Currently // April

Hello, from Florida!

If you don't follow me on Instagram (but why not? you really should!), then you probably don't know that we're currently vacationing in Florida right now! Even though I was really organized leading up to us leaving last week, I was also super busy getting ready for the trip, plus mommying and the posts I had hoped to have posted before we left never happened. I don't generally blog much when we go on holidays, but since it's been awhile since my last post, I thought I'd share a little currently post - Florida edition!

Enjoying: just being. My in-laws place in Florida is so relaxing, it's hot out, and I'm just enjoying waking up every morning with my family and not having an agenda. We've been down to Florida many times, and we plan to return many more, so we never feel this urge to have to do and see everything while we are here. This family vacation is exactly what I have been needing!

Reading: Forever, Interrupted, by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I started this on the plane and read almost 150 pages. I haven't picked it back up since we got here, even though it hooked me from page one and had me crying by page two. I'm just having a serious problem with picking up a book these days. Even Jim commented the other day on how he hasn't seen me read in weeks. That's because I haven't been, I told him. I can't even call it a reading slump, I'm just not in the mood.

Listening To: nothing. So, I downloaded a whole whack of podcasts for the plane rides, only to get my phone out during the flight and realizing that you need that dumb headphones connector for the iPhone 7! Ugh, never have I been so annoyed at Apple in my life! I looked at TJ Maxx here for a connector, but they didn't have any. If I make it back to Target before we leave, I will look there, but it seriously annoys me to buy something that I already have at home! These are the Podcasts I was hoping to listen to: The Minimalists, Happier with Gretchen Rubin, and That's So Maven.

Eating: all of the food from Trader Joe's! There's a Trader Joe's in Sarasota that's not too far from my in-laws place, but it's also not convenient to go to either. But we always make sure to go on our first or second day here so that we can buy some groceries from there to enjoy during our stay. I also stock up on some of my favourite nonperishables from there. I'm also indulging in all of the Chobani I can stomach, champagne from Trader Joe's because I have a serious love affair with champagne and it's so cheap from there, and fun cereal you can't get in Canada. Healthier eating can resume next week! ;)

Doing: cross-stitch. So, I haven't been reading or blogging because I've recently become obsessed with cross-stitching. I've been intrigued by some really neat cross-stitch designs I've been seeing on Instagram lately, and even though I haven't cross-stitched since I was a young girl, I just had this strong desire to start it up. I find it SO relaxing, and it's an activity that's much easier to do while watching TV or chatting with my family than reading or writing is. I'm pretty pleased with how my first piece is turning out and I'll be sure to share the finished product with you!

Looking Forward To: Our last few days in Florida. Sully started fighting a cold after the first few days here, and it's just getting worse. He is not himself and he just looks and sounds horrible. Then I felt like I was coming down with something, but thankfully, have been able to fight it off, although at one point I was convinced I had an ear infection, which has since gotten better with some polysporin ear drops my mother-in-law just happened to have on hand. Thank goodness for that! You can't purchase them in the States apparently, but she always brings them down from Canada with her. Here's hoping Sully starts feeling like his old self so we can get back to enjoying the pool, get to the beach, and just have some fun during our last few days here!

I won't be posting again until we are back from vacation next week, but I'll be posting over on my Instagram account if you want to follow along! And once we're home, I'll share all the highlights from the trip, as well as how traveling with both a toddler and an infant went!


Tell me something you're looking forward to!

How do you like to pass the time on plane rides? 

Currently // March

Well, February sure flew by in a flash, didn't it? February was a busy month for us, we had my sister visiting for a week (so much fun!), and we celebrated Sully's third birthday! I'm always a little happy to see January and February go though as it means we are that much closer to spring! Anyway, here's a little look at what I've been up to currently.

Thinking About: How amazing the human body is. As of today, I am 9 weeks postpartum, and 9 weeks post c-section. I have a post in the works talking about mind and body at this point after delivery, so it's been on my mind a lot. Up until about 7 weeks postpartum, I was still having quite a bit of weird discomfort in my belly in the area above my c-section incision and it was still very numb feeling. It's so hard to describe, but it wasn't always pleasant. Every day I would think, "Did I pull something? Am I ever going to feel better?" and then boom! I woke up one morning and there was no more pain, no more pulling, no more weird numbness. And that's when I finally started to feel "whole" again and more like my old self. This is also when I was like "ok, I'm ready to be cleared for exercise, I'm ready to move and workout!", something I definitely did not think in those first few weeks of recovery.

