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Showing posts from October, 2010

Friday Wishlist

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Over at the Literary Soundtrack (one of the best book blogs out there, IMHO) Friday is the day for talking about books you want to adore, but have yet to acquire. Since today is the first ever link party, I thought it would be worth it to link up. Maybe, since I'm sure you're here trying to come up with some sort of inspiration for your own blog ::wink-wink:: I thought maybe you could follow my lead. :) So, what's my book of wishing for this week? Well... I just read about this book by a guy named Goran Kropp called Ultimate High: My Everest Adventure. It's about this guy, Goran, who rides his bike from Sweden to Everest... then climbs Everest unassisted and without oxygen... then bikes home. Umm, yeah, totally awesome. And here I am complaining about all this dang weight I've gained. If only I could bike across the country, but who am I kidding? I'd rather just read about it. What book are you chomping at the bits to get? What book is making your h

Bad Mommy-ing

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Today I made my children ride their bikes to school. It's currently 28*F. Today I left the gate to the stairs open when I went down and Remewin fell down them... all the way down them. Today I woke up to discover that the Mischievite had gone #2 and not wiped, I considered not caring. Today I told Albowin that I didn't care if his brother called him 'a girl,' what I cared about was that he wasn't getting dressed. I'm not sure when the last time Remewin had a bath was. I made my kids wear the same pants to school today for the third day in a row. Yesterday the Mischievite spent 90% of his day watching movies, while I played board games with our local missionaries. I don't have a pumpkin, or candy, or finished costumes for any of the kids. The Mischievite took scissors to Remewin's almost done Halloween costume and I yelled at him and made him cry. Today I considered calling Ralexwin and yelling at him for not folding laundry (I didn'

Will and Testament

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I have a friend who seems to have dropped off the planet recently. Last night as I was thinking about her I mused in my mind... I wonder if she is dead and that's why she hasn't blogged lately. Then I was reminded of my own blog and I thought to myself 'if I die I hope someone who knows me and realizes how much I love my blog would have the where-with-all to post something for my readers.' But maybe they don't know these things so I ought to tell them. Do you think if I post my will on my blog (you know...in public) it makes it sort of legal? So is it morbid to announce what I want to happen to my left-behinds on here? Well, I'm not remotely feeling morbid, nor depressed, so don't panic. First, if Ralexwin and I die together my children are to go to his oldest brother (and his wife). If they die in the same accident.... well then you've got bigger problems to worry about since they live in Texas and we live in South Dakota. Second, I would li

Idea's and Inspiration

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Have you ever seen those blog posts where the person takes a collage of things they like and then tells you about each and every one? This is one of those posts... And since I now know how much effort it takes to create said collage, I'm expecting you to take the time to look at this conglomeration of photo's from my Idea's and Inspiration file on my laptop. I can't remember where I got all of these photos, so if you see one you recognize please tell me so I can give credit where credit is much deserved. So, here we go: 1. Soft baskets are one of those ideas that I love, but have yet to create. It's like the cheap way to get what I want... baskets! Image source (and tutorial): Image source: jcarolinecreative.com 2. I love, love, love the notion of built in bookshelves, big windows and cozy reading benches overlooking vine covered gardens. Image source: Not Sure 3. Crazy quilts have become a new fascination with me, and I just recently figured out how

Albowin: Boy Extraodinaire

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In my religion we baptize our children at 8 years old. Generally this is a time of calm reflection and spirituality as we watch our beautiful next generation making the choice to serve and obey Jesus Christ. It's quite traditional for photos to be taken before the service where the parents and child stand before a painting of Christ. Typically this is how it works... unless of course you happen to be the parent of Albowin. Albowin: wonder boy extraordinaire, Dennis the Menace made flesh, human bouncing ball whose blood runs as rich as sugar. Albowin: anti-camera, pro-attention 8 year-old with a propensity towards utter silliness. I could tell you about how,on Friday last, I felt a swelling in my heart and how in that hour or so I knew, once more, that the Savior was real. I could tell you how, with my son's baptism, I remembered my own promises to the Lord. I could tell you those things, but they wouldn't be truthful. In truth I was at the very edge of sanity. I

Kid Funnies

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Conversation between Albowin and Ralexwin: R: Okay, how do you spell 'people'? A: P-E-O.... P-E-L R: Close, but remember that in this word the E is at the end. A: Oh! Okay. P-E-O-P-E-N R: No. A: P-E-O-P-N-E-N R: No. I didn't say there was an 'N' after 'E', I said there was an E at the end. Try again. A: You said there was an 'N'. R: No, there was an end. A: Like 'Y'!? ---- The Mischievite saying goodbye to his dad. M: Bye! Remember Dad, don't walk in the road and don't die! ----- Ralexwin and Albowin: R: Okay, now spell 'family.' A: F-I-M-L-E-D R: What? No... listen to the sounds, please. ----- Bedtime Negotiations: A: Since I didn't get to go to bed until 8:14, I think I should be able to keep my light on later. R: I understand, but you have to be up early tomorrow so you can't keep it on past the usual 8:30. A: How about 8:39? R: I don't think I can go past 8:37.

