Hand Me My Amour

Just a quick post for today, I have been listening to Amour by Sara Bareilles since she released on Friday basically non stop. Sara is an amazing woman who has created a beautiful power anthem for all of us. Thank You Sara!

 

A Weekend Recap! Curling, New Leader and A Birthday!

Ooops! I may have taken a week off and I have to say it was totally unplanned! I had every intention on blogging last week but here we are and it did not happen. But, life happened and I just didn't take the time to sit down and write something. So, lets just move on and I will tell you about my week last week.

I won't bore you with the mundane stuff I did earlier in the week but I will start with Thursday because I was able to go and see some curling! I love curling and some of my favorite teams were playing so I had to get over and see at least one draw which I did and I got to see my favorite team Team Edin who are actually out of Sweden shh don't tell the Canadian teams I love Edin more. They also won their game which was nice too even though they did beat one of my favorite Canadian teams :| It was a nice way to spend Thursday evening with my mom, sister and her friend.

Friday, work day then some shopping even though I ended up getting nothing probably because I wanted to get some stuff! I always find when I want to pick up a few things I never find anything I want. But, what can you do I guess I saved some money. I spent the rest of the evening packing and watching the last speeches online for our PC leadership convention which is why I was packing since on Saturday myself and momma bear were heading up to the city for the day to be there for the results. And, I can confirm I even slightly over packed for a night away.

Saturday, it was up early and headed off to the city. We didn't want to get there too early though because we had already sent in our votes but we wanted to be there for the tribute to our outgoing interim leader Karla MacFarlane who is a friend and the key note address from our federal leader Andrew Scheer. Both of which were great! I also enjoy getting hear to Andrew speak...he is a good speaker and the tribute to Karla was very well done. She did an excellent job and stepped up when our party really needed her. It was then time for the 1st ballot results, which I have to say I didn't realize how nervous I was going to be for them. My choice for leader Tim was in first but didn't quite have the majority so it was going to have to go for another voting but in a wonderful twist to show party unity the other candidates threw their support behind Tim and he won! It was wonderful and I could not have been more happy! It was long process but everyone did a great job and now we can move forward with our new leader.

 image from google images

On Sunday, it was another early-ish morning to get home and I was tired! It wasn't a late night but there was some partying after our win! Plus, it was my 35th on Sunday so I wanted to get home to celebrate with the family which I did! When I arrived home Erica had beautiful flowers for me and some goodies which included the new Anastasia Sulty palette which is amazing! I cannot wait to use it. She also made a wonderful dinner and got me a carrot cake yum! My brother and his girlfriend were over for the evening as well so it was a lovely birthday.

And now it is back to regularly scheduled programming. I hope everyone had a great weekend and has some fun stuff planned for Halloween on Wednesday! 

Friday Favorites

And just like that another week is over! One step closer to my birthday, Halloween and Christmas! All the good stuff right? With it being Friday we all know it is time for Friday Favorites!

{ Erika | Andrea | Narci }

This week I finally got out to the movies to see A Star is Born and it is really a great movie. Everyone in the movie did a wonderful job and if you watched Alias it is a bit of a reunion which me and my sister loved haha. Lady Gaga was great, she is such a great singer so it was really the perfect role for her. And hello Bradley Cooper has a great voice too! I have been listening to the soundtrack for most of the week and I definitely recommend getting it, the songs are great! I did not cry, got teary but did not cry! There was many women around me who I could hear sniffling. Also, Bradley's used his own dog in the movie and holy cow so stinkin' cute!!

Last week, I told you about the novel I was reading the Tattooist of Auschwitz, well I finished it and it was a wonderful story to learn about. The hell that everyone went through in those camps is just horrifying. The author did a good job telling the story of Lale and Gita, but she is screen writer, so I find the book goes flat sometimes where you would assume more emotion would be. I think this might be because she was hoping it would be movie and the actor would be the one to bring more emotion to it. I do believe it would make a great movie but for a book I need a little more. I would still recommend this book though. Stories from this time in history are some of my favorite to read even if they are harder to read because of the extreme horror that this era had. Even with the horrors they endured Lale and Gita had a wonderful love story so if you enjoy this genre of book I would say read it. 4 stars out of 5 from me.

Thursday was also I favorite for me just because I didn't have much to do and I had the day off so I just lazed around, baked cookies and made dinner in the slow cooker! I may or may not have also watched two Christmas movies...shhhh

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Friday and hope you all have a super fun weekend!



