Taking Stock....

Tomorrow is New Year Eve. I will be spending it home with my children watching the Corner Gas marathon. Mr. Misery will be spending it on the road trying to make it home safe.
This will be the first time we won't be spending it together as a family. Yes, it does make me a little bit sad, but I decided to put on the big girl panties and suck it up.

Life is not fair, but I came to a realization that it is what we make it. I can be sitting here crying and writing depressing posts. I can have you all in tears feeling sorry for me, but I won't do that. As unfair as life is it is too short and I chose to live it and enjoy it as much as I can.

There are few things I learned in 2009:

1. No matter how old you are you'll always need you "mommy" to be there for you. I am 40 and I never needed or appreciated my mom as much as I did last 12 months.
2. It's never to late to realize your mistakes and start from scratch. It is hard, but I grew so much as a person in 2009.
3. It is through the tough times when you see people for who they are. I lost many friends and few family members due to seeing their true colors over the 12 months. I look at it as weeding a garden. There was lots of weeds in my garden, but after pulling them out one by one I ended up with beautiful garden full of gems that I cherish and adore every day.
4. We need money to survive in this world, but we should never let money run over life. We should use money to better our life and the lives of others. We should not use money to ruin our lives while trying to keep up with this world. I learned to live with what I have and be happy for having it.
5. I learned that it is important to take time for myself. If I don't take care of myself I can't take care of anybody else. It is also important to find your passion and follow it.

There are few things I will do my best to accomplish in 2010:

1. I will do my best to rebuild my credit and my savings account
2. I will do my best to take care of my mind, body and soul
3. I will continue spending quality time with my family and I will continue making happy memories and new traditions
4. I will do my best to change or make somebody's life better every month of the year
5. I will LIVE...LAUGH...LOVE without any regrets. I will say what I mean and I will mean what I say....no excuses.
   

My Children Showed Me The True Meaning Of Christmas

Yes, I am back.....

Another Christmas is gone....tree is down....cookies are eaten (almost).....decorations put away in the storage....kids are enjoying last few days of winter break....Mr. Misery is back on the road....I am back writing, posting and commenting....

I must say I really enjoyed this year's Christmas. This is the first year we didn't have much money, but it was the best Christmas ever.

Even HB came to me and told me :"It was the best, mom, the best".

This year we didn't buy lots of presents for my children. Everything we bought was well thought out and paid with cash....No credit card statements for me....yeey.

This year instead of expensive gifts and Holiday Getaway I gave my children my time, my attention and my love. They gave me the true meaning of Christmas.

This year for the first time I let my boys to decorate the sugar cookies and I didn't care that they didn't look perfect and professional.

This year for the first time I let my boys to decorate the Gingerbread Village and I didn't care that they turned it into a fort. I displayed it anyway.

This year for the first time I snuggled with my kids under the blanket and watched one hour of Christmas Specials every night.

This year I realized I might not have a large group of friends or family, but the ones that I have are true and love me unconditionally.

Yes, this year was different and very special. I realized how blessed I am and I can handle anything as long as I have the people who love me around.

.....and how was your holiday?

Happy Holidays

I want to wish HAPPY HOLIDAYS to all of my friends and visitors.

I decided to take few days off from blogging as I feel my family needs and deserves my undivided attention these couple of days.

Don't worry I will be back December 27th.....

I hope these holidays will find you and your family well, full of spirit and ready to take on another year.

I also want to THANK YOU to all of my friends for their continuous support, loving comments, help and encouragement. All of you made a difference in my life this year.

My Son - My Hero

It's Monday and the official beginning of Christmas week at our house.

I spent the weekend driving to and from hockey games, finishing my shopping and hanging with the boys. I am so behind on my blogging so please, bear with me.

Anyway, I decided that the Christmas week posts will be all about my family, Christmas past, new traditions and all that wonderful stuff in my life. There will be no Wednesday Wall Of Shame or any negativity. With that being said (written)I dedicate my today's post to my firstborn baby boy you all know as Hormone Boy (HB).

December 21st 2005 my beautiful baby boy was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.It was the worst day of my life, my 8 year old had to grow up overnight and our family life changed forever.

Lucky #13

On that day sitting in a hospital feeling sorry for all of us Mr. Misery and I decided to make December 21st a Special Day for HB from then on. We wanted him to remember that day and look back every year and see how much he accomplished living with a disability.

Today is 4 year anniversary of Successfully Living with Diabetes....

I wrote many posts about Type 1 diabetes, but today it will be about HB not his disease.

HB has been hands on diabetic from the beginning. He's a smart boy and he knew in order to live he needs to suck it up and deal with it.

Of course we've been through many rough days in last 4 years. There was depression, dealing with bullying, overeating in order to sabotage himself, lots of crying, giving up, not caring what will happen in the morning.

We had seizures, mistreating by teachers when unconscious, mistreating by hockey coaches and minor hockey board directors. We had many hospital emergencies, hundreds of sleepless nights, hundreds of force feeding at 2am to make sure he makes it safely till morning.

