25 Random Things About Me

Just for fun. Here are 25 Random Facts About Me

1.My favorite colour is pink, and I love sparkly stuff

2.Most people think I'm bitchy when they first meet me cause I'm quiet and shy, but soon warm up!

3.I lived in Switzerland for two years as an au pair... had loads of fun.

4.The two people I would most like to meet in my lifetime would be Ani diFranco and Joss Whedon.

5.I secretly love my husbands beard <3

6.I love to watch my children sleep at night.

7.My favorite ice cream flavor is Hevenly Hash.

8.I hate skinny jeans and feel they went out of style a long time ago for a reason... come on... they aren't flattering on anyone!

9.I love love love teeny romance movies and musicals... its almost an obsession!

10.I love my two girls and husband so much it actually makes my heart ache sometimes... don't know what I would do without them.

11.I really really really miss the mountains and beautiful scenery.. K-hole is just so ugly... I'd move in a heartbeat if I wouldn't miss the rest of my family so much.

12.My ideal job would be a hausfrau... I just wanna stay at home with my kids. I dread having to go out and find a new job in a year.

13.I love love love to sew... if I could make a living sewing from home I would.

14.I have an addiction to fabric... I really do, I have tons and tons of fabric and I just can't stop buying it. It wouldn't be too bad... but I love the japanese fabrics which are really expensive... I bet it would take me a year of daily sewing to finish up all my fabric I have.

15.I'm also addicted to etsy and shopping on etsy... if you haven't checked it out... do so NOW! www.etsy.com

16.I dream daily about living in a small community or in the mountains and having a little house like this one for my studio http://prettylittlethings.typepad.com/tiny_house/ I'd like a house for me like this, and one for Kevin and each of the children... wouldn't that be so fun!

17.I listen to the buffy and Dr Horrible soundtracks WAY too much... its almost unhealthy.

18.I secretly think I'm a slayer... the next chosen one maybe... and yes.. I believe in vampires.. but in my world they don't sparkle like diamonds... that's just lame!!!

19.One of the most fun jobs I ever had was in a photolab...its fun to look at random peoples photos... man are there some twisted people out there.

20.If I could own any car it would be a powder pink Golf with brown racing stripes

21.I was raised catholic, but have chosen to not raise my children with any specific religion.

22.The three places I would like to visit before I die are, Egypt, India and Japan

23.I love thai food and Indian food, although I hate seafood.

24.I don't read as many books as I would like to, reading makes me tired. So I stick to reading blogs and news online and also craft or DIY books. Short things that require no commitment.

25.I wish I could spend more time with my friends... and I really want to go on a "girls only" cruise with my girlfriends in a couple of years when we can spend time away from our kids.

Making A List... Gonna Get Stuff Done

I have forgotten how much I get done when I make lists. I love lists. They somehow magically make me get stuff done. While in college, I was the queen of lists... when I worked I used lists weekly to get my tasks done. Since I have been home on maternity leave, I have forgotten the art of list making. Since I have been home (took leave in December) I feel that other then having a baby.. I really haven't gotten much done around the house. I have decided that August is going to be my month to get stuff done. I figure I can make a list of 10 things I would like to get done, and strike them off my list as I go. OK .. here it goes.

10 Things To Do In August
1. Start Sophia's scrapbook (its only taken 3 years!)
2. Put door in back room out to Patio (I'll need help with this)
3. Cut out sugar for the month (this will be hard)
4. Finally clean the shelves in Sophia's room (they are a mess)
5. Clean up the garden
6. Paint the front porch
7. Finish my tutorials I started
8. Start Charlotte's scrapbook before 3 years passes
9. Sort through my boxes of bags in attic
10. Try to exercise everyday

Wow... I think that list is quite a lot now that I look at it. Well... I'll start off slow and tackle the easy things first and we'll see how it goes.

wish me good luck.

Do you have any tips on how you get your stuff done?

