Aldor Acres

Today we ventured out to Aldor Acres for the first time and it was straight up amazing. If my living options were the city or a farm, I would choose a farm without a moment's hesitation. We walked around the property, saw the most beautiful baby bunnies, lambs, baby goats, baby chicks, you name it, we saw it's baby form today. The hay ride took us on the perimeter of the farm, stopping to feed the cows and horses. The farm's owners even came out to greet us when we arrived. And I'm pretty sure I fell in love with the baby goat (4th photo from the top). It's to the point where I've brought up that baby goat to at least five different people today. Seriously people, this place is magic. xo

in a heartbeat, everything can change

Hi friends, it's been awhile since I had a chance to write. Two weeks ago my dad was admitted into the hospital with stomach pains. It started out as no big deal. He was diagnosed with diverticulitis and they were going to try and treat it with medication for a few days and see how it went. Dad sent me home to collect some of his things to bring to the hospital for him, including his Proactiv Skin Care line, which made me giggle. He said, it really works, the infomercials don't lie! But then, three days into hospitalization, things took a turn, his Diverticulitis ruptured, which only happens to approx. 5% of patients, and it turns the body septic. They had to do emergency surgery and perform a colostomy. It was their worst case scenario, but one in which he was expected to bounce back from. Then a few days later, things went from bad to worse. During his recovery, he vomited into his lungs, which can be fatal. Right away he had to have his lungs drained and he was put on life support. Suddenly it was touch and go. It was hard for me to process, the fact that in one quick week he went from stomach pains to life support. After a week on life support, they were finally able to get him to start breathing on his own. It was a huge turning point because he had two failed attempts to breathe without machines in the days leading up. But since then, his brain has not bounced back. He has pneumonia and is completely delirious. It is hell trying to talk to him because he'll look right into my eyes and then blurt things out that don't make any sense. I can tell you that I've never missed my mother more and yet I'm so glad she's not here to see this. She hasn't even been gone a year, so it's hard to believe we're right back to this level of living with day to day uncertainty.  I'm so lucky in that I have a kick ass uncle, aunt, my friend's parents and my bro who have formed this network to keep each other up to date with any info we find out because with nurses changing daily and doctors on rotation, it's easy for information to get missed.
Juggling this with our daughter who has been sick now for a week, and the busyness of work/home/classes, life has never felt more like Life, capital L. So, if you ever feel bored because you don't have much going on, maybe take a moment to realize, those are the times we should be grateful, when things are quiet, when things are ticking along per usual. Sleep tight friends. xo

catching up

Hello friends! I hope you've been well. This space has been terribly neglected and I have missed writing here. Because of the delays between posts on my blog, I've decided not to use this blog to play catch up on my photo-a-day project. If you'd like to follow along on my 366, please look me up: kellyalexwilliams on Instagram. For those of you who don't use Instagram, you can create an account without ever posting photos. Personally, I love Instagram way more than Facebook, so much so that I hardly ever look at Facebook anymore. I love perusing people's amazing photos and reading their creative captions. I hope you'll try checking it out if you haven't.
For the past week, my hubby and I have been doing a cleanse: no alcohol, dairy, wheat, or sugar for two weeks. Sounds fun right? Honestly, I haven't felt this good in so long. It makes me realize that something in my diet was making me feel terribly sluggish. I haven't felt that afternoon crash in energy since we started eating this way and my clothes are feeling looser around the waist. Surprisingly, it isn't too hard to eat with these restrictions. We've been varying our breakfasts between oatmeal and eggs, have been eating a lot of salads for lunch and dinners have consisted of grilled chicken or fish and veggies, sushi, chilli, things along those lines.  On this plan, you're allowed to have coffee, but no dairy, so I've been putting soy milk in it. I think I just heard you shudder. The first day I thought the soy/coffee combo tasted like ass, but because I cannot forgo my java, I've grown used to the flavour and don't mind it now. Unfortunately, there's no black tea on this plan, since it contains yeast, so my hubby, who is a giant tea drinker, has had to switch to herbal tea. I'm pretty sure I saw a tear fall into his first mug of herbal tea. He said by far it has been his biggest adjustment on this plan. We have definitely found this to be a great experiment and it has shown us where there was room for improvement in our diet before. Have you ever tried to re-vamp your diet? What did you discover? I definitely have discovered that snacking on cheese is a lot more fun than brown rice cakes, and that beer is more delicious on a Friday than shouting cheers over a pair of ice waters with lemon slices, but we are definitely feeling a lot better.
Here are a few of my favourite shots from the week. I promise to write more often and hope that you all had a fantastic weekend!

xo

the week in photos....

 2.2.16 You had me at lemon square.

 2.3.16 I sometimes think only children are given a bad rap about being "spoiled". I haven't met one yet who falls into that stereotype. Most of my daughter's friends are only children and my mom was too, and let me tell you, they are the warmest souls whose friendships go the extra mile. They adopt their own people to be the siblings of their dreams.

 2.4.16 This is what happens when it is 11 pm and I haven't taken my photo of the day yet. This is my little inspiration corner of the office where I rotate photos from our travels and books that inspire me.

 2.5.16 We had a wonderful date night in the city. Craig's company held a 10 course Chinese dinner in celebration of the New Year. It was a surreal experience from start to finish at the restaurant, watching one woman grab the microphone, and start singing original songs, and to see the reaction of others videotaping her and snapping photos like she was a rock legend. We snuck out to Portland Craft and before we knew it, 10 of the funniest people from our dinner joined us - it was an awesome night.

 2.6.16 We were out celebrating my friend Janet's birthday. I have known her since I was a baby and she is everything you could hope for in a friend. I would happily celebrate her any day.

