Day 17

Day seventeen: A picture of someone that recently made a difference in your life.




I am going to do this one differently.  I am going to use someone who I believe is going to make a difference in my life.






This man is Dr. Kevin Leman.  If you have not read any of his books? Find one.  They are amazing and hysterical and from what I am reading? They are life changing.






I heard him speak at Breakforth in Edmonton this weekend and could not stop being in awe of him and laughing.  I have a feeling he is going to make my life more enjoyable this year! I will keep you updated.

Day 16

Day sixteen: A picture of someone that inspires you.

IGNORE THE GOOFY LOOKING GUY.  ALTHOUGH HE IS COOL TOO.

This is my friend R.  You could say, that she is one of my best friends.


I am so incredibly inspired and amazed by this woman.

• She is a wonderful mom who has raised the most incredible children.  If all kids were even half as cool as hers, this world would be a different place
• She is a goddess.  She is the most amazing caring wife.
• She makes her own cheese.  Yes, you read that right.  Right now? Perfecting the art of Gouda.
• She knits lace.  Do you have any idea how tedious that is?
• She grinds her own wheat
• She won the "Game Designer of the Year" award.  She designs board games as a hobby.
• She is an incredible cook.
• She sews like a professional seamstress
• Did I mention she makes CHEESE?????? This fact blows my mind
• She is generous
• She is loving
• She is beautiful

She inspires me.  To be a better friend, wife and overall person.  Because of her, I have more confidence.  She is awesome.  

I have to admit.  This one was a no brainer.  She is it! She is the one.

I hope you all have someone as amazing as this in your life!

Day 15

Day fifteen: A picture of something you want to do before you die.




Have you ever seen the movie "The Bucket List"?




I loved it.  I loved the idea of it.  As you know, if you have read this blog at all, I have almost died a few times.  Yup.  Sucks but it is true.  I remember the day that I stopped dreaming.  I remember the day that a little piece of me died inside.  Fast forward a few years, Husband and I are laying in bed talking.  He turns and looks at me "you don't dream do you." I was kind of shocked! No one else had ever noticed! I pretended to, but had stopped years ago! This scared me.  If you have no dreams and goals, what gets you out of bed in the morning? So he grabbed a pen and paper and wrote out dreams with me.  He harassed me, told me  nothing was too silly and demanded I do it.  If I remember correctly? We were up really late that night writing.  So, in a way? I started my own list.  Have I mentioned how awesome Husband is???


That started a crazy life.  I have to admit.  I have crossed a lot of things off that list.  The actual paper went missing awhile ago.  It is a goal this year.  I want a literal bucket list.  Time to write a new one.


So, the point of all this? The actual answer to the post itself???






I want to:






Skydive.






I have wanted to my entire life.




What is stopping me?




Husband.  He will not let me. He is scared to lose me.  When he passes away one day, if he goes before me, I have made a vow to myself.  No matter what my age, no matter how much people freak out, I will skydive the morning of his funeral.


He does not know this.  He will learn this for the first time when he reads this post later today.




So, Husband? Gonna try and stop me?????

Day 14

Day fourteen: A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without




Really? I can't think of anyone else.

ME! I can't imagine my life without me.  I would not be here.  So there would be no competition!


I promise tomorrow will be more impressive!


P.S. Check out that horrible picture!!!

Day 13

Day thirteen: A picture of your favourite band or artist






This is a tough one.  I have thousands of songs on my ipod and not many from the same artist.  I am changing this one up a little.  


This is the list of top 10 songs played on my ITUNES on my computer.  Where I spend my days working.


Here goes:

1. "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy" by Big & Rich
2. "Ain't No Other Man" by Christina Aguilera
3. "Yeah" by Usher feat. Lil Hon
4. "Not Ready to Make Nice" by Dixie Chicks
5. "Chicken Fried" by Zac Brown Band
6. "God Who is Able" by Friday's Cry
7. "I Can Only Imagine" by Mercy Me
8. "How Great is Our God" by Chris Tomlin
9. "Hallelujah" by Justin Timberlake feat. Charlie Sexton
10. "Emptiness" by Tim Bartsch

Shocked.  That is all I have to say.  What an interesting mix!  I actually giggled a little as I was typing this.  For one, I hate country music usually so to have so many songs by country artists? Wow.  Another, could I have more trashy songs? Seriously? I need a music intervention.

Buy you know what? These are some of the songs that make me smile.  I could list about 20 more that I play if I need a pick me up or to just be happy.  Music touches my heart.  I love it.

I am also going to pick an artist! And by this, I mean a different form of art.

Peter Lik.  Have you heard of him? He is a photographer.

Freakin......amazing.

I stole this from his website.  Please don't be mad Peter! I promise I will buy one one day!!!

I don't even know how to describe his work.  I have been to three galleries so far.  It is my dream to one day own a few photos.  The one above is amazing.  You really should take a moment to go to his website www.peterlik.com and spend some time looking.  Dreaming.  Losing yourself in the emotions that his pictures create.

