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Sewing project #3 - DIY Nursing Cover

2012-02-07T11:37:00.000-08:00

When H was a couple weeks old we attempted our first restaurant meal. Of course H wanted to eat as well as soon as my hot breakfast was placed in front of me. As a very new mom, nursing my baby in public was not easy, and was made even more awkward by the teeny tiny nursing cover I had. I managed to make it through the meal, but on the way home I stopped at my local kids store (where I have spent A LOT of money) and handed over my credit card and said "Give me something decent to nurse under". And so I ended up with a Bebe au Lait nursing cover which was nice and roomy and worked great for nursing in public in those places where I, brand spanking new mother that I was, wouldn't have felt comfortable any other way.

Well the other day I returned home from a lovely walk to find I'd lost my nursing cover. It must have blown off the stroller in a strong gust of wind, and don't even ask me how it was possible for me to not notice a giant piece of fabric flying off my stroller. So here was my problem, we were already almost 5 months in, do I buy another one? Lately I've been using it less and less, and to tell you the truth H doesn't love having his head covered up while eating, which I mean, I can't blame him. We've both gotten a lot better at nursing, and with the right outfit and a scarf on I don't think anyone can even see anything and even if they do, most of the time I just don't care. So 90% of the time I don't need a cover, and for the other 10% I could just throw a blanket over us. And after checking craigslist to see that those covers still sell for $30 used (oh the resale value... I'm so mad I lost mine!), I decided that no, I will not be getting myself another cover. Sigh, another motherhood 'necessity' has become obsolete... this is all happening too fast!

But anyway, back to the point of this post. As fine as a blanket is, it's still nice to have that strap around your neck for the times when your baby decides to break out the ninja moves and you'd really rather not slip the nip, so in a stroke of genius I decided to google 'DIY nursing cover'. I found a ton of tutorials, and even better, they didn't require any sewing skill beyond my 'can sew a hem, badly, and that's it' level. AND even better, I already had some left over fabric, so all it required was a trip to the sewing store for such exotic items as 'boning' and 'd-rings'. $2.60 and one evening later... ta da! I made my own nursing cover!

Does this fabric look familiar? Yup, it's from H's curtains. How Von Trapp of me:)

And for the record, I'm choosing to focus on how I saved myself $40 this time, rather than on the fact that I should have done this back in August and saved myself the original $40+tax on the first cover. So, go me!

Napping in the car

2012-02-03T15:16:00.001-08:00

It never fails that H will fall asleep minutes before we get home. If I carry him into the house he wakes immediately, so often this means we stay in the car while he naps. Thank goodness for iPhones and good radio stations. Of course this doesn't help me on days like today when I desperately need to pee. Oh the sacrifices we make for naps.

A day in the life...

2012-02-02T08:03:00.000-08:00

Someday I'm sure I'll look back and ask myself what many people have asked me, how did I ever pass the time while I was on mat leave? It's hard to explain how time feels to me these days. It's like the hours are short but the minutes are long. Anyway, here's an example of a fairly typical day, which just happened to be last Tuesday.

7 am - Wake up to the sound of H fussing. My first thought is 'why won't this kid let me sleep?'. Then I look at the clock, oh that's why. My new rule is if H wakes before 6 am, we stay in the room and go back to sleep, 6 - 7 I try to get him back to sleep but if he insists on being awake, oh well. After 7 I'll get up (almost) right away. This morning it's option C so up we get.

Since H has started getting up earlier I've given myself a pass on being entertaining first thing in the morning. I used to wake up singing but that was at 9 am. At 7 you get a diaper change, dressed for the day, and some time on the play mat while I make my decaf tea ( since I'll be going back to bed soon) and some toast. We hang out in the living room and lately I'll read the globe and mail out loud. Just because you're a baby it doesn't mean you can't take an interest in current events.

8:15 H is getting cranky and my tea is gone, time for our nap. H nurses to sleep while dad gets ready, then as he takes off and I lay down for my nap.

10:00 wake up. Longest nap ever! Since we've started taking this nap together H has started going down for much longer. This time I'll be fun. We sing, read books, go for airplane rides and play with toys. I also make sure to eat a real breakfast. Mom needs food!

11:30 Nap again, fusses a bit and puts himself to sleep! It feels like lately something is shifting in H's sleep routine and I no longer feel very confident that I know when to put him down for naps. Now that he's sleeping a bit longer, does he really need to go down every 90 minutes, or can I stretch it longer? It turns out that parenthood (at least these first few months) is just trying to get your kid to sleep. Maybe there's 10 minutes of enjoying their company while awake, but the rest of the day if they are awake you are trying to make them sleep.

12:15 He's up! This is a much more typical nap for H, 30-45 minutes. We play, mom has lunch (need more food!)

1:00 Out the door! It's amazing how important this part of the day is to me. Where we're going changes from day to day, but I really need to get out of the house at least once a day or I go crazy sauce.

2-3:30 Today we meet some friends for a mom and baby singing class. Pre-baby I used to think I was someone who knew the lyrics to a lot of songs, but try remembering those lyrics when you're sleep deprived. My renditions of 'itsy bitsy spider' and 'you are my sunshine' are getting a bit old, so I'm excited to learn some new songs to sing with the little man.

3:30-5 It's pouring rain, the busses are packed and we're on our way home! Since having H I drive everywhere, but there is still the occasional place in the city where taking the bus seems like the easiest transit option. At least today I don't have my stroller, much easier to handle transit with the baby in the ergo. H naps on and off on the bus ride and while I walk down the drive to pick up some dinner and browse in some shops. Today I am good and only buy dinner.

5-6 We're back home and waiting for dad to get home. I always feel a bit sad for James that he only gets an hour or so with H every day, and that hour is in the evening when things are a bit touch and go. It's tough being the working parent.

6:45 A fussy baby = time for bed. We start his bedtime routine which involves a diaper/outfit change, a baby massage, a book and a nurse. H always goes to sleep so easily after this, but he'll be up in 40 minutes or so. For the following two hours he'll wake up quite often. We let him fuss on his own, but when the cries start to build in intensity we go in to help him go back to sleep. By 9 pm or so he'll be out for the night, which means out for a few solid hours of sleep. But we'll take what we can get!

And another day is done.

On losing and moving on

2012-01-27T20:16:00.000-08:00

I went to the optometrist for an eye exam a couple weeks ago. It was a new doctor and during the initial background questions I mentioned I'd recently had a baby. She asked if this was my first pregnancy and I answered yes before I could catch myself. I didn't correct my answer. It didn't seem necessary to bring up that awkward topic for a measly eye exam, but the truth is no, this wasn't my first pregnancy.

In October 2010 I miscarried my first baby at 8 weeks. It was heartbreaking. And over the next few months I felt like pregnancy and babies were all I could see. When I walked down the street, when I opened up facebook or looked at blogs, it seemed everyone was having babies except for me. As a matter of survival there were people (anyone who was pregnant) who's facebook feeds had to be blocked. I didn't want to be consumed by anger and jealousy, but in those early months when the pain was fresh it was so hard to be happy for others.

When a few months later I found my deepest wish had been granted and I was pregnant again, it was like finding an escape hatch from my grief. But I'd lost my innocence about pregnancy and was very aware that by broadcasting my happiness I was no doubt causing someone else pain. So I didn't say much on Facebook and didn't blog.

I really debated whether this is something I should share on my blog or not. Part of me cringes at the idea of talking about such personal things on such a public forum (although I think I can count on one hand the people who actually read this). But as I've found myself wanting to write about motherhood and giving in to the overwhelming desire to share cute baby pics on Facebook, I felt that I needed to be more open about having had a miscarriage. Especially since part of what makes it so hard is the way no one talks about it. I owed it to anyone who is where I was, who might stumble upon my words to say that no, it hasn't all been roses. I lost like so many others have, and I feel so blessed to be where I am today.

Thumbsucker

2012-01-25T15:47:00.000-08:00

We held off giving H a soother when he was born because I'd had some issues with breastfeeding and didn't want to add anything else to the mix that might cause problems. By the time we tried to give him one around three weeks he was no longer interested. It was frustrating for a bit, I wished we had something to help him sooth himself, especially in the car where he would always throw a giant fit. When he first found his hands he sort of sucked on his entire fist and I thought maybe that would help him, but then he sort of lost interest and I forgot about it. I figured he was done with needing to suck and we moved on.

Well in the past couple days he has started up again, and not this sucking on a whole fist or a few fingers thing. No this is real thumb in mouth, index finger curled around nose, thumb sucking. I'm not sure how I feel about this. Every time I see him do it I flash forward to seeing him as a five year old starting school and still sucking his thumb. Is this going to be a habit we have to work to break someday? A thumb is not as easy to take away as a soother. But the thing is... thumb sucking = napping! Every nap today I put him down (I. Put. Him. Down... People do you understand the significance of this?) and he cried for a minute or so, then found his thumb and sucked himself to sleep.

So I'm torn. I'm psyched out of my mind that he may have found something to help sooth himself and nap out of my arms (that kid is getting heav-y) but I wonder if someday I'll look back and rue the day he ever became a thumbsucker.

New Glasses!

2012-01-24T12:08:00.000-08:00

I finally did it - I ordered glasses online! I've been feeling like it was time to get a new pair, since my current glasses are 8 or 9 years old. And although I still really like them I kind of wanted something a bit more fun since I spend 99.9% of my time in glasses these days (who has time for a shower let alone time to put in contacts?) So I started looking around and remembered why I'd always gone the very conservative route with specs, those puppies are expensive. At $300 dollars + once you add in the lenses you don't exactly want to experiment. So even though it made me a bit nervous, I decided to give the online route a try. I bought mine from Clearly Contacts, I mean with their awesome return policy the worst that could happen would be that I'd send them back, right? Well I used their online try-on app, used my current glasses as a size guide, and ordered a couple different pairs figuring I'd send one back. Then I waited.

After much anticipation they arrived yesterday and I was so excited! As expected one of the two pairs was not a good fit and so will be sent back (probably for the best since I don't need two new pairs of glasses but would have been tempted to keep them if they even remotely fit my tiny head - I'm the worst at returning), but the other pair was exactly what I was looking for! Now I just need to get used to this new, stronger prescription. Currently they are a wee bit vertigo-inducing in the way that all new glasses can be. And the grand total for these? Just under $120.

4 months 13 days

2012-01-23T16:41:00.001-08:00

Dear H,

Sometimes I'm caught off guard by how big you are getting. This usually happens when I'm in a group with other babies and I notice the newborns, how tiny and otherworldly they seem, and I'm struck by what a little boy you are. When did that happen?

You're no longer a lump in my arms. Your neck is getting so strong and suddenly all these things I was waiting for are happening. You're sitting up on my lap, I can put you on my hip and hold you with one hand, and airplane rides (the kind me and daddy give you) are met with squeals of laughter not a sad wobbly head. I think you're liking this new vantage point on the world. Sure you still love your play mat, but now you'd rather sit in the bumbo and stare down at the toys.

In other news you've discovered your feet! During diaper changes when they are liberated from your socks you stare at them intently in the same way you stared at your hands many weeks ago. Your hands inch up your legs, and I can almost hear your thoughts, "how can I get that in my mouth?" I can't blame you though, it's all I can do not to eat them either. Imagine my surprise when I looked down and found you holding your foot for the first time! Of course if mommy tries to help you by placing a foot in your hand this is met with giggles. But nothing makes you laugh like taking off your onesies. I think you might be a ticklish little guy.

You are taking to us all the time these days. Sometimes in coos, or your trademark 'hnn dee dee dee', but lately it's been a lot of very loud 'rrraaarrr'. I don't know if you are trying to tell me you are frustrated or want something, or if you just love the sound of your voice and want to hear it loud. You are a charmer though, making friends everywhere we go by smiling sweetly at anyone who will pay you some attention.

I know I say this all the time but I'm amazed how quickly you are changing and growing. We put your bassinet away the other day and lowered your bed in the playpen. I loved having you as my sweet tiny baby but I have to say, I find the sweet little boy you're becoming pretty irresistible too.

Love, momma

Accidental Rookie Moms Challenge

2012-01-20T13:02:00.000-08:00

Have you ever heard of the Rookie Moms blog? Well they have this challenge where every week there is an activity that you need to try to accomplish as a way of forcing new parents to venture out into the world. I thought it sounded like fun and totally planned to try it out. Then I had a baby. I actually haven't even gone back to look at this challenge since he's been born. 99.9% of my internet-ing happens on my iPhone so if something doesn't just pop up on my google reader, it's a huge pain to go looking for it.

Well one of the Rookie Moms just had a baby and did a little round up of how she'd done with the challenge, which gave me the opportunity to see how I had (inadvertently) done on it as well.

Pretend you’re in Europe - Pretty much every day I venture out for my two favourite vices. Ah caffeine and sugar, you're a sleep deprived new mom's best friend.
Grab a buddy to go on a recon mission. - OK, not really. I have become the kind of person who nurses and changes her baby almost anywhere. But I guess I try to notice where the bathrooms are and if they have change tables... so I'll give myself this one.
Join or start a new mom’s group. - Yup! Before baby I signed up for this Motherhood Unfolding class because I knew I wanted to meet some other moms in the area. Luckily they all turned out to rock and we meet weekly for lunches and crafting. It's been wonderful connecting with other moms who know what's happening around my place, and as a bonus I bump into these ladies all over town which makes me feel like I'm part of a community for the first time since I've lived in Vancouver.
Visit a fabric store with your sidekick - Last weekend with my mother in law. For my next challenge I will go by myself (and the babe of course).
Go to the grocery store for just one thing. For just one thing? How about for a dozen things and make this every day.
Paint your baby’s feet for posterity. - Checked this one off thanks to my dad who helped me when H was only two weeks old.
Take a postnatal yoga class, with your baby. We go every week to the mom and baby class at Semperviva. It's great but lately I've been wanting to do more yoga and H has been wanting to do more crying and being held.
Get a pedicure. Yes, and I feel like I should go back for another before H becomes a mover. I may only see them at yoga and in the shower these days but painted toe nails make me feel so much more together.
Go to a mom and baby movie. Check and check. We've gone to two so far, Sherlock Holmes and Moneyball.
Plan a mom’s night out. Nope, giant fail. And I don't see this one happening until H is off to college, or you know at least eating some solids and less of a boob-aholic.
Visit a friend or spouse at work. Yup, been to visit friends at work twice and to James' work once.
Enjoy modern art. Nope.
Make a Modern Family photo. Nope and no thanks.

