[talk: What.A.Day.]

So.

It's Sunday.

You'd think that Sundays were a quiet, relaxed day.  Oh no, my friend.  Sunday's are full-on and I love them.  Mine started with a 630am wake-up, to be at our church by 750am.  I was the worship leader at our church, CLA, for both of our morning services.  

These servies are some of my most favourite times - it's such a privilege to be a part of a great group of people ... I love this place so much.  So, I was a part of two powerful services and walked to my car afterwards, feeling so incredible, so encouraged ...

And I was sitting in my van in the church parking lot, putting on my seatbelt, I noticed a message on my phone.  I turned it on speaker phone.  The message went something like this: "Hi Tania, it's Mom.  Dad's ok.  But he's been in an accident.  He's ok ... but your brother and I are heading into town - Dad's a bit shaken up."

What??

I immediately called her ... and then my brother started sending me images of the accident.  My Dad had already been taken to the hospital - with no apparent injuries, but just to be checked over because of the severity of the accident ...

My dad had been on his way to Tias' baseball tournament when he fell asleep at the wheel, drove off the road (without oncoming traffic), hit a tree and flipped his car over in the swamp.  He immediately realized that he was ok - took off his seatbelt, decided to kick out the back window when he heard someone ask if "anyone was ok" ... He yelled back, "I'm ok - I think I can get out if you open the door ... " so the guy did.  And my dad literally walked out of the car.  

This is his car ... upside-down, off the road, in the swamp.

ISN'T THAT CRAZY?????  The firefighters couldn't believe it.  My Dad literally walked away without even a scratch.  Not ONE scratch.

Here he is in the hospital, proving to everyone that he was fine ... 

Meanwhile, our boy won his first ever baseball tournament - and I was getting these images sent from my hubby, while my bro was still sending me pics of my dad.  And all of this was going on while I was preparing to lead for the Recovery Service tonight - a full night of worship and I was starting to feel a bit overwhelmed ... I had to be at the church by 4:15pm and ... well ... things were just a bit crazy.

But - the worship service tonight was full of incredible things ... addicts putting things in the garbage, people worshipping the living God and me - feeling so incredibly grateful for the literal Hand of God on our family.  How beautiful to show our kids how our prayers of protection are prayed to a real God.

And my dad?  Well ... he's over right now.  Look at him.  Sitting on our couch.  Not one scratch.  Does this look like a man who flipped his car in a swamp today???

I think not.

Crazy.

Have a great one :-).

[talk: Feeling Lovely.]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again - I think that most women would agree that wanting to be feminine, pretty, lovely ... those are things that are right down in our DNA.  Looking at our young daughters, at our friend's teenage girls, at even our own selves ... God put something in us that makes us want to  put on a coat of lipgloss for a special event, or lose that extra 5lbs to fit into a much-awaited dress ...

Well, this past week I had the pleasure of going away with a few close girlfriends.  We shopped, we worked out (yes - you read that right ... I did my first 1km sprint in 4min20seconds) - we ate sensibly, read books in the sun and didn't have late nights.  We are all moms and didn't want to come home exhausted - but rather refreshed and better than when we had left.  We all wanted our husbands to be "wowed" when we came home ... maybe not super realistic - given the 5 day timespan *grin*.

On Saturday evening, though, we did something that we had done last year:  a photoshoot.  This was something I had wanted to do last year for my girlfriends - as a special treat, just to remind them how beautiful they were and honour them as the beautiful women they are.  And this year was no different - when I threw out the idea, they all laughed and said, "oh yeah - let's do it again!".  We were like a dorm of teenage girls getting ready ... trying on outfits, doing our hair and makeup ... getting each other's opinions while the music blared *grin*.

Super silly.  But fascinating ...  because we all just wanted a "pretty" picture taken.

