Manic Monday!!

So, I'm linking up again with Ash, from Life As I Know It, for another round of Manic Mondays

So, Friday evening, I hung out at home with Hannah, as Eric was on afternoon shift. Once she was in bed I sorted some beads, and watched the movie "What Happens in Vegas"... pretty funny movie...

Saturday, we headed into town to get groceries, and then Eric headed to his grandparents to help them install a shower while Hannah napped (and we waited for the nicer weather to appear), and I took on a little reno project of my own much to my hubbies surprise (more details on that to come). He got home just as Hannah was waking up and they went out to cut the grass (Hannah's new favorite thing to do is "ride daddy's tractor". My neighbor got some cute photos of the two of them. We also got to meet our new neighbours who are super nice, and have three children, a son who is Hannah's age, so that will be fun. Hannah enjoyed playing with them for a little while before bed time. Saturday night we just relaxed at home.

Sunday morning Eric had to go to the fire hall and do Sunday duty (where they check over all the trucks). Hannah woke up and wondered where daddy went, so I told her he was washing the firetrucks, and she wanted to go see the "woo -woos", so we ate our breakfast, and got dressed, and headed for a short walk to the fire hall. She loved seeing daddy, but was a little indifferent on the whole firetrucks situation. But she looked super cute in the dress I bought her last week from Super Kmart (when we went shopping in the States). Then we came home and got some more yard work done around our place (and loved the nice weather). We even managed to help the neighbours out by cutting their grass (as it had been a few weeks since it had been done as the old owners had moved out then). Hannah enjoyed her tractor ride again. Then we cleaned up and headed over to his parents place to get some flowers for our yard and enjoyed a delicious steak dinner. Came home in the midst of an amazing thunderstorm, there's something about a good storm that reminds you just how human you are, and how tiny you are in comparison to this whole world. Hannah had her bath, and off to bed for her, and R&R time for mommy and daddy.

Hannah, clearly not sure about this thing....

.... Hannah driving.. lol.. she looks so little...

Discovered the seat belt and thinking maybe this could be fun, she loves seat belts right now, after all our car shopping...

Daddy looks happy at least...

she picked up a bug, and handed it to me.... thanks...

LOVE this new dress, and all her cuteness...

So, that was our weekend in a nutshell, and I have to say it was a pretty good one, I love being able to get outside.

Hope you had a great weekend too

Amy

Day 25,26,27,28 - 30 Day Blog Challenge!!

Day 25: Put your iPod on shuffle, first 10 songs

Ok, so my Ipod hasn't be updated since well December at least, so these are the songs that are on it, and I'm going with it, lol

1. Lady Gaga - "Poker Face"
2. Hedley - "Perfect"
3. Oriathi - "According To You"
4. Lee DeWyze - "Beautiful Day"
5. Black Eyes Peas - "I Gotta Feeling"
6. Daughtry - "No Surpise"
7. Adam Lamber - "Whataya Want From Me"
8. Terry Clark duet with Johnny Reid - "You Tell Me"
9. Lady Antebellum - "Need You Know"
10. Taylor Swift - "You Belong With Me"

Day 26: Your Dream Wedding

Well, I really am torn on this one, I always say if I could do it all over again, we would run away and get married, but the reality of that is, my wedding was everything I always dreamed it would be, and that is entirely because of the people that were there to share it with me. The feeling of love was almost palpable in the room, I saw more men cry during our vows then I have ever, all of these people bearing witness to something that is so dear to me. Something I just can't give up on. So I would say, that sure I could have saved myself a ton of work in preparing for the wedding and hired a decorator and saved myself that work, but besides all that, I loved that our reception was right in my hometown(albeit not in the most gorgeous hall), so I am constantly reminded every time we walk/drive by, how special it is to me.

I'll leave you with a group shot from our wedding:

 

Day 27: Original Photo of the city you live in

 

Well, I am not disclosing my actual hometown, for security reasons, however I will say that I live in Ontario, Canada. So here's a picture of where Ontario is in Canada......

 

 

Day 28: Something that stresses you out

 

• living with a dysautonomia, and not knowing when i am going to pass out or feel shitty....
• arguing with my hubbie over stupid things, or even bigger things, but not seeming to get anywhere...
• potty training a two year old
• Dr's not being able to predict the future
• My body not functioning the way it's supposed to
• Dealing with Bell Canada, enough said...
• Dealing with WSIB, again enough said...

You + 50 Followers = GIVEAWAY!!

Ok guys, I LOVE all my followers, and I love getting new followers, and despite my issues posting comments on other peoples blogs (thank you blogger.....), I have decided that once I get to 50 followers, I will do a giveaway. What's up for grabs, well, a beautiful piece of jewelry Handmade by Emmie Mae, aka MOI!!

So, the details will come once I get 50 followers, which I am very close (only 11 away). And when that happens, I look forward to rewarding one of my followers with a gorgeous piece of jewelry. So tell all your friends, go scope out my jewelry (click here).

