Life Update

It has been quite the busy time around here so I thought I should take a moment and give you an update on what is going on with me.  Evelyn!  In January I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl (Evelyn or Evie for short) and she has been completely taking over our lives.  She's now just over 9 months old and I am trying so hard to get things back on track.  She can be quite the happy distraction though - check our her monthly montage:

Such a happy girl!  I'm currently spending any spare time I do have prepping for the three holiday craft markets I've signed up for (in the summer when I figured I'd have more free time by now....errr....right...).  I meant to post my list of markets sooner (i.e. before the first one) but better late than never:

 

Woo! One down two to go! The first one went pretty well considering I took my baby away from her usual schedule and home for 10 solid hours and she didn't totally lose it. Plus she discovered how much she LOVES the magic wands I make:

Adorable right? (I know, I'm biased).  So two more markets to go and we will see how I am doing about opening up the Etsy shop again.  My crafty hiatus has been much longer than I expected, but that's how life goes sometimes.  I am always available by email with any craft requests or special orders though so keep that as an option if you're hankering for some Kate-made goods. Hooray!  

Currently I'm brimming with crafty ideas and super short on time.  I get maybe two hours of work time in a day (when Evie is in bed), but usually that is prime showering/eating time making that work window all the shorter.  One day she probably won't be as much work (or as likely to want to eat everything I try to make) but that's a ways off I imagine.  Ah well.  She is one smiley, happy, chill, and charming little girl bringing sunshine and giggles into every day!  Welcome to the world Miss Evelyn! You've forever changed my life for the better (and slightly less crafty)! Yay!

My poor nails.

I have always been someone who has thin nails.  I've taken different supplements and altered my diet to try to strengthen them up but nothing really seems to do the trick.  I've come to the conclusion (with research of course) that my weak thin nails are just a lovely part of having an autoimmune disease and I will forever paint them with strengthening nail polish to try to keep them together.  This doesn't always work out for me and I often end up with rips and cracks in them like this lovely one on my middle finger:

Gah! This picture is actually about a month old now and that nail is finally almost back to normal but it has certainly been a pain in the bum during the grow out process! I also quickly realized that I use that finger (and nail) a heck of a lot while working on crafts and when it is split that far down it is super painful and annoying to work around. 

So now I will pass the conversation over to you (you lovely readers you) and I'd love to hear any tips or tricks you have to keep your fingers looking their best.  Do you ever get rips in your nails? Do you just attempt to superglue them and cover them in nail polish in hopes of them surviving long enough to grow out? Do you ever dabble in the fake/gel/manicure upkeep some ladies do? If you paint your nails a bold (not neutral colour) do you look down at your hands and not recognize them like I do? Inquiring minds (well mind) want to know! I figure the secret to amazing nails is out there...I am just yet to find it... 

Forever ill

Does anyone else out there find these ecards hilariously on point? like...all the time? I certainly do and this one falls particularly close to home these days. 

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My friend Hetty phoned me a few days ago and asked me, "Hey Kate - are you busy?"  

I paused. I thought. "No...not really. Whats up?"

Hetty:  "I was wondering if it would be ok if I popped by and borrowed Game of Thrones Seasons 1-3 from you."

Me: "Oh! I don't have to shower OR get out of my jammies for that! Of course you can!"

Yep. I actually considered saying I was somewhat busy in fear of having to put actual real clothes on and go out into the world. No, I'm not a hermit - but I have been suffering with severe chronic illness for many months now (plus a lovely cold/sinus infection this week) and getting dressed seemed like entirely too much effort than it's worth. The majority of my energy these days is spent trying to rest up and get healthy - thankful two things that do not require me to wear a bra. Perfect. 

Life Lately

Despite popular belief - I am still struggling away over here and have grandiose plans to come back to blogging full force in the new year (which I think is a practical goal really). Life has been extra hectic lately and I am having a hard time finding time to get groceries let alone write some crafty and inspired posts. Looks like I will be hiding out for a bit longer much like this guy:

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I still haven't found time to write my wedding thank you cards and now that it's xmas card season (another usually enjoyable task I will not be getting to this year) I feel like I will just end up sending them out in January once the holidays have passed and hopefully my wonderful friends and family will be find with the belated well wishes of thanks. 

