Sometimes you give yourself a nose-bleed, but once in a while, it pays to be picky!

Today, my little sister marries the man of her dreams. And I mean that in every way.

Have you ever seen the movie, Practical Magic? In it, Sandra Bullock and her 'sister', Nicole Kidman, make a wish/spell where they imagine a man who won't exist. A man who can do fantastical feats that no normal man could do ALL of... ride a horse backwards, whose favourite shape is a star, who has one blue eye and one brown eye.. stuff like that.

They make a list. As children.

And then... eventually... that man shows up. That exact man.



Years and years ago, Kiki made a list like that- a fantastical list of qualities that no 'normal' man could possibly possess all of. A list that we mocked her for.
And today, she marries the man she looked for. A man with those qualities.


I couldn't be happier for her and Ken. They are wonderful together, and my heart is filled with hope and love for them!!

Glad to have a new brother, Ken.
Congrats to both of you!

8/52 and with the amount of driving I've been doing, it's a miracle this has only JUST happened once.

*graphic content and photos-- fair warning*

Find Mom Friday features last weekend's antics.

Yay that Will and I took his kids last weekend to the lake with Sin and Vegan and her family. We had a great time, about an hour away from our home.

Yay that there was fishing. Lots and lots of fishing!

Triple Yay that there was some AWESOME tubing. Yay that Sin and I went and we laughed our butts off so much, but nay that our stomachs hurt after! It was soooo fun! Nay that I haven't been tubing like that since I was young and I missed it!

And at the end of the day, we started the drive home.

Everything was great (yay), until a big doe ran across the highway (nay). We swerved to go behind her, and yay for her, she got across the road. But her little Bambi ran out right after her...big nay. At that point, we tried to swerve the OTHER way to avoid Bambi, but it didn't go so well.

BIG NAY: Bambi hit the front of my van with a huge *THUD*. Legs starfished, deer spun around in front of our screeching van, and before we knew it, we realized what had happened. Pulling over, we assessed the van damage. LUCKY for us (yayish), although we were travelling at 110kms/hour and the deer hit the front of the van pretty squarely, no airbags went off and no one was hurt. Yay.

Nay that I found out later that it was SUPER close to being much worse, as Bambi hit the van so hard that it moved the hood fairly severely back, and, another few millimetres and the hood would have flown up. Um. That woulda been a super big nay!

Yay that Kay was clever enough to look at the time on her cellphone. Yay that it was kinda freaky that it was EXACTLY 9:11 pm. Okay, how weird is that?!?!

So, Yay that Will kindly moved the body off the highway, and we all paid our respects to the little lad. Nay that I had to file a police report and everything, but yay that it was just a little deer and not worse!

And is it a yay, or a nay, that I've become SUCH a blogger that the first thing I think is "grab a camera!"???

Six Word Saturday- Last One?

It's Six Word Saturday, where you describe your week in 6 words. It's really fun to play- so visit www.showmyface.com if you wanna join in. Cate started it. Blame her. :)

My six for the week?

It totally sucks that summer's over!


This is my last 'free' weekend of the summer. Next weekend will be lots of fun, with the first wedding in my family, but it's not a 'free' weekend. I have weddings to attend and family to play with! That's work! ;) And the weekend after that? Wedding number 2! So, really, my Saturdays are gone for a while. Then, the Saturday after that? Will and I will be on a honeymoon! ;P Even if our honeymoon is ALONE IN THE 'NEW HOUSE' because I STILL haven't sold the old one.

And, bugger all, another neighbour listed their home for sale. MUCH cheaper than mine. crappy. So not amused.

7/52- The Summer's Ending!!!

It's Find Mom Friday. I'm back at the Calgary house for a whopping few hours doing another switch of children with Chris and grabbing another load of stuff from the 'old house'. It's amazing, now that I'm down to the end of the 'little stuff', I'm realizing I STILL have a lot of junk! Who knew I had so many boxes of maxipads under the sink!? Like, I could rival the hover dam for being able to stop liquid.. sheesh.

The other day I was in a FOUL mood. Like, stick a feather in my butt, FOUL! (yes, I know it's fowl, sillies) But Will tried the entire day to make me happier. I think there was just too much in my head, I was tired, I felt like I did everything the wrong way even when I was trying to help... just one of those days. and it had nothing to do with PMS, in case the previous paragraph led you to think that.

So, Will bought healthy food because he knows I'm trying to fit into a wedding dress pizza. Will drove us to a local park. Will took pictures of me and my grumpiness awesome children. Will was bound and determined to stop my crankiness from oozing into the kids.

