I just put an old lady's maxi pad through the wash and all I can think is this is my life...

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Friday, September 30, 2011

Wedded Bliss.

So, it's official boys and girls, I'm getting married tomorrow :) The only bit of stress that I'm currently feeling is in regards to my two cakes and all of our cupcakes. Specifically travelling the hour from my cake designer's to the reception location with Turkey Butt and his big brother. But I guess I've just got to put my trust in them and laugh it off if my cake arrives in less than perfect condition!

Now I need to sit down and write in the card I made for my future husband to receive from me on our wedding day. I've been putting this off for such a long time. It's not that I can't think of anything to say, the opposite in fact. I have so much to say to him on this joyous occasion that I'm afraid I will forget something important. Ah well, here goes nothing...

This is my life!

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Elle Designs!

I've finally gotten around to selling homemade items on Etsy! So far I only have two items listed but I've only been crafting for about an hour. My plan is to start small - with homemade, upcycled cards for all occasions - and work my way up from there.

Check out my wares here!

This is my life!

Friday, September 23, 2011

Costco

Since my maternity leave begins in T-minus 27 hours, I have been desperately seeking ways to save money. First I adjusted my student loan so that I pay $65 less per month. This means my length of repayment increases by two years but I can always adjust it again once I'm back to work! I also plan to call my financial institution on Monday to decrease my car loan payments - same results, but worth it. We also got a Costco membership a few days ago. We got the Gold Card Membership for $55 + tax and we got a $10 gift card for signing up too. Turkey Butt still isn't convinced that our potential savings will outweigh the initial membership cost but I am prepared to prove him wrong.

Here are some items that we purchased:

1.5L tub of Miracle Whip - $2.89 (for comparison, I found a 500ml tub of Hellman's for $5.99 at Sobeys)
1KG jar of Cheez Whiz - $5.95 (usually more than $6 for the smallest jar at Sobeys)
16 bars of Irish Spring soap - $6.59 (usually $4-something for a pkg of 2 bars)

Throw in the fact that we got $10 off our purchase with the gift card and I think we're doing pretty good so far! I look forward to going again, perhaps without cranky Turkey Butt, and stocking up on more essentials! This is my life!  

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Lucky.

In less than two weeks I get to marry the love of my life! I cannot believe how quickly time flies when you're having fun. Every day that I get to wake up next to Turkey Butt, every day that he phones me just to tell me he loves me, every day that he makes me smile and laugh and fall in even more in love with him - I treasure them all. I honestly think that I'm the luckiest girl in the world and I only hope that love is this amazing for everyone! Thinking back on all the guys that I tried to mold into Mr. Right (and the ones I put up with because I didn't know better) makes me sigh and shake my head and chuckle at myself. It wasn't until Turkey Butt kissed me that first time that I finally knew what it was that I was missing from my life this whole time. To get all movie cliche on you, he completes me! I am madly in love with that man and I cannot wait to be Mrs. Turkey Butt. I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life holding his hand and giggling at his constant goofiness. I cannot wait to have our precious bundle of joy (in approximately 6 weeks) so that I can look at my love holding my baby love and know that all is right in the world.

Seriously, how do you not love a guy who thinks up this superhero get-up while biking home from work, sneaks into the bedroom to change into it, then proceeds to wrestle the "evil" dog to protect his "fair maiden". Haha.
This is my life :)

Monday, September 19, 2011

Pregnancy Essentials

I have been randomly searching the internet all day to find tips on important items to have for a newborn and what to pack in your bag for the hospital. Because of this, I thought it might be handy to document a few items that have helped me alot during my pregnancy. Perhaps a reader will find it useful, or if nothing else, I'll have a handy guide for my next pregnancy. So here goes nothing:

I wish I had of been recommended these little baby's earlier! I suffered from excruitiating heart burn for months! I tried Pepto Bismal (liquid)but the package claims you cannot use it during your final 3 months of pregnancy. So I tried Gaviscon (liquid), which actually eased my suffering, if only temporarily. I became concerned about Gaviscon though when one of the main ingredients (I forget which one now, sorry) was something that the book, What To Expect When You're Expecting specifically mentionned it as something to avoid. So I finally asked my Nurse Practitioner (whom I saw up until 28 weeks) who recommended Diovol (liquid). I was quite perturbed because not only did Diovol not work, it tastes awful! Luckily Week 30 brought on my first visit with my OB-GYN and his recommendation to take 150mg of Zantac twice a day whether I thought I needed it or not. This was a miracle drug! It eased my heartburn by at least 80%, often times I felt none at all and the projectile vomiting that I was suffering from every other day disappeared. Of course nothing is perfect, I do sometimes drink a shot of Diovol now and then if I get a little flare up and it's not time for a pill, but I will definitely be reaching for this during my next pregnancy!


