long engagement bride....

#34~

2010-04-05T14:59:00.000-07:00

Guess what I got on the weekend!!!

2 new 'pots and pans' drawers,

and the 2 smaller drawers

on top!

The drawer and cupboard on the left

are original to the kitchen, but moved over a bit.

This is so exciting~once we decide on drawer and cupboard fronts~

he'll make mock-ups this week~I'll be able to put things away!

The end of the kitchen choas is in sight!

My new, beautiful Tagine is on the counter, seriously, you need to get one!

It is a total treat to cook with, and is beautiful to serve in.

I made beef bourginon on the weekend and am making a pork tagine tonight.

It is the best!

# 33~

2009-12-04T08:42:00.000-08:00

I FELL at work yesterday! There was some water on the floor~we have a bucket of ice at the desk for filling ice bags~I didn't know and next thing, my legs flew out from under me and I crashed down on my left side! It happened so fast! All I could think was OMG,OMG, get up, get up~if I get up then I'm allright, OMG, is my hand OK,(I had hand surgery in March~my left hand, and I landed pretty much on my thumb pad, right where my surgery was!) OMG, OMG!!! So my hand is pretty sore and a little swollen over the site. And my neck. And my hip and leg are stiff. I'll recover! I'm so grateful that my hip or wrist weren't broken! And as for the ice bucket, it's been done away with. We'll go to the kitchen and get ice directly from the machine from now on.

#32~My Birthday Girl...

2009-11-26T09:46:00.000-08:00

18 years ago I was basking in the glow (read:exhaustion) of new motherhood! My beautiful girl turns 18 today! Sometimes it's hard to believe that my 5lb 14oz bundle of awesomeness has grown into such a gorgeous young woman, since it seems like yesterday that she was born. As if I just blinked and she's all grown up...

She's working today but I've taken the day off. There's cupcakes to be baked! And much remembering for me, of the last eighteen years of growing together.

photo by the talented Carol-Ann Loeppky

#31~

2009-11-17T20:06:00.000-08:00

I came home to new puck lights under the kitchen cupboards! The counter, sink and taps have been in for a few weeks~the kitchen is looking awesome! It needs a couple of new shelves in two of the cupboards. Tile backsplash and new cupboard doors will come later. We need to make a decision on the paint color. It's been awhile, but it's all coming together now!

#30~

2009-11-11T21:23:00.000-08:00

So the mister went in to work today~they've been working 2 hours O/T every night for weeks, plus 4-8 hours on Saturdays, the project is a bit behind! The site is on the sketchy side of town, and at the end of the day,he found his driver's side window punched in, glass everywhere and his tools missing. He had the parking attendant call the security guard, but they hadn't seen anything. Then the attendant (the same one) tried to charge him 6 bucks for his parking! Um, no. So we spent the afternoon cleaning up glass bits and taping poly where the window used to be. Hopefully his employer will help out with the tool loss...

# 29~International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day

2009-10-15T18:51:00.000-07:00

I didn't know this day existed until a few days ago. Tonight, October 15th, candles are being lit at 7 PM in remembrance of babies who have died before, during, or after their birth. Truthfully, I lit a candle for my Levi a couple of hours ago, I'll just light more at 7.
[Awesome pencil sketch of Levi by artist Heather Spears]

#28~

2009-09-28T14:04:00.000-07:00

Had fun at an out of town wedding this weekend! My wonderful friend B's daughter was married Saturday. The wedding was lovely. The bride was radiantly beautiful. My friend sewed most of the bridesmaid dresses and the jacket for her outfit. Every detail seemed perfect! The food was fabulous~can't remember when I've had such a yummy dinner! Just a totally fun night visiting old friends.

The spent the next day with my childhood best friend. It was great catching up! She is just as much fun as ever. It was so nice to have a weekend away. It had been ages and I won't be leaving it so long again!

