Sometimes you finish a project, and sometimes you run out of brick.

The title pretty much says it all, we ran out of brick yesterday for our walkway, a whole 30 bricks short.  When we decided to widen the walkway I forgot to adjust my oh so careful brick calculations. Thankfully the lady who sold us the brick still had about 300 left so we will pop by sometime this weekend and pick up the last batch.

I did manage to get 8 plants planted yesterday as well, so it is actually starting to take shape as a yard, and it feels really really nice!  Hopefully we can finish this weekend and have pictures ready for Monday!

These last few weeks have been a bit ramshackle with posting, its been a busy time for us, so posts haven't been regular.  But, I'm going to try and get back on track today with the usual "Pictures of the Week".  


Enjoy!

Relaxing Weekends

Well, I finished my last assignment for my first Syllabus class last week and it feels good.  To be perfectly honest the theory class I took was pretty similar to my undergraduate theory courses at Ryerson, with probably less expectations than Ryerson.  In the end it was pretty simple to get through and finish, but taking courses online at home while working full time with a kid is a whole different system.  Instead of classes taking up 90% of my time and focus, they really only got the measly 10% of my focus this time.  I took just one class this semester so I could see what it was like, and through it, I've determined that any of my design studios (which are run in city, so it isn't online) will be taken alone in a semester, while I could probably handle two or three other courses at a time.

Now, the next couple of weeks will be focused on finishing up my course assessment so I can get some of my credits transferred over.  Lot's of work still ahead of me I suppose.

I celebrated my completion of my first class by finishing up some outstanding DIY projects around the house, plus starting a couple of new ones.  Marc and I also spent some time this weekend taking Anique to the park where they have a "baby sized slide", which she loved!  Down the slide, up the stairs, down the slide.  That slide entertained her for hours, ok, minutes, but that's kind of like hours in baby time.

Plus, this weekend Anique kind of decided that she actually likes the swing, a little bit anyway.  It was a bit of a rainy Father's Day, but we enjoyed it outside anyway.

Happy Monday

I hope everyone had a great weekend, ours was a blast!  As usual it was a jam packed weekend full of sun, rugby, family and homework.  I coached a highschool girls rugby team in a tournament this weekend, and honestly I couldn't be more proud of the girls after what I saw this weekend.  We didn't win one game, but that didn't matter one bit, my girls went out there and played their hearts out and enjoyed every second!   In the end we won the sportsmanship award, and the girls deserved it!  Seriously, they inspire me to be a better coach, and really, a better person.  Never have I met such a fantastic group of kind-hearted and determined individuals and I am so lucky to be able to coach them!

We spent most of Sunday with my mom, my sister, her boyfriend, Anique and three dogs.  It was nice to spend time with family, we all  (almost, my brother had to work) went for a walk to the park on a beautiful sunny Sunday.  Three dogs, a kid, and a play structure make for a pretty rambunctious afternoon, so I wound it all down with some 'on my own' shopping.  To be honest its been ages and ages since I've been able to go shopping alone, and it was really nice, surprisingly nice.

I am really amazed that yesterday was already my second mother's day and I can't believe how much Anique has changed in that short amount of time.  She astounds me with her expressions and how she can communicate so much with so little. I could spend all day just watching her roll her eyes at me; or smiling and laughing with the biggest grins ever; or yelling 'PUPPY' and taking off to try and grab a handful of Brunswick.  There are days and nights that are tough, temper tantrums and thrown soothers abound, but the smiles and giggles nullify all of those tough times.  Some days I'm surprised at how much I've enjoyed being a mom, I never saw myself as super maternal (though maybe my nickname of "mom" in highschool should have been a clue) but I truly have enjoyed almost every second with Anique.  Being a mom is a part of me. I still play rugby, I am finishing school, I still gawk over architecture magazines and books, I paint and draw, and I'm a mom.  But, being a mom isn't all that I am, and I am totally okay with that.  I want to teach Anique balance in all parts of life, something that has taken me a lot of years to learn and something that I am still learning.