We had to deal with most of the children suddenly stopping to invite him to parties, hanging in their houses because it made their parents uncomfortable. We had to deal with loneliness and hopelessness.

Yes, it was a hard journey, but when I look at my son today 4 years later all I see is Strong, Intelligent, Opinionated, Caring, Goofy, Handsome, Healthy, Independent and Loving 12 year old with an Attitude.

Camping & Reading - That's My Boy

He plays hockey, golf and tennis. He loves reading huge novels, computers and traveling. He inherited his mother's love for the finer things in life and he's a budding chef.

Yes, he made it.....today I can say I trust my son 100% to take care of his illness.

HB came a long way in last 4 years. He started with syringe needles, then moved into insulin pens and since April 2009 he is an insulin pumper and doing awesome.

Every summer he spends 10 days in a camp just for children with Type 1 diabetes. That is his time away from us and from reality. He can just be himself and for 10 days a year he is considered "normal".

Every Spring HB starts his fundraising for Juvenile Diabetes which follows with "Walk To Cure" in June where he donates over $1,000.00 he collects from family, friends, his birthday party and our yard sales.

As much as I would love him to be free from diabetes I know this disease made him the person he's today. He had to face diversity and he developed a deep understanding for people who are different. He feels strongly that he needs to stand up for "the underdog".

There are many people in his life he looks up to for help, support, understanding and strength.

He has the best diabetic team a child could wish for.We could not have done this without them. I call them "HB's Angels".

Dr. Lannon is the most caring, funny and encouraging pediatrician out there.She's a one spunky lady.

Mary is his hard-ass, but loving nurse that keeps him on straight and narrow being diabetic herself (bad cop).

Jacquie is his dietitian. Sweet, loving, soft spoken lady who gives him more food every time he needs it (she lets him cheat once in awhile - good cop).

.....and country music star George Canyon....his role model.

HB and George Canyon Summer 2009

George is a beautiful man. He's been type 1 diabetic since he was 14 and he uses his celebrity status to spread awareness of diabetes every where he goes. He takes time out of his schedule and life every year to put on free concerts or Meet 'n' Greet for D-children and their families. He makes the kids feel so special, he gives each of them personal attention. HB met George Canyon twice and every time he meets him he has more respect for him.

As I said it was a hard 4 years, but he came out victorious.

So here's to you my son - my hero. Happy 4Th Year Anniversary!

My Children Surprise Me Every Day....

Proverb 22:6 — Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

I love my boys. They are my world. They are the reason I get up in the morning and try to be the best mom I can. I was always proud of them, but yesterday I realized just how much I am proud of them.

I always spoiled my boys with attention, presents, vacations.I always gave them everything I could. Few people warned me about giving them too much and telling me that it will turn my children into spoiled, ungracious and rude little monsters.

Sharing a Milkshake

I am a firm believer that living a privileged life doesn't mean that you will become uncaring and selfish person.There is nothing wrong with living the good life as long as you realize how lucky you are and as long as you always give back more then you receive.

So while I was "spoiling" my children I always made sure that they were aware and thankful how blessed we are.

I never knew if they took it to heart and if they actually cared down deep inside.

They always had plenty. They always asked for lots of things like normal children do. No, they did not get everything they asked for (but pretty close).

Most of the time they are polite, well behave and caring boys. They have their moments of selfishness, rebellion or jealousy. They do show a mean streak now and then. They are typical boys.....

Clowning around with Baby S

As many of you know we fell on hard times over a year ago when Mr. Misery lost his job and HB was hospitalized for 4 months. We had to live from our savings for a year and we fell behind on few credit cards. We try very hard not to discuss the money issues in front of our children and we try very hard to keep their lives as normal as possible.

They are smart boys and HB is 12 year old boy genius who can put two and two together without us saying anything. I did have a talk with the boys few months back when we ran out of money and Mr. Misery was still without a job. All I told them was that we need to watch our money very closely and make the right decisions about spending.

His Brother's Keeper - Always Together

Our life changed a lot last few months and this is the first Christmas on the budget and buying presents with cash(I actually love that part). I was worried how the boys would handle it going from plenty to almost nothing. Regular days are different. They got used to not getting stuff every time they ask and I just realized that they actually stopped asking all together. But this is Christmas, the time of plenty and plenty more in our house since the day they were born.

In the past they both would make a huge Wish List. LP would circle almost every toy in the Sears Wish Book.They would talk about it month before and every day till Christmas. We all knew what they wanted.

Well, it is almost Christmas and there is no: "mom, I want this" or "mom, I need that", "mom, check it out".

Few weeks ago LP and HB made a Wish List and wrote it on a board in HB's room.

I went to check it out and LP the child who usually has pages wrote down 4 things. Now, I don't know where the 4 things come from, but I have a feeling his brother told him to write down only 4.