In good news, Fraser and I have almost finished successfully moving my dear old grandpa from his massive farm house on 40 acres to a fresh shiny pad in a retirement complex. It has been quite the journey that has sucked away any glimmer of free time for me but he seems to be enjoying the added company of being in town and only complaint I've heard lately is that he is being "treated like an old man.". Grandpa. You're 85. You are an old man. 

I've had a terrible relapse of costochondritis. I had this spout of flu/cold that turned into a lovely gastrointestinal flu/cold that apparently triggered my costal cartilage to freak out and swell like no tomorrow. I've been resting up but with two jobs scheduling me and the bills piling up I am going to try to head back this week and see how it goes. Here's hoping it goes wonderfully...

Such a busy life means there hasn't been a load of progress on our complete home renovation. I'm trying to find some spare moments during each day to go through one box or bag or section of complete house mess and purge/organize/unpack/do something productive. Last night Lindsay came over and attacked the heck out of a few sections and boy did it ever feel good! I've inherited some lovely heirlooms from my grandpa's move and am extra motivated to make room for them in our new home. We did some intense purging at my grandpa's place (he hasn't downsized in 60+ years and apparently held on to everything) and it really sets your priorities straight. Yes I do want to hold onto fond memories and lovely things, but I don't want to die in a pile of hoarded antiques and vintage treasures. If I'm not going to use it, don't have room for it, and don't have an overwhelming need for it then pass it on to someone else who does! So liberating! 

What have you been up to lately?  

still swamped

Well blog pals, it seems I still appear to be super bogged down with life these days. I suppose I shouldn't be all that surprised since complete home renovations, a wedding, and moving (while struggling with illness and work) are hard enough on their own - let alone all at the same time! Whew! I keep flipping between feeling like I'm finally making some headway and then a moment later I'm borderline disaster. Oh dear. I'm thinking of locking myself in my house until I manage to get it all organized but I have a feeling I may become as cranky and isolated as this dear friend:

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Ahaha! Oh that glare. Yup - the outside world is probably best for my sanity and I will just keep plugging away at the renos so I can stop living out of a suitcase one of these days and maybe even get to writing wedding thank you cards! Oh what a thought! How is your fall lining up? 

Where did the summer go?

Oh my! How did we get this far into August already? It's pretty safe to say my summer has been an insanely busy whirlwind of craziness and if I were to live somewhere with a cute wood table and goat it is certain this would be happening:

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Ok, so I am well aware it isn't aseptic technique to have an ungulate on the kitchen table but life is flying by so quickly that those goats can get away with murder around me lately.  What have I been up to these last few weeks? Let's list it out:

- suffer and try to heal up from an epic case of costochondritis
- jump around to different doctors trying to figure out how to heal me
- finally get back to my family doctor in Kamloops and start physiotherapy
- frantically try to finish up renovations on our new condo (while not over exerting myself as to not make my illness worse)
- continue to live out of suticase and not go completely insane because of it
- plan and prepare for one crafty wedding
- get married and have said crafty wedding reception/celebration
- go on wonderful 10 day honeymoon with my new husband
- get back to Victoria and attempt to pack up 1500 square feet worth of stuff so it can be moved to our new (not finished) condo in Kamloops at the end of August
- head back to the condo to continue living out of a suitcase with all of our stuff in the one semi finished bedroom while we try to finish the rest of the house
- continue with icing, medication, and physio to help my poor costal cartilage
- spend a week babysitting my two nieces that I only get to see once a year (oh and visiting with my sister too!)
- get ready to go off medical leave and start work again!

WHEW! I'm sure I'm missing something in there but it is safe to say I have been extremely busy! Oh, and things aren't actually slowing down either. What's next on the agenda:

- finish condo renovations (ack!)
- move all those lovely packed boxes sitting in Victoria to our new condo in Kamloops (ugh)
- turn 29 (double ack!)
- spend what I'm sure will feel like the rest of my existence unpacking all those boxes (oh dear!)
- live happily ever after (hooray!)

