Ramblings of an Ex-Hoarder

I use the phrase 'ex-hoarder' not knowing fully if most people would look at the massive amounts of stuff I own and consider it a habit of the past. I like to think that if they could see how far we've come that they would congratulate me... maybe even throw me a party. I like to think I deserve a party. And as of this past weekend, we could hold it in my garage.

It's not easy for me to purge, although it is getting easier. I still pull things out of my 'donate', 'sell' and 'trash' pile and put them back into the 'keep' pile hoping no one will notice. Brian usually doesn't, so in a way I have only myself to control my impulses. I am responsible for talking myself out of keeping something. As good as I am getting at purging I bet that if I had a day with one of those organizers/therapists from the show Hoarders I would even do better. Remind me why I don't need the empty champagne bottle from the night Brian proposed?

I think that the decision to down-size & move back into the city was a good for us for several reasons, one being that I am being forced to purge my hoard. You couldn't walk into our garage on Friday. Today, you could...well, hold a party in it. It's a good feeling but it came with an onslaught of terrible feelings. As I got rid of a trailer full of garbage & a yard full of 'stuff' (below) the reel that was replaying in my mind was exhausting

"What if I need this later..."

"This is perfectly good, someone might want this"

"Awwww, Miles used this when he was little so I have to keep it for his kids"

"We bought this in __(insert foreign country here)____ so I should keep it"

I forged on & managed to keep just a few things I know I will never use again or have an emotional attachment to (A tiny little Paul Frank bike helmet).

I've done the kitchen, the closet, the toys & now the garage. This coming weekend we tackle the basement knowing that it will be easier if we do it before the snow comes. The basement is the hard part. The basement is where the yearbooks, old ballet slippers, cabbage patch dolls & photo albums live. Somewhere in that basement is a collection of hula dolls (I know...), a collection elephant figurines (I know....) and every issue of my high school magazine 'The Voice'. How do I get rid of the newspapers from Sept 12th, 2001? (I am well aware it can all be found online). How can I throw away my sticker book from elementary school? But I struggle, to throw away the notes my high school friend Molly put so much effort into writing, illustrating & folding into cute origami creatures.

I did good in the garage. I am nervous that when I finish with the basement (I've 'cleaned' it every year for the past 5 years) that it won't be in ready-to-move condition. What then?

Soup's on!

A while ago I started a Facebook group called the Okotoks Foodies (open to anyone from anywhere). I was looking for like-minded women I could share with. And it was a success! It's become a great forum for all things 'food' in Okotoks. And last week I hosted out first event, a soup exchange. It was a great success! It's put together in the same manner as a cookie exchange. Each person makes two portions (1.5 cups) of soup to exchange for 2 portions of another soup with each guest. I made 14 portions of Red Pepper & Tomato Quinoa soup & in return, I got 14 various other soups.

On top of that, we all brought ingredients and made the biggest pot of vegetable soup (enough to feed 50, so we had a bowl while we chatted & the divided up the rest to take home to our families). It was great to find other people who didn't think of peeling carrots, stirring broth & shaking spices as a chore, and rather a therapy of sorts. I met some great people & was reminded how important is it to put yourself 'out there'.

The haul (above) plus a big pot of veggie soup for my family. Brian was grateful to have the soup for lunch each day and I am excited to try some more soups this week. Thank for coming out ladies, I had a fantastic time & I am looking forward to the next Okotoks Foodies event.

If you are interested in getting some great soup recipes, join our Facebook group, each recipe has been posted online.

Layout 306, 307, 308 & 309

Well look at me! All this blogging after such a dry spell! I have a bit of a cold right now so I thought I'd make myself a cup of Gails Organic Cold Remedy form Davids Tea (it works!) & do some blogging while Miles is at school & Molly is happily playing with his toys. I had all these layouts to post and a bit to blog about (I've been busy!).

I had a friend of last weekend for some last-minute scrapbooking. I got these four layouts done (in one night!!!). It pretty much brings me up to date with camping layouts. Feels good.

Layout 303, 304 & 305

I've been scrapbooking a little lately. I am committed to finishing Miles' baby album before the new year comes. I am pretty close to done. I finished his sisters a while ago (out of order, I know) so I thought it fair that he have one finished as well. It helps that I have gotten my scrapbook space in order... AND (drum roll) I might even be reclaiming my old scrapbook room (as opposed to the corner I have now). Brian and I have plans to move into the city where the kids will be sharing a room, so we're going to try it out a little early... we just need some bunk beds. That will free up a room in our house for an office/scrapbook room. Ahhhhhh, just thinking of it makes me smile.