Reading: February was a slow reading month. I haven't been making the time for it in the evenings like I usually do, instead I've been interneting (totally a word) into the wee hours of the night because sometimes (especially during nursing sessions), interneting is just so much easier. I still have Faithful by Alice Hoffman checked out from the library that I need to read so I plan to devote some time to getting into it (I literally read the first two pages last week before shutting it and picking up my phone instead).

Listening To: Sully is showing way more interest in music lately than he ever has in the past. He asks me what every song is called that we are listening to and if he doesn't like the title I give him, he tells me what he thinks the title should be, (he calls the song 'Home' by Blue October, 'Dancing in the Kitchen', because that's a lyric from it).  It's pretty cute. I also have noticed that he is picking up song lyrics now so I have to watch what comes on the playlist. Anyway, all that being said, I haven't actually been listening to anything new. His most requested song of all time is Carol of the Bells by the Piano Guys. Yes, we are still listening to Christmas music over here, but I'm not complaining - this instrumental song is beautiful and The Piano Guys are so talented. Plus, Sully likes to imitate playing the cello when listening to this song and it's the cutest thing ever.

Watching: I've been working my way through the Santa Clarita Diet on Netflix (3 episodes left!) and really enjoying it. Have you watched it? I adore Drew Barrymore. This show is a little gruesome, but that kind of thing never bothered me, plus since it's a dark comedy, I don't take the gross scenes too seriously. Highly recommend it though! Otherwise, I'm still watching the same old stuff...Gilmore Girls, Riverdale (a few episodes behind), This Is Us (also a few episodes behind), and Love Sick (another Netflix original I highly recommend!).

Eating: I'm trying to clean up my diet in efforts to start living a more healthier lifestyle. When I'm pregnant and/or breastfeeding, I really start to let myself eat whatever I want, using those two things as an excuse. But even though breastfeeding burns extra calories, does not in fact give me the right to eat extra calories worth of junk (which I've been doing). I really have no will power when it comes to sweets in the house, so I told Jim he's going to start having to satisfy his sweet tooth at work as I am not bringing them into the house anymore. I've also noticed that I can go all morning without eating anything, sometimes as late as 2 p.m. before I even realize that all I've had is coffee. BAD! Not eating is not doing me any favours. So, needless to say, I've got some work to do in my diet.

Wearing: A mishmash of old clothes and maternity clothes (because ruching is a postpartum mom's best friend). Seriously though, my closet is the most depressing room in my house. Last night, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the VIP event for the brand new Women's Sport Chek at Chinook Centre that opens today (more on that tomorrow!), and I think I spent a good hour trying to figure out what to wear to it. Nothing fit how I wanted it to. My closet needs a serious overhaul.

Laughing About: This Buzzfeed post sharing 100 parenting memes. You guys, this is the funniest thing I've read all week because it's so, so true. I screen capped so many of them to text Jim throughout the day. One of my favs because this is my life 100% and why I go to bed at ungodly hours:

Looking Forward To: This weekend! It's jam packed full of fun workouts and dinner with friends. On Saturday, I'll be trying out another Boxing class with the Blog Squad and then a bunch of us will be going out for dinner to say goodbye to our good friend Jen, who will be leaving us for a year as her and her husband travel the world! Amazing, right?! And then on Sunday, we'll be hitting up a private Barre class (Emmy's coming with!), and then some of us will be heading over to Chinook Centre to take a fitness class offered by Sport Chek Women in celebration of their grand opening. It's going to be busy and tiring, but worth it!


Over to you! 

Tell me something you're looking forward to! 

Current favourite song? TV show?


*Linking up with Kristen & Gretchen for What's New With You? 

Currently // February

Happy February, friends! Intros are hard sometimes and I've been staring at this blank screen for far too long now, so let's just jump into it today, shall we? As most of you know, I had a baby at the end of December, but in case you were wondering, here's some other things I've been currently up to!

Thinking About: How glad I am that January is over. Not that I'm wishing for time to pass even faster than it already is, but January always feels like the darkest, coldest, slowest month of the year and I'm always glad when it's over. It's also the longest period we go with Jim not having an extra day off or a holiday day off, and I like any extra time we get at home with him. On the other hand though, January passed in the blink of an eye this year, mostly thanks to a certain little baby that is now a part of our life. We've been pretty much housebound most of January as I heal from my c-section, but even so, the weeks have passed quickly.