Yep. I'm going to remain optimistic and say the house will be completed and organized before xmas and once things start to slow down I will have more time for sharing my crafty life endeavours here on the blog! Heck - I may even get around to doing my own craft project one of these days! What a thought! So how has your summer been? What have I been missing out on?

oh dear

This picture makes my heart happy:

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Don't you wish you were all cuddled up with a giant cute bear too? Maybe that's just me. I have been spending entirely too much time resting lately - but it's on doctors orders! My costochondritis (a.k.a. this awful chest inflammation that feels like I have an elephant constantly pressing down on my chest making it much too difficult to breathe) hasn't left me alone. It's been going on since May and with no signs of improvement I've had to take leave from work and focus all my attention on healing up so I can hopefully survive the summer (and my wedding - which is in less than a month now)! Eeps! I will try my best to keep the blog updated when I'm feeling spry, but this flare up is really throwing a kink in things. Rats. Alas - I'm sure I will now be very experienced with what a heart attack feels like and will only grow from the situation! So if it's quiet around here it's probably because I am napping...What have you been up to lately?

It's Wednesday

Life has been so ultra busy these days that despite it being the middle of the week I feel like I still need a rest to get over all the energy I exerted last weekend! Oh my! I think this sums up how I'm feeling quite nicely:

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Yup, I'm just a big white fluff ball pooled into a pile today! I had a nice impromptu visit with Fraser this past weekend and now that he's back to the grind in Kamloops I will hopefully be able to pull myself back together into less of a mess. Or at the very least I'm hoping to make it through the rest of the week so I can get some quality rest this weekend! How wild! How is your week going? 

The best packing tip ever!

Fraser is busy planning our post wedding trip down to Portland this summer, I was being my usual over-prepared self and thinking about what to pack! After all, I will have to pack for my wedding, reception, and week long vacation so I will need to be extra efficient for that suitcase. I was discussing the options with my pal Lindsay and we both agree that under-packing with matching basics is the way to go. We both love the satisfaction you get from doing a great packing job and actually using and wearing everything you've lugged along with you and it makes it much easier to pick out outfits for each day when you just have a few favourites to select from! Yeah! 

I've experimented with under packing in the past and it is so wonderful...until you inevitably (in my case) spill oily salad dressing all over your one jersey dress. Rats. Packing fail. That is pretty much exactly what happened when I went to Vegas this winter and luckily I bought a few new items at the outlet malls that filled in the blanks for the stained clothes that I had to retire. When I brought up my spill disaster with Lindsay she suggested to pack along some Zero detergent to remedy my messy ways! How brilliant! 

I always have some zero on hand in my laundry cupboard for all my delicate and hand washing needs (like my sets of wrist braces I wear constantly and get super gross after a while) so why not throw it in the luggage?! Such a plan! Or better yet - I found an empty travel container, labelled it up with some washi, and can fill it up with detergent without it taking up loads of space: 

Yay! I am so ridiculously excited about this plan! I always end up staining something on vacation and having some soap to gently wash it out before it sets is just perfect! Ah! I'm not sure everyone else will be quite as stoked about this idea...but just in case you are...I wrote this whole blog post about it. Clumsy stain makers - you're welcome. 

Quite the Instragram-y walk!

After an amazing week of visiting with Lindsay, Heather and I decided we would make a point of getting together before the week finished so we could catch up, get some fresh air and exercise, and mourn the loss of Lindsay since she returned to the main land. It wasn't exactly the most glorious day to go for a stroll, but despite the drizzle we had a blast and saw quite a few pretty sights along the way! I spammed my instragram followers with pictures from our hour long walk, but thought I'd share them on here too since it was so much fun and there was just so much greenery to share! Let's go! Vicarious walk around Saanich for everyone!

Our walk started with a little chicken sighting in Heather's neighbourhood. I can't say I know many people with a chicken koop in their front yard - but these people certainly did and their chickens clucked by to say hello!

The avian fun continued with lots of other bird sightings (and hearings) along the way and I totally fell in love with the ducks hanging out in the little golf course ponds:

Even though the Garry Oaks are still looking a bit dismal and creepy without leaves, the rest of the greenery was happy to see us and I can't wait to do this walk again once spring is in full bloom! Just look at these gorgeous side yard:

Apparently after this part I didn't take my phone out for a while, but we did walk through some gorgeous forest-like areas and even some nice sections of mossy bedrock! Then we got bombarded with a big ol' flock of ducks!

Ah! They were so cute! They were actually taking up the whole path but just before I got my phone out to take a picture a jogger came by and dispersed them. Rats. Oh well - you can take my word for it. There were lots of ducks.  

