Currently in the midst of...

  • Michael = got braces this month and getting ready to start refrigeration apprenticeship
  • Jenny = school, and work, soccer and badminton
  • Gillian = work
  • Henry = busy with work

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Rest in Peace Aunt Pauline..


Pauline Goodwin (Walker) ~ my Aunt


December 24, 1936 - March 6, 2009

Death Notice

Peacefully at Bluewater Health-Norman Site on Friday March 6th, 2009 PAULINE (WALKER) GOODWIN age 72 of Sarnia.
Beloved Mother of Karen Royce, John Goodwin and Karl Goodwin all of Sarnia. Loving Grandma to Ryan and A.J. Sister to Stanley, Lawrence and Keith. Pauline was born in Chester, England; she immigrated to Canada with her family in 1974. Her passion was spending time with her children and grandchildren. She will be greatly missed by her family and all those who knew her.
Cremation has taken place. A memorial service will be held at the SMITH FUNERAL HOME (1576 London Line, Sarnia) on Tuesday March 10th, 2009 at 1:00 p.m. A private family interment to follow the service.
Sympathy may be expressed through memorial donations to the Canadian Cancer Society.
Memories and condolences may be sent online at www.smithfuneralhome.ca

Service

Cremation has taken place. A memorial service will be held at the SMITH FUNERAL HOME (1576 London Line, Sarnia) on Tuesday March 10th, 2009 at 1:00 p.m. A private family interment to follow the service.

Donations

Sympathy may be expressed through memorial donations to the Canadian Cancer Society.


This post is especially for Uncle Keith in Malaysia.


God Bless!

Thursday, March 05, 2009

and so it begins...


I'm thinking of my mother today, as I take Michael to take his G1 drivers test.

I still remember going with my mother.

Michael takes after his mother, passing his written test with flying colors!

Look out everyone, another Roefs is on the road!

Friday, January 23, 2009

Christmas Party Poop-Out


Look past the model above and take a good look at the beautiful dress...MY DRESS (I even had MATCHING shoes for goodness sake).

Not that anyone really got to see it, other than my grand entrance into the ball room. Unfortunately, I exited the ballroom in a more spectacular fashion...but I am getting ahead of myself. I am actually quite angry after all the trouble I went to to find this wonder, that I never got to dance in it! No, the only action this dress saw was the carpeted floor of the reception hall, the inside of the ambulance and the inside of the hospital doggie bag for clothes and items while you get to wear their breezy garb.

As some of you now know, in mid-December at Henry's company Christmas party, I collapsed during dinner. No, not before sitting down in a banquet hall of around 200 people; no, not after enjoying a five-star numerous course cuisine; and no, not while dancing in my fantastic new gown.

No, I collapsed on plate two of dinner. Well, not exactly ON plate two...I did have sufficient time before kissing the table to move my plate a little. Henry moved it the rest of the way once he realized I had checked out.

Once I came to, Henry and his brother, Will (thank God we were at a table mostly comprised of family who closed ranks amidst those who thought they were helping but well...I trust my family more to give me CPR ~ not that it came to that, mind you, but in my fog, I could hear everyone stating they could save me...great; at that moment, it was more embarrassment than anything else!) carried me out to the lobby in the hopes of having 'fresh, cool' air revive me. Well, apparently, my body wasn't quite ready for this trip, and I signed out again. Ambulance came to take me to hospital. All I could think of was,
  • thank God my dress was long
  • thank goodness I wore sexy thigh highs that came off quick for sticky electrode placement for heart monitor testing (always want to look good at times like this ~ yes, I didn't know they were stuck on the legs as well as the chest either!)
  • phew, we had already won a door prize during dinner plate #1 (it better not be scooped off our table ~ you know what happens to the centerpieces at functions like these!)
  • At least I had enjoyed the roast beef and most of plate #2
  • thank goodness plate #2 wasn't soup!
  • I get to ride in an ambulance for the first time!
Instead of staying at the fabulous Hilton, with the soft feather beds,

I stayed the night at the Etobicoke General Emergency Room hooked up to all kinds of wires and monitors that kept poor Henry awake until the wee hours of the morning (you know not much stops ME from sleeping ~ even on a rock hard stretcher without a pillow)

I'll continue with the rest of the story tomorrow.

