Happy New Year! 2012 Here We Come!



Well, Heeellllooooooooo!

You guessed it! The above pictures depict my very close to being completed "new beautiful bathroom"!

All that is left is to change out the door leading into my bedroom, and put up the tile. The tile will cover the top of the apron around the tub as well as the first 4 inches or so of the vertical sides.  It will also go up as trim where the tub meets the wall.

We took it from 11 1/2' x 12', to 11 1/2' x 15'.

And that brings us to the conclusion of the "new beautiful bathroom" saga!


Now, I hope all of you have enjoyed a great holiday week. Lots of time with family and friends, time to curl up and watch old cheesy movies, play board games, and eat obscene amounts of junk food.

With 2012 starting as I touch the floor in the morning, I kind of find myself looking forward to the upcoming year with excitement and a wee bit of aprehension. I have a feeling this could very well be a very incredible year as far as this whole writing thing goes.

It's going to be a year of sending another one of my book babies out into the world to be judged, which is very scary. It's most likely going to be a year where, in order to keep things going, I will need to do things way outside of my comfort zone, yet again. I'll tell you one thing about that, though. The more I do it, the less scary that whole thing becomes. I do it, I don't die, and I move on to the next one. I still get sweaty palms, absolutely, but I don't think anyone has ever died of sweaty palms, so it's all good.



So 2012, here we come! We are ready for whatever you have to offer!


In the upcoming week:

It's back to work. I'm looking forward to seeing my munchkins.
Need to get income tax stuff ready for the accountant. (all together now....yay)
I need to get down to business about getting the next book ready for Hazel. I want to have it ready by March.
I need to check in with the disaster relief people and see where we are standing with that whole thing.


So, as we start out in this new year together, I send you this wish.



May your 2012 begin on a good note, and may that sweet music continue all year long.
May your good times far outnumber the tough ones, with way more going right than wrong.


May any new endeavors bring you only the best kinds of challenges, ones that make you bend deeply, but not break.
May you discover new strengths and capabilities that push you to leave any hardships in your wake.


May your new year bring you, love, joy and peace, in whatever form is recognized by your soul.
May you know them when you see them, as sometimes, blessings aren't shouted from the mountain top, but whispered from a hole.

Now, folks I need to go get ready for my baby sis and her family who are coming to bring in the new year with us.

Until Next Week!

Happy New Year!


www.margyreidbooks.net

8 More Sleeps!

Hi all!

 I hope these ramblings find all of you happy and healthy, wherever you are in the world!

The above picture is evidence of what happens when you combine 150 girls between the ages of 5 and 17 with sugar, chocolate and some awesome dance tunes!

Yep, according the organizers, the Girl Guide fund raiser was a rousing success! They raised more money than they had dared hope for. Something that the entertainment always likes to hear. So glad it went well. It's always an honor to help out raising money for such worthy causes.

It was such a blast watching those girls have soooo much fun! They didn't sit down the entire night! Song after song, they were out there dancing their little faces off!  It made me nostalgic for the days when I would chaperon my girls' school dances. I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss it.

I'm looking very forward to having all of my kids under this roof again.  I know there will be a lot of laughter, a lot of food, and a lot of board games and wii. I don't think going skating will be an option this year, as the ice hasn't been put in at the local rink yet. There's not enough snow for sledding, so, indoor games it is!

I stopped by my oldest daughter's home the other day, and asked Ethan how many mores sleeps there were until Christmas. His reply? " Mom said we're not supposed to ask that anymore."

Something tells me it was a question asked about very half hour. Ya gotta love 3 year olds!

So folks, this weekend marks the beginning of our Christmas holidays! We have two straight weeks of sleeping past 4:45am! Yay! The kids start trickling in on Friday, so that gives us 5 days to get the Christmas baking done, finish the bathroom, get everything cleaned up, decorated, and feeling like Christmas. It's gonna be awesome!

As, like so many of you, I'll be up to my elbows in Turkey next weekend, my next blog will be posted Jan 1st/2012. Wow, how did that come up so fast?!

2012 is going to be an incredible year! Thank you all so much for your incredible, ongoing support. I'm so absolutely honored that you take the time to read these ramblings. It completely thrills and amazes me every time I see readers from another country coming along for the ride. When I began these ramblings, I really thought it was a shot in the dark, and just maybe my family might like to read it. There is no way I could have ever imagined, that these months later, people from a bunch of countries on every continent on the planet actually read it every week!

I am incredibly grateful.

With that, I will leave you with my final wish for this year, 2011.

May your year come to a close with those you love, calm reflection, and, without regret.

May you look back on the last 12 months and see it as precious time, well spent.

May you look ahead at this threshold with the excitement and anticipation it deserves.

May you see it as a host of opportunities and possibilities, not as likely bumps and curves.

May you look at each new dawn, through the eyes of those who fight to live every day.

May you keep in your heart how fragile our time here is, wasting it, just isn't the way.

May you bring in the New Year with joy, happiness and a kiss.

May your next 12 months be, well, simply, bliss.

Happy Holidays!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

See you in 2 weeks!

15 More Sleeps Til Christmas!

Ahhhh.....the table set for Christmas as it was for that Holiday meal last year.  Looking at my house, as I sit here typing this, I find it hard to imagine we'll get it looking anywhere near this photo for this year.


We made some strong headway today, and hopefully will kick this dragging reno harshly in the rear tomorrow. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel....here's hopin' it's not a train!


At the risk of making some of you kind of angry at me, I have to inform you that I am officially finished Christmas SHOPPING! Woohoo! Now, I just need to wrap the latest of the treasures and that part of Christmas preparation will be complete!


It's all coming together. Real progress on the bathroom, shopping done, now for the food. Some treats, some turkey, some stuffing, some pie. I'm sure if you think back, there is probably a certain cookie or square that makes your Christmas. We all have them, I think. If not, why not start this year. Wouldn't it be fun just to test samples until you discover "your taste of Christmas"?

I believe this would be the perfect time to discuss the CLF of Christmas baking. I have given it a lot of thought, and although the science may be flawed, I believe the following to be true.

To begin you need to understand what CLF is. It is the only thing that can give us the freedom to enjoy those special Holiday treats without guilt. CLF is.

CLF = Calorie Leaking Factor, and the circumstances under which it occurs, are as follows.

