Saturday, November 21, 2009

Waiting... and thinking about booze

I could not sleep last night for the life of me. We have to leave our house at 2:30 am tomorrow morning and I have a feeling I won't be sleeping at all tonight! Whoever thought it was a good idea to make our airplane leave at 6:30 am is an idiot!

I just wanted to say hello - especially to the new followers! Hi! - and mention that I'll be away for a whole week in sunny (hopefully) Mexico. It's our 1-year anniversary and we're going down with a bunch of friends. It should be a riot! I remember last year I ate WAY too much guacamole. I'm planning on doing the same again :)

The big question for me is whether I'll be drinking or not. I've spent the last 15 months without drinking, through the two lost pregnancies. So I kind of feel happy that I've been living such a 'pure' life and being pretty self-disciplined! I don't really miss it, other than occasionally I miss the taste of Bailey's or even a good rum and coke or a beer. But... I wouldn't mind having the chance to let loose a little. And the group we're going with (all in their mid-twenties, we'll be the geezers nearly 10 years older) are loads of fun and definitely are not teetotalers. I haven't really decided yet.

On one hand it would be fun to kick back and forget some of the troubles and stresses of the past year. I don't technically have to stay sober - I'm no longer pregnant, and we can't try until February. It's an all-inclusive resort with all top-end liquors. And sometimes when other people are drinking they get a little... I don't know, wary? insecure? and think anyone not drinking is judging them. You know what I mean. (Although I know that 'other people' is not a good reason to drink!)

On the other hand it's been pretty easy for me not to drink - I'm a lightweight and it's never taken me much to get drunk (a few sips of wine can do it), but when I do get drunk it goes like - sober, half a drink = happy drunk, an hour later I am completely sober again and invariably cranky. So really it has never felt 'worth it' to get drunk in terms of the expense and the crankiness. As I get older I find I am more prone to hangovers, too - which I never had before I was thirty.

I don't know. I guess I'm leaning towards 'virgin' cocktails. I'll have to wait and see how it goes. It wouldn't be a big deal if nobody made a big deal about it... but once everyone knows I'm not drinking then things get weird. Only one of the couples knows about the miscarriages. And I don't really want to get into it with anyone.

Anyway... this is just me raving on while procrastinating (I haven't packed yet!). I'll be back in December with more giveaway lists. And who knows, I may pop in from Mexico!

Hasta luego!

Friday, November 20, 2009

One last list

Tomorrow I doubt I'll have a chance, what with all the little last minute things before we travel. Well, maybe, but don't count on it. So here's one last list before we head on vacation for a week. There are so many giveaways lately, it's great. I hate to think I'll miss any while I'm away! :) Though... lazing around Mexico is a pretty good consolation.

For baby:
For the ladies:
  • Win a Mommy Milk nursing tank at Me and My Boys. Ends December 3rd.
  • Win a Blush topless tee at Mommies Angels. Ends November 30th.
  • Win an awesome Marcelle "Classic Elegant" gift set at Sparkled Beauty. Open to Canadians only! :) Ends December 4th.
  • Another great Marcelle Ultra Glam giveaway at a watercolour sky. Open to Canadians only! :) Ends November 29th.
  • Win an Expressiva nursing top from their eco-friendly line at Simply Living on a Budget. Ends December 3rd.
  • Win a Shower Hug from Belmama and Cherub at My Wee View. Ends December 4th.
For anyone:
  • Win a $25 gift certificate to Affordable Scarves at Fantabulously Frugal. Ends November 29th.
  • Win Clorox Green Works laundry detergent at Lucky Canucks. Open to Canadians only! :) Ends December 2nd.
  • Win a Pottery Barn Christmas ornament at A Blonde Ambition. Ends December 3rd.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Ceci n'est pas un outfit!

I had a strange shopping trip today. Let's first say that I don't really shop for clothes for myself that much. Last month's trip to the States was a rarity (as in, the last time I did that was in the eighties!). I bought a few things there, but didn't get a lot of the things on my list. Some things are just hard to find! Like a nice brown belt, for instance. Or a pair of shoes I don't hate (and that are practical for my life).

Today I hit the mall to get a swim suit for our upcoming trip. I have a black bikini which is still in decent shape, but you know you need two on vacation - who wants to put on the suit that's still wet from the last swim?

So I picked up a sweet deal at the La Vie En Rose outlet. They have about a zillion bikinis there, many of them in the last few sizes (mostly L or XL) and many that are only bottoms (why so many bottoms that don't have tops, I wonder?). But I scored. A bikini that fits and is cute for only $15!

Then... I went to Bikini Village. I know, it's seriously overpriced, and I already had accomplished my mission... but... you know. They have those darned 'tanning mirrors' where you already look like you've been beaching it for a week.

