12/31 How We Celebrate...A Look at your holidays...

And just like that the holidays are basically over. Tomorrow, will be the last of the big family gatherings and too much food. I have to say, it was a wonderful Christmas season but it always goes too fast. I do believe almost everyone feels the same. I actually had no plans on posting until into the new year but alas here I am because I noticed that the Blended Blog had one more December prompt for the month that I liked. The prompt is How We Celebrate...A Look at your holidays, figured it was the best time to actually write down some of the traditions and memories that made our Christmas another great one (I also get to write this up on my new Chromebook! Thanks Mom and Dad).

One of my good friends was home for a quick visit over Christmas and I was luckily enough to catch him for a visit before he was off again. It was great to have a nice catch up with him since it had actually been a couple of years almost I feel like since he has been home. He says he is going to come home in the summer for a longer visit so I'm holding you too that Michael!

Christmas eve consists of my mom's side of family coming over for dinner/potluck. We now also include my best friend, her husband and daughter. It was great having everyone over, it was especially great this year having Quinn over because she is 6 and was just almost bouncing off the walls because she was so excited for Santa to come. The youngest in the family that was over was my cousin Charlie who is 16 (might be 17 I can't quite remember). So having a kid over was fun. She was so excited and is enamoured with my cousin Cole. Anyways, we always have a feast of food, drinks and great visit before everyone heads off to more holidays festivities with other family, friends or church. I normally get more pictures during Christmas Eve but I was more wrapped up in being present then I was making sure I got some pictures but I did get a couple of course!

The Wilson Clan...my most favourite people on this planet.

Stockings placed on the couch with care. And yes we have stockings for our dogs!

Santa has been here!

Me and my favourite girl Quinn! I think this was the only time she sat down for more then 3 seconds.

My parents!

The Wilson kids! I seem to look taller in this picture, I think it is because Erica is not standing up quite as tall as she is or I'm just pretending I'm taller than I am. 

Christmas Day, Chase came over around 8:30 for opening presents and Christmas breakfast which Erica made some delicious breakfast sandwiches. Everyone gave and received wonderful gifts. This was the aftermath....

For Christmas Day dinner, we of course had a beautiful turkey dinner thanks to my mom. We have my great uncle Jerry over for dinner, it used to be more but sadly we have lost loved ones over the years. It was a lovely day though filled with family, good food, presents and lazing around.

Boxing Day was a full on lazy day! I caught up on Criminal Minds, snacked most of the day and just laid around the house. On the 27th since the stores are closed in Nova Scotia on the 26th myself and Erica headed to Halifax to see what Boxing day sales were on. I headed up getting some stuff from Old Navy, MAC, La Senza and Winners. It was worth the quick trip up, Erica got even more than I did. I always love looking and seeing that you saved more than you spent. I got a great sports bra from Old Navy for $10! Can't complain about that.

I also got to have dinner with Danielle on Saturday and now here we are on Sunday, yes I'm even prepping this blog post.

I honestly hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and you're ready to start 2019 with a bang! I wish you all the happiness you need for you 2019!

xo

Having a gratitude attitude....

A few weeks ago my friend Sarah asked if anyone would participate in a gratitude chain she was going to do. I jumped on board right away because I love ideas like this. I find it too often we forget to say thank you to those closest to us because we assume they know we are thankful for them but really it something we all like to hear now and again.

For this gratitude attitude Sarah had people sign up then she was going to write a letter/note to those people and include a blank note card for us to give it to someone else thanking them for whatever we wanted to thank them for. I personally love getting mail so I was excited this was all going to be done by hand. I of course love the convenience of emails and all that jazz but I love when someone takes the time to write a hand written note or letter. When I got my letter from Sarah I was so happy to get it and she wrote me a sweet note (thank you Sarah) and I started thinking about who I wanted to give my note card to! It was hard to pick one person to get this awesome note card! Sarah did a great job designing them! I did finally pick someone but I can’t say who it is because I believe they read most of my blogs and I know it didn’t get to them yet as I’m sending it out tomorrow!

Remember everyone likes to hear thank you so say it even if it is just because.

Thank you for reading my blog, I honestly appreciate it.

xo

Weekend Update on Tuesday!

Yesterday I had every intention of blogging but it was a beautiful day and my cousin Ashdenne decided we were going to go on adventure so that is where my day went instead of blogging. It is better to be out and enjoying the weather then inside working on the blog.

This weekend the weather was beautiful! On Saturday, I went out with Erica and her friend Johnny for lunch in Pictou at Sharon's and it was lovely as always. After lunch and once we dropped Johnny off, Erica and I got some ice cream and then headed home ourselves. Later in the day we got a phone call from our family friend Peter who got a new puppy!! We quickly went down there to see the puppy who is a bull massif and named Moses. He is the sweetest little thing! He cuddled right into me and I was loving life because I love puppies!