Last night Mr. Misery called and asked me what the boys want so he can pick up couple of things for them while on the road. I went to HB's room to check out the board (LP is changing his mind daily, but never more then 4). There were 4 things for LP and HB's list was erased.

I called HB and asked him how come his list is gone and what he would really like for Christmas.He gave me a big hug and said: "Mom, there is nothing I really need. Just make sure LP gets his stuff. You know, he still believes in Santa".

At that exact moment I felt like the proudest mom in the whole wide world and I knew we will be alright.


While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about.
~Angela Schwindt

Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.
~ James Baldwin

What Do You Do When....?

So many times in my life something happens and I am standing there or sitting there thinking.....What should I do? What is the proper response?

Ultimately I make a decision and most of the time I go with my gut. Yes, my gut let me make a mistake once or twice, but I don't hold it against him/her or it.

Few days ago my sister and I decided to take our boys for lunch ( 4 boys ages 5,7,7 and 12)and little shopping in their favorite store "Nothing over Dollar" which recently changed into "Nothing over $1.25".

As a treat we told the boys that each of them can pick out 4 items of their choice. Pretty harmless, right?

Before I continue I need to tell you little background about my family. My sister is a single mom who works full time and lives with our JW mom and dad. Her boys spend all of their time except school in my house or with my parents.

Neither of the households support violence, watch violent shows, talk about violence and guns. The boys don't own any toy guns (except little Nerf shooters with target).

Well, the youngest child little nephew C picked out a kit that contained gun, black mask and a badge "The Mask Man". Since it was a Dollar Store and we said he could pick anything he wants my sister figured that by the time they get home the gun would be broken and in a trash.

Next stop was the restaurant.

While we are waiting for our meals the boys are keeping busy playing with their purchases. Little nephew C opened his kit and insisted to put on his black mask.

It was the creepiest and funniest thing ever. His little beady eyes were following me everywhere. Then he needed to go to the washroom and HB was the lucky one (being the closest we had to a man with us)to take him. He would not take that mask off and he walked through that restaurant proud as punch and HB was just hiding behind him (it's so easy to embarrass 12 year old).

After the washroom visit little C parks his little tush on the chair. Looks around. Pulls out his gun and with a serious look points his gun at my sister and starts....eenie, meenie, minie, mo.....who should die today....while pointing the gun around the circle. His brother K was "it" so little C stops. He looks at his brother and says: "It's your lucky day" and pulls the pretend trigger. Then continues eating his grilled cheese.

Now, I know this was all innocent (I hope) and kind of funny in twisted sort of way (I did laugh a bit.....honestly, you would probably laugh if you saw him doing it), but WHAT WOULD YOU DO......?

Do go check out my other blog to see what I created (finally) from The POM Wonderful juice that the wonderful people of POM sent me.

It is delicious, tasty and festive.....Cannoli with Pomegranate Mousse

Wednesday Wall Of Shame

Yes, another Wednesday is here and I am feeling much better just in time for my Wednesday Wall Of Shame.

I've been sick in bed for last 3-4 days so I didn't think I would have any candidates for this week's wall. Unfortunately, I attended my son's Christmas concert last night and I came home with two.

Wednesday Wall of Shame recipients come on down:

Rude and Disrespectful People Who Attend Children's Concerts. These are the people who decide to bring siblings to a concert then park their behinds in the front rows and let the siblings run wild up and down the aisles interrupting people who came to watch and support their children and are trying to enjoy or possibly hear the performance.

The people who come 15-20 minutes late to the concert and then decide to stand in the middle of the open door to give themselves enough light to look for empty seats, taking their sweet time while discussing with their late group which seats would be acceptable to them.....guess what...You came late, you don't get to chose your seat, there are children on the stage trying hard to show us what they learned. Close the door, shut your yap, park your behind on the first empty chair. I don't care that you don't sit together. You lost that privilege when you showed up late and brought the trailer park with you.

The people who decide to have more then few drinks before attending their child's Christmas concert. I know it's after 5pm and yes,this is the time to be jolly, but it is not OK to show up for the concert smelling from Eau De Johny Walker.

Shame on you Rude and Disrespectful Children Concert Disturbers.


Obnoxious and Unsafe Drivers (Usually) In Big Trucks When It's Snowing. All the dumb drivers honking their horns, trying to run people of the road just because some of us slow down from 80 to 60 while driving our children to and from school during a snowstorm. These are the same drivers that you see few miles down the road in a ditch trying to flag down the cars they just tried to run off the road. Good Luck with that, Buddy....If I wasn't a lady I would finger you while driving by at safe speed, but because I am a lady I will just drive by and give you a nice smile and ask God to send you a tow truck (in few hours).

Shame on you Obnoxious and Unsafe Drivers



....and on a happy note

I've been busy baking and if you like to check out my recipes you can do so on my Gourmet Meals For Less blog

Cherry Cranberry Shortbread Bars

Puff Cookie Sandwiches

Spreading The Love and Paying It Forward

I am baaaaaack......I spent last 3 days in bed with nasty cold/flu while Mr.Misery was home taking care of the children and of course...ME.

