Ooooo Canada

I wasn't there but Shawn was with his camera, his family and his fishing tackle. This past June, the DeBoer men went to Canada in search of the big one. Intentions are for Shawn to write a little diddy about the trip but since he's started a new job and all, you'll have to cut him some slack. For now, here's some photo representation of the trip which, from what I hear, is going to be an annual event. Now… thoughts on where I could go or what I could do while they're away. Anyone? Anyone?

Wishful Thinking

Sometimes I wish I could bottle up feelings and save and experience them later. By that I mean, good feelings; feelings of contentedness, happiness, bliss, comfort, pure joy and overwhelming love. I've come across many of these feelings lately. They're small events. Those that make me smile and make me take a moment to let them sink in. Let me illustrate:

1. You step out of the hot shower on a chilly fall morning and wrap yourself up in a freshly washed, warm fuzzy white robe.
2. You just get done physically working your body to the bone on a hot Saturday and after a good cold shower, you get to lay down in your bed for the first time.
3. Your husband gets up to go shower and get ready for work and you roll over and snuggle up to his pillow, sheets and smell.
4. Your sister calls you somewhat late at night to tell you you're an aunt again and you have your first nephew and everyone is perfectly healthy.
5. Your favorite dog walks up to you and your resting arms and nudges them because he loves you and wants you to love him up some in return.

All the above, to me, are priceless.

Woman's Lament

When I was in high school, I penned a rhyming, short poem titled, "A Short Person's Lament." In similar fashion, I'm here today to vent and whine, I just won't do it in a rhyme. Well, starting now.

I've struggled recently with the upkeep of being a woman. My husband (who I love) rises from bed, takes a shower, brushes his teeth, puts on some deo and some clothes and strolls out the door in less then 20 minutes. I, on the other hand, require anywhere from 45 minutes to over an hour to prep, depending on the occasion. The shorter end of the spectrum is often seen by true friends and family. I call this look, el naturaal. The longer end of the spectrum is for special occasions or life events. It's a look on the verge of extinction as I become more comfortable with myself in my own (el naturaal) skin or quite simply, as I become more lazy. Reasoning aside, and back to my original point of contention, women have far more upkeep then men. I hand-wrote a list of everything that personally needs tending and was appalled.

Needless to say, I don't do all of these daily. Sometimes I'm lucky if I do some of them monthly or even yearly. If you can frequent them all daily, let me know where you find the time and more importantly, what the hell for? Also, if you've been graced with "natural beauty," I hate and envy you in the same breath if nothing more then for the mere precious minutes you get to stay in bed later then I do. I am not a morning person.

I'll start from the top and work my way down (keep in mind this list does not include any medical needs or monthly occurrences):

HAIR
shampoo every other day, condition daily
brush and apply product
blow-dry
straighten or curl
apply more product
cut, color and/or highlight as needed

FACE
wash/cleanse/lotion twice daily
apply makeup
remove makeup
apply/rinse mask to help complexion
pluck/trim/wax eyebrows (and any other facial hair)
insert/remove contacts

TEETH
brush twice a day
floss twice a day
wear retainer at nights
whiten teeth
rinse with mouthwash

HANDS and FEET
trim/file fingernails (manicure)
paint fingernails
trim/file toenails (pedicure)
paint toenails
exfoliate feet
lotion feet

SHAVING/WAXING
you know all the parts (some more frequent then others)

SCENT
apply lotion
apply body spray/perfume
apply deo

WARDROBE
pick out ensemble
iron ensemble
accessorize/jewelry
choose shoes
choose bag/purse

My point in all of this: to show what I've learned from it. I now enjoy the freedom that comes with scratching some things off the list. For instance, I have to cut my fingernails now that I've finally been able to grow them. I HATE it. However, I deal with it by skipping painting my toenails. I have to wear something appropriate for work but I'm okay with not wearing much jewelry. I can get away with just blow-drying out my bangs and not straightening all of my hair because I'm okay with leaving it curly these days. No, I'm not settling. I'm becoming more comfortable with myself and I think that's more attractive then a third layer of eyeliner or an even bigger bag.

One final note: God bless mothers. Take my list and multiply it by the number of people they take care of. Good thing Norman's one of those I was referring to earlier. You know, the ones with "natural beauty."

Operation DeBoer

Your mission should you choose to accept is to do as the DeBoers do. I'm extending the following challenge:

Attempt to make meals out of whatever food is left in your pantry, fridge and/or freezer only, until you're absolutely down to nothing.

One of the running jokes on Ruggles is Team DeBoer's empty fridge and pantry. So instead of taking offense I'm going on the offense by saying everyone should try it. It's no longer a flaw; it's a skill.

