Happy New Year!

Do you sense a theme around here?

You know the one where I say I'm a bad blogger? Alas, it's true...I am a bad blogger.

Since my last post, my life has truly been a whirlwind, which has turned 2012 into both the best and worst year of my life. I'm hoping that 2013 turns out to be a little calmer because I don't know if I can handle another year like 2012.

That being said, I'm hopeful heading into 2013 and have set lots of goals for myself. I don't really think resolutions work for me, but this year I resolved to start setting goals again. You see, a couple of years ago I got into the habit of breaking my life up into a bunch of categories and then setting goals  and a plan of action for myself in each category. At the beginning of each quarter I revisit my goals and evaluate how I'm doing. It might seem a bit cumbersome, but I find it makes me a better person because I look at each area of my life for a moment. Let's be honest, there are plenty of areas in our lives that we prefer to avoid because they aren't fun or are hard to deal with. Even if I don't accomplish a goal, I'm consciously thinking about it which is a huge step in itself.

One of the quotes that the beginning of my notebook that I write my goals is:

Big goals get big results.

No goals get no results or somebody else's results

~ Mark Victor Hansen ~

 

I'm planning to post more this year and as I hope that my blog will capture my progress.

 

Do you make a new years resolution? Do you set goals regularly? If so, how?

An Extended Hiatus

I've been a horribly negligent blogger.

Sadly, when I look past the last month I don't really have an explanation. My hiatus started out with a week of wedding preparations at my parents complete with wedding crafts and meetings with the photographer, caterer, cake baker, etc. To be honest, I don't really enjoy talking about the wedding. Don't get me wrong, I love the craft projects and occassionally the planning too. However, I always feel awkward talking about the wedding, particularly with those that aren't invited.

Ever since then I feel like I've been playing catch up on everything else in life and just when I feel like I'm getting a grip on reality some wedding task comes up. For example, over the Victoria Day weekend I did gardening and made 100 wedding invitations. I'm hoping that this weekend is more productive in terms of regular life stuff.

Hopefully I'll have some nice posts starting next week!

Master Bedroom: Photo Catch Up

I know I've talked about the master bedroom off and on since November of last year. Things are finally together that I can show some pictures.

These are from before, when the previous homeowners had the house:

After:

The West Elm bedding we got for Chirstmas from Panda's parents.

The mirrored bedside tables that I got for Valentine's Day.

The new lamps!

How do you think we did? The paint colour  and the colour of the bedding don't come off nearly as pale in person. The pictures seem to be missing the richness of the room.

Over the weekend I was really focussed on the living roon/dining room/stairs/hallway for some reason. Maybe that should be my next project? Although doing it properly would involve new flooring, new windows and a new front door. Sound doable? What kind of budget do you think I can make all of that happen with?

Hmmm, the wedding money would certainly pay for that...sigh.

One Day at a Time

As mentioned before, I've signed up to run a 5K at the end of May. Not being much of a runner means that I really do need to train for this race. My goal is to complete it and not embarrass myself, doing that in a decent time is even better.

Since Panda has been in California, Molson and I have been out training. Panda left on Friday and we've gone out Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Wednesday (today). I used to try to run on a treadmill and it was brutal, I was terrible at it. Now that I'm running outside and going out with Molson, it seems so much easier. Amazingly enough, I'm actually enjoying it so far.

Let's see if I can keep this trend going and head on either Friday or Saturday.

Bathroom Renovation: Our First Renovation is Complete!

Admittedly, the major components of the bathroom renovation were done at the beginning of March. However, it is the little things that make a room feel finished and so I waited until they were in place before doing the recap. Overall, it was an amazing learning experience. I feel that we did well in selecting the finishings and that this was the easiest part of the whole thing. Sure, it was time consuming but maybe that's why it went so well. In terms of hiring a contractor and communicating with them, I feel like I definitely have some room for improvement there.

I didn't think to take pictures of the room before construction began, but I've learned my lesson on that front. At least I have some photos of the room from when the previous homeowners still lived here.

Before:

And, here is the after:

Clearly we still have some work to do outside the bathroom, but the door and trim are in and completely painted.