The longest post ever about being HAPPY.

'He started to sing as he tackled the thing that couldn't be done, and he did it.' - Edgar A. Guest

Three years ago if you asked me if I would someday be happy, I would have said YES. Because let's be honest, even in the deepest pits of depression I was willing to lie about having hope. But the truth was, it was just that: a lie. Without going into too much detail about my mental state (because believe it or not, I do keep some things private) I was in big trouble. I felt like my life was happening around me, and not to me. I felt numb to sadness & especially to happiness. I thought it would always be this way. 

Fast forward through many trips to a therapist, a little chemical aide & some very deliberate actions on my part (although I could have never done this without help).

I don't remember rock bottom (I am sure Brian does) but I do remember emerging from the numbness and feeling happy, little by little. And thinking 'This is so great. I am going to chase this.'

I didn't realize I had 'caught it' until a couple weeks ago. I was chatting in an mommy group. A fellow mom had posted a plea for help. She felt hopeless, listless and depressed. She was unhappy with her life. I read the post & could relate, I had been there. But it was happened next that clued me into my current state of Happiness. Close to 20 other moms posted how dissapointed , unsatisfied and unhappy they were with their lives. Not one person posted a hopeful message. I thought about posting one but then remembered that I am never the girl that posts a hopeful and maybe even helpful comment. I am always the girl who can relate to the negative feelings.... until I realized, I'm not. Not anymore. And I posted a hopeful message. Nothing inspirational, but a comment with the underlying message: I've been there and I am not there anymore. I am happy. So I wrote this:

Haley Hopaluk-Ross A while ago, I got happy. It sounds weird, but it happened. I was the kind of person who would always end up a crying mess. Always. And then I just started to do things that would make me happy. Little things & big things (but when possible, not material things). And I guess they made a big difference because now I am happy. Not all the time. And not about everything. But I am happy. I know exactly how you feel, I felt that way, and I am glad it is over for me. All I can tell you is to think about what would make you really happy, in this life, right now. Just because it isn't what you pictured doesn't mean it can't be something super fucking awesome. Make a list. Things that would make you happy. Include "trips to paris" but also include "getting to read a magazine uninterupted". And then make sure everything you do, everyday will get you closer to making that list HAPPEN. It happened slowly for me, but it happened.

The response to it was expected. About 50 'likes' and about 1,000 people who ignored it & continued to lament. And one person who was mortified that I dropped an f-bomb (that's fair). But the thing that matters most is that I posted it. Because it was a declaration to myself: I got happy.

And it is infectious. Because once I put it out there, it was even easier to believe. And act on.

And I began to work even harder at being happy (everything else in life, you have to work at, I believe the same thing about happiness).

'Any happiness you get, you've got to make yourself' - Alice Walker

(these people make me happy)

I have to say that being a social media junkie (I blog, Facebook, Tweet & check Instagram religiously) has actually helped. Its kind of like scrapbooking, but more all encompassing (I usually just scrapbook my kids). If I think I have nothing to be happy about I just need to check my Instagram feed to see that if I feel as though I have nothing else to hang hope on, at least I have cute toe nails that match my flip flops. It's a starting point...

I am hyper aware of the things that make me happy. I come out of a things thinking 'I am so happy that.....'. It wasn't easy to train my brain to think this way, but I did it (90% of the time). 

A couple of years ago I bought this book: The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. But the thing was, I was so unhappy that even thinking about reading a book with notions of happiness wasn't appealing. In August I plucked the book off my shelf. And read it in a couple of days. I am glad I waited. If I had read it when I bought it I would have been disappointed. It didn't provide the 'ah-ha!' moment I would have been hoping for. But reading it now, knowing the happiness requires works and awareness... I liked it. And I am, like what I would guess to be 99.99% of people who read the book, going to start my own Happiness Project.

I worked hard on preparing my project (which I will officially start tomorrow). I think it's perfect for me. And when I read it to my husband I think he was impressed enough to entertain the idea of doing his own. For a moment or two.

I told him I would start mine once 'wedding season' was over.

