countdown to christmas

I blogged for The Chronicle Herald on Wednesday about wanting to start a Christmas countdown tradition in our home. The idea that I liked best, of out all of the great ones I found on Pinterest, was a holiday activity for each day of December.

Here's what we're planning:

December 1: Sing Christmas songs.

December 2: Send letter to Santa here.

December 3: Bake Christmas cookies.

December 4: Watch Elf on CBC.

December 5: Colour Christmas pictures.

December 6: Make paper ornaments.

December 7: Take festive family photos.

December 8: Shop for stocking stuffers.

December 9: Send Christmas cards officially from our new address.

December 10: Deck the halls in our new home!

December 11: Watch Home Alone on CBC.

December 12: Make DIY Christmas gifts for friends.

December 13: Read Christmas stories.

December 14: Take an evening drive to look at Christmas lights.

December 15: Make paper snowflakes.

December 16: Go on a winter walk.

December 17: Do a good deed.

December 18: Build a snowman (weather permitting) or make an indoor version.

December 19: Make snow angels, inside or out.

December 20: Play outside.

December 21: Sip hot chocolate with candy cane stir sticks.

December 22: Read Christmas more stories.

December 23: Drive home for the holidays! Listen to lots of Christmas music along the way!

December 24-29: Celebrate Christmas with family.

December 30: Make a list of family plans and resolutions for 2012.

December 31: Stay up late, enjoy treats, and ring in the new year as a family.

five things

Five things.

List five things we don’t know about you.

1) I can't iron. I hate to iron. I don't do it. Ever.

2) I can't watch violent movies.

3) I talk in my sleep. Often in full sentences.

4) I gave birth to Jacob naturally, without an epidural.

5) I've been pulled over twice for speeding. Received zero tickets.

Five things you’re knowledgeable about.

1) Cooking and baking. I am, by no means, an expert, but I love to try new things, so I'm always learning more.

2) Crafting and DIYing. I consider myself pretty creative and will try and project that comes my way.

3) The written word. I am an editor, after all. And yes, I know, the grammar on this blog isn't always to the letter of the English law, but this is my outlet. I'm allowed a few liberties.

4) Swimming, synchronized and otherwise.

5) Motherhood. I'm not going to pretend that I'm not learning as I go, but parenting takes up a surprising amount of brain real estate as of late.

Five things you know nothing about.

1) Football. I've been taught before, but I can't seem to retain all the rules.

2) Math beyond add, subtract and multiply. Don't ask me how to do long division.

3) Harry Potter, Star Wars or Lord of the Rings.

4) Current music, besides what's repeated over and over on my morning commute.

5) Gardening. I'm an absolute brown thumb. Don't tell the homeowner police, but I am likely going to destroy my yard.

And five things you believe.

1) I truly believe everything happens for a reason.

2) I believe in my instincts.

3) I believe in the good in people.

4) I believe in love. It is the glue of the strongest bonds in my life.

5) I believe in karma and the Golden Rule.

Thanks, as always, to Mama Kat for the writer's prompt.

30 by 30

Today, I turn 27. I don't dwell on age or the number. My year as a 26-year-old was pretty wonderful, and I'm looking forward to what life as a 27-year-old has to offer. In three years, I'm not going to have an ohmygodi'm30 freakout. It is what it is. Like a fine wine ... and all that.

I think we all have things in our minds that we intend to do in our 20s though. Some of my goals are time consuming, some are lofty. If I start now, I have a full 1,095 days to complete them. Doable.

30 by 30:

1) Eliminate half of my student loan debt. I have a chunk of student loan debt that needs to be paid.

2) Go down south for a week. This is something Husband and I have never done, and we'd love to do something like this together. Maybe for a 30th birthday celebration?

3) Volunteer for something that makes a difference. I'm not sure what this is going to be yet, but I'd like to use some of my spare time to contribute to something bigger than myself.

4) Grow my little family. I'm not going to comment on when this will happen or how many more children we would like to have, lets just say we're hoping/planning to give J at least one sibling.

5) Invest more. We have some of these adult things set up already, but I'd like to increase our contributions to better plan for our future.