 

So excited to finally get my paintings from Barcelona framed.

And, some of my favourite details:

Faucet and Concrete Counter

Schoolhouse Light from Restoration Hardware

Sconce that matchs the faucet

Doorknob that ties in with the rest of the house.

It feels so good having everything come together. I have to admit that even though we chose all the pieces ourselves, it still was a surprise when it all came together.

Now, what should our next project be?

Wedding Planning Recap - What Easter Weekend?

Due to being busy, I haven't had the chance to post about wedding planning in awhile. I will definitely say that it feels like wedding planning is ramping up, whether I like it or not. Easter weekend was the perfect example of this.

Over the Easter weekend we had lots of wedding stuff planned. Saturday we registered at one of my favourite stores, picked up some cupcakes from the baker we are considering for our wedding cake (Panda is travelling for work when we have our tasting appointment) and a bridal shower for me hosted by my aunts on my mom's side. Sunday we met with the minister that will be performing our ceremony. Monday we had our engagement photos. Oh, yeah plus Easter dinner and about 12 hours of driving. Amazingly enough it didn't feel too rushed though.

The bridal shower definitely made me realize how lucky I am because everyone was so generous. Since it was my first bridal shower, I honestly didn't know what to expect. I was amazed at the turn out and the gifts that I received from everyone. I'm actually still trying to find a home for everything. I have realized that we don't have nearly enough upper cupboard space.

We definitely had a realization over the Easter weekend that a farm wedding is not the same as having a wedding at a standard venue. So, we are hiring a day of wedding co-ordinator to make both our lives and our parents lives a little, but hopefully a lot, easier on the day of the wedding. 

Up and coming are some wedding DIY projects and engagement photo proofs.

I'm hoping to having Wedding Wednesdays return this week! Well, as long as I'm not working overtime...sigh

One is the Loneliest Number

What can I say, today has been all about recovery. Yesterday I drove Panda to the airport since he has to work in California next week. It's nice that he has a work destination that allows to him visit his family, which is probably why he was so excited to get there around lunch time. However, it also meant that he wasn't thinking about what time he needed to leave Ontario. So, I was up at 3:30am on Friday and walking the dog at 4am in order to have Panda to the airport for his 6 something am flight. I also discovered that the parking garage at work doesn't open until 6am...sigh.

So, it is a little lonely around here. Thankfully I have Molson here with me, although Molson has been high maintenance since Panda left. I swear he knows to act up just for me.

I know I've been a bit negligent about posting, but work has been busy with the hearing and decision writing. Just when that ends it is wedding planning road trip time, so that will be exciting. However, I need to get organized in order to make the most of the time I have down there.

This weekend I'm hoping to get some wedding projects done and some photos taken for some renovation posts.

What have you been up to?

The Last Couple Pieces

About a month ago Panda and I were at Home Hardware picking out the window treatment for the new bathroom. I had no idea how many options were out there, let alone the colours and fabrics that were available. It was no easy task, but we ultimately ended up going with a pleated shade from Shade-O-Matic. The bathroom is on the first floor, so we wanted something that offered privacy yet still allowed light into the bathroom. This shade allows privacy, but we can control the shade from the top or the bottom.

Last week, we were told that the blind was FINALLY in. As much as I love things that are custom, I don't like having to wait for them.

Today, Panda installed both the blind and the hand towel holder. Hopefully, I'll have some photos in my next post. I am loving this feeling of having a project coming to an end!

May the Odds Ever be in your Favour

I'll admit it, I was among the many that made The Hunger Games opening weekend a $214 million global success. Even better, I can't say that I was disappointed either.

My sister and I decided to go see The Hunger Games on Friday night in London. Since it is tax season, my sister didn't have time to wait in line for tickets or seats for that matter. So, she ordered tickets at the VIP theatre which allows you to specify your seat. Bonus is that they serve alcohol and don't allow teenagers in their theatre. Seriously, this was a revelation in movie going experiences! I definitely recommend this option for movies where you don't want to be around teens. Sure the $5 per person extra fee is a bit steep, but the food had regular pricing.