2.7.16 I snapped this after a beautiful day spent in Fort Langley. I found this quote which seems to sum up perfectly how I feel after time spent in the great outdoors: "I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees."

2.8.16 Family Day. It was a gorgeous day from the get go. We spent the morning exploring one of our favourite parks, brought Craig's mom some flowers for receiving great news from her doctor and I had some time for myself, to sit in the sun on mom's grave, and to thank her for her extraordinary love that was so tangible in all the years we shared. This day was such a gift. My family means everything to me - I'd honestly follow my big loves anywhere. xo

for the love of....

I can honestly tell you, that today was one of those great days. I'm so eternally grateful that my happiness stems from simplicity, because not only is it affordable (I don't have to be standing on the Eiffel tower for this magnitude of bliss), but it is also plentiful. Today I got to watch my nephew read a book to us, slowly sounding out some words, but always piecing it together on his own. I got to share giggles over waffles at a delicious local favourite spot with my dad and his grandchildren. We went on a crisp, sunny walk around the bay, pointing out Eagles and picking up sticks. Then after our visit, my daughter and I took my friend's dog for a walk to help her out, and had our own mini adventure exploring trail after beautiful trail with no set timelines. On our way home, we saw a soccer ball sitting on a local field, and pulled over to play a mini pick up game, then left it there for the next kids. Dinner with my loves was followed by another fun dance class, and movement combined with great music almost (almost) makes me forget I'm exercising. Everyone is different, and for that I am truly grateful, but I can't help but try, and try, and try again, to let you in on a secret, that simplicity is the key to happiness. Don't pack your days with so many things that you schedule away your happiness. Also, don't try to buy into someone else's idea of what you should be doing to be happy. Don't forget to try and inject some small thing into each day that brings you true joy. Pay attention. What is really lifting your spirit? What makes you feel so alive in the moment that you forget time is passing by? Today somehow the simple combination of: running outside, time with family, sharing coffee with my dad, taking photos, feeling the sun on my face, kicking a soccer ball, listening to my niece and nephew animatedly relay tiny details of their lives, recapping the day with my love over tea - somehow was the right combination to make this day feel remarkable.
xoxo

closing out the month

Hi friends! Can you believe January is already done? I'm kind of glad, aren't you?  The more distance we put between us and these drizzly, grey days, the better. Here's a quick update on the last half of January's 366 photos:

 1.16.16 Excited to have my homegirls over for dinner and a movie in.

 1.17.16 I love my vantage point from up here. We finally took down the Christmas lights, although I kind of wish people kept them up year round. There's a certain kind of magic when all of the homes on the street are lit up.

 1.18.16 It's a big day over here. We walked up to our local school and snapped this just before we registered her for Kindergarten. They say the days are long and the years are short, but I truly can't believe that we are already at this point of life. I savour every day we have off together and know it's going to be a hard day in September letting her wings spread a little more.

 1.19.16 Our weekly post ballet lunch date.

 1.20.16 Today was a fun filled day with her best friends. I love her sense of adventure and brave nature. Watch out Merida!

1.21.16 Which one should I read next?

 1.22.16 Movie Night: Kung Fu Panda. #fridaynightsaredifferentnow #wehaveuglyfeet

1.23.16 Pie Face: The Anticipation is mounting.....Wait for it.........

 1.24.16 These beautiful little snow drop flowers have started to bloom in the memorial garden I created for my mom. I never planted these, so I find it incredibly touching to read that these flowers signify Sympathy and Hope. Perfect.

 1.25.16 I'm so pumped about this utility cart we picked up from Ikea today (and assembled it like a boss!)

 1.26.16 Puddle jumping made this grey day a lot more fun.

1.27.16 The only reason I snapped this terrible selfie is because I had just been I.D.'d buying a bottle of wine. (The store probably has a policy that they have to ID everyone who looks like they're under 40, but whatever it is...I'll happily take it). 

1.28.16 A legit night out with my kick ass girls. If there is such a thing as an all fish taco diet, I'd SLAY at it. 

1.29.16 There is nothing like the feeling of seeing this face for the first time each day. My heart will always be full.

 1.30.16 I'm pretty sure the officiating budget was blown on this game.

1.31.16 There's nothing quite like sliding your feet into some sexy, warm, rental shoes.

A week in photos

Happy Friday night friends!! I hope you have an amazing weekend lined up for yourself. I'm excited to catch up with friends this weekend, who always manage to make my spirit soar. Here's a few photos from the week's 365:

 1.9.16 Vancouver in January. Alright, I suppose.

 1.10.16 I was lucky the workday wrapped up early and we got to ride around the hood. She got this bike for Christmas...When she first saw it, she said, "I never mentioned a flag on the back when I was talking to Santa about a bike, but I can work with this."

 1.11.16 One of my New Year's resolutions was to do more random acts of kindness. First on my list was to toss together a little gift basket for my mom's best friends.  My daughter and I had so much fun putting it together and were so excited to drop it off. They helped our family so much through mom's hardest days, showing up day in day out with meals, doing mom's laundry, mowing their lawns, you name it, they did it. They just kept showing up, and still do, cooking my dad meals all of the time. They are our angels.

 1.12.16 I can't tell you how much I love these moments: Creating artwork side by side, grooving to Songza. But then Macklemore's Downtown came on and she nearly lost her mind. A dance party of her own ballet moves, peppered with martial arts ensued. Watch out Elaine Benes.

 1.13.16: Coffee is on, birds nest cookies cooling, waiting for some of my favourite mommas and their little loves to arrive. Life is good.

 1.14.16 How to make entering a grocery store seem really exciting.

1.15.16 "Inside you time moves and she don't fade. The ghost in you she don't fade."