Mr. Misery left last night and I am feeling much better.So much better that I even baked last night.

Anyway, I missed 4 days of writing and baking and I am not even going to try to catch up so I am picking up where I left off.

While I was gone I gained 2 new followers.How cool is that?

First order of business is to share the Bloggy Love. Over the last week or so I received lots of wonderful awards from many wonderful ladies.

I received the 5 Diamonds Award from Polly @ The 5th Sister. Polly writes wonderful Haiku every Wednesday. If you don't know her yet, you must go over right now.

I decided to pass this sparkling award to:

Lee The Hot Flash Queen @ Hormones, Headaches & Hot Flashes

and

Noelle @ Elastic Waistbands And Comfortable Shoes

Second award The Silver Shoe Of Sincerity I received from the funny and wonderful Holly & Charisse @ Live Laugh Latte. I love to go over and visit them whenever I can. Their vlogs are awesome and they remind me of the chats I have with my best friend.

I decided to pass this award to:

Marilyn @ A Lot Of Loves

and

Karen @ Strictly Simple Style

The third award the Sugar Doll Award I received from the hilarious and oh, so real queen of the blogosphere Lee The Hot Flash Queen
I am sure you know her as she is the queen, but if you don't run over there and you won't be disappointed.

I want to pass this award to:


Gwen @ ParlinMom

Lynn @ Midday Escapades

Miss Dot @ Saving The World One Cupcake At A Time

Finally, my last award the I Heart Your Blog I received from Lynn @ Midday Escapades. Lynn is one of my most loyal followers and supporters. She is all about sharing, caring and spreading the bloggy love and support.

I want to pass this award to my wonderful, funny and supportive friends:

Kristen @ Scrappin' My Bliss

and

Alexes @ One Cluttered Brain

Now,I am off to post some of my recipes. I am so behind. I feel like the rabbit in Alice In Wonderland.

I Have That Sick Feeling Coming On....But The Decorating is Done

Last night I went to bed with the feeling that in the morning I will be sick.

Of course, it never fails. I woke up sneezing, runny nose and awful headache.

I managed to ship the kids off to school, do some housework, but there was no way I was baking or writing.

I did however work on my decorating.

Yesterday I picked up a roll of not-too Christmasy wrapping paper (the only one available) and some picture nails. Today I brought out all of our pictures from storage and I went to work.

It is nowhere near the "nice painted walls look" like I hoped for this year, but it is a change. I was getting depressed looking at my ugly unfinished walls. We won't be able to finish our living room and family room till spring so I had to do something that would look decent and won't cost much.

Apparently it looks 1000% better because the boys were quite impressed when they got home from school. Hopefully Mr. Misery approves as well.

For this little project I used 1 roll of wrapping paper, some nails, double sided tape, pictures from storage, roll of kids drawing paper from Ikea I had lying around and 2 red satin sheet.

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

I finished few more walls in a similar fashion.

Some of you have been emailing me and asking me what I have been cooking or baking.

Well, Monday I started my annual Christmas Baking Extravaganza and so far I made:

Sacher Torte Cookies
Peanut Butter & Chocolate Cheesecake Cookies
Puff Cookie Sandwiches
Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies

I also made Walnut Strawberry Cookies, but I haven't posted it yet.

I am hoping I will feel better by the weekend and I am planning on baking 4 kinds of bars and/or brownies by Monday.

Wednesday Wall Of Shame

Another Wednesday is here and you know what time it is.....it is Wall Of Shame time.

Last week I skipped my wall due to my Name Day.

BTW, if you know anybody by name Amory, Luz, Pandora or Roman wish them Happy Name Day.

Back to the WALL....who will be this week's lucky recipient of shame?

I've been spending hours in shopping malls last few days looking for the perfect gift and I found today's recipients.

#1 People Who Abuse Disabled Parking Permits - no I am not talking about people illegally taking over parking spots designated for disabled people (that's a whole new problem). I am talking about people who have a disabled member of the family and are using his/her Disabled Parking Permit without them being there.....Shame on you.

Nothing bothers me more in a parking lots then to see car being parked in a disabled spot and out of the car comes out perfectly healthy bunch of teenagers, people in mid 20' and 30'and others who are not by any means disabled. You see them running out of the car, jumping around and not caring that there might be a person who really needs that spot.

To all of you lazy ass abusers, imagine that someone like you takes a spot illegally and your disabled mother or a father can't find a parking spot and has to leave. Think about it and while you at it a little bit of exercise won't kill you.

#2 People Who Will Use 3 Or More Credit Cards Just To Buy 1 Expensive Gift. I was shocked to experience this few times while waiting in a lineup to pay for my Christmas gifts.

Wake up people, you should be ashamed doing this.Aren't you embarrassed? I would be if I were you. You really think that a certain toy or a piece of electronic is worth you maxing out every credit card you own?