So, without further adieu, the end to this post & the beginning of my Happiness Project (I'll explain the specific goals tomorrow). 

Be More Active (September 14th - October 14th, 2012)

Get up & be dressed by 9:30am 6 out of 7 days each week

Do 60 minutes of an ‘activity’ that requires movement or play each day 

Go for an after dinner walk three times a week/walk somewhere

Chickpea & Coriander Cakes

We tried something new tonight and it turned out!

We tried something new last night & we all suffered through dinner (except Molly who didn't seem to notice how terribly bad her asparagus rigatoni really was). So tonight I was nervous after such an epic fail (it had been a while since I have had one) & decided to made side dishes that were tired, tested & true, you know, just in case.

Tonight Brian took the kids out to play hockey while I made dinner so I got to partake in a little food pornography, if you will. I love cooking with my camera. It's like, 2 awesome things. If I could cook with my camera while scrapbooking, I would OD on happiness and drop dead.

But it all went well & I am happy to post a recipe for Chickpea & Coriander Cakes (as adapted from 'Vegetarian' cookbook - I had to adapt, I was missing ingredients & wanted to use some stuff up)

Combine in a large bowl:

 1 can of chickpeas (I recipe calls for 7oz, I used 19!)

5oz freshly-cooked brown rice (I used a wild rice blend)

2 oz of oatmeal

Toast in a pan over medium heat:

1 t. coriander seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

Toast until fragrant, put into mortar & pestle (best investment ever!) and have at 'er. My kitchen smelled so good I almost died. Almost.

In a frying pan cook:

1 small onion - chopped (mine may or may not have been a medium-large onion. What a rebel!)

1 stick celery - chopped (I used 2)

2 cloves or garlic - peels & minced (I used one, I have a hate-on for garlicky foods).

1 small red chilli - deseeded & chopped

Cook until soft Then stir in the ground coriander mixture. Take a big breath, your whole house now smells so fantastic you could die... but don't.

Transfer the mixture to the bowl with the chickpeas, rice & oatmeal.

Take that big sexy bowl & also stir in:

1 T. Sea Salt (Flaky if you have it. I did.)

Zest & Juice of one lemon. (This I did not have. And let me tell you how rare it is that I don't have fresh lemons in my house. Because A. They are super cute to have on my counter and B. I use them like mad.  Lucky for me I did have lemon juice & lemon peel (above). I'm telling you, this granulated lemon peel from Silk Road Spice Merchant has saved my behind a couple times. I was grateful for it today when I went to get a lemon and.....nothing!)

Also stir in:

1 t. Tumeric (mine got away on me, there's at least 2 t. here)

3T. Greek yogurt or sour cream

I also added a handful of chopped arugula because A. It was going to go bad & that would have broken my heart, B. I love arugula and C. I consider myself a bit of a badass when following (or not) a recipe. Hahaha!

Run it all through the food processor until (almost) smooth. I like an uneven texture so I left mine a little less 'whizzed'. Here it is (below). At this point I ate 3 spoonfuls. I was hungry. And it smelled so dang good!

Form into patties (I froze half of mine) & fry in a very very hot frying pan until brown.

The end result. 

Chickpea & Coriander Cakes

A Roasted Beet, Goat Cheese, Arugula & Kale salad (omg)

and Pecan Roasted Brussles Sprouts (hells yeah)

She still has these.

In the 70's, before I was born, my mom sold Tupperware. Everything she bought for herself came in four gorgeous (ha!) 70's colours with names like Harvest Gold & Avocado Green. She must have stocked up because to this day, that 70's colour scheme Tupperware can be found in several Hopaluk venues. I have some in my trailer (below), I some how inherited the mugs, stackable cups & plates. Those exact same pieces also live on in the toy box at the cabin in smaller versions for my kids to play with. They love to pour drinks with the tiny little orange pitcher. 

Its not that my mom is a hoarder, she isn't. But she did buy quality items that she took care of and it worries me that that way of thinking isn't very popular anymore. But it was this attitude that makes our cabin somewhat of an awesome time-warp. There are old green towels (so soft) and kitschy vintage bedsheets (soooooooo soft). Today everything is 'disposable' & so doesn't require the investment of taking care. I disagree. Which is why I have always been a sucker for Tupperware. And maybe because just seeing the word reminds me of my mom & her kitchen. Anyway, long-story short (as if) I decided it was time for me to invest in some Tupperware. And wouldn't you know, once i looked into it, I decided it would be cheaper for me to sign up to sell it.