Reading: I read four books in January (go me!) and I'm glad that I'm finding the time to still make reading a part of my daily life. Some days are more challenging than others, and often I find myself staying up too late in order to get a few chapters in, but I guess some habits never die. I don't usually plan ahead for the month in regards to what books I'm going to read (I read based on what strikes my fancy at the time), but when my hold at the library for It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover finally came in, Faithful by Alice Hoffman happened to be sitting on the display shelf when I walked in. That book has been on my radar for a while now, so I scooped it up and then also grabbed The Lost Husband by Katherine Center since that book was also on the shelf at my local branch. Long story short, I'm looking forward to reading all three of these books! I'm just not sure which one to start with...

Listening to: I'm LOVING this song by Ed Sheeran right now:

Watching: Still working my way through Gilmore Girls (I'm halfway through season 3) and just about to finish up Season 12 of Grey's Anatomy. I will never tire of that show, I'm sure. When my mom was here for a few weeks, we started watching The Crown on Netflix (got through half the episodes) and I'm really loving it. I haven't gone back to finish it because I'm hoping my mom will be back this month and we can finish it together. Jim and I also watched the first episode of Riverdale last week and liked it more than we thought we would (I was a die hard Archie comics fan growing up!). It's got great potential and I'm looking forward to the next episode (they're releasing one episode every Thursday).

Eating: I'm working hard at being organized and meal planning since I can't exactly run out for groceries whenever I want right now and it makes me ridiculously happy when our meals are planned for the week and we aren't wasting groceries. Anyway, if you're a chicken fan, you need to try these two recipes: baked chicken breasts and whole chicken in the slow cooker. Both turned out fantastic! The baked chicken breasts one is awesome for having some extra chicken to throw into a salad for lunch during the week. And the slow cooker whole chicken - let's just say I don't think I'll ever be buying a cooked roast chicken from the grocery store anymore.

Wearing: Ha. Whatever is comfortable right now. Which means I'm still rocking maternity clothes since I don't like anything rubbing near my incision right now.

Laughing About:

{source}

EVERY.SINGLE.TIME Ha!!

{source}

Yup. 100% accurate.

Looking Forward To: My sister visiting in less than two weeks! She hasn't met Emmy yet, so she'll be flying out to visit us for a week. I can't wait to see her (it's been far too long), and I'm also looking forward to having the adult company for the week.

Also, my little boy will be turning 3 this month! I've been putting it off, but I need to get on planning his birthday party! And now that he's older, I'm hoping we can do some Valentine's Day related crafts and/or baking.


Over to you! 

What are you reading right now?

Are you watching Riverdale? Thoughts?


*Linking up with Kristen & Gretchen for What's New With You? 

Currently...{December}

I can't believe this is my last Currently post of 2016! I'm also having a hard time accepting that it's December 1st already. You guys, that means Christmas is a mere 24 days away and my baby, if she stays put, will be here in 28 days! The next time I write a Currently post, I will have two kids, two!

It's been a little quieter around these parts, but that just means that Jim and I are actually making some serious headway on home projects that I'd love to have done before baby arrives. Of course, her nursery hasn't seen any improvement yet, but once we get it painted, it won't take much. Plus, I fully intend on having baby sleep in our room for the first few months (at least) since that is what we did with Sully and I'm really looking forward to that part of having a newborn.

Anyway...here's a little look at what I'm currently up to!

Thinking About: How proud I am of Sully and how quickly he took to potty training. I decided that last Monday was going to be the day we started since we were just about out of diapers, but had a bunch of pull-ups on hand. I knew I was putting it off, and I also knew that once baby comes, I wouldn't want to be potty training a toddler on top of having a newborn. We will still have to work on nap-time and night-time training, as well as #2, but for now, I'm more than happy for him to be day-trained!

Reading: I haven't been reading as much this past month, mostly because our evenings are spent trying to finish up home projects or I'm just too tired to. But, I am on the second book of the Winter series by Elin Hilderbrand and it's cute, fun, Christmassy and exactly what I was looking for heading into December. My hold for December's A Slice of Brie Book Club also finally came in, so I'll be cracking that open right away in order to get it read in time for next Wednesday! Come join us for the discussion if you've read/are reading the book (Wrapped Up in You by Carole Matthews).

Listening To: All of the Christmas music! I adore Christmas music. It makes me happy and puts me in the Christmas spirit. I don't know how I haven't come across this cover of Little Drummer Boy by Walk Off the Earth before, but you guys, it's fantastic! They give Boney M a run for their money! And this video is pretty awesome (although all their videos are awesome)!

