MarthaStewart: i have a very very serious question for all of you: HOW OFTEN DO YOU WASH YOUR SHEETS/CHANGE YOUR BED?? i would like lots of answers please

Oh gosh. Martha, both my wedding and I will be forever thankful for you for imparting upon me your tissue-flower-making wisdom, but your idea of what is “very very serious” and capital-letter worthy in this world needs some adjustment. I didn’t answer this on Twitter, but I’m sure my answer would have to be “not often enough for Martha Stewart standards.”

johncmayer: If you think “Party in the USA” is ironically awesome, go home. If you think it’s authentically awesome, let’s dance.

I find it hard to stop myself from favouriting every second John Mayer tweet. I just love the way he thinks and writes and sings and I could go on and on… instead I will just wait until the next time I am with Reggy to discuss these important matters further.

ericablonde: Not only is my husband the perfect man for me, he’s also the perfect brother for my sisters.

Aww! Love this sentiment. D-dawg really is the bestest (and he reads the blog so bonus points for him!)

whoorl: I truly believe a person’s essence can be summarized in their last 10-20 tweets. Me? Air guitar, lip gloss, making plans and happy joy joy.

Love again! I fully accept and appreciate that everyone has their bad days, but I have been known to unfriend people for constantly posting nothing but negative tweets. Happy tweets make me happy, and there are good moments every day. Tweet about that once in a while. Even if it’s just lip gloss!

CynGagen: RT @kathyireland “Whoever is happy will make others happy as well…” Anne Frank. Thank you all for such a beautiful adventure.

That sums up what I meant in my comments in the previous tweet quite well. Thank you, Ann Frank.

whoorl: “I’m not a really religious guy, but I do pray for opportunities to make fun of people.” HAAAAA. Doesn’t get better than that.

Now I don’t know who Whoorl is quoting there, but that just makes me laugh.

dooce: Me: “Leta, Katey is going to help you–” Leta: “Kate, Mom. Kate. I call her Kate.” Me: “NOTED, TOM CRUISE.”

hahaha! Enough said.

whoorl: Reverse psychology potty training is awesome. (Although, I’m a little disappointed that he’s actually falling for it.)

Apparently I love her tweets! I can totally imagine feeling the same in this situation.

burnace: Cruise Ships: Might as well just rename them “Drunken Maze”.

I’ve never been on a cruise, but this idea very much makes me want to go one one! Thank you, Laura.

nicolerichie: When asking my friend what she’s done on her birthday, she says “Well, I sent my mom flowers because she gave birth to me today”

Such a nice idea!

kasiafink: Last night at alumni dinner, met a funny, wise 95yr old man who told me the secret to a lasting marriage: don’t take yourselves too seriously.

And aren’t we all guilty of this sometimes? This could be my favourite marriage advice of all time.

jonoearle: Leah hasn’t tweeted for 16 hrs. I’m really worried about her.

Sarcastic of course, but hilarious to me! Leah loves her tweets (and I love Leah’s tweets too.)

fragileheart: loves saying things that she’ll regret later. I think it makes life more exciting.

To me this is usually what makes life horrible, but I like thinking of it as exciting. Thanks Reggy!

kylaroma: Sometimes my mom really makes me laugh: “I like spending time just with you, it reminds me of when we used to hang out in the 80′s”

Liiiike… when she was a baby/small child??? Love it.

PerezHilton: P.S. Just because you say “no offense” doesn’t mean it’s not offensive! Duh.

Yes! I hate that saying. When I hear “no offense, but…” I automatically get ready to hear something super rude and offensive.

nicolerichie: I’ve been at the airport for hours. I’m so bored. I think I’m gonna prank call my mom

Sooo randomly amazing.

wishcake: I’ve decided that I love the expression “rise and shine”. I never really thought about it before.

Me either! But now that I have, I’ve decided that I love it too.

taylorswift13: Leno, Access Hollywood, Hannah Montana movie premiere. That’s 5 dresses in one day. I love it.

And I’ve decided that my new goal in life will be to have a five-dress-day.

micblonde: “Be the spark, especially when it’s dark.”

So apparently I sometimes favourite my own tweets. I love this little rule to live by.

laurenblonde: @ericablonde You can make those so easily! It’s just like felt isn’t it?

laurenblonde: @ericablonde omg. I’m mom.