We heard a few woodpeckers, saw a hummingbird, and loved all the lovely plants lining our trail! Just look how darling these white fawn lilies look: 

Oh what a wonderful time! I hope you enjoyed these pictures as much as I did and I will have to make a point of going again and showing you another set once more flowers are in bloom! What did you do over the weekend? Anything fun? 

my new super power

One of my favourite things about having an iPhone is the option to do group text messages between other iPhone (4 and above) users! It has actually revolutionized my ability to keep close friendships with Lindsay, Sarra, and Hetty and lets us all have ongoing conversations about pretty much anything and everything that is going on in our lives (while being in different places)! It's amazing! It has also given me the opportunity to spam those ladies (two of which are not cat people) with the cute cat pictures I come across on instagram! Who wouldn't like waking up to some hand picked furry kitties to perk up the day? Ok...so non cat people probably don't appreciate it very much but it has become my morning routine now and the one day I didn't post any kitties I actually got requests to! What's this? Do I have the amazing power to very (VERY) slowly turn non cat people into cat people? I hope so! Here is a nice selection of some of the fuzz balls Lindsay, Sarra, and Hetty have been waking up to:

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I decided to leave the Instragram usernames up there in case you are must like me and like to follow hundreds of strangers on the internet to vicariously enjoy their kitties (plus it gives you a reference of where I got the images from)! Hooray!

My super "liking of cats" powers seem to be working since Lindsay finally admitted that she enjoys "Japanese cats" which, as far as I understand from her, means "cats owned by Japanese people" and is pretty much referring to all those cute exotic short haired squashed face kitties I am growingly drawn to. Hetty also admitted to me one morning that cats are starting to grow on her (oh, if you didn't figure it out by now - Sarra is already an awesome cat person)! Oh yeah! Converting them over to the dark side! I am also quite confident that Fraser was never interested in cats until he met me and just yesterday told me how much he loves kittens over text message. How about that? I must have some mutation of toxoplasmosis that is changing everyone's brain chemistry around me to be cat people! Ho ho! Or...you know...cats are cute and shoving them enthusiastically in their faces each morning is fairly convincing...but I like the scientific reasoning better. What do you think? Are any of those instagram kitties cute enough to turn you into a cat liker? 

when life gives you lemons...

I came across this gem this morning and just had to share it with all of you:

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Haha! Oh I am a sucker for free stuff and after a lovely weekend catching up with good friends like Lindsay and Wendy I've realized that my pals are suckers for free stuff too! Good on us ladies! How about you? Are you prone to adopting everything and (almost) anything with a free price tag on it? 

Oh Miss Marple!

I must say after plowing through all 265 episodes of Murder She Wrote this spring/summer/fall I have been left with a sad empty void in the "adorable old lady murder mystery" part of my life.  I'd find myself craving a little Jessica Fletcher every now and then and re-watching episodes just wasn't cutting it since I'd remember all the major plot points and let's face it - after that many episodes and murders there is a pretty basic formula for how each show would go. Well - void no more thanks to the magnificent-ness that is ITV's Agatha Christie's Marple! Of course those good old Brits would come to my rescue with hour and a half long episodes that are brilliantly cunning with twists, turns, cute 50's outfits, loads of famous British costars, and one wonderfully spry Miss Jane Marple (played by Geraldine McEwan)! Just look at that face - its just bursting with nosy, mystery solving, old lady sass:

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Oh my! Garaldine stole my heart for the first three seasons and now that I'm getting into season four, I'm warming up to Julia MacKenzie as Miss Marple as well:

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I feel like Julia's appearance is more sweet than sassy like Geraldine, but not so secretly I think I just liked Geraldine more because lots of her features and strong female presence remind me of what my grandmas' were like (and trust me, I had some amazing grandmas!). If you haven't had a chance to catch an episode I highly recommend it but make sure you are paying attention (and not multitasking too much in the background) because those plots are twisty! I'm sure that comes with the joys of being based on the best selling Agatha Christie novels and not just some murder mystery formula hollywood pushes out, but I am certainly enjoying this Miss Marple series more than the BBC versions from the 80's. *Sigh* Now I just need to prepare myself for an even bigger void that will be dug once I've made it through this series...