Irreverent Squirrel To Do List $4.50 notebooksetc

Orangsicle List Taker $15.00 daffodilsanddaisies

I like to make lists MAGNETIC FRIDGE NOTEPAD $4.95 UrbanObservations

Shred Day 1

I was actually supposed to start day 1 of the shred yesterday...but... me being me, I found excuses of why I couldn't start. Isn't that always the way. Tonight after I put the girls to bed... hubby was gone out and I was doing my usual Internet stuff and after reading all of the dedicated twitters by moms and non moms just like me who got off their asses and did some exercise, I figured I didn't really have an excuse and even though it was 8:30pm I needed to shred. I then proceeded to shred and sweat and grunt like never before... but now I feel great... ok... a lie.. I feel tired and gross. But proud that I made it through the first one.

See... I have a dream. Well a goal actually. I need to loose 50lbs (preferably 60lbs) to get back to my pre-Sophia and wedding weight. Here's the story...

... you see. My husband also had a dream. He dreamt of having a beard one day. I always told him no.. that I hated beards and that I would "with hold" certain "wifely duties" (wink wink nudge nudge) if he grew one. Well, I got pregnant with our first daughter and with being pregnant and feeling gross and such I hardly felt sexy at all.. so my husband said what the heck and grew his beard. In short... he fullfilled his dream of once growing a beard. After the birth of Sophia my husband made a deal with me, in order to help me lose weight he said that he would shave his beard off when I get back to my pre-pregnancy weight. That never happend. And so I got pregnant with my second daughter Charlotte... and much to my dismay, I have also grown quite fond of the beard. But every girl needs something to work towards, right! My husband still says that he will shave the beard off when I lose the weight... so I am on a quest!

So here I am 50lbs away from my dream...a dream of a skinny me and a hairless hubby! Can I do it! YES I CAN.

The above picture is from our stag n' doe. This is what we will look like again... sometime in the future! Wish me luck.

How does your garden grow?

The Beginnings - May 19, 2009

I never knew having a garden could be so rewarding... and I don't mean the veggies or fruits that you get. I always thought gardening was for old people... mothers, fathers, grandparents! Well, I think I finally get it. People always said its kind of a zen thing... and perhaps they are right. Growing up I hated having dirty hands and still do.. but the power of pretty gardening gloves as helped me. My husband and I have lived in our house for 5 years now (mental note... don't forget 5 year wedding anniversary this year) and I haven't done a thing in our gardens. Anything that was done was done by our parents that were embarrassed by our lack of interest or gardening skills. Well I'm not sure if its because I have children now but I suddenly feel the need to garden. So I finally got off my duff this year and made my very first vegetable garden. I decided to start small to see if I liked it and to see if anything even grew! WOW.. to my surprise... I have vegetables. And I love it. Here is a pic of the radishes in the beginning of June.

See my tiny radishes! Aren't they cute.

Now they are huge. I have harvested only 12 radishes so far. Mmm

I am very excited to see what else grows. Unfortunately we have been having quite a lot of rain here in Canada and so the veggies that love sun are taking longer to grow then usual... Hopefully Mr. Sun will come out and play soon... Mamma's got veggies that need to grow.

What's in my garden you ask?

• radishes
• tomatoes
• carrots
• spring onions
• cauliflower
• beans
• peas
• corn
• watermelon
• brussel sprouts
• and many many herbs in barrel pots.

Don't mind the clover and weeds growing my garden... when things were first starting to come up I didn't know the difference between the plants so I left everything... I'm slowly sifting through it and pulling the weeds and grass.

I'm not sure what else will grow.. I'm sure the tomatoes will... but I'm just excited that something grew at all. This fall I will definitely be making the beds bigger and I will build a fence to keep those pesky rabbits out :)

Get your sh*t together!

4 Prints to Motivate by OrangeBeautiful Sale $36.00

I need these posters RIGHT NOW... I'm finding it very difficult to get things done these days. I can't be the only one... Can I? I'm sure if I had these hanging in different spots in the house it would remind me that I can't spend all my days lazing around on the couch with my sweet little baby and my toddler. Things need to get done... laundry won't do its self, the garden won't seed its self, my kids can't feed and take care of themselves... and my sewing projects won't sew themselves... You get the picture. Anyone have any tips on how to get motivated... and better yet. Stay motivated!