Watching: Not a whole lot...still trying to work my way through Gilmore Girls (currently half way through season 2), and now that Jess has joined the show, it's infinitely better! We also watched a few episodes of the Netflix original, Easy...which is kind of weird, but kind of good too. My plan is to watch all of the Christmas movies this month though! Last weekend we watched Home Alone 1 & 2 and they have got to be two of my favourites - still so good even all these years later. Even Sully really enjoyed watching them with us!

Eating: Not much! I'm carrying baby so high and I'm so short of breath that some days it's a challenge to eat much. I don't have any cravings really...except maybe Honeycrisp apples! Gosh, those babies are delicious! Thankfully, Costco had huge bags for an amazing price the other week because those guys are usually SO expensive!

Wearing: Well, you can read all about my signature maternity look in this post! ;) (spoiler: leggings/skinny jeans, plain t-shirt and cardigans).

Laughing About:

Cream for life!

Pretty much!

YES! WHY BRAIN, WHY!!

I do this ALL the time and Jim makes fun of me for it.

AMEN! Except, pile on the floor in the closet is more accurate. This drives Jim nuts and I've tried explaining it to him but he doesn't get it. 

Looking Forward To: Besides the arrival of baby later this month? Our mini family/maternity photo session coming up on Saturday! Of course, I still need to figure out what I'm wearing as well as what Jim and Sully will be wearing, but the weather forecast is looking decent for Saturday so I'm hopeful our outdoor shoot won't freeze our toes off! And of course...I'm looking forward to everything this month has to offer: all things Christmas, the Calgary Blogger Christmas party, Jim's company Christmas party, making new traditions with Sully this year, Jim's parent's visit, and the fact that this will be the first year ever that Jim will actually have time off BEFORE Christmas, plus a few weeks afterwards. It's an exciting month, that's for sure!!


Your turn! Tell me:

What's your favourite Christmas tradition?

Favourite Christmas song?

What are you most looking forward to this month?

Currently...{November}

I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that it's already November. And I know I'm going to have an even harder time of this once December rolls around. Right now, it's hard not to think of everything in terms of baby: 8 weeks (8 weeks!!) until baby comes...8 weeks to get the nursery done, 8 weeks to transition Sully from his crib to a big-boy bed, 8 weeks to get the house tidied up and organized, etc, etc. Oh my goodness, 8 weeks is so short! I know, it doesn't matter what does or doesn't get done, baby will come regardless. But in my dreams, it would be nice if everything that was on my to-do list was crossed off in the next two months!

So November. So far, we're having great weather! A lot of October was cold and gloomy, but other than that one day of snow we had, we haven't gotten anymore and it's been pretty nice out during the days. I also run really hot when I'm pregnant, so my definition of a nice day might not be yours, haha.

I feel like I just did this post, but here's what I'm currently up to!

Thinking about: Baby. I mean, how can I not be? But also thinking about baby and Sully and how life is going to look in 8 short weeks. Even though there's this tiny little being growing inside of me, it's so hard to picture her on the outside. From the constant bathroom trips, to the shortness of breath, to the little pokes and jabs, she never lets me forget she's in there, but I still can't imagine two kids yet. My days are almost solely made up for just me and Sully. He's my little sidekick, my companion, my mini-me. At least until his Dad gets home from work. On one hand, I'm so excited to expand our family and provide a sibling for Sully, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't also terrified. And I'm not scared about having enough love for two children...I already know and believe that that won't be an issue. What worries me is having enough time, patience and energy for both my children. I try not to over think these things because I also know life will just happen and I will just have to take it one day at a time. I expect there to be a transition for Sully, just like there will be for me. 8 weeks, guys, 8 weeks!!

{31 weeks}

Reading: I actually, at this moment, do not have a book on the go. I just finished up The Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlain, and quite enjoyed it. I'm not sure what I'm in the mood for yet. I would get a started on next month's book for A Slice of Brie book club, but I need to get a copy of it first. I read mostly darker, heavier books in October, and I'm thinking I want to finish off the year with a bunch of light reads. Any suggestions?

Listening to: So the lead singer of Godsmack, Sully Erna, recently released a new solo album. While Jim and I are big fans of Godsmack, I think I love Sully's solo work more...I find his work eliminates the heaviness of a lot of Godsmack songs that I'm not as tolerant to in my older years (haha!). I'm enjoying the whole album, Hometown Life, but I think this fun song is one of my favourites.