Irish Twins

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You've seen me refer to my two oldest as Irish Twins, but I don't know if I've ever expressed to you just how close in age they are. First lets find a good definition of what an Irish Twin is: Either of a pair of siblings born 9 to 12 months apart. So... now that you understand what they are, let me tell you how far about they are in age. 367 days . That's one year and 2 days apart. In fact I'm fairly convince my munchkins were sitting in Heaven planning this whole thing out before Vicbowin even left for my womb. I can imagine the conversation going something like this: "I don't want you to leave me up here alone." Albowin cries sadly. Vicbowin is crying too. "I don't want to go without you." "What are we going to do?" Vicbowin's eyes brighten as an idea creeps into her mind. Quickly she pulls Albowin away from the line of waiting angels and conspiratorially leans in. "I think I know what we can d

Shattered

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Yesterday I lost three glasses from the same set. Three glasses in one day! That has to be some sort of record, because in all my adult years I've never seen that many cups meet their demise in one 24 hour period. One of them just had to be tossed because it had a large crack running down the side, but the other two were the work of a certain oldest child and her propensity to stack the cups she's carrying. The funny thing is that I was just saying to a friend of mine how much I wished I could change out my dinnerware for some other colors. Irony much? Of course I can't afford to switch out all my bowls and glasses, so the Fates deemed it in their best interest to force me. Except the Fates didn't take into consideration the plain fact that I can't afford to . Walmart.com I guess it's time for some more recycled canning jars. But if I had my way I'd buy a deep dark purple. --- On another note, today is that same oldest child's

The Agony of Defeat

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View from the ground. Have you ever fallen down as an adult? I have... frequently. In  fact I did just yesterday, and as always it was quite embarrassing. You see, the kids didn't have school yesterday (parent teacher conferences) so we took the chance to head over to the park for a little fresh air and playtime. Remewin was out there running around with the best of them while I chatted with some of the other park-moms. Things were going well. The air was crisp with only a small bite to it. The leaves were falling gently to the ground. Remewin was climbing to the top of the slide. The grass was green. Wait... I sat up. My 15 month old was nearly to the top. I hurried over to the play set while the other mothers moved on. "Baby." I said in that sweet, gentle mother's voice, "You can't be climbing up here by yourself. Did you want to go down the slide?" Being the wonderful mom that I am, I gently placed her on my lap and sat at the ti

A Skirt, A Tie, and A Shirt

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Today my kids are helping me with my blog post. There is absolutely no point to the title except that the Mischievite came up with it. Vicbowin What do you want to be when you grow up? I don't know, I haven't thought about it.   What is your favorite color? Turquoise How do you make bread? You make some dough and stick it in the oven.   Who's your best friend? Jenna.   What is gravity? Something that pulls you to the Earth and sucks you to the middle of it.   Where do babies come from? A mom's belly.   Where does electricity come from? An outlet in the wall.   How much does a house cost? A million dollars. What would you do with $100 dollars? I would buy everything in the world.   If you could go anywhere in the world to visit, where would you go? Australia. What is one new thing you would like to try this year? I want to practice dying.   What is one memory you have from this summer? Mosquitos.   If you could only have one present

Hello and Welcome!

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Today I get the privilege of being noted for my hard work and dedication. Okay, really I contacted them, but still... I'm being featured! Our words of wisdom does this blogs of note thing that I just had to get in on. So here I am... in on it. Now that I have your attention why don't I get to work. By the time I'm done you'll all be scrolling my sidebar looking for the follow button... which only the truly sincere and dedicated readers do. :) Me. My name is Cannwin (not really but it's all you'll get out of me). I am a 30 year old (I finally said it. Whew) South Dakotan, with a scoop of stubborn and a pound of sarcasm. My formal education ended with a high school diploma and I have spent the last decade teaching myself about anything and everything that peaks my interest. I read voraciously and, it's possible, addictively--my husband got me a book light for our anniversary this year--and I adore writing. Some oddities about me... *I onc