1) When squares are cut at least 1/2 hour prior to consumption, CLF.
2) If cookies have been frozen in any plastic container, CLF.
3) If an eating utensil is not required to eat said morsel of goodness. CLF
4) If it came from your Grandmother's recipe. CLF (on principle)
5) If you can eat the treat in less than 4 bites. CLF


Now, ENJOY! It's a couple of days, and there's always the "New Year's Resolution" exercise frenzy that will take place the first couple of weeks in January. Between that, and cleaning up all of the Christmas chaos mess, you'll work it off!


Eat healthy. Don't do drugs. Stay in school.  There, that should cover my butt!


Let's see, now for the upcoming week......


I need to finish up the prep for the Girl Guide party on Friday.

I need to get some baking done! I usually do up a platter for the people at our daily gas station, and a couple of buckets for the people I work for. This is the last week of work before holidays. I have to get on it!

Start baking for the ones I'll be feeding in my house over the holidays.

Finish Bathroom...........trust me you can't be as sick of reading about it as I am of writing about it!

Decorate house.

Clean and prep basement for the kids' visit.

Play hard with my munchkins, I won't see them for a couple of weeks starting Saturday!


As we head into the home stretch of Christmas preparation, I'll leave you with this wish....



May every board or card game played, bring good natured ribbing, and laughing with downright glee.
May your video game skills quadruple, so you can hold your own while playing games on wii.

May there be time and snow for sledding, snowball fights, angels and snowmen.
May there be hot chocolate, cookies, and the little girl giggles that can escape from grown men.

May your time be filled with family and friends and memories of great Christmases passed.
May you build great new memories with those here now, memories that, for them, will last.


Oh yeah, Get your stocking stuffers at:

www.margyreidbooks.net

McNally Robinson Booksellers, Saskatoon and Winnipeg

Crandleberry`s in North Battleford

Prairie Rose Flowers and Gifts in Kindersley

3 More Weeks! What?!

Hi All!

Wow! December is here!  Let the Games Begin!

I have to admit I'm feeling a little blah.  This is the first year, in I don't know how long, that I don't have my entire house dripping in snowmen and mistletoe by now. So hard to decorate around the construction zone that insists on still living in my house.  Oh well, I'm pretty sure, as catastrophic events go, this doesn't even show up on the radar.

As long as we can get the basement semi habitable, and the bathroom completed by the time the kids show up for Christmas, I will be more than a happy camper!

This week's picture shows a glimpse of the "face" I was talking about last week. This is a shot from last year's festivities.  I was just thinking how the world would be a much happier place if we all constantly had that look on our faces.  On second thought, it might more realistically translate into a lot of Christmas parties ending with alot of people wearing pretty white jackets that make you hug yourself.

Soooooooo......

This week went pretty well.

When I got to work on Monday I was surprised and a little saddened to see the 2 year old twins I care for, sitting in big boy booster seats instead of high chairs! They were grinning from ear to ear, completely pleased with themselves. They are too cute sometimes.

Tuesday, although not at all happy about the circumstance, I was able to spend a little time with a couple of cousins I grew up with. I was so glad to see them, but was only able to because their Dad is in the hospital and having a pretty tough time.  My heart goes out to them, and all those facing a similar situation, especially at this time of year.

Wednesday was filled with the usual things. Dentist, laundry, cooking, cleaning, answering emails and phone calls. All of the typical noise. Oh yeah, and trying to figure out the lure of twitter. I'm not sure if I understand the advantage of using twitter for the average Joe.  I mean, for people who know you, they already have your home number, cell number, email address, your actual address, and have you on facebook. Is twitter just in case they can't call, leave a message,text you, email you, poke you, or, oh, I don't know, stop by?

For those you don't know, they wouldn't be "following" you anyway. And  if they do want to follow you.......why? I'm just not sure where else in this world we invite total strangers to "follow" us. I totally get why celebrities do it and why people might be fascinated to "follow" them. But, just for regular people like you and me? I don't get it, at least not yet. But, that's just me.

Thursday, I was able to meet a dear friend for lunch, a great visit, and, yes a little shopping. All in all, a pretty good day.

Friday had me waking up to hazardous roads, and a hubby who couldn't do a lot of moving north of the shoulder blades. He whacked the back of his head on his way out from under an RV at work and woke up in a lot of pain. But, the trooper that he is, was going to try and tough it out. That's when he went outside and soon discovered there had been some freezing rain overnight. He jumped in the car to see if it was as bad as we thought it might be, it was worse. So the combination of ice covered roads and injuries postponed our trip into Saskatoon until later that day.

Thankfully, the salt trucks were out by then, so the highway wasn't too bad. The hubby had taken advantage of the extra time to try and get the pain in his neck and shoulders under control. With that, along with the baby elephant that was threatening to take up residence in my chest, (a nice byproduct that comes with working with the less than snot free members of society) we were on our way to do the show for the swing dancers!

Other than dealing with a wind that would have made Dorothy nervous, we were able to set up without incident. Yay!

The show itself was......interesting. It's not often we are among the "kids" in the crowd these days. The swing dancers I was so worried about disappointing turned out to be one couple who, although appreciative of the swing stuff, was pretty much happy with anything from earlier than 1965.

We had a couple of singers, some requests, and, for the first time ever, we were home, in our house, after a show 75 miles away, by 1:15am! They had begun with supper and cocktails at 6:00pm so they were fairly done by 11. They were all having a good time, dancing, laughing, singing from the tables, then I guess it was just bed time or something. Strangest thing.

So, after a night of hubby trying not to turn his head, and me taking Buckley's, sucking on throat lozenges, and drinking vitamin water we can mark another successful, though unusual, show into the books.

So, for the upcoming week,

*Remind you all that Lexi and Crazy make great stocking stuffers! (shameless plug)

*Work

*BATHROOM

*Start getting organized for girl guide party on the 16th

*hopefully completely finish Christmas shopping

*take up internal elephant hunting

With preparation for the holidays at the forefront, here is my wish for you this week.

May all the cookies you bake come out like the picture in the book.

May the Christmas cleaning elves show up to polish every nook.

May any projects hanging on, be completed, with plenty of time to spare.

May all of your gifts look like Martha Stewart had placed the bow perfectly there.

May every one of  your meals be a creation that would make your Grandma grin.

May you enjoy this hectic, happy time, everyone's happy, it's a win.

Until next week! Take Care!

www.margyreidbooks.net

How Many More Sleeps Til Christmas?!

Hello all!



Well, you know the holiday season is here when the little ones start asking how many more sleeps til Christmas! This was the first thing said to me when I walked into work on Monday. The six year old little girl I care for came running to the door, asking.


Wouldn't it be nice if we were all able to keep that unabashed excitement for Christmas? The unjaded, complete and utter joy that comes with every day that passes and brings us that much closer to that very special day.