Watching: I'm still loving This is Us (although I almost wish I was a season behind so I could binge watch it - waiting a week between episodes is brutal!!), and Jim and I also started watching Kevin Can Wait on TV. We are huge Kevin James fans, and since we loved King of Queens so much, we thought we'd give it a go. It's actually pretty cute and funny if you can get past the laugh track. We also just started Black Mirror on Netflix (2 episodes in) and LOVING it. If you haven't jumped on that band wagon yet, you should! After everyone was raving about it on social media, I jumped on Netflix and was a bit confused at first since season 1 and 2 aren't available on there (except for episode 1 of season 2). But turns out, Netflix bought the show and produced season 3, and since all the episodes are independent of each other (like their own mini-films), it doesn't matter where you start or what order you watch the episodes in. (I through that all in there in case you were confused like me!).

Eating: Um, is this a trick question? Halloween candy, obviously. You guys, I totally bought WAY too much candy this year. Kids seemed to start trick-or-treating later this year, and by the time we got back to the house after we went out, I assumed we'd still get a rush of kids, but we got two! Last year I left a bowl of candy on the front porch, but we were in such a rush to get out the door, I forgot.

Other than that, I'm pretty much just snacking all day long. I don't have the room for meals anymore, so I need to eat less, more frequently.

Wearing: Same old, same old. Leggings/jeggings, tanks/t-shirts and cardigans. It's basically my signature maternity look.

Laughing about: 

My sister tagged me in this one because it's so true! (Sorry Mom!)

{source}

Accurate:

This one makes me laugh every time I read it because it's totally me:

{source}

Guilty:

{source}

YES WHYYYYYY?!

{source}

Looking forward to: We haven't booked anything yet, but we are hoping to escape to the mountains for a few days this month for a little "baby-moon"...although I'm not really sure it's called a baby-moon when you bring your toddler along, haha. Either way, we're hoping to go to Banff since neither of us have spent much time there other than to drive through. It will just be nice to get away from the city, from to-do lists and just be together as a family. 

Your turn! Tell me:

Have you watched Black Mirror? Thoughts?

Any fun book recommendations? 

What are you looking forward to?

*Linking up with Kristen & Gretchen for What's New With You? 

Currently...{October}

I have always said these are my favourite types of posts to do, yet somehow I haven't done a Currently post since May?! And you guys, somehow it's already October?! September, where did you go? I love fall though. Always have, always will. And so far, we are having a beautiful October. The weather is still warm (although there's no denying a nip in the air), the colourful leaves are still mostly on the trees (yay!), and I broke out my slow cooker last week! Not that I'm against using it during the summer months, I just don't find myself making slow cooker recipes that much when it's warmer out.

Anyway, here's a little look at what I'm currently up to!

Thinking about: how my baby is going to be here in less than three months now! I will be having another scheduled c-section with this baby (you can see more info on this in Sully's birth story post) and last week I received a letter in the mail with our scheduled date (December 28, 2016). Let me tell you, receiving that letter was both humorous and scary! Funny because, the letter is so "official", and it's kind of weird to be given the exact date and time to be at the hospital to have your baby. Of course, I could still go into labour earlier than this, but let's hope that doesn't happen! Scary because, it reminds me that this is all real and happening sooner than I think. Three months isn't a very long time in the grand scheme of things! Think about how quickly Christmas always sneaks up on you! I still plan to fully celebrate and decorate for Christmas, but I know I will have to be super organized and not wait until the last minute to put up the tree, shop for gifts, bake Christmas cookies, etc.

Reading: I just started Still Mine, a thriller/mystery about a girl on the run (Clare) and a girl that has gone missing (Shayna). Everyone in the small town that Shayna is from seems to be hiding something, and Clare must face her own secrets and demons, including what ties her to Shayna, in order to uncover the mystery surrounding Shayna's disappearance. It's too early to say if it's going to be any good, but I'm hopeful!

I'll also be diving into Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children soon here as it was the book picked for my online book club - if you missed that post, check it out here and come join us!

Listening to: Remember the band Blue October? I was obsessed with their album Foiled, back in 2007/2008. I listened to that album over and over. And then completely forgot about them until this past month when I happened to catch one of their new songs on the radio. I immediately went home and looked Blue October up and I can't believe I've missed FOUR albums since Foiled was released. I've only downloaded and listened to their most recent album, Home, and it's pretty great. My favourite song is Home, and it's been on repeat for days in the car. It even makes me tear up a bit when I pay attention to the lyrics. Such a great song!