Why? *laughing* I'm actually really not that sure.  I mean, once you have a new FB profile pic, then what?  I mean, it's not like you're going to print out a bunch of 8x10's of your top 25 pics from the session.  But for some reason, that didn't matter.  It was the experience that was fun - we didn't think about anything but being girly girls ...

So we headed out to the desert - with each of us armed with TWO (yes, you read that right) outfits.  The light was perfect, the girls were ready - and I started snapping pics.

It was just so fun.

Just watching these incredible women "strike a pose", just having fun - just celebrating the beauty that God put inside each of them ... really - it was remarkable.  So much laughter, so much "wooooork-it", so much ... well, fun.  And what was really interesting was comparing last year's shoot to this year's.  My friends were more comfortable - and I think their pics showed that.  And it was also pretty fun directing my friend who was trying to figure out my camera ... I was grateful that she wasn't afraid to try - most people get nervous when I hand them my professional camera and say, "would you mind?"

Now ... I JUST got back ... I haven't edited all of the 200+ pics (yes ... again - you read that right *grin*).  But I will show you a few of myself that I just edited - and it is a STRANGE thing editing photos of yourself, trust me.

But.  Looking at these photos actually brings a happiness to me - how I felt during this hour with my girlfriends.  I had said to one of my friends as we drove, "... I haven't felt this pretty in a long time."  It was true.

I've felt like I'm working hard, succeeding some then failing large at all the expectations I put on myself physically; I feel like I'm blessed with incredible family and friends and a great church; I feel like there's never enough time to do it all ... and that I wish I were so much better at everything I already do.  But feeling pretty?  No.  I'm sure most moms would say hat is not a daily occurrence by any stretch.

So for 1 hour on Saturday - we felt like queens ... and I felt like my hubby would be proud, like my hours of running paid off, like God didn't make any mistakes ... and please - don't interpret this as a post on a massive importance on outside appearance and such ... it's just how I felt for a very short period of time.  And it was nice.

Enough.

Here are a few of my own pics ...  I'll be posting my friends over the next week or so ...

So.  Silly, yes.  Fun, for sure.  But lovely for us all.

Have a great one ...

[talk: She Called Me A ...]

Ok.  Relax.  Yeah, yeah - the title's a bit much *grin*.  But hey - I had wanted to be a journalism major many moons ago ... sometimes the writer in me gets a bit cheeky *grin*.

Where have I been?  Oh, you know ... twiddling my thumbs - wasting time - watching paint dry. HA.  No, of course not.  Life has been full - and it's now 11:22pm on Monday night and if I don't get THIS in today I'll be really mad at myself.  I love to blog ... and so here I am.  Blogging.

So much to write about - but tonight I will just type that I had a lovely day with my mom.  Yes - I was unable to spend actual "mother's day" with her on Sunday, so today I took her to White Rock for lunch, for a walk along the ocean and to a kitchen specialty shop for a brand-new teapot.  It was a lovely few hours full of laughing and talking ... catching up, asking questions,  watching a stunning view while munching on exquisite food.  And after lunch, we walked arm in arm along the pier and I even asked someone to snap a photo with my IPhone.

It's funny what moments we remember, isn't it?  No rhyme or reason ... but this lady painstakingly took a few photos with my phone, and as she handed it back, my mom said - "oh, my daughter's a photographer" ... and honestly?  It was profound.

Why?

My mom is an RCM examiner.  Basically, she's pretty darn high up in one of the most known Canadian music schools.  I had been following in her footsteps, with three music degrees under my belt, and my own thriving music studio.  Then, we lost Shalom ... everything went spinning - and I found myself  in a place of recreating who I was, in the photography field.

It's only been recently that I've felt confident and non-apologetic for saying "I'm a photographer".  I was always like, "... I used to be a piano teacher.  I'm qualified.  I'm educated ... I was doing really well *yadayadayada* ... and now I just do my bit - some people like my photos, some don't.  It's ok - you don't have to ... I still really like it ... " with my head hung down.  I've felt like people just roll their eyes with my career change - I mean, can't anyone be a "photographer"?