Weekends are for treasure hunts

I had a busy busy weekend... but it was lots of fun. Saturday was spent at home with the girls, doing gardening while Pappi worked during the day. I also spent time going to bulk barn and making tons of tiny baggies with candies in them for the treasure hunt I was planning on Sunday. On Saturday evening I invited my mom and niece over to have dinner and to watch the Eurovision contest that we had recorded from the week before. We had a lovely time and Ella had fun putting maple keys on the kids noses. Lottie decided she didn't want to go to bed, so she stayed up and watched the Eurovision with us till about 9:30 and fell asleep in my arms... she's so cute.
The whole family was up early on Sunday... excited and ready for the treasure hunt at Opa's. We were supposed to leave the house by 9am so that we could be at Opa's for 9:30am... but that never happened. I always forget to factor in at least 1.5 - 2 hours to get ready to leave the house. With two children now, its becoming increasingly difficult to leave the house in a timely manner. Anyhoo.. we made it to Opa's (my dad) house for shortly after 10am. I unpacked all the kids and then set to work setting up all the pathways for the children. Each child was to hunt or follow the pathway of bags of treats with their own assigned ribbon colour. Sophia had to hunt for bags with pink polkadot ribbons on them that ultimately matched the bags they recieved at the end of the hunt. I made library book bags for each of the children and then put some sticker books and other summer toys in them. The kids had a good time looking for the bags... but I think they had more fun just being able to run wild on the farm. Sophia always enjoys going to Opa's for that very reason. My dad and Wende made a really nice lunch of salad and quiche... hot dogs for the kids and homemade pie from Edna Staeblers cook book for dessert. It was perfect.

By 2pm we were all tired and ready to head home back to the city to have naps with our kids. I had a really good time ( I think my friends did too) . I find with all of us having families and children now it is becoming more and more difficult to get together. I think it would be perfect if we could do something once a month with all the children...maybe I'll make that a goal for this summer. I think it is important. Life is too short... you should spend it with those you love... and I love my friends and family. Next month I think we will go to the donkey sanctuary that is just 20 minutes from home. I'll post on that later.

The birds are singing...and I feel like sewing!

I love spring and summer... waking up to the sounds of the birds chirping away at 5:30am is wonderful. Yes... I am awake that early many days and not because of my four month old Charlotte... Nope. It's cause of my almost 3 year old Sophia. She's a very early riser, no matter what time we get her into bed. I feel sorry for my parents because apparently I was the same way. The only thing worse is that I actually used to leave the house to see if the neighbour kids could play. My parents put that to a stop after a couple of times with a very high lock on the door :) Anyhoo.. back to topic.. the birds are singing bright and early its getting warmer and the neighbourhood is coming out of its winter shell. It's now easier to go outside and keep Sophia entertained. With new seasons brings new fashions for my little ones. I love summer because I get to make cute shorts and pants for my girls and I am thrilled that Sophia likes to wear skirts because I have been wanting to make her one for ages. A couple weeks ago I finally got to make her a skirt. This was the outcome.
This is a prototype skirt for Sophia to see if it fit, so I ended up using scrap fabrics. I think it ended up looking really cute and I'm excited for it to be warm enough for her to wear it to the market. She should be able to wear it in a couple of weeks. I also need to make some shorts and samurai pants for Sophia and Lottie. Lottie is already wearing Sophia's samurai pants from her first birthday. They are big on Lottie but will keep her cool in the summer. I'm not a big fan of naked babies out in the sun. I would rather have my pale vampire kids with a light layer on if its possible. Sometimes it isn't when its too hot... then its time to break out the pool. I got out Sophia's summer pants from last year that I made her and they are actually perfect little capri length pants now... and I actually think they will fit her as longish shorts next year ( If they survive the summer!) How wonderful are pants that fit your child for three years! My samurai pants are very wide legged which makes them super comfy for children to wear and play in.
Now that its mid spring and summer is approaching fast and the curtains are open more.. I've been noticing more of my clutter in my house and its starting to get on my nerves. I started to sew these little fabric boxes. I have only made a pattern for teeny tiny ones right now, but I want to make some larger ones for the toys and laundry that accumulates on the main level. This is the very first one I made... isn't it cute.
My goal for next week is to get a couple more of these made for around the house and to make pants for the girls.. we'll see what happens.