Thank you all for your continued support, and of course this giveaway will be open to both Canada and US.

Amy

PS. I am making efforts to corral myself some new followers also, so head on over to Design it Chic to participate in her Boost My Blog Fridays

And The Mom Road and her Follow Along Friday

Day 23 and 24 - 30 Day Blog Challenge

Yet again I am apologizing about the lack of posting on my 30 Day challenge. Hannah has the flu and apparently I was a little premature on my loving that she was over it yesterday because I swear as I closed the lid on my laptop, the diarrhea started (which is still better then puking - but shitty nonetheless). So i never got the chance to get back on here, until after she went to bed when my internet was down due to our hydro going off and on courtesy of the thunderstorms we were getting.

So anyways, hopefully this week will turn around soon, both on the sickness front, and on the weather front, and things can get back to normal.

Day 23: Favorite Movie

I feel like I've already posted this on here before but my #1 all time fave movie is

Of course... Dirty Dancing!!!!

Day 24: Something you've learned

What have I learned...... well I've learned that everyone has there own burden they are carrying, and that you should be nice to everyone, and really think before you speak so that you don't say something hurtful intentionally or not. There is beauty in everything and it's easily overlooked if you are too busy looking ahead or behind, you'll miss what's happening in that very moment. You really do need to focus on the positive and look for it in every single thing because it is sooooooo easy to get bogged down in all the negativity. And most importantly try and live each day like it's your last because you never do know what tomorrow will bring. And most importantly, if you want something bad enough, or you believe something strong enough, hold onto that dream and never ever give up.

What I Am Loving Wednesday!! and Wandering Wednesdays!!

So, today in addition to my 30 Day Blog Challenge post, I am linking up with Jamie at This Kind of Love, for What I Am Loving Wednesdays, and Paisley Passions Wandering Wednesdays...

Some things I am loving today are:

• Our new Dodge Journey (you can read about that here...). I am loving this vehicle, we just had to put gas in it for the first time on Monday and let me tell you we would have had to do that long ago, with our Nissan Titan
• The gorgeous weather we had over the May 2-4, we haven't had a nice long weekend in a LONG time, we even managed to get some sunburns this weekend (boo to that..)
• That Hannah is over her first flu ever, that was no fun, I went shopping in the states on Monday and came home to a very sick little girl, she was throwing up for the first time ever, and let me tell you I couldn't have picked a better time to be away (something else I am loving). I'm a real pity-puker, so not having to deal with that really made my day, but I felt so bad for my poor sweet girl. But again on the upside, she is feeling much much better

Hope everyone is having a great Wednesday!!

-Amy

Day 18,19,20,21,22 - 30 Day Blog Challenge

First I would like to send out a great big thank you to blogger post scheduler thingy- that is NOT working properly, these posts were scheduled, and failed to post....

What an amazingly, crazy busy, gorgeous weekend we had. The weather was fabulous for the May 2-4 weekend here, and Ash and I ended it on a high note yesterday by a little stateside shopping. More on that tomorrow...

Anyways here are the posts that were supposed to post and didn't...

Day 18: Favorite Place to Eat

Hmm.. my favorite place to eat would have to be Swiss Chalet...

I LOVE their ribs and salad, and keep them Shirley Temples coming.... no one makes them like Swiss Chalet, pure perfection...

Day 19: Something you miss

I miss my grandma like crazy. She was such an amazing woman, always positive an amazing support system for me. Whenever I needed her she was always there, reminding me how precious this life really is. She truly was a pillar of strength for me, and truly a great friend. I probably talked to her 3 times everyday, and I miss just being able to dial her up. She had a lot of health concerns, and despite them had an amazingly positive attitude, and was a pleasure to be around, despite the fact that she had tons of reasons to be absolutely miserable. She always had something good to say. She died 5 years ago now after a short stay in the hospital. I really wished she had the chance to meet Hannah, she loved children, and I am sad they never got to meet.

This picture is very dear to my heart. This photo was captured by our wedding photographer, of her looking up at Eric and I at our wedding ceremony, looking ever so proud (and right beside her is my dad, her son)

Day 20: Nicknames

Ames - is the one I get most often, besides Mommy/Momma
Babe - sometimes from my hubby

Day 21: Favorite Picture of yourself ALL TIME Why?

This is my all time favorite picture of myself, because not only is it beautiful, I felt beautiful. My wedding day was one of the best days of my life, so this photo I feel embodies that feeling I had that day.
Day 22: What's in your purse?

Umm.... I have a 2 year old, what isn't in my purse is the better question. I feel like I have everything in it (on a normal day). But at the moment I am proud to say my purse is streamlined, just a whole whack of cards to different places (like Shoppers Optimum - etc, points cards like that), bank card, credit card, a bunch of receipts from yesterday, my cell phone, keys, lip gloss, sunglasses and my passport. Nothing exciting really.

Amy

Day 16 and 17 - 30 Day Blog Challenge

Day 16: Dream house

I am having trouble defining my dream house. I mean I know all the characteristics I would want it to have, so I suppose what will have to suffice is a picture of my current (forever) house, followed by a description of what I would have in my house if money was no object.