He is a natural photographer.  He uses a camera from the 1940's and does absolutely no photoshopping.  He used the natural light in the area and long exposures in order to get the photos he gets.  I have purchased one of his catalogues and look at it often.

Seriously.  Addicted to this man.  He is amazing.  My favorite artist for sure.

Check him out!

Day 12

Day twelve: A picture of something you love.







I love love.


One of my favorite memories is from when I was about 9.  I was in Saskatchewan at a family reunion.  My cousin and I were both tom boys and were sick of all the little giggly girls so we went for a walk.  We slowly walked and talked our way down this long dirt road.  It had the trees growing over it and the grass down the center and at the end was a graveyard.  We wandered through there and suddenly heard voices.  We hid behind some trees to see what it was and were shocked to see this little old couple, probably in their 70's walking hand in hand down that same road.  They were giggling and would stop to kiss every few feet.  They were adorable.  I remember thinking, "Wow.  That is love".  They were so stinkin' cute!


I love love.


I love the butterflies it gives you.


I love the way it makes you smile when no one else is around just thinking about it.


I love the way it makes you feel safe.


I love the way it gives you confidence.


I love the passion.


I love the silly games it starts.


I love the way you can be yourself with the person who truly loves you.


I love the support it brings.






I just love love.

Day 11

Day eleven: A picture of something you hate.













I hate child abuse.  Rape.  Sexual abuse.


I hate the people that do it.


I hate the way it can destroy you for life.


I hate that we have a broken world to the point that these statistics even exist.


I hate that I am a statistic.


I hate the feeling that I was violated.


I hate that people actually think you can just "get over it"


I hate that people judge you as if you are dirty because of it


Hate it a word that I don't use freely.


I hate sexual abuse.

Day 10

Day ten: A picture of you and the person you do the most fucked up things with.






Sorry for the language on this one.  If you know me very well though? I do some "F"ed up stuff.


I would have to say that again, Husband takes the lead. 


What kind of stuff have we done?

• drive 7 hours away for breakfast
• decide to move in about 10 minutes and then leave the next day
• decide we need a new vehicle on our way to dinner, and have one by the time we get there (we were a few minutes late.  Sorry guys!)
• left on spontaneous holidays/road trips with no warning more than you could ever know
• zip lining
• rollercoasters that made us pass out (almost)
• travelled to places where we didn't know the language at all
• got married
• rode down the hill from Thornhill to Copper Mountain when it was still gravel with me on the handle bars of his bike (not many people will get that one)
• tackled things so beyond my wildest dreams and abilities and still managed to have fun doing then, despite the stress involved
• fell in love.  I am sorry.  But this love stuff is bat shit crazy! But worth it.

Here we are in Las Vegas years ago.  Aren't we cute???

Day 9

Day nine: A picture of someone that got you through most.

This is husband.  I know you have seen pictures here before, but I love this one and he is the only option for todays post.

Husband asked me out April 5, 1996.  I said yes.  The end.

I kid, I kid.

He asked me out as I was dealing with a severe eating disorder and was trying to come to terms with the fact that an uncle had sexually abused me.

I was a hurting girl and am shocked that he was ever even attracted to me in the first place!

Since that fateful day (almost 15 years ago!!!!) we have been through more that the average couple. 

Some highlights and lowlights have been:

~attempted suicide on my part

~diagnosed with Chrohns for him

~9 months apart after high school

~losing a parent for me

~losing a grandparent for him

~brain aneurysm for me

~almost dying multiple times for him

~my weight struggles due to aneurysm

~my mental health struggles due to above list

~losing jobs

~moving to strange cities multiple times

~career changes like you can't imagine

~travelling

~losing friends

~gaining friends

~loss of children that we will never have

Oh the list goes on and on.  The sad thing? I lot of that happened in high school! The amazing thing? He still loves me.

More than I can even imagine.

He wants me healthier, in the head, and happier but will stick by me through the good times and the bad.

Could I ever ask for more?

Day 8

Day eight: A picture that makes you laugh.






Okay.  So, I have the funniest family in the world.  I have never met as many quirky people in my life as my own relatives.


So the story goes, my aunties were looking through a newspaper and came upon the obituaries.  There was this horrendous picture of this lady in there.  The picture was probably from when she was thirty and she died at about 90.  The funny part was that her nieces and nephews put it in the paper for the world to see.  And we are talking NASTY HORRIBLE picture.


Well, my aunties both don't have kids.  So, they are worried that we are going to put a picture like this in for when they die.  There is this big joke now when someone takes a nasty picture of them that "oh wow.  That one is for the paper!" 




So here are a few great obituary pictures for you all to enjoy.....

You know you love these.

No, really.  Are you laughing yet?

Yes.  I even keep the ones of me.

I have a few of this guy.  This is my brother.  He will have an amazing obituary.

Oh it is me again!!!

Sorry sister.  I had to.