This is funny if you know our mom – her favourite line is “I could make that!” She’s not all talk though – she does go on to make it!

kateblonde: Just spit on Scott while brushing my teeth next to him…sorry hunny! hahaha

I think my love for this tweet is partially how Katelyn spelled hunny (I’ve been spelling it that way ever since), and partially the pure silliness here.

johncmayer: I just voted on People’s “Is John Mayer a Keeper?” poll. I clicked “Love Him” but “Lose Him” is winning at 63%

Guess what I voted??? I love the ability make fun of themselves, in people.

johncmayer: paraphrasing Paltrow on People.com, truly love this line: “You don’t really get it, because if you did, you would like it.”

johncmayer: And I love it without a shred of irony, because it’s so honest. And it’s sort of how I feel more often than not. Isn’t that how we all feel?

Ahh. Yes. I feel like this about so many things – my husband’s intense dislike of John Mayer, for starters.

micblonde: Tipsy Kent: “Baaaabe… why am I so blessed?”

Don’t you love it when your significant other says just the perfect thing? I do, apparently.

leahblonde: loving her girls weekend! Sappy movie, check. Next up – Martinis and babysitting. Not necessarily in that order.

Ohh Leah. You make me laugh.

The end – hope you enjoyed my favourites as much as I do!

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

This is also going to be a bit of a crapulous post because it’s 11:00pm and I’m laying in bed reading a book while Tim is watching chick flicks and KKK movies. Odd combo, I know.

I hope that you are all having a great weekend. I spent the day with a song I sang at karaoke last week in my head – Two Princes by Spin Doctors. You know, “one, two princes lay before you / that’s what I said now / princes, princes who adore you.” it happens to be a fabulous karake song and I would recommend it if you are looking for one.

Which leads me to ask, what is your go-to karaoke song?

The optimist sees the rose and not its thorns; the pessimist stares at the thorns, oblivious to the rose. — Khalil Gibran

Photo by Darwin Bell

I realized long ago that I was an optimist. At least, I try to be. I think it comes with having a supportive family who are always encouraging you and willing to lend a helping hand.

My husband, however, is a bit of a pessimist. I discovered our inherent difference a few years ago at the ATM machine, of all places. After withdrawing some cash, he would always count it very carefully. One day he commented to me that he did this to “make sure that the machine didn’t short him”.

“Really?” I answered. “I count the bills hoping that they gave me extra!”

If that’s not an optimist and a pessimist, I don’t know what is.

Do you consider yourself an optimist or a pessimist?

Needless to say, I have had cold feet for abouuut 2 years, and I have not had adequate footwear to help with that.  In first year I got some Emus-

and they were warm for about a month, until it started snowing and getting slushy, and THEN they packed out and I had to wear socks and oma slippers in them in order for them to fit/be moderately warm.  I was not impressed, but I stuck it out for 2 winters and both adventures above, have now decided that it’s time for a new-GOOD- pair of winter boots.  Ottawa winter-proof!  I’ve been looking around on the internet and at Rideau Centre.  I didn’t really find anything at Rideau, but I’ve found 3-4 online that I’ve been thinking about and guys, I need advice!

Pair #1

Timberland’s Mount Holly Earthkeepers- I saw these at Rideau, but I didn’t try them on because it was at Town Shoes and all the people around me were trying on stilettos and it just felt weird, haha.

Timberland’s Design Your Own Boots- I just designed my own (the tall version), and they had pink on them, and they were cute and I loved them.

Sorel’s Joan of Arcadia.

Sorel’s Helen of Tundra…

And the boots that started this all,

So tell me what you all think! Do you have amazing boots to share?

Ps. I have the coat in #2 at the Community website.  The Technical hemp hooded parka.

As good as the ‘shock’ comment feels, I don’t have many answers for the questions. Aside from the immediate ‘finish school’, I’m not entirely sure what I want to do next. Do I want to pursue a career in the field of social media ( if there even is such a thing)? Am I going to need more education? Should I be patient and trust that the right position will come along?

So, readers,I’m curious: how did you figure out what you wanted to do for a career? Are you there yet?

I used to make millions of collages.  Clear tape was my best friend, and all my magazines were all cut up!

Had to include this in here. It looks so amazing, and I wish I was there right now. I might be alone on this, but I WANT SNOW!

so. cute! All of them!

Also had to add this.  Oh hello Bode…move to Ottawa and ski with me! That is all. Who cares about all your scandals, you are still amazing.

