When she was four.....

"Not too many things catch your heart in this world, so whatever catches your heart you should do. "          

 ~Michelle Kelly, Athlete {1974- }

When she was 4 years old, one day out of the blue, she started asking me about skating.

"Mommy. I want to learn how to skate.

 I want to wear a dress and twirl."

I didn't pay a lot of attention at first because I thought it was a passing fancy for a little 4 year old girl.

I don't skate myself...other than the odd winter skate.

But this request from my curly girl didn't 'pass' or go away....it just...persisted.

I was pregnant with her brother at the time, and we were building a new house.

My energy was flagging and I didn't feel like adding another activity to our schedule.

She was already doing ballet and piano.

But in January 2001, we registered her for the Can Skate Learn to Skate program at the local arena.

And she's been skating ever since.

Her father took her to Can Skate for the first 2 years.

After she completed Can Skate in 2 years, she moved on to "Star Skate" which involved private lessons.

And then I started taking her to skating, while Dad stayed home with her toddler brother.

She loved skating.

About 5 years ago,  when we moved to another province, she tried synchronized skating for the first time.

It was then that she found a new passion.

 Synchronized Skating.

She loves this sport so much, she has been skating with a synchro team ever since.

Often, she skate with 2 teams a season.

Her first year of synchro~the "Car Wash" program~2005-2006.

~the "Cinderella" program~2005-2006.

~the "Ragtime" program~2006-2007.

~the "Ballerina" program~2006-2007.

~the "Jungle" program~2007-2008.

~the "Cars" program~2007-2008.

~the "Spanish" program~2008-2009.

 ~the "Movies" program~2008-2009.

~the "Monsters vs. Aliens" program~2009-2010.

And like any sport, sychro skating has brought many things to her life....like....

Fun and new friendships.

Shared mother and daughter times.

Fun and pretty costumes.

Travel.

Because of synchro skating... we have travelled to Calgary, Winnipeg, Regina, Toronto, and Chilliwack.

Mentoring experiences with older skaters in the club.

A singles skating coach who becomes a trusted friend.

A fantastic head coach who teaches, develops and inspires.

Who makes you more than you thought you could be.

{As spectators at Synchro Worlds in Colorado in 2010.}

And all this because of dreams of a little 4 year old girl.

Who wanted to put on skates and a dress

 and twirl.

Home Goals for 2011...

The caring and keeping of home is a never ending job.

But it's  a job I love.....and I hope everyone who enters our home feels it's warmth.

I do have a few home goals for 2011 and they are:

1. To keep it looking fresh and pretty.

2. To put frames around these ugly standard issue builders bathroom mirrors.

3. To pretty up this mudroom closet by freshening the back wall which has seen too many shoe and boot marks.

I am thinking paint or wallpaper.

It would be nice to use paint I already have...along with a graphic stencil.

4. How about this hideous-looking pantry? She sure could use a 'Stacey & Clinton' makeover.

5. I sure would like to purdy up this little dog feeding station.

I have a few ideas.

6. The stairs to the basement family room. Super yuck. Super ugly. Get that paint brush out right now!

I think I plan to tackle those stairs first. I started them months ago by painting the risers and sides white.

Embarassingly, they have been left in this state far too long.

Now you know all my secrets.

This post is linked to the home goals party at Nesting Place.

The Secret of Planning for Next Christmas...

Let me share what I have been doing for the past 2 weeks.

Planning for Chrismtas 2011.

Yes!
 It sounds silly I know.

But doing it this way saves mucho time and money later on.

I am shopping all the terrific sales this time of year in stores that are really quiet  to meet all our needs for next Christmas....at  60% to 75% off.

There are two types of buying that I do for Christmas:

1-Things bought every year like boxed cards, special cards, Christmas crackers, wrapping paper and stickers.

2-Things bought every 4-5 years to change things up a bit or to replace what has been broken or damaged or tired looking.

1-Things I buy every year for our Christmas Celebration:

Christmas Crackers. 50% off =$3.94

Mini-crackers for $1.44.

Boxed Cards 50% off=$3.00.

75% off these cards-

Stickers for .69 cents.

I love using stickers for decorating packages that go in the mail!

Special cards for family members...these are Carlton cards that ranged in price from $3.39 to $6.99 regularly...I got them for $1 each.

2- Things bought every 4-5 years.