I was in a lineup at Toy'R'Us. Lady in front of me was buying few expensive toys (can't remember what they were). When it was her turn she handed the cashier a credit card...it was declined. Then she handed her second credit card....declined, third credit card.....declined, fourth credit card....declined. Then the lady tells the cashier that she'll be right back....she needs to get another credit card from her husband who's in the car.

At this point I am thinking.....run and don't look back. Oh, no she came back with another credit card that still worked....wonder for how long.

Shame on you lady, whoever you are.....for coming back. Shame on all people like her who put material things before the security and well being of their families.

I don't want to be a hypocrite. I am a credit card user who got in trouble, but the only reason I got in trouble was because my son was in a hospital for 4 months,we had to finish our new house before the winter (living in our travel trailer was no longer an option)and my husband lost his job overnight in the middle of all this.

I never had a cashier decline my credit card and I never used more then 1 credit card to purchase anything.


That's concludes my Wall Of Shame. What or who made you upset this week?

Remember this is an open Wall Of Shame. Add to it as much as you need to leave the negativity behind.

I am off baking. Christmas is coming, you know?

Happy Name Day Charisse

For those of you who come by regularly to read my posts you might recall that recently I reinstated NAME DAY and I did warned you that I will watch the calendar and I will wish you HAPPY NAME DAY.

That's what you get for being my supporter....sorry.

So today, I want to wish HAPPY NAME DAY to Charisse from Live Laugh Latte.

Why don't you stop by and wish her Happy Name Day as well.

HAPPY NAME DAY CHARISSE !

Whatever Happened To Family Disney Shows?

Yesterday my seven year old asked me to watch some TV with him while his older brother was studying.

I haven't watched the Family channel with him for quite some time so I took this as an opportunity to catch up on the shows my kids watch.

We watched Disney show J.O.N.A.S featuring the Jonas brothers. No this is not a reality show. The Jones brothers are the fictional "Lucas brothers" who live with their parents and a younger brother in a converted fire house, attend private high school and they happen to be a band as well.

Right from the beginning I was little bit disturbed that 22 year old Kevin and 20 year old Joe play the role of teenagers in a Disney show. It was little bit weird to watch and it almost looked too fake for me. But I was spending time with my LP and I was sticking it out.

In this episode their fictional parents left them home while they went on a vacation. Oh, my goodness. It sure got dumb from there on....it's hard to describe.

Did I tell you that J.O.N.A.S apparently stands for “Junior Operatives Networking As Spies”? The Lucas brothers are also undercover spies out to save the world. The Jonas Brothers are helping their dad who's also a secret agent thwart the evil Dr. Harvey Fleischman, a diabolical dentist out to take over the minds of young people everywhere (what a plot, isn't it?). The best part....the mom doesn't know about it.

After few minutes of watching the 22 and 20 year old playing teenagers and badly may I add, my 7 year old child looked at me and said: "Mommy, they are so stupid".

Just to reassure you LP doesn't use that kind of language often and it is frowned upon in our household. That should give you the idea how bad it was.

Is Disney so desperate for a show that they would cast men in their early 20' (no matter how famous) for the role of teenagers and make them so dumb that even seven year old won't watch it?

Is Disney trying to show children that this is how teenagers act?

I know lots of teenagers around me. With their hormones raging lots of them are not the sharpest knives in the drawer (at this time of their life), but I can tell you, none of them are as dumb as Kevin and Joe Jonas pretended to be (I hope they were pretending).

I am pretty sure that Disney is banking on teenage girls watching the show for the Jonas effect, but I think two of the Jonas brothers are little too old for Disney trying to gain a young audience....that is just creepy if you ask me.

Poor Walt Disney, I wonder what he would say.....whatever happened to Disney shows that educate and entertain at the same time?

Just in case you have 7 minutes to waste you can watch part of the episode I watched and judge for yourself. I won't hold it against you if you won't watch it....really.

MERRY SITSmas to all the lovely SITSas visiting me today.

Dear Saint Nick...Next Year Stay Away From The Heater

Another weekend is gone and we are even closer to Christmas. I am nowhere near ready, but at least I started.

We survived the St. Nikolaus day without any major meltdowns due to the sugar rush...as I suspected most of the goodies are gone and few of the little toys are in the trash....good times.

The only thing missing was Mr. Misery. This was the first St. Nick day he missed.

I wanted to show you the St. Nick boots. This year HB chose my rubber boot and LP chose HB's rubber boot. He did not want to have the same boot as HB. He wanted to make sure that St. Nick will not mix them up hence giving all the chocolate to HB (HB doesn't get any chocolate - he doesn't like it).

Poor bear never had the chance

Everything went smooth except St. Nick made a little boo-boo. LP's boot was too full that he had to hang his Belgium chocolate bear over the boot (see picture)and didn't pay attention to the electric heater directly under the window.

The result.....little Belgium chocolate bear was a tiny little puddle with 1 paw sticking out. So sad.