Keep smiling Anique, I'll always be there to smile back.  I love you.

Pictures of the Week

We had some beautiful weather this week, and so we took some time out of our days to wander around the city and go on a playdate.

I hope everyone has a great weekend and a fantastic Mother's Day if you celebrate it!

Sorry for the crickets

It has been a bit quiet on the blog lately, unfortunately last week was a bit rough as I ended up with an awful head cold and sinus infection.  I'm not sure what it is, but the second I get sick I just can't even think about be coherent.

So, most of my week was spent lying on my couch, moaning for more soup and tea while knitting and watching 'Being Human' on Netflix.

This last weekend was spent on the rugby pitch, both playing and coaching.  It was a good weekend, though with lots of rain and a tad bit cold.

As the weekend ended I was left feeling a bit sad, and couldn't quite figure out why until I really sat down and spent some time thinking about it all.  There has been a lot of negativity in my life lately, and this blog is really my place of sunshine and happiness, its hard to write happy things when negative stuff is bringing you down.

Last week I was dealing with a rough client, one that tends to deal with things in quite a brisk and negative manner and it just kind of left me dreading the idea of work.  Add in some really negative coaching stuff, a couple bullies, plus some bad weather, and you pretty much have a recipe for sad.  For the most part I try to let that kind of stuff slide off of me, turn the other cheek and all that, but sometimes I let my inner mean girl out and it isn't very nice.  I hate walking away from an experience thinking, "wow, I didn't deal well with that at all."

I know better, I know how negativity breeds more negativity, how it just sucks the life out of you. I've seen it. I've lived it.  I'm tired of it.  I need to remind myself sometimes that compassion and sensitivity breed the same, and I'm pretty sure its a lifelong lesson that I'm constantly going to be relearning.

I don't want to walk away from my life thinking about the negative,  I have some fantastic shit going on around me.  I'm 27 years old (almost, anyway), I have an amazing husband, wonderful little girl, my own company, and some pretty fantastic friends and family.  I have my health, I can run, play rugby, knit, paint.  I can do all the things I love, and that's pretty damn incredible.

I don't have to let negativity ruin my day, or my life.  Compassion and joy breed the same, I need to remind myself of that, to pass those gifts along to others.

I need to smile more, love more and give more.

Superheros really do have it right I think,  you can use your powers for good or evil, that's really up to you.  But if you use your powers for evil you can't expect to get good things in return.

Unless your Dr. Horrible, in which case bad things happening to you actually helps further your horribleness, but that's a really finite case I think.

I'm going to leave you with some of my favourite faces, because honestly, 99.9% of the time they make me happy.

Sunny Weekends!

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend this weekend!  We finally got to see some more sunshine and hot weather after some cold and snowy April days, and oh it was fantastic to wear shorts!  In Canada April means taxes, so much fun...  A good portion of our weekend was just dedicated to getting that all sorted out, and unfortunately we aren't quite there yet.  But I'm sure with one last push we will get it done just in time to send it in.  

We had a really relaxed Saturday morning, I made breakfast while Marc slept and Anique watched Dan Mangan on youtube.  Anique wanted the song "Robots Need Love Too" to be played over and over again.  Which was kind of strange because last summer Marc, Anique and I went to an outdoor concert last summer where we saw Dan Mangan.  Anique was so tiny, and was cuddled up in the wrap carrier.  It was a rainy weekend, and as Robots Need Love Too was sung Anique and I were cuddled up underneath a blanket that a stranger had given us to keep us both dry and warm.  It was sunny, yet rainy and the whole crowd was singing along.  Totally amazing and kind of romantic.  

My inlaws came in to town that same Saturday and we had a great visit with them, we don't get to see them often enough, so it was nice to have them in town!  I was only sad because my sister in law couldn't make it, but hopefully we will be travelling to see her next weekend too.