So all in all not too bad for someone who wasn't even trying. But the babe's up and it's time to pretend we're in Europe so I'm off!

Carrying the babe

2012-01-18T13:33:00.000-08:00

When I was pregnant I knew that we'd need some way to get baby from A to B but I completely dismissed the idea of baby wearing. I have a bad neck and even carrying around a heavy purse tends to give me a headache so no way was I going to be able to carry around a 10 lb + baby. We invested ( thanks to some very generous family) in a great stroller and I figured that would be that. As my due date got closer I started to notice how many people were carrying their babies around our neighbourhood, including dads. I decided that they must be onto something and we should have another option so we got an Ergo ( also thanks to generous family). But I figured my husband would be the one to mainly use it and even brought him to the store to try on models. Oh how wrong I was.

Though he does wear it - and makes it look good!

It turns out baby wearing doesn't hurt your back, having a baby hurts your back. Sure it's great having a wonderful stroller, but the babe would sometimes much rather ride in your arms, thank you. Or your awesome stroller won't fit through the tiny aisles in the stores you want to go to. Or you want to go to a restaurant but you don't want to take up 500% more space with a bulky stroller. Or you're at home with a cranky baby that just wants to be held but you'd like your arms back, thanks. And let's face it, all the hip looking moms are doing it which makes me want to as well (hey I'm just being honest). This is not to say that I don't love our stroller since I use it almost everyday, but for all the reasons above I entered the world of baby wearing.

My first time using the ergo was when H was only a few weeks old. He was fussy at home and so I popped him in and presto, he was sleeping and my hands were free to hold a beer (bad mommy!) Of course 'popped him in' implies the Ergo was easy to use at first. It was not. Especially with that insert you need for new babies. That thing was the main reason I didn't use the Ergo much for the first few months.

A friend had also leant me a pouch sling and had assured me that it was amazing. But try as I might I could not stuff me and my boy into it comfortably. In search of something easier to use than the ergo but also adjustable I bought the Maya Wrap, a ring sling, which had the benefit of also being really pretty (let's face it - these things matter). I had hoped it would be love at first wear, but sadly no. However after some practice we figured it out and now it comes many places with us and has saved me on several occasions where the babe was just done with the stroller and we were miles from home.

The problem is, now I'm hooked. I love the snugly feeling of carrying H close and there are just so many ways to do it. Uh oh, another way to spend $$$ on baby gear. In an effort to not break the bank I tried my hand at making a Moby wrap using this tutorial. It worked! Though really I shouldn't be so surprised since the directions are buy 5 yards of fabric, cut in half. And now that I know how easy it is, I want to make more in different fabrics. Uh oh again.

Ok so the point of all this was to write some of the things I've learned about baby wearing for future Alyssa. So here it is:

~ All types of carriers have a learning curve. Keep practicing, it gets easier. And YouTube videos are your friend.

~ Ditch the Ergo for newborns. If I could do it again I would have saved the money I spent on the infant insert and put it towards something else. Once H had some neck control and his legs were long enough to sit properly in it he liked it sooo much more.

~ Tying the moby was not as bad as it seemed at first and a ring sling takes some adjusting too. If I could go back in time I might have started with the moby since it sits on both shoulders and is easier on the back. But H is starting to really like facing forward in his sling, so I'm glad I have it.

~ You really need to be moving for baby to be happy, at least until he falls asleep.

~ Carrying your baby will not solve all your problems. When H was around 6 weeks and in his cranky pants phase I thought that baby wearing would turn our fussy evenings into happy cooing baby times. As with everything that I thought would solve all our problems, I was bitterly dissapointed. Whaat? There are no quick fixes in parenthood?

And now some blurry iphone pics of us in our new faux-Moby, aka a piece of fabric. And yes, I'm going to do something about my hair.

Thoughts on motherhood - the first three months

2011-12-22T21:09:00.000-08:00

I haven't shared much about pregnancy and parenthood on the blog, and since that's pretty much been my all consuming focus this past year it's made for some light posting. My little baby is now three and a half months old. He laughs, coos, holds his head up and generally acts like a real boy. It's shocking how much he's grown since the day he arrived. I've been feeling like I need to take a moment and write about these first few months before everything that comes next wipes my memory clean.

In some ways coming out of the first few months feels like surviving some sort of catastrophic event, like an earthquake or a civil war. Maybe that's a li-ttle melodramatic, but it really is amazing the havoc one little baby can bring to a previously peaceful existence. And it's not like I wasn't warned. Everyone says 'oh the first three months are so hard'. But the thing is, you don't believe it. I mean, first of all, three months seems like an eternity. It can't possibly take that long to settle into your new life, right? I expected we'd be in sync within a week or two and as long as we had a swing for soothing, we'd be set. But managing expectations, I've found, is the key to happiness as a new parent. So for the sake of future Alyssa, here's what I've learned from early days with baby.

Your Baby Will Cry
Yeah, yeah, yeah. They give you the DVD at the hospital, but then you come home and the baby is lovely and sleeps all the time and you figure, 'oh, I've got this. Then they wake up. And they are not happy about it. I fought against using the term 'colic' for a long time. I kept thinking that I didn't want to complain, my baby was just fussy and didn't always cry. But for a stretch of 3-4 weeks from 8 to 11 pm he needed constant soothing. Colic. James and I would take turns rocking, bouncing, shushing, swaddling. Right when we were about to lose it the other would take over and you'd go sit with ear phones on to drowned out the cries. Then, at 11 pm, like magic, it would end and the babe would fall asleep. Of course by then I would be so tired that I would give in an go to sleep myself.

Your Baby Might Not Like the Things You Thought They Would
We have a swing, a bouncy seat, soothers. I figured with all these tools we'd be able to sooth our baby. Nope. H would only be happy when you were holding him, standing and bouncing. As he's gotten older he's come around to some things, but sadly I've learned there is really no surefire way to sooth a baby. Shoot.

Breastfeeding is Hard and Then Gets Awesome
I consider myself to have had a pretty easy go of breastfeeding. H was good at latching from the start, I had no bleeding or toe curling pain. I never worried that I didn't have enough milk. And still, I have had moments where I felt like throwing in the towel. I had mastitis early on and spent the next couple months getting up to pump in the middle of the night. I had pain or rather irritation that lasted a long time and spent months living in fear of thrush. And H decided he didn't want milk anywhere but from the source and so throws a huge fit if you try to give him a bottle, meaning at most I can be away from him for an hour or two.

I was told that by six weeks breastfeeding becomes great. It didn't. But somewhere during the past few weeks things finally started to click. And I've started to appreciate the many ways it is awesome, not the least of which is the rush of feel good hormones it gives to mom. I've found myself lying awake some nights when I can't sleep looking forward to H waking up for his night time feed because I know after I'd be super relaxed and drift right off.

Little by Little Things Return To (a New) Normal
Three months ago I never would have imagined that we would have returned to any semblance of normal life by Christmas. And yet, here we are. Most nights we get a couple of hours to ourselves after the babe goes to bed. Some days I manage to have dinner made by the time James walks in the door. We go out to restaurants (even to a fancy one for a celebration), and to friend's. I even started knitting again. Amazing.

Three Months is SO Short
When people tell you right after the baby is born 'by three months this or that' it seems like an eternity. I remember almost crying when someone told me I could expect the babe to be happier by three months. But it's actually a very short amount of time and passes in the blink of an eye. I guess that's why some people call it the longest shortest time.

Of course if you'd asked me two months ago I would have said I was enjoying parenthood. And I really was. In between all the hard moments there are moments of pure joy and also moments of pure hilarity (like the time I found myself shushing the baby in response to the beeping alarm clock). But it just has been getting so much better lately. And one thing is for sure, having a baby has a way of making your old life seem extremely dull!

The joy and pain of the farmers market

2011-05-14T12:51:00.000-07:00

So, I love going to farmers markets. I love looking at the rows of beautiful produce and wonderful artisan foods. But if I have to be totally honest, sometimes places like this (farmers markets, Granville Island) cause me deep anxiety. Look at all this amazing food that I should be cooking! Look at all this organic produce I should be eating! It's so beautiful, I should be buying it all... but it's expensive and I don't know what to make (and sometimes don't want to make anything at all and would rather just order pizza).

Well today was the opening day of the Vancouver Farmers Market at Trout Lake and I dragged James out of bed at the ungodly hour of 9 am so we could walk over. It's a pretty good market because on top of the anxiety causing foods, there's always stuff that I actually know what to do with. Like eggs, bacon, lettuce.

As we were leaving, I had to pee (again. oh the joys of pregnancy) and when I got out James filled me in on the conversations he'd overheard as people were leaving the market.

A Young couple walks by.
Him: Oh, weren't we going to get some lettuce?
Her: Right, yeah, we should get some lettuce.
Pause. Look at each other.
Her: I don't want to eat a salad.

Two senior women are walking together, and one is saying with regret "... but then you'd have to cook it right away. When would you do that? I don't want to do that..."

You mean other people have market anxiety too? This may be one of the greatest realizations of my life.

A colourful lunch

2010-07-28T19:51:00.000-07:00

So my friend Rebecca is a tupperware salesperson. She started just a while ago, and I've been buying things here and there ever since. This afternoon, I looked up from my 100 spreadsheets open on my computer and looked over at my leftover lunch dishes. Had to laugh 'cause apparently I've become quite the collector. I took this pic for her to show her, but since I place all my orders through her I'm guessing she already knew that. Thanks for transforming all my lunch containers to such pretty receptacles Bec!

Road Trip!

2010-07-27T20:41:00.000-07:00

We just returned from our trip to the Kootenays. A family reunion in Fairmont Hot Springs was the reason we went, but once there we made the most of it by taking our time coming home, camping along the way and spending the last two nights in luxury at the Sheraton Sharples (also known as James' aunt and uncle's house in Penticton).

This was supposed to be a sweet collage of all my pictures, 'cause nothing like a sweet collage to get you motivated to blog right? But our computer is out of memory (please, how is that possible?) so I could only get a few pics. Hmm, the sweet collage will have to wait, but in the meantime here's a few highlights from our trip.

~ 4 days with the Charbonneau family ( food, drink, prizes, deserts, badminton, potato sack races, more prizes)
~ exploring the funny museums we came across in towns ( Who's in for the 3 hour tour at the Canadian Museum of Rail Travel? We weren't, but the 30 min tour was great.)
~ driving on what must be the most gorgeous highways in the world
~ bears and moose along the side of the road
~ finding a campsite with a gorgeous lake and loons to boot, when you thought you might end up sleeping in the car
~ making our way through wine country, and having to quit after two wineries because we'd already spent all our money
~ ending it all by drifting down the channel and laying by the beach in Penticton

A day at the beach...

2010-05-15T14:30:00.000-07:00

It's been so beautiful the past few days in Vancouver. It feels like summer is just around the corner, and usually that means your are being tricked and it's about to start raining. So to make the most of the good weather while it lasted, we had a crab bake down at the beach yesterday. Our friend who is a gourmet cook took care of all the prep and cooking, so all I had to do was lay around in the sunshine 'till the food was ready. Pretty much my idea of heaven.

Go Try It On

2010-03-27T11:04:00.000-07:00

I was talking with some friends the other day about how now that we're older we prefer to do a lot of our clothing shopping solo. Shopping can still be a great social activity, but if you're really serious about finding something you can move so much faster alone. Plus, we know what we like more now and don't need approval from our friends. And lets face it, friends aren't always that helpful. They might not tell you their honest opinion since they don't want to hurt your feelings. Still, sometimes you do need input from others. Sales people can be helpful, but how often do they convince you NOT to buy something? This is why I'm a great believer in asking strangers for their opinion. My wedding dress was bought by doing a poll of all the people in the store and the seamstresses (who I asked to come out from the back room) between two different dresses. That worked because most people are in a bridal store for a long time waiting around, and let's face it... they're judging your dresses whether you ask their opinion or not. I've also asked for opinions while trying on shoes, buying purses, etc. And you know what, strangers have never let me down.

But the problem is, you can't drag a stranger into a changing room with you to wait around while you try on outfits. And you can't always count on a fashionable person being in the store at the same time as you. Enter this website. You can post pictures of your outfit, say what it's for, and get strangers opinions whenever you want! And even more fun, you can give strangers opinions and let out your inner Stacy London (but in a nice way). Time to get my camera out...

Spring - two ways

2010-03-26T10:52:00.000-07:00

We were visiting Kamloops this past weekend. I have to admit that it took a while for me to appreciate how pretty a place it can be. Being from the coast I like lush vegetation and lots of greenery... you won't find that there. But there is something about the light on the hills...

A new favourite...

2010-03-02T15:32:00.000-08:00

Veronica Mars. Who knew this show was so awesome? Well, lots of people I think. But I just discovered it recently and have been watching it non stop ever since. What is it about the teenage detective plot line that is so much fun? Brings me back to my Nancy Drew days... So sad there are only three seasons.

Olympic-ing it up in Vancouver

2010-02-20T15:59:00.000-08:00

So, the Olympics have come to Vancouver. It's unlike anything I've ever seen before. So many people on the streets, everyone wearing their Canada-wear, and everyone in a good mood. Last night I met up with some friends to go wander the packed streets, catch Hey Rosetta and Stars at the Orpheum (yeah seats!), then catch the closing firework/laser show(What's it called? Light the Spirit? Ignite the City?) at Robson Square, AND the free Said the Whale concert after. Any other time, that would be an epic night. But considering that was only 1/100th of what was probably going on in town, it felt like we were taking it pretty easy.