D is for Disaster

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A while back I signed up to get notifications from Anthropologie in my email--not because I have ever bought anything from them (too pricey) but because a woman needs to do some window shopping now and then. Anyway, the last email I got had this picture attached. Now... I love this skirt. I love the whole outfit, but I have to tell you for the last few days the whole picture has been in the back of my head nagging me incessantly. Why? Well... There is absolutely no way she would be able to ride that bike in that skirt. It just screams disaster. Can you imagine? Try to for a moment. Plus, do you see the bar on that bike? We're not talking a cruiser here... this is a full hitch-your-leg-over-it bike. I'm wondering if the photographers have ever taken a turn on a bike themselves. Because I have and I'm telling you she's going to end up with a concussion. I suppose she could tie the skirt up to her knees as she was riding, but then you have another sort of

Let's Be Honest

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I'm over at all4speakers again today. I thought I'd tell you a little about how I know TerĂ©sa. It's actually an intriguing story that I'm not sure she wants me telling you all about, we'll leave the nitty gritty details to her... but I'll give you the simplified version. In high school you couldn't have picked two more opposing forces than us--the phrase 'arch-enemy' comes to mind--then we grew up and wonder of wonders discovered that we should have been friends all along!   Thus we now spend our time laughing and joking and loving our friendship, all via email because I think we're both still a little nervous to face each other. :) Anyway here's the post of the week. Enjoy!    ---- I used to clean houses... for a JOB. That's right I used to get paid to clean other peoples houses.  It wasn't too bad. Most of the people were weekly (some twice a week) clients, so everything was quick and easy enough. There wasn't build up

Autumn Leaves

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Have I ever mentioned how much I love Fall? I really do. It makes me feel so alive and vibrant. The way the leaves fall onto the green grass and how everything has a certain calm before the storm feel to it. I love the crisp air that requires me to pull out my sweaters, sweatshirts, socks and boots. It all stirs up a fire inside my soul and heats me from the inside out. Except this fall I'm in a form of mourning. This will be my last real fall for a long time. Ralexwin plans on moving us all to St. George, Utah where there is only two types of weather--sunny and sunnier. There will be no leaves falling on green grass, no crisp October mornings, no need for my brand new scarf or my trusty old gloves. I'm sad about it. However exciting moving is I have to admit I will be sad to leave South Dakota. I truly love it here and I will miss it. I will miss the safety it provides my children. I will miss the weather and the trees above my head; the grass and the nearly blac

Let's Be Honest

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Have you ever noticed how people in the blog-o-sphere tend to put their best foot forward. I doubt it's intentional, but the reality is that we portray our perfection for the world at large. So lets be honest. My children are rarely dressed for success. My house is hardly pristine. I am not perfect. Are you? My typical hairstyle is a ponytail. My make-up rarely goes beyond eyeliner. My scale is clearly about 30 pounds off and my clothes have definitely shrunk in the washer. And that's just the tip of the iceberg! I could go on and on about my family relationships, my house, my bills, my self-perception, or a myriad of other areas within my life... none of which is solidly founded in bliss. Blogging is a fun way to show off my best person, but do you know what? It takes me about 30 minutes to write a blog post. 30 minutes that define the very essence of who I am. Wow, I sure wish that were true. If my house looked like my blog does I'd be living my

Happy Native American Day!

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Here in South Dakota we have a strong sense of history. We rejoice in our vast and magnificent native heritage because we have a lot to celebrate. 10% of our population is Native American.- third largest in the country. We have the Crazy Horse Memorial. We have the Black Hills. We have Wounded Knee. We don't have Little Big Horn...but they went through here to get there. We like to remember where we came from. So today, when the rest of the country is celebrating the discovery of our continent we in South Dakota celebrate the day when an entire civilization woke up, saw Columbus and were informed that they existed.

Sluffing

Sorry for the lack of posting today... I'm in the process of re-installing my operating system onto my laptop. :)

Ailments

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Yesterday I stubbed my toe and not just a little bump against the wall. It was a full out slam my foot against the corner and crumble to the ground. The sort of contact that you just know means you've disconnected your nail. Except my toe-nail is fine.. it's the chunk of skin in front of my nail that isn't doing so well. Stubbing my toe always makes me think of the book 'Elantris' by Brandon Sanderson: "It's my toe!" Raoden said, limping across the slippery cobblestones. "There's something wrong with it--I stubbed it when I fell, but the pain isn't going away." Galladon shook his head ruefully. "Welcome to Elantris, sule. You're dead--You're body won't repair itself like it should." "What?" Raoden flopped to the ground next to Galladon's steps. His toe continued to hurt with pain as sharp as the moment he stubbed it. "Every pain, sule," Galladon whispered. "Every cut, every n