 2011 is the year for some NEW decor.

{Can I blame this on my 14 yr. old daughter?}

You see, we have NEVER decorated for Christmas in red and green.

NEVER in 15 years of marriage.

When Hunter and I were decorating the tree this year, she said she would like to have  a "Who-ville" tree next year.

And when I think about how she's 14 already and in a few short years she could be out of the house...well...we are going to HAVE A WHO-VILLE tree next year...and that's that.

Our WHO-VILLE TREE will be FUN, COLOURFUL and WHIMSICAL..full of candy and treats

and ALL 75% off. This entire lot cost around $40.

Who-ville looking trees for $2.00 and $3.00 each.

A felt tree skirt $6.74.

Fun ornaments in candy colours for $2.49 a container.

Lollipop garland for $2.49 each.

Felt ornaments for .50 cents each.

And candy-inspired ornaments...

Love these felt snowflakes with a hand-stitched look...

And my most favourite of all....these silver glass ornaments from Zellers at 60% off at $1.99 each.

So exquisite and pretty....

Come next November, I will be ready to start Christmas decorating knowing that I have everything we need.

I will still keep all my blue and green ornaments...they will just be part of my own little decor store in the storage room. I packed everything away this year in recycled shopping bags sorted by colour so that next year I can take whatever colours I plan to use without having to dig around. I have silver ornaments together, blue together and so on.

So here are my secrets:

Make a list of what you buy every year for Christmas and what needs to be replaced and shop the sales and take advantage of deep discounts.

Come November 2011, you will be so happy with yourself for doing this!

Here's another secret...for maximum shopping happiness, do not tell your husband. Yes...telling your husband will result in sighing and eyerolling...just take your bags quietly to the storage room and give yourself a pat on the back!

So please  take advantage of post-Christmas sales.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

This post is linked to these parties:

What every girl's desk needs...

How about some Amy Butler?
While trolling through Homesense {Homegoods} a few days ago, I came across these desk accessories by

Amy Butler.

I have professed my love for Amy Butler many times on this blog...how I adores her fun fresh patterns and colour combinations.

There were 2 colourways on the shelves....a blue/turquoise/green combo and this pretty pink combo.

I came away with this collection for my desk area.

A desktop organizer...

A packet of post-it notes....

Files folders...

And binders...

Inside the binders are these fun dividers...

I spent a few hours today cleaning up my desk area and I felt  so excited to use these little goodies.

There's nothing like some fresh new supplies to make one feel motivated and inspired.

In the last post about my family organizer for 2011, a few people asked where to find the planner.

I got mine at Costco in the Fall, but I am not sure if they still have them.

Chapters Bookstores have them on sale right in store for 50% off.

You can also find the planners on sale at http://www.polestarcalendars.com/.

They are being cleared out right now for $10 each.

Welcome 2011....and how I can't wait to 'organize' you...

Happy 2011!

I have been having a great vacation with my family these past 2 weeks.

 I have been taking a "technology break".

I haven't been blogging, or spending much time on the computer.

We have been enjoying lots of pj time and hanging out.

Of course, it will all end on Monday morning when everyone is back to school and work.

Today I am lounging around and watching Season 3 of Mad Men.

I am obsessed with that show...the fashions, the furniture and the rotary telephone.

I also opened up my new planner for 2011.

I love this planner.

I have been using it for 6 years now and I use it for everything.

We have a large family calendar in the kitchen for school schedules, sports schedules and such.

But this is the one I use on a daily basis for writing down all the thoughts that occupy my mind like:

Meals planning.

Shopping lists.

Errands.

Gift ideas.

Groceries.

And it is often my companion in the passenger seat of the car.

I call the passenger seat of my car my "office on wheels".

I also write down my "Top 3 of the Day" for each day... which are the top 3 things I want to accomplish that day.

I used to keep a long, running list of things...but I don't do that anymore.

I just felt so overwhelmed if I did not get many things crossed off the list, so now I use the "Top 3" method. It works so much better....and when I cross off my 'Top 3' for the day, then I add 3 more.

I know that lots of people use their blackberries for this type of daily minutae, but I love the old-fashioned pen & paper method....it works, it's fast and I never need to re-charge it or worry about if the network is down.

So now I am off to write in my "Top 3" for Monday...which includes the post Christmas clean up and organizing for Christmas 2011.