6) Join a book club. I know this is kind of cheating because I did this already, but it really was one of my goals. I love our little club!

7) Try a new activity. Last year, I went to zumba for the first time and it was a lot of fun. I've always been curious about pilates. I will enrol in a new activity.

8) Take a cooking class. I love to cook and bake, but I've never had any professional lessons. I'd love to take a class to learn some new tips and tricks.

9) Buy a house. SURPRISE! This one is already finished, too! More on that soon!

10) Write more. Obviously I write plenty, between my weekly column gig, this ol' blog and various smaller projects like J's baby journal (which I don't update nearly as much as I'd like). I want to write more ideas down as they come to me, and in whatever form they take. I want to write more snail mail to friends and family to brighten their days. I want to be more creative/inspired/funny/interested.

11) Learn to use my SLR camera. It's a shame that I haven't cracked the manual on the camera we've owned for more than three years. I will make the most of that. Soon.

12) Buy adult furniture. Our couch and love seat are the kind you buy when you're just starting out. They served their purpose. Now it's time for an upgrade.

13) Read all of my hard-cover classics. I own 14 of them and have only read a few so far.

14) See more of the world. Visit one new province and one new state. It's all about keeping the goals realistic.

15) Take a course that will make me better at my job. I could refresh and learn more about Photoshop, or try some new software like InDesign or Illustrator.

16) Take a road trip with girlfriends. Shopping, anyone? Boston? Montreal?

17) Make yoga part of my regular routine. I love yoga, but often don't make enough time to practice. By 30, I'd love to be attending regular weekly classes.

18) Build something. With wood and nails and everything.

19) Donate blood. I've tried to do this years ago, but as a new vegetarian my iron was too low and I was denied the opportunity. I have a much better handle on my diet as an adult and I'm sure I would be eligible now.

20) Edit our wedding videos. These are now on three un-edited discs. I want to combine them and add some subtitles so we have a lasting time capsule of that wonderful day.

21) Dye my hair. I've done this many times in the past, but haven't done it for years. Then, just yesterday, a co-worker pointed out, "hey, you really do have grey hair!" ... yeah. So by 30, I fully expect to be a hair dye regular.

22) Attend my 10-year high school reunion. Next year. Where does the time go?

23) Do a 10k run. I've run a 5k since running the half marathon in 2010, so I don't see why I couldn't practice a bit more and run double.

24) Plant flowers and landscape my yard with success. I didn't say I could do it without help.

25) Dust off my trumpet. I remember the basics, but that doesn't mean it's going to sound good.

26) Try surfing. I'm sure I'll be as uncoordinated at surfing as I am at dancing, but it's worth a try.

27) Institute an actual moisturizing routine. Just because I don't mind ageing doesn't mean I'm just going to let myself go. This also includes never forgetting sunscreen again.

28) Sew more. Maybe even try some patterns. (Sorry, HH!)

29) Get CPR and first aid certification. Good skills for anyone, especially a mama.

30) Be thankful for my family and friends every day.

life as i know it

This post by Melissa at Dear Baby made me think about the old days. The time of my life when I only had to worry about myself, when I didn't have a family to care for, a child who is my life's greatest responsibility. Made me wonder if I made the most of that time. Did I go out often? Spend time with friends? Travel? Act spontaneously? Craft, cook, creative write? Did I do lots of things for me when my time was all my own? I'm not sure. It's hard to look back, from the perspective I now have, and decide. What I do know for certain is that my life, as it is now, is beyond fulfilling.

Racing home from work to soak up every minute of awake time my boy has left before bath time, bottle and bed. Spending the time after that cleaning up splatters of supper off the floor from below his high chair and picking up toys and books scattered across the living room floor. Working on freelance to make a little extra for our family, and planning, scheduling, organizing so everything runs smoothly of all three of us. And it's hard work. A careful balancing act.

That doesn't count the things I try to do regularly for me -- like writing on this ol' blog, reading book club books, cooking and baking, and crafting. This weekend, I enjoyed lots of me time -- got a good start on the latest Litwits book, went out on a festive date to the parade of lights with a couple great gals, and spent some time crafting with a few other lovely friends. Weekends like this put life into real perspective -- I've got it good.

