My Creatively Random Life

I had the joy of watching my oldest graduate grade 8 the other night, which was a big accomplishment for him.  It was a long road for us to get him there through years of bad diagnosis' and schools that did not work for him. We were lucky just before grade six to finally find a doctor who recognized his struggle for what it was and tested him to see if he was on the spectrum.  (he is)  At the same time he transfer to a smaller school where it really felt like the teachers and his peers cared more. I watched my son change from an unhappy, miserable boy to a positive, humorous young man.  The change did not happen over night, it was a long road.  I usually keep my struggles with the children pretty private but you never know who might need to hear something. This kid here holding the honor roll medal, 3 years ago we were at the point where the school he was in was refusing to grade him and I was crying every night because I did not know how to help h...

I thought it over and I thought maybe updating weekly would be better than monthly, as things change so fast. 1) Set up my Ko-fi page. 2) Make new pony ears. 3) Swap out the ribbon on my top hat for pink. 4) Paint my boxing gloves and figure out how to seal. 5) Take my measurements and log for June. 6) Find a tiny alligator plushie. 7) Log the comics I lave read recently onto Goodreads. 8) Find my Ipad. 9) Find a purse that I want to carry. 10) Finish the last module of this event planning section and write exam. 11) Start my new sewing course. 12) Update my CPR and first aide. 13) Find and paint shoes for Cat's 5K costume. 14) Buy Cat black shorts for her 5K costume. 15) Clean bookshelves. 16) Fill out passport forms. 17) Get passport photos taken. 18) Take day off and go to passport office. 19) Set up a blogging schedule. 20) Write my next history exam. 21) Do Invisalign Module for work. 22) Put Cutie Mark on boxing shorts. 23) Make ...

Hi everyone! Time for The Friendly Fill-Ins Week 79. Be sure to add your link at McGuffy's Reader. 1. The best part of where I live is ___________________. 2. The worst part of where I live is ________________. 3. If I had    ________      , I would                      .  4. My favourite article of cold weather clothing is                    .  My answers: 1) The best part of where I live is everything is within walking distance. 2) The worst part of where I live is work is two minutes away.... 3) If I had a longer commute, I would read more books.  4) My favourite article of cold weather clothing is my TARDIS onsie.     

When we went to Toronto ComiCon in March we pulled together this lovely Doctor Who family Cosplay which I did not get many pictures of.  I did get this great one taken with the Doctor Who Society Daleks though. 

I have been pushing a goal of hitting my step goal every day for the past two weeks and doing a lot of hiking as Cat, Mike and I signed up to do the  Super Power 5K  in August and I am a little out of shape. We have done a lot of trail walking in our area and bought some books to find new trails to explore in the GTA.  My personal favourite of the new trails being the one around Bond Lake in Richmond Hill which if you live in the area you should check out as it is a fun hike. As the summer progresses I want to add other things into my routine such as starting Body Boss up again but right now I am concentrating on the walking and drinking my water as those are two habits I need to get down before progressing. See you next week.

Hi everyone! Time for The Friendly Fill-Ins Week 89. Be sure to leave your link at McGuffy's Reader 1. I have never been able to _____________________. 2. I wish I could still ___________________. 3.  ____ is my ideal winter night. 4.                       and                       . My answers: 1) I have never been able to not freak out about doing new things. 2) I wish I could still study quickly.  I am getting faster as I get used to it again but man I wish it was like when I used to do it every day. 3) Snuggling up in front of a movie with the kids and the cats is my ideal winter night. 4)  Books and tea.     

A few years ago I had great success with making a to do list in the months leading up to the end of the year and checking things off.  It kept me accountable to at least do some of the things that I needed to get done. In the spirit of that I am making a list of all the things I need to get done and want to get done in the next little while and every month we will up date and see how far we are getting along. 1) Set up my Ko-fi page. 2) Make new pony ears. 3) Swap out the ribbon on my top hat for pink. 4) Paint my boxing gloves and figure out how to seal. 5) Take my measurements and log for June. 6) Find a tiny alligator plushie. 7) Log the comics I lave read recently onto Goodreads. 8) Find my Ipad. 9) Find a purse that I want to carry. 10) Finish the last module of this event planning section and write exam. 11) Start my new sewing course. 12) Update my CPR and first aide. 13) Find and paint shoes for Cat's 5K costume. 14) Buy Cat black shorts for he...

