I hate sale fliers. What is it about the motley coloured newsprint that sucks me in? I know the best thing to do is ignore the catch phrases spewing from the pile of fliers on the coffee table. Yet - my eyes turn into dollar signs and before I can read the obits, I'm leafing through sale fliers like a crazed woman on the hunt for something I need somewhere for a sale price that's never been lower. The epitome of gullibility. Sale fliers are my nemesis.
I madly spin through the cheap, over-stimulating sales as if the paper will self-com-bust before I have a chance to see all I cannot live without. The lists start - what store; what item; what price; what day; what city. Nothing seems out of my reach. Clearly I am pummelling into the sale mode, downward spiralling out of control - right into the every-so-clever marketers trap.

Well then - I've just connected with a friend I haven't seen in quite some time. After much frivolity and catching-up, she mentioned the fact she'd been to my website and it was a shame I wasn't doing so much anymore. YIKES! Looking at the site, I see it appears I have greatly diminished my speaking and writing efforts. Not true!
Quite the opposite in fact. It's one of those 'I'm so busy' stories - you know - the life stories where people are just too busy to take care of business. BLECH. That's me.
I used to hate it when people at work said they were too busy. Yet another lesson for me - here I am now confessing I have not been keeping current on my website, due to the 'business of life'.
My bad.....me sorry and all that jazz!
So - don't panic - I am here; very much alive and keeping busy with my writing and speaking efforts. Stay tuned for some updates to my site and blogs that happen more than once a year!
Have a great week and thanks for stopping in.

September 13, 2009 - 6:51am.

The Revie household is quiet on this Sunday morning. Sleep alludes me as my overactive brain has kicked into high gear. Today is a life-changing day for our family.

In a scant seven hours, we'll be leaving to travel to Toronto International Airport. There - we will deposit our baby girl, Laura as she leaves for a land full of adventure and excitement. Things will never be the same - then again - they're not supposed to be, are they?

My mother's heart is beating wildly with a plethora of emotions. I am fiercely proud of our daughter, who has overcome some significant challenges in her life and has persevered through all the mounds of paperwork and government hoops to keep the wheels rolling - with determination, foresight, planning and determination, she is on her way to Leeds England for her third year of University studies.

Wow! It's August 22, 2009 - that's just nuts! Seems like summer took so long to get here - it boggles my mind it's almost over...and with fall this year, comes one of the biggest changes in our lives - GULP!

The daughter, Laura will be departing our scene on September 13th, travelling approximately 5,560 kilometers to attend Leeds' University. Yes - our baby is literally flying the coop! My insides are bursting with a plethora of emotions - love; immense proudness; faith; hope; trust; anxiety; sadness; happiness....gee - I feel like an emotional schizophrenic.

Life change happens, doesn't it? We never know where life will take us. If you asked me if I thought my grounded, home-body daughter would travel half-way across the world for a ten month period to study, I would have laughed and replied, 'not a chance.' And yet - it's about to happen.

OMIGOSH! So, last July I got a Wii-Fit for my birthday. I was excited because this was exactly what I needed and I was going to use it! Well, I stepped on my darling Wii this week and after he 'oooed', he said, "it's been 183 days since I've seen you!" What!?!? That's not possible is it. Alas, a computer or something like a computer, never lies.
This made me think it's probably been that long since I did the blog thing on my website. I'm beginning to surmise that blogging isn't for everyone. How do people find time to blog....even my last blog was titled, 'too busy to blog.'
Well - here I am. Once again I am privileged to be writing for our local newspaper, The Guelph Mercury as a Community Editorial Board member. I love this job! Someone writes up a schedule; tells you when your article is due and then releases me to write whatever I want. I truly thrive on deadlines and being accountable. When I'm not - it just doesn't seem to happen for me.