Author Archives: Kara

Hello Wasteland

Posted in Random by

Pardon me for a moment while I shake the dust off my blog.

I know my posts have been someone scarce and a wasteland as of late, mostly because life has just been crazy busy.

I’ll start with about three weeks ago, with a long story short version of the biggest event:

My grandparents travel down to Palm Springs every winter. About three weeks ago, my grandma suffered from a minor heart attack while she was down there. While undergoing angioplasty, she suffered a stroke. (Which has a 1 in 5,000 chance of happening). Last week she was stable enough to be flown here to Kamloops for her care to continue. All I can say is thank goodness for traveller’s insurance. While my grandma is continuing to make a little bit of progress everyday, it’s been really hard for everyone, especially my grandpa (who I swear is the toughest man I know), and my mom.

I appreciate any thoughts you’d like to send my grandma’s way. I know she’ll be fine, it’s just hard to see a woman who’s so full of energy and life to be hit so hard by sickness so suddenly.

Now, with some happier thoughts, it was Kyle’s birthday on Tuesday and we’ve been celebrating ever since he got off work Monday morning! One of his closest friends came to visit from out of town and Kyle’s birthday turned into a “Man Child” themed one. They attacked each other with Nerf guns, we went for burgers at Five Guys Burgers and Fries (SO GOOD but a little overpriced), followed by bowling (which I failed miserably at since I’m pregnant and such), and then cake! I finally found a vanilla cake recipe that was easy and claimed to be delicious from Martha Stewart, of all people. And even though my timer mysteriously didn’t go off and it baked a little longer than it should, it turned out really good!

Homemade cake and icing! (With a votive birthday candle!)

Other exciting things that happened this week? My Infinity Scarf from Forgotton Cotton arrived in the mail and it’s so pretty! I took advantage of its prettiness to take a new profile picture for Twitter and Facebook since I have no actual current photos of myself other than my pregnancy update ones, which are boring and I look like garbage in most of them.

Gotta love bathroom mirror shots! I cropped it just a little so it's not so obvious ;)

What else, what else … I signed myself up for a 3-hour crash-course in Digital SLR photography that my wonderful wedding photographer Jo LeFlufy is hosting. I’m pretty stoked to be able to use my fancy Nikon D90 a little bit better and closer to its full capacity! (For example, that photo of myself was taken in full-auto mode with auto-focus and everything because I’m lazy.)

The stroller I had ordered finally arrived at Babies R’ Us yesterday, so I got to pick that up. It’s ridiculous how excited I get over baby-related shopping these days. I guess they call it nesting? I still have to assemble some of the bits and pieces of the stroller together, but I’m just glad it’s finally at my house.

I’m also super stoked to go to the spa this afternoon for what will be an amazing prenatal massage. I seriously need it; my body is aching all over. I have a feeling I may even fall asleep because I’m so gosh-darned tired today. Regardless, it will feel awesome.

Oh – and the greatest thing of them all?? Kyle and I bought this yesterday afternoon:

2008 Dodge Ram

 

A new truck!!! We traded in our 2011 Ford Ranger for something that was more family-travel friendly. Isn’t she pretty?! For those who are vehicularily savvy, it’s a 2008 Dodge Ram 1500 Laramie, with a 5.7L Hemi. Wee! We had actually been eyeing this truck from a few weeks now and finally decided to bite the bullet and go for it. We got an alright trade-in deal on the Ranger, so it all worked out. I just can’t stop looking at it!

So that’s what I’ve been up to lately, good, bad and otherwise. My weekend will consist of a work-related event, visiting my grandma, and hopefully relaxing.

What are your weekend plans?

Ten on Tuesday

Posted in Ten on Tuesday by

1. What did you do this weekend?
Saturday consisted of doing a lot of nothing for most of the day and then visiting my grandma … which is a long story in itself which I’m not ready to get into.

2. Do you prefer short fingernails or long fingernails?
Medium length. Dragon claws are just scary and I personally think that short, stubby nails look weird painted, so I’ll go with medium length. In my books that’s when the edge of your fingernail just meets the tip of your finger. I will note that my nails are therefore long, according to my definition, and need to be cut.