And I found another one I loved.

For $45.

Per piece.

And... I bought it. I figure I'm averaging down. And, maybe this is the last year for a while that I'll be able to wear a bikini with some measure of confidence, so what the heck.

I also found some good snow shovelling boots at Sterling... North Face ones that are down-filled and so feel like I'm wearing fluffy pillows on my feet.

So my random purchases... bikinis and snow boots... I wonder what my husband will say!

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

in the studio

I have a busy day - preparing paintings for shipping, a pre-vacation & Christmas party haircut, another blood test to check on those HCG levels... little things but they always take a lot of time.

I've been working on a few new 'smalls' (little oil paintings) for the galleries' Christmas shows. I'm so late in getting these done and to the galleries... ugh. Anyway, I thought I would share a little studio shot of some of the new paintings and my inspiration board, just for fun.

So I have a few giveaways to share today but I'm not sure how far I'll get. If you get bored you can always look at yesterday's list - it was a long one!

OH, and I wanted to say thanks to those of you who are taking a moment to check out the advertisers on my blog - the google ads to the left there, and the sponsors/affiliates to the right. Just a click on one of those google ads throws a few cents my way (plus they are often Canadian companies or baby gear companies, which is fun). It's never going to make me rich (as in, if I blogged for a thousand years I might make a couple bucks) but it does feel like a 'thank you' from my readers and I appreciate it.

Okay, on to giveaways...

For baby:
For the ladies:
more to come, I think :)

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Soaking up the sun

I hope it's a great day where you are. Here it's eight degrees and sunny - lovely! Not exactly warm, but I console myself with the knowledge that by this time next week I'll be on the beach in Mexico!! We totally need a vacation after this difficult year, and it's also our first anniversary (the marriage hasn't been the difficult part!). I can't wait. And I am VERY excited to come home and start decorating the house for Christmas. I wrapped my first Christmas present yesterday :)

I think my website for my artwork is all fixed now. I'd love to know if you see any problems with it. One of these days I will have to redo the whole site as I used a mix of programs to design it and they all leave a little garbage in the code. But hopefully that day is not today!

Now I've got a few giveaways to share with you! Loving the Christmas rush on giveaways.

For baby:
For the ladies:
For anyone:
  • Win a $40 gift certificate to Every Little Bit at Canadian Natural Mama. They have loads of great eco-friendly gift ideas. Ends December 9th.
  • Win a holiday art tote by Stubby Pencil Studio at Katydid and Kid. This would be great for kids but also kind of sweet for grown-ups who like artsy stuff or interesting office supplies. Ends November 28th.
  • Win an Aromatherapy Gift Set by Natural Sundae at {Natural} Mommie. You know men are secretly into nice scents, too. Ends November 21st.
  • Win a L Letterpress kit at iDiY! Ends tomorrow, so hurry.
  • Win a set of 10 pretty letterpress note cards by Sweet Harvey at Boutique Stitches. Ends November 30th.
  • Win a Golden Moon tea set at Sweeps4Bloggers. Ends November 21st.
  • Win the watch of your choice from Inexpensive Watches at The Mom Buzz. Ends November 27th.
For grown-ups:
more to come...

Monday, November 16, 2009

Giveaways and a little help

So, I've been having some trouble with my other website lately - the site for my artwork. Sometimes the images aren't showing, and sometimes there's weird random text instead of my pages. The company that is hosting my site had a server crash, and since then my website's been booched. They've moved it to another server, I've re-uploaded the entire site, and it's looking okay on my end - but my husband tried it at work and said it's still messed up when he looks at it. Can I ask you a big favour - could you take a quick peek at my site and let me know if it looks right to you, or if you're seeing strange text and places where it looks like there should be images, but there aren't? And, what browser you're using? I'd really appreciate the feedback. I'm trying to get this sorted out before we go on vacation... it looks so unprofessional to have my site down!

Okay, on to the fun stuff: giveaways! Yay.

For baby:
For the ladies:
For anyone:
  • Win the book Hollywood Moon by Joseph Wambaugh at Sweeps4Bloggers. Ends November 24th.
  • Win a 12 oz Bayberry 100% Soy candle from Maddison Avenue at Mommies Angels. Ends November 30th.
  • Win a Glade prize pack (wine, candles, reed diffuser, Chapters gift card) at Simply Stacie. Open to Canadians only! Ends November 19th.
For grown-ups:
  • Win a $25 gift certificate to Eden Fantasys at My Life with Four Kids. Christmas for hubby? ;) Ends November 21st.
  • Another chance to win a $25 gift certificate to Eden Fantasys at Tara's View of the World. This one ends November 29th.
  • Win a Kama Sutra gift set from Pink Cherry at Canadian Free Stuff. Open to Canadians only! Ends December 10th.