My neglected blog readers, I want to say that I have been doing fun and exciting stuff instead of blogging but truth be told I have just been working.  I have lots of fun and exciting stuff going on this summer though and I am hoping to blog about lots of it.  A couple new cosplays in the works, some new shows we are watching, in training for a 5k (in costume!). I look forward to blogging at least once a week over the next little while.

One of the Girls by Robin Daniels FROM ENDZONE TO FRIENDZONE… Senior Nick Moody is the second string quarterback on Roosevelt High School’s championship football team. He’s crushed on Mia for years, but she doesn’t know he exists. It’s time to come off the bench and into the game. Nick refuses to graduate without getting the girl or the glory. Mia Ashlock is the remarkably kind cheer captain. She’s a yes girl, and her penchant for people pleasing always leads to bad relationships. After being humiliated in a very public dumping, her teammates decide to break her bad habit with a ban on boyfriends. When Nick sees a poster, advertising cheer tryouts, he has a crazy idea: quit football and become a cheerleader. It’s perfect! He can get close to Mia and steal the spotlight, using his true and hidden talent—gymnastics. Nick and Mia have instant chemistry, but it does him little good. If Mia’s zero dating rule weren’t bad enough, the team treats him less like boyfriend material an...

I had surgery last week and have not been cleared to head back to the gym yet so no progress pictures this week but I am still getting my exercise in just not as intense.  How you ask?  Walking of course.  I always have my FitBit on and while I may not always hit the goal I have set on it these day I do make sure I am getting a decent about of steps in. Back in February I found a lovely app called StepBet where you bet money on yourself to hit a step goal for a set number of weeks.  Your step goal is determined by the data from your device be it your Fitbit, Garmin or the internal step counter on your phone, for the last few weeks.  Depending on the type of game you can have varying goals, increasing goals by week or all the same goal every day. If you hit your goals for the whole length of the game the idea is that you at least win your money back, maybe a few dollars more.  I have personally become a bit addicted to it.  It is much easier now th...

A throwback to last year's trip to Montreal.  Could use another vacation. 

The end of the school year is once again upon us and I have become overwhelmed with tiny pieces of classroom art. This year though Cat and I have struck a deal.  Every piece I share on here I get to recycle.  So once a week I will share a piece of this year's classroom work and it will find a new home that is not in my house. This is a friendship heart and it talks about her teacher, whose favourite drink is coffee.  (mine too).

On Sunday the Toronto Argonauts played their first game in the 2017 season against the Hamilton Tigercats, and Cat got to go to her first Kids Zone in The Zone of the season.  Toronto Argonauts Kids Club is an interesting thing, $29 gets you an Argonauts swag bag and a kids club passport and membership card which gains you entry into Kid in the Zone events.  After the game we met up with the other kids club members and their families and were escorted down onto the field. The kids got to run through a little tunnel onto the field and then met and greet with the players and the Argos Cheerleaders.  Cat was a bit shy so we did not get a lot of pictures but she did get a few autographs for her collection.

It was a struggle for me to decide to post this here, I thought about starting a new blog just for this stuff but as I just bought a domain name for this blog I decided that would be stupid. I am back on track and started a new fitness program on Wednesday and this time I want to keep track of my results.  Sharing it with the world is scary but I figure it will help me be accountable.  I don't just want to be skinnier, I also want to be stronger, I can barely keep up with my kids and my energy is nothing compared to what it was when I was working out regularly. I started Body Boss this week and I am doing the first four weeks of "pretraining" before you actually get into the real deal. I am very out of shape and felt this was pretty real deal.  I was also still pretty sore on Thursday which was cardio day but pushed through my cardio. Day One: Funny story as a side note, Cat is always keen to workout with me anytime I workout as she feels it is...