Yoga pants have been such a comfort for me during this pregnancy! I bought one pair during my first trimester when I was feeling chunky all over and my jeans were getting tight! I wasn't yet ready for maternity pants so I broke down and invested some cash (about $80 if I remember correctly) in a good pair of yoga pants. Yoga pants that I am honest to goodness wearing as I type this - at 34 weeks pregnant! Maternity clothes are expensive!!! I made the mistake of buying a new pair of maternity jeans early on in the pregnancy and I think I'm still suffering from sticker shock. The next time around I found a consignment shop that carried used maternity clothes and came away with a pair of denim maternity capri pants for about $12. And honestly, that's all I've got. I alternate between my mat jeans, my mat capris and my yoga pants. Of course, I throw in a dress here and there (all ones I owned pre-pregnancy) but that's really all that I own for bottoms. Tops are another (even cheaper) story. Because i'm "carrying low", I have been lucky enough to get away with not buying any new maternity tops. In fact, the 2 used maternity tops that I did purchase don't even get worn. Ever. I kind of despise them to be honest. I can still fit into most of my pre-maternity tops (they make them so long, stretchy and flowy these days) and when I do buy something new, I typically just buy regular tops a size or two larger than I normally would. It is SO much cheaper this way! Honestly, who wants to drop $60 per maternity top? Not me!


Ahhh, a body pillow is easily a pregnant girl's best friend. I picked mine up pretty early on in my pregnancy because I was suffering from the first trimester curse of sore boobs. Cuddling up with one of these made my nights much more livable. I love mine so much that I popped a seam, the stuffing has relocated to new and strategic places and I've had to tie a knot in the bottom of the fabric to keep everything in (don't own a sewing kit). It was such a great purchase though, because the more pregnant you get, the more you need it to sleep at night. Seriously, I couldn't make it through the night without it between my knees and tucked supportively around my belly. I got mine at Zeller's for less than $15 and it's all that I needed. Certainly no point in spending big money on one since it gets used and abused throughout the pregnancy. I will definitely be replacing mine for the next baby!

I am normally a 36B when it comes to bra's. But through the wonders of pregnancy, I jumped to a 40D pretty quickly. I tried buying nursing bras, but found them uncomfortable. I tried buying regular sports bras but found them too tight and uni-boob creating. Then I stumbled across these Ahh Bra's at Walmart. I got one just to try it on for size and see what all the fuss was about and I loved it. So I got another. In fact, I will probably get more once my milk comes in and my boobs get even bigger! The only thing i've noticed (and it's probably due to the size of my breasts more than anything) is that my boobs get pretty sweaty when I'm wearing this. Luckily a little baby powder works wonders! I'm not sure how convenient this bra will be when it comes time for nursing but I plan to give it a shot!


I think I may have mentionned this in a previous post, but I found a foot stool to be very helpful in the bathroom. That sounds weird when I read it over but trust me on this one. One of the (many) symptoms I've had during this pregnancy is constipation. Especially during the first trimester. Since this was also a symptom of my first pregnancy, I came prepared and did everything I could to ease my suffering. Raisin bran for breakkfast? Check. Benefibre powder mixed in my drinks? Check. Foot stool in the bathroom? Check! There's something about giving your feet a little lift while you're sitting on the toilet, pooping, that makes the whole process easier. And, I've read that it's a good preventative tool to keep away hemmoroids in your third trimester (so far so good)!


Last, but not least, I want to talk to you about cravings. For this pregnancy, I've been going through intense but short lived cravings (i.e. I need it for every meal but after a few weeks i'm over it). The items that I can recall are:

-french toast and mashed potatoes (for supper almost every night during my first trimester)
-honey nut cheerios (two bowls a day for about three weeks during the end of my second trimester)
-chocolate milkshakes (at least one a day, every day, for a few weeks at the beginning of my third trimester)
-arizona green tea (a can a day, sometimes it can be put off til every other day, for the last two weeks or so)

I can tell you right now that none of these things fall into the list of recommended foods for a pregnant lady. My thoughts? Keep the items that you crave on hand because there is no sense in being miserable and cranky because of food. The excess of hormones will have you miserable and cranky enough all on their own. This recommendaion is especially true during the evil first trimester if you're suffering from morning sickness. Some days all I could eat were liquid yogurt drinks because everything else made me gag or vomit. Some days I would show up at work in the AM with a chocolate bar and a travel mug full of juice (and I'm talking fruit drink, not 100% fruit juice). And do you know what, I never apologized for it. I knew what I could and couldn't handle and what I needed to get me through the morning without vomiting - too much. I took my vitamins and ate healthy as often as my tummy allowed it and I never once doubted my ability to be a good mother!