On to the movie:

I read The Hunger Games Trilogy about two years ago, so I'm not positive about whether or not all the details from the book were in the movie. However, I have to admit that the movie was more true to the book than what I was expecting. Plus they did an amazing job of depicting the control of the capital. Whether it be through the control of the game or the politics surrounding everything.

After the Twilight experience, I also wasn't expecting very much from the actors themselves. However, I was really impressed by the actors they selected as well. I didn't find Katniss nearly as annoying since I didn't have to deal with her inner dialogue. I thought the actors that played Peeta and Gale depicted them exactly how I thought they were in the book. I was completely impressed by how Woody Harrelson portrayed Haymitch in the movie and I ended up liking that character a lot more.

Did you see Hunger Games this weekend? What did you think?

Juggling Life

Would you believe that I actually do have things to post about? Particularly involving the bathroom renovation and the master bedroom decor. I just need to get the batteries in my camera charged and then I can do some great update posts. I'm really happy with how both rooms have turned out, so I'm excited to get to those posts. I tell you though, work and the wedding are really cramping my style when it comes to home renovations and blogging.

On the work front, I'm finally out of hearing but in that twiddling of thumbs phase where I await instructions.

On the wedding front, I'm heading to Southwestern Ontario this weekend for Round 2 of bridesmaid dress shopping. Hopefully things will go well and dresses will be ordered shortly. I'm most excited about seeing everyone though. I'm not excited about the drive down though. After work I have a 7 hour drive ahead of me once I load the car. I'm just hoping traffic will be good and I won't run into any snags (better known as Toronto).  I hope to get serious about wedding planning this weekend and get a plan in order, I feel like I've been neglecting the wedding for so long.

Aside from wedding activities, it is looking like I'll be getting to hang out with my sister this weekend. We are signed up to go to a beer and cheese tasting which I'm really excited for. It sounds so delicious! Also, we are tossing around the idea of going to see The Hunger Games at some point. I think it'll be great since we read The Hunger Games together two years ago while travelling around Spain. It only seems fitting that we see the movie together.

I'm trying not to have expectations going into this movie. Here is hoping that I am pleasantly surprise. Do you blame me for being skeptical? How can they properly film a book that is based on kids killing other kids?

All in all, I'm hoping for a great weekend!

What are your weekend plans?

Keeping the Momentum going!

It continues to be unseasonally warm here. So, I couldn't resist going for a jog once I got home from work yesterday. I was a little hesitant to take Molson with me since I knew there'd be a lot of dogs being walked by their owners and Molson's attention is a little unpredictable.

A encouraged us to go, I think he didn't want a dog pestering him for attention. Off we went and it turned out to be a great training session yet again. Our timing fell in between 35 and 40 minutes, complete with stops for Molson to sniff and pee. I have to admit, trying out jogging hasn't been too bad so far. I hope that I end up liking it.

Tonight is my curling night. My mind is so not on curling anymore, due to the weather. I think I'm ready for the season to be over. Oh well, two more curling nights and then the final banquet.

How's the weather where you are? Are you in Arizona and getting snowed on?

One Step at a Time - Running my First 5K

This weekend Molson and I decided to do our first 5K triaining run. First, the weather here is absolutely beautiful, atleast 10 degrees warmer than normal. So, getting outside wasn't a challenge whatsoever.

When I signed up for the 5K it asked the time that I expected to finish the race in. Since I've never run a 5K before I guessed and put myself in the 45 minute plus category. It was my best guess seeing as I'm not a runner and don't pretend to be. Essentially my goal is to finish the 5K and not embarrass myself, sounds doable right?

Sunday morning, Molson and I headed off on our first training outting. It went really well, my biggest issue is Molson. I never know how he'll react to other dogs while we are out. He was all focused  when two dobermans started barking at us, but wants to go check out a little terrier that is cowering on the sidewalk. What can I say, it's an adventure with him. Fortunately we haven't run into any cats or squirrels, so haven't had to experience his prey drive kicking in as we are running. That'll be dramatic whenever that happens.

I attempted to time our session and it looks like we came in between 35 and 40 minutes, complete with Molson breaks to pee and sniff things. Considering that was our first time out, I'm pretty impressed.  I'll have to see how things go and maybe set some new goals to challenge myself more. I think I'll wait until the begining of May to do that though.

I'd like to try and head out again tonight, but my thighs are aching a bit. I guess I didn't stretch enough.

How's your training going?

Happy Belated St. Patrick's Day!

Did you have a good St. Patrick's Day?

Mine was busy, so I didn't have a chance to post. You see, St. Patrick's Day is a pretty big holiday in our house. A is predominantly Irish and his family always acknowledges the holiday. So, it has become a tradition in our home as well. Unfortunately, I need to learn how to break out the camera and capture some of the things that we do.

Basically, we invite friends and family over for an Irish themed meal and enjoy the company. Of course, there is Irish beer such as: Guinness, Harp's, Kilkenny, etc. but we don't make the day about drinking.  This year the menu entailed:

Appetizers:

• An Irish flag veggie tray - only green, while and orange vegetables of course
• An Irish Cheese tray - Irish cheddar with red wine, Irish Cheddar with Guiness and Dubliner
• Chocolate pretzels with green M&Ms

Main Course:

• Irish Soda Bread
• Corned Beef
• Cabbage
• Scalloped Potatoes

Desserts:

• Guiness Chocolate Cupcakes
• Vanilla Cupcakes
• Both with Baileys Buttercram Icing

We didn't have as large a group of people this year as he have in previous years. It was still really nice though, if anything I liked it better because I had more of a chance to visit with people. Normally I'm running around trying to get food ready!

What do you do for St. Patrick's Day?

Challenge Accepted - Running My First 5K

Yesterday, Molson and I had a little chat. He agreed to be my training partner for the 5K I just signed up for.

I guess that I should make it clear that Molson is our dog.  This is him, isn't he handsome?

Clearly he doesn't know what he is in for, but considering I get barked at when I'm late for our walk I don't thing I'll get too many complaints from him.

I had thought signing up for a 5K would be a great tool to get me in shape for the wedding. We will have to see how this goes because I'm definitely not much of a runner. Either way, I'm hoping that I'm going to find this inspiring and motivational, but more importantly keeping me accountable.

It definitely helps that A is willing to do this with me and my friend Liz who is going to run a marathon (or half, I can't remember) in Alaska in June has also signed up. Either way with the two of them and this public declaration, I now need to be accountable to someone beyond myself.

I should add, Molson is probably the best to be accoutable to. He insists that I be accoutable on a daily basis, hence the being barked at when I'm late for our walks. Easier said then done when our walk time is at 6:30am. However, he is also subtle about things too. We have our weekday walk route and our weekend walk route. The weekend route is probably 5 times longer then the weekday walk route. When we approach the point on the street where we branch off for our weekend route he always tries to start walking in the street hoping that I'll give in and take the longer route.

Anyway, on May 26th I'll be participating in Ottawa's Race Weekend.

Training starts this weekend!

What are you training for?

Preparations are Underway...

For St. Patrick's Day!

It has been a pretty busy for me recently. A has been sick for getting close to a week, which means he's out of commission and more falls on me. I've been in hearing at work which means that I no longer have a regular workday. With St. Patrick's Day on Saturday, I need to start prepping things earlier in the week if I'm going to be ready for Saturday.

There aren't too many things that you can prepare early that will last. The only way that'll be an issue with these is if we can't resist eatting them. Last night and Monday evening I made about a 100 or so of these Holiday Pretzel treats (recipe).

Mine look a wee bit different since I used regular pretzels instead of pretzel waffles and mine don't look nearly as perfect as the ones above. However, I can claim that they are still delicious. I used just plain hershey kisses and the St. Patrick's inspired M&M colours of green, yellow and orange.

I think they'll be a great sweet treat! How can you possibly go wrong with pretzels and chocolate? Sweet with that slight twist of saltiness. Yumm!

From the Hogline

My second season of curling is wrapping up soon.

