Inside My Office

Oh here we go with another unfinished room!  But this was the tidiest I have had the office in quite some time so I thought I would upload some pictures of it.  It's a room that tends to collect papers - bills, school work, anything that doesn't have another home.  Sometimes my gym bag lives there.  I close the door and pretend it doesn't exist.  It works for me.

I spend a lot of time in this office.  I really really like it.  Considering it's our future nursery, I don't know what I will do when baby comes some day.  Let's not think about that.

First off, here is the office before. 

The wall colour and carpet is the same as our bedroom, minus the teal wall of course. 

It still needs art. (What room in my house doesn't).  I'm thinking white Ikea frames to brighten up the walls.

My sewing machine has yet to be used.  I need a lesson or two.  Please notice that little grey box.  That's the foot pedal.  It's still packaged. 

The curtains are hand me downs from my brothers room.  What is better than free curtains though? Well chocolate is, but that's another story...

This blog is getting real right now.  Because the clean version of this room is a disaster.  Ignore the mess that is the bookshelf.  And the fact that Pipsi photo bombed most of my pictures.

Nothing and Everything

Somedays I have so many little things that I think I could blog about that I end up blogging about nothing at all.  Not today! Here is what's going on:

1.  I gave myself a $50 a week grocery budget. HA! Impossible. Bad idea.  I have just felt bad about myself for the last three weeks when I left the grocery store and went over that budget.  I think I should just give in and increase it. 

2.  Pipsi is going through her not sleeping through the night stage.  She kneads my head and purrs loudly while I'm falling asleep.  I can deal with that.  When she does it at 4 in the morning, I'm not so fond of the love she is showing me.  Last night was the third night in a row that I had to kick her out of the bedroom.

Who, Me?

3. We are car shopping. I had my heart set on a Mazda 3 with Skyactiv.  Then I drove a Civic.  Now I don't know.  The Civic seems like the more practical choice, no?  Nobody has ever hated their Civic.  But the Mazda 3 was my dream...

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4.  I had a Starbucks Frappuccino today.  So delish.  Yes it had coffee in it.  I quit my coffee detox because I wasn't strong enough.  Besides, coffee wasn't the problem.  I'm convinced it's either a dairy or gluten intolerance.  But that's a different story for a different day.

5.  I bought a bread maker with wedding money because our old one is broken.  I'm pretty pumped about the homemade bread that is in our future.

HAPPY HUMP DAY

Sometimes & Always #2

I'm linking up with Megan again over at Mackey Madness for Sometimes and Always. 



Sometimes I want to call in sick to work and have a lazy day
Always I drag my butt out of bed and get ready to go

Sometimes I want to get a donut after work
Always I think that I don't really need it and resist the urge

Sometimes I wish that I was a better housewife
Always I would rather sit on the couch than do chores

Sometimes I don't want to work out when I get home from work
Always I feel so much better once I do

Sometimes I wish Oliver lived with us
Always I'm glad that we aren't tied down with a dog and can just borrow this one

What a cute lil nugget

Crazy Weekends

This past weekend was kind of the best of everything.  I took Friday off and headed up to the cottage around 11 with my Mom, sister, brother and my brother's girlfriend.  Later on Ryan and my Dad joined us along with my cousin and some other friends.

Friday started out with some sandcastle building, some ladder ball, and Oliver frolicking in the sand.  He loves it outdoors and he loved the cottage.

 It was an awesome and relaxing weekend up at the cottage just laying in the sun.  Most people drank.  I read.  We all ate. 

We had some campfires.  And a pontoon boat ride.  We were out there on the open, moterboatin'.  (Don't get it? Watch this).

Sunday I forgot about my camera.  We headed home in the morning, which wasn't too hard because it was an overcast day.  I had a bridal shower for a good friend.  It was great to get to experience it with her.  It brought back all the memories of my engagement and it's so exciting that she is experiencing all of the same things right now. 

Then we had a lovely couple over for dinner.  They made dinner, I made dessert.  Then we played Cranium.  Girls vs Boys.  The boys won. I guess that's only fair because we always beat them at Catch Phrase.  It was great to spend time with some people that we don't often get to hang out with. 

It was a great weekend filled with family, friends, relaxing and fun. 



Waiting Up...From a to z

I'm baking banana bread and it's having trouble cooking, so at 10:30 at night I have nothing else to do and can think of nothing to write about.  So I went back to an old em=me blog post and pulled this little A to Z - All About Me funness.

Is there something on my lip?

Age: 25

Bedsize: Queen. How badly do I want a King....but alas it will not fit in our bedroom so I guess it's not really an option.

 

Chores that you hate: Dusting because it is never ending, vacuuming because it bores me....better question would be what chores don't I hate

 

Dogs:  None.  Unless you count my parents pup Oliver.  I like to think of him as mine.

 

Essential start to your day:  Typically coffee.  Breakfast is pretty important to me too. I guess I shower before filling my tummy though.