Once we finished our visit with Moses, Erica and myself went and got Johnny so we could all go and see X Men. I really liked the movie and I have never seen the other movies and really know nothing about X Men. I do love me some Hugh Jackman though!
Sunday was another beauty of a day so myself, Erica and our momma headed out to have brunch together and then mom saw a plant sale so she got some stuff before we dropped her off and headed out to do some errands. Erica made BBQ chicken and ribs for dinner that night and they were amazing. I love BBQ anything and these were just delish! My aunt Bev and uncle Bill were over for family dinner too since they were down at their cottage and it doesn't have a kitchen right now haha. On Sunday I was also able to have a nice catch up with my friend Justin! We hadn't had a real chat in for too long so it was great to be able talk to him. I had a great weekend and really my weekend moved into Monday too with the adventures with Ashdenne.

Monday morning around 9:30 I think I got a text from Ashdenne saying it was too beautiful out so we needed to go on an adventure! I had a few things to get done so we decided after lunch we would head out. We didn't know what the adventure was going to be but we decided to head to Brule once Ashdenne came over because it was more of an adventure then just going to the beach. On the way there is a lavender farm and we stopped there. Ashdenne got some nice bath salts and we decided to try some lavender chocolate. Now we can say we have tried it! It is was nice chocolate but just too perfume-y. We are happy we just shared a piece instead of getting two. Once we left the lavender farm, Ashdenne saw that there was a wool shop and sheep farm not too far so we headed there next! The shop was very nice and full of nice things but both me and Ashdenne didn't see anything we really wanted at the time. There was some very nice mittens though that I would like but as it is summer I didn't really want to get them yet! There was also sheep you could go and see! They were so cute! The noises they make is really funny though! They were super cute but kinda stinky haha Once we were done at the farm we headed to Rushton's beach! It was beautful down there! The sand was soft, the water was cold and the sun was hot! It was a great adventure day. Ashdenne then came back to our house for the evening to watch Master Chef. Great day and awesome to spend it out adventuring with Ashdenne.

Also big congrats to my friends Lauren and Matt on their engagement! So happy for both of you!

Today we are getting real.

Okay last night on Twitter I said I was getting real on the blog today because I don't often get overly real on my blog! I normally like to keep things light and fluffy but today my kind friends were going deep! I have to say unless you're a member of my family or someone close to me you probably have not heard this story in full. I know I have mentioned it before because I have done lists of facts about me but telling the whole story doesn't come easy for me because I have to say it was the scariest time in my life. 

I was told I had cancer. I was told I would probably need chemo to shrink the tumor before I could have surgery to remove it. 

Now, lets back up to the beginning of this story. My sugars were messed up and that is a sign of PCOS (if you don't know what that is look it up because I don't feel like explaining it) and my sister has it so my doctor decided to have me checked for it. I first went for a vacation to Dominican because I was like I know I don't have it because that was the only sympton I had that could be linked to PCOS. When we came back from vacation, I went for my ultrasound to see if there were anything on my ovaries. The tech who did it was lovely but of course couldn't tell me anything. I went to see the doctor and I was then scheduled for a CT scan...Okay I have to admit I was little freaked out because I was thinking well they must have found something. I was told they just wanted to double check things. Having a CT scan is freaking weird! You hooked up to an IV thing so you glow inside and whatever it is in the IV is makes you feel like you wet yourself! Yup, not the most pleasant thing. When I went to my doctor to get the result of course my momma came with me but my doctor hadn't listened to the report yet so he quickly listened to it when we were there on phone so we couldn't hear anything. When he was finished, he again picked up the phone and called a specialist, it was end of the day so he was hoping the receptionist was still there. She was and my doctor proceeded to her I needed an appt with the doctor as soon as possible, she told him something and he said no, do you have anything tomorrow. Now, I'm freaking out because why do I need to have an appt with the gyno specialist so soon!? Since my doctor isn't a specialist he basically said hope for the best but prepare for the worst. So could be nothing or could be cancer. This all is happening right before we are getting ready to leave for Erica's graduation. I won't lie it was a restless night. Next day myself and my momma are sitting in another waiting room waiting to see the specialist, he told us there was mass/tumor attached to my ovary that was about the size of grapefruit, before it could be removed it would need to be shrunk a bit. This meant a round or two of chemo. He said things would be okay and explained everything we asked about. I was hoping he would do my surgery since he was family friend but I was being sent to Halifax. I was off for more blood work before going home so it could be spent to the specialist in Halifax. The woman who took my blood, who wasn't much older than me told me she was a cancer survivor and I would be fine. This woman made me feel so much better. On the way home, my mom and myself talked about everything and it was decided I would get one damn great wig if I needed chemo. When we got home, Erica was taking off for her weekend celebration with friends before her graduation on Monday. I have to say I felt awful all this happening when we all should have been celebrating her accomplishments at university. 