OooooHiooooO

This past weekends agenda: nothing. This past weekends goals: rest, relax and rejuvenate. This past weekends destination: Ohio baby.

For the second summer in a row, we happily accompanied our friends (and neighbors) Mike and Sara to Mike's family's "farm." As you'll see below, we were really, really roughing it.

Here is the bunk house – the air conditioned bunk house with a fully functioning toilet, shower, washer and dryer and fridge. It sleeps up to four Ruggles residents.
This is the main cabin. It's deceivingly bare from the outside…
…but fully equipped from the inside. Charming as all get out.This is the loft of the main cabin where Shawn and I cozied up for a couple of the nights and where I took the greatest 2 or 3 hour nap. I lost all track of time. And, it was great.This is a nice sneak view of the main cabin walking up one of the trails from the pond.
Our view off the back porch of the cabin onto the fire pit and natural backdrop. Mind you I was sitting in a wooden rocking chair while taking in the serenity. Rough, I know.Mike Woodruff doin' what he does while sporting the awesome shades we all got to rock out.Sara Woodruff doin' what she does while sporting the cutest baby bump which contains Bigglesworth.The ladies, assuming their position.The gentlemen, assuming theirs. (Mines the one in the blaze orange hat - shocking.)Another view – this one from the barn down by the pond looking out at the dock and Dirty Dancing log.
Us on the last day just wanting to stay. I'm of course, el natural and therefore sportin' the hat.The countdown has officially began until next summer's return…

Norman Made a Friend

Meet Norman's newest buddy… Kodiak.
(with his owner and boss, senior Wilson)
Kodiak is 7/8 Lab and 1/8 German Shepard.
He is just 8 weeks old and cute as a bug's butt.This wasn't the actual first meeting between strangers, but similar. Norman came a chargin' and Kodiak immediately surrendered. His paws went up, his tail went down and the saddest little whimper came out.
After time, and some convincing, they became friends.
Norman looks forward to Kodiak's next visit… by then, Kodiak will be able to kick his arse.

Paris By Pictures, As Promised

In exact opposite order of visitation, below is a sequence of our stops in Paris. You cannot take a bad photo in Paris and you cannot visit a bad site. My only advice, spend more time there then you think you need. That way when you've hit all the must-see landmarks, you can spend a little time living life according to the Parisians. Slow and steady.

Luxembourg Palace: Ironically enough, this was our last and most relaxing day. We were museumed out at this point, had stopped for some tasty gelato and strolled to this lovely landmark and it's gardens. We found two chairs, sat and people-watched. It was fantastic.

The Panthéon: Our hotel was in walking distance to this site, however, we never ventured in. Like I said, we needed more time. Guess we'll have to go back.

View outside our hotel room: We stayed at Hotel Acte V located at 55 rue Monge. It was a great location within walking distance of the metro, a boulangerie, a street market and the Latin Quarter.

View in line for the Catacombs: This was our longest wait - I think close to two hours. Honestly, I could've passed but Shawn enjoyed himself and it was an enlightening experience which is all I could ask for.

Steps to Sacré-Coeur Basilica: This was our longest commute on the metro and also the most sketchy. We made it safe, sound and satisfied with the view. From these steps, there is an amazing panoramic view of the city. Pure contentment.

Rodin's The Kiss: This was personally my favorite museum and this piece happened to reside in Rodin's former house, now the museum. We also received a quick French lesson upon entering and therefore had a nice little convo with some locals.

Rodin's The Thinker: This is the first sculpture along the zen path outside the Rodin museum. Each is almost hidden among greenery and is larger then life. It was a perfect day to stroll the statues…

Louvre Pyramid: This marked the entrance to the enormous museum. I believe this was the first we visited and also the greatest undertaking. We hit what we wanted to see and were impressed by the volume of art but instead chose to watch Pigeons court in the courtyard.

Arc de Triomphe: By far, this was the easiest place to find but the hardest to get to. The metro entrance drops you off right next to it, but thanks to the nature of the roundabout that surrounds it, you have to walk underground to get to it. The view from the top is well worth the trip.

St. Chapelle: Everyone at Notre Dame kept referring to St. Chapelle for it's original stained glass windows. We brushed it off as a helpful reference should we make it to see them. Knowing now how breathtaking they are, we are grateful we were pleasantly amazed. It's probably one of our most memorable reactions, ever.

The Conciergerie: We had never heard of this place but were impressed to see and read about the prison that held the people awaiting the guillotine. Including none other then Marie Antoinette.

