Life Lately

 

Life has been pretty hectic around these parts the last few days and I thought I would just take this opportunity to post a little life update.

 

First off, can we talk about the freezing cold weather in these parts in the last week? Winter is definitely coming sooner then I had hoped, and they are actually calling for snow flurries tomorrow.. eek. I want to move South the second I hear that, every single year!

As I mentioned in my last post, my poor cat, Crawaly, has been sick lately and not eating. Her blood work came back completely fine which is awesome, but confusing, because she still refuses to eat most times. She did eat tonight, so I am hoping that the medication the vet gave us for inflammation is working, but I'm still worried about my girl because she has lost quite a bit of weight and it's so frustrating when she won't eat.

 

At least her love of pens has made giving her medication easy peasy! I thought it was going to be quite the fight to get her to take a syringe full of medication, but it must not taste too bad because as soon as it gets close to her she tries to bite it, and once it's there it's done. I've had much experience giving medication to cats, and it has never been this easy! She is definitely a good patient.

As well, I found out about changes at work - good changes. I have been working on a department that I have no previous knowledge in, and while I love my job, I have been feeling a bit like a fish out of water some days. With this change, I will be working on departments that I have knowledge in so I'm happy. My days at work will, likely, go even smoother then normal.

We've also corrected our squirrel problem. If you missed my last mention of it, we had some squirrels inhabiting the roof of our front porch, which we discovered pretty quickly after moving in. My husband opened up that end of the porch and we realized just how much damaged had been done. Poor hubby had to completely rebuild the end of the porch after jacking it up but it looks a million times better and no squirrels can get in there now for the winter! Another thing crossed off my October goals list.

 

And.. I am starting to plan our Christmas gifts this year. I have made a point every year to start early and for some reason we are always still running around the week before Christmas trying to find a gift for someone. This year, it will be done by the end of November - I hope.

   

 

A Weekend Vet Trip

My poor little Crawaly has not been herself the past the week or so, and I was really beginning to get worried. She has always been a picky eater but I noticed that she just wasn't eating, hardly at all. Maybe a bite or two a day and that's it. Some days she wouldn't eat anything, except for a couple treats - she never turned her treats down, not once.

 

She was acting totally normal, which was odd - she was her usual ball of energy and continued to follow me from room to room. It was all very confusing, but I contacted the vet to make an appointment after watching her actually try to eat one night and heard a strange clicking noise from her jaw. I thought that was the problem.

 

I took her to the vet on Saturday, which was a challenge. My poor girl has always hated change, hated the cat carrier, hated strange people and hated being in the car. She almost goes into a state of shock in the cat carrier, which is why I had hoped I could have avoided a vet trip, but I was so worried that I had no choice. She was shaking non-stop and her heart was racing when we made our way to the vets office.

 

 

They looked at her mouth and jaw - she does have a bad tooth, but the vet says she doesn't think that would cause her not to eat because she has seen far worse in cats that will still eat. She couldn't feel any broken bones or fractures in her jaw, although her bottom jaw is loose and moves from side to side much more easily then it should.

 

We had blood work done, which may possibly tell us if there is something more going on with her. We will have those results sometime today, and in the meantime, she has been given pain medication in case her issue is pain, and I went out yesterday and bought about 30 different brands and kinds of food - hoping that there might be something she would eat.

 

Yesterday morning, she had no interest at all in the first can I opened and wouldn't touch it - even though she appears to be hungry by licking her lips and smelling it, but won't eat. Tonight though, she actually ate about half of her food which is more then she has eaten all week.

These cats are like my children, and while I know that, eventually, the time will come and as they are 10 years old now, I doubt they will outlive me. But, it still hurts so much to see her hurting.

Here is to hoping her results show nothing and she is just being a finicky cat!

 

 

Saturday Spotlight: Love, The Campbells

 

This week for my Saturday Spotlight feature I am showcasing an awesome blog that I have recently discovered. Everyone, meet Erin from Love, The Campbells. 

 

Erin's blog is a mix of crafty things, family posts, recipes and more!

 

Here are some of my favourite posts:

 

Super-Rocky Road Brownies

Home Management Binder

Mulled Cider

Iced Pumpkin Cookies

   

 

30 Random Facts About Me

1. I became a wife on April 20th and married my best friend. Barry and I have been together for 6 years as of this past September.

