Author Archives: Kara

Ten on Tuesday

Posted in Ten on Tuesday by

1. What did you get for Christmas?
We got a variety of little things! My mom and step-dad bought Kyle and I bar chairs for our kitchen, we got an assortment of girl cards, and way too much chocolate. I also got pajamas and socks! Kyle and I exchanged stockings since we had just bought ourselves new furniture, and mine was filled with chocolate, a magazine, and an iTunes gift card – perfect!

2. Have you taken down your Christmas decorations?
I have, and yesterday afternoon Kyle and I tossed it off our back deck. Later we’ll take it to the Christmas tree drop-off area for it to be mulched down to nothingness.

3. What did you do for New Years Eve?
I went to a dinner/dance party that a local restaurant puts on every year with friends. Kyle had to work, so it was my first NYE alone in a while, but I did have a lot of fun despite being sober and midnight kiss-less; that was the only awkward moment of the night. I was also feeling super pregnant that night for whatever reason too. Weird!

4. Do you like accents?
If I can understand what the person is actually saying, then I don’t mind accents. If I have to ask a person to repeat something 5 times before I can figure out what they’re saying, I don’t like them.

5. What kind of television do you have?
We have a “hand-me-down” 42″ flat-screen that my dad gave us. He bought a new one so I bummed his old one off of him! It’s nothing compared to TV’s now (it’s about 4 years old) but it’s better than the 27″ CRT we had!

6. Did you make any changes at the beginning of 2012?
Nope! I spent January 1st doing the same thing I always do – take down my Christmas decorations, didn’t shower until really late in the afternoon, and had a two-hour nap! I don’t make resolutions.

7. What’s the last book you read and do you recommend it?
I *think* the last book I read was Little Earthquakes by Jennifer Weiner. It was a decent read, but definitely not Weiner’s best book! (Read my review here!) I’m about to start reading Sarah’s Key!

8. Do you stay current on celebrity gossip?
Now that I don’t work at Job #2 anymore, I’m quite behind on my celebrity gossip! When it was quiet I would flip through the gossip magazines at my check-out, even though it was “frowned upon.” I honestly couldn’t tell you who’s dating who now!

9. Do you know the words to Bohemian Rhapsody? Gangstas Paradise? Fresh Prince of Bel-Air?
Yes, sort of, and definitely yes! Bohemian Rhapsody is one of my favourite sing-alone songs, Gangsta’s Paradise is legendary, and who DOESN’T know the lyrics to Fresh Prince of Bel-Air? (If you don’t, we can’t be friends.) And on NYE I definitely sung along to “Baby Got Back” without missing any lines. And all the country songs they played. My friend said I was the most “gangsta hillbilly” he knows, lol!

10. What is your favourite education television show?
I have no idea, as far as TV programming today goes. When I was little my favourite was Mr. Dressup. (I’m sure every Canadian my age remembers him!) Sesame Street is up there too.

What surprising songs do you know all the words to?

15 Weeks and Babies Everywhere!

Posted in Babies, Baby #1, Friends, Pregnancy Update by

Two things seems to happen over the holidays – either people got engaged or they announced that they were pregnant!!

In my circle of Facebook friendness, it was 1:2 for engagement to pregnancies. Actually, really it’s only tied 1-1 because one friend hasn’t announced that she’s expecting except to close friends and family.

I won’t dish out details about her pregnancy, but I will say that my bestest friend Rebecca (who was my MOH for my wedding) is expecting her 2nd child in July, only about a month after I’d due!! I’m pretty excited for her and it will be fun to share experiences, even though it’s her 2nd and she’s already given me some pretty good pointers. Poor girl has the worst morning sickness though – same as with her 1st pregnancy. I feel so lucky I didn’t have any other than coffee making me feel nauseous.

Anyway – Here’s today’s Pregnancy Update!

How far along? 15 weeks – How has that much time gone by already?!

How big is baby? He or she is about 4″ long from crown to bum, or the size of an apple, according to BabyCentre.ca!

Total weight gain/loss: It may have been all the turkey for the holidays, but I’ve gained about 2lbs since I last weighed myself. Just because I can – I’m going to say it’s all baby, lol.

Maternity Clothes? I finally went and bought a pair of maternity jeans and they are soooo comfy!! They can be worn during all trimesters, so they’re perfect. My mom also bought me a khaki skirt for the springtime since it was on sale for $7! You can’t beat that!

I was actually really nervous about maternity clothes shopping just because I’m not showing all that much yet – some of the more pregnant women were giving me weird looks. I was also one of the youngest women in the store, which was weird. But, the sales associate was SOOO helpful in telling me about their great discount programs and finding the right size to fit me through my whole pregnancy. It really made for a great experience!

Stretch marks? Still none

Sleep: It’s hit or miss if I get a good night’s sleep. A “good” night is when I only wake up twice to go pee!

Movement: Other than the outward growth of my belly, nothing. I don’t imagine I’ll feel anything until the end of this month.

Food cravings: I’m STILL not craving anything too weird! No pickles and peanut butter ice cream, no spaghetti with maple syrup, nothing! My sense of smell is ridiculous though, so whenever I smell something good I want whatever it is!

What I miss: I really miss being able to sleep on my stomach. My should is really tight from sleeping on my side every night. I’ve been trying to alternate sides, but I always wind up back on my right side. Oh well. That’s what massage therapy is for!