So here's a shot of the outside of my house, as it is today!!



A little closer shot, with our new wheels!!

So, some things I would like is a 4 bedroom home (which I have), but I would like all 3 of the bedrooms on the main floor (which I don't have), and a split bedroom layout, with the kids bedrooms being in one area and the master in another area, and I would like the kids bedrooms to be separated by a shared bathroom. I love a great big open concept family room kitchen (like I have), and I love the raised ranch I have. I also love main floor laundry (which I have). I wish that the master suite had a large soaker jacuzzi tub (the kind where I'm up to my neck in hot water). I would like a fenced yard and a large shed. I would also like a room I could dedicate to my beads and jewelry, right now they are in the guest bedroom, and it ain't pretty. I also love having an office. I love high ceilings in a basement, letting in lots of light, so you don't feel like you are in a basement. Oh yah, and I'd love granite counters, you did say dream house right. This list could probably go on forever, so I'm gonna end it here.

Day 17: Something you're looking forward to

Hmm, well I have many things I am looking forward too, so I'm gonna do this list up bullet style:

• Most importantly I'm looking forward to seeing Hannah as a big sister, so if God ever chooses to bless us with more children I cannot wait to see how adorable she is
• I am also looking forward to someone finding a readily available cure to my dysautonomia, so I can have some sense of what life was like before this illness took hold of me
• I'm looking forward to summer, I love being outside and it's soo much more fun with Hannah

So, that's the top three things I am looking forward to right now.

Amy

"The Rescue" - Book Review Journal Entry #2

"The Rescue" - by Nicholas Sparks

".... Denise Holton decided life was like manure. When used in a garden, manure was fertilizer. Effective and inexpensive, it provided nourishment to the soil and helped the garden become as beautiful as it could be. But outside of the garden - in a pasture for instance - when stepped in inadvertently, manure was nothing more then crap..." pg 65

I liked this quote because it really rings true, when things are going good they are great, when life is going good it's more difficult to really feel the blow of tragedy. But when it takes a turn for the worse, it's really an awful place to be. It seems our attitudes "fertilize" our life, perspective is always much clearer with a clear head and a light heart, but a heavy heart and conflict lead to a perspective that is tainted. There are lots of bad things in life that certainly do contribute to the greater good, and though on a small scale, or in a different setting they are seen as notorious. But sometimes is certainly rings true that the bad makes the good better. The struggles real do shape you into a stronger person, but when you are stuck in the thick of it, it sure doesn't feel that way.
"...It took me a long time to understand that distance can ruin even the best of intentions.... People come, people go - they drift in and out of your life, almost like characters in a favorite book. When you finally close the cover, the characters have told their story and you start up again with another book, complete with new characters and adventures. Then you find yourself focusing on the new ones, not the ones from the past." pg 80

I do believe that people come into your life at a certain time for a certain reason, and maybe that person isn't meant to stay forever, but to teach you something important about yourself or about life. Distance isn't an easy obstacle to overcome, especially without endurance. It's hard to let go of old friends, or to discover they didn't turn out to be who you thought they were, but if you spend too much time focusing on that you miss out on the opportunities for friendship all around you. Once you are able to regain perspective after the loss of the friendship it is easy to immerse yourself in a new.

Overall, I loved this book, its a great book for someone whose experienced a loss and immersed themselves full throttle in life in an effort to drown out there grief, or make themselves busy in an effort to shift focus, this book will really speak to you. Once again Nicolas Sparks, an excellent read!!

Amy

So Excited to Be Bringing Home One of These!! WILW!!

So, it's official!!! We are the proud new owners of one of these bad boys (err... non-gas guzzlers)

Yep!! A 2010, brand new Dodge Journey SXT!! Yah I know it's a 2010, but its brand new it didn't even have 100km on it!! It is soo gorgeous, and roomy, and way more fuel efficient than our 2006 Nissan Titan (holy gas - we are spending $200/ week on gas, so I won't be missing that). My hubby is going to miss having a truck, but the reality of it is, our lifestyle no longer requires us to have one, we need less room in the box and more room in the cab). Having the truck was wonderful for all the renos we did to our last house, but, for this house, we really aren't going to be drywalling anything. We may need a truck here and there to pick up wood to build a fence, but for a small $50.00 delivery charge I'm sure they can deliver it rather then us spending $200 per week on gas.

We are thrilled to be picking up our new Dodge Journey tonight. We have been looking for a vehicle for a while, ours was just costing way too much unnecessary money, and was going to need some money to be put into it in the near future with needing new tires and what-not. The downside of selling it was it was paid off, but we got a sweet trade in for it, and got an amazing deal on the Dodge Journey (cuz it was a 2010), so we took a chance.

