Then it struck me. Quit complaining and just arrange our own, already! So we did-and being so new to this whole blogger socializing thing, I was a little naive about the numbers. The tweet up went from five to twenty people in a matter of minutes, as I sat there with my mouth agape. Wow!

Saturday came much faster then I expected, and pretty soon there I was, following directions from Google maps to Commercial Drive in Vancouver. The closer I got to the restaurant, the more I nervous I became.

What if they don’t like the real me?
Is my hair okay?
Will they notice the zit?
Should I have worn this?
Oh my God, I baked cookies, what if they hate them?
What if they are polite and say they love them, but they really hate them?
Why am I doing this?
Will I even know anyone?
Will anyone know ME?
What if I end up sitting in the corner and nobody talks to me?

Can you say….terrified? I’m not really a very outgoing person. Once I get to know you, I’m fine but until then, I’m pretty quiet. I can pull off the socializing friendly-like, but inside I’m completely freaking out.

I walked into a full restaurant and didn’t recognize a soul.

“OH! You must be Scattered Mom!” I guess my arms full of tins of cookies was a dead giveaway, huh? Getting used to being called Scattered Mom was something I didn’t expect. I’ve never been called by that name in real life before so at first I was all, “who the hell are they talking to? Oh! ME!”

There were so many wonderful women (and Dads!) there, all of who were so friendly and amazing, and welcomed me just like an old friend. Really, I had nothing to worry about even though I admit I was really self conscious. Suddenly Michelle came up and hugged me, and I knew that I knew who she was but…I couldn’t place her! At ALL! I was so embarrassed.

(It’s not surprising, actually. I am REALLY BAD with names. There are people I worked with for three years, ate lunch with every single day, and I STILL can’t remember their names. Please don’t be insulted. This is why I have the name “Scattered Mom”, you know.

And, while we’re off topic, can you even imagine going to Blog Her? This was just a small group of people. Blog Her would be down right frightening, I think. My plan is to work my way up to larger groups of people. Next stop…Northern Voice!)

We chatted, ate the most amazing crab cakes eggs benny ever, I got to hold the cutest Pop Tart I’ve ever seen while she noshed on all my fruit, and generally just got to meet everyone in person. It was amazing. And a bit weird, in a good way. Everyone was asking about Jake, Hubs, things that I’ve blogged or tweeted about lately, and it was a little strange to have people I’ve never seen know so much about me. So who did I meet? (If I forgot anyone, please let me know so I can add you.)

Musings From Mt. Rogo

Strocel.com

Resolving Timeline Issues

Michelle Kent Photography

The Tsunami Mommy

A Lot of Loves

See Theo Run

Muggabug

Crunchy Carpets

Left Coast Mama

Also? I brought my camera and only took ONE photo because I pretty much forgot about it.

These ladies were so kind, they even called me the “Canadian Pioneer Woman.” Which is, to me, the biggest compliment ever because she is just….wow.

One thing I probably repeated about a million times was my awe at all the delicious, huggable babies. Mostly because they were all so cute and I wanted to take them home with me (not all at once) but also because I felt a bit old, being the only one with a teenager.

After we ate, and visited, Michelle and I took off to find a park so Cookie could run around in the sun (it was so gorgeous outside!) and she had a taste of my really wickedly bad sense of direction mad driving skills. Marilyn joined us and there we sat; enjoying the spring sun and talking about our families and blogs.

Of course I felt incredibly guilty for not reading their blogs that much-not because they aren’t awesome bloggers, but I haven’t read anyone lately. (*hangs head in shame*) That’s been quickly changed though, because since I came home I’ve checked out everyone’s blogs and subscribed to them!

Later the evening when we finally parted, I sat in the ferry line up waiting for the boat to arrive and began to get a bit nervous again.

-what if they hate the cookies?
-what if they were just being polite?
-now that they know me, will they still like me?

Then at last, it suddenly came to me who Michelle and some of the other bloggers were. (yes, that’s me. Reaaalllly slow on the uptake)

*smacks head*

Somehow I don’t think I have anything to worry about.

I wave the paper. I hate all these tests and screens and things to prove stuff to important people, but whatever. We need to go through them.

“What does it say?” He doesn’t look up. Doesn’t care, probably.