And he did a pretty good job. I mean, I can be downright lovely not fun and, gasp, even witchy when I'm cranky. Will says he is a glutton for punishment still wants to marry me. What a man!

It's Small-Town Living at it's best and 6/52 (a bit late)

I missed last week's Find Mom Friday-- but you all know my excuses. So, here's a buttload of pictures to satiate at least a FEW weeks' worth of Mom-photos! :) Although, I'll play fair and only count these as last week's entry.

Will is having a fun time taking me to all the 'hot spots' around our little podunk town. Although I may grumble about some of the aspects of living in a Southern Alberta, LDS-centred, what-the-freak-are-all-these-minivans-doing-here town, there are some DEFINITE sweet selling points to my new hometown, too.

At the start of the 'tour', Will has taken us to the parades and celebrations. Everyone's there. Everyone's PART of the parade. Candy is thrown by the truckloads!

(Mimi and Bear, filling his pant pockets with as much candy as he can gather)

Children nearly get run-over by mini-motorized cars, and everyone laughs at her cuteness and thinks it's normal. ( If you can't tell in this picture, yes, Mimi nearly DIED, but you know, she's a girl after my own heart-- there was some GOOD CANDY on that there road!!)

And, although my heart may TOTALLY jump out of my throat when I see THIS, (this HUGE truck is barreling down the parade route, with kids TOTALLY hanging out the side-- they could fall to their DEATH, but no one seems worried!) it's a town where I can accidentally leave my daughter's hat on the bench we're sitting at, and come back hours later after a thousand people have walked past to find it sitting nicely on the back of the bench, waiting for it's rightful owner to reclaim it. TRUE STORY.

Will has taken us to the creek. Where it's perfectly normal for everyone to strip down to their skivvies and swim. MY KIDS LOVED IT!!

Will has taught Mimi how to swim. Well. Kinda.

Will has taught Bear how to "run like a man" through the safe, SUPER wide streets.

Will has shown me how fun it can be to catch snakes in the bush and freak the heck out of the kids! LOLWill and I have enjoyed ripboarding down the paths.
But mostly, Will has introduced me to many great people. People who befriend me at church, who sit beside me, who introduce me to other great people, and who seem genuinely interested in making us feel welcomed.

All in all, my new hometown is bound to bring lots of great experiences. That's the best part about country, small-town living. Everyone knows everyone, everyone helps everyone, and the best of dirt and mud and memory-making moments reside there.

Directions to my new house

I am learning a lot about the new place I live. Southern Alberta is quite a Mormon area. And it's pretty much guaranteed that there will be a daily conversation on lineage. (who are you related to? Where are you from? What's your maiden name? Do you know Joe?) Southern Albertans don't realize how odd it is to label people in such a way, and, to someone like me, (an outsider coming IN), it's intimidating and scary and strange. Really, WHO CARES what my Gramma's first brother's cousin's step-mother's name is?! And no, I'm not related to the same John Smith family as the ones who live on the corner in the blue house.

Sadder yet? I went to church in our new ward again this Sunday.
Introduced myself as Debbi "McSpanky", because I knew that introducing myself as Debbi Barber would prove useless as I'll be changing that last name in a few weeks. The next question, "what's your maiden name"...
And then later- "Who are you related to? Are you from Southern Alberta?"
And then, the inevitable, "Whose house did you move into?"


Where's the sad part, you ask? Well, I answered all of those questions (for the bagillionth time) as a Southern Albertan. Yes. I fell into the trap. ...I moved into "Jack Dawson's old home". The yellow one on the corner with the playground in the back.

Yes.

I gave that answer.

And everyone knew what house I was talking about.

If you're not from around Southern Alberta, and you wanna come visit me and Will, we'd love visitors. You may sleep on a foamie in the basement until the old house sells and we bring out beds over, but we'd still love to see ya. I may even bake cookies. Just don't ask me which house number it is. I couldn't tell ya. But we live right beside Norma Jean and right behind Gertrude and Thomas. You'll find us. Ask at the post office. They'll likely give you our mail to take to us too. But don't ask about Mrs. Johnson's health, or you'll hear all about her latest boil issue.

True story.

Time for Some Confusion

While I wait for some unhallowed hour to come when my three monkeys will walk through the door, or more likely, be carried I have a moment or twelve to blog. FINALLY. Chris decided at the last minute to bring them home from BC a day early - leaving me scrambling to return the 2 hours back to Calgary in order to be here when they arrive. And, might I mention, he left at about 9 pm. And it's over 6 hours of driving. So, I may be up for a while yet.

