Bad Roads, Easter Visit And Beauty Makeovers

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Alberta, children, daughter, Diana Schwenk, Easter, family, friends, Hump Day Chronicles, laughter, Life's like that, living in the moment, love, Makeover, makeup, Michaela, Michaela's Beauty Warriors, Relationships, Rosalind, Spring

This past weekend, my daughter and I thought it a fine idea to spend Easter together at hers and her boyfriend, Werner’s place in Rosalind, Alberta.

The morning I was to drive out there, we talked on the phone about how bad the secondary roads were due to snow and we decided to meet in Camrose for dinner and then drive to the farm together afterward, in case my car got stuck.

Well as luck would have it, the roads were not as bad as we thought they would be and I arrived earlier than anticipated, too early for dinner, so we met at the Paint Pottery where I painted a mug, Werner painted an elephant and Michaela painted two plates. I can’t wait to see the finished products after they’re glazed and baked!

After dinner we headed out to the farm and parked my car about a kilometer away from the house at the old school because the muddy gravel road that leads to the farm-house would surely have swallowed up my little Toyota Tercel.

It was a wonderful weekend that included a stunning makeover for me by Michaela, a not-so-stunning, but fun as heck, makeover for Michaela by me and Werner, and a wonderful Easter meal shared by me, Michaela, Werner and his parents Claudia and Manfred.

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Michaela and Werner, thank you so much for hosting me this Easter, it was so good to see you again!

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

For more Easter fun, check out me and Werner doing Michaela’s makeover on the link below!

https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2F100010097341891%2Fvideos%2F442868522726389%2F&show_text=0&width=560

And, oh if you like makeup, you might want to head over here https://www.facebook.com/groups/1295392280541774/ and check out Michaela’s Beauty Warriors page. She really knows her stuff!

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I Kinda Like Edmonton, It’s Not Scary At All

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Alberta, all in fun, Calgary, Canada, daughters, Edmonton, embarassing your kids, family, humour, Hump Day Chronicles, Karaoke, Life's like that, living in the moment, Michaela, rivalry, road trip, rudeness

5:30 sunrise – Edmonton Alberta Canada

I had arranged to meet my northern colleagues in Edmonton this past Monday, and I’d decided to come early so I could spend some time with my daughter, Michaela and her boyfriend Stephen.

That way I wouldn’t have to drive three hours there and three hours back in one day.

I always get all turned around when I drive to, and try to navigate, another city. I have no sense of direction whatsoever. In fact, it’s a fair bet that if I feel strongly about going one way, I should probably be going the other way!

Luckily, I only had to circle once to get to the Ramada Hotel when I arrived in Edmonton on Saturday afternoon.

The kids met me at the hotel for dinner. Much to my dismay, it was Karaoke night.

I don’t like Karaoke and I’m not very good at hiding my dislike of Karaoke.

Turns out my face gives me away and I just can’t keep my opinions to myself.

Me, Michaela and Stephen

If loose lips sink ships, I sunk a whole fleet!

I really don’t mean to be disrespectful or rude – honest!

It’s just that Karaoke is the equivalent to fingernails scratching across the black board to me.

Michaela was a tad mortified by my behavior but aside from that, we enjoyed a nice dinner, caught up on all the latest news and met some really cool people!

The next day, I met the kids in their part of town.  We enjoyed a lovely brunch at Smitty’s and afterwards they introduced me to their two Siamese cats Lily and Keetah and their hamster Enchilada…

no that’s not it – Fajita

nope that’s not it either, Burritos – yeah that’s it!

They also brought me to the coolest coffee shop in St. Albert, a small town on the outskirts of Edmonton.

The coolest coffee shop in St. Albert

You know…I hear a lot of talk about rivalry between Calgary and Edmonton.

Something to do with hockey, I think; Calgary Flames vs. Edmonton Oilers. Or the Calgary Stampede vs. Klondike Days. Or Edmonton is getting a new arena and now we want one too or something along those lines.

I suspect the two cities secretly like each other though, why else would Calgary have a street called Edmonton Trail and Edmonton have a street called Calgary Trail?

I guess I’ve never really gotten caught up in that whole Calgary/Edmonton rivalry because I’m from Montreal originally, and I know the real important thing is The-Montreal-Canadiens-are-better-than-the-Toronto-Maple-Leafs.

Dinosaur on Calgary Trail in Edmonton

I kinda like Edmonton. It’s not scary at all!

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

Does your city have a rival city?

Don’t Call Her A Dork. Be Nicer.