Now for a little bit about the new vehicle. The part that excites me the most (besides all the ingenious storage in the floors and seats, and the fold down third row of seating) is that it has a SUNROOF. Yep, who knew I'm a sucker for a sunroof. I LOVE it, all this time, I never knew how much I love sunroofs. I literally felt my mood brighten when I got in any vehicle with a sunroof. Crazy I know, but true. It is Inferno Red, which I could have done without but, it is just a vehicle and the color really doesn't matter, as I reminded my hubbie over and over upon looking at other vehicles that he nixed due to the color. I was all about the budget when we were car shopping. I knew what I wanted to pay, and I knew what I wanted to get for our truck. The Journey also comes with some kind of a touchscreen radio, and a dvd player for Hannah (which we already had a portable one in the truck, so it wasn't a huge selling feature). It has dual climate control, which will be super nice since Eric and I often argue about the temperature settings (my feet are always cold). It also has the back up camera thing in the dash so you can look behind you when you back up, our current truck just had back up beepers, that beeped when you got close to something, so that will be something to get used to.

So, as I am sure you can tell, we are very excited about our new purchase!! I'll try and take some pictures tonight after we pick it up!!

And, it should also come as no surprise that, my What I am Loving Wednesdays, is primarily centered around our big purchase.

So. if you read any of the above, you would know that I am loving our new car, and saying bye bye to skyrocketing fuel bills.

I am also loving that we may have found a screen door solution for our front door, which will make me very happy. I love having the doors open but our house didn't come with a screen door, and its complicated, so we can't just go out and buy any screen door... hence we've been looking for a year now..)

I'm loving our new range hood, what am I saying I'm just loving HAVING a working range hood. My windows don't get all fogged up when I boil potatoes.

I'm loving that this weekend is May 2-4, so we are going to have a weekend filled with time spent with good friends, and in keeping positive, Hannah will be good.

I'm loving that I have 38 followers, I'm thinking I should be hosting a giveaway, for when I hit the Big 5-0. Stay tuned for details on that...

Hope everyone's having as great of day as me!!

Amy


Amy

Day 15 - 30 Day Blog Challenge

Day 15: Bible verse
So this is my favorite bible verse, it was one of the readings at our wedding!! I love it!!

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." 1Corintians13

Amy

Day 14 - 30 Day Blog Challenge

Day 14: A picture of you last year - how have you changed?

Here's a picture Ashley took of us for our family photos last Christmas (like December 2009)

As for what's changed, first off you will notice my hair is much shorter (which I think makes my face look fatter - or maybe I was just fatter back then). Pretty much everything else is the same though. Hannah's older but still just as cute :)

Amy

Day 10,11,12,13 - 30 Day Blog Challenge

First, let me start off and apologize for the delay, my weekend posts are usually scheduled, so I usually blog Monday to Friday, and blogger was broken Wednesday to Friday, so I couldn't schedule my posts, so in an attempt to catch up on my missed days I am just going to group them together in one post!!

Day 10: Something you're afraid of

Some things I am afraid of are:

• Tornadoes - like whenever it gets really windy I head for the basement, which is ridiculous seeing as I have never even experienced a tornado
• Losing Hannah - which is also ridiculous, its just I truly cannot imagine my life without her, so I am overly cautious and often need to be reminded she's two, and then I get the hint that I may be being a tad bit over-protective
• Something happening to any member of my family (animals included) - again I love my family and it would be unimaginable to lose any member

I can't think of anything trivial (like a fear of spiders) that I am afraid of at the moment, so we'll have to stick with the big gloom and doom ones....

Day 11: Favorite tv shows

Ok, so for this one I am going to go through day by day and list the shows I love to watch (really listen to as I bead away)

Monday

• House
• Dancing With The Stars
• The Bachelor/Bachelorette
• 90210
• Pretty Little Liars

Tuesday

• Parenthood - love this show
• Law and Order: SVU

Wednesday

• Modern Family - I DIE!! so funny...
• Cougar Town

Thursday

• Grey's Anatomy
• Private Practice

I also like to watch

• Days of Our Lives
• Tori and Dean
• Property Virgins
• Love it or List It
• Million Dollar Listing ( I can dream...)

Day 12: Something you don't leave the house without

My IPhone, I wish I could say my keys or bank card, but I often forget these things....

Day 13: Goals

Hmm, well I have some personal goals that I am working on, a lot of them relating to Hannah, and a bunch of home improvements oriented ones as well, so here's list:

• Get Hannah potty trained, we are starting this one hardcore June 1
• Get rid of Hannah's soother, to come shortly after potty training is effective
• Organize and decorate (once and for all my spare bedroom)
• Organize my office and come up with a good system to stay organized and on top of it
• Take out some more time for me, it seems I am always looking after Hannah, and I love it, but I really do need some me time, not some me time because she is sleeping, but some me time because my hubby is home and he can watch her while I do something I enjoy
• Now that the nicer weather is upon us, I would like to start walking the dogs on a nightly basis (weather pending)

So, those are my goals in a nutshell... I'm sure there are many more not mentioned above...

So, sorry about the jam packed post...

