32 New Things to Do Before I'm 32

Two of my new fav finds Lovelorn Unicorn & Yes and Yes have inspired me to venture from my regular routine by creating a list of things to do before my next birthday. I've chosen 32 things that I'm fairly certain I will be able to accomplish before February 20th 2010 and I promise to let you know how things go.

Here goes nothing:
1. replace the most hideous light fixture on earth that I complain about every time I look a picture taken in our kitchen
2. learn to embroider
3. Yoga (have tried but it deserves a second chance)
4. complete a triathlon
5. send a secret to Post Secret (thanks Yes and Yes for reminding me of this; it's something I've thought about doing a million and one times)
6. 30 km bike trek
7. keep a diary for a solid two weeks
8. go hiking
9. send one package a month to a faraway friend
10. try Geocaching
11. learn the names and uses of 10 local herbs/wildflowers
12. make curtains
13. paint the basement
14. sew something I can wear
15. paint the hallway
16. yum. make chocolate lava cakes from scratch.
17. play Dance Dance Revolution (I know it's hard to believe but I've never played it)
18. go see a band I've never seen in concert
19. recreate mom's amazing creamy cauliflower dish
20. swim 50 laps (no 20 one day and 30 the next does not count)
21. drive a scooter/vespa
22. make a baby (fingers crossed)
23. go snow tubing (assuming #22 doesn't happen anytime soon)
24. begin and complete Teaching of the Blind Part 1 AQ course
25. make a curried dish from scratch - no bottled curry involved
26. put up outside Christmas lights on the house (mike you'll have to help me out with this one!)
27. take a pole dancing class (it looks like hard work and a good laugh)
28. make a track with Mike
29. go roller skating (it's not entirely new but I haven't been in about 15 years)
30. teach a class all on my lonesome
31. volunteer
32. run a 5km race

Wish me luck!

A Mini Menu

Kim was wondering where my weekly menus disappeared to and since it's a new school year starting up next week I figured now is a good time to get back into my groove; plus I'm going grocery shopping today so I need a list. For those of you who aren't interested, avert your eyes.

Sunday: chicken stir fry
Monday: pork chops & wee roasties with corn on the cob
Tuesday: spaghetti & meat sauce
Mike will be on his own for dinner for two days while I visit friends up north so things go basic...
Wednesday: leftovers or not
Thursday: chicken fingers & fries
I'm back and have just two days until my tri!
Friday: salmon on the bar-b & veggies
Saturday: balsamic chicken and rice with a side of grilled veggies

Now I'm hungry and off to eat before I grocery shop because we all know what a bad idea it is to shop with a growling belly.

Fab Pick of Who Knows When

Sorry this is so late!


I've been meaning to post this but wanted to photograph the fabulous earrings Tanya gave me before updating my Fab Pick. Thanks T!

Seven Ply recycles well loved skateboards to create their beautiful designs. Belt buckles, necklaces and earrings are just a few of the funky finds you'll see in the etsy shop. The creations are fashionable and eye catching, I should know because Tanya gave me an über sweet pair of earrings from Seven Ply which she found in a kickass store named Plovers in Stratford, ON. Cute, don't you think?

I think I need a bracelet and a necklace and maybe a pair of studs now... the Christmas list just keeps growing.

One Groovy Mutt

10 Thumbs Up

I'm working on a list of 32 new things to do before I'm 32 but it's taking me longer than I thought it would.... in the meantime here's a list of 10 things I have done since turning 31 that made me very happy.

1. sat in the front seat of the best roller coaster EVER
2. ate pink cotton candy
3. rode the swings at Canada's Wonderland (finally quenched that thirst)
4. watched monkeys playing
5. jet skiing
6. finished school
7. visited a new place: Huatulco, Mexico8. started running/biking/swimming regularly with my awesome sis by marriage Joanne
9. spent a month with the amazing Tanya10. pulled the goalie - time to make a baby!

I think I might make this one a regular, so often we talk about what we want to do but I think I should take more time to think about the things I have already done (both little and big) that I am grateful for.

Adorable Giveaway

How flippen cute are these?! Enter Born2Impress' giveaway and you could win a pair of adorable shoes from Pedoodles for your wee one. Too cute!!

Special Delivery for your Ears

Sweet New Ride

The Super Sprint Triathlon I mentioned here is just 10 days away! I'm excited and nervous. The swim portion of the event is still the part that scares me most; Joanne and I went to a tri-clinic a few weeks ago which eased my nerves around transitioning from swim to bike to running, but the thought of swimming in open water with a pile of other people kicking and splashing around me still gives me butterflies.

Jo and I have been training hard and I'm now able to run 5km in about 30 minutes, I'll definitely be increasing my running distance once the event is over, thankfully we only have to run 2.5 km on the big day which ought to be a breeze (granted that's after swimming 350m and biking 10km. We've been completing some bricks (1okm bike ride followed by 3km run) and when we finished the other day we were both impressed with our time and the fact that we weren't stumbling around like drunk orangutans when going from the bike to the run (the term 'brick' is appropriate because you're legs feel like they're full of cement when you try to run after biking a good distance). We have both been training on our mountain bikes; I thought the reason I was working so hard to get moving was because of the fact that my bike is a heavy duty man's downhill bike but DUH it was because my front brake was sticking. In other words I spent 6 weeks training with my front brake on the entire time. Needless to say when I fixed the brake I felt like I was working way less and moving much faster.

