16 Weeks

This month has been insane. My weekends switched at work and I am still trying to get into a new routine. I keep meaning to post baby updates on my day off but I have been so tired that all I do is sleep (and don't want to get dressed for a photo!). But here I am this morning before work! A few weeks later but looking pretty much the same....

How Far Along? 16 Weeks

Total weight gain/loss? 13 pounds

Maternity clothes? Still wearing leggings and my 2 pairs of maternity pants. Most of my tops still work and I dug a few dresses out of the back of my closet.

Stretch marks? Using tons of cream and (so far) avoiding new ones. 

Sleep? Still eating every 3 or 4 hours so still no sleeping through the night for me. 

Best moment this week? Booking the 3D ultrasound so we can see baby better and tell what it is!

Miss Anything? Eggnog with rum (it is not the same without the run!) & rare meat. I love steaks but am one of the people who orders them blue rare. Well done is just not my thing. 

Movement? Still nothing but the baby is high enough that I should be able to feel it soon.

Food Cravings? Still anything sour and anything citrus. 

Anything making you queasy or sick? Chicken and coffee. I would love for both of these to go back to normal!

Have you started to show yet? There is definitely a baby there- clients at work are commenting every day- they can't believe that I am only 16 weeks along!

Gender? Two more weeks and I'll know!!!

Labor signs? None!

Belly Button in or out? It is disappearing! 

Wedding rings on or off? Still on, not spinning at all anymore though!

Happy or Moody most of the time? Still happy although certain people seem to bring out the bitchy in me. Fortunately my love of Christmas music puts me back into a good mood!

Looking forward to? Getting our Christmas tree up and seeing both sets of parents in December!

13 Weeks (again...)

How Far Along? 13 Weeks- The test results that the Doctor wanted to go over with me were the ultrasound reports. The baby was smaller than it should have been based on the original timeline. My due date changed to May 13th!

Total weight gain/loss? 11 pounds

Maternity clothes? I need to pick some more bottoms up but all of my 'fat' tops are fitting still.

Stretch marks? Some old ones are getting whiter. I have started moisturizing like crazy!

Sleep? Still sleeping in short stretches, but have managed to get a few 5 or 6 hour runs in.

Best moment this week? Hearing the heartbeat at the Dr's appointment. 

Miss Anything? Still missing coffee 

Movement? None yet

Food Cravings? Sour anything

Anything making you queasy or sick? It's a daily tossup between meat or veggies making me feel ill.

Have you started to show yet? Definitely

Gender? No idea yet.

Labor signs? None!

Belly Button in or out? Still in but getting really shallow!

Wedding rings on or off? Still on.

Happy or Moody most of the time? Happy and tired.

Looking forward to? Getting some of my energy back. 

13 Weeks

How Far Along? 13 Weeks

Total weight gain/loss? 8 pounds up, which is suprising considering the amount of food i'm eating!

Maternity clothes? Still loving tunics and leggings. Have given up totally on my skinny jeans- even with a Bella Band they won't stay up.

Stretch marks? None

Sleep? Still interrupted by snack time but I am able to fall back asleep really fast.

Best moment this week? Getting a pedicure and a foot massage. So good!

Miss Anything? Coffee!!!!! I can almost handle the scent of the coffee isle in the grocery store so I may be able to sip some soon!

Movement? Some little flutters but I cant tell if they are my tummy grumbling or baby moving around.

Food Cravings? Sour anything- oranges, grapefruits and sour soothers are working to eliminate them.

Anything making you queasy or sick? Sadly still coffee. I seem to be able to stomach most veggies again but am still craving meat.

Have you started to show yet? The belly is definitely sticking out, I have had strangers comment on it now so I know it's not just my imagination.

Gender? No idea but everyone keeps telling me they think it's a girl.

Labor signs? None!

Belly Button in or out? It's in.

Wedding rings on or off? Still on.

Happy or Moody most of the time? Still happy.

Looking forward to? Dr's appointment this week. They called me this week because of some test results but wouldn't tell me what test over the phone. I am trying not to worry- if it was anything really serious they would tell me over the phone or want me in sooner but it is still driving me a bit nuts.

12 weeks

Yeah! Baby post time!

How Far Along? 12 Weeks

Total weight gain/loss? Up 9 pounds

Maternity clothes? Loving leggings and tunics.