Thanks to my brother in law, Dan, we were finally able to get the hitch we needed for our bike trailer and so we took the whole family on a nice bike ride on Sunday.  Hopefully this wonderful weather sticks around so that we can go bike riding some more, I really missed it last summer. Anique was too small for a bike helmet last year, so it really wasn't safe for her to be in the trailer.  I was a bit worried to be honest that Anique would spend the whole ride freaking out about having to wear a bike helmet.  But, since both mom and dad were wearing one, she wanted to be cool too and wear hers.  She didn't even want to take it off at the park!

Robots need love too

Tickle Monster!!

Good Morning!

This weekend was busy, busy, as it often is around here.  Work, school, kiddo, cleaning up the house and making time for hubby and I can be a delicate balancing act, and usually something gets missed.  This weekend we managed better than most, so it was a super fantastic weekend in my books!

Since I have another theory assignment due today a good portion of my weekend was dedicated to homework, this week's assignment went better than the first one though.  I'm a bit rusty when it comes to homework since I've had almost two years off, and writing essay questions can be a bit challenging when you aren't in the mood.   My first assignment was more philosophical, and while I can appreciate philosophy, it's not really my thing.  I've always been more interested in the sociological aspects of architecture, which thankfully was the focus for this weeks assignment.  Plus with one assignment under my belt, writing assignment number two came with more ease.

But, even with looming homework and work deadlines, we still managed to find some family time out in the sun.  A walk to the park, lunch on a patio and tea on the veranda made Saturday pretty amazing!

Marc and I even got to have a date night on Saturday, which was so great!  We hit up a new restaurant called Flip, and the food was divine.  I had the chef's steak with crispy rice, which was pretty much the highlight of my entire day.  They even serve coffee in french presses!  It's definitely going to be a regular stop from now on.

Can you believe it snowed the day after this picture was taken?

Pictures of the Week

I kind of want to make this a regular post, it means I have to take pictures (which I forget to do a lot), and its a good way to get me to post regularly without being all wordy and stuff.

So here was our last week, in picture form!

Easter Fun!

Peek a Boo!

It has been a bit breezy out this week.

Time for some knitting

Time to Get Serious

I found this video a couple of weeks ago, listened to it over and over again, then promptly forgot about it for no good reason.  A good friend was fantastic enough to remind me of its existence.

I have been avid follower for The Guild for a long while now, as a World of Warcraft gamer I have always found the "geek" humour hilarious and totally on point.

But this new video by The Guild is on point in a totally different way.  Bullying is on the mainstage front and centre, and as someone who was bullied it hits close to home.  While the video is in a lot of ways cute and catchy, it points out serious realities for a lot of people out there.  It used to be that people turned a blind eye to bullying and often kids suffered alone and in silence, I know I did for a lot of years.  Now, thanks to the internet culture bullying is something that we are no longer turning a blind eye to, and that gives me a lot of hope.

I hope that my daughter never has to experience the same level of cruelty and ignorance that I did.  If she does experience it I hope she will be able to come to me and tell me.  I hope I can be a strong responsible parent, and a role model for my daughter.  I hope my daughter can be more trusting and open than I have been able to be.  I hope I can teach my daughter to be her own person, to be independent, to be strong, and to be giving and accepting.

I hope for so much for my daughter's future.

A Friday in Pictures

Marc and I both decided to take this Friday off so that the whole family could go for a drive and have a nice visit with my Grandma.

Dad`s shoes make a good seat.

Trying to make `the escape`

Springtime

I absolutely love the spring, there is nothing quite as refreshing as being able to walk outside in just a light sweater after a long winter hibernation.

Anique and I took a little walk down the street today, after I finally finished the sweater I have been knitting for her for far too long.  I still need to spend a bit of time this evening to block the sweater out so it fits a bit better, but otherwise I love it!

Isn't the yarn fantastic?!  I saw it months and months ago and just had to buy it.  The yarn is Archangel by Malabrigo, they always have the most wonderful colours and the wool is so soft!