It was long weekend for us but we had a nice day on Monday at Erica's graduation and when we got home we had good news, the gyno specialist (family friend) called and said my blood work came back excellent. Any bit of good news right now was amazing! On Wednesday I was headed to Halifax to meet with surgeon/specialist who would be looking after me. She was my shining star! She didn't want to say for sure but she didn't think I had cancer! She didn't mention chemo and didn't mention anything bad! She said yes you have a mass in there but it just doesn't look like cancer to me. Even though it wasn't for sure it was like a weight had been lifted off me. She booked me for surgery in two weeks and we headed home feeling much better than we had coming up. The next Wednesday I had my pre-op and the next Wednesday I had my surgery. If you want to feel like you're 1000 years old when you're 25 have your stomach cut open! Walking is not your friend. To be honest other then laying on your back nothing is your friend. The nurses and doctors I had were honestly amazing! There was one nurse, she had a unique name so I can't even try to spell it but I don't think I would have been able to make it through a couple of nights without her, mainly because morphine made me an emotional wreck! My parents and aunt Mary were with me the day of my surgery, Dad went home at the end of the day and momma and Mary stayed with me. Dad was coming back on Friday because they said I would be released on Saturday or Sunday if everything went well. Everything was going really well but I wasn't on the right floor since we requested a private room so when my star doctor came in she said sorry but I was being moved. In the end they was probably for the best because the nurses on the floor I was moved too were better at taking care of me because they dealt with my kind of surgery more. They also gave me morphine every four hours instead of when I asked for it. They didn't want the pain to get ahead of me which was great but this turned me into a crying fool. I cried when Mary had to leave to go home even though mom was with me and dad was back on his way. But all in all everything was great and I got to go home on Saturday!

It was a good 4 weeks before I could most things, getting up and down stairs was awful for most of that time but they said it was good for me to move around. Doing even small things for the first 6 weeks tired me out so much having a shower required a nap after it. But everything was worth it when Dr Rittenburg called me to tell me there was no cancer! It was my ovary that had torn off and had blown up like a balloon! So, now I'm down an ovary and have a 10 inch scar from my belly button down. 

I don't know how some people deal with their illnesses with such courage but I'm in awe of them because I don't know what I would have done if that call had of been different. My world crashed when I thought I might have cancer but it was quickly pulled back up with the knowledge and support of my wonderful specialist in Halifax and all the people around me. My family was amazing through everything. Friends were great (especially Nathan who came to visit me in the hospital). The most thanks goes to my momma who was there every minute, the one who took care me when I couldn't do most things for myself, the one who took the brute of my frustations because I couldn't do anything for myself, love you mom! xo

Okay, I'm gonna end this now because it is the longest blog I have ever written! Remember to smile and don't take anything for granted! Love you all and have a cookie if you made it through this whole post!

What Inspires Your Blog Posts?

Hello My Lovelies!

I was reading through Helene’s blog the other day and saw that she was having a one-day link up about what inspires your blog. When I saw this I thought well I think I will do this next week! Then, came the hard part, writing this post! One would think it would basically write itself since it is suppose to be what inspires your blog! But alas it did not write itself so I’m sitting here trying to figure out what I want to say and how I want to say it.  I think I’m having a harder time writing this because I always just want my blog to fun, so my stuff is fluffier often, which is okay with me. When I need to get serious or more emotional I do it, like with my breakdown last week about Talia and Cory. I think you’re blog should be whatever you want it to be. No one should tell you how your blog should be. If you’re happy with it then that is all that matters!

Okay, hmmm….I think what inspires me most for my blog is just that I like writing and having fun. I like knowing that I can go back and relive a moment because I blogged about it! Pictures are posted and moments are written down. It is there forever to remember. If you forget that detail about that one weekend you know you can call up your Weekend Updates and know yes that is what really happened that weekend that is why we laughed so hard. I get different inspirations from everywhere and everyday!  I think of myself as a rather creative person with a creative mind. I try to draw my inspirations from as many different places as I can. There are different bloggers who inspire me to be a better blogger! PinkLouLou is who bought me back into blogging. I had many failed blogs before this one and for whatever reason this one has stuck. I started reading PinkLouLou and decided to get back in the game. It is bloggers like her who juggle work, personal life and blogging, that inspire me to keep blogging.  I always had the problem that when I got busy the first thing to go was the blog because who is reading it anyways! Now, though not a big following I know someone is reading it, which makes me feel good and keeps me going.  There are of course the regular inspirations such as music, books, movies, other blogs, random Hollywood news and such but it is nice getting random inspiration. I once wrote a blog about different scrapbooking pages I have seen.