Watching: So I haven't been reading as much these past two months and I think that's because I've been watching more Netflix than normal. There's just not enough time in the day to do both! Grey's Anatomy season 12 was FINALLY added to Netflix Canada so I've just started that, and same with The Walking Dead season 6. I also started watching Gilmore Girls from the very beginning because I just don't know which episodes I've seen and what I haven't. I never watched the show religiously, but my mom and sister did so I caught episodes here and there. I'm realizing in this first season that I've seen more than I thought, but I don't think I've seen as much in the later seasons. Anyway, Jim was painting our bathroom the other day while I was watching it in bed and he said it's the most annoying show to listen to because all anyone does on the show is bicker! I can see his point, but I still love it! Although, it's going to take me forever to get caught up in time for the reunion episodes.

And who's watching This is Us?! I've only watched the first episode, but I was instantly hooked! I don't often expect too much from a pilot and will usually give a show a few episodes before calling it quits, but you guys, this show (so far) seems like it's going to be a good one!

Eating: FIGS! Haha, I already talked about this in my last post, but I'm loving fresh figs right now and I'm going to be sad when my last clamshell is all gone. On Sunday night, thanks to Becky's inspiration, I made fig jam, chicken, arugula and Brie cheese pizza and oh my god you guys, it was DELICIOUS. I scored a beautiful jar of fig jam on sale at Homesense the other week and I'm going to need to go look for more as I ended up needing the whole jar for two pizzas. Totally worth it though!

I've also been going hard on the meal planning lately, including baking (somewhat) healthy treats for the week. I love my cookbooks, but lately it's just been easier to use Pinterest to meal plan. I make a lot of meals from Pinterest, and since I know it can be overwhelming to use, I thought I'd start a monthly post on where I share the meals I've made from it that I think everyone needs to try! Consider me your guinea pig. Check back tomorrow for that post!

Wearing: This question is no fun when you're pregnant. Or at least, not very interesting. I have to say though, I'm glad for the cooler weather as I much prefer to dress my bump in leggings and layers. I do think I'm going to need to invest in a maternity winter coat as 3 months of cold weather is too long to get away with just sweaters.

Laughing about: 

{source}

Haha remember this show?! Oh, Arthur.

{source}

Leggings for the win!

{source}

Looking forward to: Thanksgiving this weekend! I feel like I haven't had stuffing or turkey in ages and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to pigging out! We'll be seeing my nephews and sister-in-law and I feel like I haven't seen them in a long time (although it was only a month ago) so it will be great to get together with them.


Your turn! Tell me:

Current favourite song?

Are you watching This is Us? Thoughts?


*Linking up with Kristen & Gretchen for What's New With You? **haha apparently I can't read a calendar and got my dates wrong...link up is on Thursday! 

Currently...{May}

I already mentioned in yesterday's post, about how much I love the month of May. It's true, it's my favourite month for a few different reasons (my birthday, the weather, Mother's Day, May Long, etc). It's a great month! It's also turning out to be a really busy month, but I'm not complaining! I get to see more of my friends, try new things and run a few races (like that 10k at the end of the month I'm so not ready for!).

Anyway, here's a look at what I'm currently up to!

Thinking about: the massive wildfires in Northern Alberta that have displaced almost 90,000 people from their homes. In case you aren't local, about ten hours north of where I live, a massive wildfire started early Tuesday morning. The entire city has been evacuated while people watch their homes burn down around them. I stayed up way too late on Tuesday night, watching the footage and reading the news stories while crying myself to sleep. I can't even begin to imagine what these people are going through - losing their homes, their pets, their vehicles, their jobs. And what a terrifying situation. It isn't easy to get into and out of Fort Mac and the drive to Edmonton is about 7 hours South of there. People ran out of gas, or their cars choked on all the smoke and couldn't run. People slept in their cars on the sides of the highways. Animals are running around everywhere. And homes are burning down. It's such a helpless feeling to watch all of this unfold between your eyes, especially when it's in your own province and so close to home (I have a family member and a few friends who had to flee). Right now, the best thing people can do is donate money, as Red Cross and other charities can then provide exactly what is needed. Even a small donation of $5 makes a difference, and it's so easy to do. All you have to do is text REDCROSS to 30333. My prayers are with all the people and family affected by these fires.

