Friday Finds: Camera Coats…& a Promo Code!

I am a picture-o-holic.  Really.  I take thousands of pictures.  This started when I was a little girl and has never stopped.    I always had a camera with me and was always capturing moments.  My grandfather used to tease me that I would never be able to afford life because I was always paying to have my pictures developed!

A couple of years ago I took the plunge and moved beyond a point and shoot camera and purchased a DSLR camera.  I purchased a backpack bag and was set….except the backpack bag was an additional bag that I needed to take with me or I would have to throw my camera into my purse or children’s bag – and after waiting my whole life for my DSLR, I was not about to risk scratching or damaging it!  So I set about searching for a smaller camera bag – even contemplated making making my own – and then I found Camera Coats!  I saw the ‘Jane Eyre‘ and had to have it!  But they were sold out!  So I haunted the camera coats website almost daily to see their products.  When the ‘Ti Amo‘ came out I  I did not hesitate – thank goodness because it sold out FAST!

The Camera Coat is one of the best purchases I have ever made.  Ever.  It has allowed me to take my camera with me everywhere.  I can fit it in any bag without worry, I can sling it over my shoulder and it is protected and looks lovely.  Two years ago for Jay’s birthday, Mel and I decided to purchase one for her. We bought her a grey chevron with yellow shabby flowers.

We both have our camera coats with our cameras all the time – so we can take our cameras with us anytime.

I know I would like to purchase another – a waterproof one this time – maybe the Glimmer of Paris with matching strap or the touch of glitter with matching strap?

Here’s a promo code for you to get $10 off their shipping price…that will make it $8 to ship to Canada! 

Code: PurpleShip  Expires: June 30, 2013.Not good with any other codes/offers. www.cameracoats.com

My Good Reminder….

I teach, contractually,  students at the college level – so the end of the semester, and the beginning of May, for me symbolizes a time to slow down, gather my thoughts, take care of myself in a better way and finish the number of projects I started but slowly lost priority in every day life.  I have yet to do any of this so far in the month of May  – and it is almost over! May has turned out to be a month of finishing up & preparing for work, attending meetings and conferences, dance rehearsals & recitals, baseball practices & games, swimming lessons, birthday parties and medical appointments.

In the midst of all of this I have struggled to maintain balance…and I have failed….taking care of my children’s lives and work came first.  And although these are things I love – I am disappointed that I did not set better boundaries to do the things I set out do do at the beginning of the month.  This really hit yesterday when I realized that my 21 years anniversary since we have been together as a couple passed with only a phone call and greeting of “Merry 17th“ to my husband to commemorate the day.  I usually make a bigger deal of this as it is a special day.  I am not ok with this path I seem to be following.  I need to adjust my mind to realign with my heart and soul to make different choices on how I spend my time, so I create the flow not follow it.  I started thinking about what I need to do this.

One of my favorite quotes that I used as a life motto for many years is `You are not defined by what has happened to you in the past. You future is defined by what you want for the future` ~Unknown.  It is time to gain some perspective. Time to think about more than the work that is waiting to be finished and what is on the schedule for the day.  Setting long term goals helps remind me of the life I want and the groove I am striving to attain. Because I only get one chance as me in this life and when I am old and sitting in my rocking on my front porch the memories that I want to sustain me are the ones I want to create. I came across a great tool for long term goal setting on the Lululemon website, you can type write into the PDF and print it: http://www.lululemon.com/education/goalsetting

As I complete this form I am inspired – I am reminded of the possibilities life has to offer and a little less lost in the busyness of everyday.

vision_goals_worksheet

Happy Mother’s Day!

To all the Mama’s out there – celebrate today.   Do something special for yourself – guilt free – you are deserving!  For all of you who have a Mom or know a Mom – do something to remind them how special they are.

I printed this and put it in a  white frame from the dollar store and put it in the center of my kitchen table.  It brightened up the room and reminded me to be good to myself this week – because of who I am and all I do.