What I am looking forward to: The ultrasound appointment!! The clinic called me last Wednesday to make an appointment, and I’m going on Feb. 2! (Groundhog Day, as my grandma pointed out!) So, the question will be, will we see a shadow or won’t we? Girl (No shadow) or Boy (Shadow)?!

Oh, and I think we’ve made a decision on whether or not to find out what we’re having! I’ve caved and decided that if we can and baby is cooperating, we’ll find out! It will just make everything a lot easier (painting, names, etc.), plus I’ll be able to better bond with my tummy! We’ll keep the name a secret though :)

Milestones: It’s not really a big milestone, but finally telling my boss that I’m expecting was a huge step for me. I had been putting it off until the boss’s boss (aka, the publisher!) came up to me and mentioned that I should probably give him a head’s up. So, I sent my boss an email later that afternoon and the next day he congratulated me! I’ll take that as a good sign that he’s not disgruntled that he’ll have to find a replacement for me while I’m on mat. leave, lol

Photo:

Year in Review

Posted in Reflections, Year in Review by

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012! It’s hard to believe that another year has come and gone. In honour of an amazing year, I present to you some of my memorable moments from the past year!

January

  • Wedding planning was in full-swing as I started my 6-month countdown, designed my invitations, and eventually found bridesmaid dresses for my girls!
  • Kyle ordered a new truck – a 2011 Ranger – and it eventually arrived a couple months later! (Although now we’re looking to get rid of it for a bigger truck with car-seat friendly backseats!)

February

  • I signed up for a gym membership again, which I ended up cancelling 6 months later.
  • I entered the smartphone world and got myself an HTC Desire Z (which I’m now cursing and can’t wait to upgrade!)
  • I took a deep breath and published a post about one of my biggest insecurities.

March

  • Kyle got a new job and it really helped to kick-start our future.
  • My wedding dress arrived and I couldn’t wait to put it on!
  • Thanks to the new Facebook timeline, it looks like I posted about everyone having babies, but that they wouldn’t be coming from me. Hmm, not so much I guess!
  • I debated whether or not I should buy a bathroom scale.

April

  • I went geocaching for the first time ever with Melissa and it was a lot of fun!
  • I started receiving wedding RSVP’s back in the mail and it was like Christmas all over again seeing who accepted and who declined.
  • Kyle gave me my birthday/wedding present a few days early – a Nikon D90! I’m still learning how to use all its amazing features.

May

  • I turned 25 and had my bachelorette/bridal shower all on the same day! What an exhausting one it was too.
  • I also entered the final month (which turned into the final days!) of wedding planning which left me beyond stressed, and I blogged about the little things that sometimes you don’t think of when it comes to wedding planning.

June

  • I got married!!! Need I say more?
  • My beloved Vancouver Canucks entered the Stanley Cup Final and sadly, lost. As a result, non-fans decided to riot, one of the most heart-breaking things I ever witnessed.
  • I started playing softball again and remembered how much I love it
  • I got a new job position at work and I loooove it! I also quit Job #2 after almost five years of it nearly killing me. Best decision I ever made.

July

  • We went out to the middle of nowhere for a friend’s wedding and I got eaten alive by mosquitoes! 27 bites on one leg alone! It was awful, but the wedding was fun.
  • Kyle and I started redoing a room in our townhouse – and it turned out fabulously!

August

  • I traveled to Prince George for my best friend’s wedding, where I was a bridesmaid. I was skeptical of going, but it turned out to be a lot of fun!
  • While in Prince George I also finally met up with one of my bloggy friends after 5 YEARS of conversing over the internet! It was way overdue!
  • I found out my mom’s lab, Tanner, aka the best dog in the world, has cancer. It was probably the worst news I heard all year.
  • I signed up for the fall season of softball and it was some of the best times ever!

September

  • I went to the Farmer’s Market for the first time in a couple years and got a great haul of local goodies!
  • Kyle and I started hunting for our second home.
  • My Tanner lost his battle with cancer. It’s still hard to think about to this day.
  • I got my hair cut and got some bangs at the same time. After a slight adjustment period, I’m still loving them!
  • Though I wouldn’t know for another couple weeks, I conceived a child!

October

  • Kyle and I made an offer on another house!
  • Although it was a password-protected post when I first posted it, I announced that I was expecting a baby in June 2012!
  • I had to live for two weeks without a stove because a $1 salt shaker fell on top of it and broke the glass. It was a difficult two weeks!

November

  • Our offer was accepted on the house we wanted, so after being in our townhouse for a little over a year, I started packing it back up again to move at the end of the month.
  • Kyle and I celebrated our last “dating” anniversary before we celebrate our first wedding anniversary in June 2012. We’ve been together for 9 years!
  • I wrote a sports story for work and it turned out pretty well for my first REAL sports story ever! It’s not even my area of expertise, so I was happy regardless.
  • Kyle and I became landlords as we rented out our townhouse.
  • We got completely moved into our new house and the unpacking commenced!

December

  • We got settled into our new house, completed it with new furniture, and decked the halls for Christmas!
  • One of my closest friends came home for the holidays and I got some much-needed “girl time.” I really need more in-town girl friends!
  • I finally “came out” and announced that Kyle and I are expecting a baby on June 25, 2012! I also blogged about whether or not we’re going to find out what we’re having.
  • I blogged about how having multiple Christmas dinners was taking its toll on me. I swear 2011 was the last year of 3+ Christmases!

So there you have it, my year in a nutshell! It’s been a crazy busy one, and with baby on the way mid-next year, it doesn’t seem like life is going to slow down anytime soon!

Wishing all my amazing blog readers the very best in 2012!!