WHW: Hair and Crafts

Oh hey hi! This is week has gotten away from me and on top of that my computer was giving me grief but I'm here so lets get on with it. I'm linking up with Jen and Jessi today for What's Hap'pinning' Wednesday even though I'm not so sure I have anything from Pinterest to share...no that is kind of a lie but we will get to that.

Over the past weekend, I had a wedding to help with which was great since I missed out on my weddings this summer season since I was down for most of it. The wedding party was sweet and I liked playing with hair again. I honestly would do updos everyday if I could since I love it. Here are a couple of shots from the hair I did, not great the sun was shining and I was by the window so could have been better.

Since I'm trying to work on my October goals and get things organized before the holiday season is upon us this Sunday I decided it was time to at least tidy up my craft room, I haven't done anything down there since before I was in the hospital so it needed a good tidy and really I need to go through some stuff but whatever I will get to that at some point. Of course, once I had tidied up all I wanted to do was craft so I have some ideas of Pinterest for some Christmas-y paintings which I will hopefully show you the finished products soon.

How is everyone's week going? Planning anything fun for the weekend? Excited for Halloween? Well time to get back to work. Hope everyone is well xo

{ Jen | Jessica }

Friday Favorites!

Happy Friday everyone! Here we are at the end of another week and we made it through with flying colors! I swear the older I get the quicker time passes though. This week was a short one anyways because of the Thanksgiving Holiday. How was your week? Quick or Slow?

{ Erika | Narci | Andrea}

Again this week I'm linking up with the girls for Friday Favorites. For this week I did have more favorites then the past few weeks so lets get on it...


On Wednesday evening I headed over to the final debate for our leadership race for the PC Party of Nova Scotia. This is the one I really wanted to go to since it was the last one and the closest to home for me. Since it is coming down to the final weeks of a very long (too long to be honest) race for leader things have gotten somewhat nasty. I will not lie, I'm profoundly disappointed by one of the candidates who I know is a truly good man, but lets not get into that because we are here for my favorites of the week. The candidate I'm supporting Tim Houston, has anyways made me proud, I have watched him grow since coming onto the scene as MLA for Pictou East in 2013. Wednesday night at the debate I watched him take on petty/nasty bull (for lack of a better word), with the grace I want in my leader. My heart swelled with pride for him, happy knowing I call him a friend. Now, I'm even more excited for the leadership convention, even though I have already mailed in my ballot. Win, lose or draw he has done an amazing job and will continue to do great things.


Another one of my favorites which has been basically on repeat since it came it has been the Carrie Underwood album Cry Pretty. I love Carrie and this album is another great one. I actually love all the songs which is not always the norm for me because normally there is always one or two that I will skip over, not so with album. I think my top three songs from the album are Love Wins...because it just seems like something we all need to hear right now with all the issues going on around the world and how really we all just need to love each other and figure things out....Champion because it is just an awesome song, great to have on the work out playlist by the way....Ghosts on the Stereo, again just another great song. If you like Carrie and you haven't checked out this album yet I strongly suggest you go and listen to it soon!

I started a new book on Monday, The Tattooist for Auschwitz by Heather Morris and it is so good so far. Here is the about section from Chapters on it to give you the idea of what is it about...

The Tattooist of Auschwitz is based on the true story of Lale and Gita Sokolov, two Slovakian Jews, who survived Auschwitz and eventually made their home in Australia. In that terrible place, Lale was given the job of tattooing the prisoners marked for survival—literally scratching numbers into his fellow victims’ arms in indelible ink to create what would become one of the most potent symbols of the Holocaust. Lale used the infinitesimal freedom of movement that this position awarded him to exchange jewels and money taken from murdered Jews for food to keep others alive. If he had been caught he would have been killed; many owed him their survival.

There have been many books about the Holocaust—and there will be many more. What makes this one so memorable is Lale Sokolov’s incredible zest for life. He understood exactly what was in store for him and his fellow prisoners and he was determined to survive—not just to survive, but to leave the camp with his dignity and integrity intact, to live his life to the full. Terrible though this story is, it is also a story of hope and of courage. It is also—almost unbelievably—a love story. Waiting in line to be tattooed, terrified and shaking, was a young girl. For Lale—a dandy, a jack-the-lad, a bit of a chancer—it was love at first sight and he determined not only to survive himself, but to ensure that Gita did, too. His story—their story—will make you weep, but you will also find it uplifting. It shows the very best of humanity in the very worst of circumstances.