Amy

Day 9 - 30 Day Blog Challenge

Day 9: A favorite picture of your best friend
So, for this one, I am including two different pictures of me and my best friends. The first one is of me and Sarah (at my wedding), who has been my best friend since I was four years old!! We've seen each other through soo many things and I am proud to call her my best friend.

Photo courtesy of Blair Gable, most amazing photographer EVER!!



The second picture is of me and my sister, Ash, who is also one of my very best friends. We spend hours on the phone almost every night, and I couldn't imagine my life without her, so she's my sister, and my best friend.

Love this picture from Ash's wedding, but I wish it was clearer of her... again courtesy of Blair Gable!!

again Blair Gable... pure amazingness...

So, those are the pictures of two of my best friends...

Amy



Day 8 - 30 Day Blog Challenge

Day 8: A place you've traveled to

So, the first place I am going to tell you about is my very favorite place to travel to, and it's not very original, Orlando, Florida. We try to go there every year in February/March, my aunt has a timeshare, and we thoroughly enjoy it!! It is perfect to me because, the food is great (just like back home - I'm not a fan of island food - at least not the island we went to's food), the shopping is amazing, and the weather is great, better then at home. I love love love it!!

Another place we have travelled to is Wakaw, Saskatoon. My cousin got married and we headed out there for the wedding, and it is definitely a different pace of life out there. I thought I lived in the country, but clearly I was wrong. It was a nice place to visit, but I sure do love my fresh flowing running water.

Another place my hubby and I went, and enjoyed as our first international trip away together, on our honeymoon, was Santa Clara Cuba. We stayed at Melia Cayo Santa Maria, and it was a beautiful resort, and it was perfect for a honeymoon. The food was just not what I am used to eating, that said everyone else enjoyed it, just not me, and I am very picky (the kind of picky that doesn't like my food to touch - so don't be discouraged by my review of the food). The beach was beautiful, and we had an amazing honeymoon!!

So, those are some of the places I've visited...

Amy

Main Floor Bathroom Reveal... Dilemma Solved!!

So, better late then never, especially since I've been sitting on these puppies for a while (since Saturday night). Here are the after pics of the main floor bathroom (again please excuse the horrible photography):

As you will remember this is what the bathroom looked like before (after the Rustoleum Cabinet Transformation) :

And check out this post to see what it looked like during it's makeover...

Here's a breakdown of how we did what, and when:

• Wednesday night, Eric mudded the walls (where the holes had been)
• Thursday night, Eric sanded and washed the walls down, and taped off all the spots he didn't want me to get paint...I'm no pro...
• Thursday night, I rolled the first coat of paint, and Eric edged
• Friday afternoon, I rolled and edged most of the second coat, and Eric finished edging the ceiling, I know my limitations lol
• Saturday we put the bathroom back together!!

And viola that is the finished product, and I love it. The bathroom is soo much brighter now, and it feels cleaner, but maybe that's just because we can actually see in there now, lol. It's a nice fresh color, and I still need to buy some art work for the wall opposite the toilet, but I am looking forward to shopping for it!!

What do you guys think? Not bad for a three day project, and compared to the kitchen it was easy-peasy!!

Amy

Day 7 - 30 Day Blog Challenge

Day 7: Favorite movies
Today's topic is favorite movies...

My number one all time favorite of course is:

"Dirty Dancing"!!

And my second favorite would be "P.S I Love You"

Tune in a little bit later for the after pics of the main floor bathroom!!

Thanks

Amy

Day 6 - 30 Day Blog Challenge

Day 6: A picture of something that makes you happy
This one is SUPER EASY............... and as an added bonus I've included a few pics of things that make me happy. Today has been a fabulous Mother's Day, and my talented sister, Ashley, took some pictures today of some of the things I love most, and the day was spent doing things I loved.

For starters, I got to sleep in until 10am, which is unheard of if you have a two year old. Then I got a box of my favorite Rheo Thompson Mint Smoothies, delicious!! Then had a very nice brunch with my mom and sister (and families). Then spent the afternoon outside in the gorgeous weather, and beading. Then had a yummy steak dinner with Eric's parents and grandparents, and am about to enjoy a foot rub from my hubbie.

So here's a few pics of somethings that make me happy....

Hannah and I, Mother's Day 2011

Me, Hannah and Eric on the front porch

Lucky and I on the back deck...love this dog!!

Me, my mom, Hannah and Ash!!

Happy Mother's Day!!

Amy

Day 5 - 30 Day Blog Challenge

Day 5: A song to match your mood
So, this pretty much sums of my day, and hopefully the rest of my weekend!! I have been knocking things off my to-do list all day, enjoyed a trip to the park with the munchkin in this gorgeous weather, and am looking forward to relaxing tonight, and sleeping in. So this is my pick:

"I Gotta Feeling" - Black Eyed Peas

Hope everyone else is having as great a weekend as we are!!

What I've Been Up To Lately...

So here's a little preview of what I'm working on for Monday's post....