2. I hate driving! Canadian winter driving? Even worse.

3. I am the youngest child of 3 and the only girl.

4. I have two 9 year old cats named Cleatus and Crawal. They are both girls, however, when I first brought Cleatus home I thought she was a he, which is where the name came about. 

5. I always sing in the shower, even though I sound terrible.

6. When I was very young I wanted to become a veterinarian and in high school I wanted to become a journalist. Neither of those panned out, so I am now a Graphic Designer and Jewellery Designer and Administration at a Fortune 500 company.

7. My hair is naturally VERY light blonde, however it has now been dyed so many times that I couldn't say what my natural colour is now!

8. In high school I was voted as Most Shy, which I remember thinking I was just happy people actually knew who I was! I had a very small close group of friends in high school, and that was it. Sadly, I don't keep in touch with any of them anymore; we all lost touch over the years.

9. There is an 17 year age difference between my husband and I. This doesn't bother either of us in the slightest, but it is kind of funny when I am carded at the casino. (I am 27 and he is 44).

10. I like clothes but do not consider myself fashionable in the least!

11. My favourite colour is pink. And my least favourite is orange.

12. I am obsessed with lip balm!

13. We do our weekly grocery shopping from flyers only. This method works for us and I *think* saves us both time and money when doing our shopping.

14. I drive a 2006 Jeep Liberty that I love more then words, especially in our brutal Canadian winters. I don't think I would ever buy something that wasn't a 4x4 now.

15. I love my Tim Hortons coffee! It's a habit that I am trying to kick and cut back on!

16. Speaking of habits, I have a nervous habit of both biting and picking my fingernails. My hands look truly awful and are embarrassing!

17. My two cats are my world, as mentioned above but one more fact.. I am allergic to cats as well, which can be awful some days but there is no way I would EVER give them up!

18. I once dyed my hair with black spray paint when a boy in the 7th grade told me I should. I thought I was something, haha, and it took years to repair my poor hair!

19. My prize furniture piece is a large oak cabinet that my Dad built a few years ago. Always reminds me of him and makes me smile.

20. I have to sleep under the covers. It drives me crazy if they are crooked or my feet are sticking out.. I am very neurotic about this.

21. It takes me a while to warm up to people and I don't trust easily. But, once you have my trust and friendship, you have it for life and I would do everything for you. I have too many toxic friendships in my life to know this.

22. I am very open minded and make it a point not to judge people.

23. The Vampire Diaries is my current favourite TV show, but I really disliked the books in comparison.

24. When I go to bed at night I always have the TV timer on, and usually I have my discs of Friends on. I think I could act out every episode if I really tried.

25. I was suspended from school in 8th grade for having a small bottle of alcohol and pretending that I was drunk. Not fun, and the first time I really got into trouble of any kind. I was suspended for 3 days and my birthday was that weekend; my parents were still nice enough to give me a cake but my party was definitely cancelled that year! I look back now and laugh at how dumb I was!

26. I usually have very vivid dreams at night. Most of the time I don't remember what they were but sometimes it will hit me throughout the day and I can hardly make sense of it they are so strange, but vivid. Almost feels like these things have actually happened!

27. I drink too much Coke Cola.

28. I really need to work out more then I do. This is something I have never really done, but would like to work at. I think it would help me feel better, my only problem is motivation and time!

29. My shoes are size 9, which apparently, is rather large compared to most woman I know.

30. Now that we have a house, I am looking forward to buying a dog. I would like something small like a pug or a yorkshire terrier - they are my favourite breeds! Barry, however, would like either a german shepherd or a burmese mountain dog -- we may have a disagreement here.

Ipsy Bag Review - October 2013

I am like a kid on Christmas morning every time I see that shiny pink metallic envelope in our mailbox! I received my October Ipsy Bag about a week or two ago and have been testing out the products and here are my thoughts on this month's bag:

1. Zoya Nail Polish in Giovanna

Full Size: $8.00 for 0.5 oz.