#27~

2009-09-16T10:51:00.000-07:00

The other day the mister and I went looking at wedding bands~amazing! I had seen one I thought he might like, and he did, but would prefer it all polished rather than the combo of brushed/polished gold. And after all this time of being told 'we have a band to match your ring' (we will be engaged 3 years tomorrow!) they finally were able to show me the band, and sure enough, it looks great! Now we are waiting to hear if his ring can be ordered in the way he wants it. Baby steps, baby steps!

#26~9/11

2009-09-11T07:53:00.000-07:00

I remember the night before~there was a HUGE spider in my bedroom. I was unable to catch it (to return it outdoors) and decided to sleep on the couch. My daughter woke me up in the morning~yelling to me that her Dad had called and told her a plane had flown into a building in New York. We turned the TV on to see the horrific image of the second plane flying into the 2nd tower. Never in my life will I forget the sound of that plane or those images. My spider emergency didn't seem like such a big freaking deal anymore.

Wishing everyone a day of peaceful remembrance today...

#25~

2009-08-28T21:00:00.000-07:00

I discovered the new, bigger version of my ring tonight when I took it in for a quick cleaning. Yowza! For a minute I considered asking what kind of a deal we could get if we wanted to upgrade! One great thing about my ring is that it doesn't have a high setting, and the bigger ring is certainly higher and would get in the way at work. Probably at play too! Really tho, I love my ring and we won't be trading up, at least not anytime soon, but it was tempting!

# 24~I'm back....

2009-08-25T13:31:00.000-07:00

Conversation 3 weeks ago:

long engagement groom: just got a haircut (he was vacationing, visiting relatives, I was at home)

me: how short?

l.e.g.: I shaved it all off...

me: cool! I just cut my hair short too!

l.e.g.: what? why'd you do that? I was joking!

me: I'm not!!! hahahaha!!

So a month ago I cut my hair short, and today went a bit shorter and had red and almost platinum streaks added! (I was very, very platinum blonde as a child)

I love my new look! What do you think?

# 23~

2009-06-29T23:45:00.000-07:00

It's occurred to me that I'm no longer planning a wedding. I'm not blogging about weddings. I'm planning to sell some of the things I aquired for my now not-happening wedding. So I think it's time to retire this blog for awhile, and travel over to:

http://poppiesandpawprints.blogspot.com/

Hope to see you there!

# 22~found it!!!

2009-06-18T08:43:00.000-07:00

The artist is Aqualung, the song 'Brighter Than Sunshine'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q536JTSe40M

will try to post the video later, right now, off to work! Hope everyone has a great day!

# 21~in search of a music video...

2009-06-14T09:44:00.000-07:00

So in the last month or so I saw a music video on one of the many blogs I frequent. Stupidly, I didn't save it anywhere, and can't remember who the artist was or the name of the song! My laptop has had an upgrade of some sort in the last week and somehow it's screwed up my history~so that's no help. So I'm hoping someone in blog-land can help me. The man played piano and sounded kinda like Ben Folds. He had dark framed glasses and brown hair. Not alot to go on I know!! Anyone???

# 20

2009-06-12T09:50:00.000-07:00

Life has been so much better this week! We've gotten most of the outside painting done~the joys of living in a strata~you get a 'make work project' for years even if you prefer the look of unpainted wood and concrete, if that's what the majority wants...We had a mid-week date night at one of the nearby pubs. And I won 2 tickets to see the Blind boys of Alabama and Ruthie Foster! The concert is Sunday night so yay for us~another date night!

I've been entering a bunch of contests lately and have won all the lovely things in these photos! I blogged about the hairpiece from Tigerlily Jewelery in an earlier post~isn't it gorgeous? The birdcage veil is by Jennifer Leigh Veils (www.jenniferleigh.com) via Wedding Chicks.(www.weddingchicks.com) It's covered in crystals and is just stunning! We are all about sparkle in this house! The 'Drops of Sunshine' necklace is made by Lillyella (lillyella.etsy.com, lillyella.blogspot.com) Mine has a clear crystal. Her designs are beautiful with a vintagey feel. I didn't stop with the necklace~I had to have the matching earrings and decided to get the 'Ginko' pearl necklace and earrings for my daughter! I chose the 'Pig' fabric to make something for my Mom~she has collected pigs for years. Maybe an apron top? Anyone have any ideas? It came from SewBettie.com via a contest on the Hip Hostess blog (www.hiphostess.blogspot.com) I've been incredibly lucky and I'm thinking I should buy a lottery ticket!