Notre Dame Cathedral: With all the history and symbolism that exists in this church, I think we truly could have spent an entire day here. It's beautiful, it's huge, it's architectural, it's historic and when you see it, all these things are magnified.

Eiffel Tower: This makes me smile. This was our first site on our first night in Paris. As we were on the metro, it started to play hide-and-seek with us, right in the middle of it's light show. It was a giddy tourist moment when we finally approached it in it's entirety, however, I'll play the giddy tourist anytime I get to see something like that.

Fiscal Irony

Last week I was able to catch up on the laundry and even had time to wash our sheets. As I was making our bed with a spare set, my mind wandered to where it always does when making the bed; I want new sheets. We’ve had the same two sets of sheets since we’ve been married and both are stretched, faded and have a few random holes. Having wanted new sheets for a while now, I came upon an interesting inquiry. Why is that we spend money on certain things that really have no lasting relevance, but refuse to spend money on others because they seem too expensive or not really worth the price?

I’ll give you an example. I recently colored my hair again. It was easily over $100 to do this. Granted I only get this done twice a year but I, rather effortlessly, spent the cost equivalent to a new set of sheets, or two. And sheets, as I’ve just explained, last at least four years! Here’s another. I had my eye on a light fixture for probably close to a year. It was being sold at Pottery Barn and feeling their merchandise is highly overpriced, I kept watching for it to go on sale. Sure enough, it went 50% off. Not good enough. I decided to wait until it was at least 75%. This light fixture would probably hang in our house for the rest of our existence here but I just couldn’t pull the trigger at half off. Even though I really, really liked it and haven’t found anything since. I, on the other hand, have no problem buying a new pair of shoes or going out to eat on a regular basis or spending a good chunk of change on cable each month. These easily add up to the price of the light fixture.

This one is even worse. In fact, it may not have anything to do with money, but shear laziness. We’ve often times been in the middle of cooking something when we’ve realized we’re missing an ingredient. Instead of running to the grocery store, which is about three to four blocks away, we’ll run to the neighbors to see if they have what we’re missing. Why not just buy it? Surely the missing ingredient isn’t that expensive and we’ll more then likely need to use it again!

I just thought of another one. Razors. Razors are so expensive! I cringe every time I have to pay close to $15 for razors yet I’ve been known in the past to buy “special” shampoo for close to $25 a bottle. We’re even so cheap with razors, we share. Here’s another one… we’ve been saying for quite some time we want one of those boxes that you wind your water hose into when you’re done but for some reason, we can’t get ourselves to spend the money. We did, however, enlist the help of TrueGreen for an entire summer at well over $100 without putting much thought into it. You know for a fact that box would’ve down right decomposed before we actually rid our entire lawn of every weed and problem.

I find it frequently perplexing the things I’ll spend money on and the things I won’t. Even more interesting, what I’ll indulge in and what I can convince myself isn’t important. It’s even intriguing what we’ll buy generic and when we can’t bring ourselves to buy anything but the name brand. I’m guessing I’m not alone in this fiscally ironic battle. Any confessors?

La Bibliothèque

I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted. I admit it. I know I have yet to talk about Paris. It’s coming. I know I’m still telling stories from a vacation we took in April. I’m sorry. Despite these declarations, I’ve decided to comment on a completely unrelated and out of the blue discovery. Well actually, a rediscovery. I have recently rediscovered… the library. Yes, la bibliothèque (an ode back to Paris), the public library, or in my case, the Ramsey County Library.

I don’t know if it’s memory loss (I did frequent the library as a kid), the previous economy of buy, buy, buy (as opposed to rent or check out) or simply a stigma, but I hadn’t been to the library in ages. I do know that if any of these were true, they no longer matter. I (re)love the library.

I can’t come up with one reason someone shouldn’t immediately head to their local library, apply for a library card and then stop by a couple times a week. Books are FREE. Granted I’m paying $0.25 a day to rent, “Always Looking Up” by Michael J. Fox but that’s because it’s a best selling, new release and when compared to the $27.00 price tag a new copy costs, I’m getting a fabulous deal (granted I can get it read in 108 days). I could wait until it is free, however, I just finished his first book, “Lucky Man” (which I bought for $2.00 at Half Price Books annual warehouse sale, before my rekindled relationship with the library) and liked it so much I couldn’t wait.

What’s almost as great as reading books for FREE? Renting DVDs for $0.50. Prior to a couple of weeks ago, I didn’t even know you could rent DVDs from the library. Not just old DVDs either, new releases. Now again, that’s $0.50 per day, however, you could have it an entire week and not reach the total for a Blockbuster rental. If you’re diligent, it’s pretty easy to run to the library after work, grab a movie for the night and return it the next day for little to no gas money. Also, even though it’s a lost format, you can rent VHS movies for free. Did I mention they also have the Internet for free?