Received: Full size - $8.00

I'm not too impressed. First off, I don't wear nail polish - ever. I have the worst nails in the world and have a habit of biting them so no, not going to use this product. And even if I did wear nail polish every once in a while, this is not a nice shade for me.

 

2. Buxom Full-On Lip Polish in Dolly

Full Size: $23.00 for 0.15 oz.

Received: 0.07 oz. = $11.50

I was a little worried at seeing the colour and that it is described as being a 'muted plum' but it actually looks pretty nice. The lipgloss itself goes on very well, is long lasting and the tingly effect when you apply it is amazing! I would definitely buy this in the future, but would probably try a different shade or two.

 

3. La Fresh Eco-Beauty Oil-Free Face Cleanser Wipes

Full Size: $9.99 for 30 wipes

Received: Packet of 10 wipes = $3.33

I don't really like the scent of this, so I can't say I've given them too much of a try to see if they actually work.

 

4. Big Sexy Hair Blow Dry Volumizing Gel

Travel Size: $5.00 for 1.7 oz.

Received: Travel size = $5.00

This is a brand that I've always wanted to try so I was happy to see this in my bag - and plus, with my fine hair, I am always looking for good volumizing products and it definitely does what it says it will. Not sure if I would trade in my go-to volumizer for this - but it's nice and I'm happy I was able to try it out!

 

5. Nourish Organic Body Lotion

Full Size: $9.99 for 8 oz.

Received: 1 oz. = $1.25

I like it - it works well and smells nice, but I was hoping for maybe a bit bigger sample, especially of something that is so inexpensive to begin with, but I can't complain too much.

Total Cost of Products: $29.08

Total Cost of Ipsy Bag: $15.84 (It costs more for me, I'm Canadian!)

Savings: $13.24

Overall, I have to say that this is the first Ipsy Bag that I have been extremely disappointed in. It's the cheapest subscription box service I have found that will ship to Canada, so I'm not ready to give up just yet, though. They have impressed me in the past few months, so we will wait and see what November brings!

  What did you receive in your Ipsy Bag this month?    

 

Introducing: My Nephew

Adding to my own personal baby dilemma, my brother and his wife welcomed their second child into the world on Friday, October 18th at 4:06pm. I am so happy for them and he is so adorable.

Meet Jackson!

She was not scheduled to give birth until the 23rd and what is so neat about this? My dad's 61st birthday would have been on Friday. I don't know for certain what I believe about the after life, but I definitely feel he had a hand in this one! This would have been his first birthday where he wasn't with us, but instead, my little nephew now shares that day as his birthday too.

Saturday Spotlight: Back East Blonde

Welcome to my first edition of a new feature - Saturday Spotlight! Each week I will feature a blog that I truly love or have recently discovered, along with a few of my favourite posts. I am hoping this will introduce people to new blogs that they may not have found otherwise.

So, for my first edition, my feature is one of my current favourite blogs to read - Nadine from Back East Blonde. I am currently sponsoring Nadine's blog this month as I am such a fan! I love reading almost everything she writes. Her style of writing is exactly where I hope my blog to be someday.

Nadine comes across as very real, and funny - which I am loving in a blog right now!

Some of my favourite posts are:

Why I'm Not Ready to be a Parent

It's Just a Blog

You're Only Cool in the Blog World

I Categorize You

The Unwritten Rules of Blogging

The C Word

7 Things You Won't Admit (But I Will)

       

 

Honesty: The Baby Debate

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Get ready for one of the most honest and real posts I have written on this blog yet.

 

Having a baby has been on my mind a lot lately. The only problem with having a 17 year age difference between yourself and your husband is the fact that your baby clock starts ticking a lot sooner.

 

Now, I never thought I wanted children. Most people would look at me in shock when I would say that, disgust almost. Motherhood is definitely not for everybody, and while I like children, I'm not good with them. They frighten me with how honest they are, how they are so fragile and breakable. Newborn babies scare me the most and I have never honestly held one. That's right, even my adorable little niece, I never held her until she was over a year old and at that point, she was a lot less breakable and scary to hold. 

 

I remember always telling my mom that I never wanted children. She looked at me as if I had said I just murdered someone, and she'd then calmly say, 'Oh, one day you will change your mind!'