LP was fine. He just looked at it and said: "Oh, well good thing I like chocolate puddles. Now I don't have to bite his head off".

Note to myself: "next year Saint Nick needs to pay closer attention to the surroundings of the boots. Placing them by the front door works well".

We spent the rest of the day watching movies and decorating our house. I don't know if I mentioned it, but our house is still not finished so our living room and family room have only dry walls with big patches of dry wall mud. I must say it does look better with decorations around.

Christmas in an unfinished home

I told Mr. Misery that I will cover those ugly walls with Christmas paper. He laughed. We'll see who's laughing when he gets home next weekend and our house looks like the Gingerbread house from the inside.

No I wouldn't do it. I had another idea. I want to go check out our thrift stores for plain red, green or white sheets and drape them over the walls at certain spots.
That is doable. Since last Christmas I said I won't be celebrating another one with ugly walls I must do something creative and cheap.

Any ideas?

Anyway....today I am starting my Christmas Baking Extravaganza....two weeks from now I will have 10-15 kinds of cookies, bars and pastries to share with my family and friends.

I wish I could share them with you as well, but I will post pictures and recipes.

Clean Your Boots...Saint Nikolaus Is Coming Tonight

December 5th.....seriously it was only December 1st yesterday.....can this go any faster?

I had a great shopping day with Mr. Misery yesterday. We got most of the gifts which makes me happy. Almost 1 thing I can take off my list.

Today is bitter-sweet. Mr. Misery left at 5am and that makes me sad (it doesn't seem to get any easier), but tonight it's St. Nikolaus Day.

My kids are so excited. LP has been counting the sleeps since end of November.

St. Nikolaus Day is another tradition from my childhood in Slovakia.

The tradition of Saint Nicholas Day, usually on 6 of December, is a festival for children in many countries in Europe related to surviving legends of the saint Nicholas of Myra, a saint and Bishop of Myra, and particularly his reputation as a bringer of gifts. The American Santa Claus, as well as the Anglo-Canadian and British Father Christmas, derive from these legends. "Santa Claus" is itself derived from the Dutch Sinterklaas.

In Slovakia, Nikolaus (Mikulas) is celebrated by children putting out a clean and shiny boot outside the front door or on the window sills on the night of December 5th . St. Nikolaus fills the boots with small gifts and treats, and at the same time checks up on the children to see if they were good, polite and helpful. If they were not, they will have a tree branch or a broom in their boots instead. Sometimes a disguised Nikolaus also visits the children at school or in their homes and asks them if they have been good, handing out presents.

But for some children, Nikolaus also elicited fear, as he is often accompanied by the devil, who would threaten to beat, or sometimes actually beat the children for misbehaviour as using this myth to 'bring up cheek children' for a better, good behaviour( No, they don't really get beating).As a counterweight to the devil Nikolaus also travels with an angel.

Saint Nikolaus is usually dressed as a bishop with robes, a miter and a long white beard, holding a golden crosier, a large book and a big sack, and riding a white horse.

Growing up I remember there were lots of parties at school, my parents place of business, home and friends houses on December 5th. Saint Nikolaus attended all of them. He would call each child by name to come up to him sitting at the Christmas tree. Then we had to perform for him. Either sing, dance, recite a poem, tell a joke. After that he would reach inside his huge satchel and would hand us a little bag full of fruit, nuts and chocolate (yes, he made sure he got the 3 food groups covered).

I used to love Saint Nikolaus day.What's not to love....yet another party.

I have been celebrating Saint Nikolaus Day in Canada since HB was born. Every year come November they start talking about it.

So today being December 5th my children will clean and shine boots and tomorrow morning they will find their treats....and have a healthy breakfast consisting of chocolate, candy, cookies and hopefully glass of milk.

I am very excited about this because few years ago they discovered that mom has a passion for shoes including boots and some of her boots are very tall and Saint Nikolaus can fit way more stuff in there.

Tonight after dinner my boys will buff and shine my boots so they can collect their reward tomorrow....I call it win-win. Although HB's foot is getting bigger and bigger so I think I will have to start shining my own boots soon. Oh, well.

Just a Little Bit...

Sorry, I don't have much prepared for today.

Mr. Misery came home yesterday and is leaving tomorrow morning. So today we will go Christmas shopping while the boys are at school and then we will have a nice family dinner, do some decorating and watch a movie.

I am not leaving you high and dry....I decided to share with you my favorite Christmas song and video of all times.....how many of you remember when this first came out?

Me and my sister used to dream about recreating that video one day with our boyfriends...hahahahaha...

And if that is not enough go check out my recipe for Chicken & Peas Risotto. Quick, delicious and oh, so yummy.

Chicken & Peas Risotto

See you all tomorrow....I have a special post for you.

My Grandma Is My Angel....Happy Birthday Grandma

December 3th is my grandma’s birthday. If she was alive she would be 88 years old today.