Now I don't have to worry about sticking brakes and a heavy frame because I picked up my new baby this afternoon. This little beauty is now mine, check it out!
A Devinci Silverstone SL 1 roadbike. It's SWEET! I upgraded to Shimano Tiagra shifters which basically means my gear shifts are killer. They have a dual control lever which makes it really easy to change gears without having to move my hands from the curved handle bars. I changed the seat to a comfy women's seat and bought some super sweet platform pedals. A great big wet thank you smooch to my hubby for encouraging me to get the new bike - such a smart man.

I rode my new ride home from the bike shop and wow! The bike is so light and the tires are so skinny: I fly! It's such a different feel compared to a mountain bike. Heavenly! I definitely have the biking bug now. I can't wait to hop on my new ride tomorrow - I'm thinking a 20km ride is in order.

New Goodies

I stumbled across one new blog (new to me) which led me to another and of course that led me to another which... well you get where I'm going with this.

Here are a few of my new fab bloggy finds:

Lovelorn Unicorn
No sneak peaks - just pop over and see the loveliness for yourselves!

Yes and Yes

Ninainvorm

Desire to Inspire


Do you have any new favs?! Please do share.

Until Next Year

I miss my friend. Tanya spent a good chunk of six weeks with Mike and I, but alas her time ran out and she returned to Moscow to finish off the final year of her contract; I miss her. Tanya is the guest that everyone loves to have: she brings fresh peas to fill your belly and and beautiful flowers just because. Food, drink, gifts and fabulous company was supplied by Miss T during her stay. I thoroughly enjoyed every game moment we spent together. Scrabble, non-stop chatting, gelato and laughter is just a taste of what I have to look forward to when Tanya returns next year!

Thanks for a fabulous summer, Tanya!! I miss you like crazy!

Birthday Wishes

My brother by marriage, Paul, turned 40 on Friday and his fabulous wife, Joanne, threw him an awesome surprise party! The very cool Batman cake was created at Jirinas Bakery.

My nephews, Gabriel & Michael, had another surprise for their dad: a stellar Batman painting that they designed and painted all by themselves.

Happy Belated birthday Paul!

Another Happy Birthday goes out to my second dad aka father by marriage, Dave!! 59 years young today! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

August is a big birthday month on Mike's side of our fabulous family so expect more birthday posts soon!

FABric Store

Another find thanks to How About Orange is The Needle Shop. One day I will visit Chicago again and when I do I will definitely be making a stop at this sweet little store... in the meantime I'll drool over their Etsy shop and purchase a few yards of fabric thanks to this fabulous thing you may have heard of called 'online shopping'.

Papertoys for Big Kids

These uber cool papertoys by Marshall Alexander reminded me of my nephew, Gabriel. He is a fabulous artist and the Emperor of Origami; I can definitely see him coming up with crazy cool designs like these down the road.

All of these sweet designs and more are available for free downloads at Marshall Alexander's website. Check them out and be sure to leave a comment with a photo link if you decide to make a few!

Thanks to the always fabulous How About Orange for sharing this link!

Dreaming of a Nut

Well the time has come.... Mike and I have decided that the years of selfish self-indulgence should come to an end. We're super excited to have come to the decision that now is the time to start trying to make a baby. The goal post came out in the spring and we played it semi-safe for a few more months but now it's official: baby making trials have begun.

We are convinced that it won't take us long to get pregnant, and I hope that our positive thinking helps make our dream a reality. I refuse to read baby books or baby-making info sites because I know they'll just scare me: I don't need a million sites telling me what I should or shouldn't be doing, instead I'll rely on my doctor as well as my super duper fabulous friend Jessy who is 2 months into her pregnancy to share the important bits with me.

We want a baby so bad we can taste it but posting a million and one baby bits over at Gingham Skies when we're not even pregnant makes me feel as if I'm a) jumping the gun and b) jinxing us. So here I am creating a semi-secret blog that I'll release to the world, maybe, once I'm pregnant and past the three month point.

On this particular day, at this particular time this blog is a way for me to keep track of the billion sweet baby goodies I find online and a place for me to air my baby craving thoughts - Mike is thrilled at the idea of being a dad but I think he's likely getting a little tired of me talking about possible baby this and possible baby that.

I have lots of new babies in my world thanks to friends and family and there are more on the way so I can justify looking at baby paraphernalia even though I'm not preggo! At least I don't think I've got a nut in the oven...

I Broke All the Rules

There's nothing like receiving a little something in the mail. My cousin Wendy, aka one of my most favourite women on the face of the earth, has a lovely habit of sending hand written notes through the post, out of the blue. I love it!

The most recent note I received was a sweet little card explaining how the week before when she saw me she had forgotten to give me something that has been saved for me. Tucked inside the note was a folded piece of paper from the Highland Village Museum in Nova Scotia. The Rules of Conduct for Teachers made me laugh, I'm sure I have broken all of these rules in the last month... sigh. It's a good thing I'm looking for a teaching position in 2009 and not 1915.

Thanks for the laugh, Wendy. I'll be sure to share this little treasure with my teacher friends!

Cheesy Goodness

Get it? Cheesy... grater? Cheesy Goodness?

This cute craft was a thank you gift from one of my sweet little campers on the final day of the Literacy Camp. The grater has a plastic base attached to it where the grated goods fall, inside I found a pile of Hershey's Hugs & Kisses. YUM! I have no doubt I'll borrow this cute idea down the road when I have peanuts of my own.

I'm a Believer!

I definitely believe in Wally Lamb's ability to write amazing fiction. If you haven't read I Know This Much is True then you've been missing out. I think The Hour I First Believed is a close second and that says a lot! Amazing story, fabulously written! Awesome summer read.