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall-me

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Out of the night that covers me, Black as the Pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the Horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years Finds, and shall find, me unafraid. It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll. I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.   -Invictus by William Ernest Henley I am the captain of my soul --Within my life I have truly struggled to grasp the concept that  I am in control of my own being. It is not so much an inability to make my own decisions, but rather the struggle to control the emotional state within myself. Yet is that not where our true selves lie--within?  As a child, my feelings of s

Mirror, Mirror On The Wall

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Today marks the first of another blogger swap series. For the next four weeks I'll be trading some blog posts with TerĂ©sa at All4Speakers . So if you want what I wrote you'll have to hop on over there to get it. Don't forget to be polite and leave lots of loving comments and when you come see me be sure to poke around her stuff as well. :) I sat today watching my 4 year old daughter’s ballet class. Have you ever seen a 4 year old's dance class? As you probably could imagine there was fifteen (give or take) 4 year old ballerina hopefuls in pink leotards, standing on their designated blue tape with soft pink ballet shoes. All heads with their hair pulled back in slick buns turned facing the teacher with her gentle but commanding voice, as she painstakingly tries to instruct and demonstrate a chasse, or an allegro… all heads but one. My 4 year old ballerina’s head was facing a different direction. The direction of the mirror. She sat studying herself. At

Does It Scare You?

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About 95% of women diagnosed with Breast Cancer are over the age of 40. Breast Cancer is most common in Caucasion women followed by African-American and then Asian-American. However, African-American women are most likely to die from Breast Cancer. Every 69 seconds a woman dies of Breast Cancer. I gotta tell you guys... Breast Cancer scares me. A few years ago I found a lump just under inside my armpit and panicked. I immediately went into the doctor and was kindly informed that as the body gets older it begins to produce more lumps. I was okay, but I needed to watch the lump closely in case of any sudden growth. The doctor told me that what I wanted to look for is lumps that weren't perfectly round and/or that grew rapidly. We are bombarded with the phrase 'Breast Cancer' but are rarely given the knowledge needed to help ourselves. When they say lump, what exactly do they mean? What are my chances of getting Breast Cancer? Am I more likely to get it because

What If...

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What if... ...you could type a document in your head and transfer it onto a memory stick or straight onto your computer? I admit that this concept has crossed my mind before. I have so many stories that bounce around inside my noggin that it would be wonderful to be able to get them all out without struggling to siphon through the junk. There is one story in particular that I would love to write, but instead I just daydream about it. How nice would it be to just get it all out and have the computer type it for you. It makes you wonder if writing style is connected with the idea's themselves or your ability to put them into words. What if the idea was pulled from your mind to be transcribed by someone else? Would it be what you wanted it to be? I imagine it's probably a lot like when someone you know tries to tell a story but keeps digressing into the unimportant details: "I was at the store the other day, buying some pickles--dill--for this get together I'

October Theme: Breast Cancer Awareness

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I'm sure you've all seen the pink that's starting rearing it's glorious head in everyone nook and cranny of the shopping world. Did you know that Breast Cancer is the second leading type of cancer within women (Skin Cancer is #1). It's some serious business. This month, in my effort to 'make a difference' in my little corner of the blogosphere, I've decided to make Breast Cancer Awareness my topic of discussion. I'll also be featuring some of my favorite 'October Pink' products. Like Ford's Warriors in Pink product line. 100% of the net proceeds goes to the Susan G. Komen foundation. Here are some of their gorgeous products ( for all products click here ) 2010 Warrior Scarf - $33.00 Warrior Key Ring - $7.50 (My favorite product... I have a thing for key rings) Warrior Getaway Bag - $20.00 Stay tuned for more about Breast Cancer and more places to shop. If you have a survivor story you'd like to share, em

Wonders of What's to Come

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Yesterday Vicbowin was sick and today I feel like dropping onto my bed and sleeping (under a large pile of covers) for a year. The kids always do this to me--bring home germs. But I would never forsake my blog... even for illness. Did I mention to anyone that we are going to be moving at the end of this school year? Many of the people I know personally are surely either super happy or super sad about this, but the inevitable is nearly upon us and it's time to face the truth. As much as we love South Dakota (adore, actually) it is 1,200 miles from our nearest family and that's hard on Ralexwin. So we will be heading to Southern Utah, to that beautiful city that we met in. Since we're going to be moving so far I've decided to take this opportunity to downsize our lifestyle. Our current home is 3,000 sq/ft and it's TOO big for me. I can't keep up with it and four kids. I want smaller, I want cozy. The problem is that I'm overwhelmed. I now understand wh