3. What is your favorite use for Pinterest?
Other than wasting time? Probably finding recipes or newborn photo ideas. I’ve yet to decide if I want to pay for a newborn photo shoot when Baby I arrives or if I want to attempt one myself. I have the equipment, I just don’t know how to use it to its full potential.

4. Do you sleep with your mouth open?
Probably, considering I wake up drooling a lot. I also make some pretty interesting snoring noises according to Kyle. Whatever.

5. Where did you have the best pizza you’ve ever eaten?
That is a very good question! I don’t think I’ve ever had a piece of pizza that was that memorable for me. Pretty lame, I know.

6. What do you eat for breakfast on weekdays?
Usually a big bowl of cereal. If I’m feeling really energetic I’ll make a bagel, but for the most part it’s cereal.

7. Do you watch awards shows? Why or why not?
Sometimes I do. It usually depends on if Kyle’s home or not. He’s not big into them, and they can be pretty boring. Usually I just watch the Golden Globes, that way I know “who’s who” in movies AND on TV, and I’m killing two birds with one stone. I never remember when the Grammy’s are on. (Except for this year, because Whitney Houston died the day before.)

8. Can you whistle? Snap? Curl your tongue? Bend down and touch your palms to the ground?
Yes; I’m guessing you mean snap your fingers, so yes; Yes; and definitely not right now since I’m pretty much a whale. Actually, I don’t think I could even when I wasn’t pregnant. I can, however, make my thumb touch my forearm. Woo!

9. What email service do you use?
Gmail all the way! Actually, I have a Hotmail account too purely for the purpose of MSN Messenger, but I never even use that.

10. What is your favorite outdoor activity?
Photography can be outdoors, so I’ll go with that. I also don’t mind hiking (as long as I get lots of breaks) and playing a sport of some sort. Golf and slo-pitch are my favourite summer things to do.

And – as a sidenote – Happy Birthday to my amazing husband!!! He’s 26 today!
Love you muchly!
xo

23 Weeks

Posted in Baby #1, Pregnancy, Pregnancy Update by

You know, I had a topic to go along with this pregnancy update post, but then I decided not to sit down a write about it just yet. I’ve got a lot on my mind (and on my plate) at the moment, so I’m just going to throw right to the update questions:

How far along? 23 Weeks!

How big is baby? She’s slightly over 1lb and measures about 11.4″ long from crown to heel, according to BabyCentre.ca.

Total weight gain/loss: 1 or 2lbs I’m guessing. I feel like that’s about how much I’ve gained since I’m starting to feel more and more like a whale every day, lol.

Maternity Clothes? Nothing new or exciting. I will note that maternity clothes, PJ pants, yoga pants or my sweats are the only pants that are comfortable these days. Even my lover-the-belly maternity pants start to feel tight by the end of the day and I just want my low-hanging PJ pants on. (Gangsta whaa?) Kyle and I were also invited (and are attending) a wedding at the beginning of May, so I have to now try and find some kind of tent-like dress to fit me since I’ll be 8 months along by then!

Stretch marks? None! I’m going to knock on wood and say I’m never going to get them. (Jinx?)

Sleep: Same ol’, same ol’. (Sweat, peeing, etc.) It’s getting better, but some nights are worse than others. I do find that when I’m laying in bed it feels good just to rest and not move. My legs and hips are starting to get really achy, so stretching out feels amazing.

Movement: Tons! The little ninja monster loves to squirm around the most when I’m sitting on the couch watching TV. The other night she even freaked Kyle while his hand was on my belly. Her kicks are crazy-strong! I have a little MMA fighter inside me!

Food cravings: I have yet to have my waffles and I still want them in a bad way, lol.

What I miss: A good cocktail. Not even kidding. All I want is a belini or something similar. My liver is in for a rude awakening when I’m allowed to consume alcohol again! And wow, does that ever make me sound like a raging alcoholic.

What I am looking forward to: Getting some serious baby shopping done! We’ve yet to find a crib/nursery furniture we like, so that will be a fun challenge. I’ve also fallen in love with bedding sets from Pottery Barn, but they’re SOOO expensive.

Milestones: I think I’ll consider Kyle feeling that enormous kick as a milestone. It definitely surprised him!

Photo: