Sorry I have been MIA!

Hi everyone! I'm still alive! I've been super duper busy! Mom and I were on the planning committee for the Ovarian Cancer Canada Walk of Hope. Instead of going to Barrie like we usually do, we helped get the Kitchener one going. We raised over $32,000! and last year the Kitchener walk only raised $4000 so we thought it was a pretty good improvement! September started out with a bang!

It was a lot of work though! Just glad all that running is done!
Our Sunflower Seeds team won top team fundraisers. Yay!

Now I'm just keeping busy with school, both for me and my dear son! And my sweet baby girl is not really a baby too much anymore as you can see in the picture! Where does the time go?

Hockey and dance seasons have also started so I'm officially a hockey mom and a dance mom...and if course Taxi Driver to boot!

We're busy getting ready for costume parties and some more photo shoots. I'm trying to keep busy so I stay outta trouble! Fat chance right!

Stay warm!

You will never know - more poetry!

You never say you're proud of me...

You never say you want to be with me...

You never say you need me...

For something other than physical needs...

I just want to hear from you that you are proud of me...

I just want to hear from you that you think what I do is good, meaningful, worthy...

I never hear you say that...

And that hurts...

You will never know how much it hurts...

Because you never ask...

Because when I try to tell you, you walk away...

You will never know how I really feel...

Amanda Newton, April 4, 2011

More poetry...Another Lifetime

So these two poems were inspired from my novel I'm in the middle of writing...these two poems are the two different views from the protagonist and the antagonist characters...hope you enjoy!

(HIS VIEW)
Do you know what I feel?
Do you feel it too?
Why have we said nothing but our looks say 1000 words?


We will never know how we feel about each other.
If this was another lifetime perhaps we could explore it
But sadly we will never know how we feel.


When I see your smile, my heart melts
But when I see you with him, my heart breaks
Mainly because I know you will never be with me,
It would be unfair for me to wish you anything but true happiness,
I want you to be happy.
But I want you to be happy with me.


I need to love you.
I need to be with you.
I don't know if I can make you happy
But I truly wish we could find out


We will never know
We must meet in another lifetime to know
Exactly what we could have.


Copyright August 2011


(HER VIEW)

Do you know what I feel?
Do you feel it too?
Why have we said nothing but our looks say 1000 words?


We will never know how we feel about each other.
If this was another lifetime perhaps we could explore it
But sadly we will never know how we feel.


I get sad when I hear you talk about another woman,
Mainly because I know you will never hear you say this about me
But it would be unfair for me to wish you never find someone to make you happy
I want you to be happy.
I just want you to be happy with me.


I don't know what real love is anymore.
I need to be loved.
I don't know if you can fulfill that for me
But I truly wish we could find out.


We will never know
We must meet in another lifetime to know
Exactly what we could have.


Copyright July 2011

More poetry...TREES

My mom said I need to share more of my writing...so here it is...I admit I am a pretty "dark" writer...I don't like yucky-love-stuff poetry or "uplifting" poetry...some was written when I was going through some "stuff" in college...consider this a warning!

I am a tree

Whose leaves and beauty have been stripped away

I am no longer what I used to be

I stand, here in teh dark,

Just waiting for the axe to appear

This abrupt end would leave room

for other, younger, more beautiful trees to grow

There would be fresh faces,

A beauty extraordinaire

No more dismal doom and wasted time

I know it's only fair.

Written in 1998 Emmanuel Bible College

Some Poetry...

The Girl You Cannot See

I am the girl you cannot see

There's more to me than meets the eye

Under all the superficiality

I try to be me but it's very, very hard

I am unable to see past all the pain and hurt and disgust with myself

so I cannot love another

The plan for me is so unclear and I cannot see the path ahead

But hopefully, it will be revealed all in due time

Yet I live each day as the girl you see on the outside,

but strive unrelenetlessly to be the girl you cannot see.

Food Day Canada

We received a postcard in the mail a couple weeks ago advertising a Food Day Canada in Elora for this long weekend.  Me being the "foodie" I am, I thought this would be a cool way to introduce the kids to new foods. I'm also on a lifestyle change...I try to only buy Canadian food (unless I absolutely can't...such as bananas for my "family of monkeys"!)...well, this festival was about locally grown or raised food. 

Okay, so my "foodie geek" moment...I got Anita Stewart's Canada Cookbook from the library...I was actually reading it on the way to Elora! And she opened the day officially...so I snagged her for a picture...she willingly obliged. 

Anita Stewart, Jocelyn, me & (in front) Trenton

Trenton enjoying fresh-made lemonade (and he LOVED it despite his face! I think I caught him mid-sentence!) 

Miss Jocelyn drinking her yummy lemonade

"Miss Piggy", as she was fondly dubbed by her chefs, lounged on the Pulled Pork slider table!

My delicious lunch! I could eat this every day! I had the tri-colour broccoli salad (purple, orange and green broccoli), cucumber slaw, pulled pork slider compliments of "Miss Piggy" and Jalapeno Bread...it was SPICY but I love it.