Hope you are all having a good week too!

#19...

2009-06-09T16:15:00.000-07:00

May was full of tension and turmoil so I'm hoping June will be a better month. Right now I'm not positive where my relationship is going, and I'm not wearing my ring, even tho I could, with the cast and swelling both gone. I'm just not sure that I 'feel' engaged these days, not sure I want to be either. Just trying to take things one day at a time...

My daughter's high school convocation is this weekend. My Mom and Sister are flying in to join us! I'm taking this week off to spruce the place up. The kitchen is not finished so there's much 'sprucing' to be done! Plus some outside painting, some planting. The family will be together twice in only a few weeks~gotta be a record!!

#18~I'm castless!!!

2009-05-06T11:14:00.000-07:00

My cast was removed yesterday! Now for some self-directed physio. The image of my right hand (lower photo) shows what I'm aiming for. The left hand shows what I'm able to do today.
Clearly, I have alot of work ahead of me!

Did everyone have a fun Cinco de Mayo? I made chicken enchiladas and key lime cupcakes with coconut swiss meringue buttercream~so, so yummy. Links to recipes will be on my baking blog:

http://positivelycupcakes.blogspot.com/

#17~I've been tagged!!

2009-05-04T10:55:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged by Gabrielle of 'summer picnic wedding'! So here are my answers to a long list of questions! Oh, I am supposed to tag 5 people, and my list is at the end!

what is your current obsession?
Hmm, I guess it would be finishing up the kitchen reno...

what are you wearing now?
milk and cookie pajama bottoms and a turquoise fleece sweatshirt~I'm all about comfort!

do you nap a lot?
sadly, no. I wish tho!

what is on your desk?
not actually a desk~it's a 'tv table'. laptop, coffee cup, a couple of pens. It's a small surface.

what would you like to learn to do?
good photography. intricate and beautiful hair fascinators. hat making.

what’s for dinner?
oh, the arsenic hour! I never decide til last minute! Bad, I know! Since my hand surgery, the Man has been doing most of the cooking. I prefer it that way!

what was the last thing you bought?
a very cool candle hanger thingy~round wooden hanger with glass inside for the candle. It can hang like a chandelier.

what is your favorite weather?
sunny but with a breeze so it's not too hot.

what is your idea of a relaxing day?
coffee on the deck, walk around the park, out for dinner, martinis on the deck..

what is your most challenging goal right now?
saving money, debt reduction

if you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where do you want it to be?
oceanfront view in Tofino or the Sunshine Coast

what would you like to have in your hands right now?
my income tax return!

what would you like to get rid of?
my cast!!

what languages can you speak?
English

what language(s) do you want to be able to speak?
cat. I'd like to speak cat.

what do you want to be when you grow up?
a make-up artist

what's one thing you're looking forward to?
finishing the kitchen reno and getting my cast off~but that's 2 things!

what websites you visit constantly during the day?
I wouldn't say constantly, but gmail, facebook, blogger

if you were to pick up a pen right now, what would be the
first thing you'd write?
a Mother's Day card for my Mom

if you you could be anywhere in the world at any point
in time, where would you be?
I'd be on the beach in Tofino

was the last movie you watched?
'On The Town' with Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra~yesterday. I love the old dance movies, esp Fred and Ginger

what is your favourite thing to make?
cupcakes, artichoke dip and blueberry-pomegranite martinis

Now, I need to tag 5 people!

The Alchemist Chef
Gypsy and the Tramp
Coco Cake Cupcakes
bride-on-purpose
Diana Evans-Back to the Drawing Board

#16~babies and birthdays...