Personally, I pretty much get just as excited now, as when I was a kid. The joy has grown from receiving to giving. The quest to put that look of incredulous disbelief on the faces of those we hold close. The desire to find that special gift, individually thought out, and sought out.


I know it sounds crazy, but I love the hustle and bustle of being out in the Christmas crowds. The only draw back is the time spent in the check out line. Ahhhhh, in a perfect world, no check out line would be more than 5 minutes long. On the other hand, you meet a lot of interesting people there.

Now, especially, is the time of year to bring on the random acts of kindness. Christmas is a great time of year for a lot of us, but can be extremely stressful and miserable for others. You don't usually have to look very hard to recognize that look. Most of us have worn it a time or two in our own lives and recognize it like our own reflection in the mirror.

The young couple keeping a running total of the items in their cart, the woman debating between a carton of milk and a dozen eggs, wondering which she can do without. The kids enthusiastically checking out the toy department followed by parents that know none of these treasures will be making their way into their home this year.

Having experienced random acts of kindness from both ends of the spectrum, I can tell you this. They are important, and carry with them a weight of gratitude that lasts a lifetime. I will be forever grateful to the anonymous angels who left the ingredients for a full Christmas dinner on our doorstep one year when, otherwise, there wouldn't have been Christmas at all.

Some years later, we were honored to be able to pay it forward to another young, struggling family. This may sound strange, but being able to give another family what we had once received filled us with just as much gratitude, if not more.


Speaking of being grateful, I am very grateful for the wonderful family I have. A supportive and loving husband, four incredible daughters, a good-hearted son-in-law and a wonderful grandson. I'm so excited that we will be welcoming another grandson into the family! Our youngest daughter is expecting a little one quite soon, and we are all thrilled!


Wow, sorry, I kinda got on a rambling rampage there, didn't I?


Well, this week, I was able to manage a little rehearsal time. The Christmas party we are doing is on Friday. Slowly, but surely, we are learning some swing dance songs. Some, I'll just have to fake my way through as best I can. They are pretty old songs. With any luck, none of these folks will be overly familiar with the ones I`ll need to fudge. Cross your fingers.

We still have no snow blower, waiting on parts. Luckily it has been pretty warm the last couple of days, and there is no snow in the forecast. Maybe the parts will get here before the next snow, just maybe.


I checked into the Canadian toy company I told you about last week. From what I can gather, it`s more a line of toys than a toy company. I plan on checking them out further, though. After all, they get their toys manufactured somewhere, never hurts to snoop. Maybe, just maybe, whoever took the chance on their line of toys will take a chance on my Lexi puppet!  I know I said I would try to sit back and let this puppet thing happen naturally, but we all know sitting around waiting, is not my strong suit. Besides, it`s just a little snooping.


Now, for the upcoming week. I need to:


* knock a few more things off the Christmas list

*rehearse!

*BATHROOM!

*go baby wrangling (work)

*make sure everything is ready for the show on Friday

*further check into the Canadian toy company



Well folks, I think that`s it for my ramblings this week.


Until Next Week, Take Care!


May you find joy in the madness that is the countdown to the Holidays.
May you find every treasure you`re searching for, in all ways.

May the time spent with friends and family be plentiful and rich.
May laughter take over in most conversation, keeping it sweetly on pitch.

May you connect with those you think of often, but rarely get to see.
May you completely enjoy all encounters, abandoning insecurities, truly being free.


Thanks for comin!


www.margyreidbooks.net

Monkey Wrenches and Laughter!

Hi all!


Late as promised, but I made it.


I'd like to start this week's ramblings by thanking and welcoming everyone who reads them. It never seizes to amaze and overwhelm me when I see new readers jumping in from all over the world. So if I haven't officially done so, I would like to say hi and thank you to those of you chiming in from Latvia, Russia and Spain. My continued appreciation goes to all of you who chose to join me on this crazy journey every week from here in North America and beyond.


Well, this week, folks, had a bit of a monkey wrench hidden in the wings.  If you recall last week, I mentioned a bit of doctoring I needed to do. I needed to get a minor procedure done on Tuesday. Let's just call it a 45 year old uterine tune up. It really is nothing serious, hundreds are done on a weekly basis.

As luck would have it, I had a bit of a reaction to the pain meds they gave me, and then another reaction to the meds they gave me to counteract the previous reaction. Nothing major just enough of a reaction to be, let's just say, "unpleasant."

This made the almost 90 minute car ride home quite delightful.

Anyway, to make a too long story a little shorter,  I suck at being a patient. I'm much more used to, and comfortable with, being on the other side of the care giving. As a result, I went to work a day too soon and basically paid for it the rest of the week.

All is good now, not quite firing on all cylinders yet, but close.

At some point in my life I'm sure I will learn the lesson I'm certain I'm supposed to in these situations. At some point. You'll be the first to know.

In the meantime, the progress on what will soon be my new beautiful bathroom, came to a screeching stall this week. I'm really hoping real progress is made in the upcoming week.

Rehearsing didn't happen either, as the stairs were not a great option for a good chunk of the week.

But, we did get to attend the Christmas party last night. It required nothing but checking into a nice hotel, getting dressed up, and taking an elevator ride to partake in a lovely meal and a night of stand up comedy.

It was a great night! First off, we received a free upgrade to our hotel room! Gotta love it when that happens! Yep, we ended up in a beautiful suite, complete with fireplace and vaulted ceilings.
Then, after enjoying a wonderful meal, we had the pleasure of laughing our faces off with a couple of comedians. I'm not sure if you'd be able to find it on YouTube or anything, but, if you have time and a bit of a twisted sense of humor, try and find the song, "Octogenarian Love Machine." Hilarious!

Also, through the course of the evening I found myself seated beside a lovely young lady, who happens to be the better half of one of the new guys at my hubby's work. As it turns out, she is an elementary teacher in Saskatoon and would like me to come and do a reading at her school. She also told me about a Canadian toy manufacturing company that supports educational toys. I'm definitely going to research the company and see what I can find out.

It never hurts to check it out.

Then, the hubby and I made a couple of stops on the way home, and I was able to knock a couple of things off of my Christmas list! Woot!

So folks, that's how this week went in this neck of the woods. As for the upcoming week?

Well, let's see.........

Have to rehearse......if you know of any songs that are good to swing dance to, I'm am very open to suggestions.

Bathroom....bathroom.....bathroom......bathroom......bathroom.........do you think if I repeat it enough times, it will just hurry up and finish itself?