One unexpected side effect of the Olympics is that since there is so much stuff going on, if you're say going about your regular life (work, errands, visiting friends), and just throwing in the occasional Olympic experience, you constantly feel like you're missing the boat. The flip side is that the people who are packing in everything they can haven't slept for a week, and are possibly going to crash and burn before all is said and done. I work like a few people like this. Olympic overdose, it ain't pretty.

Sun Run!

2010-02-09T16:26:00.000-08:00

Remember all my resolutions? Well some of them are still in the 'to do' category (most actually), but there is one that's I've sort of stuck with. I bought myself some running shoes and I signed up to run the Sun Run this year for the first time ever! I know that 10K for most people really isn't a big deal, but I have been wanting to do this for years. I always get excited about it in January, but then somehow lose interest, and by the time the actual Sun Run date rolls around in April I think to myself 'boy, I'm glad I don't have to run a race today'. Not this year though, this year come race day I will be at the start line and will be crossing the finish line (hopefully in a not too embarrassing amount of time ). Yup, feeling pretty good about this resolution.

an update

2010-02-07T21:43:00.000-08:00

So I did take better pics of my hair, but for some reason getting them uploaded and on line is proving to be too much for me to handle right now. So here's a blurry picture taken by ang while we were crafting it up the other day at the museum of Vancouver. At least it's something. Oh and that thing on my head was my 'craft'.

What not to say...

2010-01-29T10:59:00.000-08:00

So, a couple of weeks ago I cut off my hair. My inspiration was Michelle Williams' hair in the October Vogue, but really I've been contemplating this move since the summer. My whole life I've been able to put my hair in a ponytail, and though I've been going shorter and shorter recently, it was still a big decision to cut if all off. Also, my hair dresser moved away, so I was going to someone brand new and that is always a bit scary. I told myself if I didn't get a good feeling, I'd bail on the whole idea and just go for a trim. But once I got in the chair, I just decided to go for it. After all, hair grow back.

The next day I went to work, and since I work with 90% men it took a while for anyone to notice. Finally, a woman saw me, exclaimed 'You cut your hair!', and then all the other guys jumped in with a 'Oh, it looks nice'. Weak. Well all except one guy, who shall remain nameless, who demonstrated what you should never say to someone who just drastically cut their hair.

'Huh, you cut your hair', he says, 'is that what you were going for?' OK, not exactly a compliment but I assure him that yes, this is what I wanted. Still confused he follows up with 'So... you're happy with the way it turned out?'

Well yes I was, but clearly he thought I made the worst mistake of my life. Thank goodness I was happy with it or I would have been crying in the bathroom!

Books, books, books.

2010-01-19T18:51:00.000-08:00

Isn't this a cute picture? You can find a whole bunch of these at Read The Printed Word.

So many books, so little time. That's how I feel sometime. I have a ton of books on my to-read list, but let's face it, reading is one of those activities that requires your total commitment and concentration. It's hard to multi-task while reading, and since I'm not one of those knitters that can both read AND knit often times, the books get pushed away for other forms of entertainment.

And sometimes, even when I finally get to reading those books on my list, I end up stranded in the middle and unable to work up the will power to finish. That's one of the reasons I love short stories so much. In one sitting you get through an entire story, no lingering guilt about unfinished chapters. I just finished reading Alice Munro's Runaway, a book of short stories recommended by my mom, and it was a fantastic reminder of why I love this format. Has anyone else read it? If not, it's worth your time.

Some things about myself...

2010-01-17T16:49:00.000-08:00

Hi friends!

Sorry for the 10 day (eep) absence from blogger-land. For anyone who's still checking/caring about where I've been, I was swallowed up by the work monster. My crazy January schedule has long stretches of time off, followed up by intense spurts of working. It was because of this that I found myself working 60 hours in 5 days last week. And because I was not accustomed to working that hard, 48 hours in I ended up with a cold. Lucky for me, lots of rest + cold FX (Does anyone else feel like this stuff is amazing?) and I'm on the mend. I even managed to go out and enjoy the sunshine yesterday, then check out Sherlock Holmes (huge girl-crush on Rachel McAdams and general love of Robert Downey Jr.), and end the night at the Ukrainian Village restaurant which I've been meaning to check out for years (perogies and cabbage rolls yum!).

So, a little while back Bec nominated me for a beautiful blogger award. Thanks Bec! It was very nice of her, and as part of this I'm supposed to share 7 things about myself that you might not know. It's hard to think of 7 things but here we go...

1. Though I'm conflicted about the amount of money being spent on the Games, and I like to grumble about how inconvenient things will be, I'm actually pretty excited for the Olympics.

2. The first section of the paper I read is the style section - does that make me shallow?

3. I've recently re-discovered my love of Tetris and Mine Sweeper.

4. I once suggested naming our future children Buffy and Xander. And was only 70% joking.

5. I don't really like Shakespeare. There, I've said it.

6. I have only been to two opera performances in my life, but I cried both times even though I didn't know what the heck was going on.

7. I have never jumped off the high diving board. Wuss.

As the second part of this I'm supposed to share some of my picks for Beautiful Blogs. So, here are a few that I've been really enjoying lately:

Jimmycorp (Of course I had to give a shout out to my husband! I don't think he'd mind being called beautiful)

A Cup of JO (For all the lovely places/people/things she posts about)

camp comfort (For the great clothes)

ellenitza (For the way she takes pictures of her outfits all the time)

Farmama (For the glimpse into a way of life so different from my own)

Christmas Roundup

2010-01-07T11:37:00.000-08:00

Christmas tree ~ family dinner at our place ~ the Olympic rings as seen from my office window on Christmas Eve ~ Christmas Eve yule log at work ~ James posing it up in Kamloops ~ a very very cold walk to see lights (hence the very very blurry photo) ~ never too many guitars at Brian's ~ and a slushy but beautiful drive home

Yes, it's a bit late, but since I finally downloaded my pictures I thought I'd share them just the same. I completely neglected my camera (as usual), so these are just the few pictures I remembered to take on my phone. What a nice Christmas it was.

Feeling inspired

2010-01-03T15:14:00.000-08:00

Yes, new year, new inspiration. Now that the holiday hoopla is behind me, I feel the need to direct my energy to some new projects. Of course, I have several knitting/weaving projects lined up to start now that I've finished making Christmas presents. Actually, quite a few, probably too many... but not to worry now. Now is the time for setting even more goals for myself than can realistically be completed by a person who is, let's face it, a little bit lazy. But I am feeling like trying some projects in areas of my life other than yarn-related pursuits, so here we go.

First, I would like to have this bedroom ( photographed by Eric Roth and posted on desire to inspire).

I like how simple and un-fussy this is, but the real reason I feel like trying to recreate this bedroom is because we sort of already have all the elements. OK, we don't have the cute window, or the wooden slat walls (and renting our place means no chance of matching either, or the paint colour for that matter). But, we do have a cream quilt in storage, a wrought iron bed, and a standing lamp. Our bedroom right now is a zero on the style scale, because we really haven't tried to make it look nice. But perhaps this is the year when we put a bit of effort into it, and maybe even get some new dressers to go with this look.

I would also like to learn some new recipes. This one is kind of a given to happen, because I'm a bit of a recipe book/food website junkie, and I often like to try new things. But what I'd really like to learn is a few more Japanese home cooking style dishes. I found this recipe for Okonomiyaki, or Japanese pancakes and it seems like as good a place to start as any. Lucky for me, Vancouver is a pretty easy place to find Japanese ingredients. I should learn to use them a little more.

Another reason for looking for new recipes is that one of the new years resolutions I forgot to mention is that I want to stop cooking with meat. Even though the Okonomiyaki recipe above calls for bacon, I'd just skip over that part. I'm not interested in becoming a vegetarian because I would find it a too restrictive, and let's be serious, I'm not really cut out for restrictive diets. I will still eat meat at restaurants and other peoples homes. But I've never really liked cooking meat (too much trouble, too much mess, and I have a secret fear of poisoning people - also why you'll never find me canning beans). And as part of trying to be a bit greener this year, James and I figured this would be a good place to start. It was funny, reading the paper today I came across this article in the globe and mail. I guess Leah McLaren is feeling the same way - especially after she did poison her guests. Yikes!

And finally, because I have not yet managed to break away from my shopping ways, I'd really love to get a pair of cute moccasins like these from Penelopes.

So, I guess strictly speaking this is not a project for the new year. But aren't they cute? And I'm sure I'd be more inspired to come up with a few more ideas while wearing these.

Resolutions for 2010

2009-12-31T16:15:00.000-08:00

Inspired by Rebecca's post I have decided I should also write down some of my resolutions for the new year. I usually never bother with any since let's be serious, when do you ever see them through? But this year I'm feeling kind of inspired, so here we go:

1. Become a runner and run in the Sun Run. This is inspired by the fact that two different people I know who run marathons have mistaken me for a fellow runner. I'm feeling like 'Hey, I could be a runner.' Now all I need is a pair of running shoes.

2. Do yoga once a week.

3. Buy reusable bags for carrying produce and use them.

4. Learn how to use J's camera so I can start putting better pictures on this blog. I'm not sure how he'll feel about that one:)

5. Finish reading Anna Karenina. Ha! Yeah two years after I started I still don't see that happening.

6. Learn how to make something new on my loom and buy a double heddle kit.

7. Stay in the moment as much as I can.

Happy new year to all!

Relaxing

2009-12-28T13:33:00.000-08:00

Sitting in my robe still at 1:30 pm, drinking coffee. I am definitely making the most of this vacation. Hope everyone is having a fantastic holiday!

Almost there...

2009-12-24T05:25:00.000-08:00

I can feel it, I'm on the home stretch. 14 hours more of work to go and I'm on vacation! One whole week of absolutely nothing to do (as in nothing I have to do) in lovely, chilly Kamloops. This month has flown by and I can hardly believe that I find myself here on Christmas Eve morning. Returning to shift work, job interview travels, working overtime, last minute Christmas crafts, Christmas baking, and throwing our family's Christmas dinner yesterday, not to mention trying to find some time to visit with friends and family. It has been a full month.

But even all that work has not dampened my festive spirit. One of my favourite things this past couple years has been inventing new traditions with James. Even though this is only our third married Christmas, I get excited about watching It's a Wonderful Life on Christmas Eve, or giving each other ornaments every year.

The problem is, although I like to dream about doing these things, I'm not so good at executing them. After decreeing that exchanging ornaments should be a tradition so we could build up our measly ornament collection, I promptly forgot all about it the next year. James, wonderful husband that he is, did not forget. This year, having been shamed by my poor performance last year, I was set on finding the perfect one... but is it possible to find cute ornaments outside of craft fairs? I couldn't. And I forgot to look at the one craft fair I went to this year. Oops. And as for It's a Wonderful Life on Christmas Eve, well I'm working all night. Unless I can convince James to stop by work, it isn't going to be happening. But that's OK, they'll be plenty of time for our Christams traditions after Christmas is over.

So what are some of your favourite new or old traditions?
.

And then there were two.

2009-12-16T19:19:00.000-08:00

A post for Rachel.

Yup, now I have a baby Le Creuset. Oh my. My mom kindly bought me a 2-something qt french oven for Christmas. When she discovered that I had just bought my own, she thought she would have to return it and get me a different gift. I kind of thought that I would want to return it too. That is until I opened up the box and cried out 'I'm keeping it!'. It was just way too pretty and cute to return. But since I had already opened the gift up, Mom let me take it home early. Merry Christmas to me!

My favourite place to stay...

2009-12-14T09:58:00.000-08:00

A week ago I was in Edmonton for a job interview. Definitely NOT fun. But I did get to spend the night at Rachel's place, and she is perhaps the best hostess in the world. Fresh towels and macaroons from the Duchess bakery waiting on my pillow. Treats from Trader Joes, wine, and The Duchess waiting to keep me full while knitting. And of course, a fantastic dinner with great conversation that helped me forget I was in for a long, stressful day the next morning. Thanks Rach!

Some Christmas-y thoughts...

2009-12-12T14:19:00.000-08:00

Can someone explain to me how the heck it is already December 12? This month is just flying by, and every day when I turn another box around in my advent calendar, I think to myself 'Nooo! Not another day gone... I want it back!'. OK, maybe I'm being slightly melodramatic, but I really wish I could be savoring this season a bit more before it's over and we're back to our dreary lives in January.

Work has been hectic this week (nights, overtime), plus flying to Edmonton (so so so cold) for a couple days also contributed to the whirlwind feel. But even so I've managed to put up our cute new tree, listen to approximately 20 hours of Christmas music (or so it seems), send out 80% of my Christmas cards, and watch the super awesome movie The Santa Clause with dear friends while eating goodies imported from Trader Joes. Here's to squeezing in some Christmas wherever you can!

In the meantime, while stuck at work, I've been dreaming up gifts for people with a little help from my blog roll. A Cup of Jo has been posting the greatest gift ideas, along with the cutest gift categories.

Gift Guide Part #2: Your Husband Who Smells Like Musk and Tells You Bedtime Stories Every Night.

Gift Guide Part #6: Your British Dad Who Makes Peppery Soups and Isn't Scared of Anything (Even Really Scary Things).

Was talking about these last night with Rebecca, while her adorable son slept in the other room. And today, what category should appear on A Cup of Jo?

Gift Guide Part #7: Your Lovely Friend Who Just Had an Adorable Rosy-Cheeked Baby.

I've also been mentally setting my Christmas table with a little help from frolic!

Doesn't this just make you want to throw a Christmas breakfast?

Oh Celestial Seasonings

2009-12-03T22:32:00.000-08:00

Sipping tension tamer tea out of my christmas mug... a great way to end the day. But does anyone else find the illustration on the cover of the tea a little odd? Am I supposed to feel like the princess? Is the tea the princess? Pretty sure my tension is the dragon. Anyway it makes me laugh every time, which reduces my tension, so I guess it's doing its job.

Oh, and if you've never heard about my trip to the Celestial Seasonings tea factory, ask me to tell you sometime. It is a wonderful, magical place and there is a whole room filled with mint that makes your eyes water and clears out your sinuses when you step in. Plus, you can try any kind of tea you want. Plus, the factory is on Sleepy Time Drive... how cute is that?

Feels like old times...

2009-12-03T22:13:00.000-08:00

Well after being a day worker for the past three months, I have returned to shift work. I was really looking forward to my first day off during the week to get started on my Christmas activities. Christmas cards, decorating the house, knitting, shopping... but instead it was a day of studying for a test I have to take next week. Yuck. Although it really took me back to my student days, because 5 years ago this was exactly what I would have been doing at the beginning of December. Sitting around in PJs all day, thinking about how great it will be when the studying is over and the fun can begin.

Still, I managed to bring up our decorations from storage, so the advent calendar is up even though it's not filled with any goodies yet. Let the countdown begin!

Yes please!

2009-11-24T20:09:00.000-08:00

Check out this amazing place in the country. I was telling James the other day that I would love to live in the middle of the woods someday, just as long as it's within 20 minutes of the city centre. But for this place, I might put up with 30 minutes.

You can see more of the ridiculous gorgeousness of this place at the selby.

Le Creuset and I

2009-11-22T17:39:00.000-08:00

It was such a rainy and cold weekend. We had friends staying at our place, and even still the most we could make ourselves do was walk down the block to the Indian restaurant, and then quickly run home for cards and Scattegories. But today, the sun came out for a few minutes while we were walking down West 4th, and I stumbled across the Le Creuset 5 L pot I've been coveting on sale! Suddenly, this was the best weekend ever.

I was so happy that I didn't even mind that they didn't have the colour I wanted. But then the sales girl overheard me talking and offered to call around and see if anyone else had the Caribbean Blue, and sure enough another store in Vancouver did.

So here it is, my new love in the kitchen, helping me make dinner. I think it's going to be nothing but soups and stews for the rest of the winter!

wish I was a french girl...

2009-11-15T20:08:00.000-08:00

I just spent an entire weekend speaking French at the UBC French immersion weekend. Besides being very exhausting, and leading to me eating way too many of the complementary croissants, it fit perfectly with my new obsession with all things French. I am also helped out in this by one of my new favourite blogs (thanks google reader!) A Cup of Jo. She has been posting links to her current project called Experience Parisienne, where bloggers look for the Parisian experience in American cities. So fun.

What fun blogs has google reader sent you to lately?

shopaholic falls off the wagon

2009-11-15T18:24:00.000-08:00

But wouldn't you? I found this dress at Circle Craft last week and fell a little bit in love. And when I stumbled across it again today at Planet Claire in Gastown at 40% off, I was done. Now I just need some reason to wear it.

Now, clearly I broke a few of my rules of the fast. I was in a store, with my credit card, and buying clothes. All I can say is I had a moment of weakness. Hopefully this will be the last big stumble I have to tell you about in the remaining 15 days, 3 hours, and 38 minutes of this fast. If not, well I don't know what will happen... perhaps I'll have to start this whole experiment over again in December, or even worse January. Oh no! Not sale season! I'd better get my act together.

a little more about my loom...

2009-11-12T21:29:00.000-08:00

This year for the first time ever I've decided to make presents for Christmas. Usually, I rebel against setting deadlines for myself like Christmas to finish projects. I mean who needs that pressure? But this year I decided to be bold and to make not one, but five separate gifts... eek! Luckily, I have my secret weapon... the Ashford Knitters Loom. Since I've had a few questions about what it actually looks like, here are some pics where you can see the whole thing.

Also, does anyone else have a husband who likes to bring home the weirdest thing he can find from the produce store? Mine loves to look for the craziest looking fruit or vegetable, that neither of us knows what to do with, and take it home to take up space in our teeny, tiny fridge.

This is what he brought home the other day. Now obviously, I tease him mercilessly about this quirk, and after cutting this up I got to hear the phrase I love most of all... "Alyssa, I think you were right". It's called a Pomelo, and actually after I forced him to eat it, James decided it wasn't so bad.

Sunday

2009-11-08T20:26:00.000-08:00

Baking, cooking, cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping (not pictured), then knitting and football. Just a typical Sunday in our house these days.

The soup we made was Pioneer Woman's Carrot and Squash Curry Soup. Only there were no summer squash (I wonder why?) at the market, so we used butternut squash instead. I have never ever cooked one before, but after today I am a convert. So much easier to use than I thought it'd be and tasty!

Happenings...

2009-11-04T18:49:00.000-08:00

So remember this post about my new Senioritas? Well I finally got around to using the colour Suzi Skis the Pyrenees a few weeks ago, and it's my new love. It looks like black in the bottle, but once you get it on it's this very dark matte, grey. I love how OPI nail polish always has such depth. Anyways, I've been wearing it the past couple weeks, and today as I was arriving at work a woman I work with commented to me 'Oh, you're still wearing your Halloween nail polish'. I replied 'Nope, this is my everyday'. She's quite a pulled together, stylish woman. Perhaps that was her polite way of telling me almost black nails are not work appropriate? If it was, I definitely chose to ignore that message. Super dark nails at work make me feel a bit rebellious, which I am so not. Like 'by day I'm a buttoned down meteorologist, but by night...', well you get the picture.

Here is the lovely polish, with my horrible, chipped manicure. And if you think doing self-photographed hand modeling is easy, you should think again. There were many, many botched attempts before I got this gem. Ha!

In other news, I'm on the fast! The shopping fast to be precise. No going into stores (much), and no buying any clothes for the month of November! To help with this I actually started leaving my credit card at home when I got work so as not to be tempted on my way home. I'm a nut job. Funny thing is, shopping is all I can think about but only because I've told myself I'm NOT allowed to shop.

Instead of shopping, I have been reading about shopping. Healthy choice, right? Well remember these shoes? I had decided to return them, only to realize that Winners only has a 10 day return policy. What the what? So I was feeling kind of sad about that, since they're sandals and it's winter. Then I stumbled across this pic in one of my reader recommended blogs A Cup of Jo. Tights. What a great idea! Now I just need a skirt...

From Refinery29.com's Six Perfect Outfits for Fall

It's WAY too early for Christmas...

2009-11-03T18:07:00.000-08:00

But I don't care! I was SO excited to see that the Christmas decorations were up at Starbucks on my way to work this morning, because it meant the return of the Gingerbread Latte. Oh how I missed you friend.

On our walk on Halloween...

2009-10-31T14:52:00.000-07:00

James took this last one... ha ha, those pesky geese finally got what was coming to them! Happy Halloween day everyone!

My name is Alyssa, and I'm a shopaholic...

2009-10-28T17:35:00.000-07:00

So, I may have shared before how I have this slight little problem with shopping. I can't seem to stop. My biggest problem is clothes, and somehow walking home along Robson Street does not help. Lately I've been feeling kind of fed up with myself for this. I have a bag full of barely worn clothes I bought just last fall that I'm giving away, and yet I still feel like I need so much more. Ugh! I think the month of November is going to be a fast from shopping.

But before that happens I've been busy getting sucked in by marketing schemes. I found this lovely wool vest at Banana Republic, but convinced myself that it was too expensive and managed to leave the store.

What shows up in my inbox a couple days later? A 25% off coupon for BR. How am I supposed to resist? I couldn't. And while I was there I found this sweater in navy/grey and these navy cord pants.

The sweater I bought and I love. It kind of reminds me of a Joan from Mad Men collar, and trying to look like any female character on Mad Men is sort of a new obsession of mine. But I managed to convince myself that the skinny cords are not needed, and left them behind.

Well a couple days later at the Gap, I find the same cords for $60 and this lovely sweater. I summoned all my will power, and walked out of the store because I know that you don't buy full priced at the Gap. So then today, I'm walking by the Gap and they have this new thing called sprize. If you buy something at full price, and then it goes on sale in the next 45 days, they will automatically put the difference on your account, and then you can use that for other purchases. Well, that's all it took. Sigh. Why am I falling for all their tricks?

No Haircuts For Me ...

2009-10-21T18:05:00.000-07:00

I don't know if this happens to anyone else, but as soon as I decide to cut my hair I all of a sudden proceed to have a string of love-my-hair days. This plunges me into a pit of doubt, "Why would I want to change my hair when it's working so great?" I ask myself. Well that's what I was thinking today as I was on my way to the hairdressers to get a drastically different haircut (short! red!) than any I've ever had before. Only when I arrived, he wasn't there, and rather than trust a stranger (who I'm sure is very good) with this big life change, I decided to put it off (maybe forever). The only problem was, now I was SO sad that I didn't get new hair and had an afternoon with nothing to do. Should I go home and tackle the pile of weaving/knitting that is building up ahead of Christmas? Heck no! I should play with red lipstick and take "artsy" - emphasis on the quotations - photos of myself a la 14 year old Alyssa. Oh dear, what must the man cleaning windows next door have thought of me? On second thought, why was he staring through the windows? Hmm..

In the past these photos would never seen the light of day, but since I've decided this blog needs a) more photos and b) more posts, AND since I've discovered the 'edit' button in iphoto, lets share!

I guess I should clean my mirror more often.

Camera-eye!

Blurry photography! This was my 'let's hang the camera and swing it' experiment. It's worse than sitting in the third row at Paranormal Activity (which I happened to do yesterday).

Ok, that's about all I can handle sharing right now. I don't think I'll be quitting my day job soon. But the upside is I've totally forgotten my lack of haircut disappointment.

Weekend-ing

2009-10-19T20:47:00.000-07:00

It seemed like ages since I had a weekend at home, so when this past one finally rolled around I wanted to make the most of it. Saturday morning was for coffee, pancakes and the weekend Globe and Mail. Followed by cleaning the bathroom, which turned into trying to find a place to put things in the crowded hall closets, which turned into pulling out everything in the hall closets and a mass organizing/purging session (with lots of help from James). Oh my, that was an eye opener. Emptying out the shoes closet I discovered about 10 pairs of shoes or sandals that I didn't even know I had. James was pretty tired of me exclaiming "I still have these?!?" by the end of it. We cleaned up just in time to head out in the pouring rain to meet my parents for a screening of This Way of Life and Chinese at Chonqing.

Sunday started off relaxed, but then it turned into grocery shopping, laundry, and a very frustrating weaving session that ended with me taking it all apart and putting away the loom. Whew, after all that I felt so exhausted I needed another weekend just to recover. Sigh, I guess it's only 5 days away, right?

Luckily we got to have dinner with some friends who just returned to town, a nice reward after all that hard work. And this amazing bouquet somehow ended up in my apartment after they left. What good friends.

To Keep or Return...

2009-10-14T20:17:00.000-07:00

that is the question. Found these at winners while shopping with my mom. Funky Frye heels, and as you can see from the pic, a little on the expensive side but such soft, lovely leather. So here's the question, do I keep them or return them? I cannot decide if they are my new loves or a big mistake. Help please!

My First Scarves

2009-10-13T19:07:00.000-07:00

Well, as you can tell I've been busy with the Ashford Knitters Loom. I have made four scarves so far, and am getting a little nervous that I might become one of those people, you know the ones with closets full of completed knitting/sewing/jewelry etc. that they have nothing to do with. It is a danger since I caved at the end of my class and bought my very own loom!

Luckily, I've been working on a knitting project to slow me down a bit over the past couple weeks... a baby sweater for my friend Rebecca's son. A few years ago I tried knitting a sweater for myself and it was a disaster... I used gross acrylic yarn, was bored by so much dull stockinette stitch, and it was bulky so I never, ever wore it. After that I said to myself that I'd proved that I could make a sweater if I wanted, and therefor never had to do it again. Well, I didn't count on baby sweaters... specifically this adorable one that Rebecca asked if I could make for her. Well here it is! I had so much fun making this that now I'm trying to figure out how I can make a big kid version for myself!

Some thoughts...

2009-09-30T17:48:00.000-07:00

I flew to Edmonton yesterday for a job interview. Then I flew home that evening. When I was getting on the plane in the morning, I noticed a small rip in my seat. And on the return flight, there it was again! I sat on the same seat, on the same plane both ways! Crazy. Also, it was very strange to be in a different city, just for one day. Had it been any other city, I would have felt like quite the jet setter ( ha ha). But it was worth it just to get to have burgers with Rachel and Dallas. I wish my work would pay for that more often.

So while I was flying, I was of course watching TLC. Here are some of my new reasons for wishing we had more than basic cable.

~ My Monkey Baby (What? And furthermore, WHAT?)

~Toddlers and Tiaras (The little kid pageant has a bathing suit section?!? What is wrong with the world???)

~Tiara King (Because one beauty pageant show wasn't enough.)

~Cake Boss (Scary big guy makes beautiful cakes, enough said.)

I'm keeping my fingers crossed we get a plane with TVs for our flight to Montreal this weekend!

A new hobby

2009-09-13T15:09:00.000-07:00

... or a twist to an old one. I'm taking a Weaving for Knitters class and today was the first day. After a couple hours at the yarn store and maybe 30 minutes at home, my scarf is done! Wow, they were not joking when they said this was fast. If only I knew how to get the scarf off the loom, I could be starting my second scarf by now, but I guess I'll have to go do the chores I planned on avoiding all day in favour of sitting on the deck with the loom.

And in other news, I finally broke down and bought a 'tree' for my jewelry and organized my dresser. And just in time for my beautiful Stella and Dot stuff to arrive. I meant to take before and after shots of my dresser to show what an improvement this was, but I forgot. But trust me, this is WAY better. I find that I'll get excited about fixing up little corners of my place, but then quickly loose steam and forget about it (which is why our TV is still sitting on an old, gross, microwave stand). So I'm posting this picture to remind myself how nice it feels to take an ugly corner and make it something you enjoy looking at.