Reading: I just devoured The Love That Split the World by Emily Henry and it was pretty awesome. I posted a full review here. Then yesterday, I started The Hero's Walk by Anita Rau Badami. This is actually one of the first books I really remember reading (like 16 years ago!) and absolutely loving. Of course, the feelings from reading it have stuck with me over the years, but not the actually storyline. I'm not a big re-reader, even though sometimes I wish I were. But then the Calgary Book Club that I periodically attend, picked this book for our meeting next week. It seemed like a sign to finally re-read it. Basically, in a nutshell, it's the story of a Indian man named Sripathi, who is estranged from his daughter who has been living in Vancouver for many years. One day he gets a call that his daughter and his son-in-law have been killed in a car crash, and he is the appointed guardian for his 7 year old granddaughter whom he has never met. He must travel to Vancouver from India and make the necessary arrangements to bring his granddaughter home with him. I'm already hooked again at just 50 pages in.

Listening to: So I've been going through my old CDs, looking for one's I used to love, but haven't listened to in ages, and one's I want to upload to iTunes so I can finally start purging some of them in their physical form. Charlie Winston's album, Hobo (2009) was one that grabbed my attention, and I think I love it even more now than when I first listened to it. It's fun, it's different, and it really gets your toes tapping. Sully loves dancing to it, especially the first song, In Your Hands.

Watching: One of my goals back in April was to watch more TV with my husband. Sounds ridiculous when I type it out. Who actually strives to watch more TV? Haha! Well, let me rephrase that. Jim and I have a lot of TV shows we like to watch together on Netflix and we haven't had time to watch movies in months. It's something we enjoy doing together, so it was important to me that I find a way to make time for it again. But the problem with watching a movie is picking which movie to watch! Even though our interests are for the most part, pretty interesting, our lists on movies to watch on Netflix are ridiculously long. Half an hour into deciding I'm usually saying, "too late, it's too late, no movie tonight". So I came up with a new rule: we take turns picking the movie, no ifs ands or butts. (One exception: I can't pick a complete chick-flick, and he can't pick a horror movie). In one week, we watched 4 movies (Spy, A Walk Among the Tombstones, Still Alice, and Wild Card)! It was great.

Eating: Nothing too exciting. We've just kind of been eating through our pantry and freezer and BBQ'ing. I feel like overall, I've been making better food choices in my life: no sweets or deserts, and more smoothies. Since falling off the meal-planning wagon, I've struggled to get back on, and am often scrambling to make dinner that night. Or I don't make it at all, and we have French toast, or cereal, or whatever strikes our fancy. It's ok sometimes, but I need to find that meal-planning high again.

Wearing: Oh man, it's been so hot this week! I'm really disliking the few summery clothes I have so I think I might need to break down and actually go shopping. Ick. Whenever summer weather comes around again, I'm always like, "what did I wear LAST summer!?", because it always feels like all of a sudden, I have nothing to wear for the appropriate season. But I know I wasn't wearing wintry clothes last summer...

Laughing about: 

Oh man, I can't tell you how often this happened to me in life! Story of my life. Damn IBD!

{source}

HAHA. Every single time!

{source}

YES! This literally just happened to me at Superstore the other day.

{source}

THIS.

{source}

Looking forward to: This weekend! Tomorrow is my birthday, and Becky and her son Liam are coming for a sleepover because a few of us are running a 4k race on Saturday morning. And Ange will be joining us for drinks and food as well! Then Sunday I am running a Mother's Day 5k run with my aunt. And I'm hoping at some point I can sneak away for a pedicure to treat myself :)



What's your favourite month of the year?

Tell me something you're looking forward to!


*Linking up with Kristen and Gretchen for What's New With You?

*affiliate links have been used

Currently...{April}

Here we are again! Another month come and gone just like that! I keep thinking back to this time last year and how I was looking forward to my trip to NYC with my BFF and how at the time, it seemed like the day would never come and I would never get to New York, and yet, here I am, an entire year later. And I so desperately want to go back to NYC! Someone plan a trip with me! Also, it's my birthday in one month. Now that I'm in my 30s, I don't welcome every birthday with open arms, although I do still like receiving gifts. And cards. And basically anything that people wish to gift me. Haha!

Anyway...here's a look at what I'm currently up to!

Thinking about: Yesterday I posted my April Goals and talked a lot about how I feel like I've fallen behind on working on my goals and how I'm struggling to prioritize not just my daily life, but my favourite hobbies. I won't get into it again (you can read the post here if you would like), but I just wanted to say how much I appreciate all the comments I got on that post. It's always so nice to hear that you aren't alone in how you are feeling and that people can relate to exactly what you are experiencing.