2009-04-23T09:25:00.000-07:00

This is my son Levi~today is his 21st birthday~such a milestone! Levi was born early and lived for 34 1/2 hours. His birth and death changed my life in ways both profound and subtle. I am sure that if he had lived, my daughter would not have been born almost 4 years later. She is his gift to me and I am so grateful to him, not only for her, but for the other lessons he taught me. I am so grateful to be his Mother.

Today is beautiful and sunny, perfect for the annual balloon release. Then maybe a barbeque~just a quiet celebration. And some flowers for me...

(scan of wonderful pencil sketch by awesome artist Heather Spears)

#15~

2009-04-15T18:31:00.000-07:00

this lady is the most amazing singer!

Have a listen!!

#14~whimsy~

2009-04-15T15:11:00.001-07:00

This is another of our newly made kitchen cupboards. In typical cat fashion, Julie thinks it's all about her! Apparently, it was 'martini o'clock' when this pic was taken!

#13~how we spent the weekend!!

2009-04-14T14:15:00.000-07:00

Our ongoing kitchen reno! All the kitchen cupboards had to be moved up 1 1/2 inches, and over 1/2 inch, both for code and for esthetics~they weren't all centered to begin with and we discovered that in some places they weren't even screwed into the studs! We have a mix of old and new cupboards, the new ones being freshly made by longengagementgroom! And he installed the new microwave/fan combo! Next up~new counter top~time to get cracking choosing taps and sinks. This is going to be fabulous when it's all done!

#12~

2009-04-09T14:30:00.000-07:00

We spent the weekend out of province with my family celebrating my Mom's milestone birthday. It was so fun to be surrounded by family. Only my brother lives close by, so to see my sister and cousins was the best~I so often feel sad that we don't see them more often. We held a party for Mom in the dining room of her building~it was great~cheese and fruit and veggies and a humongous carrot cake! Total fun! We spent lots of time with Mom and my sibs, and longengagementgroom set up Mom's printer and digital camera. Earned him some karma!

I'm looking forward to getting together in June for my daughter's graduation! L/E groom started hanging newly made kitchen cupboards today, so hopefully our kitchen reno will be done or nearly done before all the family decends on us in a couple of months. I can hardly wait to have everyone here!

#11~snausage fingers!

2009-03-26T15:14:00.000-07:00

Surgery #1 done! My left hand and forearm are encased in a big honkin' cast...sadly, I cannot do housework!! Altho I did a couple of things yesterday and now have swollen sausage fingers to show for it! Lesson learned! It's tough to do things for yourself~like, get dressed~with only one hand. My love affair with fleece is proving handy!

Any news in the wedding department, you ask?? Why, no! But it's OK~between this surgery and another mid-April, and a big birthday bash for my Mom in a couple of weeks, there's enough on my plate! Am pondering some things tho, that I will get into on another day...

# 10~it's baaaack.....

2009-03-11T12:28:00.000-07:00

that dreadful chest/head cold thing that's going around. it's only a few weeks since the new years bout left! so i'm spending today just like yesterday~lounging in bed, catching up on my blog reading. the boy was so sweet yesterday and went to the drugstore to pick up my prescription, kleenex and a magazine. then he made dinner~he is a pretty good cook and let's face it~everything tastes better if someone else makes it. think it's time for some juice and sinutab and a nap~all this web-surfing has zapped my energy...

#9~a mouse in the house!

2009-03-02T10:48:00.000-08:00

My daughter and I had a wonderful girl's day Saturday! We spent the afternoon at the ballet~Carmen~it was wonderful! Then wandered around town abit, played at the NARS counter and ended up at a fancy-shmancy hotel restaurant for dinner. I was menu deciding when something caught the corner of my eye~it was a mouse!!! A very tiny grey mouse~kind of cute actually! I feel bad for it, since it's days are probably numbered, but the restaurant comped us 2 desserts for the wildlife sighting...