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Alberta, Anthropologie, Be nice, Calgary, Canada, daughter, Diana Schwenk, Easter, family, happy, Hump Day Chronicles, living in the moment, Michaela, Relationships, wine

Michaela at Peter’s Drive-In, Calgary AB

This past weekend, my daughter with beau-in-tow, came home to spend Easter with me.

It’s always great to see her. We don’t often get to visit as we live a three and half hour drive apart.

This time I remembered to renew my parking pass so the kids could park in my assigned spot behind my apartment building, while I legally parked on my street.

In the past, I haven’t done this, so Michaela has had to park a few streets away and move her car every few hours.

A gift from the Easter Bunny awaited Michaela’s arrival

Yeah, yeah, I won’t be getting the Mother of the Year award anytime soon!

But before you go getting all indignant about the way I treat my daughter, know that Michaela, AKA The Tornado, has her own way of getting even.

She has this uncanny ability to pretty much destroy a room seemingly by just walking into it.

Within minutes, it looks like a storm has blown through!

I don’t mind. Really. It’s a small price to pay for the pleasure of spending time with her.

My late birthday present from Michaela

…A few years back, Michaela and I discovered Anthropologie, a boutique store that sells unique merchandize, including a mishmash of dishes. At the time, I told Michaela that one day I would start an eclectic collection of plates and cups. She remembered this and brought me two pieces (above) to start my collection…

Be nicer. Don’t call your daughter a dork. Be nicer.

One of the things I enjoy most about Michaela is her sarcastic wit.

We often lovingly jab at each other.

An endearing habit, that I’ve come to expect from Michaela every time she visits, is the writing of a message on my whiteboard.

On this last visit she added items to my to-do List.

For some reason, she felt that ‘Be nicer’ had to be stated twice.

But be nicer didn’t have to be stated at all. They brought a bottle of wine.

And wine always makes me nicer.

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

What did you do for the Easter weekend? What makes you nicer?

Four Generations of Women – Part 1

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4 Generations of Women, children, daughters, Diana Schwenk, family, growing up, Hump Day Chronicles, life, memories, Michaela, Mothers, Relationships

~ MICHAELA DESIREE ~

Diana with Michaela

Michaela: a feminine form of the Hebrew name Michael (מִיכָאֵל), which means “Who is like God?”

Desiree: It is an anglicization of the French name Désirée meaning desired.

Michaela was born at 5:55PM on a snowy winter’s day in November of 1993. Blue in the face, she was rushed to ICU and spent several hours there until her oxygen levels were normal. At the same time her mother was rushed to the OR. The placenta had torn and she was hemorrhaging.

The next morning, a nurse entered the mother’s room with the baby, when her mother spoke Michaela’s head turned in her direction. They say a developing baby hears its mother’s voice in the 5th month of pregnancy. Michaela knew her mama’s voice!

Michaela talked and walked at a very early age. Always asking questions: Why is the sky blue? Why do people do the things they do? Why? Why? Why? For this reason, her mother sent her to Kindergarten at age 4.

Michaela, from the beginning was sensitive, easily hurt by another’s opinion. Once she said through sobbing tears, “I wish I was as strong as you, I wish I didn’t care so much!” Her mother assured her of her strength and explained that the gift of her sensitivity would ensure that she would always treat others with kindness. For example, once when a girl at daycare was picking on a boy of mixed race, Michaela defended him with great courage and conviction.

Michaela was in grade 6, the first time she ran away from home. She filled her backpack with canned items like beans and other things she hated, took most of the loonies from her mother’s laundry money jar, and left before her mother got home from work. She walked and walked to ‘she hadn’t planned where’ and knocked on doors offering to work for pay.

Michaela longed for ‘normal family’ life. Due partly to circumstances in her mother’s life, her own life at school and with friends, and a deep longing to get to know her Dad, Michaela moved in with her Dad in the middle of grade 8.

For the most part, having pets, two adults in a home, siblings, friends, living in the country suited Michaela’s need to belong. Even here, however, there were struggles, hurt feelings, and disillusionments.

Over a period of two years, she would run away twice. Michaela became independent at a very young age, having learned to sooth herself and count on herself to do what is right for her. In spite of a turbulent couple of years in her teens that resulted in having to repeat the last year of high school to graduate, Michaela seems to have found her place in yet another town with a wonderful boyfriend. One day, she will be an amazing Mom.

Michaela holds her cards close to her chest. She rarely shares her troubles until they are long-lost in the past. Her anger, when it flares, is a manifestation of being hurt or sad. She treats others with kindness and perhaps gets a little too much into their business at times, maybe because she wants so desperately to spare others from pain.

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

Related post: Our Families and Why We Are the Way We Are