Winter was kind of non-existant this year, and my curling league didn't have any snow days. Since we aren't trying to make-up any games, we can fit another round of curling in before our end of year banquet at the begining of April.

I went into curling to get to know people in my new town and to get me out of the house during the winter. Having watched a little curling on television, I thought it'd be a pretty straightforward sport to try out. Boy, did I get a surprise.

I think curling is a lot like golf. They have pretty basic concepts, but the devil is in the details. In golf, the goal is to knock your little white ball in the hole hitting it as few times as possible. In curling, the goal is to make sure your coloured rock is closest to the button. Simple, right? I thought so, until I tried to do it.

You'd think that with growing up in Canadian winters I'd be a pro at being at home on ice. I have to admit, I'm not too bad since I don't fall too often. However, equipment has a lot to do with it. I intentionally don't buy winter boots that don't grip and avoid wearing regular shoes outdoors during the winter. Then comes curling where you wear a pair of shoes - one shoe has a gripper on the bottom and one shoe has a slider on the bottom. The slider is generally made of teflon, you know that stuff that makes frying pans non-stick? Did you know the thicker the teflon on your shoe, the more slippery the shoe and the faster you can go?

Can't say that I look as sophisticated as the picture of Jennifer Jones, but I don't feel that I'm the disaster on ice that I use to be.

Manitoba's Jennifer Jones at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts tournament in Red Deer, Alberta

I have to admit, for a long time I felt like this.

I feel much more comfortable on the ice this year, but still have so much trouble with the details of the game. You'd think that it'd be pretty simple to be on the broom and get the weight right consistently, but no such luck. I definitely have my good nights and my bad nights. I'm getting better and people comment about how much I've improved, so atleast I have that going for me.

The one thing I've loved about the game is changing positions. There are only four on a team: skip, vice, second and lead. When I started last year I always played lead, but this year I signed up to play second and occassionally play vice when someone is away. I cannot believe how much the game changes when you move from one position to another. The strategy changes immensely and the types of shots you need to make regularly are drastically different.

I love how each position gives me an entirely new perspective, now if only my curling would improve.

What sport have you tried out that you ended up liking?

When the Cat is Away the Mice Will Play

On Wednesday the LA Galaxy played the Toronto FC. A is a big Galaxy fan and doesn't get to see them play too often anymore whether in person or on television. It is pretty unpredictable if a West coast sports game will be aired on the East coast, atleast that is the way it has been for the LA Kings and could be likely for the Galaxy as well. Anyway, A decided to fly to Toronto and meet up with a California friend, who had recently moved to Rochester, New York, to see their beloved Galaxy.

What does this mean for me? It means that I'm on my own and making my own plans.

Last night I met up with L who I haven't seen in ages since she is  so busy. She is a full-time student working towards her Masters in Nursing with both classes and clinical on her plate AND a full-time nurse in the Intensive Care Unit. I'm amazed by her, and I don't know how I'd be functioning with so much on my plate.  She had a little bit more time on Thursday since she was just finishing up her clinical, so off we went to the movies. Going with L means that chick flicks are options again, so we opted for The Vow starring Canada's own Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum.

The movie is about a young married couple Paige and Leo. Paige loses her memory as a result of a car accident and cannot remember the past 4 years. Consequently, she doesn't remember why she no longer talks to her family, why she ended it with her ex-fiance Jeremy (Scott Speedman), why she dropped out of lawschool and decided to go to art school, why she left the suburbs and moved to the city, or meeting, falling in love with and marrying Leo.

I never go into chick flicks with high expecations, but this one gives you a lot to think about in addition to the basic chick flick stuff. What would you do if your spouse woke up after an accident and didn't remember you? What if you were the spouse that couldn't remember? What if you couldn't remember how you made a major path change in life? It's a lot to think about as an individual, but as a couple it seems almost insurmountable.

What movie have you seen lately? What's next on your list?
   

Luck of the Irish

It feels like it was just Valentine's Day. How did March get here so quickly? Let alone St. Patrick's Day being just around the corner.

