now i'm ready to start

It felt so great to get back to the gym. I know the gym isn't the most exciting place to be, but after a month of feeling nauseous, moving on that elliptical machine while music pumped in my ears, felt so incredibly energizing. Here are a few recent IPOD adds to get you grooving.
Arcade Fire
foster the people
death cab for cutie
Adele

my favourite little people

While my dad looked after my napping niece, mom and I took my nephew to the park for some playground fun today. I savour every afternoon that I get to spend like this. 

and baby makes three...

When I found out I was pregnant, I really felt like I had won the lottery. I literally ran down the street as Craig was walking to work, waving the positive pregnancy stick in the air, shouting his name. After years of trying, I honestly had resolved to thinking it just wouldn't be in the stars for us. We were well on the adoption route, a year and a half into the process, just in the waiting phases, and were very excited by the prospect of getting matched up with a little baby in the world. Due to adoption rules, we will have to put it in hold. (You can't adopt within a year of having a baby). I think the rules are fair, it gives the new adopted baby a chance to bond with the family without there being so much distraction.

I have the incredible luck of being pregnant at the same time as two of my close friends - we are all due within 7 weeks of one another. It's been wonderful being able to ask them tonnes of questions as the pregnancy progresses and share in this experience together.

I had borrowed my friend's Clearblue Fertility Monitor and within the first month of using it, I got pregnant. The same thing happened for her. I highly recommend this product. I can't guarantee that it was the magic solution or if I had finally relaxed knowing the adoption was close to wrapping up, but if anyone out there is struggling to get pregnant, I think this product is a must try. At my age, and after trying for so long, my doctor said my prospects of getting pregnant naturally (without turning to IUI or IVF) was around 5% a month, so you can imagine how amazed I was that this product helped the first go round. It's easy to use, you simply pee on the ovulation sticks and put them in the monitor and it calculates your precise days of prime fertility. I had used regular ovulation predictor sticks in the past, but this product is more technically precise at pinpointing your exact timing.

When I first found out I was pregnant, I literally couldn't stop smiling. I remember a woman stopped me in Safeway to say, "You look so happy, I've never seen someone smile so much. " I thanked her and told her I had just found out I was pregnant and she congratulated me. It was funny that I revealed my secret to a stranger before our friends and family even knew. I just was caught up in the feeling of it all. 

In the early stages, I went on a hike with some friends. At one point, I was in a section of the hike, with some friends ahead, and some behind, and for a few moments, I was in a beautiful grove of trees on my own. I stood and looked up at the trees and thought, but I'm not alone -I'm sharing this beautiful moment with my little baby inside. It was just one of those great moments that stood out for me.

I have to admit that once the 7 week mark hit, the nausea kicked in big time. I mean, I could have been a double for the girl in the Exorcist whose head spun around as she projectile vomited. There were some days when I couldn't move without vomiting, sometimes six or seven times a day, and was ordered by the doctor to stay home for one week. During those days, I wondered, how do moms look after young toddlers if they are so nauseated in their second pregnancy? My hats are off to those women because I was at a point where all I could do was sleep. Functioning was at an all time low. But I really can't complain, the morning sickness has eased up substantially, to every three days or so now that I'm past the 12 week mark. I know some women who have endured a lot worse than that. They are definitely troopers. 

At this stage of the pregnancy, my food aversions are at an all time high. I can't seem to hold down vegetables yet, and am living off a steady diet of cereal, sandwiches, simple pasta, pizza, sushi (everything but the raw fish), fruit, milk and juice popsicles. Hello carb overload! It's not a well balanced diet by any means at this stage but I'm just focussing on what I can keep down. The other thing I've noticed is an incredible sense of smell. I feel like I could moonlight as a detective's bloodhound. If someone at work puts on hand lotion, I have to go for a walk, the smell almost makes me vomit on the spot. If my hubby puts on cologne, I have to open the window or leave the room. It's crazy how much the sense of smell is heightened. Restaurants are still tricky because of all the different smells. But one thing is for sure, it's all an adventure. 

I find the most fascinating part so far is reading up on what is happening with each stage of the baby's development and what my body is going through. It is really amazing, for example, at this stage of 12 weeks, the baby is already touching their hands together, touching their feet, touching their eyelids, their liver and kidneys are already functioning, it blows my mind that something so tiny already has all of its organs formed. We even got to see the little bean move its arms during the ultrasound - definitely an amazing moment. It really has put me in a position of awe when I think of how amazing the human body is. 