I can't REALLY complain, though. I mean, Chris took the kids for the ENTIRE past week, so I could get the "old house" moved into the "new house". Don't let those confuse you-- it may be "NOT ME MONDAY", but when I say "old house", I mean the one I am moving out of-- NOT the "new house" I'm moving into. In reality, the "old house" is much newer than the "new house", seeing as "new house" was built about 30 years BEFORE "old house" was. Confused yet? :)

I have about one vanload left of "stuff" in this 'old house' to bring back to the new house. And then, old house is just a decorated shell. As I said before, I have one house that LOOKS functional... but ISN'T, and one house that DOESN'T look functional, but IS. Old house is just for show now. And hopefully, that show gets it a sale, too! Because I'd really like NOT to have two mortgages.

OOOOh...a few 'before' shots of our new house. For your laughing viewing pleasure. And yes-- we're FULLY aware that the kitchen is carpeted, the carpets in the house are wool and blue, OR shag, and yes, the curtains are to die for (or because of!). But in a few days, it'll be home sweet home. It's got GREAT square footage, and HUGE yard, and will fit our family. And I'm marrying a handy, clever, hard-working dude, so just you wait for the after pictures. Besides, it's not the furniture or the carpets that make a house a home...

Wedding plans are going great. I'm super super lucky to have some GREAT friends with amazing talents, and they're all CONVENIENTLY joining forces into one company. If you wanna see some of their work, check out their individual blogs or sites, (Vanessa= photography, Carla=catering, Keshia=graphic design, and Bree=Event planner) or, best yet, check out the company's blog, Mod Squad.

I'm also thrilled that so many others are helping-- sewing/altering dresses, decorations, music, cakes. Everything is coming together nicely, and we don't have much else to get ready. I can't wait to post pics for you guys.

And Will and I? buying a home and changing jobs and joining two families and renovations and merging bank accounts--- BIG changes. There's bound to be some speed bumps along the way of our first year of marriage. Lucky for us, being married before kinda helps us go into a new marriage with the understanding that those things lie before us. Unlike the first, VERY naive times we got married. This time, there's just a little less wool over our eyes. (let's not make another reference to the blue carpets already! ;) )

Six Word Saturday- Time

One of These Days I'll Blog!!



I totally miss blogging, actually. I miss reading everyone else's blogs too. This week, though, it's just not possible...

I got most stuff moved to the new house this week while Chris has the kids. It's very uncomforting to have half of my stuff in one place, and another half 2 hours away and I kinda feel like a nomad... I don't know where home is right now. Alas, many people have taken time to help me get it done while I'm childless, so I appreciate that. ALMOST ready to make my new home my permanent home. Even though it's intimidating to me: I don't do well with change.

Wedding is coming up soon. September 11th better be a sunny day! :) But thankfully most stuff is done, or getting close, because school starts soon and I have enough other things to do. When I'm set up (or back at my own computer) I'll post our before pictures of the house. Get ready for it! LOL (those who've seen it understand why, but the rest of you-- it was a house built in the 70s... and it STILL looks like it: carpetted kitchen and everything!!! )

Did I mention that I'm totally in love?
Yah, just checking.

I wanted to leave on a good note. :)



(if you wanna play Six Word Saturday, visit Cate at http://www.showmyface.com/ and play along, kay?!)

Six Word Saturday- Moving

Stressfull situations make for big growth.


Yep. That's my week. It's probably the theme for a few Six Word Saturdays to come. But if you'd like to play along, visit Cate at Show My Face dot com.

For the next two weeks, I'm back and forth between three cities, planning the wedding and moving HALF of my stuff. If this house would just sell already.

The best advice I got this week?
Instead of thinking about how busy and crazy and hectic and scary these million changes are in my life, remember how lucky I am to have a nearly FRESH start! A new ward, a new home, a new city, a new job (?) and a new family with my new husband...
All I need is a new wardrobe. :)

(okay, so I may have added that last part in)

(ooh, speaking of wardrobe, I picked up the dress yesterday. FUN. Will was there, and the lady brought it out to me and totally ditzed out until the other employee told her to take it to the back with this sense of urgency. No matter. It looks WAY hotter on! lol)

I Hope You Dance

Ever heard that song, "I Hope You Dance", by Lee Ann Womack?
This weekend, at the wedding, I was reminded of this simple phrase in all its genuinity. (yep, real word).

You see, during the reception, God started a freak rainstorm. The sun was shining, and the mercury was still hovering around 30' C, (86' F), but the heavens opened and halted the celebrations for a while.