My grandma died few years ago in Slovakia and I never had the chance to say proper good bye.

LP was a baby at the time and traveling with two little ones across the ocean by myself on a short notice was not doable at the time.

My grandma “starka Lotka” was the best person I ever met. She was a strong woman with strong believes, heart of gold and smile that could make everything better.

Grandma, me and my cousin on my 1st Birthday

I loved my grandma unconditionally and I would do anything for her just as she would for me.

My grandma had 7 grandchildren, but I was the lucky one she shared a very special bond with. She loved us all with all her heart, but I was her girl.

Going Skiing with Grandma

I was the one who came over on Saturdays to help her clean (Saturday ritual) the house while everyone else had excuses. I was the one who came every Christmas to decorate her tall Christmas tree, tie the strings on tons of chocolates to hang on the tree, to set up the table for big family dinners.

I was the one who cooked and baked with her, helped her in the garden, picked her fruit or just came by to hang and talk about the day.

Visiting me in Boarding School

I was the one who got just the little more spending money when the carnival came to town. I was the one who always got the extra candy or chocolate bar or money for new shoes.....shhh don't tell anyone. I was the one who needed extra luggage for all the
goodies every Sunday when leaving for the boarding school.

Back then I was upset at my cousins and my sister that I had to do everything (nobody made me). Today I am so thankful for all those extra moments I got to spend with her. All those things I learned from her, all those stories only I know.

Today I am the one that is blessed. Grandma is gone and I bet they all wish they could spend some time with her now. Now it’s too late....

I am thankful to my grandma for being the person I am today. Her compassion, wisdom and support got me through so many rough parts of my life.

I will never forget Meatless Fridays at her house....she made sure every Friday meal was delicious, sinful, sweet and not very good for you.

My grandma was as close to a saint as you can get in my eyes. She would never refuse a help to anyone, she would feed the hungry, clothe the poor, listen if you needed to talk, gave advice where advice was wanted. I never saw her drink, smoke or swear....except at my grandpa.

My grandparents were soul mates.The love and respect they shared with each other was the most beautiful thing I ever experienced.

My grandma was a funny and a happy woman. I can still hear her yelling at my grandpa after coming into the house with muddy shoes or if he was being to judgemental or hard on any of us kids. She would call him "old stubborn ass" and she would say it with such love and respect that grandpa would just smile and do as she said.

When I was 19 and we had to escape to Austria due to my dad's unwillingness to work with the communist party. Nobody in my family knew about our plan to escape...but her. Her heart was broken, she was losing her daughter and her grand kids. She was mad at my dad, but she knew he had to do it. She let us go without knowing if she'll ever see us again.

My sis,grandma,mom,cousin & aunt visiting us in refugee camp

Later I found out that she didn't even tell grandpa because if he knew he would told the police and he would rather have my dad arrested then to lose his daughter and his 2 girls.

Year later the communist regime was over and my grandma was allowed to come and visit us at the refugee camp in Austria. I will always remember that day.

My grandma brought me all the little things I had to leave behind like my pictures, letters and other memories. She went into our apartment in the city after police blocked it (yes, the communists took everything we owned and then they offered it to sell it to our family)just to make sure I won't lose it. Grandma was arrested for breaking and entering into her daughters home while using the key. After couple weeks of interrogation our family lawyer got the charges dropped.

My grandma also spent every day since we left hand stitching tablecloths and brought them to me and told me to sell them if we ever need money. I still have every single one of them (well, I gave some to my mom).

Guess what, my grandparents made it to Canada and danced at my wedding...they were in their 70'.

My grandpa died suddenly before his 80th birthday when HB was 5 months old. I was there by her side within 48 hours. That was the time my heart broke for the first time....

....but she picked herself up and went on. I had to leave after 4 weeks, but it was hard.

My Last Picture of Grandma

I've been back home few times with HB after my grandpa died.

My grandma died few years ago and she never met LP which I will always regret.

I LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU STARKA LOTKA. THANK YOU FOR LOVING ME THE WAY YOU DID.....

Today is My Name Day...Do You Know When's Yours?

December 2nd is a special day for me. It is my Name Day.

Today Bibiana’s (yes, Bibi is short for Bibiana) around the world (well, mostly in Europe) celebrate their Name Day.

What is Name Day you ask?

Well, I was born in Slovakia (former Czechoslovakia) and in Slovakia as in many other European countries every calendar day is associated with certain name. This has been the same for many, many years.

I grew up here

Every calendar you purchase will have a name for every day of the year.

So December 2nd has been my special day since the day I was born. My sister celebrates her day on February 10th, my dad is June 7th ….you get the point.

Name Day is not as big as your birthday, but it is a special day. You celebrate it with your closest family that includes your parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins and best friends….I guess it is almost as big isn’t it?

You don’t receive big gifts. Typical Name Day gifts are flowers, chocolates and cake when you are a child. Adults get flowers and bottles of wine or champagne.