It involves this:

This:

And this:

(I found this one I loved at Bed Bath and Beyond - the stripes are actually plush, so it's very spa like - I fell in love at first sight... We went there to get the one I had posted about and found this one instead - not totally a love story as it was $10.00 more then the other one but it matched my bath mat perfectly!!)

And a new towel bar yet to be purchased...tonight.... so that my room is back together for my mothers day festivities, hosted by moi, on Sunday.

Remember here, where I mentioned my design dilemma, well dilemma solved... I hope...lol.

Right, now it looks like this. A thousand times brighter then it did yesterday (and we only have 2 of 4 light bulbs in the fixture right now)...

Check back Monday for a pulled together post of the finished project in all it's glory!!

Have a great weekend, and Happy Mother's Day to all you mom's out there (whether you are a grandma, a mom, a mommy-to-be, or a wanna-be momma, if there are children in your heart happy mom's day - you all deserve celebrating)!!!

Amy

Day 4 - 30 Day Blog Challenge - Parents and Boost My Blog Friday

Day 4: Your parents
Today's topic is my parent's. My mom and dad are both hard working people. They were married for 29 years when they got divorced, which was approximately 4 years ago. They have both gone their separate ways, most recently with my mom moving closer to her work and out of our local town we lived in for 27 years. My dad has gone on and gotten himself girlfriends (that's been fun lol). Other then that there isn't much to say about them. I am very close to them both and I talk to my mom everyday, and my dad about twice a week. They are both totally in love with Hannah, and have both been a great help to me.

My in laws are also awesome, they live about 3 minutes away (by car), and are also always there if we need them. They are still happily married (33 years today - Happy Anniversary to them). They also think the world of Hannah and stop by often to see her, which she loves!! We are also very close to them, and we see them quite often!!

Check back later today to see what I've been working on this week....

Amy

Ps. Don't forget to head over to Design It Chic to join in on her Boost My Blog Friday Blog Hop

Day 3 - 30 Day Blog Challenge - First Love

Day 3: Your first love
So,today I'm supposed to talk about my first love, well to start things off it wasn't my hubby, lol, although he was a great friend that saw me through the heart breaks of the loves gone before him (thereby shaping him into an even better hubby to be). My first love was definitely G.R we'll call him, I was soo infatuated with that boy in my Grade 8 year, yep, first love, at the age of 13. I can say he was my first love because, when we finally did get together we ended up dating for 2 1/2 years. Half way through high school my friends.

G.R wasn't a popular guy in grade school, he was shy and quiet, but he was sweet as anything. And he had these amazing long brown eyelashes. He came from a large family, and he sure did make me chase him. We spent hours and hours on the phone at night, and when he finally got around to asking me out I was so thrilled. I'll never forget that, which is hilarious, because it pales in intensity to say the birth of my child, or my hubby asking me to marry him. But I think it's because he was the first guy to ever ask me to a dance, then ask me out, and he was my first kiss. We started dating at the very end of my grade 8 year, literally weeks before our graduation, and graduation dance. As it turned out the entire time I was sure he was building up the nerve to ask a certain (other) girl to a dance, that certain girl was me the entire time. So, he asked me out and we saw each other every other day over the summer, I got to know his amazing family (who I still talk to to this day). We both went off to different high schools, but saw each other every weekend. It was a great first love. But after two years of dating, he was getting in with a crowd at his high school I didn't particularly care for, and make no mistake, they didn't like me stealing away their star goalie to spend time with me. So eventually that put some strain on the relationship, and I decided to end it. I had met someone else, who also went to his school, and had started treating me like G.R used to treat me, and I longed for the days when he wanted to treat me that way. I didn't cheat on G.R, the friend that had started spending time with me when G.R couldn't/wouldn't knew I had a boyfriend that I loved soo very much, but I think he knew as much as I did it was over. So, I broke it off with G.R (which was hard - especially when you are soo close to his family), and it was a bit of a saga. G.R soon realized what he was missing out on, and very much wanted me back, and I went back a few times, only to fall into the same pattern. So, I finally called it off, and blatantly avoided him, not taking his calls (and there were many), avoiding places I knew he'd be because I did love him, but it hurt to see him wanting me so bad, but not bad enough to change his habits long term. Eventually, that friend and I started dating, and G.R and I became great friends. He always wanted more and I always remembered why we broke up, so that's the story of my first love.

Since then we've both got married, and he has two children with his wife and I have one with my hubby. We still bump into each other from time to time and it's nice to catch up. But, I am glad that he was my first love, I have many fond memories of those years.

So, that's my first love story in a nutshell.

Amy

Day 2 - 30 Day Blog Challenge - What's in a name?

Day 2: Meaning behind your blog name

So, my blog name is our crazy beautiful life and the meaning behind it is quite self explanatory. Life with a 2 year old, two dogs and a cat = crazy and beautiful all rolled into one. There's never a dull moment around here. Throw in a couple of adults who like taking on DIY renos and having a two year old, two dogs and a cat, and well, some might say that's just plain crazy, but we like it. It works for us. At the end of the day, we take pride in our home. So, that's my blog name in a nutshell....