I think I have turned this post into something more than I thought it was going to be! I hope you enjoyed it and maybe got some inspiration out of it. Remember you can find inspiration everywhere, in the smallest idea/thought/action you can often find the most wonderful things.

xoxo

A Different Wednesday Post....

Normally my Wednesday posts are reserved for the fun Oh How Pinteresting but this week I don't feel like going through Pinterest to find some funny/fashionable/cooking pins. Today, I want to talk about how I have been feeling for the past couple of days. If you don't want to get a bit emotional me maybe skip this post and come back tomorrow when I will hopefully be back to my normal self.

Yesterday, I had just finished working out on the treadmill and I decided to check my twitter to see if there was any new updates about Talia Joy, as she seemed to be having an okay couple of days. Then I see the tweet that tells me that my favorite little YouTube beauty guru has gotten her wings. 11:22am Talia became an angel where she doesn't have pain anymore and she can be free. I instantly felt empty and my eyes filled with tears. I wanted nothing more but for her to get a miracle and start to get better. I know how that sounds almost like a childhood wish that you know will probably never come true but this little girl was so amazing how could she ever be gone? I started watched Talia's YouTube over a year ago just by chance because I saw this bright face with the most amazing eye make-up! I thought someone must have done it for her but when I started watching the video I saw how amazing at make up she was! I think I could practice doing make up everyday and not be as good as Talia was. Then I watched some of her cancer vlogs and couldn't help but tear up not because she had cancer but because she was so upbeat and knew she could fight it. She also had no fear when she did her vlogs, she told it how it was. She wasn't going to sugar coat it and that is how she wanted it told to her. She was an old wise soul in a 13 year old body! I will forever remember that smile, laugh, silly face. If this world had more Talias we would be living in a much better place but there could only be one Talia Joy. My prayers go to her family and my love is being sent to the heavens where I'm sure she is surrounded by love and the most amazing make up room. 

As I sit here with tears rolling down my cheeks I feel blessed to have been touched by Talia's story, I will try to live my life to the best it can be, I will love unconditionally and try to leave this world a better place. Thank you for being you little angel.

You said, remember that life is not meant to be wasted.

We can always be chasing the sun!

So fill up your lungs and just run

But always be chasing the sun!

- Sara Bareilles
xo

This week heaven got two amazing angels. I normally am not affected like this when hearing about deaths outside my family/friends but I can't get Cory Monteith out my head since I heard about this death. It just doesn't seem real that he is gone. You never truly know what people are struggling with. I believe he was fighting and trying to win the battle he had with his demons but sadly the demons won. Just remember don't judge a book by its last page. I'm going to remember him as a great talent and wonderful person.

RIP Talia Joy and Cory Monteith

#Backthatazzup Friday!

Time for another #backthatazzup Friday! I had been debating on a few songs and I couldn't pick just one so here are my choices for this week! Hope you enjoy them! They are totally different from each other!

Here is your uplifting song for the day! It is a beautiful day here and I have a lunch date planned with two lovely ladies, and Play offs tonight so great day for me!

And now time for a dance party!

Happy Friday Everyone!!

xoxo

Tuesday Tunes!

I was watching some youtube videos the other day and I found my new favorite song on one of them! I was watching Tanya Burr's Get Ready with Me video and she had this song playing and I just fell in love with it! Thankfully Tanya is a good little YouTuber and lists what songs are in her videos! This song is called Technicolor by Mumm-ra! I adore the lyrics, the music, everything about this song so I hope you like it too!

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

Mumm-ra Technicolour

Throwback Thursday!

Since I can't think of anything I really want to talk about today I'm going to do throwback Thursday! Everyone likes pictures so why not I say! I'm not going too many years back because I found these pictures from a few summers ago and they just really made me miss that summer! Hope you're all having a great week! :) Enjoy! xo

Happy Wednesday!

I feel like haven't posting anything pinterest related in far too long so here we go with lovely pins I have been loving lately! Hope everyone is having a great week! xoxo

Source: etsy.com via brittanylea on Pinterest

Source: s1142.beta.photobucket.com via brittanylea on Pinterest

Source: cutestpaw.com via brittanylea on Pinterest

Source: theyummylife.com via brittanylea on Pinterest

Source: nothingtowear.bigcartel.com via brittanylea on Pinterest

Source: google.com via brittanylea on Pinterest

05.13.2012

Sunday Funday

This Sunday Funday we are focusing on Mother's Day! They may drive us crazy somedays but we love them very much! Love you mom xo

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