This is what Wikipedia has to say:

"A name day is a tradition in many countries in Europe and Latin America of celebrating on a particular day of the year associated with the one's given name. The custom originated with the Catholic and Orthodox calendar of saints, where believers, named after a particular saint, would celebrate that saint's feast day. In many countries, however, there is no longer any explicit connection to Christianity."

"In Slovakia name days are widely celebrated. Also celebrations in workplace, or school are commonplace. Celebrations at school are different than those in family, the celebrant gives candies to his or her classmates. Flowers are sometimes sold out for popular name days. In the past, by law, parents were not allowed to choose just any name for a child. This has changed, although it is still common to choose the name from the name day calendar. The original list was the Roman Catholic calendar of saints, but changes have been made to reflect the present-day usage of names."

Since I left Slovakia I haven’t really celebrated many Name Days, but Mr. Misery tries very hard to remember. He called me yesterday to wish me Happy Name Day in case he forgets.

I used to love Name Day as a child. Who wouldn’t. It’s one more special day just for you.

Lately I’ve been thinking about traditions and this is one tradition I would like to bring back and share with my children for two reasons.

First, because I am getting older and you don’t have to tell your age on your Name Day...BONUS

Second, because I want my children experience their heritage, my childhood and the ways I was brought up.

So I did little research and I found out that some smart entrepreneurs already did the work for me and actually there is a calendar available in North America that includes most of the North American names.

LP’s name is part of Slovak calendar, but HB and Mr. Misery didn’t have their Name Day and that just wasn’t fair.

So starting today I am reinstating Name Day in my family….oh, yeah I will check out all of your names and wish you Happy Name Day so don’t be freaked out….yes, I am a weirdo, but lovable one.

In case you are wondering what I have been cooking check out my Gourmet Meals For Less and you won’t be disappointed.

On the weekend I made Raspberry Tiramisu for my wonderful boys just because.

Raspberry Tiramisu

Monday we had our Meatless Monday and I made Crepes with Walnut Filling.

Crepes with Walnut Filling

Help Is Needed All Year Round Not Just During Holidays

I wasn't sure about writing this post and the last thing I want to do is to offend anybody.

With the Holidays approaching I've been reading articles and posts mostly about giving and people feeling guilty and trying to do so many things to help this month.

They are posting lists and ideas where to go and what to give. People are commenting on how grateful they are for these ideas and lists and promising to check them out and do something.

This is all wonderful and heartwarming, but.........

....why do we have such a need to help others in need during Christmas. Where this passion and need disappears come January?

The food banks are empty all year round, people are homeless all year round, children need food, books, shelter, medicine, toys and love all year round.

I have to ask this question. Do we give this time of the year so we can enjoy the food, the presents and the warmth of our homes through the holidays without the guilt? Or do we give because we genuinely care. I know we all care on a certain level, but what is the level?

Not many people without the basic needs care about Christmas. For them Christmas is a time that there is a pretty good chance they will get food, some new clothes maybe a toy or two. What they care about is to have the basic needs all year round.

So I have an idea. Maybe this Christmas we can make a promise to ourselves that no matter how busy our life will get, no matter how comfortable we get driving in our new cars, eating in restaurants, traveling or shopping for the latest fashion we will think of others. The ones who have nothing and nobody....the forgotten ones.

How about starting next year we will do one good deed, help one person or organization every month of the year. Then come December 2010 we can all write about what we did past 12 months and not what we are planning on doing few weeks before Christmas.

Are you with me?

My November in a Nutshell

December is here and so is the third month of my journey from Misery to Happiness.

So to sum up my November I have to say that due to my children illnesses I didn't really move forward with my business part, but it's all good. There are still many accomplishments for myself and my family that I am happy about and proud of.

• Mr. Misery got a job on November 7th after 12 months and 7 days of unemployment
• After long time we are caught up with most all of our bills and moving forward
• The attitude around my house is more positive and we can all see the light at the end of the tunnel
• As a family we are spending more quality time and bringing back our traditions we somehow lost along the way
• I started leaving my house again and venturing out into the world and not caring what people think
• I learned a new word and I quite enjoy using it. The magic word of the month is "NO" and I don't feel guilty when I use it
• I started volunteering at the school and hockey again , but I am not allowing anybody to take an advantage of me or bring me down
• I fell in love with my husband all over again and it feels amazing
• I lost another 3 pounds by changing little things
• I found out that my mom is a Celiac and while I am waiting for my results I am educating myself and I know I will be able to handle it if the results come positive
• I conquered my fears and I am able to put the insulin pump inset into my son's body without hurting him too much and crying afterward
• I wrote at least one post a day between the 3 blogs I have
• I gained few more followers (not a large quantity , but definitely a quality)
• I made.....wait for it......$1.64 in Google AdSense
• I became a full time single parent due to Mr. Misery new job and I am getting better and better every day. I still think SINGLE PARENTS ROCK (not me, the real ones).
  

So that's my November in a nutshell. I am kind of ready for December.