Favorite color: Teal

Gold or Silver: hmmm probably Silver

Height: 5'7"

 

Instruments you play: I played the piano and the violin growing up, and tried out the flute in grade 7 and 8, and this one time at band camp....oh that was a different red head

Job title: Financial Accountant - I do love my title, it make me feel smart

 

Kids: None currently, someday though

Live: Ontario

 

Mother's Name: Sharon, Share Bear, Estelle, Maw Maw, Mama Bouchka, or just Sharon is what she would prefer

 

Nicknames: currently I guess I still get called K and KK.  In the past I have had Kails, Goose and Lump.

 

Overnight hospital stays: When I was very young and had pneumonia.  I don't remember that though.

 

Pet peeves:  I don't know how to be specific here. To be honest a lot of things peeve me.  (Is peeve a verb? I don't think so).  Here is one, when you order coffee at a restaurant and the aren't on top of the refills. 

 

Quote from a movie or tv show: "Our love fern! You let it die!"  "It's too dang hot for a penguin to be just walkin around" 

Right or Lefty: Righty.

 

Siblings: Sister and brother. Both younger.  Tali and Brady.

 

Time you wake up: 6:30 on weekdays.  7:30 or 8 on weekends.  Or even later if Ryan lets me sleep! He's always an early riser.

Underwear: This is slightly personal.  I wear them.

 

Vegetable you hate: Brussel sprouts even though I have only had them once and it was a long long time ago

 

What makes you run late: What doesn't?  I'm actually generally on time, unless it's leaving for work in the morning, in which case I read my book and eat breakfast til 2 minutes before I'm supposed to leave and then it takes me another 5 to get out the door.

X-Rays You've Had:  A few on my knee, my ankle both times that I sprained it, and my elbow when I fractured it

 

Yummy food you make:  Antijitos are my specialty.  Peanut butter cornflake squares. I enjoy my quiche. 

Zoo Animal:  Penguins fo sho.  No question.  I love those little guys, they have so much character!

 

  

The Dreaded Garden

A couple weekends ago I finally paid some attention to my gardens.  I thought if I didn't look at them they didn't exist.  Unfortunately this isn't the case and everyone else who drives by can still see my gardens. Blech.  (That's a disgusted noise). 

I thought they looked pretty good originally.  But apparently you do need to weed them and kind of tidy them up or else they get out of control.  We have gardens all the way around the house.  I haven't decided whether I like that or not yet. 

Here is what they all looked like before their makeover.

Ahhhh shrub overload!

One big change was to pull out the two big trees in front of our porch to open it up. 

 Here is the new and improved but not yet completed version. 

This front garden is somewhat impossible.  This garden is just not working for me.  I think that more needs to be taken out.  But it was too much for one day.  I got scared.

We need to go dig up some hostas from my parents garden to fill in this space.  For now it is much more option.  Good choice I say.


We pulled out a whole shrub in the corner.  Who knew there were more plants underneath it! 

 

Overall, the gardens have improved.  But they still need work.  So much work.  I just want them to look nice and be low maintenance. 

I don't think that Ryan dislikes gardening as much as I do.  He was kind of in his glory.  Pulling out trees, using the hedge trimmer, driving around on the garden tracker sweeping up the clippings.  It's kind of his thing.  It's kinda not mine. 

                             

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Maybe a link up a week is the way to go? I'm trying to switch it up each week though.  So today I'm linking up with Jamie at This Kind of Love for What I'm Loving Wednesday.

I loved my Tuesday night.  It was productive and relaxing.  Ryan made dinner while I finished and submitted an assignment.  After dinner Ryan went off to get measured for his Tux for his sister's wedding, I cleaned the bathroom, did some laundry and had a great workout.  When he got home we walked to the store for ice cream.  It was a nice night.

I'm loving that I only have 2 more work days left and on Friday I get to head up to the cottage with family and friends.

I'm loving that Pipsi is apparently a hoarder.  Watch out Pips or we will sign you up for Hoarding, Buried Alive! Last night she had a roll of toilet paper rolled out across the bedroom floor from under the bed.  She had toilet paper, dryer sheets, wrapping paper and one of my bras down there. 

And sometimes you just don't have any pictures to go with a post because you are too busy enjoying activities to pull out the camera.

Cup 'o Joe Update

It has been 5 days now that I have been without coffee, so I thought I would update y'all (can I say that if I'm from Ontario?) on what it has been like.

My life has been empty.

Ok so Thursday was a brutal day.  I knew about the withdrawal headaches.  Nobody told me that I would be exhausted, have trouble concentrating and that the slightest annoyance would turn me into the incredible hulk.  It was bad. I just wanted a coffee so badly!

It's gotten better since then.  I'm a lucky one I think because I read that withdrawal symptoms can last two to nine days.  I can't even imagine if it had of lasted for nine days!  I'm still tired every day, but who knows if that's coffee related.

Unfortunately, I don't think coffee was the cause of my issues. But I think I will go my two weeks without it at this point just for detox purposes.  Maybe.  We will see how the weekend goes.



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So now any of you who are considering cutting down on your caffeine intake have been warned.  It's not pretty.  Prepare yourself and those around you.

The Wedding Events Begin!