The kids enjoying their lunch! (Hot dogs and Hamburger sliders)

  

Mapleton's Dairy was there too so of course we finished off our lunch with some organic ice cream and frozen yogurt (I ended up eating half of Jocelyn's...that's why I rarely order dessert! I know I'm going to have to help her eat hers!) 

Daddy and Jocelyn enjoying the view of Elora Gorge

My beautiful kiddos...being their beautiful selves! I like this one because it's a great view of the Elora Farmer's Market in background (totally set up that way of course!)

*****

I was so inspired last night, I went home to try out one of the recipes in Anita Stewart's cookbook..."June's Pavlova" (page 228). 

It's a very easy recipe but I didn't realize it takes 1 hour and 20 minutes in the oven! Oops! So we had a late dessert!

This is the base of the pavlova: 4 egg whites, some sugar, cornstarch and vinegar...SO simple

And this is the finished product...the raspberries and blueberries were fresh from the farmers' market and the whip cream I whipped up myself...I was going to buy whipped cream but it just wasn't gonna be the same!

I thought it looked pretty good...not quite like the picture though!

The kids were sitting outside enjoying their dessert as the sun set!

Yum! What a great way to end the day!

I think I need to try out some more recipes in her book...the Beef Bourginon looked good! That might be for a cold winter day though! There were some great seasonal recipes that I might have to give a try. 

Me thinks I need to get this book for myself instead of using the library's copy! Off to Amazon I go!

Bon Appetit!

Missing you...

My heart aches for you

I want to be able to take your hand in mine 

and hold it forever.

But that cannot happen anymore

I cannot see your smiling face

I cannot hear your words of wisdom

To the world you are just a memory

To me, you are my Nanny.

The pain you went through I cannot begin to fathom

The burdens you bore on your body 

should be something that no one ever experience.

My life will never be the same without you

The everyday does go on 

But there is still something missing

I pray you are happy and pain-free

I pray you will remember me forever

I pray you will never forget us.

Amanda Newton July 20th, 2011 

Nanny, 

We miss you...we all miss you...Grandpa especially...I know he thinks about you all the time...we usually have a little conversation about you when I'm at his place...every week I get to spend a little time with you while I clean up the guest bedroom...your pictures are there...it doesn't even seem like you're gone...it just seems like you're away for the day...and that you're going to walk in the door any minute...but you don't. 

I can't believe it's been four years already...so much has happened...Trenton is getting so big...I remember when you were laying on the bed with him, and he was sucking on your finger! 

And I have a little girl, Jocelyn...She's got a lot of your spunk so Mom and I ask her if you and she had tea parties together in Heaven! She usually says yes! 

We know you live on in your great grandbabies, each one that comes into this crazy-wonderful family of yours...your spirit will never die even though your earthly body is gone. I had a cup of tea this morning and said a little "cheers" to you! 

Love you Nanny...missing you lots but I know I'll see you again someday...

Challenge at The Stamping Boutique!

It's challenge time at The Stamping Boutique Challenge blog again...and this week it's using cool colours...we're trying to bring some cool weather on these hot sunny days (I'm not complaining! I love the hot weather!).

I decided to use this superb photo of my photogenic big guy and his Buzz...we're big into Toy Story at the moment! So I thought it would be appropriate seeing Buzz has a lot of the cool colours on his space suit!

My layout is completely digital.  It was created with PhotoShop Elements. The digital papers are miscellaneous and the aliens are from a colour page. I edited those bad boys for a fun touch. 

You can see what the Design Team has created on the TSB Challenge Blog!

Release Day @ Sassy Studio Designs

It's release day at Sassy Studio Designs...We are doing a blog hop so you can see what the other design team members have created...you probably came from Kate's blog, our lovely guest designer this month. (If not, jump up to Kathy's blog and start hopping!)

Kathy
Sara
Regan
Rebecca
Julie
Kate (guest designer)
Amanda


I did a digital card this month...PhotoShop Elements is my lifesaver when I run out of adhesive! 


I used this sketch from Pagemaps

Here is another one...I didn't use the sketch for this one...

Love this saying...

We hope you will all join us tonight on the Party Blog (see link on right sidebar)...we will be chatting 7-8pm PST so hopefully you can come hang out with us.

Stay at Home Moms

Stay at Home Moms by Jennifer Johnson 

A man came home from work and found his three children outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard. The door of his wife's car was open, as was the front door to the house and there was no sign of the dog.


Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, and the throw rug was wadded against one wall. In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a Cartoon channel, and the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing. 


In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door.


He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife. He was worried she might be ill, or that something serious had happened. He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the bathroom door. As he peered inside he found wet towels, scummy soap and more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls. 


As he rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed in her pajamas, reading a novel. She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went. 


He looked at her bewildered and asked, 'What happened here today?' She again smiled and answered, 'You know every day when you come home from work and you ask me what in the world do I do all day?' 'Yes,' was his incredulous reply. 


She answered, 'Well, today I didn't do it.