I found this printable on Creative Cain Cabin  139932516-Mothers-Day-Printable;  http://www.creativecaincabin.com/2013/05/mothers-day-printable-free.html?showComment=1367971297061#c3048034874466554053

You can find a different free Mothers Day printable printable from A Night Owl

http://anightowlblog.com/2012/05/printables-mothers-day-2.html

What special thing did you do for your Mom today?  What did you do to celebrate you?

The Mom I Want to Be….

ten years ago while I was expecting my first child i had all these expectations (i guess that why they call it expecting).  expectations of my life, of myself, of my child.  and then i gave birth….and that is when the beginning of all my expectations of what life would be like began to evaporate and the reality of being a mother began to set in.  my birth did not go as expected but holding that little person in my arms i realized it did not matter – i would be the person she needed me to be so she could grow up feeling safe and loved and happy.  and so that has continued….motherhood challenges me in every way.  i have often thought to myself as the illusion i had of myself as a mother vanishes – my children need me to be the mom that they need.  and that is the mom i want to be.  so everyday i practice motherhood.  some days i get it right, some days i don’t, and i keep practicing….

do you ever want a do-over ?

i find myself thinking a lot lately about the time in my life when i worked with mommas and their kiddos living in shelters.

i think about these moms when i make an impulse buy for cute shoes for my kiddo – shoes she surely doesn’t need but i can’t resist.

i think about these children as i am crafting with my C.

i think about these families when i am eating on the couch.

i think about them when i am taking my kiddo to an event that costs a small (and unreasonable) fortune.

i think about them when i see my kiddos dad playing so lovingly with her.

and i feel so sad.  it is not fair that in this life, little people and their mommas must endure such pain and struggle. that some dads choose to hurt thier kiddos moms.

but when i think of them most is when i am having a hard day with my C. when she won’t go to bed, or when she is having a stage 10 tantrum, or when she is sick, or when i have a migraine, or when she is just crabby and so am i. i think of all the rules and guidelines we had in the shelter in the interest of child safety.  supervision was one thing that we always seemed to be talking about.

so and so isn’t supervising her 5 year old, so and so wrote all over the wall because his mom wasnt watching him.  is that so and so in the playroom without her mom.  all things we needed to address. i think now if i was one of the moms i was speaking to, i would have wanted to shake me. i get it now. i have pen on my walls, while i was online, my C snuck downstairs and emptied the entire bookshelf. i do not always have eyes on my kiddo. i get it now. i would want to shake me too.

please don’t get me wrong, guidelines are necessary. but with our rules, i don’t think we factored in hard-momma-days or cranky-kiddo-days. or just regular i’m-raising-a-2-year-old-days or mom-is-also-a-person-and-needs-a-minute-to-breathe-days.

i love how i worked with families, both the children and mothers. but now that i have my own kiddo, there is a different in my gut understanding that i just didn’t have before about how hard it is for moms.  as a child and youth counsellor, working over 10 years in shelters,  i know the impact of trauma, i understand how abuse impacts mommas and thier kiddos,  and i have seen the challenges families have in shelters. these are rightful challenges. no home, loss of one parent, limited to no income, little control. anyone would find it challenging. i certainly would.

so this is what i want to do over:

i want to offer to do the mommas chores every now and then.

i want to ask if i can hold her baby so she can take a shower, read a book, go online.

i want to reduce the scheduled programming and just be available for her.

i want to bring her a coffee when she is sitting outside with her children.

i want to clean the highchair for the mother who has just fed her baby herslef and 3 other kids. better yet, i want to clean up the whole table.

i want to advocate that a family of 5 gets 2 rooms rather than sharing 1.

please dont interpret these do overs to be based on pity or sympathy. if anything they are based on how strong i know mommas are, and how little they ask for help.

i just didn’t know what the kind of help was that would have really made a difference til now.

for me, i don’t get a do over because my time working in the shelters is over (for now at least while im home with my own kiddo).  i am lucky now though that i have the opportunity to shape future child and youth workers through my teaching. and will share my do overs and hope that at least one momma in a shelter gets a coffee brought to here every once in a while, or has a bonus unplanned 20 minutes of peace in an otherwise chaotic time.

[image sources linked through images]

[ p.s the remaining 2/3 of purple eggplant will be popping up in posts on the blog soon ! ]