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Michael and Jenny's tournaments

Jenny is in Connecticut at the Polar Bear Tournament (December 26 - 30)
Click here, Polar Bear Tournament, for her team (Bluewater 14AA Hawks) updates.

Michael is in Toronto at the Marlboros Holiday Classic tournament (December 26 -30)
Click here, Marlboros Holiday Classic, for his team (Elgin Middlesex Chiefs Minor Midget) updates.

You may need to refresh the internet page when opened for the updated scores. Both web pages require a bit of scrolling down, as there are many many teams playing. Jenny played a team from Colorado this afternoon!

Big tournaments for them both, and so far, both of them have won all their games so far.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

watching paint dry...

After Henry's spontaneous bout with a crow bar, I am now looking at repainting the rec room after he completes the replacement of the water line in the ceiling and hanging the new suspended ceiling.

The rec room is now adorned with paint chips randomly taped to the walls. This 'new colour' decision will be made by all of us (Bailey not included for the most obvious reason - dogs can't see in colour can they?). The paint chips move around daily as we create a 'yes' area and a 'goodness NO' area.

So far, the choices sound good enough to eat...biscotti, tiramisu, and french toast.


Apparently, a few of these are the popular favorites of home stagers... who knew? (you CAN find anything on the Internet!)

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Update...


Not much going on other than hockey and reading for me.

I am currently reading 'New Moon', the second book in the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer.

I am gearing up for Christmas and will start Christmas cards and baking soon.

One thing I always look forward to is Secret Santa at work. I love giving little gifts to someone a couple of days a week for a few weeks. Covert operations make me sweat as I try to deposit my gifts in the staff mailbox without ANYONE of the 80ish staff seeing me. Let me tell you...it's an art to manage this secret gift giving without having someone let the cat out of the bag!

Saturday, November 08, 2008

never gonna happen...

I have tried to get our family together for a family photo (for the Christmas cards) for the past 3 weeks. It pretty much has to be the weekend for good lighting now that the time change has brought a blanket of darkness upon us by supper time.

However, with one child at one end of Ontario for one game, and the other at the other end for another...well, I decided today that we are getting individual photos done and will somehow put them together.

I told everyone when they think that they are having a good 'hair' day (or good day in general) tell me to take their photo.

Here is mine...

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Books

Twilight has been put back on the shelf in the library for quick check out, and The Shack has been donated to the high school library (I am going to make it my first book club set in the library)

Now that I've read Twilight, I can go see the movie when it comes out (I hate seeing the movie before reading the book)

The Shack was a completely different novel from others I have read (and you know I read alot)

It is about a man's journey after tragedy strikes his family.

Not sure what title is next on the list...

Sunday, October 05, 2008

It's time...

The time has come...

  • flannel sheets are coming out of the linen closet today and going on to the bed!
  • the thermostat went from 'off' to 'heat'
  • the patio door remains closed much to Bailey's dismay as she now has to bark to get one of us to open the door to let her out!
  • to think about Halloween
  • to prepare the trailer for storage
  • to think about starting Christmas cards (yes, these suckers take forever to get done!)
  • to switch out the closets from 'summer' to 'winter' woolies
  • to constantly hear refrains of, "I'm so cold!"
Fall is here with Winter close behind

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Tournament Champions (again!)

Jenny, receiving her award from her coach...
The TEAM...


Stoney Creek Tournament Champions (September 26, 2008 weekend)

Way to go Jen!

Monday, September 22, 2008

Bluewater Midget Tournament Champions

Jenny in net in her first tournament as a Hawk.
The Bantam AA played up a level in the Midget tournament...and won the whole thing!
Waiting for the other game to finish...

Tournament Champions
Jenny and Kayla...very talented goalies.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Before...during...after to follow in about a year!

Jenny before braces this morning...
Braces are on...she is not so happy now (and I quote here..."But Mom, I didn't think it was going to actually HURT" ) Out we go grocery shopping to appease the princess. (She's definitely my girl; she went straight to the freezer section and picked out Hagen Daas ~ and proceeded to hide them in the cardboard chicken box in the freezer at home ~ damn that was MY hiding spot for chocolate...is nothing sacred in this house?)
You too, could have a lovely opaque bag filled with fancy rechargeable toothbrushes, a travel toothbrush (with toothpaste in the end of the container ~ how handy is that?), and various tooth cleaning attachments all for the price of hmmm...let's say a family winter vacation down sunny south.

sigh...sob!