Well, isn't it nice when life just makes you want to throw in the towel? I have been super overwhelmed with things, work, migraines, kids etc.  I have started to tame the lion and so back to blogging I have come.  And with lots of new things to blog about.  I will be taking a super big plunge starting Friday and every Friday and really blogging about my fitness journey.  It's a scary step for me but I need the motivation. I am also going to be getting back to posting my regular book reviews and other random things. Also more crafts again, Cat has been taking sewing classes and she wants to start making basic stuff at home to work towards making her own cosplay stuff. I look forward to chatting with you all more.  :)

Last month my boss and I were talking about my Fitbit and how I like it and doing weekly challenges and that sort of thing and he told me about a friend of his who is a very busy guy and completed a million steps in a month challenge. I thought that was a fantastic idea and of course immediately wanted to try it.  My boss suggested that I do it in a month with 31 days so that I have a little extra time to break it down over so I decided to give it a go for July. A million steps in 31 days works out to around 32,259 steps a day well over double what I average on most days now but about what I hit on a really good day. I had a problem with my Fitbit battery earlier this week so I am just hoping that it keeps up through this challenge. I will try to post my daily totals here on the blog to keep track and keep accountable. Wish me luck.

Currently.... {I read  Jamie Morrow's  Currently every week and I always want to hop on board because it seems like such a fun way to keep you guys updated on the stuff going on in my life so here I am.} Loving... That Canada Day is this weekend and I will have a peaceful day off of work. Reading... I won a Immortal Flame by Jillian David from a Goodreads contest and I just started it last night. Watching... Rewatching Gilmore Girls reveing up for the new episodes coming up. Listening To... All of the Audible all of the time. Thinking About... Switching schools for my kids, they have both had a rough year and I am just done with the school that they are at. Anticipating... Going to see the Tall Ships with the kids this weekend. Wishing...   That I let go of my insecurities more often and just had fun, life is short. Making Me Happy... That my kids can socialize well with others.

I am so excited to share the awesome cover for 100 HOURS , the first book in a new trilogy by New York Times best-selling author Rachel Vincent , which releases on March 28, 2017 from Katherine Tegen Books, along with a note from the author about her upcoming novel and an amazing giveaway . Scroll down to take check out the gorgeous cover, read what Rachel Vincent has to say about 100 HOURS, and enter for a chance to win. And be sure to share your thoughts about the cover in the comments! The Cover Revealed Title: 100 HOURS Author: Rachel Vincent Release date: March 28, 2017 Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books Pages: 368 Formats available to pre-order: Hardcover Find it:   AMAZON | GOODREADS Description: Maddie is beyond  done  with her cousin Genesis’s entitled and shallow entourage. Genesis is so over Miami’s predictable social scene with its velvet ropes, petty power plays, and backstabbing boyfriends. While Maddie...

Urban Fantasy Date Published: July 5, 2016 Book #3 of the Siren Song series: When the smoke clears, who will be left standing? Tattoo artist June Coffin has another, more hidden talent: she’s a Siren who can influence people with the sound of her voice. But in the wake of a murder and shake-up at the Institute of Supernatural Research, her own powers are starting to kill her. The only chance she has of saving herself—as well as her kidnapped brother and best friend—is to become a vampire. But joining the ranks of the vengeful vamp, Occam Reed, is the last thing June wants to do. Occam isn’t the only danger June needs to worry about. Power hungry telepath Robbie Beecher will stop at nothing to gain control over Chicago. He’ll destroy anyone who gets in his way—and June’s lover, Sam, is high on the hit list since his bid for Mayor. With the city and June’s heart being pulled in different directions, it’s only a matter of time before ...

This morning I was going through the blogs I read as usual and I found this over at  Reading Life  and was instantly intrigued and wanted to know how many of these books I had read.  And possibly add the rest to my TBR list (not like it's not long enough). The Big Read is a survey on books carried out by the BBC in the United Kingdom in 2003.  Over three-quarters of a million votes were received.  This list of the 200 most popular books from the survey comes from Wikipedia . 47/200 not that great, I feel like there is a few more that I think I have read but I don't quite remember so I did not cross them off.  I wish I had Goodreads long ago.  Time to start reading I guess. The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien  Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman  The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams  Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling  To Kill a Mockingbird by Har...