Some days it's tough. Sometimes it brings out my less-than appealing side when stress and fatigue take over. But I do try my best to keep it all in check, letting the little things roll off and meeting the big things head on.

As noted in Melissa's post, we are doing important work -- raising kids, nurturing relationships, keeping life going well from day to day. It's not always easy or glamourous or fun. But it's important. And always worth it.

22 things i've never done

I am 26 years old.

And I've never:

1) Made a prank call.

2) Travelled further west than Ottawa.

3) Owned a dog.

4) Kept a hanging basket alive for an entire summer.

5) Been able to dance comfortably in a crowd.

6) Completely understood the rules of football.

7) Done pilates.

8) Been carried over the threshold.

9) Watched any Star Wars movies.

10) Been a contestant on a game show.

11) Gone scuba diving or snorkling.

12) Bought an entire outfit full price.

13) Bought a house.

14) Waxed my car.

15) Eaten an egg, scrambled, boiled or fried. Eww.

16) Read a book in one day.

17) Mastered driving a standard.

18) Successfully water skied.

19) Been to NYC.

20) Liked Tim Horton's coffee.

21) Baked a pie from scratch.

22) Met a carb I didn't like.

What are some things that you have yet to do?

Thanks, as always, to Mama Kat for the writer's prompt.

stuff breaker

I'm having a problem with Husband. He keeps breaking my stuff. I'm not joking.

The list now includes:

- my favourite extra large ceramic bowl

- my Just Us travel mug

- my cookie jar

- the lovely white clock in our guest bathroom

- plus he dumped out my new house plant because "it was just a flower and was going to die anyway" ... ah, no! It was a plant that would last forever as long as I kept it alive.

What's a gal to do?*

*Yes, I am writing this to tease Husband. But yes, he has really broken all of these things. Good thing he's cute.

10 things

A list of ten things you should never ask your spouse.

1) Wife to husband: Do I look fat? Really, it is completely pointless, because any man who values his sanity is always going to say, "No, of course not!" Even if you beg for the truth, he's still going to say no.

2) Why do you love me?

3) How much do you love me?

4) Husband to wife: Are you PMSing?

5) Husband to wife, while eating a lovingly prepared dinner: Did you follow a recipe?

6) Wife to Husband: What are you thinking? I ask Husband this question all the time. He hates it. He usually says, "nothing" when I'm really looking for something.

7) Any question that criticizes your wife's spouse's driving.

8) Are you going to wear that?

9) Wife to Husband: Is your hair getting thinner?

10) Do you really know what you're doing? The true answer is usually no, but if when asked this question, the askee suddenly feels the insatiable need to prove the asker wrong. In my experience, this usually doesn't turn out well.

Thanks, as always, to Mama Kat for the writer's prompt.

new do

I don't know what is more foolish, blogging about getting my hair cut and then not showing you how it turned out ... or posting photos of my haircut on my blog. Either way, let the ridiculousness begin:

Sort of a combo between styles No. 2 & 3. If you're local, pay a visit to Melissa Fox at Allure in Dartmouth; she's awesome.

all in the family

You may recall the last time I asked Husband a silly question.

Me: Husband, how much do you love me?

Husband: Umm ... [puts hand up, creates tiny space between tip of index finger and thumb] ... about this much less than I love Jacob.

Me: Gasp!

Husband: Oh come on ... if I asked you, the space would be even bigger.

Me: No comment.

if i didn't have to work

10 things you would do if you didn’t have to work.

Just 10?

1) Stay home with my little dude. We'd have adventures, go swimming and take long walks. We'd visit the playground and go shopping and have lunch dates. We'd join mom-and-baby groups and classes and make lots of new friends.

2) I'd be oh so crafty. I'd try all of these, and then some.

3) Tackle lots of home-improvement projects. I'd have time to find thrift furniture to re-do and re-arrange each room often.

4) Send lots of emails and regular mail notes and cards. Given more time in my day, I'd stay in better touch with everyone I love.