Thanks for playing along... What's the meaning behind your blog name? I often wonder this as I stumble across new blogs?

Amy

"The Rescue" - Nicholas Sparks Book Review Journal #1

"The Rescue" - Nicolas Sparks

This book is about a single mother, Denise, who is in a car accident where her son, who has a severe learning disability, disappears. He is rescued by a "risks it all" volunteer firefighter, Taylor. A relationship between Taylor, Kyle (the son) and Denise emerges from all of this trauma. This book delves into the complexity of a relationship between a mother and son, a hero and a boy, and a woman and man, and each character takes on a life of it's own. "The Rescue", is all about pushing life to the limits, and Taylor can physically do this at the drop of a hat, but when someone needs emotional rescuing, Taylor might be on the receiving end this time. I really LOVED this book. It hit home with the things my hubby goes through being on the volunteer fire department myself, and in addition to that it was a great story. I would highly recommend this book.

"Youth offers the promise of happiness, but life offers the realities of grief" (pg 15)

I loved this quote because it is so true, as a kid, I really didn't have that many cares, but I had more then a typical kid because I spent a lot of time dealing with a physical "disability" (I never ever call it that - but in reality that is what it has come to be). When I was born there were complications and I required emergency intravenous, and when the Dr's attempted to put the IV in they severed the tendon of my left wrist. At first my one finger was just bent up a little at the end, but it progressed as I grew. So after rounds of testing they determined that I required surgery, and upon doing surgery discovered I had a connective tissue disorder (aka I make scar tissue very rapidly and abundantly). After my surgeries I spent a lot of time focused on if I just do this physio then my hand will get better and I will be "happy", all the while not being terribly unhappy, just dealing with being different from other kids (which when you are a kid is hard). Eventually (14 years into physio every day an hr from my house plus hrs of exercises at home and very little improvement in range of motion), I decided I was done with trying to do this and be happy, I'd rather just be this and happy. So I quit, I instead joined the baseball, basketball, volleyball team and pushed myself, did things I wasn't allowed to do while I was doing physio. And I loved it. So for me this quote speaks to me, as a young child I was promised this elusive happiness, but was given the realities of life, and I needed to grieve those losses in order to really be happy, to be content in my own skin.

"Kyle. Sweet Kyle. Simply thinking about thinking about him made her smile. No, she decided, it wouldn't better (without Kyle). If there was one bright spot in her life, he was it. Funny how he could drive her crazy and still make her love him for it." pg 67

I loved this quote simply because as a mother, I often feel the same way. Hannah is two, she's testing the limits like no tomorrow, but later, when I am venting to my mom and sister about her latest shenanigans, and offering them my two year old, I notice that I am smiling when I am telling them this story about a little girl who has done something I would NEVER tolerate anyone doing, but I am smiling. Even the times she tests me like no tomorrow elicit a smile. Who could have ever imagined loving someone that much. She really can drive me crazy, and make me love her more for it.

Stay tuned for the rest of this book review!!

Amy

Day 1 - 30 Day Blog Challenge

Day 1: Introduce, recent picture of yourself, 15 interesting facts

I am a stay at home mom to a very sweet 2 year old, and have been married to my husband for 7 years this September. We have 2 dogs and a cat, and a somewhat new house that we are taking our time making over. We live in a small town in Ontario, Canada. I am new to blogging, and would like to use it to keep track of our life. What's happened, what's planned to happen, and it's a great way to meet new people. I spend the majority of my time at home (due to my medical condition), so it's great to feel like I'm interacting with people (other then a 2 year old) without having to worry about what you'll think if I pass out in the middle of our conversation. I try to blog every day (minus the weekends), and topics I like to talk about are my daughter, our home reno's, and book reviews. I love doing blog hops, because they are a great way to find new blogs, and I love reading people's comments!! In my spare time besides blogging, I like to read and make jewelry!! I think that about covers an introduction...

Here's a picture that was taken in January by a local photographer - Ashley Schultz (who did an amazing job)

Now onto the 15 interesting facts:

1. I recently moved exactly one block from my old house to our new home
2. I love to shop, but an incredibly thrifty
3. I hate my house in a mess, but I seem to enjoy renovating  - which everyone knows reno=mess
4. My daughter probably has as many pairs of shoes as I do, and like me, wears the same ones over and over
5. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Coca Cola, and I have been trying to cut back to only one a day as of late, and I hate it...
6. I probably spend as much time organizing and sorting beads as I do making jewelry, I need a better system
7. I am completely computer illiterate when it comes to designing this blog, so I basically say to my sister (Ash) I like this, fix it, and she does, because she knows if I try to do it myself it's going to be an even bigger mess. Love you Ash...
8. We recently bought a King Size bed, and I still get 3/4 of it...
9. I hate using a tea towel or dishcloth for more then one day, we are lucky around here if it makes it through the day...
10. I take way too many pictures, and then never remember to put them in frames, so we have a bunch of frames with "new relatives" in them as my hubby puts it, although I am getting better at this one
11. I treat my little dog Lucky like she is a child, and I try not to, but she's to stinkin cute and cuddly...
12. I love to travel...to Florida... I hate trying new foreign foods, so Florida suits me just fine
13. Sometimes I wish I lived in the states, they have such better shopping...
14. I hate that my PVR is always FULL, why do I tape soo much and then never get around to watching it...
15. I have a bead room that I never use except to dump my beads, I need to change this ...