New Lease

With the wonderful sprinkle of cheer and excitement that always seems to happen around the holidays I am feeling extra thankful this time of year. Despite one never ending stomach flu/"this will be the death of me" cold, this xmas was magical and there's nothing like a few days off from work to recharge and reevaluate life.  I appreciate so many little things about life and wanted to make sure I took the time to thank you (you wonderful reader you) for popping in and spending an internet moment with me. I think this lovely print from Sarah Abbott sums it all up in a gorgeous, ascetically pleasing, simplified, and slightly floral way:

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I suppose most of this reflection is thanks to my dear old pal Travis who I ran into this past week.  I'm not sure how he always manages to say just what I didn't even know I wanted to hear but he never ceases to amaze me and it just so happened to coincide with the start of a goal making new year!  I went home feeling motivated, energized, and pretty much given a whole new optimistic lease on life and boy oh boy do I ever hope to keep this up!  If you told me a week ago that one simple sit down for coffee would leave me feeling this blissful and confident I certainly would have doubted you, but now that it has happened I figure I will just roll with it. Okay, so I sort of feel like I'm raving about one of those scam-y goal making seminars or self help books but I think Travis mostly just helped me realize what is most important to me in my life and made me really want to do whatever I can to keep that in mind while moving forward. Sounds logical right? A little reevaluation does wonders since I was already in the resolution making mood I figure I might as well make a blog post about the whole thing in case any of you had some input to share too.

I'm naturally a pretty high stress person. I like to take on more than I can handle, I thrive with challenges and massive to do lists, and ultimately try to finish every little task perfectly in a timely and responsible manner.  I get ridiculously enthused about pretty much everything in this wonderful world we live in and often get so caught up in the moment that my once approachable list of tasks becomes much too overwhelming. Throw in a hefty handful of health problems that like to put a giant kink in things and you've got my life in a nutshell.  I'm always coming up with more goals and tasks to add to that endless "what kate needs to do with her life" list but what I feel I really need to do is take a step back and shorten that list into one word. Happiness. Above all else I really just want spend my life being happy.  Of course that can encompass loads of other little subtopics and sounds entirely too simple, but it is that simple. I'm always loosing sight of what's most important to me in life and it comes down to happiness. I don't really care about impressing anyone with material possessions or accomplishments and would much rather just be content with my life just how it is and never look back. Life is what you make it, so as far as I'm concerned I'm going to make it a fun and happy one!

I'm determined to lower my (mostly self-inflicted) stress level and make a habit of continually increasing happiness. Sounds easy enough right? Here are some of the tactics I've found helpful to keep my life happy:

• Retain a positive outlook. Anyone can point out flaws with pretty much anything so instead look optimistically at each situation and roll with it.

• Keep meaningful relationships. Surrounding yourself with positive people who truly love and care about you makes your feel amazing! Call your mom, have a kitchen dance party with an old friend, or make an effort to sit down for coffee with that fun girl from biochem.

• Treat others exactly as you'd like to be treated. Just like that New Radicals song from the late 90's "You Get What You Give" so be nice and you'd be surprised how far a little kindness can take you. 

• Lead a healthy lifestyle. Happiness isn't all about mental wellness, physical wellness is important too! Make good choices towards sticking around on earth for as long as you can. It will be worth it.

• Don't get bogged down with details.  Sure life throws all sorts of challenges your way but getting worked up about them isn't going to get you anywhere. Try to stay patient, calm, and positive and remind yourself what you're aiming for in the end. Taking a step back once in a while can give you a lot of perspective on keeping your life happy. 

• Enjoy the little things. I know fuzzy kitty pictures sure do wonders for lifting my spirits so find what it is that makes you feel spectacular and keep it up! Make time in your weekly schedule for doing something that makes you happy then go out (or stay in) and really enjoy life! Kittens and sunshine for everyone! (well....for me anyways....)

• Stop worrying what others are thinking about you. If someone is really going to judge you or be mean to you for being yourself then they really aren't worth your time. There will always be negative people out there, but as long as you keep bettering the world with your sunshiny disposition who cares?

• Learn to say "No". This is a big one in my life since I'm always biting off more than I can chew. It doesn't help anyone by making unreachable goals for myself and instead I'm going to focus on committing to being practical and trying my best to lay off being a perfectionist. Everything doesn't have to be perfect, but as long as you're doing your best and staying happy (and sane) that's what matters!