Thank you for taking a moment to read this - it's definitely something I've wanted to share for awhile now. Dreams really can come true. xo 

it finally feels like we were stepping into spring

I hope you're having a great weekend! Today I finally felt the warmth of the sun. At first my eyeballs didn't know what to make of the giant light permeating from the sky - it has been a loooong cold season.
I know it's a little odd to post photos of shoes, but these just felt like Spring when I saw them. I'm not a typical girl in the sense that I really don't enjoy shopping - I love shoes, but get easily overwhelmed trying to decide on a pair, given how expensive shoes are these days. I don't want to drop a hundred bucks and get home only to realize I can't walk in them. Too many past bad buys lining the closet floor - a "sitting shoe" graveyard. But these just felt like me - I'm in love with orange and they just seemed a little hippie-ish, which I am deep down. Plus the added bonus of comfort. Don't you love it when you find something that clearly is your true style?
Here's to stepping into Spring - finally.
I thought I'd share with you a few of my latest favourite things:
This book
This movie (Paul Giamatti is spectacular in this)
This song
This character from my favourite show

love is all around

I had a great evening in the city catching up with one of my dear friends. While there, her partner was telling me how utterly happy she was at this moment in her life - deeply in love, a wonderful circle of friends, baby on the way - it really made me so thrilled to hear her speak about how she was exactly where she needed to be at moment in time. On the way home, I got an email from my Aunt, telling me how happy she was to have found love, a love full of kindness and thoughtfulness at 65. It is something I always dreamed of for her, and to hear her carry such a happy heart around fills me right up. I arrived home feeling so much joy just knowing that those I care about are in such a great place in their hearts. It made me think, as long drives often do, about my friends who are single. It is wise to protect your heart, up to a point, but when you find someone you really cherish, admire, respect and thoroughly enjoy being with, take a chance. Life is short and I think we are truly meant to connect fully with another, to show them our whole selves, give them our whole heart. Sure, it's risky, but it brings such a wonderful peace when you place your heart in the right hands. Don't sell yourself short of what you are deserving of. 

starting to bloom

Even though I have not spent a moment working on the garden yet this Spring, I love how resilient these plants are, pushing their way through the soil. Thank you sweet survivors! The Iris (second photo) came out of nowhere. For five years we've lived here and it suddenly appeared. I love its unique beauty. I promise to tend to the garden this weekend and give it some much needed love. Are you a gardener? So many friends have amazing gardens that blow me away. I love it when I make the time for it, there is something extremely rewarding about digging in the soil and looking out and seeing what you've put together. I really look up to people with beautiful gardens because I know all of the work and planning that went into it. It is its own art form. 

Oprah, signing off

Today, after 25 years of hosting her own show, Oprah has walked off the stage for the last time and said "until we meet again."

There are a lot of different opinions out there about the queen of talk shows. Some people find her too preachy, or too self-absorbed. If you are of that camp, you won't enjoy reading this because I have found her to be a source of inspiration over the years. I think she paved the way for people to search for their best self. She found a way to connect with people through the camera lens and made her audience feel like she genuinely cared. She got people passionate about reading again. She made us look for the Aha moments in our own lives. She tried to teach people how giving is the biggest reward. She showcased people who have fought insurmountable odds and somehow have the inner strength to not just continue, but to shine. I remember watching an episode where a girl in Rwanda had lost not only her entire family, but her entire village, her whole community was lost to genocide. Somehow this girl had the inner strength to persevere. Oprah gave her a scholarship because this girl wanted to become a doctor and help people. This little girls ability to get out of bed every morning when she had no one left, served as a reminder of the strength of the human spirit. But it was continuously showcasing guests like that who had these unshakable spirits, that reminded us that we are stronger than we think. Or there was the beautiful girl from Venezuela who was driving home and hit by a drunk driver. Pinned in her car, she was burned beyond recognition. She didn't want to throw herself any pity parties and only allowed herself to cry 5 minutes a day and then just carried on. Why do we ever get wrapped up in the tiniest of everyday problems? Sometimes it takes a show about perseverance to remind us that really, our lives are pretty amazing. I love how she always tries to remind people that you are responsible for your life. You may have the worst upbringing, or the worst setbacks, but don't get caught up in blame, take the opportunity to turn things around and take charge of the rest of your life. Lead by example. Keep moving forward. My favourite message of Oprah's shows is that as a human race we really are all the same - we want to feel worthy of our own happiness and we want to be heard, to be seen, to have validation. Sometimes it's easy feel like an insignificant cog on a wheel in today's rushed society, but to take a moment to connect with friends and family, to really talk, and to really listen to one another, is the best validation there is. It's hard to believe that it's been 25 years since Oprah debuted. I remember watching her show with friends after school, or curling up next to my mom over a cup of tea and watching it together. I think Oprah is doing the right thing by leaving on a high note. She made a great statement today in her parting remarks about how she found her calling and that each of us owes it to ourselves to listen to our calling. A calling doesn't mean "fame seeking." Your calling might be in the way you raise your children. It might be your knack for making people feel welcome. It might be your skills at making people laugh. It might be your ability to listen. I've met gifted artists and incredibly upbeat bus drivers who make sure everyone has a great day. Everyone has a gift. And I know I'm thankful that Oprah shared her gift with us. 