What I'm loving right now...

2009-08-19T20:42:00.001-07:00

The OPI Spain collection. I really love OPI nail polish, but really has anyone ever finished an entire bottle? So when I saw this package of mini nail polishes I was sold. Still, when I got home I was feeling a little silly since these were probably none of the colours I would have chosen on my own. I forced myself to paint my toes with the bright pink (what I thought would be my least favourite colour), and much to my surprise I actually love it! Can't wait to try out the others.

Changes

2009-08-10T21:43:00.000-07:00

It was rainy and cold today, the first time in a very long time ( I could tell you exactly how long but then this blog would be too much like my work), and I started to get excited about the fact that fall is just around the corner. September always reminds me of new beginnings, a new school year, new teachers, new school supplies, a new schedule to learn. Well, not for me for the past few years since my school days ended and I joined the 'real world'. And even though not going back to school in the fall has allowed me to discover how much I truly love the season, in a way that I couldn't when it was wrapped up with the anxiety of a new school year and the end of summer vacations and freedom, I still miss the change and excitement that comes from starting something new.

But not this year. This year, I DO get to start something new. Starting September and going until December it looks like I will be doing a different job at work, and this means no shift work for three whole months! And that means only one thing ... I can sign up for classes! I haven't even heard 100% that the job is mine yet, and already I've started signing up for things. I was already taking intermediate sailing classes on Saturdays, but now I've also signed up for a weaving for knitters class on Sundays. Plus there are french classes, cooking classes, spinning classes, exercise classes, oh my! So many different activities that I could never do because of my crazy work schedule are now open to me for three whole months. I think there a lot of things I'll miss about shift work, but the chance to sign up for classes again... this is going to be fun.

Back on the Bandwagon: An Update

2009-08-04T19:18:00.001-07:00

So, right after I posted how whenever I watch too much of a TV show I start to sound like the characters, the following scene occurred in my living room.

And I must add that James and I have been watching multiple episodes of The Wire every night this past week. For those who don't know, the show is about a gang of drug dealers in Baltimore, and the cops who are trying to catch them.

James and Alyssa sit discussing the living situation of some friends.

J: Yeah, it's too bad that their parents are living so far away.
A: (Thoughtfully) Yeah, that's straight up unfortunate.
J Laughs at A for the next 20 minutes.
End Scene

My Morning Cup

2009-08-04T11:32:00.000-07:00

My dad is a potter. When I was young, I never realized that it wasn't the norm to have cupboards filled with mismatched pottery made by your father and his friends. It started to sink in as I grew older, that other people had matching dish sets made uniform by machines, and I started to think that maybe I preferred it that way.

I remember once, asking my dad why on earth he had bought home yet another mug from some friends pottery sale when we could barely close the cupboard as it was. He told me that it was good for your health to have an emotional attachment to the dishes you eat and drink off of. That thinking kind and happy thoughts about the person who had created these mugs while he had his morning coffee was good for his heart.

That idea has stuck with me. Although I cannot afford a cupboard full of handmade stoneware at this point in my life, I treasure all the pieces I have... the casts offs from my parents, the wedding tea set from friends, and the few odds and ends we have bought ourselves.

This cup is my favorite. It was a Christmas gift from James to replace another cup he broke (although growing up with an abundance of pottery in a kitchen with hard ceramic tile floors means I don't get too broken up when things get, well broken up:) Anyways, this is my morning coffee cup. It was made by a friend of my parents who I don't really know, but I feel like the enjoyment I get from its beauty makes up for that. When I drink coffee in the morning from this cup, I feel like it's good for my soul.

Back on the bandwagon...

2009-08-03T15:21:00.000-07:00

Back in April, I decided to start updating the blog again. I had the best of intentions, and even wrote a fairly long post for it, but one thing led to another and the post was never posted. Well, I just found it again... and it reminded me that Yes, I SHOULD start writing on my blog again. However, I am still the same lazy blogger that I've always been, so rather than starting with a fresh post, here's what I felt like sharing with you back on April 10, 2009.

Censoring the Status…

So, I've been noticing that my internal monologue is very heavily influenced by the the things I read/watch/hear. Maybe this happens to everyone, or maybe I'm just a natural imitator. I do tend to start sounding like the people I hang around with… which can be good or bad. When hanging around intellectuals makes me sound smarter than I am, good. When being around my husband and his goofy laugh makes me start to 'in-laugh' too, not so good. When hanging around anyone with an accent that I unconsciously adopt and then butcher, bad - and possibly insulting to other cultures. So the same thing happens with the thoughts that are constantly running through my mind. Like when I was watching WAY too much Sex and the City because my roommate had all the seasons on DVD, I found myself walking around thinking things like "In a city like Vancouver, I couldn't help but wonder… should I have tuna melts or take out sushi for dinner?"

Well lately, I have started to think my thoughts as status updates. Yes, facebook status updates are constantly running through my mind. You may find yourself thinking "What? She doesn't even update her status". It's true. And I'm not even on Twitter! But the reason I don't update my status is not that I can't think of what to say, it's that I'm constantly thinking of status updates and then censoring myself. Everything is either too boring/harsh/true/personal… it's a funny thing to phrase your thoughts as public announcements. And it's interesting how little I think in my mind that I'm actually willing to say out loud.

So, here are a few 'updates' I remember from over my lunch today that I don't mind sharing...

Alyssa is psyched to find out that a Tim's roll up the rim free coffee, means ANY SIZE YOU WANT!!!

Alyssa is amazed that the Spanish tourist thinks he can pay for his $2 soup with a US 100 dollar bill and get the change in American money. What country works that way?

Alyssa just remembered the Euro.

Alyssa is pretty sure that she's about to win the car from the roll up the rim cup she got…oh no, she just doubted it.

Alyssa did not win but feels OK with that.

Alyssa is regretting the extra large.

False Creek Ferry

2007-09-16T18:52:00.000-07:00

Well it turns out that the cute little ferry is the fastest and cheapest way to get from our house to Granville Island. We rode it yesterday with my parents, and let me assure you, it was a thrilling 2 minute ride. We then spent the afternoon wandering around Granville Island, drinking beer in the sun, and watching flamenco dancing at the fringe. And after it was all done, it was back onto the ferry and we sailed away home. Who knew that this the ferries weren't just for tourists?

My little garden (sort of)

2007-07-04T04:38:00.000-07:00

Last weekend James and I decided to stop by our local garden store, what else, the urban garden. I have never been much of a gardener, mostly because I've never had a yard. But even growing up, I never spent much time helping my parents in the yard, unless it was picking rasberries, which was my favorite. But in the past couple years, possibly after hearing friends talk about their gardens, possibly because I've realized how much better tasting fresh veggies are, I've started to fantasize about having a garden of my own. Alas, I still don't have a yard, just a little deck, so the garden is still out of reach. But what is not out of reach is a little herb garden hanging off my railing. And our recent sucess with the hanging basket we got from my parents (sucess meaning we have had it for 2 weeks and it's still alive), gave me the courage last Saturday to walk into the Urban Garden and walk out with all the makings of an herb garden. After spending the afternoon re-potting and arranging my pretty new herb plants, I'm happy to report that so far all plants are still alive and accounted for, and hopefully they will stay that way. Hanging basket aside, my track record is not so great. I'm even taking my Dad's advice to talk to the plants, so morning and night I creep out to 'talk' to my garden. Not quite sure what to say to them, so I say the only thing I can think of. "Little plants, please don't die".

new table

2007-06-23T22:13:00.000-07:00

Yup, went antique shopping today and actually bought something! Wow does that make you feel grown up or what? But check out this crazy table we bought. It kind of makes me feel like it's going to attack me, but also I'm strangely drawn to it. James loves it obviously... maybe the spikes make it look manly? Anyways, here is the new table. Let me know what you think.

My first post as a married woman...

2007-06-22T23:57:00.000-07:00

It's friday night. After dinner, a movie, a walk on the beach, and gelato, James and I have ended up back at our place testing martinis... is this what married life is always like? I hope so! I'm about to try my first gin gimlet (thanks Lynn and Bernice for the martini glasses, they sure do class up our drinking). I feel like the last two months have been a hectic blur, but slowly things are starting to settle down. Almost all the boxes have been unpacked (hurrah!), we have hung some pictures on our walls, we have ordered a new couch and chair (hurrah hurrah!), and perhaps most exciting of all... we have a BBQ. It's a crazy BBQ, and takes up 1/3 of our tiny deck, but there is nothing like eating food cooked over a fire to make you feel like it's summer. Good times.

I'm back! But you all knew that already...

2007-05-13T14:06:00.000-07:00

Well it's been almost 2 weeks since I arrived in Vancouver, and I apologize for taking so long to post about it. The past couple weeks have been pretty crazy. The good news is that we can now walk around our house with minimal tripping over boxes, and I'm on vacation so the new job stress is temporarily on hold. Now there's just the little matter of the wedding being less than a week away. My rational side knows that it's all going to come together (how could it now when there are so many wonderful people offering their help?), but the other part of me feels like hyperventilating every time I think about it:) Oh well, that's all part of what a wedding is about, isn't it?

My trip to Vegreville

2007-04-12T21:37:00.000-07:00

Today my friend Carmen took me on a cultural outing. We were off to see Vegreville, home of the worlds largest Pysanka (easter egg). It started with a trip to the local Ukrainian restaurant... can you beleive that I've been here almost a year and a half, and have never gone out for Ukrainian? Well, it was so good and I'm so sad that it took until my second to last week to find out where to go for perogies, sausage, and cabbage rolls. After eating as much cheesy goodness as we could, we hit the road. Well as it turns out, on the way to Vegreville, we were passing through Mundare... home of not only a famous sausage factory, but also a giant sausage. Yes, you heard it hear folks, there is a giant sausage on the way to the giant Easter egg. We obviously couldn't turn that down, so off we went to find it. As it turns out, it wasn't that hard to find... and really, as you can see for yourself, it's not that pretty.

With that cultural experience taken care of, we hit the road once again. Vegreville reminds me of every small prairie town I've ever been in. A super wide Main Street with hardly any stores along it, dusty roads, and a Co-op and a SAANs store (I didn't even know they were still around). But not every prairie town had a giant Pysanka, and this one made the hour drive from Edmonton worth while.

We hit up the Vegreville museum after, which was actually pretty fun. It had a old-time school room set up, along with this list of rules for teachers on the wall. I feel like two petticoats is a lot to wear, especially when you can't even get a ride home with your grandpa!

shame on me...

2007-04-07T00:04:00.000-07:00

So after posting about how people need to post more, I don't post for a week and a half. I am the worst of the non posters but at least it wasn't because I have been spending my time on Facebook. Last week I went to Vancouver for what was hands down my most hectic trip home to date. I was so exhausted by the time I returned to Edmonton...but the trip was a success. As I'm sure almost everyone knows, James and I found a place to live! Hurrah! It makes the move home (and the fact that I only have 23 days left in Edmonton) so much more real, now that I can picture where I'll be living. Since I've been back all I've been doing is work, work, eating cake, and more work (and shame... more eating cake).

where have all the bloggers gone?

2007-03-27T01:20:00.000-07:00

OK, I know everyone is on facebook, or hiding from creepy anonymous posters, or giving up the addiction that is the internet... but I miss my (semi) daily updates of your lives! Sure facebook is fun, it's interesting to see what all the old high school people are up to. And sure, it gives you a burst of self esteem when one of your high school crushes who you didn't even know knew your name adds you as a friend (now you can all go look at my friends and guess who I'm talking about), but it's not the same as the blogs. It's not the same as reading your witty observations of day to day life. Or hearing about what is making you happy/sad/perplexed/bored/etc today... a little bit of the conversations we might get to have if we saw eachother more often. So I urge you, for the well being of those of us forced to spend hours on the computer... bring the blogging back.

Soon, perhaps I won't rely on the blogs quite as much, since I'll hopefully be seeing much more of you when I move back to Vancouver! It's just over a month away... I'm coming for a visit this week with the goal of finding the perfect apartment to start my married life in. I've been picturing it in my mind... a one bedroom plus den with a balcony on a quiet street. We have insuite laundry, a fireplace, and maybe even a dishwasher... and it's not underground. I'm hoping that by visualizing this perfect apartment, it will become a reality. I'll let you know how that goes:)

Free cable?

2007-03-14T21:09:00.000-07:00

Well yesterday I accidently hit chanel 41 on my remote, a channel that I don't get... or so I thought. Turns out, I've got full cable all of a sudden! I don't know how long this has been going on for... the only thing I can think of is that when my upstairs neighbours got cable, they accidently gave me full cable too. But that was over a month ago... to think of all the movies I saw on the TV listings and thought " I wish I had that channel"... and the whole time I did, I just had never checked!

Yesterday I watched two episodes of Sex and the City on TBS, and it was great. But this afternoon, I found myself watching TLC and Slice, shows like 'Til Debt do Us Part' and 'Bringing Home Baby'. Really, 30 extra channels just means 30 times more crap to waste time on... with the exception of the odd movie or rerun of SATC. So the moral of this story is... I guess I'm glad that I haven't been paying for full cable all along.

Spring has sprung, I hope...

2007-03-13T11:41:00.000-07:00

It's melting here like crazy, and you wouldn't believe the size of the puddle in my ally! I swear, one of these days when I drive through it, I might not come out on the other side, it seems that big. The funny thing about spring here, is now that the snow is melting I can see all the leaves on the grass that I never got around to raking last fall... so really, it feels like it's fall since the ground is covered in leaves... very confusing.

So I had big plans of posting some pictures from my trip to Mexico today... but when I tried to load them on my computer, iphoto crashed, and none of the pictures are there... but I think that they may have been erased from my camera... which would be pretty annoying. But in computer related news, I finally got facebook, apparently that's where everybody is. But getting facebook made me realize that I take so few pictures, I really need to be documenting my life better.

It's official...

2007-03-02T22:42:00.000-08:00

April 30th, I report to the Vancouver office. I'm coming home! It's a huge relief to finally have a date, and to be able to start planning my move. And it's even earlier than I expected. Thank goodness they didn't want me to start May 18th... that would have been stressful.

Although I'm really glad to be returning to the coast, I'm definitely going to miss Jenny and Rachel, and the people I work with here. It's always a little scary when you leave a great workplace, like the one I have here, for the unknown. Throw in the stress of moving, on top of the stress of wedding planning, and the knot in my stomach is still very much intact. Things like this deffinitely show me that I am a huge worrier. My mom would tell me that it's the german in me. I need to learn to relax... so I'm going to try, and to focus on making the most of my remaining 57 days in the snow...

Here I am in Banff...

2007-02-16T17:52:00.000-08:00

So my winter vacation has finally begun. James arrived last night, and today we drove to Banff. It's so nice to be in the mountains again! James is at a conference this weekend, so while he is busy listening to people talk about the physics, I get to relax in our huge hotel room. I'm really looking forward to doing some stuff around town tomorrow. I think it's been about 10 years since I've been in Banff in the winter. We're not going skiing, but maybe ice skating and the hot springs? I've been feeling pretty down about the never ending winter lately, but seeing the snow and icicles here in banff, among the mountains, well it makes me feel a little better about this wretched season.

I love Second Cup!

2007-02-08T01:22:00.000-08:00

In many ways I'm very loyal to Vancouver. I still believe that 8 months of rain is better than 8 months of snow. I'd rather pay $300 000 for a condo by the ocean, than a house in the prairies. And I think my Tercel is a superior vehicle to a Ford pickup truck. But there is one thing about Alberta that I embraced almost right away... and that is Second Cup. Specifically the Second Cup by my house.

From the outside, it looks like any other chain coffee shop... but once you step inside you find yourself in a neighborhood gathering place. It's always packed with people visiting, reading, working, and studying. The walls are covered in posters for things going on around our neighbourhood, and there is something about the vibe there that feels so personal and comfortable. Never mind the fact that their coffee is great (I'm sorry, but I can't handle non flavoured Starbucks lattes anymore... is there even any espresso in them?), Second Cups have personality. No where is this more apprent than on Whyte Ave (Edmonton's attempt at Kits). You walk into the Starbucks, and you could be in any Starbucks. You walk into the Second Cup, and the pierced/tatooed baristas, the music that is definitely NOT light jazz, and the general dirtiness... well you could still be a lot of places, but it narrows things down. And that is why I love Second Cup.

I love yarn!

2007-02-06T17:56:00.000-08:00

This may make me the biggest granny of all, but I guess it's no secret that I love to knit. It still amazes me how a series of little knots can add up to a toque, scarf, mittens, throw pillow, blanket, you name it. It's so satsifying to see the rows increase as you work, each stich putting you into a kind of trance that is often very hard to break. I've spent hours at work, in movies, and sadly even out with friends, where all I could think about was getting back to whatever project I was working on at the time. I'm working on my first pair of socks right now, and it's wild to think that a hundred years ago, women did this everyday, and because of them, their family stayed warm.

But lets get to the root of this obsession. Knitting would not be nearly as fun if it wasn't for the beautiful fibers that it brings into your life. I've been working with acrylic yarn forever, because I was poor and it was cheap, and even so I would go to the yarn stores and stare at the shelves of cashmere, silk, mohair, and wool... in every colour you could think of. I've recently started buying some of the nice stuff, and it does not dissapoint. I think that I've reached the point of no return, and oh this might get expensive, but I don't care. I love yarn!

what to do about readings...

2007-01-29T04:18:00.000-08:00

So, on my night shifts this week, it's been wedding planning time. And tonight, I've been trying to look up readings to include in the ceremony. The only problem is that I haven't been to many weddings, so I can't tell if all the poems/readings I like are super cliched. So please help me! What are you sick of hearing at weddings?

The one poem that I love, love, love, was ruined for me by Cameron Diaz. She read it at her sister's wedding, in the movie In Her Shoes. So sad.

It's been a while...

2007-01-28T03:49:00.000-08:00

Where have I been? Well, I'm not really sure. I was in Vancouver last week, which was so great even though there was freaking snow on the ground! Really, I haven't been snow free since the beginning of October, and while I know this is how most Canadians live, it's driving me a little nutty. I can't wait to get away from snow, and ice, and dirty dirty cars. Seriously, my poor paint job... Alberta has ruined my shiny red car.

Back in Edmonton, I've been working a lot to make up for being away so much, and on my days off I've suddenly found myself really busy. Maybe it just feels that way because I've started knitting my first pair of socks, which I'm very excited about, and so anything else other than knitting just feels like a huge hassle. But actually, there does seems to suddenly be a lot to do for the wedding, now that it's just 100 or so days away. Three very exciting things happened this week, my dress came, I bought my veil, and the wedding invitation proofs arrived.

So since I was sick, then away, then working and busy on my days off, January is not turning into the stellar workout month I was hoping it would be. It didn't help that when I finally made it to the gym, my stupid workout plan told me to do 90 lunges, and so I couldn't walk for the next couple days, preventing further workouts. I have to say, I'm feeling a little panicky that I won't be ready for the triathlon. Yes, the triathlon I'm planning to do in August. Am I getting a little bit ahead of myself, do you think?

Sun dogs

2007-01-13T09:26:00.000-08:00

So I ended up working 49 hours this week, and now I'm sick on my weekend off. There is a lot of stuff I feel like I should go out and do today, but all I want to do is stay home and drink tea. It doesn't help that it's -15 outside, quite a bit warmer than a couple days ago, but still WAY too cold for a White Rock girl like me.

After the blizzard a couple days ago, it got really cold and we had lots of ice crystals. I'd never seen them before I moved here, but it's where it looks like it's snowing tiny flakes but there are no clouds. It happens when it gets really cold, and it's actually quite magical. It makes the air sparkle. It also makes for really great sun dogs. These pictures were taken at my work by a coworker of mine this Thursday.

My Christmas Vacation

2007-01-06T16:49:00.000-08:00

Well this was my first Christmas where I didn't go back to White Rock... it was very different, there's snow, I worked Chrismtas, and people had to visit me for a change. James has returend to Vancouver, and I guess it's time to go back regular life... but before I do, I thought I'd share some of what I did over my vacation.

I couldn't bring myself to buy a fake tree, and anything living dies very quickly in my dark basement apartment, so instead my book case was my tree this year. It did make things a lot more festive to have somewhere to put the presents.

My parents spent a day in Edmonton, and it was lots of fun having them stay over. Because I had to work the next night, and they didn't want to disturb me too much in the morning, they let me have the bed and all slept in my living room/dining room area. Apparently my fridge was so loud that in the middle of the night my dad almost unplugged it! But my mom stopped him... thank goodness. They left the next morning, and I worked for three nights leading up to Christmas.

On Christmas Day, James came to town! I picked him up at the airport and we went to Jenny and Ian's house for our first grown up Christmas Dinner. We had salmon with all the trimmings, and I have to say I don't care about turkey as long as there is stuffing. And there was SO much delicious stuffing... with no max to fight with I could have as muh as I wanted!
After dinner we ate desert and watched Elf, which I have to say is my new favorite Christmas movie (Buddy the elf, what's your favorite colour?).

We got home around 2am, but James and I decided there was no point in not opening presents right away, since we'd just get up first thing in the morning for them anyways... so we stayed up until 4am opening gifts. We also enjoyed the goodies Rachel sent us.

The rest of the time was pretty low key. We watched all of Freaks and Geeks (thanks Rach), which I had never seen before, and I loved! I worked 3 days, we visited with friends, and generally had a good time. It's always weird now, we've been apart for so long you start to wonder if you can handle almost two weeks straight together... but we didn't get sick of each other at all... so that's a good sign:) I can't wait until we don't have to say good bye anymore.

Here are some pictures of us out in the snow.

Yes, it's been a while...

2007-01-04T15:20:00.000-08:00

Christmas and New Years were great... although I was sort of working for both of them. James is still here so that's why I haven't posted... but right now he's playing guitar, so I figured that I would sneak in a quick note to say Happy New Year!

We're having a lot of fun, visiting friends, being very lazy and eating way to much baking. He goes home on Saturday, so after that I'll post more comments. Hey Bec, did you see James commented on your post about Tim's guitar?

Here are some pictures taken with my family on photo booth...good times.

2006-12-24T21:29:00.000-08:00

MERRY CHIRSTMAS!!!

It's Christmas Eve and here at work we're busy eating, singing, and tracking Santa on NORAD's webpage... oh yes, and we're also forecasting the weather. Everyone in the office brought in treats, and our bosses went out and bought us so much food... I don't know if I've ever seen such a spread! It's actually pretty fun working tonight... it's like I'm a kid again and too excited to sleep thinking about my presents. I'm actually getting a pretty good present tomorrow... James is coming to town!

My Favorite Lurker

2006-12-22T22:27:00.000-08:00

So this post is dedicated to my friend Eric, who I've found out reads my blog, but cannot comment (although that part is slightly suspect). I have been feeling a little down about blogging of late, because I felt like other than Bec and Ang, no one reads mine, basically it's been your run of the mill Christmas blogging pitty party. But finding out that I have a lurker of my own has made me excited once again to share the boring details of my life with the world... so thanks Eric.

So tonight I'm at work for the first of my three Christmas night shifts... oh man there are a lot of sweets here ... and we haven't even gotten to christmas eve when we are having an actual buffet. There are tim bits, cupcakes, candy canes, turtles (OK, I brought the turtles), chocolates, and a raw shrimp ring that was sitting out all day long. We tried to get our supervisor to throw them out, but he seemed to think that they were still good so they are in the fridge, a food-poisoning trap waiting for anyone who doesn't know any better than to eat raw shrimp out of a communal work fridge.

My family left town this morning, after arriving here yesterday morning. It was so fun having them in town, but it was also definitely a gong show and I don't really know how the next week of driving across the prairies will be for them. We spent almost all day yesterday at the West Edmonton Mall... shopping, and wandering around. Me and Max went on the roller coaster, which was a highlight... every time I think that maybe I've built it up in my mind and it's not as good as I remember, but it never disappoints. Of course Max, who has been a dare devil since we were little, was so calm. We're hanging upside down, and I'm screaming while he leans over to me and is saying, "yeah this roller coaster is really good". I guess once you've bungee jumped 30+ times, roller coasters are no longer that scary.

We went for dinner at daddy-o's on Whyte, and then went back to my place. We opened presents, then Max watched movies while my parents and I played San Juan, which my Dad totally won. I couldn't believe the crappy luck I was having that I couldn't even beat two first time players.

They left really quickly this morning because they had dinner plans in Saskatoon, and my Dad had to get on the road RIGHT AWAY. While he was running around, counting down the minutes until they had be out the door (and then the minutes they were late by), telling mom she didn't have time for breakfast, packing, or going to the washroom, I had a breakthrough. I get my Trip Nazi tendencies from my father! Anyone who has ever traveled with me (Lynn, Laura, James, Angela) knows what I'm talking about... it's a sickness and I'm trying to change... but at least I know where I get it from and that has to be one of the steps, right?

Are your parents home?

2006-12-18T17:16:00.000-08:00

So I'm on some suckers list for charities, because I gave some money a year ago to some charity event. Now I'm so annoyed because I get 30 phone calls a day, and 80% of all mail that arrives at my house is from charities wanting money from me. I don't mind giving money, but I've now decided not to give to any charity that solicits money from me. I'll have to go to them. Well usually I screen all the 1-800 numbers that show up on my call display, but today for some reason I picked up. I say hello, and after a pause the woman on the phone goes "Is your mommy or daddy home?". After a pause I reply "No, I'm all grown up." Does my voice sound like a little kids and I just don't know it? She apologized by saying "you just sound SO young". Thanks. After that she wasn't getting anything from me for her little angels or whatever she was collecting for.

In other news, I had the strangest driving experience today. I'm stopped at this red light, when this cop car with lights flashing drives up and parks in the middle of the intersection. The cop gets out and motions to all of us stopped at the light to stay put. I look to the right and see there is another police car with his lights flashing, followed by an undercover cop car, with lights flashing, followed by: a hearse, 5 limousines, a coach bus, 30 other regular cars, with regular looking people in them, and another police car with lights flashing brings up the rear. While this caravan is passing, about 6 other police cars that are driving down the street on the wrong side come whizzing by, I assumed go ahead and stop traffic further down the street. Then, when they had passed, the first cop got back in his car, and drove off. So, what I want to know is, whose funeral was that? Who is so important that when they die they get the police to come shut down the roads for them. You want to know what the strangest thing was... the coach bus, following the limos... it was empty.

Crafting it up in Edmonton...

2006-12-09T21:02:00.000-08:00

Yes, today was the day I have been waiting for since last christmas. I went to the Butterdome Craft Sale, the largest craft sale in western canada, to kick off my shopping. Let me tell you, it did not disappoint. Me and Rach took the bus into u of a where it's held (in the giant gym that is shaped like a stick up butter... hence the name butterdome), and spent several hours walking through the place. There were so many people there that sometimes you'd walk into a booth to check it out, and when you turned around you realized that you couldn't get out. Not a good place for a claustrophobic. Add to that the fact that your arms are full of jackets, and tons of bags full of goodies, and it does make it a little difficult to get around.

I just love buying presents at craft sales, last year I hit a couple and managed to get almost all my shopping done. This year I didn't quite do that well, and I know that I'll have to head to the mall at some point, but I still did pretty good. The other great thing about the craft sale is the food samples... we hit up the cranberry pudding with hot butter sauce booth multiple times. Oh it was good times.

How many days til Christmas?