“Well, according to this you really have a hard time with anything to do with a pencil and paper task. Writing, copying from the board, that sort of thing.”

“Really? How bad?” He looks up from his keyboard. (snort) As if he didn’t know that already?

“Well according to this you are in the bottom 1% of kids when it comes to writing stuff. Actually in the bottom of the bottom 1%. Which means that 99.6 percent of kids your age can write and copy things better than you.” Holy crap, this is significant. I mean good Lord, no wonder the boy’s head almost explodes when people want to take his computer. How could we have a kid whose intelligence is in the 99th percentile, and his writing ability in the bottom 1st percentile? Is that possible?

Now THAT’s dyspraxia.

Jake thinks for a second and then pipes up,

“So if my cognitive ability was the same as my writing ability I’d be, like…handicapped.”

“Sweetie, you’d be comatose.”

My coffee cup is empty.

Hubs wanders in and sits down. We chat a little, and then I pointedly look at my coffee cup.

“Pleeeeease? Will you make me a coffee?”

It happens almost every Saturday.

“No! No! I’m not making coffee. I knew you’d ask that.” He pretends to be irritated. “Why should I make you coffee?”

“Pleeeease?” I hold out the cup and bat my eyelashes. Really, I must look so cute with my bedhead, no make up, and not-so-cute pjs. “I make you cookies when I’ve worked all day and I’m tireddddd……”

He sighs and snatches the cup from my hands, then wanders away.

“Fine.”

“I looooooooove you!!!” I call after him as he leaves the room, just in time to hear him mutter,

“Never should’ve gone in there at all.”

They told us we were crazy. Insane. That nobody in their right might would venture into Vancouver, of all places, the day after the opening ceremonies. At first I almost listened to them, but Hubs, being the insistent guy he is, wouldn’t have it.

Sort of ironic coming from a guy who has not been quiet about the fact that he is NOT happy with our provincial government over the whole Olympic thing in the first place. We needed to get our Toyota looked at so why not?

Our venue of choice was Richmond’s Ozone!

We were amazing by the light traffic. AMAZED. It may have helped that we went around 1 pm in the afternoon and that the gates open at 12 pm. Also that most of the entertainment doesn’t even start until around 5 pm, AND that it was raining.

Rain doesn’t bother us Coastal folk. We know we won’t melt so we get out in the rain anyway. While we’re there, I have to say that I find it somewhat hilarious that all these news people (looking at YOU, CTV) keep complaining about the rain and lack of snow. Uhhh….where have you people been all these years? Didn’t anyone check the weather stats before deciding on holding the Winter Olympics here? We get snow maybe once or twice a year for a day or two, and the rest of the time it rains. Hard. For weeks. Right now is actually GOOD weather.

Anyhow, the O Zone! We started out by walking around and checking things out on the Richmond Public Library side. Fun! Not too crowded. Things for kids to do in some of the tents, but all a bit young for Jake.

Best moment? A Canadian was racing LIVE at the speed skating oval. EVERY person on the field stopped and watched the gigantic screen; cheering, clapping, and collectively willing him to go faster.

Thing that gave us the biggest giggle:

Ice skating. Outside, in the rain. Only someone from Vancouver would see the joke in this because we do everything out in the rain, but ONLY in Vancouver would you see someone skating, outside, in the rain, in shorts. What a dedicated Dad! I would’ve told Jake he could skate at home. Indoors.

At Richmond City Hall, they filled the fountain with cranberries as a tribute to the agriculture of the area. As I stood there and chatted with the farmers, we suddenly realized that we had met before. Years ago I took a field trip with a bunch of kids to a cranberry farm near Comox, and turns out…it belongs to the gentleman on the left!

We had a fantastic time. The Ozone wasn’t crowded at all by Richmond standards, and everyone was in a festive mood. It would be well worth taking the kids and looking around for a few hours.

In fact, traffic was light where ever we went. Want to see what it was like downtown? I made a video of our drive through the down town area-past the free stuff at the Vancouver Art Gallery, and past the outdoor cauldron. You might get a laugh out of our conversation, but I won’t spoil it for you.

Readers will just have to wait and see!

Looking for a Valentine’s Day treat?  These cupcakes are delicious, and so easy!  Just throw everything together, mix, and bake.