 

Certain moments have hit me recently, in the past couple of years, and made me reconsider my baby stance. My husband has 3 children, and he is up for whatever I want to do. He would be happy to have a child of our own, and he would be okay with not taking that step. So, my decision.. and guess what? I have never been more back and forth regarding something so important.

 

I feel like it's going to be now (2 years maximum) or never for us. Which makes it all the more real, and all the more scary. I don't want to wake up one day at 45 or 50 and regret not having children, and we are financially ready. It's just a question of whether it is right for us or not.

 

I've always read that one day you will just know - but what if that day comes too late? 

 

I am 27 years old and my husband is 44. My parents are both gone, and his parents are in their 70's. I feel like I am waiting for some sign or epiphany that will never come, and that scares me. At Thanksgiving we had a photo of the 4 generations (my father in law, my husband, his son, and his new baby granddaughter) and it made my heart ache - I am the last of my 'generation', of my line. I am it. I have no grandparents and I have no parents, it's just me in my specific family line.

 

Have you always known that you have wanted to have children? How did you know?

     

 

Embarrassment: Mouth Meet Foot

This story is one example of why I am not a people person and should never ever make small talk with people.

Today was pajama day at work, which I forgot about but a lot of my coworkers were hanging out all day in some flannel and silk pajamas. 

I was walking out to my car and ended up behind a woman, I'd say she was in her early 50's. She was walking in the middle of the walkway very slowly so I couldn't get by her. Finally, she must have heard me walking behind her and said, 'Oh, I'm sorry' and moved to the one side.

As I walked by, she said something about her grandson didn't want to sleep last night, so that meant she couldn't either and was tired, and moving slowly. I looked at her, wearing what looked like bright red flannel pajamas and said, "well at least you were able to come to work today in your pajamas!' 

She looks at me, smiles, and says, "Actually, I changed out of my pajamas this morning and into this."

Foot meet mouth.

I couldn't run away from this woman fast enough. It's like telling someone what an awesome Halloween costume when it turns out they aren't actually dressed up. Absolutely mortifying. My small talk with strangers is coming to an end once again, I tell you!

 

 

Weekend Recap

This weekend was a fantastic Thanksgiving weekend! Lots of time spent with family and friends, good eating and lots of work accomplished.

 

 

Friday - This was my day to relax and catch up on things I've been wanting to do for weeks or months, even. I didn't get nearly enough accomplished as I wanted to, but I did enjoy just relaxing and having an entire day to myself. I worked on a lot of photos for my Etsy shop, although I'm still working on uploading, cataloging and organizing everything - let alone editing! I also didn't accomplish near what I wanted to on blog related to do tasks. But, all in all, this was a very much needed relaxing day to just have 'me' time.

 

 

Saturday - This was our day to catch up on errands and appointments. I had an appointment in the morning to have my hair done, then some major grocery shopping and a hockey game that night, as per our usual 'date night' weekly ritual. It was an exciting game, and our team actually won! 

Sunday - We celebrated Thanksgiving on this day as we headed out to my in-law's for an amazing Thanksgiving dinner filled with so much turkey with all the trimmings that nobody could even move after dinner! We were also pleasantly surprised by my husband's son, his girlfriend and their 2 month old daughter joining us - seriously, how cute is she? 

 

 

Hard to believe that I am a 'step-grandmother' at age 27, but she's so precious, I don't care how that sounds to some people!

 

Here are some of my other favourite photos from this weekend:

Monday - We worked on house projects. My brother came over to help with our rain gutter problem, but upon removing the gutters, we realized the whole side of the porch is rotted through and filled with debris (thanks to the squirrels that were inhabiting our front porch)! We are in for a lot of work this week regarding this, but we knew when we purchased the house 3 months ago that the porch was going to need some major work - we just didn't realize how soon it was needed, and just how major it was. It doesn't help that it is now supposed to rain 3 days straight this week, and no stores were open on Monday! But, it needs to be done.

All in all, we had a very active and good Thanksgiving long weekend. It was full of laughter, memories and good company & food! Now, it's back to work!

       

 

Out With the Old

A weekend recap will come later, since this is still my long weekend! :) But, I just wanted to share that I went ahead with my hair change this past Saturday. I am no longer a blonde, at least for a little while, anyway. I enjoyed cutting 7 inches off my hair a few months ago that I figured why not. 

