Be Yourself, Ten on Tuesday

So I am walking to work this morning and thinking about an online course I am taking and the password - Be Yourself.  Two rather insignificant words alone but together they have so much meaning.  To "be yourself" is much more difficult than you would think. I think back on the last 15 years of my life and how much has changed - how much I have changed - and wonder if 10 years ago I was even close to being myself.  I suppose I was one form of myself, I believe that I was the self that I thought everyone would love, and think was funny, and want to hang out with. I believe that now I am feel more free and confident, now that I can be myself.  Is this the wisdom that comes with age?

Today is Tuesday.  The questions for this week are supposed to be in photos so you will have to bare with me.  I was not going to do it as it seems too personal and like way too much work for my no photographing self... not to mention that my house always looks like a hurricane has gone through it and left the contents of a Toys R' Us store in my living room... BUT in keeping with the spirit of being myself, what choice do I have?  So here, for your viewing pleasure is my disastrous home!

1. Your favorite piece of furniture in your home.

I have a smallish house and two pianos - and don't know how to play, but really want my kids to learn! PITA says that CH plays like an angel but I have only heard him once and it was from memory. I would love to come home to him playing the piano almost as much as I always hope that he is learning to play the guitar in secret as a surprise for me.  This particular piano is about 150 years old, I bought it from my parents' neighbor for less than it cost me to have it delivered! This picture is from Christmas 2009 - when (sigh) we only had one piano (there is a quilt on the bench).

2. Your favorite thing on your wall.

John William Waterhouse, Miranda the Tempest. I have an oil reproduction of this that was bought for me as a gift several years ago on Denman Street in Vancouver. I love John Waterhouse (and of course Botticelli!).

3. Your bed as it looks right now.

So when I got home from the Sugar Shack Quilting, this is how I found my bed. With a nine year old in it! The Little Man had been home sick (I suspect it may have been a ruse) all day and made himself more than comfy in our bed to watch T.V. Sweet little person than he is.

Take note of that fact that our bed is only a double bed.  It usually contains not so little me, not so little CH, Pierre (the small dog), at least one cat, and in spurts Penelope. It is rare to find Dominic in there for any reason other than the above.  :o)

4. Your pantry.


Last night when I was taking pictures of my bed and the disastrous playroom, I forgot entirely about this one.  I will try to remember tonight but we are going to a family BBQ at Grandpa's, so no promises.

Up Date:  I had a great time at the BBQ, I did not remember the picture last night but did this morning.  In the spirit of honesty and, again, being myself - here it is!

5. Your favorite piece of jewelry.

My Mum was always kind of weird about her wedding ring and I guess I am too. For me it is more than just a ring, it is a symbol representative of so much that is important to me.  It represents the unending circle of the love that I feel for CH and not only that but the unbroken commitment and devotion that we have to each other and the life that we have created together.  It is a reminder, that I wear on my finger all day everyday, to be grateful for the blessings that I have been given.

6. Your favorite book.

I read a lot and do not really have a favorite. It seems that every book I read feels like the best book I ever read, unless it isn't.  I have read some really crappy ones in the last couple of years and some that I thought were mediocre and turned out to really stick with me.  If I had to pick one, I would probably go with The Shack.  If you have not read it, even if you are not a reader, you should.  The Shack and The Secret were both life altering books for me, changing they way I thought and the way I looked at things in a positive way.

7. Your most comfortable shirt.

I don't think I have a most comfortable shirt - all of my clothes are pretty comfy. Since becoming a mother I tend to go for comfort over style... my bad, I know but I am a busy woman and I need to be comfortable and be able to move around to get things done. I am not quite a candidate for What Not to Wear but close...

8. Your messiest room.

I am embarrassed to say that, yes, this is a room in my house. Well maybe I am not embarrassed - I am very busy working mother of two kids whose husband has a disability that prevents him from doing a lot in a day...anyway....

This is supposed to be the playroom but it is in fact the toy storage room. And by toy storage, I mean toy piling.  I bought shelves and bins and went online and made labels with the logos for the toys and had them so nice and organized before Thing 1 and Thing 2 came along and did their version of clean up on this sad little room.  Thing 1 (Penelope) and Thing 2 (surprise! it is CH, not the Little Man!) cannot list organization in their list of attributes - although they are two of my four most favorite people in the universe and I love them dearly.

One of the Little Man's friends said it looks like an episode of Hoarders... sadly he is right. I have one day off a week and I am not about to spend it organizing my kids clutter!

9. Your house shoes.

I am not much of a shoe person.  When I was in my 20s and I did not have the financial responsibilities that I have now (children!), I had a lot of shoes and none of them were from the Devil Store a.k.a. Wal-Mart!  I do not have the luxury of lots of shoes now, but the ones I do have are still not from the Devil Store.  Having said that, the closest thing I come to shoes in my house is slippers (made by my Mum) in the winter or plastic wrap and moisturizer in the summer (works great too by the way!).

10. Yourself.

I took this on my walk to work. I look like a cone head. I dislike pictures of me.  It is difficult to maintain the mental image of myself that I have when I am faced with the reality.  Not that I think I am ugly or anything drastic, but I used to be blonde, thin, and worst of all - young!

:o) Tina