You're shocked. Because I detest direct sales (for no good reason, I just do) and often say so. And I think I still do. I can't imagine ever throwing/hosting a 'party', heck I do my best to avoid getting invited to them. So this will be the last that you hear of it (on my blog anyway), but it would be weird if I didn't at least blog about the fact that I 'enlisted'. If you need Tupperware, I will hook you up because I love the stuff. My mom however won't be taking advantage of my Tupperware hook-up, she's still fully stocked from the 70's.

The only way to get rid of Tupperware is to loose it*.

*When we were little my mom would often say, as we grabbed our lunches and headed out the door, "Don't forget to bring your Tupperware home!".

It's Like Christmas....

The fabulous photographer from L's wedding just posted sneak-peeks! I am in love! And so excited for Lindsay! Like, so excited, in a weird way it kind of felt Christmas-y when I was looking at them. 

Anyway, here is my favourite one (because I am in it?) by Julie Williams. 

J + L

My sister-in-law got married this weekend to a man she met at my wedding. Pretty cool right?

The picture of the rocks (above) is one she took & gave out as a favour at her wedding. I love it. This morning I woke up to some wedding pictures that were shared of Facebook, it was exciting to look at them. But I am especially excited to see the pictures from Julie Williams the photographer that Lindsay hired. She carried herself with such a peaceful & patient air, I think I might need someone like her as a life coach. Speaking of life....

The greatest thing about life is that, if you are open to it, you will never stop learning. I learned a lot this weekend. About the kinda' girl I am.

Little Lessons

Mostly meatless is for me - After a weekend of hamburgers & hotdogs (besides the reception dinner which was lovely) I am looking forward to a veggie-filled week. Because I only ever eat meat on weekends or when eating out, the diet from the past 4 days put me into some sort of a slugish meat-coma. I look forward to coming out of it.

I love my sisters - Ok, this should probably be under big lessons... But their actions this weekend were a little reminder to me of how lucky I am. Thank you so much to all four of them; Kendra, Carmelle, Missy & Maggie for making it so I didn't have to worry about my kids on Saturday. I love you all so much I could die.

Never share lipgloss - I have never ever in my entire life had a cold-sore. This weekend I shared lipgloss & had my makeup done. And this morning I woke up with my first cold sore. I am 31. I should know better.

Big Lessons.

Miles & Molly are my only children - So I need to stop trying to 'mother' everyone else around me. This weekend I decided (early on) to enjoy myself. That meant having to let go when people didn't clean up their sites at night (in bear country!), shutting my mouth when things weren't running on time & standing back when people were doing things that weren't safe. It is hard. I have never been a head-out-into-the-bushes-and-be-reckless kinda' girl. I am a planning-safetyfirst-kinda' girl who cleans up after herself, values her possessions & is all too realistic about this fleeting life. It was hard. Harder that I though it would be.

Family is everything - This weekend I watched someone's heart break. And it can't be undone. The statement that is made when you let someone down on a day that is so important to them is everlasting. It doesn't matter what the status of the relationship is, because with family, it's not just about one relationship, it's about a web of relationships. And the chain reaction that your actions can create. A careless, thoughtless, heartless action will disrupt the whole family 'web'. It sends a message to the entire web about how you view or value your family relationships. I am & will always be the kinda' girl who will show up & support my family. Just try & stop me.

Live Happily Ever After - Maybe it's because I have a husband who dances with me, cuts up the kids food when I am not around & tells me I look beautiful? No. It's because in return I remember to pack him Baileys for his coffee (which I don't drink), let him go home and get a good sleep & don't yell at him for chopping wood in his sandals (oh wait, I did that). Either way, watching J+L get married this way was the perfect was to celebrate our 6 year anniversary. It honestly just gets better every year, not easier, but somehow better. I am insanely happy to be married to Brian. It was good to remember that. 

Congratulations Justin & Lindsay. Live Happily Ever After...



*** I just found out that it is highly unlikely that I got the cold sore from lipstick & already have a breakout. It is more likely that I have hd it in my glands for a very long time with no breakout. Huh. I obviously don't know anything about cold sores & sooo didn't think that other people who used the same lipgloss were a dirty bunch. Apparently they are stress induced. That makes muuuuch more sense.