Reading: Last month I read The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom, in preparation for the release of Glory Over Everything, the follow-up novel to The Kitchen House. Glory Over Everything takes place several years later and continues the story of one of the younger characters from TKH. I would argue that you could read Glory Over Everything without reading The Kitchen House, but I think you would be doing yourself a disservice as I loved The Kitchen House, and I am equally, if not more, loving Glory Over Everything. If you love historical-fiction about the south, the slave trades and underground railroads, then I would highly recommend both of these books!

As soon as I'm finished Glory Over Everything, I will jumping right into A Slice of Brie Book Club read, Inside the O'Briens by Lisa Genova. I wanted it to be fresh in my mind before we talk about the book on April 20, which is why I haven't gotten to it yet. So far, everyone keeps telling me how much they are enjoying the book! (Still time to join if you want!).

Listening to: A while back, Heather mentioned in a post that Ryan Adams had put out a complete cover album of Taylor Swift's 1989 album. I love Ryan Adams, but I also don't keep up with my favourite artists as much as I would like to, so I was so excited to hear about this! I'm not really a T Swift fan, but her songs are catchy and I was definitely intrigued to see what spin Adams put on her songs. Plus, a whole album of covers?! Has this been done before? Apparently, Swift thought it was quite the complement and thinks the whole thing is great (I happen to agree).  I've downloaded all the songs and love every single one. A lot of the times I don't even realize I'm listening to a cover until I pay attention to the lyrics...like in Shake it Off.

Watching: Not a lot...I talked about in my post yesterday, but I'm trying to find a balance between reading, blogging and watching my favourite shows. Sounds silly when I write it out, but I enjoy all three, but one always gets pushed to the side for another. We finally picked back up where we left off in season 5 of The Walking Dead (half way through the season now), and we watched the first episode of The Ranch on Netflix.

Has anyone else watched it yet? I had really high hopes since I was a big fan of Ashton Kutcher and Danny Masterson in That 70s Show, but uhhhh, you guys, the first episode was pretty bad! Like, I can't figure out if it's supposed to be a comedy or a serious show. Make up your mind! And lose the soundtrack. Why do shows even use them anymore? You should know how to be funny without them. Jim said he won't waste anymore minutes of his life watching it, but I will give it another episode or two.

Touche!

Eating: Hmmm. Well for a while there chocolate was a main staple in my diet. I think chocolate around Easter time is worse than any other holiday, even Halloween! So much chocolate! And you think, oh, I'll just sneak a chocolate egg here and there, no big deal, but it is a big deal when this goes on for weeks. At least the Cadbury Cream Eggs are long gone. Have you seen how many calories are in just ONE of those eggs. How is it possible to stuff so many calories into one tiny piece of chocolate? Anyway. the chocolate is finally all gone, save for a bag of foiled eggs that we are now using as potty-training bribes. I can't even think of any good recipe I've cooked in a while. Basically this shirt sums up my life right now:

{source: xomrsmeasom}

Wearing: Same old, same old. Now that winter seems to be behind us (fingers crossed!) and we've entered the phase where leggings/boots/toques/sweaters don't really work in warmer temps, I've entered the stage of "I hate all my clothes". This happens to me every spring. Part of it is I hate shopping. I also don't have the time for it, or I don't make the time for it. I don't know what fits my body anymore, I don't know where to shop, and when I do buy something new, the quality doesn't seem to hold up for long. Right now, if I could have any service in the world, I would choose a personal shopper. And not an online thing - those already exist - but a real live person who know who I am, sees my current wardrobe and then goes shopping for me. And unlimited funds for said personal shopper. Hey, my birthday is coming up and I can dream right?

Laughing about:

UGH, every single time!

{source}

{source}

Hahaha this makes me laugh out loud every time I read it.

{source}

And this one never, ever gets old.

{source}

Looking forward to: This weekend! I've organized a private workout class at one of the Orange Theory Fitness locations for myself and a bunch of other healthy living bloggers. We are going to go get our butts kicked and then go and undo all of our hard work at dinner. I tried out OTF over a year ago and really liked it, but it will be a really fun experience to do a class with all of my friends! Plus, we can take all the selfies we want since no one else will be in the class but us! Someone bring their selfie stick!


Your turn! Tell me:

Have you watched The Ranch yet? Thoughts? Tell me it gets better!

What's one article of clothing you can't live without right now?

Something you're looking forward to!

*Linking up with Kristen & Gretchen for What's New With You?