 

It looks a little more red in these photos then it actually is.. it is more of a medium/dark brown with a coppery highlight.

 

 

 

 

Happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving!

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Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow Canadians! :) Lucky me, I have a 4 day weekend thanks to my last vacation day of the year, which I used for today. 

 

We are having our Thanksgiving dinner this Sunday at my in laws, which will be wonderful. 

 

I am spending today just relaxing.. I have felt a little burnt out this week and today is very much needed. I feel like I just need to rejuvenate myself, catch up on some blog posts, some work on my etsy shop and catch up on a few tv shows I missed this week. 

 

Tomorrow, I have a hair appointment (yes, I apparently didn't realize when booking 6 weeks ago that this was the long weekend!), but it is definitely needed. My hair is starting to scream for colour. And, I am still pondering whether I want to go brunette.. My hair has been every shade more then once, and I almost feel like I need a bigger change (even bigger then cutting off 7 inches a few months ago!). After my appointment on Saturday, we have a hockey game to go to that night, too, which is like our weekly 'date night'. 

 

The holiday Monday will probably be spent working on little projects around the house that we want to get done before Winter really hits. 

 

All in all, I'm hoping for an awesome weekend full of family, friends, relaxation and of course, contemplating everything I am thankful for in my life.

   

 

Vacation Bucket List

I am always so jealous of travel bloggers. I haven't seen much of the world yet, and can count the number of states, provinces and countries I have visited on 1 hand -- Ontario, Quebec, Florida, South Carolina, Delaware, New Hampshire. Pretty sad.. and one of my goals is to travel more. Some of these vacations I'm sure won't happen until well after my retirement, but a girl can dream, right? :)

Here are my top 14 vacation spots on my bucket list:

 

1. Africa

Both mine and my husband's dream vacation. To go on an actual real life safari would just be such an amazing experience and so much fun to do! This one needs to be crossed off the list soon.

 2. Paris, France

I need to see the Eiffel Tower in person - I just need to. I also love the French culture so much. The times I have been to Quebec have been amazing, and Paris would just amplify that.

3. Italy

I have a smidge of Italian in me and Italy has always seemed like such a rich, peaceful place to visit. Plus, italian food? Yes, please!

4. British Columbia, Canada

I have always wanted to visit each coast of Canada, and British Columbia has such beautiful lakes. Such beautiful country!

5. East Coast Canada (Nova Scotia, PEI, and Newfoundland)

The other Coast of Canada!

6. New York City

Such a happening place - so many things to do and visit. I would LOVE to spend a week here just exploring the city. Large cities usually scare me, but New York would be such an awesome experience.
 

7. Aruba

Just take a look at how beautiful that water is! I'm not much of a swimmer, but I could lounge about for hours with a cool beverage in hand. It seems like this would be such a relaxing vacation.

8. Greece

Greece has always fascinated me -- their culture and their architecture. It would really be something to see this in person.

9. Australia

I'm not sure how well I would do in the heat of Australia, so I think we would have to visit in their Winter season. Barry has quite few cousins living in Australia right now, so this one is a definite possibility some day!
 

10. California

Anywhere in California - doesn't have to be San Fransisco or Hollywood, just anywhere. I find this state to be so amazing and can't wait to visit.
 

11. Amsterdam, Holland

12. Hawaii

Seriously, who wouldn't want to go to Hawaii at least once in their life?

13. India

Not just for the amazing architecture, but also? The jeweller in me wants beads! Direct from India that I can buy in person. I would love to go here and visit some markets and bead factories. Unfortunately, I think this trip would probably be the most expensive on the list and I would probably need an extra ticket to fly all my bead purchases back to Canada with me! 

14. Roswell, New Mexico

So, it may just the teenage fangirl coming out in me -- but I have ALWAYS wanted to visit Roswell, New Mexico. Even before the show Roswell, this place always fascinated me with how many theories and stories came out of here. I just find it interesting.. and this wouldn't need to be a big trip. As long as I could check out a UFO museum and take a picture in front of the Roswell, New Mexico city sign, I would be happy!