Stretch marks? None yet

Sleep? My bladder and tummy aren't letting me sleep. I feel icky if I don't eat every 4 hours, so whenever I wake up to pee I also have a snack. I am getting better at 3am quiet snack preparation.

Best moment this week? Seeing the ultrasound- the baby was squirming around and kicking. The heartbeat was also incredible!

Miss Anything? Coffee & Sushi! 

Movement? None that I can feel but the baby was squirming like mad on the screen! 

Food Cravings? Salty anything. I think I could even just eat spoonfuls of salt and be happy.

Anything making you queasy or sick? Coffee and the smell of cigarettes. 

Have you started to show yet? There is definitely a bump there, customers have started to ask me if it's a baby.

Gender? Still thinking its a girl but couldn't tell on the ultrasound.

Labor signs? None!

Belly Button in or out? It's in.

Wedding rings on or off? Still on, not spinning anymore though!

Happy or Moody most of the time? Happy when I'm not dead tired. 

Looking forward to? Sleeping for longer than 4 hours at a time (I know once I have baby that's going to be a distant memory, but I would love it right now!)

11 Weeks along

I saw this question format on Jessica's Blog and thought I would borrow it for my pregnancy. I will start with the photos soon too- I need to figure out the timer on my camera as Jon is gone in the morning before i'm dressed and by the time I get home I am too tired to pose. The shutterbug in me is going nuts with the lack of photo documentation....

How Far Along? 11 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss? 4 lbs gained
Maternity clothes? Lots of leggings and dresses, picked up maternity jeans as my normal ones dig in and make me feel kinda sick.
Stretch marks? So far no, i'm still pretty small and slathering on the cream every morning!
Sleep? I feel like I could sleep all the time. For the first time in my life I climb into bed, turn out the light and zonk out. I am usually up twice during the night to pee but fall asleep right after.
Best moment this week? Jon cooking dinner, cleaning up and taking care of the house so I can rest.
Miss Anything? Coffee. I don't function without my morning coffee (and sometimes my afternoon one!) But it's not agreeing with me right now.
Movement? None yet.
Food Cravings? Anything salty or spicy.
Anything making you queasy or sick? Coffee and lukewarm water. If I am going to drink water it has to be straight out of the fridge cold. I have been drinking tons of juice and peppermint tea so I still get enough fluids.
Have you started to show yet? I look more chubby than pregnant but there is a bit of a tummy forming.
Gender? Not sure yet.
Labor signs? None thankfully.
Belly Button in or out? Still in.
Wedding rings on or off? Still on, actually spinning around on my fingers more than normal.
Happy or Moody most of the time? Happy but feeling ill and very tired.
Looking forward to? Starting my second trimester next week- hopefully more energy will come with it! Also, starting to plan the nursery out in my head.

So Tired

So do you remember last fall when we were thinking we were ready to start a family and decided that we were going to move first? Apparently the universe has decided that we have waited for long enough. I went into the doctors office to see why I was so tired and found out that there is a little one on the way!
WHOOT!!!
I am so excited, although still feeling like I got hit by a truck. I can't believe how sore and tired I have been! I am due on May 3rd so at this point I am 11 weeks. I am hoping that when I hit the second trimester I will feel better (which everyone tells me will happen)
The bump is starting to show, my skinny pants are more memory than reality and I splurged on some maternity jeans and dress pants to wear to work. It seems so strange to be happy about putting weight on. I have spent the last few years doing everything I can to get rid of it. So, for right now I need this shirt:

I will post some photos soon (once I can corner Jon into taking some) But yeah!!! Baby in May!!!

Missing again

Why hello out there.
I am still alive, still loving the new city and my job.
I am also bizarrely busy and am trying to make myself relax more. I climb into my bathtub at the end of a crazy day instead of sitting in front of my laptop. I'm sure the bath is better for me. But I miss everyone. I miss reading my blogs and I surprisingly miss Twitter and Facebook.
Has anything happened in your life that I have missed in my absence??

One of those days

Fringe Shows #4 & 5

Ok....a bit late but here are my reviews of the last 2 shows we went to!

Our Sunday night show:
My First Time
A group of actors and actresses read out real stories from the website My First Time.  They pick some unique stories, some strange stories, some cute stories and some fun facts. They even get the audience to fill out short surveys at the beginning of the show that get incorporated in.