• Make one good choice at a time. Life is just a big long series of decisions you are making to work at making them good ones. No one's perfect, but you'll feel great about making a habit of good choices and you'll be on your way to the road of happiness

• Be happy with who you are. If you struggle with poor self-image, try to make a list of all the things you love about yourself and focus one of those each day. Even if you're having a rough morning, taking a moment - throw on some extra lip balm and glance in that gorgeous smile on the way out the door. Every little bit counts! 

Well that quickly turned from "just a few tips" into quite the list, but I'm sticking by it. Each of those strategies have helped me become the person I am today and taking a step back and remembering to focus on happiness is a great way to live my life. It's wonderful to think that all of this happy habit changing loveliness came from one little "where are you at and where are you going?" life evaluation with my friend Travis, but it certainly did and I couldn't be more pleased about it.  He did tell me about challenging yourself and others to stick to a resolution at the beginning of each year and I'm certainly ready to resolve any negative elements of my life! The big goals I have for 2013 include:

1) Reconnecting and remaining close to the wonderful, kind, generous, and fun loving people I've met in my life.  I often forget how much I appreciate the positive influences that have shaped me and it takes only a moment to let someone know how wonderful they are (and I'm sure they'd love to hear it too)

2) Dropping any self inflicted stress factors. Sure I like a little challenge once in a while but my mental sanity often gets put on the back burner as I fumble to meet personal deadlines and (*gasp* - I'm going there) blog every single day.  Happiness is all too important to me and in order to be the best person I can be I'm going to cut back on here and share my geeky enthusiasm about life when I can healthily find the time for it!

and

3) Keep with my Arthritis Class goals! You only live once and after struggling with chronic illness for the majority of my life I'm ready to take control. I'm going to make smart choices, start saying no once in a while, and really focus on being healthy! Hooray!

Well I don't know about you, but this post has really got me ready for a most wonderful 2013 and since this year is going to be a big one (including all sorts of new crafts, lots of big decisions, and...getting married!!!) I'll be sure to stop in and share them with you along the way. How about you? What are you aiming for this year? 

Festive Date Night

As part of our advent calendar activities Fraser and I had a fun festive date night downtown! We went out for a quiet dinner and then checked out all the decorated trees at the Empress! I loved the fancy gold ornaments on this tree:

and couldn't resist taking a picture of the giant tree in the lobby!:

Heck, even the tour busses were dolled up:

Then it was a quaint little stroll checking out the lights in the inner harbour and at the Parliament buildings: 

Hoho! Aren't those fun? Not quite as adorable as this horse in a wee little santa hat though - he is just darling!

Yay! We finished off the night with hot chocolates and a cider and a lovely car ride home listening to Charlie Brown Christmas! Oh how lovely! Have you been doing any festive sight seeing this year? 

Need More Cheer

Every week Hetty and I try to spend a morning together to go for a swim, catch up, and run whatever errands we'd like company for! So far the hang outs have been extra successful but this past weekend it started with confusion. While we were kicking away during aquafit Heather asked me what was upsetting me because apparently I sent her a text telling her we needed to go downtown to help cheer me up. Why yes - trips downtown are very pleasant but I couldn't for the life of me figure out why I would have sent her that message and why I couldn't even remember doing so. What the heck!? How odd.

After finishing the swim, showering off the chlorine, and getting spiffed up for our outing we headed to the heart of the city for some fun browsing and tea. We also needed to make a stop at Escents Aromatherapy (link) because I was out of my current favourite scent:

Cheer! It's the perfect autumn and pre-xmas subtle smell to fill the house with and I've been loving coming home to that perfect mix of benzoin and orange! It also became abundantly clear that this was the "cheer" I texted Hetty about it had nothing at all to do with being upset. Haha. How silly. We then had to explain our realization to the poor uninterested Escents woman and apparently now you have to hear about it in this blog post too! Note to self - stop thinking people know what you're talking about when you reference Escents oils by name. Alas. I refilled my ultrasonic aromatherapy diffuser and have been enjoying my new bottle of cheer all day:

Mmmm! Perfection! I also picked up a fresh bottle of "Christmas Joy" but am leaving that one sealed until my tree is up.  I also found out from Hetty that the girls at work think I am obsessed with xmas and although I am a fan of some seasonal festiveness, I am a little curious if that has something to do with all the "Christmas Joy" I've been raving about...