Drop off parts for snowblower so they can find and order new parts. We neeeeeeeeeed parts. November in Saskatchewan + No Snowblower = Very sore and grumpy hubby.

Knock a few more things off the Christmas list.

Start figuring out what will be on the Christmas baking list for this year.

Go to work.

Check out Canadian toy company. (Crossing fingers while doing so?)



Until Next Week,


A nod to the seemingly invisible:


May you really take notice of the person making change for your morning coffees.
May you see them for the person they are, not just your first stop on the way to the office.

May you try to understand the intricate ballet that is every servers' noon lunch rush.
May you be patient and considerate and realize you are only one of many that need your lunch rushed.

May you take a moment to say a genuine hello to the one scanning and packing up your wares.
May you take note of those, left behind after the party, wiping tables, and stacking chairs.

May you say thank you in any way you can, to your bus driver, mailman, the guy coaching your kids' game.
May you truly appreciate that without this invisible service army, our lives really wouldn't be the same.


Have a Great Week!



www.margyreidbooks.net

Another Hurdle to Jump, Surprise! Not Really

Hi all!

Well let me start out by saying this week didn't quite produce the results I was hoping for.

Hey I've definitely had worse weeks, as that goes, this doesn't even hit the top ten, but was a titch disappointing all the same.

On the up side, Rainbow Entertainment (aka Randy and I) did get booked for that wedding in June. It's taking place at a Regional Park and should be gorgeous! Now that she has one less thing to worry about, I'm hoping this stressed bride can destress a little and enjoy.

Also on a lighter note, I didn't tell you last time, but, last weekend, I autographed a book for a kid with the coolest name on the planet!

His Grandma was buying him a copy of "A Crazy Day" for a stocking stuffer. I asked, as I always do, if she wanted it signed to anyone in particular. That's when she told me his name. I asked if it was a nickname, to which she shook her head disapprovingly and said, "Sadly, no."

This was the first and most likely will be the last time I autograph a book to a child with the legal name (insert drum roll here)...Rocket!

His actual given names are Rocket Bobby. I won't give you his last name for privacy reasons plus I wouldn`t be able to spell it to save my life. But, yeah! Rocket!

How do you NOT give a job or promotion or admit into your school a guy named Rocket! How does he NOT become king of anything he chooses to do with that kind of name! If there is such a thing as coming back, in the next life I wanna be named Rocket!

I did get in touch with the toy broker people this week. Although it wasn`t the enthusiastic, let`s get this in stores now, I can`t wait to shop this to manufacturers answer I had been hoping for, it wasn`t all bad either.

Remember, I had mentioned a few weeks ago their evaluation could go one of three ways.

1) Let`s hit the ground running

2) Need to work out a few things then revisit

3) Dumb idea, move on and save yourself from future humiliation ( I could be paraphrasing here)

Well, my evaluation came in at a solid 2. 

1) They would like to see `Lexi`s Magic Clothes` on the national best sellers list, to prove appeal.

2) The fact she doesn`t use batteries concerns them a little, but is not a deciding factor. (She is imagination driven, I think they are underestimating kids, personally)

So, as I see it, my goals and time frames for those goals have changed a little.

I don`t want this to become a stress filled, deadline making, fun sucking project. So, I`m going to try to let it happen in natural time and be happy if and when it does.

On the other hand, it is not my nature to do so. Everything in me screams to get Lexi on that best sellers list waaaaay sooner than later. Every fiber of my being wants to prove them wrong about the her appeal. Yes, bells and whistles get kids' attention in the short term, but they always come back to the imagination driven toys. Teddy bears, a plain old hot wheels car, a coloring book, a doll. I don`t want `Lexi`to be a flash in the pan fad toy, I want her to be that `go to` toy kids come back to again and again.

So folks, I`m really going to try and find a happy medium between the two. We`ll see how that goes.

In order to make the best sellers list in Canada you need to have sold 5000 copies of a single title.

To date, 745 copies of `Lexi` have found their way into the hands of wee ones. Gives you an idea of the hill I have to climb.

From what I can gather these numbers are actually quite good. When put beside other independent and traditionally published authors from Saskatchewan, we are holding our own quite well. 

But, in order to make that best seller list, realistically, I need to get national. I`m working on it. This is where the book industry tends to snub independent authors and puts road blocks and hoops in our path that they don`t put in the path of those published the tradtional way. I`m working on that too.

But, again, I`m going to try and find a balance. I need to balance my need for peace with my need to kick ass and take names.  I will try. 

Now for the upcoming week,

I`m really hoping that at least some of the finishing touches on what will soon be my new beautiful bathroom will completed.

I will be doing a bit of doctoring this week, nothing serious, just stuff.

I need to start rehearsing for the Holiday party we are doing on the 3rd of December. They really like swing music, so I`m going to need to brush up on my Andrew Sisters and Brian Setzer stuff.

Also this week, we will be attending our first Christmas party of the year where we just get to be guests. (This doesn`t happen often, so we definitely enjoy)

As a result, next week`s blog will be a titch late. Probably won`t be up until Sunday evening.

Until next week folks, I`ll leave you with some thoughts to honor those who fight for our freedoms, both past and present.

May those from past battles, who have passed from this place, be at peace, as heroes should.

May their families feel some pride through their grief, may they find some hint of comfort, as only a hero`s family could.

May those out there still fighting be safe and come home whole in body, in mind and in soul

May the families of these brave soldiers be brave in their own right, through missed  birthdays, birth days, missed turkey and mistletoe.

May we pass on to our children the importance of saying thank you even if it`s only on this rememberance day.

May we help them understand how different it could be here and now, if their sacrifices had not been made.

Wow! What a Weekend!

Hi all! Sorry I'm late, I'm going to blame it on the weather, and that's not the lame excuse that it seems!

The drive home from North Battleford was pretty crazy. Normally it takes a shade under 2 hours to do the trip, this time it took 31/2 hours. You see, we had a fairly generous snowfall over the weekend. That, combined with the just below freezing temperatures, made for very interesting highways. So when I got home, I had some supper, had a run at the tub and hit the sheets.

The weekend and trade show, not counting the roads, was a complete success. Now, I suppose that depends on your definition of success, but personally, it was right up there on my success-o-meter.  Sales maybe didn't quite hit the same mark as last year, but crowds were not as dense due to the lovely weather.

In my mind, the success came in not just book sales, but connections. First, there is Nikki, of Nikki's Knacks. An awesome lady who is a huge advocate of emphasizing the importance of reading in reserve schools. She plans to help facilitate some readings on reserves around the Battlefords.