5) I'd occasionally spend all day in my pjs.

6) I'd freelance. I'd get to pick and choose my projects and write for me.

7) I'd read so many books. I'd fly through my book-club books and read several more in between.

8) I'd cook and bake until my freezer was overflowing. I'd try new recipes and experiment with different techniques. I'd probably take a cooking class, too.

9) I'd exercise more. I admit that I wouldn't go to the gym, but I'd swim and do yoga daily.

10) Sometimes, I'd put my feet up and watch guilty-pleasure tv and movies on the couch. All day.

Thanks, as always, to Mama Kat for the writer's prompt.

it's officially fall in my world

The perk of having a thoughtful husband who reads your blog ...

Pumpkin Spice Latte. Delivered.

i am from

I am from a box of note cards and stationary with love and wishes yet to be sent. I am from Moleskin books and lists on every page.

I am from the warm and snuggly. I am from wood-burning heat and candle light and crisp fall air.

I am from daisies and tulips, the yellower the better.

I am from pizza Fridays and lazy Saturday mornings in bed and hours of silliness and laughter. I am from my boy and my husband.

I am from the foolish and fun. I am from the wonderful moments and the lessons learned from tough times.

From being polite, sharing with others, always caring. From respect and honesty and empathy.

I am from a belief in God and faith in something bigger than myself. I am from purposeful prayer and meaningful hope.

I’m from the Maritimes, farm fresh veggies and strong cups of tea.

From my mother's apron and my father's workshop, the pride of my grandparents, and the smiles of my dearest friends.

I am from a bookshelf full of memories. Photographs keeping special moments caught in time. Reminders of everything important, providing some often-needed perspective.

Thanks, as always, to Mama Kat for the Writers' Prompt. See the template for this exercise here.

a productive summer come and gone

I set a few goals for the summer months and, as far as I'm concerned, once school has started, we can pretty much consider summer officially ended. Here's a round-up of my efforts. What'd you get up to this summer?

1) Grocery shop less. I feel like I did well with this. I wasn't on a strict budget, but I tried to think about what we already had in our cupboards before going out to buy the things that I just wanted instead of needed. We got out to farmers' markets several times for fresh, local produce, which was part of this goal. Now, we're in the midst of revamping our family budget plan, so I'm trying to see how inexpensively the three of us can manage. There will be more to this as the month goes on. So far, a success!

2) Find more time to read. Enter The Litwits! Thanks to our new book club, I'm working on my second book in the past month and I also have a beach read going on the side.

3) Take Jacob to the beach and dip his toes in the ocean for the first time. Take millions of photos.

Here you go ...

4) Journey to visit family. This includes NB, CB and anywhere in between. Done and done! We had some wonderful time with family this summer and hope to visit even more this fall.

5) Go camping. This was a lofty goal with a less-than-one-year-old, and it didn't happen this summer. We're super excited to take him out as soon as it's warm enough next year, though!

6) Keep my hanging basket alive. All. Summer. I'll spare you the photographic evidence on this one. I'd lie, but I know my neighbour friend reads my blog and would rat me out. The basket is dead. Dry, crunchy, dead. Never to be revived. Maybe next year I'll fill it with artificial flowers.

7) Sleep in. Please. Just once. Jacob was a peach this summer and many times Husband and I woke up before he did, which qualifies as a sleep-in for us. Waking up on your own, naturally, and refreshed feels so good.

8) BBQ. A lot. We did. Again and again. We filled the propane tank for a second time this year and we will BBQ well into the fall.

9) Wash both cars inside and out. We did clean both cars already, and just recently gave the Kia a second vacuum and wipe down. Being down to one-car family, for a while made it simpler, but we're a two-car household once again and I'm making it my mission to keep "my" car spotless.

12) Purge. Success as shown here.

13) Fix the DIY curtains I made for the front door. I haven't done this yet, mainly because I still don't know what I want to do. Must hit Pinterest for ideas.

14) Do a few little home-improvement projects, like touch up some paint, etc. This was so easy. In less than an hour, we patched holes in the Gyp-rock and re-painted some spots. Plus, we exchanged our kitchen hardware, which made a huge difference.

15) Scrapbook (or come up with a reasonable alternative). Even though I still have lots of scrapbooking supplies, I've put them aside in favour of organized photo albums for now. Rather than doing a rushed job on our scrapbooks, our albums will serve to keep our memories until I have enough downtime to do it properly. I also cashed in Pampers Gift to Grow points for a free Shutterfly photo book of J's first year, which may be my forever alternative to scrapbooking — it's so easy!

What are your most important to-dos for fall?

what are you hoarding?

If you were a hoarder, based on your personality … what would you hoard? (better yet, ask someone who knows you well, what they think you would hoard).

I am probably the furthest thing from a hoarder. Yes, we have our storage struggles, and yes, we have tons o' stuff, but I'm not afraid to purge anything that isn't useful. If I had to choose though, based on my personality, my stockpile would probably include books, stationary and greeting cards, craft supplies, fun stuff for entertaining guests and home decor items. Hmm, why is this starting to sound like a good idea?

I also asked a few of the regulars for their opinions.

Mum's thoughts: cookbooks (I now have 29), coupons (I do have a designated coupon wallet), and lists (or rather books for lists since there's one in every. single. drawer. in our house).

Sister-in-law C suggested canned goods due to my slightly-weird love for grocery shopping. This might be true about kitchen staples in general. I'm certain we could go a month without buying groceries and still have plenty to eat. Her self-confessed hoards? Purses, shoes and magazines.

Grammie says books. Both my vice and hers. She makes great effort to pass along books once she's read them, to her credit. Often that means those books end up at my house though! For some reason, I'm holding on to many that I'm sure I'll never open again. Hmm ... maybe a donation to the library is in order.

What kinds of things are you holding on to at home?

Thanks, as always, to Mama Kat for the writer's prompt.

travel friendly

The 10 Dos and Donts of Airplane Etiquette.

• Be kind. Help others in need to stow their bags overhead. We could all enjoy a little more courtesy while travelling.
• Don't keep using your cellphone long after the flight attendant has kindly asked you to turn it off and put it away. I don't know what kind of interference your phone will have on the plane equipment, but I don't really want to find out.
• That centre armrest serves as a no-man's-land divider. Don't hog it. Actually, just don't use it.
• Don't laugh/hmmm/comment to yourself, outloud, while reading. The person sitting beside you doesn't care that you find your book funny/interesting/perplexing. It's just distracting and annoying.
• Don't ask to switch seats. If you wanted a window or an aisle, you should have booked that in advance. 
• If you're sitting in the back of the plane, don't make a beeline for the door as soon as the fasten-seatbelt light goes off, knocking down elderly ladies and small children as you barrell forward. Relax, you will get your turn.
• Get your shit together. Nothing's worse than standing in line to board behind someone who's digging for their boarding pass or waiting for someone to pack up their belongings while other people are waiting to get off.
• Don't pack stinky snacks. I don't want to wake from my mid-flight nap to the wafting smell of your egg salad or tuna. Gross.
• Don't glare at parents who are doing their very best to calm a crying baby. They're probably more stressed than you are about it and they can't help it, so please cut them some slack.
• That said, if you are that parent and you're not doing your best, or anything at all, to deal with your screaming/misbehaving child -- especially when the child is of the age that they should know better -- get control of the situation. Just because they're a kid, they don't have the right to kick the back of my chair or anyone else's.

Thanks, as always, to Mama Kat for the writer's prompt.

the litwits

Lately I've been thinking about making a bucket list of all the things I want to do before I'm 30. Just for the fun of it. I do have a few years to go before reaching that age, but judging by how fast the past year raced by (my baby's almost one ohdeargod), it can never hurt to start early.

One of the things I've always wanted to do was join a book club. I love reading; I love talking about books; I love drinking and eating and laughing with friends. So, last month, I emailed a bunch of great gals and started a club. The litwits. I can't take credit for coming up with the name, but isn't it great?

