Well a little about me: My name is Audra. I am a SAHM (if you don't know what that means you better head to my Lingo Guide ASAP!!!! I live in Alberta and the snow is still here. I can't wait for spring! I switched last summer to the new cable internet service. The most noticable difference is the annoying interruption of a ringing phone while you are trying to chat! *L*

I joined the gym again. There is a new Women's Only gym in town now. Its great I love it there. I have actually been rather dedicated to it this time around. They have a good daycare and decent hours so that makes it easier. I go with my friend Colleen and so we just sweat it out and yak the whole time *L* that makes it go by faster. At least while dying or looking like a fool I am not alone;-) You know what they say misery loves company. It's not really that bad I enjoy it honestly. Our favorite machine is that new skicycle thing by Reebok. Very nice machine, it is a very popular one. Hard to get used to but a good workout once you get the rythym of it *L* My favorite show isAlly McBeal I will admit a certain fascination with that obscure and relatively unheard of game show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire *G*

I am separated after seven years of marriage. It has been an adjustment but all in all things are going pretty well. I am finding out that I can take care of myself. The hardest part of it all is fighting my own attitudes about divorce and being a single mom. Since my husband moved out he has become quite active in the kids lives. I suppose the shock of not seeing them everyday made him realize how precious they are. So the kids still have two parents, maybe more so than ever. They adjusted to weekends with Daddy and are doing pretty good. It is still hard on them but kids are resilient and I think most of anything they don't miss all the crap that two parents fighting constantly puts into thier lives. My seven year old wishes Daddy would come home and I wonder if I'll ever get used to hearing her prayers without feeling a pang of guilt. The worst part of it all for me is how it's a "holiday" when they are at his house. They come home all happy and full of joy filled stories of how they played and did this and did that all the time. I don't know what they tell him but I have this vision of horror stories about brushing thier teeth and having to get ready on time for school. I feel like the grinch that stole Christmas and he is Mickey Mouse. Maybe eventually it will all even out and I'll get used to it.

It was a bit tense around here for the last few months because my husband decided after being a P/T Dad that he wanted to have the kids full time. Our family had to go thru a family assessment. To have to defend yourself against such lies and to prove yourself to be a good Mom, to have the very people who were your family (husband and inlaws) turn on you with such viciousness is something I would never wish on anybody. Being a Mom is sacred and it is a "job" that is very personal and full of emotion in a way no other career could ever be, so to have someone threaten to "fire" you.... well I can't tell you what I went through. In the end I was vindicated and it was all shown for what it was. A power trip and a strategy not a real concern for the children's best interests. Now the very people that pointed such cruel fingers my way I can't even cut from life as you would an enemy in other areas because the well being of the two children I love so dearly depends on their having a healthy family structure. I guess I can at least have the peace of mind to know I was proven a good mother and I have professionals that put that in writing. Being a Mom or parent in gerneral is an abstract concept. You really never know if you are doing a good job for sure. No matter how hard you try, no matter how many times you do the routine it takes 20 or 30 years to see your results. Even then you don't know for sure what parts you truly played and what other factors determined the childs outcome because as a parent you can't possiblty control everything or sheild them from all bad things. So to be evaluated in such detail, scrutinized for every decision, and analyzed on my very thoughts was highly emotional. I got a passing grade and I feel like yelling that from the rooftops.

I am currently enrolled in college part time. I am taking courses to become a certified Teacher Assistant. It is goin well so far. I can brag a 4.0 average. I am amazed at how well I am doing to be honest. I hated High School but I find these courses exhilerating. Perhaps part of it is it is all relative to what I directly need. No bunch of books filled with info I wonder what I could ever possibly do with! Another great part of this program is I take the courses online. I sit at home in front of my computer and work througha program called LearnLinc. I have audio from the instructor and we can share files via a whiteboard. We do a lot of communicating with email to our classmates and the college staff. It is a very unique but growing medium. I feel like a pioneer. What better way to learn for a Geocities Homesteader!? Luckliy I have excellent typing skills (HA!) from my veteran chatting days at ParentsPlace.

AS I mentioned before I am a Mom. The children I am referring to of course are... Kelsey, my seven year old daughter and my four year old son, Cole. Kelsey loves Disney movies and knows all the words to every soundtrack! We have a vast home video collection that just keeps growing and growing. Who can stop? *L* The movies just keep getting better and better. Cole loves his singing Barney but his best talent is keeping me busy!:-) He has taken an interest in the computer. I knew the day would come when I'd have to share the keyboard three ways:-( Is it too soon to NEED another computer in residence when your kids are only seven and four?

Kelsey is in Grade Two. She is very excited. I have spent some time there volunteering and it is really a great school. She really misses her Grade One teacher though:-( Kelsey is in Brownies this year. Cole is in playschool two morning a week. It started out pretty rough but he has settle din nicely over the winter Parenthood is just such fun! To add to all that fun one must have other things around to mess up the house and make more noise! So on that note the kids and I recently adopted a few pets. If you'd like to meet Pepsi, Mr.Snuffy and Felicia you can stop by anytime.

So if you need a good site to see how other Moms cope with all this stuff try The Cybermom it is a great on-line magazine with tons of stories and interesting articles aimed at the Mom population. There are lots of parenting resources on-line so you can check out a few good one with this link:-)

My favorite past time used to be chatting but who has time now?!? I have made some good friends from my hours in chat. I still keep in touch with the best ones. I have a few thoughts on chatting if you are interested IMHO *L* One opinion is that chatting is a good way to make new friends but you'll need to become fluent in chat lingo and smileys to keep up with me.... and you have no excuse not to learn because I have a lingo guide here! So be sure to check it out!:-) I worked really hard on it and I think newbies and veteran chatters alike will find it useful. I get mail from people that have come across the page through the search engines and they think its pretty helpful and not knowing me they couldn't possibly be biased *L*

Aside from chatting I spend most of my time with my kids so cooking is something that I try to avoid;-)... but when necessary I look for quick, easy, tasty recipes. I have a few really good ones so if you need one check out the newest tasty concoction below in the Featured Recipe section or there is also the Old Favorites section containing past featured recipes, where you'll find such things as my favorite chocolate brownie recipe, Killer Brownies (with a new added Xmas twist) as I like to call them! They are guaranteed to murder any diet! This recipe is my secret weapon for long chat sessions;-) Also check out my redneck girls gourmet lunch. Whenever my friend Dianna is over this is what we eat! *L* We actually met in ParentsPlace and became RT friends. We knew we were soulmates when we found we had this favorite food, hot chicken wings and margaritas in common. I once asked her if she would ever get sick of me serving her the same menu each time she was over. When she said "no" I knew we'd be friends for life;-) Stay tuned for my other recipes I'll add a new one as often as possible. Feel free to e-mail me your favorite ones for this page:-). I'll give you credit but all recipes must meet strict criteria though;-)
A) recipe must be simple
B) must not require ingredients more exotic than black pepper
C) must not require utensils more complicated than a whisk
D) does not require more time than a small child will play quietly (30 minutes tops!)
So if you think your recipe qualifies send it ASAP I need some variety! *L* So knowing that... if these recipes I have on here are not simple enough for you, you better stick to Pizza or whatever you can find diving in the dumpster!

Some of my favorite places on the web...

a very interesting site! sense of humour required for these "top ten" lists
take a peek at my home town....
check your horoscope for today....
some great GIF's you can use...
a friend of mine, Kat, she 's wacky and fun, stop by and see for yourself...

Phillip's Virtual Flowers
another friend, Reeda, also wacky and fun, hmmm do you sense a pattern here...
here is Calypso's home, a very "deep" site...
tons of animal pictures, sure to satisfy any child!
come play cards, checkers or chess (free) see you there

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Santa is a busy guy. Did you know he works all year to get ready for his big night on Christmas Eve? Well its true. If you want to stay ahead of the crowd you can visit Santa Claus anytime of the year, just click on him below. I know he would appreciate getting a few lists out of the way early in the year.

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