Summer 2012...Brought to you by Instagram

It's been almost a month since I last blogged. When you are Canadian & you know just how fleeting summer is, blogging is the last thing on your mind. Here is what is on my mind...

Tan lines. My sister-in-law is getting married on Saturday. So I spent two weeks working on removing the tank-top tan lines I have. I've also been 'crafting' all the little wedding details like a mad woman. Here is a pic of the cuuuute signs I made for her yesterday.

This weekend Brian & I will celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary (whaaaat? Holy shit!). I dont feel old enough to be married or have kids. But I am. And I do. So we celebrate. We are busy this weekend with the wedding so last week we went without our children...to see a childrens movie. YYC Mobile Movie played Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory on the wall of the old Simmons building in the East Village on Thursday (I stole this picture from their twitter feed). We ate Alley Burger for dinner & Jelly Modern doughnuts for dessert & poured champagne into little plastic cups under our blanket (but you didn't hear that from me). 

My MIL turned 60 on Saturday so I had everyone over for dinner. We had root beer floats & I made pizzas (three different kinds). In my next life I might be a party planner. In this life, I just like any reason to cook & find myself offering to host all sorts of events...

Pizza #2 - Spolumbos sausage, goats cheese & veggies.

Pizza #3 - Apples & proscuitto with caramelized onions (my fav.) 

I also made a cake with chocolate-peanut butter buttercream icing & malt balls. So delicious.... so filling.  Everyone loved it. Even Molly who woke up on Sunday morning & pulled a stool up to the counter to polish off what was left of the cake. I have my hands full with that little girl!

Summer Kitchen

Believe it or not, I don't take a picture of everything I eat. I am not that girl. I am almost that girl. And there are loads of comedians and people who think they are too good for Facebook, Twitter & reading blogs of ordinary people (me!) who make jokes about how lame it is to post food pictures online. And I usually laugh. But I find so much beauty in food...so I don't care what they think. 

I guess I have had my camera handy lately because I have loads of food pictures on there. Here are a couple I love.

My kids have lunch deficit disorder. Ok, thats not a real thing... The point is, my kids are much likely to clean their plate if its filled with more than one type of food. I think most kids are this way, which is why the 'muffin tin' style of lunch is so popular. I don't have muffin tins, but I do like to mix it up for them. (And for the record, this picture captures the ONE time we've had white bread in our house, leftover from a bridal shower).

I don't want to brag or anything, but I was pretty excited when I discovered that the canvas bag that came with a pair of Toms shoes works perfect for taking potatoes camping. It dark but breathable. And lets not forget cute.

I can't possibly express how grateful I am to have a family that loves vegetables. It shocks me when grown men (I'm talking to you Justin Hingsburger!) don't eat vegetables! I am grateful that my husband doesn't shun zucchini muffins, eggplant, beets or broccoli.... it means my kids (who thinks he lights the sun) will too.

Brussels Sprouts are Brian's favourite. Even my parents (who are big veggie eaters) didn't make us eat BS's when we were kids... but Granny Ruth did, so Brian, 20 years later, loves them. I love them because they look like Barbie Lettuce.

It seems that every time Brian and I sit down to watch a documentary, we loose our appetite for meat. Well, we spent late Friday night watching TED talks so it's been a bunch of vegetarian meals since then. I made an AMAZING couscous (below) the other day. Between the carrots & my cute napkins, I had to take a picture (but by all means, you don't have to look at it...). This couscous marks the first time I have cooked with dates (I used half of what the recipe recommended). They were delicious. And I like dates (I've had a date milkshake in Arizona & in Australia my husband lean red to make a mean sticky-date pudding) so I think I will look for a couple more recipes to explore them further. Nerdy.

Today I am making popsicles for the kids with pineapple, coconut milk, banana & vanilla whizzed through a food processor. Who am I kidding?...These aren't for the kids...these are for me.

Layout 301 & 302

I love these pictures that my cousin Christine Hopaluk took of my son playing football with her boys last summer. I feel lucky that she let me have copies (because, let face it, her pictures are pretty impressive works of art). I just wanted to scrapbook them the moment I saw them.

The ones below are mine... not nearly as impressive next to that of a brilliant photographers. But I'm fine with it. I especially love the little nudie (who is censored by a star) in the right-hand corner.