Like many survivors, Lale and Gita told few people their story after the war. They eventually made their way to Australia, where they raised a son and had a successful life. But when Gita died, Lale felt he could no longer carry the burden of their past alone. He chose to tell his story.
These stories of survivors of the Holocaust are some of my favorite stories to read because I can't imagine how they survived and the devastation they lived though. I haven't gotten too far into yet but I know already that it is going to be a great read that is for sure.

Alright, that is all from me this week. I hope everyone has a great weekend and I will be back on Monday with something great for you to read (fingers crossed). Happy Weekending!

Wednesday Rambles

Okay, it is Wednesday! We have made it through half of the week already! I can say this easily since Monday was a holiday! I have been trying to figure out something to post about this morning for too long so I have decided to just wing it and see what comes out! Sometimes you just can't plan out a blog no matter how hard you try.

Yesterday, after work I got some extra energy and decided to finally clean out some of the cupboards in the kitchen! They have been needing a clean out for a long time but instead of just cleaning them out, we just stacked more stuff in there. For me, there are few things better than that feeling you get when you have cleaned and organized something. I know I'm a tad crazy but I much prefer having everything in its place especially when it actually has a proper place. Now, if I could just get people to put things back in said place I would be a miracle worker!

 

Not to bad huh? Plus I love having a good clear out of the cupboards before the baking season of Christmas starts! Knowing what you have and what you need to get is pretty much a must. It is always a plus when you can actually just take a quick peek when you're making your lists enough of having to basically clean them out then.

 

This past weekend was Thanksgiving here in Canada. I completely forgot to take any pictures at all! I can tell you we had a wonderful dinner thanks to my mom and sister (which I clean up for the big meals and they cook), great company and just a nice relaxing weekend. For Sunday, my dad's side of family normally comes over, which is nice since we don't have as many family gathers with them since they don't live in the area like a lot of mom's family does. It was nice for me especially since the last family get together we had was the week before I went into the hospital so I was not feeling the best that is for sure. For Monday, it was leftovers and being basically a sloth! I did do some laundry but I mainly just laid around on the couch and read my new book The Tattooist of Auschwitz, so far it is very good.

 

Alright, I think I'm done rambling for one day. Hope you're all having a great Wednesday and a great week! I will be back on Friday with some favorites!

 

 

 

TBB: Self Care

For most of us, we don't normally take the time we need for ourselves. Whether you're busy with work, kids etc it can be hard to find that balance of getting things done and actually taking the time for some self-care. 

Self care doesn't have to be something you're taking the whole day for (unless you want to). Self care can be as simple as taking the time to sit down and watch your favorite TV show.

We all have our favorite ways to pamper ourselves and take some time for ourselves. For myself, I love to take a bubble bath. We have a great bath tub so that makes for an even better bath because you can stretch out and really relax. I will light some candle, put on some music and just truly lay back and relax. 

Another easy way you can take some time for yourself is to give yourself mani/pedi or even better go and have someone else do it for you. It is a little thing to do but having your feet and hands look nice is always a bonus. 

Sometimes when you're stressed or overworked the skin needs a little help too. Face masks! You can do your face masks even when you're still trying to get some stuff done like folding laundry. Oh you could be folding laundry, watching your favorite TV show and have a face mask on. Now that is some multi-tasking but since two would be labelled self care in my books I think it makes it okay.

One thing I wished I took more me time for is reading! Honestly, I know I could do more since sometimes I think to myself why am I just randomly scrolling through facebook or instagram when I could be finishing that great book I started two months ago. 

When it comes down to it self care is all about taking some time for yourself. We all need it because when we are stressed/run down and all that other stuff we are of no use to anyone especially ourselves. So, take time for yourself and do whatever you do to refill your energy tank. Need some more ideas check out this site.

Remember you have to enjoy life because we only get one.

Friday Favourites! Thanksgiving Edition (kinda)

Another week is done! Well, almost done but man this week flew by for me! I think it is because it was quite broken up with appointments and such I had this week. I do believe I'm almost done of everything from my trauma this summer. On Tuesday I had to go for an echo cardiogram and CT scan. I had the echo at 9:30am and by 11:15am the doctor called to tell me everything was perfect and I didn't have to come and see him for any follow up, YAY! And, the CT I'm sure was fine too since the one I had about a month ago was good. Love that my doctors are taking good take of me but I would love a break from them for a bit! 