2006-12-06T16:16:00.000-08:00

Well I'm back in Edmonton after having a great weekend in Vancouver. It was great to see everyone, and to spend lots of time with James, but it makes it so hard to come back to work and snow. Still, it's almost Christmas time? 19 days goes by so quickly, before we know it it's going to be 2007. So weird, 2007? Remember when 1994 seemed like it was really far away?

So I think one of my highlights from the trip was games day... I'm so excited to be able to play games with Tim and Bec more than once every 3-6 months! After they left, I just kept wanting to play the new games that James had bought but they were all for 3 people or more. I told James that we needed to have children so that we could have people to play games with us whenever we wanted... but I'm not so sure he was on board with that plan:)

Work, work and work...

2006-11-25T08:41:00.000-08:00

That has been my life lately, so that explains the lack of posts. I just haven't been doing anything too interesting, and so my blog suffers. This weekend I'm working 4 shifts in a row, and I'm working the Yukon and there is NO weather. That means the 48 hours feels like 100 hours... so sad that Lainey Gossip doesn't get updated on weekends:( So if you want to help me out, post lots this weekend so I have something to read! Hey you might even win a Post-It Award in the process... must get my votes in soon.

I did go see Casino Royale last week, and it lived up to all my dreams. Daniel Craig is the hotness, even if his head is freakishly small compared to his massive shoulders... much better when he's wearing a tux... of course I think that is almost universally true of all men.

Can't wait to come visit the ocean next weekend, I really hope it's warm and all the snow is gone by then. Yeah, there is going to be snow. Watch out for those Vancouver drivers!

Movies and movies...

2006-11-10T21:39:00.000-08:00

I have just returned from the theater where I've just watched my third movie in as many weeks. This has got to be an all time record for me, probably I didn't see three movies in theaters in all of last year. But it seems that there have been quite a few movies coming out lately that I actually feel willing to pay 12 dollars to see... and with the dreary, icy world outside, any type of indoor activity is looking pretty good. Since I got a request for a Borat review, and I love movie reviews, I thought I'd try to share my thoughts with you.

First there is Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kahzakstan. See it. It is brilliant. I don't want to say that if you don't like it, that means there is something wrong with you and that we can't be friends anymore, but...

You have probably heard a lot about the movie, and you may be wondering just how offensive it is. The answer to that question is that it is offensive to everyone, and everything. Any decent person will find plenty to be offended at. The anti-semitism alone should make you ashamed at enjoying it. But Borat is created by a very intelligent man, and all the prejudice is so over exaggerated that it really is pointing at the underlying stupidity of the beliefs in the first place. Actually, what everyone I've talked to seems to find the most horrifying in the movie is not Borat, but the things he gets other people to say. Like how quickly sales people will come up with answers to questions like "Which gun is the best to shoot a Jew", or "How fast would I have be driving to kill a Gypsy with this car".

There are some unfortunate scenes with very unattractive naked men, but they too are hilarious. If you can make yourself watch, which quite frankly, I had a hard time doing. All in all, I loved it. I may have built it up a little too much before I went, because I don't think it changed my life like I expected to it to, but it is the funniest movie I've seen in a while, and it did make me think a lot more than your run of the mill comedy. "Great success, high five!"

Also, did anyone catch Borat on Leno trying to make a 'sexy time' with Martha? Check it out on YouTube if you missed it, and thanks to my friend Eric who showed it to me today.

Will Farrell has tried a non-frat pack movie before, but from the way that everyone is making a big deal about him being in this movie you would think they had all forgotten Melinda and Melinda. I wish that I could forget Melinda and Melinda, I did not like that movie at all... but for that I blame Woody Allen (nobody talks like that in real life). So when I heard how good Will is in Stranger than Fiction, I was very excited to see it for myself. This is another one of those reality and fiction intersecting movies a la Adaptation. Now, it's really not fair to compare movies to Adaptation too much, since that is one of my favorite movies of all time. But I have to say that Stranger than Fiction does pretty well for itself.

First off, it's funny. Dustin Hoffman is so great in this kind of role... reminds me of his character in I Heart Huckabees a bit...and Will did a great job of reining himself in to play the straight man. The story itself becomes a bit problematic if you think too hard about it, but I'm trying this new thing where I don't pick movies apart too much, and just try to go with the premise I've been given. It's definitely fun, and it's really enjoyable watching those actors do their thing. I left the theater feeling happy and content in my choice of film, and really, what more can you ask for?

Now the count down has begun for the next Bond... Casino Royal? Has anyone else seen the trailer? Total loin quiveration (that one is for you Rach).

Our friend Lynn

2006-11-10T21:25:00.000-08:00

Well I love that everyone seems to think I am the Lynn expert! It's true, I have been friends with her since I was 9 and she was 8 and we used to play dress up in her mom's clothes. I loved that at 9, her mom's high heels actually fit me! Quite a thrill to wear high heels at that young age... but anyways, back to your questions.

Lynn's birthday has not passed, it's November 18th. So Lynn, if you're reading this, happy birthday next week! We've all been warned, so no excuses about not remembering. I'm the worst for that, I forget everyone's birthday. The worst part is that I usually remember that the birthday is coming up, but then forget the actual day. I think it's because I never actually know what day it is, and shift work is making it way worse.

As for her wedding, I know Lynn had picked a tentative date, and something makes me want to say that it is August 11th, but that could be wrong. So Lynn, again if you're reading this, comment and let us know the day for sure.

Just so we all remember what she looks like, I've posted a picture of Lynn looking beautiful in Cancun. Happy 24th birthday Lynn... we've come a long way since grade 4!

2006-11-07T14:48:00.000-08:00

Photo Booth is fun.

what i did this weekend...

2006-11-06T22:53:00.000-08:00

It's monday night, and I'm back at work after a great weekend. James came to town, which was so great and reminded me why we are getting married. He is fun. How much fun is it to have a someone to spend your weekend with? We registered at the Bay on Saturday, and I wasn't sure how it would go, since registering is potentialy not that fun. Well we got there at 1pm, almost quit at 3pm, but told ourselves not to be such wimps, and ended up staying 'til closing! It was actually pretty fun. Even with all that time there, it's surprisng how few things get decided on. The woman at the registry place thought we were crazy when she saw that we had registered for 2 brandy glasses and 4 martini glasses, and no other stemware or glasses. At least we have our priorities straight.

That night, we went and saw Borat with Rachel and Dallas. It was great, and so busy! We ended up standing in line for 2 hours to see it so we wouldn't have to sit in the front row, and I've never had 2 hours in a line go so fast before. Thanks to the Synchyshyns (did I get that right?) for the good times.

On Sunday we spent the afternoon playing Cranium with Jenny and Ian at their very cozy house. It was my first time playing that game, and it's pretty hilarious. Especially the part where you have to hum a song, and the other person has to guess what it is. Yes, it turns out my humming skills are not so good.

In between all this we managed to watch 8 episodes of Lost. And now I have to wait until December to see the next one! It's going to drive me crazy. James has all the DVDs, and he's seen them all, but I get too spooked to watch them by myself.

I'm so ready to be done with long distance.

the joys of hair removal done right

2006-10-31T17:22:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween! I am not dressed up, and not doing anything fun tonight ... this is the first year of my life when I haven't had a costume, or done anything for Halloween. It's sad that I've ended up like this... but I'm feeling pretty glad that I'm not a kid here tonight though, it's cold outside... who ever heard of trick or treating in the snow? Those poor children.

Anyways, today I got my eyebrows threaded for the first time ever, and I must say that I will never go back to doing my own brows. $5, 2 minutes, and all of a sudden I have beautiful, not lopsided eyebrows. I don't know about anyone else, but I never know what to do with mine. What shape to make them, how to keep them looking groomed without going too far... and how are you supposed to pluck with your left hand? They have been a mess my whole life, and I don't know why it took me so long to realize the solution. I shouldn't BE doing them myself. Leave it up to the experts. How long will it be until I give up on home grown mani/pedis and adopt the same attitude? Hopefully for the sake of my budget, it will be a while, but I have to say, I'm sorely tempted to hand over all my grooming to the ladies at Bella Tonic spa ($5 threading, $15 manicure, $25 pedicure, $40 full leg and bikini wax... ok, I guess it would add up quick:)

It's finally here.

2006-10-29T21:54:00.000-08:00

Winter. It snowed for the past couple of days, and at first I thought it would just melt. But it hasn't... could this mean that I'm finally going to have to experience a REAL Canadian winter? Here's a picture of snow found on the internet... instead of the forest, imagine my house. That's what it looks like here. Today, I decided to pull a total west coast move and not drive at all because of the snow (even though I'd been driving in it yesterday). I spent the day watching Gilmore Girls on DVD (yes, possibly quite lame, but thanks rach!), and cleaning my house... it was very cosy. That's the nice part of snow, it makes you so happy to be inside. Well, when I did finally venture out to go for coffee, I decided to wear my winter coat and boots... even though it was probably overkill. It was NOT overkill, by the time I crossed the street I was cold, -16 degree windchill is A LOT worse than I remembered it.

Yesterday, in the snow storm (ok, maybe a bit of an exaggeration), Rachel and I went and saw Marie Antoinette.

Dallas was out of town, and next week when James is here I've already made him promise to take me to see Borat (who else is psyched for that movie?), so it seemed like the perfect girly outing. It was exactly what I expected, very pretty to watch but with extremely sparse dialog. So much so that if you didn't know the story, it would be kind of hard to follow. Lucky for me, I'd read an article in vogue (of all places) a couple months back that was all about the life of M.A., so it helped to fill in details about a lot of the characters in the movie.

Tomorrow is my last day off this week, and I definitely have errands to run, so I'm going to have to go out into the gross, mucky world outside. Aren't I glad that I didn't take my dad's advice and kept my winter tires on all summer. Some may say it ruins your tires, but I was prepared when the snow hit.

New computer!!!

2006-10-24T16:23:00.000-07:00

So, I finally came to terms with the fact that technology had passed my old iBook by, and that it was time to move on. So I've upgraded to a new MacBook. It looks almost exactly the same as the old one... but don't let that fool you because it is sooo much faster. And, things actually work on it! I can finally post pictures on my blog. And as per Ang's suggestion, here is one I took of myself using Photo Booth. Up until now I've been uploading pictures only at work, but that is a little sketchy since I'm pretty sure it's frowned up on. Oh well, if they don't want me blogging at work then they should block the webpage...

I have no good excuse for the lack of posts recently. I've just been working and playing with Jenny and Rachel. It's just so wonderful to have those girls living in town. So here are some highlights of the past couple weeks...

* I bought my wedding dress!!! I'm so excited to get to wear it... it's exactly what I wanted, but nothing I'd imagined. And now that I have a dress it's extra motivation for me to get my butt to the gym. The dress fits now, I'd better make sure it will still fit 7 months from now.

*Found a couple new restaurants I like. Me and Rachel went to the Urban Diner on Saturday night, and I had the fanciest Mac and Cheese dinner of my life. So tasty, and super cheesy (probably not helping my goal of fitting my wedding dress much). And I went back to Daddy-o's on Whyte with Jenny yesterday. Oh my, they have a very good crab cake po-boy sandwich. Crab cakes in a sandwich... that is decadence.

*Went to see Cirque du Soleil a couple weeks ago, and of course it was fantastic. It was their new concert type show, Delerium, so at first I really wasn't sure what to expect. But they really didn't dissapoint, there was still plenty of insane stunts and acrobatics... PLUS there was a lot more dance than in the previous show of theirs that I saw... and I realized just how much I watching dance.

*I bought an iPod nano... a red one, which is so small... I mean they are not joking when they say it's tiny. And let's all give a big shout out to Apple for bringing back the colours. It's so great to have music at the gym again, i'm just going to have to try and be a little more careful with this one.

Fashion victim?

2006-10-05T17:28:00.000-07:00

So... I bought my very first pair of skinny jeans today. They are not even just straight leg... these are tapered, tight, grey, skinny jeans. An item of clothing I vowed never to wear, since I remember hearing from the British what-not-to-wear girls that tapered pants flatter NO ONE. And that the only people who could sort of pull it off are size 0, but even they are pushing it.

Well this fall, skinny pants are back again... along with leggings and long sweaters and belts... it's the 80s re done, and for some reason I find it all very intoxicating. See, I missed the 80s the first time around, since I was in Japan and things were different there. And we were a little too young to have the full fashion force of the 80s hit us... But still for years, I've felt left out when conversations turned to what fashion disasters my friends were during the later part of that decade... I was just a regular kid and did not wear the bright neon legging, or the legging that looked like photo copied jeans for that matter.

Skip forward to 2006, and I'm in a change room trying on tight tight jeans, vaguely aware that they do in fact make my hips look huge... but for some reason I don't care. Sometimes it seems fashion is not even about how good you look, it's just about embracing the moment. I wore my skinny jeans all over town while I did errands for the rest of the day, and every time I caught a sight of my reflection in a store window I couldn't help but smile. Maybe I'm just a fashion victim jumping on a hideous trend, but at least I can say I've done it... and besides, by the next time this trend comes around I'll DEFINITELY be too old.

wedding shmedding...

2006-10-04T00:36:00.000-07:00

So last night at work I was talking to my friend Rob, who is getting married next August. He was talking about how crazy organized and on top of things his fiance is... the whole thing is pretty much planned! She's even designed, printed, and assmbled their invitations. There is nothing like hearing about someone like that to make you feel like you are failing as a bride. I haven't even looked into invitaitons at all! Or flowers, or cakes, or much of anything for that matter.

I'm not exactly feeling stressed about the wedding yet, but it's just that I'm not super keen to plan it at all. I like thinking about things in theory... but when it comes to putting it all together, I suck. And what's worse... every time I decide that some detail isn't that important to me, there is this little voice in my head saying "You only get one wedding, and if you don't do it right you will regret it for the rest of your life." So I'm left with this list of things that I feel I should care about...but don't really. Oh if only I could have a wedding planner to do it all, or a wife of my own to do the planning...that would be great.