Weddings and rain never mix.

Unless you're a child like Mimi. And you're boiling hot. And you don't care that your hair will stick to your head, that your dress will be soaked, or that everyone may be watching you. You don't care about your makeup. Or your jewellery. Or a fake reputation you think you have to uphold.

All you care about is making yourself happy. And when a good tune comes on the speakers, and there's an empty dance floor, you remember that it's not about anything other than RIGHT NOW.

You find happiness in the raindrops. You find relief in the stormclouds. You find joy because you can still hear the music over the thunder.

And everyone watches you, and secretly wishes they had the joie de vie you have.

5/52, SWS-Weddings, NMM-Lessons, TT-Advice?

I am in a funk.
Not a muse-funk-- in fact, I have TOO much to say! I have so many things going on right now, and I could take days and days just talking about each one.

Truth is, I don't have TIME to do that.
So, it's a funk as far as getting posts posted. I should join the P.O.S's. The Prisoners of Summer Bloggers. As in, since summer hit, I can't blog as much. Parole is in a month or two once school starts, the wedding's done, and I've moved.
I'm gonna do my best for the next while- but there's SO much going on, and I'm in the middle of so many time-consuming things, that blogging will continue to be sporatic and possibly mundane. Fair warning.

So, first things first. Let's play "KETCHUP".

Friday: Find Mom Friday! This was me at my good friends' wedding in Nelson, BC this past weekend. Well, not at the actual WEDDING. Who would wear a tube-top to that!? No, it was an outside wedding on the beach, and between the ceremony and reception, there were 4 hours to kill. So my (ex) mother-in-law and I took the kids swimming at the beach. It helped that it was a killing 37' outside that day! HOT HOT HOT!!

Saturday: Six Word Saturday. My six words for that day are, Wedding Vows Mean Something More Now. Watching Uncle Andrew and Joe join their two families the way that Will and I will be doing in a few weeks touched my heartstrings, and I had tears fall easily as I saw how much they had gone through to get to this precious moment in their lives. Chris was the best man, and looking up there at the couple and him standing beside them, while vows of fidelity and "forever love" and devotion were spoken, it was hard not to feel a bit of that heartache from years past. Remembering when he said those same things to me, promised. My heart said a prayer that they would ALWAYS love each other this way so they wouldn't have to end up like Chris and I did- hurt. I was reminded last night that I'm truly being blessed to have this new life in front of me with such a special man in Will.

Monday: Not Me Monday. I did NOT miss my man this weekend. I did NOT drive over 12 hours in a 24 hour time period. I did NOT learn a bunch of lessons this weekend, mostly from my children. I will NOT be blogging about those in the near future.

Tuesday: Tuesday Tunes. Of course, lately I'm listening to a lot of love or wedding songs. But my kids crack me up- while we drove home the other day, it was thunderstormin' somethin' fierce! The kids requested "Fire Burnin'" on the iPod. They loved watching the lightening crack to the beat, and we probably listened to that song on repeat about 6 times before *I* said I couldn't handle it another time! lol

And, Wednesday: Wednesday Ws:
Who: Me
What: hates playing "Ketchup"
Where: in my blog, in my journal, in my housekeeping, and in my LIFE!
When: when I forget to take the time to keep up
Why: because it always makes me feel unorganized when I don't have my thoughts written or typed down. It's just how I cope.

Flipped Out

Remember that contest I won, on THIS post?

Well, remember how I won a bunch of coupons to give away as a 'reward' to my bloggy friends?
Well, remember that I haven't done that yet???

So, here it is:

If you'd like to win ice cream coupons for a pint of Ben and Jerry's Flipped Out Ice Cream, here's the simple rules to win.

I will reward one coupon to each person who comments on a time when they TOTALLY FLIPPED OUT. A freak out, a day spent on a trampoline, a tumble down some stairs-- ANYTHING counts. If you think you 'flipped out', leave a comment with the story, and you will be one of the winners!

Yep. that's because I have no imagination to make this contest any tougher!

And, lastly, you have to leave an email address for me in order to get the coupon to ya (the company sends them to you personally). You can email me your email personally *(debbirn2b@hotmail.com) or you can put it in the comments for us all to hound your inbox with.

***EDIT: These coupons are only valid in the USA. If you're a Canadian reader, and you want one, that's fine. There's lots of readers I know who travel to the US often. But, I didn't want to mislead us Canadians... They're only valid in the USA.

And one of these days I'll post something good. I'm stretched to the max right now with the wedding and moving and money and selling and coping and planning and cleaning and packing and...and.. and..