New Moon

Tonight is a New Moon. It's the period of the month when the night is the darkest, since the moon isn't there to illuminate the blackness. For those uncomfortable with the dark, this can be a scary and troubling time.

But not for me. I enjoy the energy of a new moon. It's symbolic of new beginnings. It's a good time to set intentions for things you want to achieve. A chance to put new ideas in motion. A chance to ask for forgiveness for past actions. A chance to ask the universe for new things. For power. For strength. For hope.

A new start.

The power of the new moon is alive and well and I'm soaking it all in.

The winds of change are picking up.

Good things are coming.

Stay tuned...........

Sarah

Sunny Saturday, Spring Cleaning and Strength

I haven't been in much of a blogging mood lately and frankly, I've been too damn tired. So I decided I'd better log in tonight and get some words on the screen. Thanks to Daylight Savings Time, I'm going to bed an hour later than planned. To off set this, I shall attempt to sleep in an extra hour tomorrow morning. Not sure if it will work but it's worth a try. My mother tried to tell me that clocks go back an hour tonight instead of going an hour forward. I think she was just trying to find a way to sleep in an extra hour tomorrow.

I had a pretty darn good day today. One of the best I've had in a while. The sun was out and that seemed to be the key. I stood on my balcony in the sun for a bit this morning and it felt glorious. I'm in spring cleaning mode too. I had originally planned to stay home and just clean all day but this afternoon I decided that it was too nice to stay home all day so I escaped for a bit.

Before I left, I managed to get the dishes done, a load of laundry done and some dusting done. I then went downtown, had a Beavertail, walked around the market, taking in the wonderful sunshine, stopped at the butcher and bought a beautiful New York Strip for dinner and then came back home. I did some more cleaning once I was home. I tackled the greasy vent cover that's in the hood over my stove. Thanks to Pinterest, I got it clean without any effort. Just some boiling water and baking soda. Amazing. I also got the burner inserts clean that way. My stove is spotless (for now). I got the toilet cleaned and my bookshelf dusted too. I was on quite the roll. I really do love Pinterest. I was standing in the kitchen, holding the filter and trying to figure out how to clean the damn thing when suddenly, magic words popped into my head. They were "go check on Pinterest". I'm so smart! The answer was there and it worked and now I have a clean filter. Yay!

Tonight I watched the movie "The Other Guys". It was horrible. So I watched the first half of Mall Rats to make up for it. I'll finish watching it sometime tomorrow. I'm hoping to continue my cleaning spree tomorrow.

Adding to my good mood today was that I booked 2 trips this morning. Nothing overly exciting but I'm happy about them. The first is in April. I'm going to Montreal with my old friend Michelle. We're taking the train from my house, which is awesome since I love taking the train and it's a great trip from Ottawa to Montreal (and faster than driving). The best part is that I used some networking skills to get us a LUXURY hotel room for a very budget friendly price. I'm very excited. I can't wait to see what kind of shenanigans we get up to when left to our own devices in Montreal. This is going to be great.
The other trip I booked was just a train ticket home for the May long weekend. My bday (a kind of big one) is one the Thursday before the long weekend and my Great Aunt's 80th bday is the Friday of the long weekend, so I'm heading home to go to her party. I'm really looking forward to seeing my family. I haven't seen them since Christmas so this will be great. I hope the weather is nice.

Since it's actually 12:34am instead of the 11:34pm that my clock says, I really should get to bed. I have a lot more cleaning ahead of me tomorrow. The weather is supposed to be warm but cloudy and maybe some rain in the late afternoon. Perfect cleaning or book reading weather. I have a couple of books that need to be read so we'll see what happens. I found a very yummy sounding scone recipe on Pinterest too that I might attempt. LOL. This truly was a good day. I'm starting to feel like myself again and I really don't have the words to explain how amazing that feels. It's more relief than anymore. The days are getting longer, the shadows are weaken. Step by step, I'm walking back out of the darkness and into the light again.The birds chirping this morning is the kind of sound that makes my soul smile. We're not totally out of winter's grasp yet but we're close and I'm experiencing a strong sense of relief and accomplishment. I've made it through another winter in one piece, coming out into spring, just a little bit stronger than I was when I went in late last fall.

Good Night!

Sarah

My favourite sign of spring: Lily of the Valley

50!!

Believe it or not, but tonight's post is my 50th post. Honest to God, I never thought I'd really stick with it this long.

I've tried writing journals/diaries before but I've never really stuck with it for more than a few weeks. I'd get tired and forget to write or I'd lose the book under the couch for a few months. Or I wouldn't be able to find a pen. You know, crap like that. So I'm slightly baffled as to why I've been able to keep it up so long and so well thus far.

Maybe the timing was right this time?

When it comes to anything major in our lives, people always say that the time has to be right. Or it has to come at the right time. Like quitting smoking or losing weight. If you haven't timed it right, or you aren't 100% committed, it's just not going to work, no matter how hard you try. But then that one time comes along. That one right time. I don't know if the stars align a certain way, or if the moon is in the right house or it just happens to be the 1000th Thursday in the decade but something happens. It all just clicks. The obstacles that were there all fall away. Your resolve is renewed. Self doubt is locked away and courage has come out to play. I can't explain it, but it happens. Perhaps this is one of those things?

Speaking of timing....I've spent a good deal of the week thinking back to my first week and year at University. It's hard to believe that it was 15 years ago. In many ways, it feels like it was only a few years ago. Some days I wish it was :) Going to University was a very bitter sweet moment for me. Not too many people know this, but just when I was getting my acceptance letters for University and was graduating high school and becoming legal drinking age...my mom was diagnose with breast cancer. Finding that out was the scariest day of my life. I've moved away from home, moved across the country and back and still nothing has been more frightening than the possibility of losing my mom. Unfortunately, I have a few friends who know just how real that fear is as they've lost a parent.

I'm pretty sure my first reaction to the news was a selfish one, with me thinking that my chances of getting it had just increased. But that was the scared little girl in my talking. Soon the braver young woman came out and I told my parents that I didn't want to go away to University. I wanted to stay home and look after my mom. Guess who won that battle? My mom wouldn't let me stay home. So off I went. I can remember calling home a few times and my mom was too tired or wasn't feeling well enough to come to the phone. It broke my heart.  Part of me still feels guilty for not just ignoring my parents and leaving school to go home and look after my mom. I'm sure they would have killed me if I had.

My mom is an amazing woman and she pulled through. I went with her to her 2nd last treatment when I was home for reading week during my first year. I'll never forget it. I think that's the day she really became my hero. She beat the cancer :)

So when I look back and remember how scary things were 15 years ago, I also celebrate the fact that my mom has been cancer free for 15 years. I can't begin to express how thankful and grateful I am for that. What I once thought was really bad timing to be leaving home and starting school might actually have not been so bad. Perhaps it was supposed to happen then, in order for me to fully appreciate the loved ones in my life and to grow stronger as a person.

Funny how 15 years can change your perspective on things? And this turned out to be a way more emotional blog than I planned on it being. Wow.

Good Night!

Sarah