Fear the crane!

2006-09-21T03:08:00.000-07:00

Way back in summer 2004, while living in the basement suite on west 3rd, I came home to find that my toilet bowl tank had cracked, and water had been leaking into my apartment. A week later I got a phone call from my landlord... Luke... informing me that he had spoke to an 'expert' who had told him that the only way the toilet bowl could have cracked like that was by physical force. The conversation went something like this...

Alyssa:Luke, no one was home when it happened.
Luke:It had to be you, you lie!
Alyssa:Luke, no one was home when it happened.
Luke:You broke it with your super human stength!
Alyssa:Luke, no one was home when it happend.
Luke:Crane toilets are good quality toilets... they don't just break on their own, you stupid lier, even though you've never been anything but an ideal tenant I hate you anyway and will try to pin everything down to mildew growth in the bathroom on you!!!

At which point my dad, who was listening in on this conversation informs me that a)Crane toilets crack all the time leading to b) a class action lawsuite against them.

After informing Luke of this he quickly hangs up on me, without so much as an apology for his rudeness... and never mentions this to me again in the next year I live there.

Well the crane has struck again... exact same problem... the toilet bowl in my parents bathroom cracked flooding the whole kitchen downstairs. And it turns out that their insurance company has an entire department dedicated to damage caused by crane toilets cracking! Which leads me to my point... LUKE NEVER TALKED TO ANY EXPERT!!!! Any expert would KNOW about this problem...it was an outright lie designed to bully a young girl into paying for a new toilet... I know that it's been a couple years, but still I get so angry when I think about this.

Whew, that was quite the rant... I guess hearing about crane toilets has brought back all the anger that towards Luke that I have burried inside... must work on being more zen...

But beware if you have a crane toilet... aparently they are ticking time bombs.

What I did at work today

2006-09-17T15:24:00.000-07:00

So I always try to explain what I do at work, and do a crappy job of it. But since my blog needs more pictures, here is my forecast that I did today. I was forecasting the southern half of BC, and as you can see, it explains why it was raining in Vancouver today.

it's raining....

2006-09-14T14:47:00.000-07:00

It's cold and rainy outside today... only 9 degrees... and it's supposed to stay that way all weekend. It sort of takes the edge of having to work. I'm really excited for fall this year, which I know is crazy, since the chance that I'll get off easy with a really mild winter again is not so good. I should want summer to last forever, but I don't. There is just too much pressure to go outside and enjoy the weather. But what if you live in a basement? And work 12 hours so you don't feel like going to the park when you get home? And melt when it gets hotter than 28 degrees? And don't have a pool? Then you end up feeling like you're waisting the summer. So tonight, all I want to do is sit inside and knit... and I will feel great about it, because who would want to go outside in weather like this?

Of course, this just applies to fall. I would be happy with rain for the next 9 months (kind of like at home), but I'm still really freaked out by driving in snow. And just to remind me why I should make sure I really enjoy this fall weather, here are a couple pictures from when Bec came out to visit last March. Just a little taste of what is coming.

a little bit of disposable time...

2006-09-10T22:52:00.000-07:00

Whew... it's my last night of work until Thursday, and I'm looking forward to the break. Don't get me wrong, it's not as though I've been working myself to the bone lately (actually not even close). It's just that I've been away, and then went straight into robot-night-shift-mode (work til 7am, sleep til 5pm, repeat), so I feel like my to do list is getting pretty long. So, because you're all dying to know, here are the highlights of my week to come...

*Mail in the deposit to the caterer... I know this one seems boring, but actually I'm psyched to do it because it means we actually HAVE a caterer for our wedding... hoorah!

*Go to the chiropractor... yup, after years of suffering from my headaches and doing nothing but complain (and blog) about them, I'm finally seeking some help... thanks in part to the sage advice of Rachel. I'm really hopeful that this will help so fingers crossed.

*Knitting... the leaves are turning brown and the forecast high for thursday is 7 freaking degrees... must be time to start knitting again! Every year I try to learn something new, and this year I'm thinking that might be making socks... something I've avoided for a while because they're supposedly hard and also because I could never imagine myself wanting to wear knit socks... but I've found some super cute patterns on knitty.com, so this might be the year I face my sock fear. Also, I'm thinking about making a trip to a real yarn store to buy some nice yarn... I feel giddy just thinking about it!

*Rasberry picking...well it seems that there exists such a thing as 'fall rasberries' and you can pick them yourself at a local farm. I am there, since I've been going through rasberry withdrawl the past few years since Mom and Dad moved and I lost my source. Rach- did you end up going with your mom?

Sometimes it feels so good to have nothing to do but fill your days as you please.

Back from lotus land...

2006-09-09T22:36:00.000-07:00

Well I thought that perhaps the reason no one reads my blog anymore is that everyone is tired of my blog template (that, or the fact that I never post anymore... sorry!). So hopefully the new colour will jazz things up... unfortunately my old computer crashes when I try to load pictures... I can't wait until I have access to a newer computer.

So I've returned to Edmonton after a great week in Vancouver. It was SO hard to leave this time, the gorgeous late summer weather really reminded me why I love that city so much. It really made me miss being a student too... which is very nerdy of me... but I can't help that I love going to school. I miss learning new things everyday, and the feeling that endless possibilites lay before you. I think I also miss how much simpler my life seemed when I was a student... that single minded focus on the next assignment, the next test... it left very little time for self doubt.

As far as my time on the coast, it was great to see friends and family again. The only down side was that I got really sick... and just as I was getting better... James caught my cold! Sometimes you just have to laugh... so even though I'm going on and on about how beautiful it was there... I really spent most of the week lying on the couch and watching movies! The last night in town, James toughed it out and we went to Bard on the Beach, which was a lot of fun.

6 more days!

2006-08-24T11:43:00.000-07:00

I am counting down the days until I'm back in BC! Next Wednesday I'll be retunring to Vancouver for my last vacation of the summer. This vacation wasn't even my idea. When the guy who makes up our schedules made the August/September one, he accidently gave me a week off. So I decided... why not just go with it?

David Gray and Shooting Stars...

2006-08-15T17:47:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since my last post... mostly I've just been working days, and that really cuts down on my blogging time! So I thought I'd try blogging from home, which is something I haven't done for a while. I'm waiting for my pizza dough to relax so I can strech it, so it seemed like a good time to write a post.

Last weekend I worked Friday through Sunday, and although I'm usually really exhausted after working a 12 hour shift, I decided to try and be social and get together with some friends from work on Saturday night. I showed up at my friend Amanda's place where they were supposedly going to play poker, and was informed that the new plan was to try to listen in on the Edmonton Folk Music festival, which was happening down in a park in the river valley. I was a little skeptical that we'd be able to find anywhere good to listen from, but David Gray was the headliner, so I figured it was definitely worth a shot. Well we ended up finding a great little patch of grass right by one of the entrances, which was off the main roads so that the noise from traffic wasn't so bad. We could hear everything perfectly, but David was still a few acts away, so Amanda's boyfriend ran back to the house to get blankets and sweatshirts... thank goodness because I was in a T shirt and a skirt... and it got down to 10 degrees by the end of the night! The concert was great... even greater because it was free. We got to hear all of Bruce Cockburn and then David played a great show and even played 'Say hello and wave goodbye' which was all I wanted to hear! There was a meteor shower Saturday night as well, and even with alll the light from the city we could still see quite a few shooting stars overhead... a pretty spectacular concert experience all in all.

Yesterday Rach and I decided to head out and try to stock up on berries at one of the U pick farms outside of the city. Well it turns out, there really aren't any berries left, but the farm we went to, Happy Acres, had tones of Upick veggies! So we spent a couple of hours picking squash, peas, beans, potatoes, and dill. It was pretty funny to see us city girls try to figure out how to pick veggies. After asking a women who was also picking veggies where the beans were, we had to follow up with the question "And what do the bean plants look like?". But everyone has to start somewhere right, and you realize how little we know about how are fruits and vegetables are grown. Digging up the potatoes was my favorite, becuase it's so exciting when you find them hidden in the ground. We'll be going back in a few weeks when the fall crop of rasberries is ready... fall rasberries... who knew?

Gossip and furniture...

2006-08-06T00:59:00.000-07:00

I have a confession to make. This is my second night shift, and even though I always say that I'll post as soon as I'm working nights... I didn't post at all last night. Bad blogger... but in an attempt to blame others rather than take responsibility for my own actions (or lack thereof) I say it's Rachel's fault for introducing me to www.laineygossip.com. I've spent the last night and most of my free time tonight so far catching up on my gossip. Who knew that Ashley Simpson had a nose job done? Probably everyone but me...

I mentioned to my supervisor last night that I missed getting flyers at home... since they all go to the upstairs tenant. So tonight she brought me in a huge stack of flyers, including the motherload... the ikea catalog! At first I laughed, but seriously, I've been reading them... even the Safeway flyer! That is when I'm not reading up on my gossip... does it sound like I actually do NO work at work?

I just finished reading The Man of My Dreams by Curtis Sittenfeld, the author of Prep. I read it in one day, which usually means that I really liked the book, but in this case I'm not so sure. It wasn't as fun as I would have liked it... I think that's my problem with her characters... I just don't like them that much.

A quiet-ish night of weather in Southern BC means that it's blogging time for Alyssa!

2006-07-25T23:33:00.000-07:00

I've realized that once I've told a story to one of the 5 people who reads my blog, I feel that I can no longer post about it... and this has been hindering my blogging... it is one of the reasons I haven't posted in so long! And also why I never posted about the name website, or the cookie incident... which, I agree, both would have made for some good posts. But, I've had some fresh experiences, and so I'm excited to share with you what I've been up to in recent days.

First of all, it's been really hot. I never thought that 28 degrees would feel cool to me, but after this past week it does. All I can say is thank goodness I live in the basement... it's the next best thing to air conditioning. Although it's not quite as good, and that's why on Saturday night, along with Dallas and Rachel, I was forced to seek shelter in the cool, dark movie theater. Unfortunately, so was everone else in Edmonton, and the show we were going to was sold out. Not to be deterred, we buy tix to the later show, and decide to kill time by participating in another cool activity... eating ice cream. Unfortunately so did everone else in Edmonton, and after walking across hot dusty parking lots, there was a line up out the door for ice cream. So we end up walking even further across hot parking lots to eat ice cream in the Walmart McDonalds... in the end, quite a bit of walking outside for what was supposed to be our way to keep cool.

On Sunday, I joined the lovely Rachel and Dallas again, this time to go to A Taste of Edmonton. It's a festival downtown where restaurants from the city set up booths and you can sample their food. For $15 I ate a ton of great food... and I'm not going to lie to you, a lot of it was desert. How do you resist ice cream cake when it's so hot out? You don't.

After hearing about it from Bec, I went to my library and got a copy of Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress... and read it in 3 days. I thought it was great... the story about Mick Jagger killed me... I mean how often in life do we fantasize about things obsessivly, and then have them come true?

Two days ago I was looking in the mirror when I realized that I had something stuck in my eye. A little white dot had appeared on my iris. I tried everything to get it out, crying, flushing my eye with water, even trying to get it out with my finger... but it won't move. At first it kind of felt like there was something in my eye, but today I don't feel it all. I had a doctor's appointment, so I asked her about it and she replied ever so reassuringly "I have no idea what that is". Then she said something about freezing my eye and trying to get it out... I'm a little freaked out by this.

So that's what I've been up to... not the most glamorous life, but I'm learning to cope with that. And on Thursday, my work is sending me to Kamloops where I'll stay for the weekend and be reunited with my love. I can't wait.

the rocking chair of death...

2006-07-18T17:01:00.000-07:00

OK, I've decided that the furniture in my appartment is evil. First of all there is the couch that is so uncomfortable that rather than sit on it, I blow up an air matress for guests to sit on. But I haven't minded so much, since all winter I've been sitting in the stuffed chair that came with the place. Well lately my back and neck have been bothering me way more than usual... so much so that I've developed an alergy to Advil from taking it so much. After going back to BC for the week, and having no big neck problems, I've discovered that it's the chairs fault! 2 hours yesterday sitting in it, and I'm back to popping pain killers... although now I'm careful to stick with Tylenol. Oh, if only I had a comfortable place to sit... but after the couch fiasco this winter I'm a little hesitant to try and buy anything for this apartment.

my poor feet...

2006-07-15T12:01:00.000-07:00

So it turns out that dancing barefoot on tiles is no friend to your toes... I don't know about everyone else but my feet are pretty sore this morning. Now that the excitement of the Howie-Thorpe wedding is behind us, it seems like my time in BC is almost over... in a few days I will be heading back to Edmonton, and even worse, work! But at least the sun has finally come out, and even more exciting, my grandma, aunt and cousin are coming today! I'm very excited to introduce them to James, and see my aunt and cousin who I haven't seen in at least five years. Since I won't be posting the next few days I thought I'd write something now just so that people will not give up on this blog!

some late night thoughts...

2006-07-02T00:25:00.000-07:00

Well I'm 6 hours into my third night shift in a row. This block of nights has been tough since I haven't been sleeping very well during the days, and as all you lucky people in southern BC know, there isn't that much weather... a combination which leads to some long nights. I talked myself out of picking up an iced late from Second Cup on my way to work like I did the last two nights, because I told myself that it's not a treat if you have one every day... what a huge mistake. I think I've grown dependant on the caffeine and my green tea just isn't cutting it.

So during my long night shifts, I've been spending a lot of time thinking about wedding plans (where would we be without theknot.com?)... and my new favorite thing to do is to think up the music playlist for my wedding and I was wondering what everyone else thinks are some good wedding songs?

Here is my top 5...

1. Mint Car- The Cure ... song to play while we run out of the church
2. Let's Stay Together - Al Green
3. This Will Be (an Everlasting Love) - Natalie Cole
4. Stir It Up - Bob Marley
5. Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye