I have to ask: where is our summer?  It rained most of June and July and now the cool fall air has settled in.  While I am enjoying the clear blue sky out my office window, I must remember to grab a sweater when heading out the door. The leaves are beginning to drop and many are turning to the new fall colours - no wonder with the temperatures dropping down to +4 C in the midnight hour. 

Maybe I am wimp.  Georgia has has swimming lessons at the beach every day for the past 2 weeks.  I sit in my lawn chair holding my book in a semi fetal position (it was +20C). And I look around at all the kids in the water who don't seem to mind the frigid temps ( the lifeguards and instructors well, they are not liking it so much) and then I scan the beach.  Many of the other parents seem to be of the same mind set as me as they curl up in the quilts and blankets the brought with them.  Then you have a species all their own.  The teenage girls who actually lay there in their bikinis lathered in Tropicana oil trying to get a tan.  They are so desperate for a tan, and with nothing but dark clouds and rain for the two months prior... I just laugh.  I guess it was no different than when we went to Florida in December and we were determined to go swimming in the pool when it was a balmy +68F.  Hmmmm +68F = +20C.  I guess the locals were laughing at us too.

So I am on my way to KVHS to drop little g off to drama camp - half awake mind you - at about 8:45 thinking I've got lots of time to get little g there.  Thinking the speed limit is 60kms on Vincent Rd (when really it is only 50kms - which I am fully aware of now). I am boogeying along not really paying attention.  Apparently I am going closer to 70kms.  As I pass the pump house I pick up speed  - now going 73kms and keep on truckin.  The driver passing me is pointing down and I am wondering why and start thinking I must have something on the front of my car or my brights are on or something.
  I merge onto the arterial and go about 2kms then I see a cop car coming behind me so I pullover so he can pass me.  He pulls over too.  I am really perplexed as to why he was pulling me over I hadn't even broken 60kms on the merge yet.
So 2 officers get out and I can see they are going to come up either side of my car. Wow something must be really wrong.  One officer stays behind and the other comes to my window and asks if I saw them. I said yes that's why I pulled over.  He says "no, didn't you see us coming behind you on Vincent Rd. We were parked at the pump house on Vincent Rd." Long story short, apparently when I passed them I picked up speed which gave them reason for concern he said normally people slow down when they see a cop car so they thought I was on the run.  LOL.  I was dumb founded.  Had no idea they were chasing me,  no idea I was speeding, in my own little world without a care in the world.  Lucky for me the cop just had his water tested by us and he recognized my name and address off my license, lucky for me I looked comletely relaxed like it was no big deal they pulled me over, luckiy for me Rocky tilted his head as if to say "please officer she didn't mean to".  I got off with a warning and I have to take little g out for ice cream.  I'll gladly pay that fine, much cheaper than the $180 I could have got. 

It's too cold! It's TOO hot!  This pillow isn't fluffy! This food has no taste!.  Ugh It seems there is no pleasing me lately.

We had 7 long months of winter and it didn't really warm up until last week. Why 2 weeks ago I had to put a wood fire on to warm the place up.  And now it is too too warm.  It was +25 C last night midnight (how do I know - why I was on a long romantic walk under the stars with my hubby)  And today, it is +30 C with 90% humidity!  YUCK YUCK YUCK.  My work day is done. I am going to retire to the cool basement with a glass of homemade ice tea, and be thankful that this weather system will soon pass and I will be shoveling snow wishing it would come back. 

It's 5pm Friday.  I am technically done for the day but there are piles of paperwork I could do if I so choose. Our plans for the weekend have altered several times. Looks like Grant will be working most of the weekend so we are going to go fly a kite tonight and just enjoy some lowkey family time.

On another note, I've been helping my mom ease on down the internet road.  It is quite a challenge helping someone over the phone because you can't see what they see.  Well we have been patiently working through some of the ins and outs.  Don't give up mom.  You doing quite well considering.  And I am gonna sound a lot like you but: don't ever feel you are a bother to me.  Someday I will look back  - missing you much and wish you were near by only to be a bother!  I am sure that day is far off.  In the meantime, call and bother me anytime you want.