Our Tuesday night show:
It's Been Taken
Two guys work at a comic book store that may be closing, have an invisible room mate who never pays his share of the rent and have serious girl problems. Filled with video game references and fun scene changes. We were laughing so hard for the whole show.
So far this is our ultimate favourite show. We have recommended it to everyone we talk to and still remember quotes from it. If you are in Victoria and reading this GO SEE IT!!!!

Fringe Festival!!

So back home in Edmonton you can count on me to be at the Fringe every night (and most days) while it is on. I love the atmosphere, the live theatre and the people.  I was so incredibly excited to learn that the Fringe also comes to Victoria! Better yet, it comes after so we can see the reviews in Edmonton and choose from there!!
The only sad thing is that here it is all about the shows. No festival grounds, no wandering through the shopping tents with a lemonade in hand, no dodging the random juggler as they go a bit out of their circle. And while I do understand that the festival is all about the (amazing) shows, I miss the buzz. We were talking to friends who have lived here for 8 years and they hadn't ever heard of the Fringe. If you move to Edmonton it is one of the first things you hear about!
But nonetheless, we saved up some money to go to shows (I found out it was coming in April....) They have 10 show passes available for a serious discount on entry so we went that way.
Today we went to 3 of our 10. They were:

Grim & Fischer: A Deathly Comedy in Full Face Mask
-A little like the movie UP- the lady's husband passed away awhile ago and death is now ready to take her. But she's not ready to go.
- Created in Portland by Wonderheads theatre group.
- It was held over in Edmonton and I can see why- we went from laughter to tears and back a few times. We both really enjoyed it. The characters are wonderfully expressive, which is a feat when the plot is all communicated by actions, lighting and sound effects.

Tara Firm & The Lunar War Chronicles
- Tara is the newest pilot recruited for the lunar war but she didn't want to be a pilot. After taking over the job she's forced into she makes waves and discovers a few new facts about the war.
- Created in Victoria by Launch Pad Productions
- This was Jon's favourite of the day- it was fun and had some great references to history. Also, incredible props that took a ton of imagination to make. The 5 cast members perfectly pulled off all the roles.

The Smell Of The Kill
- 3 wacky housewives find themselves in an odd situation that can seemingly solve all their problems (and husbands). But do they have the guts to go ahead with the plan?
- Another locally produced show! This one is done by Dragon Monkey Theatre Group. I hadn't seen any reviews for it but we had already done 2 shows at this venue so we just stayed there for the 3rd!
- This one came out as my favourite for the day. It was fun and gutsy and kept me guessing.

No Good

Love it!

Question #12

Wow, I got off track with these questions!!! Time to get back to work on the project!

Day 12. Write about what wears you out as a woman.

There is only one thing that I can think of that really wears me out. Women are mean. Especially to other women. Especially when looking at other women's appearances. Society is so based on visuals that we judge instantly based on looks. Even quick trips out of the house require a shower and a decent outfit. Work requires a ton more time to get out the door. Days at the spa sound relaxing but the only reason i'm there is to look nice.
My workplace has a semi-formal to formal dress code so most days i'm in dress pants, a dress shirt and heels. 8 hours a day in heels on walking around on cement is just mean. But even they can't really help it. Our store sells medium and high end products- we have to look the part. It would be hard to convince people to spend $5000 on a sofa while wearing grubbies. Since finding out about the baby I have been wearing flats (self preservation at it's best) and I have picked up some maternity dress pants but I still have to dress up.
Men have it easier in this one (as I've learned living with Jon) They will leave the house in almost anything. They will hang out with their buddies in their comfy clothes and not care. I think we should learn from them.
We have to be willing to look at people and see past their outfit. We have to see past their hairstyle. We need to see them. We need to learn to connect with people and embrace them for being themselves and being stunning inside. Maybe that's why I like blogging so much. I can connect with people while I am in my pj's (like today). I can start conversations with people that I may not ever talk to in person. I can get advice, criticism, kind words and honest answers without worrying about that that person thinks about my hairdo or outfit. I don't have to pretend to be anything other than me.
Can that happen more in our day to day lives?

Million Reasons

One of the million reasons I love our new city-

The hummingbirds are flying around my patio eating breakfast while I sit here and watch!!