{ andrea | erika | narci }

So, since we are back to Friday, it is time for Friday Favorites! When I was trying to figure out what my Friday Favorites would be I was having a great time because I didn't have a bunch of things jumping out as favorites from this past week since it was hospital/doctor appointments and work. Then I realized my most favorite part of the week was seeing my surgeon Dr. Hoogerboord. Yes, it was another doctor appointments that I might be sick of going to but it is always nice to have another doctor say how things are just coming along nicely. When I saw Hoogerboord for the first time, I was not at my best and even the next day when I saw him I was doped up on pain killers so it was great to finally see him at my post op appointment and actually get to thank him for saving me. For the first 24 hours I was in the hospital in Halifax, it was just a chaotic mess in the best way if that makes sense. They were doing what they could in trying to find out was wrong but no one was making the decision of what they needed to do to make me better. If one more doctor had of come in and said well we might try and drain it but you might need surgery I was going to scream. During, my appointment with Hoogerboord, he said draining it was never an option for him because it wouldn't have fixed anything I would still have been in and out of the hospital with extremely high fevers which just isn't a good thing. Also, when he got in there it has ruptured, so there would have been no way to drain it. The calm that Dr. Hoogerboord bought to my situation was amazing. When he walked into the room and had made the decisions that needed to be made, it was one of the best feelings I had ever had even though I was still scared, I just knew he had everything under control and I was going to be fine. Now, I am fine. 


Since I have gotten out of the hospital and recovered I have researched Dr. Hoogerboord and the man has like 24 letters after his name! He almost has his own alphabet! Not, only is he an accomplished doctor, he is a sweetheart. He doesn't rush with his appointment, he listens, he talks to you like a human being and not a patient. Sometimes he is to the point with no bull but that is what I wanted. His bedside manner is wonderful. When a doctor can look someone in the eye and tell them things are going to be okay and you truly believe them it is a feeling that you can't really compare to anything else. I do not think my mother could have thanked him enough. I swear she was making him blush. But, lets move on and in the spirit of the upcoming holiday of Thanksgiving, I'm more then thankful for Dr. Marius Hoogerboord. 

So, even though I'm sure he will never see this post I just wanted to talk about one of my favorite people. 

Happy Friday Everyone! I hope you all have a great weekend and to my fellow Canadians Happy Thanksgiving Weekend!



  

October Goals

Wow, Thursday already! This week feels like it has flown by which honestly the last month has felt that way. Where did September go? Not that I totally mind since now it is officially my birthday month. 35 on the 28th! Crazy!

When I was getting ready to make this post I was reading some other blogs and Emily was doing her October Goals and I thought yes that is what I want to write about to because then maybe I will get more of them done instead of just starting them and hoping for the best!

 

1. Get my closets cleaned out and organized! Finish switching over the summer clothes to autumn/winter. I have started this I have a pile of summer clothes on my floor.

 

2. Try at least 2 new recipes for the crock pot. I love using my slow cooker but sometimes I just don't know what to make so I'm on the look out for some recipes so if you have any leave them for me.

 

3. Finish a few craft projects I have on the go, especially one that I need to have for a Christmas present this year! I know but it is a big one I have been working on for while so I need to get back at it now otherwise it won't be a gift for this year.

 

4. Speaking of Christmas, I would like to start my shopping for it this month just to get a jump on it or at least be on the look out for some ideas. I have my lists started but I don't stick to a strict list when Christmas shopping for my family and friends.

 

5. Plan out my 12 Days of Christmas blog posts. I have some fun ideas for it so hopefully they will come together for me.

 

6. Enjoy most days! I know this one sounds kind of silly but after the summer I had I know how special life is and you just have to enjoy your life. You only get one.

 

What are your goals for this month? Are you a goal setter or just get what you get done and that is good enough? I like making goal lists but we will see how this one works out for this month.

Real Talk Tuesday

Time to get some real talking done. Mainly because I have had a few people ask what happened during this summer and instead of having to tell everyone separately I figured I might as well just blog about it. And lets just start off by saying real life hit me like a ton of bricks this summer.