So, there's 15 facts I don't know how interesting they are....

Stay tuned for the next installation of the 30 Day Blog Challenge...

Amy

30 Day Blog Challenge!!

So, this month I am going to do a 30 day blog challenge. I normally don't blog on weekends, so don't get too used to it lol. However, this post is just to introduce the topics of the 30 day blog challenge, and I'll be starting tomorrow with the topics...

Here's a list of what you can expect to see for the next 30 days (in addition to my regular posts...)

Day 0: The 30 Day Challenge Explanation and Description
Day 1: Introduce, recent picture of yourself, 15 interesting facts
Day 2: Meaning behind your blog name
Day 3: Your first love
Day 4: Your parents
Day 5: A song to match your mood
Day 6: A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 7: Favorite movies
Day 8: A place you've traveled to
Day 9: A favorite picture of your best friend
Day 10: Something you're afraid of
Day 11: Favorite tv shows
Day 12: Something you don't leave the house without
Day 13: Goals
Day 14: A picture of you last year - how have you changed?
Day 15: Bible verse
Day 16: Dream house
Day 17: Something you're looking forward to
Day 18: Favorite Place to Eat
Day 19: Something you miss
Day 20: Nicknames
Day 21: Favorite Picture of yourself ALL TIME Why?
Day 22: What's in your purse?
Day 23: Favorite Movie
Day 24: Something you've learned
Day 25: Put your iPod on shuffle, first 10 songs
Day 26: Your Dream Wedding
Day 27: Original Photo of the city you live in
Day 28: Something that stresses you out
Day 29: 3 Wishes
Day 30: a picture of yourself this day and 5 good things that happened since you started the challenge

So, if you are up for the challenge feel free to join in on the fun starting tomorrow!!

Amy

Manic Monday!!

As I always do on Monday mornings I am linking up with Ashley at Life As I Know It for Manic Monday, a great way to recap what we did this weekend!!

Friday night Eric was working late, so I enjoyed a quiet night in, reading and worked on making some jewelry.

Saturday morning, we headed up to London for a quick appointment, and then stopped in the hospital to see my Grandma, whose is been in the hospital for over a week now. She was sleeping so we didn't get much of a visit, but I feel better after seeing her. Hopefully they spring her out of there soon, she's getting restless, but on the other hand, she's getting much needed medical attention, so it's kind of a double edged sword. Then we went to Costco, we were running low on chicken and milk and that's my go to place for those things. So, as usual $295.00 later our truck was full of goodies. We got our chicken and various other groceries, I got a new spring jacket (the zipper went out of my old new one last year at the end of the season so I had to return it), we got Hannah one of these bad boys:

It was a great prive $47.99, and Hannah LOVES it. Eric set it up on our deck once we got home and Hannah played with it as soon as she got up from her nap. Eric and I got to work outside on Saturday (it was a beautiful day here in Ontario - which it had pretty much rained for a week straight so we had been looking forward to Saturday's forecast). So, Eric and I were working in the side garden outside while Hannah was napping inside (we had the baby monitor with us), and I just said to Eric "Someone's awake", as I could hear her on the monitor, and we looked up and this is what we saw....

The little bum had climbed on her chair, pulled back the curtains, lifted the blinds and was screaming "Mommy, OUTSIDE", it was soo funny, and I had just been taking pics with the camera of our dog kennel, to post an add on Kijiji to sell it, so I did what any mom would do and snapped photos (and then dashed in the house to get her down...). We BBQ'd a nice dinner steak dinner on Saturday night, and then it was early to bed for Hannah, as she was a bear. I decided to have a nice relaxing bath, and watched the movie Eat Pray Love (more on that later once I have finished posting my reviews of the book).

Sunday morning we decided to go shopping to finish the list for our insurance claim (that was started back November - when our basement flooded see this post). We got most of the stuff crossed off our list, and so hopefully I can submit that later this week. I also managed to get myself a shower curtain for the main floor bathroom (I was asking for opinions in this post, again more on that as more details emerge - like paint color selection etc). Then we headed to Mike and Ash's for a delicious rib dinner, that may have included Hannah torturing their cats. But the cats took it like champs. It was a lot of fun. Then home to bath Hannah, and some laundry folding and R&R for mom and dad. (On a side note I was enjoying my favorite Sunday night show "Brother's and Sisters", and it was pre-empted for the news of Osama's death and it never came back on). So I went to bed and read for a bit.

How was your weekend? Stay tuned later this afternoon for my very first 30 Day Challenge blog post!!

Amy