Ever since A and I got together we've been doing a St. Patrick's day gathering. This was inspired by that fact that St. Patrick's day has always been an important holiday in A's family. We've been slow to get organized this year, but we are planning on hosting a St. Patrick's Day open house next weekend. Since we've moved outside of the city and accessibility is a bit of an issue now we are trying to focus more on food and getting together rather than drinking and partying.

I've been working on a Irish themed menu which should be pretty exciting. So, I'll be busy next week making Irish soda bread, Irish car bomb cupcakes and of course Irish stew and Corned beef and cabbage! Each year I get a bit better with all of this.

I hope A will have a chance to look at the menu, guestlist and invitation tonight so we can get things moving.

Do you celebrate St. Patrick's Day?

Wedding Wednesday: A Whirlwind Until Spring

Fortunately, I've gotten back to posting before an entire week elapsed. It's been pretty busy for me since I last posted.

This past weekend was Round 1 of Bridesmaid dress shopping. I headed to Toronto to spend the weekend with Bridesmaid L and Bridesmaid T to look for dresses. I loved spending time with them, but 10+ hours in my car by myself can be a little rough. Let's just say I listed to my new Adele cd a couple of times.

Heading into bridesmaid dress shopping, I though the Alfred Sung line and the colour Quarry were pretty much decided on. You know how it goes, life never quite turns out the way you plan. First, L & T seemed to like the Alfred Sung line. Second, the colour and fabric were not what I expected. Online when you search for grey dresses, the colours Dove and Quarry pop up. Online Dove looks like a silver and Quarry like a pewter. In person, Dove looks like a while silver and Quarry looks like regular silver. On top of the colour surprise, I learned that there are two fabrics that we can work with: Dupioni and Peau de Soie (amazing how it sounds so fancy, but translated it is Skin of Silk).  Dupioni comes in Quarry and Peau de Soie does not. The Dupioni fabric has a heavy appearance similar to drapery fabric, which just looks very wintery to me and likely will be uncomfortably hot for the girls as well. On the other hand, the Peau de Soie has a very summery and airy feel and look to it. So, what do we do since Peau de Soie doesn't come in Quarry?

As we were looking around we came across another grey colour that does come in peau de soie. Ebony, which I would have found had I searched for black dresses. Now, I thought Ebony meant black, but I guess it doesn't because this Ebony looks like pewter in person.

So, this is going to be the fabric and colour the girls will be in:

The styles of dresses are still yet to be decided although I think I know what L & T are leaning towards. Now it is just seeing what S & J are thinking 3 weeks from now.

Also on the wedding front, since my mom had been asking about registries I tried to get started. Thus far I've registered at Sears and Home Outfitters. The whole process is so much harder then I ever thought pretend shopping would be. However, I always operate with a healthy dose of reality and I just couldn't register for a $80 ironing board in good conscience. I've still got some work to do and want to talk with A about things before they really get underway and people start buying things.

I think another trip to Sears and Home Outfitters will definitely be in order. However, since they will be closing my 'home' Sears it makes registering more challenging because I can already see the stock within that store diminishing.

One day at a time and one task at a time. ...

Spring Has Sprung, Atleast that is What I'm Wishing For

This morning I came across a post about an amazing wreath over at Life Behind the Ivy. Seeing her new spring wreath:

Got me so excited about the fact that spring is not too far away. Although I'm wondering if the fact that I've shovelled my driveway three times in the past 24 hours has alot to do with it. Anyway, Susannah at Live Behind the Ivy purchased her wreath from Elegant Holidays on Etsy and after venturing over there I think that I now may have a slight wreath addition. Is that even possible?

Year Round - Artificial Boxwood Wreath

Spring / Easter - Pink and Purple Tulip Wreath

Spring / Easter - Orange and Yellow Tulip Wreath

Spring/Easter - Light Pink Tulip Wreath

Don't these wreaths look absolutely amazing! I don't think that I can justify buying on right now because they range from $50 to $75 American. Maybe when we have a brand new front door I'll want to draw more attention to it. Right now, I'm waiting until spring to do another coat of black paint on the front door.

Do you like wreaths? What do you think of homes that have a wreath on their front door?