And the two wonderful woman who are the reason for this whole post.........

Day 7

Day seven: A picture of your most treasured item.






Husband and I talked about this one all day.  I could not figure it out.  I started thinking about what I would be the most upset about in the case of a fire.  I started thinking photos, but then realized that due to digital, I would be able to get so many of those again that I wasn't actually that concerned.  Maybe because I don't have kids.


I thought about a few things but this is the one that stood out the most.










Books.

Oh you have no idea.  The top picture is actually 16 squares and all those boxes? Filled to the brim with books.  The bottom picture? Touches my ceiling and is ten feet wide.  There are a few DVD's on there, but the rest? Stacked sometimes three deep? Books.


It is like crack.  I have an addiction.  I didn't even mention all the boxes in the basement that were never opened, the digital book with close to 300 books on it, the 200+ cookbooks on shelves in my kitchen or the other four cube shelf in my bedroom that are also full.


I see a bookstore of any sort? I smile.  I could just wander the isles.  It is a peaceful place for me.  A happy place for me.  I am the only person I know that has read entire libraries of books.  I am a speed reader as well which doesn't help.  I have a rule now.  No more than one book a day.


Reading:

• makes me sleepy, so I read before bed
• makes me happy
• relaxes me
• makes me desire to read more
• allows me to escape into a happy place
• allows my mind to go wild
• helps me grow (therapy books and the BIBLE)

I love books.  What can I say.  Oh, and I am more than willing to lend them out! I have hundreds of books out right now! I can see empty spots on those shelves from when Dad was here.  Too funny.....

Day 6

Day six: A picture of someone you’d like to trade places with for a day.

Fergie.

This might come as a shock to you but hear me out.

• She is hot.  Period.
• She has overcome huge struggles and has amounted to something and succeeded.
• She sings for a living.  I love singing and would love to have that for a job for a day.
• She has money.  I would love to see the damage I could do in a day with her bank account.  Think of the money I could give away! Think of the things you could do for people!
• She lives somewhere warm.  I love California.  So beautiful there.
• Her Husband.  Can I just say that he is one of the main reasons? Can you imagine looking at him every day?
• She is on Husband's "List".  You know.  The list of people that he can sleep with and I won't get mad? How fun would that be?
• She has an amazing wardrobe.  I saw an interview with her in her closet and I think I drooled a little.
• She has long hair.  I would love to have long hair.  I am actually growing mine out again.  I can never have it too long as it is too thin and looks silly, but may extensions?
• She seems real.  When you see her in interviews, she seems real.

I know that this is completely shallow, but I don't care.  This is who I would change places with.  At first when I read this, I started to think about people I know, amazing authors, Christians with amazing jobs and ministries.....yadda yadda yadda.

In the end? I am being real.  This is who I would change.

So, have I shocked you enough in the last 6 days? Are you still reading????

Day 5

Day five: A picture of your favourite memory






My favorite memory.  This is a tough one! I don't have many memories before my 18th birthday due to having a brain aneurysm.  Sucky but the truth.  I can't always tell if they are memories or dreams or stories I have made up.  I actually phoned my sister the other day to find out if a memory actually happened.  Annoying to say the least.


I think that my favorite memory would be......




my wedding day.

I was married May 20, 2000.

Back in the day before digital photos.  So forgive the quality.  These are photos of photos.

We were so young! Husband hates our wedding pictures.  He thinks he was ugly.  I just think he looks sick.  He was having a rough time with his Chrohn's disease at that point so he was really skinny.  I also think he looks like the boy/man I fell in love with.

I did a bridal portrait session the week before the wedding.  I love this picture!

I loved my bouquet.  Totally insane and huge and beautiful.  It smelled amazing!

Why is it my favorite memory?






He chose me.  He asked me.  We said I do and became husband and wife.  We became one.  We vowed before God and our friends and family that we would love each other and serve each other through sickness and in health (we have been tested on this one a few times!) and till death do us part.


We have remained friends, best friends, and still love each other.  The love has grown deeper, we have grown older and yet at the end of the day?








I would still say YES.

Day 4

Day four: A picture of something you’d like to do again.








This is going to shock people.  Even husband will be shocked. 




Here goes!

I want to go surfing again.  Can I just say that I am amazed that I am posting this awful picture of me on the internet?????? Wow.


So, yeah.  That is me surfing! I DID IT!!!! And, I want to do it again.  I was in this group of the funniest people when I went.  Husband, our friend T, and these two super jock/fit/military people.  A little blond intense couple that really needed to relax.  And out of the whole group? I was the only one that actually caught and "rode" a wave.  The others just balanced in on a wave.  The instructor was shocked.


It was so fun! I hate salt water, but that was a pretty impressive day for me and I was so proud of myself.  I would love to do it again.


And yes.  I am doing the whole hang ten thing and yelled 'YEAH' at the same time.




(We hired a photographer for the lessons to take pictures of us.  Worth every penny.)