One morning I was getting ready for work and this is where Levi chose to watch me from.

He found this little bowl in the kitchen to be near me while I made brownies last week.

He hung out in the empty laundry hamper yesterday while I folded laundry in the bedroom.

Kind of makes me want to strategically place Levi-sized bowls throughout the house and take pictures when I find him in each of them. I could put out a coffee table book…

P.S. Thank you so much to everyone who commented on my exciting news! All the comments on the blog, Twitter, and Facebook have been making me smile for days.

and this one:

These have way better support than the bathing suits Mic and I used to wear:

Speaking of new fashion trends I’m getting into, big/embellished shoulders is really one of them.  Before my drive to Toronto on Monday for the fashion show I stopped in Kingston to go to Urban Outfitters for a dress.  I actually ended up with 2 (thanks tax cheques!).  One being the one I wore to the show, and also this one.

Recently Tmo and I moved from the “problem house” in with one of my best friends for most of my life Emily.  So far it’s been good. Tmo is having a bit of trouble adjusting to living with a dog (remember Kardi?), they get in fights, Kardi eats her food, Tmo hides under the couch, you know, the usual.  Living with Emily again is pretty funny.  We both think the same things a lot, and are used to being around each other 24/7 from high school.  Today she made me supper (steak, corn and noodles), and in return I fed her mini eggs. Hopefully living here will be better than the old living arrangements!

First thing, this movie is for Aley. Puppy vs. Cat We were talking about what I should write about, and her suggestions were something along the lines of “me, puppies, me, kittens, procrastination, me”, so there you go Al. I also have to post this video, because Nicole Kraumanis is my amazing cheerleading idol. Nicole Team Canada Audition

Second, my car died yesterday. It was a sad day spent at home, not being able to go to school without scrounging up $3 to take the bus there, and probably $3 back.  I hardly got any studying done there, because T-Mo distracts me at every chance she gets…so does the lure of my comfy bed.  I called CAA this morning to go to school, and they told me it would be about 4 hours. Thank goodness it only took about 1.5 hours.  So I drove around Ottawa for about 20 minutes because the CAA man told me to, and I would have done whatever he said to make my car okay again.  During my drive I realized that Ottawa is an awesome city in any season.  Most cities are only fun to walk around in in the summer, and dreadful during the winter months (if they do have cold, snowy winter months), but Ottawa is just so nice.  In my opinion there are 3 things that make Ottawa so beautiful during the winter.

1) Parliament.

source

If you can find something in your city that looks as amazing as this during the winter send ‘er over.  Otherwise this wins the prize. Here’s a better picture of the lights on Parliament:

source

2) Rideau Canal.  For those of you who don’t know, Ottawa has the world’s largest skating rink (Winnipeg has the longest, but I guess it’s skinnier),  measuring 7.8km (4.8 miles) long.  Along the way they have Beaver Tails, hot chocolate, skate rentals, and it’s the focus of  the Winterlude festival.

source

Me and my friend Andrena skating last year.

3) The Byward Market.

source

To be honest I don’t know a lot about the Market.  I know that most of the good bars are there, there are some super cute shops, and they have cute vendors on the sidewalk.  Oh, and my favourite restaurant- Lonestar!  It’s a nice place to take a walk, which is what Kaylee and I do a lot there.

Anyways, this post just justified my love for Ottawa.  I do love it a lot, but I will love going home on Monday even more I think! Especially once my exams are all over and done with!

This is my last post for NaPoBloMo and it’s been fun to see updates by my sisters every day, but I’m actually very glad November is over. Kent and everyone at his restaurant have been celebrating “Movember” this month, growing mustaches to raise money and awareness for prostate cancer. Of course I support the cause, but I’d prefer not to have my kisses with a side order of mustache! On the other hand, I don’t even recognize my dad without his mustache, so maybe it’s something you get used to. Kent has been trying to tell me that next he will be celebrating “Mothousand and Ten” so perhaps it’s something I’ll have to get used to… (no way.) He even has the handlebars goin’ on:

The end of November also brings us closer to BABY SEASON! Our good friend Laura’s is due on December 29, and Kate’s is due on January 18. How am I supposed to get ready for Christmas when it’s so much more fun to just sit around and ask Kent, “GUESS HOW MANY MORE DAYS!?!?!” and “Look at this picture of Kate’s belly for the 43895th time!!!!” Luckily he’s just as excited as I am so he plays along.

It’s also made me realize how much more fun it is to not find out the sex of your baby in advance. I realize there are advantages and disadvantages to both, but the suspense in not finding out, to me, is pretty amazing. It wouldn’t be nearly as suspenseful, I don’t think, if we already knew what Katelyn or Laura were having. People always say “it’s the only surprise left in life,” and I was reading a book (I forget which one, maybe it wasn’t even a book*) where someone said something like, “What, no one throws surprise parties anymore? No surprise flower deliveries? What surprises have fallen by the wayside in the past few years???” which made me laugh because of how true it is. It’s definitely not the only surprise left in life – but it is sure one of the most exciting! Previously I’d been unsure if I’d want to find out or not when I have kids, but now I’m sure that I won’t.

*I remembered, and it was a book – Love the One You’re With by Emily Giffin

1. I’ve been trying to embrace Toronto life and do lots of sightseeing while I’m living here. In the past couple months I’ve visited Casa Loma, a Jays Game, the Ukranian street festival, and to the “Creativ Show.” It’s been a busy couple of months getting back into life post-wedding, so this is just the beginning. Here I am at the Jays game!

2. We had a child! Sort of… Kent surprised me by getting us an adorable little kitten which I named Levi and he middle-named Maclean. Levi is much less maintenance than the real deal, although he does scratch and bite quite a bit more. The nicknames for our little ball of fluff are endless. Example: Levi = Leviticus = Levitate = Tater = Tater Tot = Baby Potato. Here’s one of our endless selection of pictures of him. Cutest little thing ever:

3. There was a few celebrations: Our first married holiday (Thanksgiving) which included lovely outdoor and seasonal things like pie baking, dog walking, apple orchards, and a campfire. My town fair, a celebration that I haven’t missed in all of my 25 years. And, Kent turned the BIG 3-0 yesterday! I can’t even belive that he is 30 and that I’ve known him since he was 26. Usually it feels like I’ve only known him about two days. I took him out for a little surprise dinner and took this quick family photo. Tomorrow we will celebrate with friends and family. This is our family, circa 2009,  complete with a coat over our heads (thanks Kent) and a kitten considering which part of my neck to bite into.

4. A little foray into being an artist! My mom called this morning and invited me to a crafting show with her and my Oma. They are avid sewers and quilters but I picked up none of these genes or much interest in them aside from loving all of the quilts I get as gifts. Still, since my previous plans included house cleaning and new job hunting, I could not say no. Spending the day with these ladies in their element was a great time, and I even did a craft! We saw a (dutch! booyah!) booth called Paverpol where people were making these amazing outfits on little dress forms using cloths covered in some sort of textile hardener that looks like mud. Mom and I signed up, paid $10 each and here are the photos of our journey.

Dress forms before shot:

About to drape the cloth:

 ”Sculpting!”:

And the finished products! I don’t know if the photos do them justice, but they were so easy and look so amazing!

Mom’s:

Mine (less awesome… but still okay!) – the final version sitting on my mantle tonight:

That’s just a few bits and pieces of my life, and I promise to get back into my weekly blogging so I won’t have these huge recaps. I do love blogging, really. 

Question pour vous: What crafty/artsy thing have you done lately or been really wanting/planning to do?