Keep reading for the recipe…

Back in those days when we watched Michael Jackson videos, wore jelly shoes and acid wash jeans, you seemed so impossibly far away. So romantic. At lunch time I’d play games with my friends where we’d choose what kind of cars we wanted, how many kids we’d have or what type of house we’d live in, and I think that in some ways, I believed that some of those things might be possible.

So here we are, 2010. I drive a sensible Toyota, live in a rancher, have one kid, and didn’t marry Harrison Ford (although Hubs is the same age, does that count?).

You are officially just days away and I’m staring down the last year of my 30’s.

That’s a bit scary. Thirties seems young, sort of like 20’s more sensible sister but still just as pretty and fun. Forties makes me think of fifties, which signals things like becoming a grandparent and qualifying for the seniors meals in some restaurants.

Forty seems old and I’m so not ready for that. In fact, it’s almost the same age Hubs was when we met. Where did all that time go?

I spent my twenties raising other people’s children, trying to figure out who I was, and then becoming a parent myself. When I turned thirty I felt like I had finally arrived as an adult.

Now, I’m grown up. Whoa, was I in for a shock. What was I thinking?!

Thirties were when I finally had to act like an adult, and take on all the things that comes with it. Job losses and career changes, almost losing Hubs, becoming sick and injured myself, and the business of morphing from the girl that wanted to please everyone to the Momma Bear that would tear your head off should you go after my child. Yep, I grew up alright, and it was damn hard. Thirties, you were not fun. Oh you had some fun parts, yes. Overall you slammed us with some serious lows and not much in the way of extreme highs. You tested me in ways that I never thought were possible and at times I never thought I’d see the other side. I can’t say I’m that sad to see you go.

2009 was a good year, though. I really figured out that I want to make a career of writing, and all the hard work that I’ve sunk into this blog has begun to pay off. My family is all doing well and we’re happy, healthy, and together. The drama that was my 30’s is tapering off, and things have smoothed out into an easy rhythm. That’s all I could ask for, really.

Well. I would like to win the lottery and be a billionaire, like I had predicted in that stupid game but since I’m grown up now, I know the odds are just not in my favor.

So 2010, I’m planning to enjoy you and the last year of my 30’s. Maybe you don’t look as romantic and shiny as you did when I was 12, but I’m okay with that. You have laptops and iPod Touch, apps, downloads, Twitter, Blogger, and all sorts of fun things I would’ve given my right arm for at 12. I’ll never forget the Christmas I desperately wanted a computer, and the idea of owning a computer was about as impossible as buying a Ferrari.

Now that I’m grown up I’ll happily settle for peaceful and happy, with no big surprises or drama along the way. Deal?

They do say that life begins at 40, after all.

PS. But if you really feel generous, the lottery thing would be cool. Just sayin’.

I mean, hello? DVD players for under $50? Are you joking?

This week we made a trek to Best Buy in Richmond, BC. For those of you that don’t know the Vancouver area, Richmond is just over a bridge from Vancouver. The Vancouver International airport is there, and now there’s the new 2010 Olympic speed skating oval. Hubs and I met at the Three Road Starbucks, were married in Minoru chapel, and Jake was born in Richmond Hospital. It always feels like coming home when we head over the Oak Street bridge.

We were in the market for a laptop for Jake this time. Before I get e-mail stating how terrible I am for spoiling my merely 14 year old child with his very own bling-y lap top, just know that there is a huge, un-blogable reason for it.

Anyway we walked through those Best Buy doors and the drooling commenced. Despite my claims that we aren’t really a techie family, I guess we actually are. We may not do the whole gaming thing, but over the past few years we’ve (okay, *I’ve*) really gotten into it. If you see me out and about now I have my camera, Flip, cell, and possibly the iPod AND, I’m now drooling over the bigger, badder, SLR cameras.

I admit it, I’m totally hooked.

After 3 long hours of wandering in the store, research, choosing, talking, looking at cameras (ya I fit that in there because I’m just so clever), we finally settled on a way cool HP laptop. Took us forever because not only had we decided to take advantage of some awesome deals, but so did half of the population of the entire Lower Mainland (if you’re not from Vancouver, the term Lower Mainland refers to a huge area surrounding Vancouver.)