All that Glitters is Gold...Dinosaurs?

This past weekend was wonderful.  My wonderful best bud Lindsay decided to schedule a last minute trip to visit and I got to have three solid days with my female soul mate! We finally got a chance to catch up, we explored the shopping highlights of Victoria, and even got a good start on our xmas shopping! I discovered the absolute joys of the Oak Bay Pharmasave (don't know it 'til you've tried it - it is a one stop shop of amazingness) and can't wait to go back when they've finished putting out their huge order of stock that was had blocked off what looked like the best isle! Woo! We also did a mandatory stop at the Milkman's Daughter and their glittery t-rex was back on display:

Hooray! I saw him ages ago with Cindy and when I went back to photograph him to share on the blog he was gone. Apparently his anti-camouflage sparkly-ness didn't cause him to become extinct, he just had a little bought of hibernation.  Isn't he darling? I may have purchased a big plastic stegosaurus a few week backs to glitter up but haven't been able to find the spray paint Fraser put away somewhere in the (disastrously cluttered) craft room. Alas - that one will remain on the back burner until December....

Best of all - amidst all the site seeing, eating, shopping, and catching up I got to have some  great "how the heck am I going to fix my life" discussions with Linds and I've got one heck of a solid plan to try out!  It is so wonderful to have a second opinion on all of life's little problems and Lindsay is so great at coming up with workable goals to aim for! Yay! Here's to better health and sanity! I'll be sure to let you all know how I do on my life to do list...

My new best friend

So remember how I told you I have been attending health classes at the Arthritis Centre here in Victoria? Well...I have. They're every Wednesday and cover a whole bunch of topics and taught by a collection of nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and social workers.  I am a good 40 years younger than everyone else at the course, but so far it has been very positive and informative! It is so nice to be around peers (er...sort of peers?) that have dealt with similar health problems and makes me (once again) appreciate how awesome it is to live in Canada with our public health care system! Hooray!

Last week we learned about pain management and got to chat about all the different ways to cope with chronic pain.  I have been on and off a whole slew of different medications to help with my rheumatoid/lupus pain over the last four years with not a whole lot of luck.  Most rheumatic drugs have awful side effects and I've come to the point in my treatment where the side effects outweigh the benefits and the medications I am on work mediocrely and don't turn me into a zombie.  I think this may have been my favourite class yet and I came home with a whole handout of techniques to try to help deal with pain! How fun! I was also introduced to my new best friend in pain management - capsaicin cream:

My goodness this stuff is a dream! I read a whole bunch of scientific articles about to learn more about its high claims on helping with muscle, joint, and nerve pain and it is pretty legit.  Who would have thought that one little spicy pepper molecule would be so wonderful?  It has already worked wonders on my knees, wrists, and fingers and has even decreased my fibromyalgia "feels like my thighs and upper arms are permanently sore and bruised" pain! Apparently it only gets better with time too - but it does involve a whole lot of careful hand washing because that stuff is potent. Oh, and don't worry Lindsay, you haven't been replaced by a $22 bottle of cream...I'm just a tad over excited...

Hunter Boot Buffing

When I moved to Victoria last August I was excited to embrace a rainy city!  After spending most of my first 26 years in a semi-arid desert it was exciting to move somewhere were it would actually get wet and rain for longer spouts than a half hour or so.  It also meant that it would be practical for me to purchase rain boots and frankly I don't need much encouragement to rationalize buying a new pair of shoes. As soon as September hit I was stoked to find myself some Hunter boots (after all, the Queen recommends them and when is she ever wrong?) and as soon as Lindsay spotted them in Oak Bay we made a trip to purchase! Hooray! For the next few months I wore those things with glee each time I took a long trek in the rain and really enjoyed the fact that my feet were remaining warm and my pants/leggings were splash free. Oh Hunter boots - you were such a great purchase.