Braces

Today is the day that Jenny gets her braces put on (hopefully pics to follow if she can open her mouth for me at the end of the day!)

I am sending Henry with her for this momentous event for two reasons:

One: I prefer she not be with me IF she freaks out
Two: He delivers the cheque to the orthodontist so he later doesn't have to ask me why our bank account is empty!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

a rose by any other name....





Believe it or not...I planted this rosebush two years ago...and it is not only still alive, but flowering and scenting the area by the front door beautifully! My mother would be speechless.

Monday, August 25, 2008

supersize me!

Michael, Jenny and I watched the documentary, Supersize Me, last night. Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock embarks on the most perilous journey of his life as his healthy lifestyle is changed and his body functions rapidly change. The rules? For 30 days he can't eat or drink anything that isn't on McDonald's menu; he must wolf three squares a day; he must consume everything on the menu at least once and supersize his meal if asked.

Spurlock's grueling drive-through diet spirals him into a physical and emotional metamorphosis that will make you think twice about picking up another Big Mac.

At the end of the movie, Jenny looked at me and actually thanked me for NOT taking them to McDonald's very much.

As one marketing executive pointed out, even if parents sit with their children for three meals a day and promote healthy eating in a lifetime, it is a drop in the bucket compared to the thousands of advertisements that the children see on tv over time.

Scary thought.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Darien Lake 2008

Derrek, Dean, Jenny, Henry and Tony
Some of our crew...
Ready to get wet on Grizzly Run!
Jenny
Henry doesn't 'like' spinny rides like the merry-go-round? I forgot to tell him there were ripe bananas in my bag...
Jenny about to get Henry moving on to the next ride
Reigning champion until this year...I gave up my crown to my daughter (I think it was rigged, as I didn't ~ nor have I EVER missed a mole)
Console myself with yet another funnel cake (one of the top reasons I so enjoy going to Darien)
Casey, Karin, Louise, Gary...Coming off Mind Eraser...do they remember who I am?
Henry and Tony coming off Mind Eraser
Gary, Mar, Casey and Louise about to go down the Tornado (I call it the funnel)
Karin, Jim, Henry and Tony are next in line!

Jenny and I on the Merry-Go-Round...we even have our favorite horses! (my daughter sacrificed one trip on the Ride of Steel to placate her mother by going on this ride with me)

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Jenny...in her element

Julie and Jenny up to their usual antics...
I think that we can safely say she has Henry's stomach for speed and tolerance to pain!
Hmmm...but is she enjoying herself (lol)?


Apparently Jenny is having loads of fun and hopefully will want to return to her boring home-life tomorrow...

Monday, August 18, 2008

Letting go...





Jenny is now in the hands of Godmommy Julie at the cottage for most of the week.

This is pretty well the first time Jenny has been away from home without us for an extended period of time. Keep in mind that she is the child without fear. Put together with her pea-in-a-pod godmother...well, what the hell was I thinking?

Here is the email and photos I received this morning...

HI! having fun already and barely still alive!!!! Maybe you should send her health card!!! ahahahahahaahahah

love julie and jenny

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Julie's visit



Godmommy Julie came for a visit a short while ago. We rented movies and had take-out for supper.

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Sacrifices (weep...sob)


In every relationship, there are sacrifices.

I just want everyone to know that I am making the ULTIMATE sacrifice tomorrow by NOT going to the Def Leppard/Billy Idol concert that is in our area.

Months ago (as soon as it was posted), I asked my husband to go with me.

"Nooooooo," he said.

[Yes, I was this close to getting a single front row ticket for the concert, but actually felt the vibe radiating from Henry to be pushing the envelope just that little too far ~ so what that I've seen them more than once, and actually ditched my family and drove to North Detroit by myself to see them for the first time a few years ago!]

I tell you, the devil on my left shoulder has shoved off the angel of matrimonial harmony on my right...the push/pull of want vs. need is killing me! (We actually DO need new water pipe throughout the house now that a fourth pin-hole leak has been found in a copper 90 downstairs that has completely soaked the door jamb and carpet ~ I blame Henry for our constant run of bad luck with water ~ he is an Aquarius after all)

However, back to me for a moment...

THIS is the ultimate sacrifice and pity party for me (and I just wanted to go on record so that everyone, including Henry, is aware of it)