This summer we have two weddings for two very special couples.  Ryan's sister Amy is getting married July 28, and my friend and bridesmaid Michaela is getting married on August 4.  This makes for a busy summer.  Saturday the events started out with a shower for Amy followed by a stag and doe for Michaela and Dan.

Amy's colours for the wedding, and favourite colour is lime green.  This shower was lime green overload!  Not only was all the decor lime, but all the gifts were too!  Amy didn't really want a shower, and her and Jamie have been wanting to build a deck for a few years, so we had a deck party.  Everyone was to give gift cards for building a deck and little items that they can use on the deck.  I sure hope she doesn't get sick of green!

The bride to be and her mother

The bows went onto a hardware store apron

Next up was the stag and doe.  Apparently stag and does are Southern Ontario events.  It is a big party held in a hall that is meant to raise money for the couple to start their married life.  There are drinks for sale, raffles and games.  

Ryan and Tali found a game of beer pong and took it very seriously.

The bride to be had a great time.  Here she is with her maid of honour.

I won an afghan that was made by Michaela's grandma, and a Rob Marshall Toronto Rock jersey.  Rob is Michaela's cousin and plays for the Toronto Lacrosse Team.  I was super excited! I can't wait to go to a game and wear it.  I never win anything at Stag and Doe's so I was pretty shocked that I won two things.

Of course we did see both of our fathers on Sunday too.  But I was much too tired to take pictures of those events!  We headed out for Brunch at Ryan's parents in the morning, went home for a much needed nap and then went over to my parents for dinner.  It was a good, but busy weekend.  I'm so looking forward to heading up to the cottage next weekend and just sitting on the deck, soaking in the sun.

Friday's Letters

Today I'm doing a linkup with Ashley at Adventures of Newlyweds.  Every Friday she has a series called Friday's Letters, so I'm giving it a shot!

Dear Emily Maynard, Can you just pick Sean now and get it over with.  Or you can pick Jef like everybody else wants you to, but that's all DeAnna and Jesse Csincsak and we all know it's not gonna work.

Dear Big Brother Canada, Pick Me.  I wanna be stuck in a house with some crazies for three months.  Thank you.

Dear Pipsi, Thank you for being calm and quiet this morning.  I love you to pieces, but I do not love you running laps around the bedroom at 5:30am

Dear Oliver, Thank you for making my family happy.  You are a cute little muffin.  If you would just come when we call your name we would be all set.

Dear Coffee, I miss you.  I am cranky and tired.  My head hurts.  You make life so much better. 

Dear Husband, Thanks for cooking for me most nights, and only complaining about it sometimes.  Food is the way to this girls heart. 

Coffee, coffee coffee coffee

On a scale of 1 to 10, my love for coffee is a 25.  It's extreme.  My life would be incomplete without it.  I have gone through stages of approximately 7 cups a day.  Currently I am at about 4.  Except Saturdays and Sundays, because Ryan and I make a full pot and I typically drink til it's gone.  Like how a dog will just keep eating and eating as long as there is food in front of him because he doesn't know any better.  Yes my intelligence level is that of a dog.

I have had some stomach problems for a couple of years now.  A few years ago the doctor kind of mentioned how coffee could make them worse, but I chose to ignore her.  Now, the pains are back, along with some other symptoms, such as acid reflux.  I am wondering if coffee is to blame. 

So yesterday morning was my last coffee as I head into a test phase to see if cutting it out makes a difference.  Realistically, this should be the easiest solution.  I have been wondering about a lactose intolerance or gluten allergy.  Cutting out milk and gluten would be tricky.  Coffee should be easy right? 

Bring on the withdrawal headaches.....

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Oliver!

We have decided on a name.  Oliver it is.  Or Ollie.  He is freakin' cute.  We love him. 

So let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start....

We missed our Opie pup and decided that a house without a dog was no good (except my house, that's fine).  So we were on a crazy puppy hunt.  We wanted a dog similar in size to Opie (about 25 lbs), somewhat close to home and not too expensive.  Well this was hard to come by.  I started looking into miniature golden doodles.  They are like $2000.  Who spends that on a dog?  Finally I found Oliver and his siblings on kijiji.  They were down the road from work, so I went to check them out.

Oliver is a schnoodle, which is what Opie was.  His dad is a schnauzer/poodle and his mom is a poodle.  He met all of the criteria except he will probably only be between 10 and 15 lbs. 

Later that same night, Tali, Brady and I went to look at some whoodles (wheaten poodles).  They were cute, as most puppies are, but we decided that we already knew the pros and cons of a schnoodle and we kind of wanted to go with that breed.  So the next day, they went to see Oliver and he came home with them!  He was the most playful in the litter, the biggest, and the only black one.  We didn't want one that looked too much like Opie and both of his brothers that were left were blonde.

He is a good pup so far.  Very few accidents.  He just kind of follows his people around.  And sleeps. 

I'm trying to see him frequently because I wanted him to love me.  I am his designated babysitter after all. 

He came over to visit Pipsi on Monday night.  I don't know if she liked him.  I think that she wants to be friends, but on her terms.  She's such a cat.

  Once Oliver was asleep she got a little bit closer.  Pretty nervy there Pips.