But today, my mom told a stranger that I WAS a photographer.  Not that I "used to be a piano teacher", or my qualifications or whatever.  She seemed proud of it ... and for some reason, her words made me feel like I was legit.

Isn't it funny what different people can say, how they can say it - that makes all the difference?  Words are so much more than power.   They are life ... or death.  I've been learning a lot about words ... watching my own kids with what they say and what's said to them, watching people stand tall - or be struck down - by the words others say to them ...

Hmm.  It's a big thing ... and I'm much to tired *yawn* to go much more into this.  But.  Basically all I wanted to say was that 1) I had a great day.  2) I'm so glad I got to spend time with my mom  and 3) validating words bring life.

Ok.

Not the most amazingly written post ... my English prof would be eye-rolling at the "all-over-the-place-ness" of my thoughts.  But I don't care.  I'm not a writer.

I'm a photographer.

Boom.

[talk: What Do You Do.]

Ok.  So - I thought I'd throw this post back at you, the reader, for some help.

I am far from a no sugar, no flour, only organic kinda gal ... but I'm kinda on the pathway.  More like a trying-to-make-better-choices-than-others-but-not-gonna-beat-myself-up-when-I-can't kinda gal.

I'm wondering how many moms out there are feeling like I am?  Like processed food is the most convenient but EVERYTHING is processed.  Dairy products, cereals and grains, meats, fruits and veggies ... they are all contaminated in one way or another.  Hormones, antibiotics, unsanitary conditions (like feces in the slaughter house ... hate to say it, but if you think it's NOT in our meat - well.  I think you might be wrong.)

I was watching a show about "Food Inc", which is a documentry.  The guy (who wrote this book) said that the super market doesn't sell food, but more like "edible food substitutes."  Yuck.  He said to "not eat what your great grandmother doesn't recognise (using the yogurt tubes as an example ...)".  To eat things that are seasonal - rather than eating foods that come from around the world, picked way too early, and gassed (that's right, GASSED) to have them shiny and ready for our own supermarket.

All this to say, that being a consumer is painful now.  Being a mom - making both economical and healthy AND time effecient decisions is a tricky thing.

So - what do you do?  Do you buy your meat elsewhere (like the farm, or butcher, rather than the supermarket ...)?  If so - WHERE??  I'm lost ... but I know that I want to feed my family grass feed beef, and free range chicken ... Do you buy organic?  Do you think it's a scam?  Do you buy what's in season locally, or do you buy whatever you need, whenever you need it?

Would love to hear your thoughts!!

[tias: Baseball - Game One.]

For the last 2 weeks, Tias has had baseball a minimum of 3 times each week.  Except for when he's been sick ... but that's another story.  It has been SO great ... after two years of dealing with his grumbling with hockey - he absolutely loves baseball.

Wednesday night was a beautiful evening - and I picked up Subway sandwiches with Siah and Katia and met my hubby and Tias at the ballpark.  Dinner at the park - how perfect.  And the game was already underway ... 

Tias was on third base ...

I loved this moment ... Siah and Katia acted like Tias was a RockStar.  He knew it too ... it doesn't give him a "big head" - it gives him confidence.  It was a beautiful thing ... 

The spectators prefer to eat, more than spectate *grin* ...

Tias did so well.  He got to base twice - which brought two team members home.  And he came home as well, once.  So - out of the 5 points scored, Tias was involved in three of them ... he was beaming.

I can hardly believe he's 7.  And a half, I guess.  It's crazy.  He's changing and staying the same - growing up, and acting like a kid ... all at the same time.  I am so proud to be his Mom.

And on a side note ... a pic I managed to capture of our littlest peanut.  This photo means a LOT to me ... because I can never get her to look at me.  This time?  "Hey Katia, do you see the clown inside my lense?"

The next photo is of her giving me a "yeah, whatever" look ... but this one?  Melts my heart.

Have a great one :-) ...