Then, there is a stressed bride-to-be who is looking for a DJ for her wedding. She has been very discouraged by what she is finding available out there. The $1100+ cost, plus mileage, with the possibility of some restrictions that she is being quoted is a big part of why my hubby and I do DJ and Karaoke gigs. We both believe it's very possible to do a professional, fun show with quality equipment without charging an arm and a leg. So, yeah, there is a very real possibility we could be assisting a very nice young couple in making their wedding the one they have been dreaming of and working toward.

Then there is Kaylee. Kaylee, and kids like her, are the biggest part of why I love doing what I'm doing. Kaylee is in grade 3 and, in the process of browsing the wares at the trade show, saw my booth and brought her Mom to say hi. I recognized Kaylee from one of my readings, and she, me.  After a little chat with Kaylee, something caught her attention and she moved on to another booth. Her mom lingered. She told me that Kaylee has had trouble reading right from the start, and they have been struggling to keep her engaged in the process. Then one day, she came home from school and enthusiastically announced that when she grows up she is going to be an author, just like her favorite author, Margy Reid. And, since that day, has had a renewed excitement in learning to read.

I can't even begin to explain how incredibly humbling and overwhelming it was to hear those words.

Yeah, all in all, (in spite of the icy roads) this weekend was an incredible success. Catching up with old friends, making new ones, selling a few books, and Kaylee. Does it get better?

Now, for the upcoming week.

I need to get in touch with the people in charge of the upcoming parties we are providing entertainment for in the next few weeks.

1) Christmas party for School Bus Drivers on Dec. 3rd

2) Girl Scout benefit on Dec 16th

I also need to:

* send a Rainbow Entertainment info package to the bride-to-be I told you about earlier.

* buy another interior door for what will soon be my new beautiful bathroom!

* get in touch with the toy broker people to see if there is any word about the puppets. (What? You really, truly thought I would wait until they contacted me?)

* start construction on the skirting for the tub

* do laundry

* clean up the construction zone that is my house

* getting groceries would probably be a good idea

* Oh yeah, I should probably go to work.

So in honor of the first snowfall of the season: Until Next Week:

May your tires hold to the road whether they are snow tires or not.

May you keep it shiny side up as you are travelling about.

May you not encounter those drivers who drive as though in a video game.

May those that do realize that your couch and the freeway are NOT one in the same!

May those who white knuckle it as soon as the temperature dips take a bus.

May they realize that their fear makes it ten times worse for the rest of us!

Thanks for your patience, and for reading these ramblings, once again.

www.margyreidbooks.net

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween Everybody!!




Well I hope your week of pumpkin carving, and figuring out costumes went well. It went pretty well on this end of things, I was able to put together the final touches on Friday night. 


The week started out with both the hubby and I feeling pretty rough, not the best timing with a show to do at the end of the week! Not to mention it puts a slow down on the project of "what will be my new beautiful bathroom"!

On the bathroom front, we now have jets! Jets that work, and don't leak! Yay! Now, after a few more test runs, we can build the skirting and finish up the rest of the room!!!!!!! Almost there!


On the book front, I am still not so patiently waiting for news about both the Lexi puppets, and the book review thingy.  Waiting. I'm really hoping they want to move forward with the puppets right away, I've had phone calls from people wanting to order them already. I'm taking that as a promising sign. Maybe I should email the broker and let them know of the demand, it might nudge things in my favor, right? Or, is that being too pushy? Not sure what to do.

I did get an email from McNally this week to drop off another dozen Lexi's. They were sold out of both books in Winnipeg again! They still had enough Crazys in stock at the Saskatoon store to send some ahead, but needed more Lexi's to ship.  Blows my mind!!!!


So that brings us to the Halloween show last night.  Health wise, I wasn't quite up to 100%.  Yeah, I don't normally work up a sweat just holding a mic, and definitely don't usually run short of breathe from singing like I've just run for miles! Had a few wobbly moments, but it all turned out fine. Thankfully my hubby was feeling better. It would not be a good thing if we both felt like crap for a show!


The costumes last night were awesome! There were pirates and aliens, wizards and cowboys, devils and skeletons, even Mary Poppins made an appearance. I'll be posting some pics on our Rainbow Entertainment Facebook page if you want to take a peek at our evening.

Now, for the upcoming week. 

Monday, we need to get home in time for Trick or Treaters. If not, I might have to get the neighbour to hand out our candy.


The rest of the week, I need to get everything ready for the two day Mistletoe trade show in North Battleford next weekend. I'm really looking forward to it. My oldest daughter is coming along as a helper, plus my awesome friend, Dana is going to be helping as well. I can't say it enough, THANK YOU DANA!
She will be helping, hosting, playing chauffeur. An incredible friend!

Now, I don't want to mislead you. The trade show will not be all work and no play. There could very well be gratuitous consumption of cocktails, Saturday evening, when another old friend will be joining our little group. All in all, it promises to be a great time. I can't wait!

Well, that's it for now. Have a great Halloween, and an awesome week to follow.

Thanks so much for reading these ramblings. To everyone who reads from Brazil, to Australia to the UK to here at home, thank you.

Until Next Week,


May any ghosts and goblins visiting your home, be of the harmless, munchkin variety.
May they be so cute, you forget you're basically handing candy to door to door beggars as charity.

May your bowl of treats be bottomless, and your trick or treaters be sweet and polite.
May you avoid getting toilet papered, soaped, or egged, by handing out "good" treats that night.

May your doorbell stop ringing at whatever time you would like to call it a day.
May all the kids in your neighbourhood be tired by then, may they all have hit the hay.

May you have a great Halloween enjoy it, take it in, all you ghouls and boys.
May you just know that if you shop, Nov.1st, you'll be hit with Christmas noise!

See you next week!

www.margyreidbooks.net

A Week Like No Other!

Hi everyone!

Well, this week went pretty great.

I had my readings in Outlook on Monday, and it went really well. I had two groups, Kindergarten and grade one, (approx. 50 kids) and grades 2 and 3 ( another 50). While I was there, I received a great tour of the school. It's very unique with a completely open concept, the library being the center and heart of it all. The kids enjoyed the stories and really loved it when I passed the puppets around afterward for them to have a look. I was asked to come back to the classrooms following the readings to get some pictures taken with the kids. They were pretty giggly when, as the teacher was lining up the shot and counted ...1...2..3 I told them to say "stinky feet" instead of "cheese." It was a lot of fun.

Then, on Tuesday, it was off to North Battleford. There I had 145 kids from kindergarten to grade 3. They came from different schools in the area, and for some of them, as one teacher told me, it was there very first field trip. Imagine, I was there first field trip! Who'd have thunk it!