What we didn’t know was that Best Buy needed 24 hours to configure and format the thing.

Um…ya. We had been planning on catching the 5:30 ferry. Best Buy said that possibly they could have it ready in an hour and a half, since we weren’t having that much done anyway, and since it was waaaaay past lunch time we decided to go to Tim Hortons.

Well that was the plan, anyway. Instead we went and danced around a traffic jam for 45 minutes because half of the city had the nerve to go and have a power outage.

A few hours later, Best Buy wasn’t finished, and Hubs? He wasn’t willing to leave the store to go get a coffee or whatever and kill time doing something other than sit and watch the Geek Squad format the computer. So we waited.

And waited.

Waited some more.

Waited until around 7 pm at night. It wasn’t that bad, really. They were super apologetic and even gifted Jake with a $20 gift card to say thanks for waiting. When they saw how techie he was, the Geek Squad let him go in their super secret back room and watch them format his computer. He looked like he fit in back there, among all these guys and loads of tech equipment. His eyes glowed with delight and we giggled as he shoved his hands in his pockets to keep from touching everything, which is a trick Hubs taught him when he was little and around lots of breakables.

Have you ever spent hours in a Best Buy? I really got the chance to check out all the camera gear, accessories for my iPod, and we ended up picking up a new HP printer/scanner and some phones in the process. We also decided that dude, instead of buying our Christmas gifts before Christmas, next time we’ll wait until Boxing Day weekend and shop.

We also had a chance to watch other customers. Like the middle aged guy who picked up his laptop, immediately turned on Skype, and began preening right there in the store, grinning into the computer with smouldering eyes and posing like he was just so hawtly sexy.

Finally, we were done. It was time to go. Best Buy was totally apologetic, but we had been fine with it all along. Apparently their network had been acting up (maybe because of that power outage) and things had taken far longer then usual. Computers are finicky and sometimes, it’s just beyond their control. The staff were great and getting all angry wouldn’t have helped things along away.

With a huge sigh of relief we loaded up the car and were all ready to go, when…

Hubs put the key in the ignition and turned it.

“Oh, SHIT.” He held up the key and in the evening light, I could see what he was talking about. The key had come out of the ignition switch, with part of the CAR attached to it.

You may not be able to see the panic that this would cause. First off, we were just going to make the very last ferry of the night. If the car was broken, there is no way we’d make it to the ferry terminal which would mean an impromptu overnight stay, then a tow truck home, which would cost PILES of money. Being stranded in Vancouver miles from home isn’t on my “fun things to do” list.

With Hubs old clunker car, which he insists we have to take to the city because he’s terrified the pretty newish Toyota will become scratched on the ferry, we have had exactly THREE near break downs; all in December in Vancouver.

The car is telling us something, people. Maybe like “I’m old and tired and hate the city,” ?

Hubs shoved the key and whatever was attached to it in the hole where the ignition is supposed to be and as we all fervently offered prayers to the Gods, the car started. I’m guessing it must have been from me petting the dashboard and talking to the car gently, begging it to please get me home and I will make sure we never, ever, force it to go to the city again. At least not with me in it.

The prayers didn’t help when we finally were in the ferry line up and Jake and I hoofed it to Trolls for take out (since we hadn’t had dinner and all of us felt like we were going to die from hunger), only to discover it was closed. The bartender cleaning up took one look at us and laughed. LAUGHED! Then we couldn’t find an ATM because you can’t use debit on the ferry, and we had resigned ourselves to eating ferry food for dinner.

You can imagine my relief when I discovered they took Visa, though.

Thank GOD for Visa, which allowed us to have big sloppy burgers and crispy fries, which normally wouldn’t be my first choice but to be in Best Buy all day without food or water would make me ready to eat just about anything. (To be fair, it was pretty yummy.)

I admit, we were all nervous when it came time to drive off the ferry. Would the car start? Would we have pieces falling off in our hands again? Did we need to call a friend and lug all that newly bought computer equipment off? My cell phone had run out of juice as well and all the phone numbers were IN it, so how would we even do that?

Hubs gingerly turned the key as I whispered sweet nothings to the dashboard and Jake clutched his new toy in the back seat. We collectively held our breath and the car roared to life.