Anyways, I hope this is helpful to someone, or at least that it will give you a good laugh! This is my life!

P.S. I am in no way being compensated for my above recommendations. I truly just wanted to pass along the things that worked for me. I'm sure anyone looking at this list for tips will come up with their own list by the time their pregnancy is over - and I'd love to read it!!!

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Warrior

I cannot say enough good things about the movie, Warrior! It was amazing! Turkey Butt was obviously really excited about it as he's obsessed with the UFC (basically the movie is like, The Million Dollar Baby for Ultimate Fighting). After seeing the movie trailer, I must admit to being a little excited about it myself. But then again, I do enjoy ultimate fighting (to an extent). As a true testament to how good this movie was though, my sister Aych and her boyfriend Cee joined us. Neither of them particularly care about the UFC or fighting in general, but they were equally as amazed by it as we were. My sister even shed a tear or two!

Now if that's not reason enough to check it out, this may persuade you:


Tom Hardy - Mmmmm
This is my life!

I just don't like it...

I don't care if it's selfish, or childish, or foolish - I just plain do not like the fact that Turkey Butt is still in touch with his ex. I know he loves me. I know he'll never leave me for her. I know my reaction is silly, but it just makes me angry.

Backstory: Turkey Butt's email account is my old one. From time to time I forget a password or user name and have to have the info sent to my old (now Turkey Butt's) hotmail account. This evening was one of those times. Since I still receive alot of emails to that account (Bluenotes, Aaron Karo's Ruminations, etc), I thought I'd go through and delete the useless ones. And that is when I came across Facebook Notifications of messages being sent to Turkey Butt from his ex. So jealous Elle got curious. From the sounds of her half of the conversation, they're in contact through text messaging which is ... interesting to me and she's brought up meeting up and taking the dogs for a walk. Hmm, well that would certainly explain why he gets random texts from numbers that he hasn't created contacts for. He claims they're his friend Kay, but when Kay calls, it says Kay on the screen. Interesting....

Okay, I know I'm putting FAR too much thought into this, but it really, truly pisses me off. Especially that he's hiding it from me. Now, I'm sure if I asked him, he'd say he's not hiding it, it just never came up. But I'm sure that if I was still in contact with one of my exes, he would want to know. But I would not be covertly texting and facebook messaging my ex. If I bumped into an ex, I would tell him about it. Boys....

This is my life.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Note to self...

Pineapple Juice = horrible heartburn (no matter how many tabs of extra strength Zantax or mouthfuls of Diovol I ingest). Sigh.

This is my life.

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Maternity Photos

Turkey Butt and I are lucky enough to have the most amazing photographer! The other day she came over and we took a stroll along the fields to get some maternity shots while my belly is still cute. They turned out SO well!!!! Here are a few of my MANY favorite shots:

















Melissa, from Raven Dawn Photography, you are truly amazing! You capture our life and love so beautifully! This is my life.

Organization

While I've got some free time before the baby arrives, I've decided to do a little organizing/redecorating around the house. I started with my craft area. Here is the before:

As you can see it is completely impossible for me to even work on crafts in this area. I've been working away at it for a few hours, over a few days, and will hopefully soon have an after photo to share with you! This is my life!

Pinterest Inspired Crafts

Okay, I love Pinterest. There, I said it. I've found so many wonderful holiday, craft and food ideas. Here are a few crafts that I've created for Little Miss Elle's room:


Idea found here!

Idea found here!
And the two of them together above the changing table:


Luckily I already had two canvases around the house (they were red). I plan to eventually buy a third canvas so it will say: Live, Laugh, Love. As for the frame, we'll put photos of Little Miss Elle into the top and bottom openings once we actually have photos of her! This is my life!


Saturday, September 3, 2011

What the %^$# is Pinterest?

Alright, I'm prepared to admit it. I am a Pinterest virgin. I've seen it mentionned time and again on many of the blogs I follow but I honestly have no clue what its all about. Since I'm never one to jump on a fad bandwagon (if you will), I've silently chosen to sit this one out until it became clear that it wasn't a passing trend. I think that time has finally come. So folks, here I go, down the yellow brick road to Pinterest. Now if you'll bare with me, I'll scope it out and let you know what I think.......................................................
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Okay, I'm back, and to be honest, I'm still pretty confused. And, apparently I'm now waiting to be invited to join Pinterest? This is all so confusing. That being said, I looked through a few "pins" about weddings and saw some pretty cute ideas. I might like this afterall. Well at least I might once I figure out what's going on... Wikipedia anyone? This is my life.

Friday, September 2, 2011

Belly Pics


This is my life!

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