Gluten hates me

I am stealing the lovely Marlow's blog title for this post!
I have been gluten free for 5 years now and have been amazed at how much better I feel. But gluten got me this week, it snuck into my fridge and attacked! Maybe attacked is too strong of a word...
We had a crazy weekend- Shannon came into town for a surprise visit on Friday and we hit up a karaoke bar with my cousin. Once the bar closed down we came home and played board games (yes, we're that cool!) We ended up climbing into bed around 5:30am. We slept in a bit and then Shannon and I hit downtown for some girl time and shopping (including trying on ridiculous sunglasses!) She had to be up-island for family dinner so once we explored the market and I brought her to my favorite places in Victoria she dropped me off and headed back.

I made a quick dinner and then had an early night. We had an amazing wedding anniversary....a nice relaxed day together. We went to Sauce for lunch, wandered through the Miniatures Museum, took a horse & carriage ride through Beacon Hill Park and then went to Blue Crab Bistro for dinner. Both restaurants were awesome- Sauce sources all their food locally so it's always really fresh and they are really conscious about gluten allergies. Blue Crab was also awesome, a bit pricey, but I had a gift certificate from the Tourism award and some anniversary money from my parents. We had a huge seafood platter for dinner along with a bottle of wine.

So much food! But it was so good and all Kelly friendly. The gluten monster got me on Monday night. I was still really tired from the weekend so by the time I got home from work all I wanted to do was order takeout. We decided on Thai and we searched online for a place that delivers. We ordered our two standards- Pad Thai & Tom Yum and then tried out a pineapple and chicken curry. It was all really good but I woke up feeling even sicker and more tired than on Monday. By Thursday I wasn't feeling better (but was diligently eating the leftovers which usually go bad in our fridge) It was only when I went to the Doctor and he said it looked like strep did it register that one of the first clues of a reaction for me is strep symptoms. I called the restaurant back and apparently they use wheat noodles for their Pad Thai (which is traditionally rice noodles) Today is the first day I've felt human this week...although I am still a bit wonky.
So that is my week. An amazing weekend and then an evil gluten ninja attack.

Happy Anniversary

Hi my love,
I know that you don't read my blog that often anymore but I think you will drop by today.
Thank you so much for doing everything that you can to make me happy. For making coffee in the mornings despite the fact that you don't drink it. For doing the kitty litter box. For accepting that being with me means having to clean the house every week so my neat-freak tendencies don't fire up. For loving me however I look, whatever size I am and whatever I am wearing. For going for walks with me when you are tired and sore from your day at work. For sleeping on whatever side of the bed is closer to the door. For eating whatever I cook. For not pinning me down to watch the Star Wars movies....Really, just thank you for loving me for who I am and not trying to change me.
I love you!
Kelly

One year

Wow, I can't believe how fast this year has flown by!
A year ago at this time I was at the salon getting my hair and makeup done in preparation to walk down the aisle. The years of planning and dreaming were all going to come together. I was finally going to marry my best friend.

Once we were done at the salon we went back to my parent's house to get dressed and I was laced into my dream dress. It was so perfect for me- despite the fact that I went to the shop asking for something completely different. As soon as I had it on I knew it was the right one (but still tried on a ton more...)

The boys got into their suits and posed for a few photos before heading down to the church.

We loaded up the limo with lunch so that we could eat between the ceremony and photos and then I figured out that my lip gloss could go down the top of my dress so I would be able to do touch ups between photos and kisses.

We arrived at the church and were surprised by the minister's Star Wars themed sermon. The boys were joking with him about it at the rehearsal dinner and he went through with it. He was talking about storybook endings and how they never show you what happens after the movie. Who do you do Christmas with? Who actually does the laundry?? We were all laughing so hard....

We did a rose ceremony in french for Jon's family. We knew that we were going to have guests who didn't speak any english and wanted to include them. Two of his cousins helped us by reading it in french and our english guests followed along in their programs.

We were  pronounced husband and wife and did our kiss. Then the photo spree started. We did formal photos in the church and then a great big group shot which is customary in Montreal.

We took some great photos on Whyte Ave that duplicated our engagement photos.

 We also got to add some new poses with the rest of the bridal party....

And then we went to the reception where we had speeches, drinks, dances and kisses all night. It was an amazing day and such an perfect start to our life together.

 Looking back a year later I am still so grateful for everything that people did to make our day special. We are just as in love today as we were a year ago and we still feel so blessed.

New look...again

The blue washed out look was driving me a bit nuts. Welcome to my new pretty colour scheme!