Definitely makes me wish I could draw.

This kind of looks like my shelf at home…

Dresses, dresses, dresses! I didn’t used to be a dress girl, but lately I want to wear one every day.

Not too sure why there are…bolts(?) in her face, buut I love her hair, and I want to draw this.

This looks so comfy right now

Thinking we should incorporate a ladder into our bookcase at home..(seen here in Erica’s wedding photos at Last Forty Percent!)

Such cute patterns!

I want this lipstick! I have become obsessed with lipstick. I had pink for Micaela’s wedding, and I just recently bought red for our Cheer pub.

Anyone else (in our family or another specific family who owns it) think this looks like the party barn? I pretty much want this as my wedding.

Baby!! I literally tear up every time I look at a picture of Kate or talk about Razzle.  Which is funny, because Kate says I’m the only one who didn’t cry when she told me. I argue that it is because I was out of the room (surprise, surprise) and she didn’t actually tell me. Don’t worry though, not getting any ideas!

Does this remind anyone else of Oma’s house? Scrabble and tea!

This picture is so cute with the candy canes and the desserts together!

This picture is SO ADORABLE! It is Alyson Hannigan and Alexis Denisof (from Buffy!) and their daughter Satyana on Halloween dressed up as, obviously, a Kangaroo family!

Last one- I love everything about this picture. The purse, the adorable dress, and of course the jean jacket. So cute all together.

Also making me happy (at this very moment actually), is Lady Antebellum! Particularly Need you Now, and Looking For a Good Time.

What is making everyone else happy in this weird, tired weather?

Found: One (1) even-more-incredibly-positive-and-supportive-than-I-ever-imagined husband. More time to do schoolwork and freelance. A more impressive, well-rounded resume than I realized. An established network of local connections.  Clarity for the future. A fresh start. Sanity. Saturdays.

Photo by dvs

My dress, made by the talented Couturesmith

Bart, our Dutch farmhand this summer got to come to the wedding. He opted to wear a bow tie. So cute. Actually he had us take a poll, and the bow tie won over the regular tie.

Krista was our hairdresser and is a family friend. She has done an amazing job on my hair for Katelyn, Erica, and my own wedding and is just the sweetest girl ever. If you are in the London, Ontario area and need a hairdresser Krista is your girl! Let me know and I will give you her info.

My bridesmaid Michelle and her adorable dimple. They requested hair flowers which I thought was a nice touch.

Pretty sure I had the cutest bridesmaids ever!

A nice one of my parents.

Leah and dad! So sweet.

My friend Dane drove us around in his amazing car. The car shots are some of my faves (and my bouquet? Amazing.)

The town my sisters and I grew up in was having its annual garage sale that day so we stopped in. I picked up a veil for $5 which you can kind of see in this shot:

And then we were off to the church! To be continued…

I was visiting a wonderful Aunt recently, and upon my telling her of my “old-ness,” she laughed right in my face (as she should have). She has a way of saying ‘you are so young still, you have the whole world in front of you’ without actually saying those cliched words, and so began an inspiring conversation. “What do you want to see in your future?”, she asked. Travel? I have lived on both sides of our country, traveled Europe for a summer with all the girls in our family and lived in Costa Rica for a summer. Volunteer? Those six weeks in Costa Rica were spent volunteering. Fall in love? I have a wonderful man in my life who I love so very much. My “old-ness” was making me resistant, wanting my settled life to start before I am really done living my young life.

I hesitated. “I guess I’ve always wanted to spend more time in France, and I’ve never been to New Zealand.” As she saw my mind starting to open up to these ideas again, she encouraged me to make a vision board.

I really had no idea what a vision board was, but after she told me, I thought that was exactly something I needed to do.

So, that is my goal for the next little while. I guess I should set a date, right? By the New Year, I will have a vision board completed and it will be a concrete way of starting my life goals and keeping myself accountable.

Immediately, I saw a beautiful and quaint home, kind of like this vision board. 

Source

But of course I want beauty in my life. I need to push myself more, and think in terms of the scary future of my career.

Source 

I need to focus on money, and where my money is going. How am I providing for my family?

What am I doing to make this world a better place?

I am hoping that this activity will encourage myself to stop feeling settled, and to feel as though my life is more of a path, to remind myself that with effort, drive and determination, I can create that path to be whatever I want it to be.