The library there has a kind of auditorium. It has theater seating in around. It was soo cool! I couldn't post any pictures as they all show some munchkin faces, and I really can't put them on my blog without parental permission. Another thing I've learned. To show backs of heads, maybe a slight profile is ok, just not faces. It's for their protection. That is more than fine by me.

I tell you, it was pretty incredible to hear 145 excited little voices jumping in with the......again, in Lexi, and the .......but instead, in Crazy Day! It floors me when I let myself think about it. This is really happening, this is actually my life, I really get to do this! Unbelievable!

The next morning, it was off to an  elementary school in Battleford. The public library was the official host of the event, but instead of trekking the kids from the nearby school to the library they invited the preschool kids that come to the library, to the school instead.

This is the place depicted in the photo. The age range here was about 18 months old to grade 4. There were about 60 kids and the reading took place right after recess. One word.....adrenaline.  They were a great group. While I was reading Lexi, one of the times where she changes her clothes....again, one little guy asked me how I know that's what happened.  I just told him "because I wrote it." Everyone had a little giggle and we moved on. Not easy getting heckled by 6 year olds!

All in all, it was a great trip, the books and puppets were a hit, it was great to catch up with a dear friend once again, and to top it off, the weather was amazing!

Since I've gotten home, I did get the Disaster relief thing sent off, tried to get some house stuff done around this construction mess I call a home, and did some laundry. I still haven't tackled the Halloween Costume problem and really need to take care of that, the show is Saturday night!

Before I leave you, I just wanted to share a little story about the three old little man who is my grandson.

The other evening, at the supper table, his Mom was trying to get him to eat his vegetables, which is always a bone of contention with this young man. He looked up at her and said " But Mom, I can't eat these veggies." She, of course, asked him why not. His reply," I can't eat them because vegetables are oppressing." Now, trying very hard not to laugh, my daughter asked him, "Oppressing, do you even know what that means?"  His answer, " Yes, it means I don't like them and you are going to make me eat them anyway!"

Yeah, kids are way smarter than we give them credit for, 99% of the time!


Well folks the upcoming week will involve:

Halloween stuff, work, bathroom, Halloween, work, bathroom etc. Hey, if you have any brilliant costume ideas, please let me know!

P.S. Could very well have jacuzzi bubbles and a door by the end of the day! Getting closer!!!!!

On a more serious note, we all know that October is Breast Cancer awareness month, and this time around, I was brought face to face with a situation in which a wife and Mom of two young boys found herself in surgery fighting this horrible disease.

My heart goes out to her and her family and all of the families in the clutches of this horrific thing. Hopefully someday soon, an actual cure, or better yet, a prevention will be discovered. Let's hope.


Until Next Week,


May you find strength you never knew you had, and fight with everything you are.
May those around you give the support you need, be it an ear, a shoulder, a sharing of a scar.

May you accept the support without hesitation, for it takes courage and not weakness to embrace it.
May you set aside the supermom syndrome we all suffer from at times, put down the cape, release it.

May you come back from this, healthy and strong, and take back your long and happy life.
May you be able to spend the rest of your days on this earth who you are, a strong and loving Mom and wife.



www.margyreidbooks.net

Sometimes You Just Gotta Wait!

Hi!


Well...... I did it.  I sent my proposal for my Lexi puppet to the toy broker.  Now I have to be patient as I won't hear anything back around or until the end of November. This could go one of three ways.

1) They tell me it's a completely dumb idea hasn't got a snowball's chance in hell and will never fly......
2) They tell me she has potential, she just needs a little tweaking here and there, but the idea is solid...
3) They tell me it's a go, and they are ready to move forward right away.

Needless to say, I'm hoping for number 3. It would be incredible to see Lexi on the shelves at  Toys R Us next Christmas!  I look at it this way, 3 years ago I never in my wildest imagination would have ever thought I would have one, let alone two books on my very own shelf at McNally Robinson. I never thought I would be travelling to different schools reading my books to kids. You never know what can happen until you put it out there. The worst case scenario?  They say no. I can live with no. But, I've never been very good at the whole woulda coulda shoulda thing. I would rather make sure I've done everything I can, then if it doesn't work, it doesn't work, but not because I was too scared to go for it.

I truly believe the only failure is to not try. I think it's the biggest disservice we do to ourselves. Don't get me wrong, there are times when those little nigglings of doubt still whisper very loudly in my ear, telling me that a high school educated, mom of 4, from small town Saskatchewan has no business with these grand ideas.............I'm getting better at telling it to shut up and bugger off.

Wow.....well that took quite a serious type turn, now didn't it?!

On a lighter note we finished the disaster relief application, I just need to get it witnessed by the town administrator and send it off. Apparently they can take up to a year to pay out, if they choose to pay out at all, so, yeah, more patience is needed.

Also this week, I emailed the guy at CM Magazine, (they will be reviewing Lexi and Crazy) and found out the process could take a few months. You guessed it........more patience.

I haven't made any headway on Halloween costumes yet. We may just have to throw together something from the tickle trunk. Maybe a combination of past costumes.... a cop lounge singer, perhaps? A Vampire surgeon? Zombie angel? It'll come to me I'm sure.

Oh, and I wouldn't want to leave you without an update on what will be my new beautiful bathroom. We now have water and sewer! Yay, no more 100 mile treks in the middle of the night to the downstairs bathroom! Woot!

Now, before you get too excited, I should tell you that we are having a couple of small leaking issues, but we should have those fixed up today. All this with only one injury inducing incident. While the hubby and I were diligently gluing the sewer lines together in the basement, one section, yet to be glued, fell and hit me square on the melon. Yep, should have a nice purple, off center unicorn horn for my readings this week.

First a lego black eye, then, the drywall knock on the back of the head, now the sewer unicorn horn. I'm pretty sure there's a country song in there somewhere.

So, now for the upcoming week.

Monday morning, I have 2 readings in Outlook.
Monday afternoon pack for the Battlefords.
Tuesday, drive to North Battleford for afternoon reading.
Tuesday night visit with dear friend.
Wednesday, reading in Battleford. Head home.
Thursday, get the disaster relief application in the mail, rehearse for Halloween show.
Friday: Costumes!
Oh yeah, and bathroom!

So my friends, until next week. Thanks so much for reading these ramblings, please know it's deeply appreciated.


Til Then,



May you find a surprise $50 in the coat you pull out for the cooler weather
May any weight upon your shoulders be lifted,leaving only that of a downy feather.