After a while my gorgeous black boots turned grey. They were no longer shiny and adorable and instead looked scuffed, dingy, and covered with a white gross film. Rats. What happened? I splurged on those babies and after half a year they looked awful! Time to bring on the internet and see what's up. As it turns out pretty much all natural rubber oxidizes over time and gets white residue blooming. Time to bring on a whole slew of home remedies I saw on the internet and their results:

1) wiping with a warm cloth  = does absolutely nothing

2) erasing the white bits with a rubber eraser = a ton of effort, with little to show for it

3) rubbing with olive oil = helps a smidge, but requires an enormous amount of elbow grease

4) wiping off the white with goo gone = also a lot of effort req'd for this one, takes ages, and you still need to oil afterwards

Well poo. I ended up doing to goo gone and olive oil solution for the boots and although it wasn't perfect, it seemed to sort of do the trick (but also took a HUGE amount of effort and a good hour or so). Soon enough summer arrived in Victoria and by home remedy boots made it to the back of the shoe closet. 

I had pretty much forgotten about my boot woes until I came across a rubber boot store in Cook Street Village. It's an entire shop of adorable rain wear and an enormous selection of Hunter wellies. Surely they would have a solution to the white film! The skies cleared and some beaming sun rays landed on one special bottle of boot buffing solution (enter angelic singing voices)...

Time to put it to the test. I grabbed a rag from our rag bin (which, by the way, is pretty much 100% Fraser's hole-y old champion socks), spray a little on, and wipe it away. Check out the difference:

Ahhhh!! How fabulous! That right boot looked like new again! If only I had heard and found out about last year! It was so little effort too! All I needed to do was spray it on, wait about 30 seconds, and give it a gentle wipe with the rag. Just like that! I really wish I hadn't spend hours with my own internet attempts of cleaning that film off so you could see a true "before and after" shot and not an "after I goo gone/oiled those suckers and after boot spray" shot instead. Here's a full boot view:

Yay! I really think Hunter should just include the spray when you buy the boots because I'm sure I'm not the only one that has spent countless hours working on cleaning those things up. Heck, I'd be thrilled to just raise the $100+ price tag up another $10 (which is how much the spray seems to cost) and save everyone out there a little pain. I mean you're already spending a small fortune on wellies I'm sure you could include the spray in there. Oh well. Hopefully some of you out there will learn from my mistakes and appreciate the rubber tips of this blog post as much as I would have if I found it last year. So how about you? Have you ever splurged on something to find out months later that it was annoying not what you expected? Any other Hunter boot owners out there with better cleaning tips? I'd love to hear!

Beauregard

When I was a little kid, I loved cows. I spent ever waking moment I could out at my grandparents' cattle farm and just couldn't get enough bovine! In fact, from 1996 - 1997 my friend Pam and I created our own cow themed holiday called "Happy Cow Day" in which we celebrated cows by giving each other cow themed presents on the 25th of each month. Although my cow obsession has decreased substantially since the late 90's, they still hold a special spot in my heart and not surprisingly, my mom still thinks of me and Happy Cow Day whenever she sees cow related things. On her last visit to the island she brought me an adorable plush cow (well, bull) keychain and Fraser suggested we hang him up in the car. Take a peek:

Mr. Bull remained nameless for a few weeks until one day Fraser and I were out for a drive. The conversation went as follows:

Out of nowhere Fraser excitingly asked me: "Do you know what a great name for a bowl would be?"

Me: "A bowl? Are we naming our dishes now? What will our cups be called?"

Fraser: "No, no, not bowl - bull!"

Me: "Bowl? Fraser - I don't get it"

(this went on for much too long and for the record Fraser's pronunciation of "bowl" and "bull" sound close to identical)

Eventually - Fraser: "No, like a male cow - a bull!"

Me: "Oooohhh...what would a good name be?"

Fraser: "Beauregard!"

Me: "That is a pretty great name - but 'Bowl-regard' would be pretty awesome too!"

(and then I laughed manically for a good minute or so...)

Yup, our lives are pretty silly. Oh, and just in case you need further convincing, one night when Fraser and I were chatting in bed he mentioned how Beauregard was becoming one of the highlights of his day. He's always hanging out happily swaying from the rear view mirror and we come up with little scenarios for his secret life where he's a brilliant astrophysicist/brain surgeon that lives on a fancy estate in the country (with special gourmet grass meals and everything). We both giggled about how great our little stuffed bull is and then decided that instead of thinking of our Beauregard fantasies as "sort of sad and totally crazy" that they can be describes as "endearing, quirky, and (above all) highly entertaining!"Oh dear. And then I wrote a huge rambling blog post about it...