since we are counting...

365 days ago we were wed. it was spur of the moment (if 5 weeks of thought is considered spur of the moment); it was a secret (even the jp didn't know about it till the day before); it was quiet (only two best friends, our dog & lovely little mom-in-law attended) and it was perfectly us (art, laughter, & champagne).

today we returned to the art gallery [jennifer kostuik] where we said our vows - it was closed - but they opened the doors for us & gave us time to enjoy the new works & to remember our special day. 365 days ago we celebrated friendship & love & commitment. today we celebrated each other & shared our day with baby boy - what a difference a year makes!

who would have thought the damn tax man would audit me for being married 2 days of 2007!

snow obsession

we've had 30cm of snow in the last week - at least 20 of that came in one overnight dump on sunday. i do love snow; i love to look @ it, i love to play in it & i love to take pictures of it. but there is one soul in our family who is completely obsessed with snow - our dog hunter! he was beside himself looking out the window monday morning; once we let him loose - he's like a puppy - jumping & pouncing; he pulverized 3 small snow men (sorry) and made an amused crowd of people cheer when he burrowed through the snow looking for the latest snowball.

space

i am not obsessed but i must say i am preocuppied with space these days. i'm guessing that's because i/we (me home on mat leave for 257 more days, husband who works @ home, baby boy who seems vastly bigger than his 14.5lbs, big black dog and two terroist cats) have none. we have been looking for a bigger home - not huge - just with enough room for each of us. baby boy is moving out of our room & into our office any day now (begs the question where will the office go?)... i've always been big on white space while doing graphic design and i am a huge fan of the oversized white mat on a small piece of art... should that mean that i need white space in my life? i've been collecting white spaces from the inspiration file:




i just need to find something in my price range in this insane economy.

tradition [tra-di-TION]

it is our first christmas with baby boy & we have been talking about the things we can do this year that will continue on as our own family traditions. i embrace tradition (note: every time i think or say or write this word i cannot help but hear the word belted out heartily by the character tevye in the movie 'fiddler on the roof'!)

my family traditions include: hiking through the woods with our dad to harvest a tree (then carefully turning the bare side to the wall & tying fishing line from the tip of the tree to the ceiling to keep it from falling over), icing aunt mary's sugar cookies (no one can tell me who 'aunt mary' is though) & hanging them on the tree (we may have stopped this tradition when my cousin ate one that had been rehung after being stored for a year), hanging our stockings (these, on some occasions, included dad's grey work socks or grandpa's dress socks), never opening a gift before christmas (unless our cousins from my mom's side were visiting & it was their tradition so we obliged & opened one on christmas eve), apparently tortierre is a chirstmas eve tradition (i think my mom snuck this one in later - but i don't mind because it is delicious).

which traditions do we carry on - or start? baby boy will only be 4.5 months old so it doesn't really matter what we do - but we do want our first christmas to be special. these are two ideas we like:

1. christmas stockings - we would like to have stockings that say 'we are family' i have been christmas stocking shopping (buy handmade? or make them?)
2. adopt an animal - not a real one, as we already have three in our condo, but we would like to instill a respect for nature & conservancy & what better way to appreciate a stuffed toy? we're looking to give a grizzly a new home!

of course there will be trees and family dinners and decorated cookies and tortierre; ice skating and walks in the snow and caroling - those will come later.

top ten best things about being pregnant

1. eating pavlova without regard
2. moving to the front of the line
3. imagining
4. not having to suck it in
5. not looking pregnant from the back
6. seeing the baby via ultrasound
7. not having to empty the litter box
8. taking a babymoon
9. laying in bed, standing in a mall, sitting @ my desk with my hand on my abdomen constantly in touch with that little life inside
10. being blissfully unaware of all the parts of your body that will be "broken" after you give birth

flipping superstar

my cousin david is a flipping superstar in my books! he started his new career with this project in east vancouver in 2007 [quickly turning an tiny hovel into an absolutely gorgeous little gem]. he has one of those great imaginations - he is able to see the finished product through all the grit & grime. to top that - he has amazing talent with tile & drywall & he has remarkable finishing skills [the restoration & renovation trifecta]. a few trips to the re-store & demo sites & home depot & viola! he can turn this:

into this:

but this is old news... the newest project (ready for sale this week) is in vancouver's westend & it makes me want to bring him over to my place for a little re & re pep talk. i have saved you from the nasty grime shots but i think you get the picture:

magically:

by hand christmas

this year more than ever, it seems, we hear the rallying cry for 'made by hand'... coming from a family that likes to create - we often talk about the 'all hand made christmas' (like some mythical sugar plum dancing in our heads). like i said - we are not so good on the implementation side lately.

this year i am cruising the many christmas craft fairs with new eyes - ready and willing to support the local talent and to pass on to my loved ones something made with creative genius and innovative flair (if nothing else - i will collect a bunch of cards from cool people & wish i could be like them).

Shiny Fuzzy Muddy [fri - 05 dec 5-9pm] [sat - 05 Dec 11-5pm] [sun - 07 dec 12-5pm]

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Green Christmas Holiday Gift Market [sun - 07 dec 11-6pm]

277 days & counting

my baby boy is 3 months old. it feels like he has always been here & is brand new all at the same time! we are amazed by constant changes and his rapid development: he's batting @ things (or was that an intentional reach), he rolled over for the first time (or was that just gravity), he added a squeal to his gurgles and coos (or was he just working up a wail), he smiles a lot but is he laughing? would you call that a laugh?

i am still drinking decaffeinated cappuccinos and living on 5 broken hours of sleep a night. i think it is affecting me (is that a light at the end of the tunnel - nope just my sweet baby boy's smile).