May answers to all decisions come easily and be as clear as the air on this Saskatchewan prairie.
May you stick to what's right for you, even though others' opinions, you must carry.

May you taste the freedom of not giving too much power to what other people think.
May you keep in mind, they're just people too, and their answers and opinions just might stink!

Feasting and Flooring!

Hello to all, and a Happy Thanksgiving to all of my fellow Canadians out there!



It's hard to believe it's Thanksgiving weekend already! Now, we will blink and it will be Christmas! I guess time really does fly when you're having fun!



Thanksgiving, a time for reflection, evaluation of priorities, a time to be thankful for all that is good in our lives. A time to be grateful for family, friends, a warm home, clothes on our back, and being able to provide the same for our kids.


Or, it could simply be a time you cherish pigging out on Turkey and Pumpkin pie, either way, it's all good.


As I am sure you've all heard, this week, Steve Jobs passed away. Mr. IMac himself. What an incredible impact he made on our world and the way we function within it. One person changed how millions communicate, listen to music, go to school, wow.  I guess he is a great example for those of us out there who think being one person is somehow inefficient to accomplish anything.


Ok, about the past week.


I'm not gonna lie, this week has been mostly about........you guessed it.... what will soon be my new beautiful bathroom.  It also involved filling a request for a few books ordered from my website, (I still need to find a brilliant, free way of advertising the site!),buying a turkey and dropping it off at my daughter's house, receiving an invitation to to a reading at the school in Major,Saskatchewan, and touching base with places that have already booked visits. Yes between DJ/Karaoke gigs and readings, the calendar is filling up quite nicely.

As for the bathroom........ we have paint and flooring!

Because my first born and her hubby were so kind as to host Thanksgiving this year, (yeah, still have a toilet in my dining room) we are able to really get to it with 3 days off. The tub and shower will hopefully be in place today! And.... functional very soon. Yay!

In the upcoming week:

Prepare for readings on the 17th, 18th and 19th.

Put together a brilliantly, ingenious proposal for the toy broker so they can see that the Lexi puppet IS the next tickle me Elmo! ( it could happen! Don't laugh!)

Finish the application for the Disaster relief people and maybe get reimbursed for some of the damage done to the basement.

Need to find time to rehearse for Halloween show, and start putting costumes together!

Also this week, as with every week within the last few months......... bathroom.


Have a great week and have awesome turkey induced naps!


Until Next Week....


May your days be in technicolor, HD, 3D, each as bright and brilliant as a child's painted rainbow.
May each one demand your full attention, refusing to go by unnoticed, especially if you feel low.

May we recognize the low days as the counterbalance for the great ones, and not let them get us down.
May we understand that a rollercoaster is not much fun if it just stays level on the ground.

May we experience true gratitude for all that surrounds us in our basic day to day.
May we register and take to heart the automatic thank you's we often hear and say.


Take Care!

www.margyreidbooks.net

Turkeys, Toilets, and TradeShows!

Wow, what a week!




First off, let me assure you that I am well aware that the photo I've chosen for this week's blog may be a little, well, off topic. There is a reason for this. Last Sunday, for the Word on the Street Festival, my camera was left sitting on the table, where I was sure to remember to take it.

This weekend, for the Unity Trade Show, I definitely remembered the camera. I even remembered to think to charge it up. Imagine my surprise on arrival, when I discovered the battery was deader than a door nail!

As a result, I have not one single pic from either the Street Festival or the Trade Show. So, instead, I thought I'd take a pic of the tree in my front yard. Hey, if all else fails, you can never go wrong with a photo of autumn leaves!


Now, about the Word on the Street Festival! It was pretty great, I have to say. It is, for the book lovers of the world, an amusement park of the written word. There are booths for every type of book. Ones for children, adults, fiction, non-fiction and a giant space filled with all kinds of graphic novels,

There are poetry slams and improv comedy, and readings by authors on everything from gardening to growing up in a Hutterite colony.

Through it all, Lexi and Crazy found their way into quite a few more homes, and I had the opportunity to share booth space with a Canadian best selling author. Her name is Mary Ann Kirby, the book is I am Hutterite. A really interesting read. She is a fountain of knowledge and, I believe, the first self-published author to become a best seller. Proof it can be done!

I hope Saskatoon is able to host another one next year, I'd love to be part of it again.

The remainder of last week was spent prepping for the Unity Trade Show, wrangling babies, and, of course, working on what will be my new beautiful bathroom.

Bathroom update: the last of the mudding and sanding is being completed and all of the necassary holes are in the floor for water lines and sewer and whatnot. I will hopefully be painting on Wednesday!Yay! (not even a sarcastic yay!)

That brings us to the Trade Show in Unity. It was held on Friday from 3pm-9pm and Saturday from 9am-4pm. I think there were about 60 different vendors selling eveything from jewellery to wooden crafts to organic food, to me, selling books.

My Mom was my helper for the weekend and was a real trooper. she was just getting over a cold and finds it hard to put in the long hours. Thanks Mom!

During the show, a rep from the local paper came and did an interview. Hopefully, I kind of sounded like I had a clue, I guess we'll see when it comes out!

Lexi and Crazy again made their way into several more homes.

Oh, I almost forgot! At the street festival, Mary Ann was able to tell me how I could go about having my books reviewed. To get a favourable review from the National Review Board could be a real stepping stone to other things.  Here's hoping they fall in love with Super Lexi and Chocolate Pudding Baths!

Well folks, that's pretty much it for last week.

This week,
Baby wrangling.
I need to finish drafting letters to the toy broker people.
I hopefully get to paint my bathroom!
I also need to finish up the application to the disaster relief people and get it sent in.
Also on the agenda for the week is to touch base with the lady hosting the Halloween gig we are doing to get details about contests and prizes etc.
Oh yeah, I need to buy a turkey and drop it off at my eldest daughter's house. She and her hubby have graciously offered to host thanksgiving this weekend, as I still have a toilet in my dining room.


Until Next Week!

May your week be filled with contentment, laughter, and love.
May you feel the peace we imagine, when we see the proverbial dove.

May you, in the spirit of giving thanks, perform a random act of being kind.
May the receivers pay it forward to others, and so forth, til the end of time.

May we truly be thankful for every single thing that we are given.
May we understand in our souls, that of "stuff"  I am not refering.


Thanks so much for reading these ramblings!

www.margyreidbooks.net

Beware of Flying Lego!

Hi all!


I thought I'd throw in a pic from the party we did last weekend. Yes, the red carpet affair was quite something! The limo was definitely a nice touch.