During the first few weeks of July, I felt like I had the flu that wouldn't go away and man I wish it just had of been the flu. The morning of July 23rd I woke up with the worst pains in my stomach, I couldn't stand up straight I was hoping it would pass. When it didn't get better by lunch I knew something was really wrong so I went to the local ER. Normally, it is quite a wait but I was taken rather quickly since I was grey in color and the people around me who had been there long before me said I should go in first. So began one of the most traumatic times of my life. 

Test after test happened and nothing good was coming back, I stayed up in the ICU for the night and was transferred to city the next morning. More tests, more doctors, still in pain and no real answers or decisions on what they wanted to do. During all these tests they did find out that I had an abscess on my spleen which they wanted to see maybe if they could just drain but they were not sure if that would solve everything or if they should just go in for surgery. The doctor who was telling me all this I swear looked like he was 16! They tell me he was 31. I was moved again to another ICU and I had more tests. I swear I had every test done they could have performed at least once. They took so much blood I wasn't sure I had any left inside me. On Wednesday, I saw more doctors who basically went over the same stuff again with me saying maybe drain or maybe surgery...Okay I get it make up your mind and do something! Now, they were also telling me thankfully I went to the ER when I did because if I had of waited another 24hrs they wouldn't have been able to save me, thank god for strong antibiotics and pain killers.

It was around lunch time I think and there was a big, strong, handsome surgeon with two residents walking towards me. Dr. Hoogerboord was my life saver. What we didn't know was that the abscess had ruptured so all the poison was now inside my body. Dr. Hoogerboord took control and was like we are going to take you to surgery hopefully this afternoon or in the morning because he himself wanted to make sure it was him to who did the surgery. He said everything would be okay, promised my mom to take good care of me and then went on his way. I was excited to know that decisions had been made but scared because of the surgery. My surgery ended up being that afternoon and lasted for about 5 hours. When it was done I'm without a spleen or appendix, add in 50 staples to my stomach but who cares because I'm alive and ready to heal. The difference in myself from Wednesday to Thursday was amazing. I gave my mom another scare because when they came back the next morning I wasn't in my bed but sitting up in the chair, hair washed and having some juice. All my pain was gone minus the pain from the surgery which was nothing compared to what I had been feeling. Everything was okay, I was in recovery mode. Hoogerbooard came back to tell us how everything went since he ended up having to go right into another surgery after mine finished because of an accident. I stayed in the hospital for another week and then finally got to come home or fully recover. I'm almost back to normal now and could not be more thankfully for all the doctors and nurses who gave me the best care I could have asked or hoped for.

I also want to say my family was amazing during this time. I have told them many times how grateful I am to have them but I will say it again and again because I don't know what I would have done without them especially my sister Erica, mom and cousin Callee. You don't know how important certain people are to you until you really need them and they step up to plate in more ways then you knew they would.

Gosh, I didn't mean for this to become this long but here we are! So that was my summer I hope yours was less dramatic.

Have a great day everyone! Thanks for dropping by!

TBB Asks: Fall 2.0

Happy October Everyone! I know it was officially fall before this but I feel like October 1st truly marks Fall for me. I'm also excited for it because it is my birthday month. Anyways, since it is feeling rather fallish this morning I decided to chat about some fall stuff today along with TBB. 

| The Blended Blog | 

1. Favorite fall color?  I love them all together! The oranges, yellows, reds are just amazing. I love how they all just come together and just make everything look beautiful.

2. Apple cider - hot or cold? Hot because otherwise it is just weird apple juice hahaha

3. Caramel apple - yes or no?  Yes, who doesn't love a caramel apple or even just an apple with some caramel sauce you know they just go together so perfectly.

4. Pumpkin or apple cider doughnut?  Hmmm neither but I would lean more towards the apple cider one.

5. Long or short cardigan?  Both, in all knits, weights and colors please!

6. Favorite football or fall party food? Hmm, good question since I never been to a football party and most of us don't just have fall parties which I think we should but maybe dips (of any kind really) or chicken wings because who doesn't love a good chicken wing.

7. Orange or white pumpkins?  A mix of both please and even a green one is nice to throw in the mix too.

8. Hayride or bonfire?  Again, both...maybe you could even take a hayride to a bonfire? But really I think I would take a bonfire over the hayride if I had to choose.

9. Favorite fall baked good?  Anything with apple please! My mom's apple pie YUM!

10. Most anticipated fall activity? Pumpkin carving and treats for my birthday and Thanksgiving with the family. 

*all images from google search or Pinterest