane -but I do try to be a good mother and homemaker) and working through the struggles I am supposed to be working through. I am good enough.

The 4 older kids fought for a bit this morning. There was some hitting and screaming involved between them. But then they played well together while I cooked in the kitchen for about an hour and I loved hearing them laugh and have fun with their zombie game. Elizabeth played at my feet pulling plastic plates and cups out of the kids cupboard. Now they are watching the movie Bedtimes stories and I am fine with that. I hope that, even though there is quite the age range between them, they will always stay friends. And I hope they always stay close to their cousins. In a way, cousins can be like brothers and sisters too. 

Elva randomly gave me a challenge this morning. There is always room for improvement in my life and I suppose she has noticed my excess screen time as I check Instagram and Facebook daily (well, Instagram many times a day) and I like to blog or read other blogs as well. She challenged me to 5 weeks without Instagram, Facebook and blogging starting tomorrow. Then she challenged herself to 5 weeks without the Nintendo Switch, playing phone games and screaming (she screams sometimes when she is upset). I am impressed by Elva. She is still very much my little girl but I see her growing up little by little, developing more self awareness and self discipline each day. She is such an amazing young lady and she will turn out just fine! 

Let's see how the next 5 weeks go. I hope I use the extra time to read more scriptures and books, go to bed earlier and exercise more. See you then. Now I am off to either play with Selman as he wanting to play or maybe I can sneak in a nap for him and Elizabeth (and maybe me 😉). 

Happy Birthday Selman

Well our Selman turned 3 years old on March 10th. It was a simple but fun day. We had cereal for breakfast (which is a treat in our house), macaroni and cheese for lunch - with ketchup of course, and his favorite meal of chicken nuggets for supper. Then of course we had cake - green mini cupcakes and a yellow lego man face cake. And we had a Pikachu piñata.  He got magnetic building blocks and a playdough candy maker. We love you so much Selman! Your expressions, your smile, your fun happy personality. You are a thinker and we love to hear your little thoughts and ideas. I am so excited to see you grow into an incredible young man. Now, to work on potty training. Yah, not much success in that area  but we are trying most days. I am sure it will click sooner then later and then I will see the lights go on in your eyes, you will hold up your finger and say "I a idea" and it will be to go in the potty. Right Selman?

My Dad's birthday is on Tuesday and we celebrated last night by going to a yummy steak restaurant called the Silver Slate. Chris, Elizabeth and I rode in with Nathan in his nice new jeep and we met Camellia and Doug and Mom and Dad there. Oh, I love you Dad. I am so grateful you are my father. You have such a strong spirit and your quiet spiritual strength has helped me gain a strong testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I had the best childhood growing up because of the way you and Mom raised me. Thank you. I love you. 

I have been writing in my blog more than usual lately but I think I will put it away for a few weeks or months...maybe. I suppose Covid has been making me miss connecting with more people and for some reason I feel more connected when I write in my blog. When we first moved out here to the farm, I didn't realize that I would struggle connecting with people in the area. I have made some great friends in the community but I feel like the people in my ward kind of stick to themselves and their families. But that is ok. That is just the dynamics of the ward. They are still my ward family. Perhaps moving out here and Covid has made me realize that I am more of an extrovert than I originally thought. 

Anyways, life is wonderful. I am loving the Spring-ish weather and bbbbbbbbbbbbbbb (Selman is helping me type - hahahaha). I better go play with him. Until later. 

A Planner

I was talking to myself as I washed the floor this morning about life and what I want to plan for in the future. In a way, I am a planner or in the least a speculator about the future. I plan out different scenarios in my life and try to figure out what I would do or what would happen in each scenario.

 What if Chris died? What if I died? Who would take care of the kids? Well, Aunt Camellia and Uncle Doug of course - or Aunt Rachel and Uncle Eric as back up. Will there be enough from life insurance to help the kids? Chris would only get $200,000 if I died. He would pay off the mortgage, pay for Caeleb's braces ($8000 for braces - yikes!), use some money for the first year of being alone trying to make ends meet, maybe take the kids on a $6000 trip (disney/church history tour) and put some into savings. I don't know if there would be enough for all this and he would have to be frugal. He would get married again too. I hope she would take good care of the kids and Chris, love the farm, and make things work out on the farm.

But I don't plan on dying anytime soon. So, where will we live when we are older? What do we want for our children in the future? In  some ways, I don't plan very well. Especially when it concerns what is happening tomorrow or next week. For example, one of my kids was hard to drag out of bed for school the other day so I drove this child to school. When I got there, I saw that everyone was dressed up for a special events day at school and I had completely forgotten. Bad Mom moment. I was in tears when I left the school (though I later found out my kids had figured it out on their own and were just fine), and I got a big hug from a friend as we went on our walk which made me feel a lot better. She is so awesome. Anyways, I am forgetful and I don't plan for everything or write everything down on our calendar nor do I hardly ever do a to do list and in short, I AM NOT PERFECT - but no one is. 

I do like to plan for the future in other ways. I love where I live, on the farm, in my Grandma and Grandpa Smiths beautiful 100 year old brick home. I love my home! There is plenty to fix up still - the windows for instance are so old that I feel like I could crack them if I breath on them too hard. And they are very dirty and impossible to clean well. But, we hope to get new windows when we renew our mortgage in 3 years and we hope to finish the attic someday (I am very slowly working on mudding the drywall in the attic but I am so clueless and it looks horrible). Will I live here until I die? Maybe I will. But in reality, I would love it if one day (you know, when I am 60 or 65 and retired) one of my kids or one of Camellia's kids or one of Grandma and Grandpa Smith's decedents or perhaps any loving family took over this beautiful place to raise their family in this beloved, heritage family home. It is a perfect home for a growing family. And perhaps Chris and I will move to Champion or Vulcan (I can see us in a small apartment in Champion or Vulcan someday). And if the day comes where I have dementia or another disease where I cant take care of myself anymore, I hope I can proactively go live at Extendicare in Vulcan or somewhere where my kids can visit me and maybe take me on an outing every month or so. I hope they will do up my room with a comfy single bed, warm and cozy blankets, a nice comfy chair that I can rest in, books to read, a TV to watch, a picture of the Savior, a picture of my family and picture of the farm on the wall, and maybe even a Thomas Kincade picture of a house that will fuel my imagination if I still have one (he is my favourite painter - I love his cozy houses). Life can still be beautiful then. 

 I want my kids to know that it is ok when the time comes for me to live in a lodge or nursing home. I will be fine! It is just part of life. 

Of course there will be the specifics when the time comes to move on in life - do we sell the house to the kids (I mean there will always be work and money that needs to go into this house and that alone will cost a lot for whoever lives here)? For how much do we sell it? How will we make it fair to our other family members? Maybe some of the money that is made by selling the house at a fair price can be used to help the other kids in our family to make things fair? I do not want there to be family arguments! I should not worry too much about these things now. But I think about them sometimes and it does not hurt to plan. I have seen how not having a clear plan hurts families. 

A theoretical plan would be, if one of Mom and Dad's 10 Grandchildren takes over the Quarter section, he or she could pay a rent to own to the other 4 children and us (5  payments) a monthly payment of $250 (x5 = $1250 a month) over 25 years. Then the bank would not have to get involved for a mortgage and take thousands of dollars in interest. Or, if someone ends up selling the quarter section with the houses to a nice family, and the 1/2 section of crop to a farmer, the rest of the family could establish a co-op to the remaining 1/4 section of land by the Coulee in the NW part of the farm. A little getaway cottage could be built there for family use and memories sake. These are just thoughts. 

I want my kids to realize this is about equity, not equality. Who does it make sense to have the land go to? Not what is fair! It made sense for my Dad to live here as he farmed the land. He had no other income and now we know more than ever that this land was a huge blessing in his life. Which of my kids or Camellias kids or someone else will it make sense to own the farm someday? I hope that my kids will pray about this and make decisions in love and understanding. 

I used to wonder why people moved/downsized to a smaller place when they got older but now I absolutely know why and I admire people for downsizing. Chris and I always have had the thought that we should just have what we need when it comes to housing and vehicles. When we were first married, we only needed to rent a small, one bedroom apartment (oh how I loved that first year we were married living on the 13th floor of an old Calgary apartment building). When we bought a house, we needed a small starter home in Calgary for us and our 2 kids and when our family grew, the brick house became the blessing we needed to fit our growing family. When we are older and it is just the two of us, what do we really need? If one of the kids buys the brick house, we can have our family get togethers here on the farm. And really, in any circumstance we can work things out and stay close to family. But I hope as I grow older, I can have the courage and ability to simplify my life even further. I think it will make moving onto the next life a bit easier. 

As for now, I feel like I have resolved to working as a nurse till Chris retires. Of course those plans could change too. What if I am injured or become sick? What if Chris is injured or becomes sick? Etc, etc, etc. But I undoubtedly feel blessed for my job as a nurse. Chris is almost 6 years older then me and he started his teaching career later in life. Maybe he will retire when he is 65, almost 66, maybe a bit older. Maybe he will substitute after that. Maybe I will retire when I am 60. Maybe I will work part time until I am 55 or so and then work full time for a few years (I kind of would like to be a nurse clinician for a few years  or have a more Monday - Friday nursing office type job). Maybe I will work casual or part time after Chris retires. Who knows. I just hope and pray that I can be there for my family in any way that I can be and that I will do well with the work/family life balance. And I know we should prepare and plan where we can and then be ok with whatever life throws at us. After all, the main thing is to do your part, work hard, keep priorities straight and trust in the Lord that everything will be ok. 

Halfway point

I was just thinking about where I am at on my Maternity leave and I am about at the halfway point this week. I will go back to work end of December or beginning of January. It is crazy how fast time goes but am I ever glad I get the opportunity to have 18 months off. Elizabeth is almost 9 months old and I feel like she is growing up faster then any of the other kids did. I am just starting to feel like I am getting the hang of being a stay at home mom (I mean always at home) this maternity leave ( I actually did well cleaning the house and getting it ready for Sunday last Saturday and I am doing well this week at staying on top of Laundry - not like that all matters, it is the kids that matter). I really don't think being a mother has come naturally to me but I am trying and I will continue to try and I love being at home with my kids. And even though being a mother is challenging for me, I would have more children if I could and if it made sense too (and perhaps it doesn't make sense too). It seems that after each of our babies is born, I want to grow my family even more. Even with all the faults Chris and I have, I believe we are working on establishing a loving home where the spirit can dwell and children can thrive. I am very blessed to have the family I have and I wish others could have what I have. I do believe that in the eternities our families will continue to grow and that means I, and other women who desire it, will be mothers to many many more children.  That thought makes me hopeful and happy, not just for myself, but for other women. I know of the Devine role of a mother. 

 Yesterday I made paper boats for Mary and Selman and we went outside searching for a puddle to float them in but there was none to be found. Last week we had such fun one day jumping in muddy puddles. Anyways, yesterday we ended up playing in a rock pile and working to move the rocks to another location with the help of Nana and Papa.

I just wanted to say some things about Selman as I feel like I haven't talked about him in a while. I love my little Selman! And he is not so little. He will be 3 TOMMORROW! I love the expressions he makes and the things he says. It is sometimes hard to understand him as he started talking a little later and is still learning but he is a chatter box now and we love listening to him. He loves to laugh and I can tell he is going to be a jokester like his brother. I LOVE IT when that light goes on in his eyes and he points his little finger up when he has an idea and says "I an idea." He is an early bird and is always up anywhere from 5:00 to 6:00 while the others sleep at least until 6:30. I would probably sleep till 8:00 these days if no one woke me up but I guess this is good for me? Selman loves lego and dinosaurs, mario (he wants to play video games like his siblings, and playing anything the others play. He is not that into books so I feel grateful that we are doing Bedtime stories online each Monday evening and he does well listening to the books with the instructor. I need to read more to my kids - it is sometimes hard to find a book everyone wants to listen too. Selman still likes to nap almost every day (the others were off there naps by this time I believe) and he loves cuddles - he is very much my cuddly boy and that is ok. 

Well, I will write about his birthday in a few days or so. It is an eerie foggy morning and I like those mornings when I can stay home and bake (Selman's cake) and feel the warmth of the stove and hear the sound of the dryer going. Life is good!

Turning to the Temple

I was having a bit of a hard evening this last Friday. Just feeling down. We all have down days. I decided instead of home date night with Chris (we usually watch a movie or play a game on Friday after the kids go to bed), I would go to bed early. I figured he would play video games for a few hours and then go to bed. While I was lying in bed, I was thinking about how I wanted to write a blog entry about how much I dislike video games. They are a big thing in our home and I struggle with it, especially knowing how to control it and feeling like I have to compete with it (as silly as it sounds, I honestly struggle with comparing myself too and feeling like I am not as important as a video game). I don't play video games (just with the kids sometimes) as I am not really a fan but I have to admit that I liked solitaire, an Indiana Jones demo game and a few other games on our family computer when I was growing up. I also liked playing Nintendo when I went to my cousins house and we would rent a gaming system at times when we were teenagers and play Need for Speed and that was a blast playing with Nathan and Camellia. So I have had my video game moments. And I know that there are video games that are good for the mind by building critical thinking skills, etc (Chris plays those games). My screen time struggle is probably Instagram (it was Facebook but I don't do Facebook as much now). And I like reading other blogs and writing in my own. I guess I like to feel connected to people and that is how I try to connect. I have even debated on writing an old nursing manager, who seemed to hate me and think I was the dumbest nurse at the time, because I want to build a connection with her that will perhaps take my bitter and hurt feelings away. But I will wait for the eternities to make things right there and I trust that they will be made right. I guess I just want to understand her and perhaps be a friend. 

 Anyways, once Chris put Elizabeth to sleep, he came and found me lying in bed and we had a great talk for about an hour. We talked about life and feelings and then we talked about the temple and it was a good talk. Then I got thinking that I should write a positive post and the Temple came to my mind. 

I love the Temple! I miss going there. I think the last time we went there was for our 10th anniversary almost a year and a half ago but we have not been since due to COVID closures. When I enter the doors of the temple, I feel such a peace and calm. It is like the worries of the world just melt away. I feel so close to Heaven when I am there. I am grateful for how important family history is to the church and that we can connect with people who have died by doing work for them in the temple. So many people have died and did not have the chance to learn of God and accept the atonement of the Savior and understand the fullness of the Gospel in their lives but the Temple allows for us to reach out to those people and help them along so that everyone can have the chance to return to God's presence someday. The temple in not about exclusion. It is about inclusion! Going there is not for "show", it is to sincerely do what we can do to help our dear ancestors and all who have passed on to be saved. Heavenly Father wants everyone to be saved and come back to his presence. He is a loving Heavenly Father after all. We accept the Savior's atonement by following his example which includes baptism (as he was baptized) and since many were not baptized in this life, God makes available to everyone the chance to be baptized by the correct authority. This gives me such joy and hope! People are not "excluded" from the temple, they just need to prepare to go there in a way so that the Spirit can reside there. I am grateful to be sealed to my husband and to my family (my mom, dad, sister, brother, uncles, aunts, cousins, etc) for all eternity. To know that what we are building here can last forever! Chris and I are not perfect and neither is our relationship but what we are trying build is not till death do us part... it is for time and ALL eternity and it gives me joy and hope to know that we can keep working on these relationships after we die). The temple is a blessing in my life and I hope that I can go there soon. I want my children to know how much I love the Temple and how I want them to prepare themselves to go there someday. I best go now. Elizabeth is demanding my attention but the other kids are tucked snuggly into their own beds (well, I guess Mary chose our bed to sleep tonight). 

Christmas 2020 and New Year 2021

We had a lovely Christmas season this last year. Because of the tightening of  covid restrictions in later  November (new cases were up to 1800/day), we were not able to go down to the Nelsons to get a Christmas tree (we try to go every other year). However, I did meet Camellia in Lethbridge I believe December 1 when I took Elva out for her birthday and we tied 2 trees they got from the hills (one for Mom and Dad) onto the van to bring home. We decorated the tree that evening while eating appetizers for supper, listening to Christmas music and then watched a bit of the Polar Express while drinking hot chocolate. Such a good evening and the tree looked beautiful. The best trees come from those hills. It was not dry at all. I remember last year I was feeling so pregnant sick that I just sent Chris with the kids to get a tree from the Vulcan store while I cuddled up on the couch and watched a movie with Selman. 

Chris taught from home the week before Christmas break as the new covid restrictions had Junior High students and above do classes from home. I enjoyed having him home. 

The Saturday before Christmas, we drove to Lethbridge to get some last minute shopping done. Afterwards, we drove to the Porcupine Hills west of Claresholm so that I could show the kids where my Nana and Papa always took us "tree hunting" when we were young. I loved those days. The last time we did that was when Chris and I just got married. Then we joined Mom and Dad, the Nelsons and Nathan in Claresholm to drive around and look at Christmas lights and so the Nelsons could see Nathan's new beautiful white jeep. 

The first week of Christmas break was spent going sledding a few days with my friend and her son on their nearby property. There was a blizzard a few days before Christmas so we did not go that day. The day before Christmas eve we went sledding and then into Champion to get the mail and pick up a couple of last minute things. 

On Thursday Christmas Eve, we walked across the yard to my Mom and Dads for Christmas eve appetizers and Nathan joined us for that. This is a tradition but I think next year we may do what Chris does in his family and have our turkey dinner on Christmas eve and eat left overs on Christmas day. We did a facetime Nativity with the Nelsons. They were the Shepards and Wisemen. Elva was Mary, Lizzy was baby Jesus, Selman was Joseph, Caeleb was a shepard and Mary was an Angel. And Papa read the story. It was a bit complicated trying to do our family Christmas eve program together over facetime but it went pretty well. Elva and Mary did a Highland dance to Christmas bagpipe music and Sterling and his Grandma Marylou played a duet on the piano. 

We came home and scattered oatmeal reindeer food over the snow by our place. Then we put the kids to bed at about 9:00 PM after leaving sugar and oatmeal cookies and milk for Santa.  As excited as they were, the kids feel asleep pretty fast but Caeleb woke up at around 1100 with a bloody nose. He then settleD upstairs in our bed and I slept in his bed with Lizzy.

The kids were awake about 6:00 and then they came downstairs about 7:00 to see what Santa left in their stockings. There was a bunch of little goodies, polly pockets for the girls, magic tricks, a game called Sushi Go for Caeleb, candy and kinder surprise eggs. Santa left some goodies for Mom and Dad, Nana and Papa and uncle Nathan too

Nana, Papa and Uncle Nathan came over at 8:00 for a breakfast of cracked wheat, whipped cream and berries. Yummy! Then we opened gifts. We were spoiled again but not as much as last year and I am hoping and expecting that next year will be a humble Christmas which will be good for us. The girls got flying fairies from Santa, Caeleb got a flying golden snitch and Selman got a remote control car (he is all about holding a remote). And Elizabeth got baby food and little colorful boats she can chew on. We got a couple of weighted blankets from Mom and Dad Smith and Chris has LOVED his! We got a game called Machi Koro, individualized Christmas tree ornaments (a tradition and a highlight of our Christmas) and other fun things from LouAnn (who had our name for Christmas this year). The girls were into LOL dolls and got some things for that and they all got nerf guns. Mary really wanted a live lizard but she got a fake one that moves so that will do for now. We gave the Nelsons a game and we had Nathaniel's families name for Christmas so we gave them a game and some toys for their kids. I felt like we got too much but it was not as overwhelming as last year. We had a turkey dinner on Christmas day and spent the next week just chilling at home, watching movies, playing games and I took the kids skating a few times in Champion. We ordered Chinese food from the Champion restaurant for New Years Eve and then watched a movie with the kids while they fell asleep in the living room. Chris, Lizzy and I made it till Midnight. I was up early with Selman to see the sunrise on New Years day and it was beautiful! I think that means it will be a wonderful year. It was nice to have a relaxing two weeks without school for Chris and the kids and I am so happy to be on maternity leave and not have to work during the holidays. 

The kids did online school for the first week back from Christmas break and Chris taught online in his home office. This was of course due to covid. Now it is the first day of March and there are still restrictions due to covid but at lease we can meet people outside now. This whole thing seems to be getting old but I know there are reasons for the restrictions and I count my blessings that we are healthy and safe. I pray for those who are struggling. I think the restrictions may be on and off for another year or so but I think there will be a light at the end of the tunnel. 

My goals for this year are similar to last year. Maybe I will do better on them this year. I want to keep spiritually fed and this year I have decided that I will only listen to spiritual messages like the scriptures or conference before 1200 noon every day. I also am trying a keto diet but have not been too successful yet. I think I would rather do a whole 30 like I did 2 years ago. I still have about 5 pounds to go to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight (it gets harder to lose weight after each pregnancy) which is fine but I will continue to work on it. Mary and Elva have been taking a Highland Dancing class since October and I decided to do one as well so on Thursdays evenings I work up a sweat with an online dance class and I quite enjoy it. It makes me want to take the girls to Scotland. I have always loved bagpipe music. 

Elva's baptism was Saturday January 30th. I sewed her dress with the help of Mom and Camellia sewed some too. Elva was so ready and wanted to get baptized in December but we waited to have it hoping that more people could come (we were only allowed one family due to covid). We finally decided to go ahead and had the Nelsons join us in person and we had about 20 or more people join us through zoom which was just awesome! Chris' parents and most of his siblings came on zoom and my Selman cousins and Aunts and Uncles were there and some of Elva's friends and Primary leaders. Elva did her own hair and she looked beautiful in her baptism dress. I did the talk on Baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost. Chris baptized and confirmed her. Then we had the Nelsons, Mom and Dad and Nathan for supper after. Elva wanted hamburgers and donuts. Elva is a beautiful little girl who is going to do great things in life. She is a little mom to her brothers and sisters. She is perceptive and understands spiritual and secular things. And she is a great friend to everyone! We love you Elva!

Chris and I watched Breakfast at Tiffany's to celebrate Valentines day. We had a good laugh because we didn't really like it but we do like the song Breakfast at Tiffanys (Jared plays it on his guitar), so I have been signing the song "Breakfast at Tiffany's" but I sing it like "and I said what about Breakfast at Tiffany's, he said I think I remember the film and as I recall I think we both DIDN'T like it, and I said well that's one thing we've got." I guess Chris and I do have some things in common 😘😘

Elizabeth has lived up to her nickname "busy Lizzy." When she came home from the hospital at less then a day old, the kids had done up a sign WELCOME HOME BUSY LIZZY. Well she has been army crawling since 5 months, crawling well since a little after 6 months old, getting up to a standing position using furniture since about 7 months and for the last week or so (since 8 months old) she has been cruising a little on the furniture or on me or Chris. Although she is very mobile, the kids like to kart her around and she puts up with a lot of rough love from her brothers and sisters. She is a good baby and loves to pose (yes pose!) and smile for the camera. She also loves to eat and does well at picking up little broken up pieces of food like banana and cheese. She likes most food and I try to mush up or baby bullet the food we have at supper to give her. She started eating solids on Christmas day and started with plain rice cereal but eats most things now. 

Lizzy gave us a scare the other day. For the last two weeks, at times when she cries she will not take a breath for the longest time. On Saturday, she cried because Chris was changing her diaper and she was not taking that breath and turned purple, her eyes rolled back and she went limp. I guess she fainted. She came too after a few seconds but was tired after so I took her to Emerg. She was fine (the doctor called it a BRUE?) and I guess some kids do this type of thing but it was the first time I have experienced it with my kids so it was scary. She almost did the same thing on Sunday too but she did not faint, her eyes just glazed over. Oh silly girl. Stop scaring your mommy! I made an appointment for a check up with our doctor for next week. 

Life is not too busy right now except for being home with the 3 youngest (Mary has Kindergarten on Tuesday and Thursdays) and they always keep me busy at home. I also am able to be at the crossroads of the older kid's life when they leave and come home from school which I love. I want to be there for them. I play with the little ones at home during the day and I get some housework done - though I never am on top of laundry or anything really). I go for a walk with a friend using my Chariot to push the littles, once or twice a week. The girls have dance on Monday evening and Caeleb and Elva take piano lessons via facetime with their Grandma LouAnn on Wednesdays (she is an awesome teacher). Times for Rhymes is online for Selman and Lizzy on Thursday mornings from 1000-1100 and I do my online dance class on Thursday evenings. We go to church on Sundays. Other then that, life is simple and I love it this way. Except I could use a mini vacation - to the zoo or to a museum or to a hotel for a night or to the hills/mountains to do a hike or to go to a Calgary park/walking path or even Ikea would be nice as well. I do like getaways every now and then. Well, that's it for now. Until next time.