Birthday Month!

You know what the best thing is about January?
Besides it being a new year... its my...

Birthdaaaaaaaaaaay Moooooooooonth
(say it Oprah Winfrey style).

Okay... so I don't celebrate the entire month (publicly) but internally, I am throwing myself one party after the other.

It's not kinda a big deal... it IS a big deal!
Just ask PC, I remind him, every. single. day.

Ever since I was a little girl, I have always loved my birthday! My Mom and Dad always made it special for me in some form or another, and to be honest, they still do so today (which I love)!

I came across this photo a few months ago, and I though my birthday month was the perfect time to post it! It is from one of my birthday parties.... with many of my childhood friends. Aren't we cute?!

L to R Front: Sherry Lautenslager, Jamie King, Megan Turner

L to R Back: Moi, Tiffany Thompson, Kristy Cooke

Judging from the number of candles on the cake, it looks like my 6th birthday, so probably grade 1! I frankly don't remember the exact details of this party, but I love a lot of things about this picture... like the pure happiness on our faces as we sip grape Crush and cream soda, the retro ketchup and mustard bottles we used to dress our hot dogs, and those very basic chip bowls which my Mom and Dad are still using to this very day.

I love the simplicity that was my birthday all those years ago... and as 32 is knocking banging on the door, ironically I want something much the same this year - a little cake, something to sip on ... and being surrounded by some pretty amazing people! 

Halloween Memories

A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon a pic that represents the Halloween memories I have from my childhood. Its snapshot of my sister and I with my Grandpa... and I truly heart this photo.  First all my grandfather was an AWESOME guy... and second of all, look at our costumes.

These were not costumes purchased at Old Navy or Children's Place or Gymboree... these were some classics that required a little imagination, some hand selected items out of our closets mixed in with a few accents thrown in by my parents. Add some face paint from a kit my mother bought back in 1974, and a black mask for my sister and you've got yourself a pretty successful Halloween.  If can't tell my sister is The Karate Kid, and I'm Punky Brewster.

I remember this Halloween vividly because my mother had lent me her precious silk scarfs for my one of my pig-tails and I lost it out on the trail to hunting down the best Halloween finds our small town had to offer. As you can see in the picture, it was still intact at my Grandpa's house... but later that night I would discover it was missing, as well as, the look of disappointment on my mother's face when she too realized it was gone for good.

Halloween back then was always something to look forward to... we would grab our pillowcases and speed walk around town eagerly trying to cover as much ground as possible before our curfew.  We would lug our pillowcases until we couldn't lug them anymore... cursing all the houses that gave us Pop, but secretly loving that we'd get to have a pop a day for well over the next two weeks until our stash ran out. It was always a fun-filled evening and one that created awesome memories for me as a kid.

Now days, I wonder what kind of Halloween memories will stick with my boys as they grow up... will it be the fancy costumes, craving pumpkins, or going house to house in our neighbourhood collecting treats? I don't know, but I hope as the years roll on in our household there are plenty of memories to come our way!

What do you remember about Halloween as a child... ?

I can tell you one thing... when I look back on this photo below - I thank god that I A. grew my bangs out, and B. my parents had  the money to get me braces! This is perhaps a Halloween memory to forget!

(Erin Seller, this one's for you!)

Look at these kids...

37 years ago today these two young pups said I do... and I am proud to say these are my parents and the grandparents to my children.

October 12th, 1974 - Thessalon

Not too many couples can say they are celebrating 37 years of marriage and are actually HAPPY. But if you know these two... you know that they are in love, and they don't have to brag to anyone about what a great partnership they have... they just live it.

These two truly are an example to me of how I want my marriage to turn out in another 31 years. My parents are not flashy people, they are not over-the-top, and they don't require much in their everyday lives to keep them happy - this is what I love about them. They are honest and sincere, they are supportive and proud, they are realistic and true, they are wonderful individuals, but even more than that, they are a great pair.

After 37 years, I can't say that I have ever witnessed a time in their marriage when they weren't in love... yes they've argued, yes they've been upset from time to time, but in all these years, they have always taken their marriage seriously, and because of that, they truly are the best of the friends.

Mom and Dad, I wish you nothing but happiness today and the MANY years ahead of you. Happy Anniversary to a wonderful couple, and the best parents a girl could ask for!

xoxo

Déjà 20 ans!

It's hard to believe that its been 20 years since Elizabeth Manley won a silver medal at the 1988 Calgary Olympics. Boy do I feel old!

I was 8 at the time, and I can still remember watching her performance with my Mom... and both us getting so excited that she did well enough to win a silver medal. The photo of her biting into the silver medal is one that I have always remembered. I was a figure skater at the time... and just seeing Elizabeth Manley do so well at the Olympics really inspired me - I guess we won't dwell on the fact that her inspiration only last a few years before I ditched figure skating altogether as my competitive curling career took-off (if can even say that!).

At any rate... what a great year that was for Canada's Figure Skating team, not only was Elizabeth Manley a hero in the hearts of Canadians, who can forget the Battle of the Brians that year as well - Brian Bottano vs. Brian Orser... with Canada's Brian Orser finishing second. And in Ice Dancing, a bronze medal was awarded to pair skaters Tracey Wilson and the late Rob McCall.
On the whole the 1988 Olympics didn't prove to be very successful for the country, as we only took home 5 medals in total, none of which were gold: three medals in figure skating, and the other two went to Karen Percy in Downhill Skiing.

However, in 20 years time, I would say we have really evolved as a sporting nation on the international scene... perhaps we've suffered on the figure skating front lately, but I have no doubt that we will have good competitors for that event in 2010.

Today, Elizabeth resides in Ottawa (of all places), and coaches Figure Skating to all ages in Orleans. She is still giving back to a sport that gave her so much so many years ago.

To watch her silver medal performance see the video below (it's not crystal clear but you can still see how well she preformed that night - Amazing!).


Do you remember: the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics...? The silver medal performance of Elizabeth Manley? Or any other highlights from that Olympic games?