We're going to the Stanley Cup Finals!

Yes, it's a photo of a tv screen. But, like most Vancouverites, I simply could not move during this game. Four hours of barely breathing. It's amazing that it's been 17 years to the day that we last won in double overtime to head to the cup. This time around, the names are different, but the love of the team is the same. From the moment a visibly injured Kesler scored with 14 seconds left in the 3rd period, Vancouver absolutely erupted. The moment was huge. Suddenly, we were back to life. Luongo stood on his head saving 54 of 56 shots on goal.  Just over ten minutes into double overtime, Bieksa may have been the only man on the ice to see the puck (a sitting duck, he called it) just after a weird bounce off the boards. The puck seemed to take three odd bounces from Bieksa's shot and find it's way into the net before a lot of players even saw it, beautifully taking everyone by surprise to put the Canucks in the Stanley Cup Finals. Now, sweet rest until we meet our opponents. It's pretty cool to think that 17 years ago I was sitting beside my love watching the Canucks in the Stanley Cup Finals, and here we still are, cheering them on together. Go Canucks Go!!!

the stare down

Whistler getaway

 Bear sighting on our drive up to Whistler. (Saturday's 365 posting)

 The lovely Westin hotel - my favourite spot to stay.

    I love getting a room with a kitchen so we don't have to eat all our meals out.

    One of the many bike trails at Whistler - love the name.

    A happy place to play.

    We had fun just riding around from lake to lake. (Sunday's 365 posting)

   On our way to Green lake.

 Watching the Canucks game with the locals. Canucks go up 3-1 in the series!

    Looking for a downhill bike for Smiley. You have to love a bike named "Stinky."

Post sushi bliss - Mango and Green Tea ice cream

going, going, gone

Happy May 2-4 long weekend! Molly is lucky enough to work with the hubs, clocking in almost two hours of walking a day. By the end of the week, we often find her spread eagle lying on the sofa, as if to say, thank god the work week is behind me, cuz I-am-Done. 

I hope you have a lot of fun in store for your long weekend. We're having a mini getaway, so I'll catch up on 365 photos on Monday. I'll also try and get back in the swing of writing. A lot of recent posts have just been photo oriented due to our schedule lately, but I do miss the connection of the written word. I promise to flesh out these posts a bit more. Enjoy your weekend lovelies! 

and the sky was full of dreams

Take a moment to reach out to those you love. Today I was very saddened to hear that my sister-in-law's friend from work was killed by a hit and run driver last night. She was at a crosswalk when a car, being chased by police, sped down the road and struck her down, killing her in front of her own daughter.

I hope this driver is caught. My sister in law had just spoken to her hours before. Life is precious and so fragile. Tell someone how much you love them today. 

three wishes

My three wishes are very dear to my heart - October, November and December are a good place to start.  

always photographs in black and white

I was feeling sick today, so I had a low key night in with my trusty sidekick. Little miss curious just had to see what I was drinking. 

free glasses!

This was the best deal ever. On Friday, clearlycontacts.ca had a promo for Vancouverites to get a free pair of glasses - one day only special (lenses included!). Everyone in our department at work got a pair. They had hundreds of frames to choose from, you just had to enter your prescription, pick the frame you liked, and voila! We ordered them Friday, and they were on our doorsteps today. What else is shipped that quickly? How is that for an amazing deal? I can't recommend clearlycontacts.ca enough - I use them to order my contacts and their prices and service are amazing. Anyways, I didn't mean to subject you to another self portrait, but I was just so thrilled to find my new glasses awaiting me when I got home today. I usually have to drop a small fortune for glasses, because I'm pretty much blind. But Free?
Best. Deal. Ever.

Granville Island

Perched

I started a painting for the nursery. I can't wait to set everything up in here. (I have no idea why I'm holding my head up in this photo - perhaps I've become too wiped out to actually hold my head up without the aid of my hand. Bizarre.) I'm on the search for a great wall decal for the nursery - a wonderful temporary way to jazz up a blank wall, without fretting about wallpaper or painting. Some cool wall decals can be found here and here. 

I hope you're having a great weekend! 

Miso Hungry

Happy Friday friends! I hope you have some fun pencilled into you agendas this weekend. We just had a great catch up with friends over Sushi. I still consider myself more of a gen-Xer than a gen-texter, so I always appreciate sharing laughs with friends face to face. 

This weekend seems to be about roots. I'm getting the help of a pro to colour my roots tomorrow (I'm usually a do-it-yourself home kit kind of gal). But when I saw the photo of this woman's stunning red hair, I thought, this is beyond my abilities - it's time to call in back up. Don't you always find it a little funny when you find a hairstyle you love, you take the photo into your hairdresser and you look at her with your big puppy eyes as if to say, are you some kind of wizard that can make me look like this? 