People are strange

I have had an incredible few days at work. Our clients are so much fun to work with and I really love finding them that perfect item. I have a few bridal registries on the go and 2 of the brides called my manager to compliment me. Our boutique manager is wanting to hand all of the registries over to me because the other girl who handles them has received complaints this week. Yeah! I love doing the registries- the couple comes in, gets to pick out goodies and I build a relationship with them. If I treat them right they will come back to me even after the wedding is past. Their guests get the same treatment and they will come back to me over and over again for good service. It is an easy way to make strong contacts and bond with people. Which makes me wonder, how do you screw it up? Why is the other girl getting so many complaints? I just don't get it! Maybe I should ask my biggest question....

Why are people who aren't "people people" working at a commission based store???

We all have to shop, and some people enjoy it more than others, but don't you understand that good customer service and a smile will make people come back? I would rather pay a bit more than deal with bad customer service. But that's maybe why i'm good at what I do. 

via

So True

I really need to email this to some of the girls I work with....We are 100% commission. If you are in a bad mood your clients will feel it and run away.  In fact, they will run to anyone who is smiling.

Pink VS Blue

When Jonathan and I first moved in together he thought my classification of chores as pink jobs vs blue jobs was funny. It has now become a system that we use on a regular basis. My neat freak self is calmed a bit because I know that there are things that I don't have to do. Jon's mind is eased because he only has to remember a few things. 

I bring this up now because we just bought a BBQ and ended up in a Facebook debate with some friends. I think BBQ-ing is a pink job. It is a way to cook meals. Our friends think that it should be a blue job. What do you think? 

Here are some of our other breakdowns....I think I get the better end of the deal!

1. Cleaning the bathrooms = blue. Cleaning the rest of the condo = pink

2. Cooking = pink. Dishes = Blue.

3. Kitty litter box = blue. Brushing the kitties = pink.

4. Building the xmas tree = blue. Attaching the lights = blue. Putting on all the decorations = pink.

Unintended Blogging Silence

When I first started blogging I had a really great office space. Our nightly routine was to both sit down at our computers across from each other and I would blog while Jon gamed. It gave us both a chance to wind down and relax before bed. 

Our new place has a teeny tiny second bedroom with more desk than room- the one chair is there for both computers and we trade off. The biggest downfall with that plan is that instead of relaxing across from each other every night we end up in separate rooms. Which means that I don't ever go in there because I want to be together when we're both home....but I miss writing. 

So I am posting more. No matter what. I will close myself into this room and get back into the groove!

Our bitty new office

Wedding Video

So we were lucky to have such amazing photographers for our wedding because it's sounding like we may never actually get the video. The company that we hired was called Tru Moments and they are based out of Calgary, Alberta. The videos on their website are stunning and they had done a previous wedding for our planner so we thought we were safe going with them. We were wrong.
The contract says that we should have had the rough footage and our hard drive by the end of August and the edited 20 minute show video by the end of December. It is now June and we haven't received either. Lots of phone calls and emails have  been ignored and we are now wondering what we should do (other than tell everyone we know to NOT HIRE TRU MOMENTS!!!!)
Any hints????
Does anyone want to help us spam them so they have to respond???
Their email address is info@trumoments.ca

Chicken Fajitas

Yeah for recording my cooking! Tonight's attempt at fajitas was really good! Not quite a true fajita flavour, but fast and easy. Enjoy!!

So, Recipes...

It took me forever to write the Question 11 blog post (which is here) because I never really follow a recipe while cooking. I try to buy whatever is the freshest at the market or what looks good to us at the time. That leads to a very unpredictable grocery list and means that most recipes call for ingredients I don't have on hand. It also means that I have a rough idea of how I create certain flavours, but the meals are hard to duplicate. I really just combine things I like and since I know what they all taste like I am pretty confident that it will be decent. I have had a few that weren't entirely edible, but they turn out more often than not. I am going to start recording what I toss into the pan so I stand the chance to re-create the good ones!!
So, tonight's dinner was......Warm salad. It's a bit chilly out today so I didn't feel like salad, but we were definitely behind on the veggie count for the day. Here's the mix and the instructions!

Once the onions were browned I really did just toss in the rest of the veggies as I chopped them up. It was amazing! All of the veggies were fresh from the greenhouse yesterday so they were full of flavour. I didn't really need to toss the basil in, but the bag of it was taunting me from the fridge!

The end result! So good!!!