I Ate A Bug!

This morning, I was walking the dogs, singing away, ( no, it was not raining)  and a bug flew right into my mouth!   I choked and gasped and scared my poor puppies to death!   A passerby stopped to ask me if I needed help and I was really hoping I was not going to upchuck that poor bug right in front of him!   Poor guy, watching someone vomit so early in the morning is NOT conducive to a great start of the day when you haven’t even had your breakfast yet.  I eventually recovered and we finished our walk  without further ado.

Now, I can’t say for sure that it was better when the bug flew in my eye last week..  That time I rubbed my eye lots to dislodge the unwanted guest but at least I refrained from puking.   I swear, people would rather see you cry  than throw up – Go figure!      So,  why am I talking about this today?  Why does it seem important?  Well, I’ll tell you my reasoning!

A lot of little things get in our way, on a daily basis.  It’s not always bugs!  And mostly, it’s not  major:  Sometimes we misplace our keys, or forget the grocery list at home and only remember when we’re already at the store and the cat won’t answer the phone to read it back to you.   Sometimes it’s a rude driver who passes us on the way to work and other times it’s finding out that there is no more milk in the fridge for your coffee and you really needed your fix and cannot drink it black.   Wah!

I really need to give my head a shake once in a while and really prioritize what I should consider “end of the world events”:

·         The dogs played Nascar in the hall again and knocked over a plant:  NO

·         The dogs escaped from the yard and just about got run over by the car,  YES

·         The grass in the backyard is so tall, I can hardly see my patio furniture:  NO

·         The grass in the backyard is so tall, someone could be hiding in there and attack me if I walk by:  YES

·         I burned the toast:   NO

·         I burned down the house:  YES

·         I swallowed a bug:  NO

·         A bug swallowed me:  YES YES YES

Know what I mean, Jean?  It’s all a matter of perception however,  I must learn to not be so excitable when there is no reason to.    My dad would say:  “Will you remember that the day you get married?”…  I am still pondering on that!   The moral of the story is to keep my mouth closed when I walk the dogs  J

Just these wise words, I hope, to help me keep things in check, and to make sure that if I’m going to give myself a heart attack, it will be worth it!

Having said my piece, I now say SALUT!

Signing off:

Better be a Little “S” than a  Little Less  J

Voice Lesson

Had my second voice lesson yesterday…. Very interesting…  Only 2 of us showed up for the group lesson so we each got a lot more attention than we normally would have.

We’ve been learning to breathe right (and often) and to “O” and “A” and “OO” along.  We are doing scales in staccato and legato – don’t I feel smart today!    J

It’s fascinating to understand the mechanics of it all.  The movement of air between lungs, sternum, throat, upper palate, jaw….  Totally amazing – For something done so naturally, it is quite the process.

Of course, we have homework:  15-20 minutes a day, we are to practice our scales and breathing.  My dogs love that time of day,   As soon as I start singing, Nicky starts howling and Bella follows suit… and then I get the giggles and so much for the homework.  I have to send them outside while I sing or else, I don’t get anything done!   I’ve heard of all kinds of excuses for not doing homework…. But I think this is a great one.  I’ve been able to make a video of it to show our teacher – it is hilarious!

So, I am no Céline Dion by any means (yet – anyhow) however am quite pleased at myself for persevering in accomplishing my dreams…. And cross something else off my Bucket List.

Well , as they would say in Russia, da svidaniya ,   and of course, Salut !

Signing off:

Better be a Little “S” than a  Little Less  J

Smelly things (no, no, not Smelly Cat!)

I have to admit, I am kind of blessed in that way.   I had a concussion a few years back and it robbed me of my sense of smell.   So when my dogs are wet and stinky, I remember how it smells but it does not bother me.  HOWEVER, I am aware that other “smelling” people might come to my house and it will be important to them that my house not be foul smelling.   First impressions are EVERYTHING.

How do I deal with that?   Well, I Fabreeze everything to death.  I keep the “wet” dogs in the basement until they are dry. The cat litter box?  it gets cleaned daily - i'm not taking a chance!   Of course, I wear deodorant and NEVER wear perfume, just in case it’s too much and I can’t tell it is. I air out the house every chance i get and have enlisted good friends to come and "sniff" us out often and make sure we're doing ok.  

I do promise  I would never resort to singing “Smelly Cats” as our Friend Phoebe does, however, I will always ask for forgiveness if the fragrance here is not what you expected.

It was awful when I found out of the loss of this sense – well, almost 100% awful, not quite.   I found out I could not smell in the spring, when farmers are spreading manure on their fields.  No, I can’t smell the bad stuff.  But I remember the smell of fresh cut grass… and long for it… Clothes washed in Ivory Snow – tiny baby smell that makes you want to melt…

Good things?  I can now eat seafood because I could not stand the smell of it before;   I can now volunteer at a homeless shelter because the aroma won't get to me… that does not sound like a curse to me.

Arrivederci my friends and Salut!

Better be a Little “S” than a  Little Less  J

♪♪♪ Rain, Rain, Go Away! ♪♪♪

July 15, 2011

T.G.I.F.    Well, it’s raining again ~ what else is new?   I’m usually the half-full glass kind of girl however, it has now rained so much that my cup has runneth over and I’m floating away, praying for Noah to come rescue me in his Ark.

I was out with the dogs this morning and decided I would run with them instead of walk so I wouldn’t be out there as long.  My mom would have urged me to : “Run between the raindrops” and believe me, I tried.  Not sure it worked…

 I do have a question for you:  If I run for 15 minutes in the rain, the same distance I would walk for 30 minutes, will I be less wet or the same or what?  I have a theory that since I am going twice as fast, I will be able to miss some of the raindrops on the way.  What do you think?

Anyway, I can’t throw the dogs in the dryer so I better get the old towels out and mop up those poor puppies.  Half  or fully wet, they still stink like wet dogs!   

The cat was wise and stayed inside, curled up on the bed while we went out… she laughed at us when we came in, soaked.  Who’s the smart one???   Not the one with the diplomas, that’s for sure.

Well then, sayonara for now,   Salut and have a great weekend!

Signing off:

Better be a Little “S” than a  Little Less  J

What's a Little "S"?

July 14, 2011

Let me introduce myself, I am Sylvie , a single mom of five,  three of which are still at home:  the two dogs and the cat.

Nicky, Bella, Missy and I live in a cute little house with a big yard in Small Town, Beautiful British Columbia, Canada. My youngest son lives on the other side of town with his new wife and my oldest one lives far far away   (well 45 minutes' drive anyway)  ... well, I can’t keep everyone within walking distance, can I?  I wish!

I came by the name of Little S through a very dear friend of mine.  See… his other favorite person also had an S name and he did not want to get us confused;  so there I became Little S because Santa was much bigger than me.  Go figure… never thought I would get to compete with the Jolly Fellow on any field.  Never know what life throws at you …

I kept a journal for so many years, it’s a lot of fun to go through and re-live those memories; hopefully with this daily memo, we’ll be able to share some good ones and start our day with some sunshine in our hearts even if the sun is not blinding us outside.

Welcome, peoples!    Cheers!  Salut!

Signing off: 

 Better be a Little “S” than a  Little Less  J