What I really should find is a photo of a girl with slightly unmanageable frizz - keep it real. 

My hubby's boss is a true yogi and gave me a great tip on a local yoga studio where classes are held at a local organic farm. To me, that sounds like pure bliss.  I'm really pumped about starting classes at Muddy Roots Yoga this weekend - for their website, please click here. 

Have a happy leisurely Saturday morning! 

my monkey and her monkey

This photo was taken on Thursday May 12th for my 365.
Molly loves this big stuffed toy we got her. She carries it around, even though it's huge, and she grooms it every night as if it were her own pup. She usually destroys any toys, but is very gentle with her monkey.

BLOGGER Down

Hi lovely peops, BLOGGER has been down since yesterday and just came back up, so I will post yesterdays' 365 and today's 365 later this evening. Thank you! Happy Friday!

that's amore!

Today was just one of those all around great days. I'm so pumped to feel healthy again - we celebrated by hitting the gym and then capping it off with a date at our favourite pizza joint.  I'm pretty sure the post workout regimen is supposed to be stretching, not plying your face with stretchy cheese, but que sera sera!

recommended

Here's some books I've read in the last few months that I highly recommend.  (In case the photo is a little fuzzy: Secret Daughter, The Hunger Games, Water for Elephants, Unbearable Lightness, The Book of Negroes, Bossypants). I've lucked out lately with all of these great reads.
When I went to Chapters, I picked up The Hunger Games from their bestseller section. I literally couldn't put it down. It was so suspenseful and had such an unusual subject matter (children from a village have to enter their name in a draw and those chosen have to compete in a jungle setting, on live TV, to the death until there's only one left standing - spooky, page turning stuff). I loved it so much that I bought a copy for my Dad too. The funny thing is that when I went to get the sequel, the sales clerk told me I'll find it in the teen fiction section. I'm sorry, what? Suddenly I didn't feel nearly as high brow, more unibrow.
Please let me know if you have any recommendations of books you couldn't put down lately. Thanks!

back to the land of the functioning

Hello friends, I hope you've had a great week. I won't fill you in on the details of the week I've had, but if you're picturing the spewing scene in the Exorcism, except with more of a middle aged, pasty white heroine, you are correct.
Today I definitely felt like I was returning to the land of the functioning (ie I remained upright at work.)

So a few fun facts about today:

• The Canucks just successfully made it past round two in the Stanley Cup Playoffs - a first since 1994. In your face Carrie Underwood! I can't wait to hear her next sappy country ballad, "Get outta town Kesler, but please take me with you."
• Someone stole our garbage can today. Was it Oscar the grouch? Some kids planning a revival of Stomp? Who knows, but all we know is that it's gone. Random.
• Today I got mail for my sister in law at our house. Years before we bought this place, and years before I knew my sister in law Shannon, she rented this house with her sister. Today we received mail for her. oooOOOOooo. 
• My folks are packing up, getting ready to move and my mom asked me if I wanted anything. I picked her vintage art deco tea cup (pictured above) and a cookie jar that used to be my grandma's. She dropped them both off. If ever I am asked that question again in the future, I will always say "your 57 Chevy." 
•  I just got Tina Fey's book Bossypants yesterday and I am already almost done. It's THAT good.  Excerpt: "What nineteen year old Virginia boy doesn't want a wide-hipped sarcastic Greek girl with short hair that's permed on top? What's that you say? None of them want that? You are correct.""My haircut was cropped close on the sides, fuller on top with two long Lisa Minnelli-esque wasps that hung down....Nerd no more. This cut let me look like a mother of four and somehow also a virgin." Just read it. It's wickedly funny.
• Watch the documentary Young @ Heart. It is completely entertaining and wholly inspiring. For a preview click here. Seriously awesome. 

will be back soon...

Dear valued readers, I have been out of commission since Tuesday with a bug and can't seem to move without vomiting. Until I feel like it's under control, I have to put off my 365 project or you'd be subjected to a dazzling display of photos of ginger ale and toast. I'm disappointed by this interruption into a project I care so much about, but I have to regain a minimal sense of functionality. Thank you for all of your well wishes. I have THE best friends. xo

This is one of my weakest 365 photos to date. But I am sick as a dog tonight. This is a little sign we found for the baby's room. I will snap some photos of the nursery when everything is up on the walls.
It was an interesting day today, waking up to the news that Osama Bin Laden has been killed, to seeing Stephen Harper's Conservatives rally to a majority victory in the election. And, it looks like the NDP have formed the official opposition. Things sure didn't go Michael Ignatieff's way tonight. I'm so happy to see that Elizabeth May secured a first-ever Green MP seat. That is HUGE for their party.  It will be interesting to see how this new government all shakes out. I have to go back to bed, but I hope to bring you a better photo tomorrow.