Maybe I’m alone. Maybe everyone has always known (or remembered) the greatness of the library or has already rediscovered it in this economy. If that’s the case, I apologize for being so slow. Luckily I have a frugal husband who happens to teach AND go to school and therefore visits the library constantly. With his persistence and encouragement, I’ve seen the light. I’ve drank the Kool-Aid. I’m ready for my library card.

In Bruges

I'm about to relay the most important piece of information for anyone thinking of visiting Bruges. Here it is:

Everything in Bruges closes at 5p.m.

Stores, museums, restaurants, tours. Not-so-shockingly, we learned this the hard way. Granted we visited on a week day so maybe the weekend hours are a bit... extended? All I know is that on Monday, June 6th, 2009, everything closed at 5p.m.

We arrived in Bruges, I believe, just after Noon. We first bought our train tickets for the next day's trip to Paris (tres important!), stopped by the tourist office for a local map and then trekked on foot to our hotel. Upon finding it, we learned that we could not check in until 3pm. I'm sure I had that highlighted somewhere. Huh. Anyways, we then made a quick change of clothes in the bathroom (we were a bit ripe after the walk), stored our luggage and set out about Bruges to find us some food!

After much deliberation, we decided on... Pizza Hut. I know, I know. I can hear what your thinking because we too were like, Pizza Hut? Really? In our defense, Shawn was on the recovering side of food poisoning (seafood pizza) and we needed something cheap, easy and something we knew would be good. Plus, we needed to restore our faith in unauthentic greasy Italian/Americanized food. It was great. We were revived and ready to go. First stop, canal boat tour. Oh wait, before that, dessert run. Shawn purchased ice cream while I chose some delightful little chocolates with marshmallow inside. Can't come to Belgium and not get some chocolate! Two thumbs up!

Back to the canal tours. We found the tour entrances easily enough, bought our tickets and waited our turn. While we waited we got to witness a little tourist girl hurl on the deck of the canal. Poor thing. We knew it was coming; she did not look well. They rinsed it off in time for us to walk over to our boat. Aside from the mental images of the little girls lunch, the tour was lovely. Our guide spoke many languages, including English. Note: English is always translated last and requires about 25 less words than every other language. The guide would rattle of something very elegant sounding for about five minutes and would finish in English with something like, "This is the oldest bridge." We giggled.

Towards the end of our canal boat tour, we learned that the Belfry tower was actually open until 5pm and with 30 minutes to go, we felt we could make it on time. According to our guidebook, which was obviously outdated, the Belfry was closed on Mondays. I KNOW I had that highlighted. In any case, we gambled on our good fortunate and took off for the tower. At 15 minutes until 5pm we came to the stair entrance and saw a sign that said we were too late. No more people were allowed up. I'm telling you, if we had been 15 minutes earlier for everything up to this point on our trip, we could have seen a lot more. However, we would've spent a lot more so... hindsight's 20/20.

With the Belfry climb scratched, we went in search of the chocolate museum. That's right. Being an addict, I was pumped! It took us a while to find it but when we did we were greeted with a familiar sign. The museum closed at 5pm. Grrr. I believe we tried one other stop, I can't remember what it was, but when it too failed, we conceded. We headed back to the hotel, checked in and Shawn took a nice, long nap.

When he was good and rested, we ventured out for supper. By this time it was close to 9 or 10pm so our options were limited. I believe we ate at a place equivalent to McDonald's. Continued shame, I know. With our train departing halfway early in the morning and all our other efforts turning up a bust, we wanted to squeak out as cheap and simple as possible and gear up for Paris. On the upside, we got to eat outside and people-watch. My favorite. We were in the Market, the main square of Bruges. The Belfry was lit up as were all the gorgeous street lamps. Very old world. Very calming. We ate, sat, meandered about the square and then headed in for the night. Beautiful, charming city. Would've been great if more things were open late. I'm not asking for Taco Bell late either... heck, we'd settle for 15 minutes.

The Market Square in the middle of the city. Not sure what the monument was...

The infamous Belfry. On second thought, maybe missing the climb wasn't such a bad thing.

Evidence we were in fact in Bruges on the the boat tour.

We did learn on our tour that the a person's wealth was displayed by how many windows their house had because taxes were figured per window. Also, at the top of nearly every house was a tiny little hole for, you guessed it, passenger pigeons.

P.S. No, we have not seen the movie. A lot of people ask. Since we just cancelled Blockbuster, we'll have to wait for it to appear on cable.