Well, I think I'm all ready for the word on the street festival tomorrow. Cash box ready, books counted and loaded, easels, posters and business cards. Thank goodness for my hubby, his help and support is neverending.

I'm looking forward to this event. The weather is supposed to be fantastic, and I always like meeting new people. With any luck, a few more wee ones will become familiar with Lexi, and A Crazy Day.

So, if you're in Saskatoon tomorrow between 11 and 5, come downtown! We will be on 23rd street between 3rd and 4th Ave. Bring the munchkins!

Now, on to what will be my beautiful new bathroom. We are officially done hanging drywall!! Do I hear a Woot! I think I do! We even managed to keep the injuries to a minimum. I did learn, however, that catching a sheet of drywall that I thought was attached to the ceiling on the back of an already sore neck is not a highly recommended activity. Do not try this at home.

We have also discovered that fitting the tub and shower into place will not be without it's challenges. I'll let you know how it turns out. But first, there is much mudding, taping, sanding and painting to do before we really get to that too deeply.

For the upcoming week, I'll be getting ready for the Unity Trade Show next weekend. I likely won't be home in time to get my ramblings up Sunday morning, but I'll be sure to get them up as soon as I get home, either that evening or Monday morning.

On Wednesday I need to compose the letter to send to the toy brokers, the rep at Hasbro has made available to me.  I think the reason I haven't written it yet is, I'm simply not sure how to word it. I'm sure something will come to me.

I apologize if these ramblings seem a little flat this week. I gotta say, with renovations, work, kid stuff, and book stuff, I'm feelin' a bit tuckered out tonight.

Maybe it has something to do with the whack from the drywall, then again, it may have something to do with getting smoked in the temple with a giant lego tower! This is something else I wouldn't recommend as an activity. Yep, you would be surprised at the velocity at which a 20 month old little boy can hurl a lego tower from a distance of 3 feet. In case you're curious, and to protect you from the end result, I can tell you it's enough to leave a pretty nice bump with a bit of a bruise as well.

Thanks for reading these ramblings, I do appreciate you taking the time. When I started writing this blog, I never dared to dream that anyone outside my own family would be reading it. It amazes me every week, when I see new readers, from 5 different continents now, coming along on this adventure.

Thank You.


Until Next Week,


May the lemons life throws at you become, not lemonade, but the bite after a shot of tequila.
May the ups and downs that occur, not bring on motion sickness only the feelings that thrill ya.

May you see every trial and tribulation as an opportunity, not an obstacle in your pathway.
May you see them as the forks in the road they are, not the hurdles they first seem to be.

May you take on the challenges that come charging at you like a bull seeing only red.
May you take them by the horns, tame and calm them, until out of your hand they are fed.

May you remain in the driver seat, steering your life with purpose and with cause.
May you keep in mind that no matter what's handed to you, it's your life, show it who's boss!


www.margyreidbooks.net

Live a Little, Learn a Little!

Yeah, the picture doesn't have much, if anything to do with this week's ramblings, I just really like it.

Hiya folks!

Some pretty cool things happened this week!

Yep, my baby daughter, a welder, therefore the least intimidated by power tools, came to visit for a few days and reclaimed her title of "Queen of the screwgun" ! Now the walls in what will be my new beautiful bathroom, are drywalled! All that remains naked of drywall is the ceiling, and we hope to have that rectified very soon.

Also during this week I got in touch with the corporate office at Hasbro. I was so nervous writing that email. I was terrified of wording something wrong, or not sounding businessy enough, or that they would read it, get a little chuckle, tell me I'm an idiot, and send me on my merry way. I was thrilled to hear back from them within 24 hours!

The woman who replied to my email was very helpful. Apparently, they don't accept unsolicited material and ideas for toys. The process goes through people called "toy brokers." Now there's a job I never knew existed! She also gave me a list with the contact information of the brokers that they deal with on a regular basis. In much more refined language than I am about  to use, she then advised me to go through brokers only. It covers my butt so no one can rip off "Lexi."

Also on the book front, I received another email from McNally Robinson. Yep, they need more books! I guess they are running short once again both in Saskatoon and Winnipeg. They also informed me that one of the school divisions in the province came in and bought 19 copies of each book and are going to be using them in a literacy program throughout their division! How cool is that!

To top off a great week, we went to Kindersley last evening to do a karaoke show for a "red carpet" party.  My cousin's little girl turned 8, and was having a red carpet birthday party. The guests came as celebrities, they went on a limo ride, and my two youngest daughters, dressed in gowns, escorted the guest into the party. This is where the Justin Beiber cut out made his appearance! He didn't exactly stand like he was supposed to, so he was duct taped to the wall of the house so kids could get a picture with him.

For the first time in 12 years we almost had to cancel a show. We loaded the truck and left, then developed a weird shimmy. We came back, my hubby had a look, made a fix that we hoped would hold, and we were off again. Well, we didn't get very far when the temporary fix gave way and we had to turn around, again. As we were limping the truck home, you guessed it, the drive shaft fell off!

For those who are maybe less familiar with the underside of a vehicle, let's just say this. No driveshaft, no drive. Knowing there is a little girl with her heart set on this party, we had to think of something. So, my hubby caught a ride back home and grabbed our car. Our very little car. We crammed the essential equipment into every nook and cranny, and were on our way! We were a bit late, but we made it! We set up, covered up during a bit of a rain shower, but ended up with a show where a bunch of little ones could be rock stars for a night! One side note, you haven't heard Katy Perry's Firework song until you hear an eight year old, hopped up on birthday cake and soda pop sing it!

So, for the upcoming week.

I'll be prepping for "The Word on the Street Festival" which takes place in downtown Saskatoon, next Sunday. It's the first time Saskatoon is hosting one, but they have been held in Vancouver and other cities in the past. It looks like it is going to be a great experience. There are going to be readings, things for the kids, and all kinds of books, of course. Their website is www.thewordonthestreet.ca if you'd like to check it out.

Also this week, of course, bathroom. Soon, it will be done very soon. Right????

So, until next week.


May every opportunity that comes your way be one you can grab onto with unadulterated glee.
May each one provide multiple chances like the spreading roots of an old oak tree.

May those chances turn into multiple blessings, be it making smiles, friends, or some cold hard cash.
May you be sure to grab the opportunity when it comes, for sometimes they pass in a flash.

May everything you're wishing for, be exactly what you truly need, to make you your truest you.
May it all come to fruition, in one way or another, even if it's not the way you thought it should do.

May we all understand that sometimes what we think we want isn't always what we need.
May we truly get that, in the end we inevitably look back and say "Aha!" Aha indeed.

Until next week!