Meanwhile, the boy was cuttting melamine for the new kitchen cupboards. It will be the best day EVER when we are back to a fully functioning kitchen! Not to be eating at the coffee table! To have friends over for dinner! I'm starting to feel like there's light at the end of the renovation tunnel, and I can't wait!

#8

2009-02-26T22:29:00.000-08:00

It SNOWED yesterday! Huge, fluffy flakes! For some fortunate reason it didn't stay on the roads, as that pretty much sends us into major gridlock here. I don't mind the snow so much~living in a rainforest, it's a nice change from the usual greyness of our winter.

I love the thought of a winter wedding on a mountain. Horse drawn sleighs, an outdoor skating rink~oh, I think it would be the most fun time! Tater won't go for it tho~he envisions our mothers and broken hips~but I'm not ready to let go of this idea yet...

dream dress...

2009-02-11T22:36:00.000-08:00

Altho I have a dress, the lovely Mikaella 1202, (which I'm no longer sure will fit moi), I've fallen head over heels for this Jenny Packham dress. Isn't it exquisite!

(photos:brides.com)

2009-01-24T23:35:00.000-08:00

I'm so amazed that people are reading my blog, and touched that some are following it! I have blog friends! I haven't told anyone~except for my daughter~that I have a blog, but it did slip out tonight at a farewell party for one of my co-workers, who is moving on to a new challenge. It was a very fun party! We told 'stories' about our colleague, and she cried, we told her how wonderful she is and how she is such a mentor, and she cried some more. I love potluck get togethers with friends, co-workers or family. My favorite thing to take is Artichoke Dip. Tonight it was gone in less than 20 minutes. Here is the recipe, along with my fave martini!

Blueberry-Pomegranate Martini

1-Triple Sec~or other
2-vodka
6-True Blue Blueberry-Pomegranate juice

Shake in shaker with ice~makes 2 large martinis or lots of small ones..

Artichoke Dip

Spread layer of sour cream in bottom of 9x13 pan (low fat is OK)
Chop 14 oz can of artichokes and sprinkle over sour cream (chop finely or not, it's up to you)
Spoon some salsa over the artichokes (watch your amounts of sour cream and salsa, you don't want it to be runny)
Cover the whole mess with grated cheese (your choice, but a mix of cheddar and mozza, with some feta is awesome!)
Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, til bubbly and the edges are browned.
Serve with tortilla chips for dipping.

2009-01-19T06:56:00.000-08:00

I blew off the wedding fair Saturday, thinking it might be a better idea to actually have a date set first.....instead,my daughter and I went grad dress shopping! She ordered this beauty~lots of bling! We've discussed some alterations, a bit shorter, tulle showing at the hem, slight sweetheart neckline~voila~a rockin'50's dress!

2009-01-18T18:29:00.000-08:00

When we were first wedding planning I started saving $5 bills, joking that we were paying for the wedding $5 at a time. It adds up fast, and I've gotten quite a few things with my five dollar bills~centerpieces, DIY invite components, and yesterday, another 8 martini glasses for our favors. I've been picking these puppies up every payday. They are awesome and if anyone doesn't want them for martinis, they are perfect for pickles, olives, relish, dip~I could go on and on! We used them for ice cream dishes the other night!
(I'm getting a bunch for myself~no worries, we aren't giving our guests used glasses!!) I think they will be the perfect take-away with a few truffles in them!

2009-01-10T11:03:00.000-08:00

I'm hoping we can go to this! For more info on this show visit:

http://www.indieido.com

Guess what I won!!

2009-01-09T22:43:00.000-08:00

I won this gorgeous Alvina Haircomb from Tigerlily Jewelry in their December giveaway! Isn't it awesome? I asked for it in silver, and I'm sure it will go with my dress. This is so exciting~I can't remember the last time I won anything!!

(http://www.tigerlillyjewelry.com)

the good...

2008-12-28T17:10:00.000-08:00

I guess the good thing about a prolonged engagement is spreading out the payments for everything over those many months....altho I hate that we have no plans in place, it's good to know there's no huge looming wedding visa bill...