Our August book was The Help. We had a kick-off event at my house, where we all brought three books, then drew names until all of the books had been picked up by someone new. It was a great way to get the literary discussion rolling. (Take the word literary with a grain of salt. There were definitely a few chick lit books being exchanged.) We all read the book, discussed on a private Facebook forum, and gathered again for a group movie date to see our book on the big screen. It's turning into great fun.

Here's our upcoming book list, if you're interested in playing along:

September - Whistling in the Dark
October - Left Neglected
November - When God was a Rabbit
December - Sarah's Key

not me monday

I did not completely bust my front passenger-side tire on my way to work last week.

My car was not already 13 years old with 385,000 kms on it, for a little context.

I did not sell it to the highest bidder biggest parts collector.

For $300.

I know you're jealous.

I'm not carless now ... just automotively challenged.

mom fails

A mom fail moment.

Just one, really? If you've been a mother for more than 15 seconds, you know that, while mom fails vary in severity, they are a fairly often occurrence. Such is life. We all strive to do our best, but none of us are perfect. Not even you, and definitely not me. But when it comes to the special privilege of executing mom fails, I think the first one is probably the worst one. The first time you think you've done something wrong feels terrible.

For me, it was during the first week that Jacob was at home with us. I was buckling my sleeping baby into his car seat, as carefully as I could, gently tucking in his teeny tiny baby limbs. Then, like a bolt of lightening, he was awake. And wailing. Loudly. What the ...? I looked down and realized I had pinched his itty bitty finger in one of the clasps on his car seat. It didn't break the skin, but it certainly startled him awake, and it nearly broke my heart. Knowing that he was crying because of something I'd done. Awful.

The next time was several weeks later, when I was trimming his finger nails. And he was again, sleeping. In my haste to get it done before he woke. I snipped a bit too far, and broke the tiniest bit of skin, which didn't even really bleed, but he wailed once more, and I scooped him up and smothered him with apology kisses.

Hey, it happens. I don't think I've inflicted too many more fails on him since those initial two, but I'm always on the look out for potential gaffes. But the moral of the story? You're still the Mama, and, thankfully, those sweet little faces love you anyway.

Thanks, as always, to Mama Kat for the writer's prompt.

simplest things

I'm writing this post as a reminder to myself. When things get busy, it's so easy to fall into old habits and forget about simple things that can make me feel good.

[+] Yoga. I love it, I really do. It refreshes me mind, body and spirit. Not all classes are created equal though. If you're local, I highly recommend Michelle's classes at Breating Space Bedford.


[+] Drinking lots of water. I hate it when I finish the work day and realize that I've barely consumed half a bottle of water. Not good. Must do better.

[+] Massages. Whether it's a splurge at the spa, a theraputic session thanks to health coverage, or a shoulder rub from Husband, it's all good.

[+] Taking vitamins. A simple multi, an extra vitamin D and occasionally a boost of vitamin C can make a big difference.

What makes you feel good?

do you kiss your mother with that mouth?

Opinion post: Write about how you feel about cussing in blog land. Acceptable? Unacceptable? Do you keep reading?

The anecdote that you're about to read doesn't pertain to blog land, but it does deal with some suggestive content.

Since I started my new job, I've had a few email issues. A couple gals who I email with regularly (coughsisterinlawCandlovelyfriendAcough) told me that they tried to email my work account, but their messages bounced back, forcing them to forward their notes to my Gmail instead.

This started to be cause for concern when, on the day I was emailing with MARGARET ATWOOD, one of my friend's emails bounced. What if MARGARET ATWOOD'S email doesn't come through? So I contacted a friendly guy in IT to assess the situation. He asked me to forward the error message that they received, so he could use his magic IT superpowers to fix the problem.

After sending him the info he needed, here is his reply:

"Well well, your friend uses some salty language. You may want to suggest using **** next time. The emails are being blocked for banned content."

Ha.

Honestly, some of my favourite funny bloggers (like here, here and here) swear in their posts occasionally, and I find it hilarious. These writers aren't being mean spirited, so what's the big deal? In the right context, a good cuss can really emphasise the ridiculousness of a story, don't you agree?

Thanks, as always, to Mama Kat for the writer's prompt.