Whoo! High fives all around! We’re going to make it home!

The next day I was at work when Hubs called with a fix it report.

“I don’t know what the hell happened, but that piece is stuck on there again. Won’t come off. I don’t know how or why it came off in the first place.”

Maybe the car was just trying to tell us something, like “Look you stupid humans, I’m too old for this shit. Take the younger car. Besides, if you had planned things better you’d have had snacks, drinks and some cash on you. Remember that for next year or I’ll strand your asses in Richmond and you’ll be hitch hiking home. Don’t you remember the LAST two years when I broke down? Do I have to spell it out for you?”

Point taken.

Butter Tart

Absolutely THE favorite Christmas goodie in my house.  With a sweet sugary filling and buttery pastry, they are often the first thing to go off the tray of Christmas goodies.  I like them right from the freezer, nice and cold.

More…

The class that I worked in was filled with kids in grades 5-7 and on my first day, the teacher pulled me aside and gave me a quick run down on the kids.

“That one,” he pointed to a sandy blond boy in torn, scruffy jeans and a t-shirt, about 12 years old. “is a brat. Don’t bother. He’ll just give you a hard time.”

I stood there, studying him as he joked with his friends, then reached over and shoved a smaller student with a sneer. He looked up at me and for a split second across the room, our eyes met.

His were filled with suspicion and anger.

I’ve never believed that there are just “bad” kids. After having worked and lived with some of the most difficult teenagers that the city has to offer, I have learned that they are kids who have survived bad circumstances. They have taken on behavior that might be needed to survive and what they don’t realize is, in some circumstances they don’t need that behavior. Then we just need to work on changing it.

I think Jason hated me at first. Every interaction was laced with sarcasm, and he would never do what I asked him to do. Ever. Until one day after school, I decided to start leaving the kids little “love notes” in their desks. I praised how they handled things at lunch with their friends. I told the girls how valued they were. They were just little scraps of paper with kind words on them, but the effect was magical.

I told Jason that he brightened my day with his smile. He did! I didn’t see it often, but when I did, it was like catching him unaware.

The next day he went to get his math book out of his desk and the note fell in his lap. As I watched from across the room, he carefully unfolded it. Our eyes met across the room and slowly, self conciously, he smiled slightly. The next day, he helped me carry some books. After school, he stopped at my desk to chat. The next week, he sternly told some rowdy kids to settle down for the substitute teacher. We worked hard on his math to bring his grades up, and celebrated with high fives. That anger he had seemed to just melt away when he walked in through the doors.

“You are here to work with these kids, not be their friend!” the teacher sternly chided me after school one day. What he didn’t understand was that in order to work with these kids, you had to be their friend. They wouldn’t open up unless they trusted you first.

Christmas came that year, and unfortunately so did an end to my time at the school. The kids showered me with gifts and cards throughout the day, but Jason held back. When finally everyone else had left, he approached my desk; his blue eyes filled with tears, his sandy hair rumpled.

“I didn’t have anything else. It’s not a Hallmark card,” he thrust a piece of lined paper at me.

On a folded piece of paper from his notebook, he had carefully drawn a beautiful winter scene, and on the inside had written,

“You are the best teacher I’ve ever had. I’ll miss you. Merry Christmas.”

Tears welled up in my eyes and began to drip down my cheeks.

“It’s not a Hallmark card, ” Jason apologized and looked at his shoes. “It’s not a nice one like..” he gestured towards the stack of expensive, glittery cards and boxes of chocolates on my desk.

Our eyes met once more. This time, his were uncertain and a bit sad.

“No Jason, it’s not, ” I smiled through my tears, “THIS kind of card is a million times better.”

It’s been fifteen years, three districts, about 100 schools since that Christmas. Jason is probably about 27 years old now, and has kids of his own. The glittery, expensive cards have long since been recycled and the chocolates were eaten.

I still have the card that he made me, all those years ago.

Photo credit: Keep Waddling1

rum balls

So Christmas is over and now we’re on our way to New Years, but now you might have some time to whip up some last minute nibblies.  Or at the very least, scope out some tasty things to serve for New Years.  These were my first rum ball attempt, and oh my…not only are they super easy and require no cooking, but they taste delish.

The recipe….