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.

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.

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?

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.

The small things

Lately I've been trying to relax a bit about life,  things aren't always easy and sometimes a whole lot of small things turn into a bunch of big things.

That was one of the best things about being on maternity leave, the ability to just sit back and relax.  I had time to really just live in the moment, and enjoy it all.  Time to cuddle with Anique on the sofa for nap, or bathtime fun, even just watching her for hours hoping to see some new and fabulous milestone.  

Being back at work (even from home) makes that kind of relaxation really hard.  You're tired, there are deadlines, clients aren't happy with their product, kiddo isn't sleeping, daycare wasn't as easy as you thought, so on and so on.  

The moment gets lost and muddled.

I realized that a couple of weeks ago.  The seas were getting rougher, the storm was building, and we all felt lost in the midst of it.  

Today I sat in the middle of my very messy kitchen and watched Anique explore, I just sat and enjoyed again.   I didn't just let the moment pass, I watched it pass and I enjoyed it pass.

I didn't worry about the dishes, or the toys, or the laundry, or the million diy projects cluttered around the house. Those can wait.

I'm going to make the effort to just enjoy more often, life is better that way.

This is one of the moments I really miss now.

Farmer's Market

Anique and I went for our first Farmer's Market shopping trip of the season today.  Its still slim pickings, but I'm sure it will pick up soon.  Got some fantastic local, organic basil and tomatoes.  Plus some really good local wild boar back bacon and sausage.

Mmmmm..... I love me some local goods.

Then we went and had a little mommy/daughter brunch at the Mercury Grill.  I wish I hadn't forgotten my camera.

I did get pictures of some sprouts we bought, Anique made sure to try the arugula out right away.  I don't think she appreciated the mouthful of dirt she got.

Spring is on the way!

This week was the first week of opening our house to the warmish spring air!  I always love that first day, it seems to make the house so light.

Even with the mild winter that we have had this year, I always look forward to seeing the first blades of grass.  I think I am even more excited this year since Anique is now old enough to run around in the park!!

PS. Did you see my new living room chair in the first picture?  Once our dressers are finished and moved out of the living room, we will move our "new" chair in!

The beginning

We started off small, just the two of us. Then came the house.  After that, the puppy.  Once the puppy became a dog, well then, then we had a baby.

It's been just over a year since that last chapter began, and its been a wonderful, amazing, and totally tiring joyride.  I spent the last year just living life and enjoying as much of it as I could.  Getting to know my husband better, not to mention getting to know the new little person that had entered our lives.  Everyday was a gift, though I didn't always see it like that through sleep blurred eyes.  That year went fast, faster than everyone said it would, and now I don't just have a husband, a dog and a baby.  I have a family.