As I said earlier we are going to go fly a kite tonight.  I had taken a Girls roadtrip last weekend, one that I truly enjoyed but missed my G's the whole time.  I bought my little g loads of treats - one of which is a giant kite in the shape of a fairy. We are going to check it out tonight.  The dog days of summer have settled in and they are quite long for my 8yr old. I pray that some 8 or 9 yr olds will move to our subdivision soon. Caleb is cool to play with sometimes but he'd rather play hockey and watch Fantastic Four... and as enticing as that may sound it would be so nice to have a girl or too within walking distance. 

I'm done rambling for this week.  Off to go fly a kite.

It has been an interesting 24 hrs. I am left contemplating and meditating on how God is so creative and works in ways I can not always see. 
I have to admit Grant and I have been struggling with the prospect of looking for a new church (for a few reasons selfish reasons but primarily because of the distance  - we have 3 great church in our area and yet we drive past all of them for 30 kms to go to LBC). IF you attend LBC and are reading this you really should not be surprised - you would think the same after a year or two of making the trek.

I can't go into details because then it would be about me and frankly it is all about God - putting me and a friend in the right place for someone in need and putting them in our way to say  "hey you are still needed here at this church"  At first, all I could think about was helping and I wasn't going to rest until I knew I had done all I could to help in that moment but later my friend pointed out a few things.  I was late arriving at the church(as usual), we were setting up for a BBQ celebration, and if I had been on time then our paths never would have crossed, and how amazing how God used this moment to give us purpose in this church, to show these strangers how loving and caring this church family can be, and to get us fired up for God. Reaching out. That's what we are all called to do and if I had left the church like I contemplated than I would have never been there to lend a helping hand.

"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'" Matthew 25:37-40

It's Friday afternoon and the last thing I want to do is work.  i have procrastinated all day and now I have only a couple hours to get my full days job done.  My boss is out the office and won't be back until 4pm - He is gonna wonder what I did all day.  Ugh. How am I gonna pull this off. I know I'll just write down a bunch of messages and tell him I was interrupted all day by the phone.  Yeah that's it.. Heehee.

Okay, well part of that is true.  I haven't done much all day.  Have you seen the weather outside? It is awesome.   I think the gov't should institute a full week off with pay  - nationwide. Call it a compensation package for the eight months of snow and winter we suffered. like that would ever happen!

Just 3 more hours to this long drawn out day and I can officially enjoy the weekend. I better get crackin if I don't want to stay late.  Besides, any minute now little g is going to come barging in here and say "Are you done work yet?" She will want her time at the desk to do her work: update her webkinz, update her Handipoints and feed her virtual pet "scruffy".

Well soccer season has begun once again. Off to a rough start: a week late, a few coaches short and several of the players that registered before the deadline didn't have a team assignment.  100's of kids on the huge field and a dozen or more with no clue what team to be on.  And no coordinators at the sight to help with all the confusion and miscommunication.  we were one of those families with team to call our own.  Luckily, a team said G could play with them until things got sorted out. They had enough jerseys and welcomed her with open arms.  I hope she gets to stay on that team as she meshed well with the team and the coaches Heath, Krista and Tina were great with the kids.

Georgia was so excited to get on the field and show all the skills she remembered from last year. The kids really have fun. It is interesting to observe everyone at the practice. There is the boy who has these burst of energy and instead of running he jumps and leaps and bounds at the ball. He must have a trampoline at home. There is the tiny little thing who is afraid of the ball.  What is she doing on the field in the first place, somebody put her in ballet. The kid who needs a drink every time she passes the ball, and the one who never stops talking, rolling around, running into the other fields, everything but play the game or listen to the coaches.  And then there are the parents: the men all lined up in their suits, sitting in their folding camping chairs with blackberry in hand texting someone, calling someone (yes, there were at least 3 dads doing this), the moms yelling to their kids on the field "Billy pay attention to the coach", " pull your shirt down", "pull your shorts up".

Ah, soccer season has begun.  For little G, it's her power hour twice a week. For me, it is a mad rush out the door with peanut butter sandwiches in hand, but once we are there I can relax for an hour and do nothing but sit in the grass and enjoy the show, for Big G, well, he's still working in the lab, but without the natter and nagging our his two girls. Yes, soccer season has begun indeed.