New Hobby : Crochet

Yes, ladies and gays, I have started to crochet. I've been having a hard time finding a hobby that would work for me.

I can't pick anything that requires the TV because well I need a hobby the most is when Js is playing video games. I have tried playing video games but can't play them for very long... I tend to get bored fairly quickly. I do enjoy the Sims and Little Big Planet but it comes in waves.

I really enjoy baking and cooking too but when our freezer is full of prepared goodness and I run out of people to force feed my cupcakes to, I'm back to square one. It's not something I can always do when I'm bored or that's quick to pick up and put down. Also, the dishes kinda make it more work than hobby.

I also really enjoy taking pictures but I'm nowhere near having enough experience, knowledge or equipment to really get immersed in photography. I'm getting there though with the help of my patient, patient friends who allow me to take millions of photos of their kids. My pets now run away at the sight of the camera.

Crochet is perfect! It doesn't cost much, doesn't take much space or preparation and it's something that I can actually use. Sure, eventually I'll be all stocked up on scarves and dishcloths but eventually I'll learn to make something new. I believe I promised (read : threatened with) Nick a tea-pot cozy. 

Another plus : it's immensely entertaining for the cat.

New camera fun!

A bit ago I promised to post some pictures taken with my new Canon Rebel camera Js bought me for Christmas.

We took Nova to the Wakamow Valley park here in Moose Jaw and everyone had tons of fun. Her with a frozen tennis ball, Js chasing her around and me with my new toy.

Hi.

My dog. She's skilled.

It was a gorgeous day.

Hurray for Christmas presies!

 

Here is a quick photo of the lovely, lovely Christmas presents that my lovely, lovely husband got for me! :) Did I mention I love him? Well, I do. 

I'm about half way through Kat Von D's book and I'm enjoying it quite a bit. It's pretty inspiring and it's nice to see the other side of the LA Ink as viewed by Kat. There are also quite a few references of artists that I'm look forward to research and get to know and discover. Definitely inspiring... though I've found two typos so far.

I haven't started reading the LOST encyclopedia but I'm looking forward to that. It's HUGE and I'm sure filled with tons of goodies.

We went out to the park the other day (before I was glued to bed with super-bug illness) and I got to test drive my new Canon Rebel camera and enjoy watching Js and Nova play fetch on the frozen river. Oh my! I'll be sure to post some shots soon. Stay tuned...

A challenge to get out of this rut.

I've been having a hard time putting words to computer screen lately which is really odd for me. To help me get out of this rut and hopefully get back into the blogging swing of things, I've decided to complete a small challenge.

Pretty much a million Facebook friends of mine have been posting about this (mind you, most my Facebook friends are geeks so this may be totally lame) challenge and I woke up this morning with the silly idea to do it and post it on my blog. Hopefully, it'll also keep me motivated to post during the Holiday season.

So here's what it's all about :

Day 01 - A picture of yourself with fifteen facts.
Day 02 - A picture of you and the person you have been closest with the longest.
Day 03 - A picture of the cast from your favorite show.
Day 04 - A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day.
Day 05 - A picture of your night.
Day 06 - A picture of your morning
Day 07 - A picture of you over ten years ago.
Day 08 - A picture that makes you laugh.
Day 09 - A picture of you in your room.
Day 10 - A picture of the person you do the most messed up things with.
Day 11 - A picture of something you hate.
Day 12 - A picture of something you love.
Day 13 - A picture of your favorite band or artist.
Day 14 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without.
Day 15 - A picture of something you want to do before you die.
Day 16 - A picture of someone who inspires you.
Day 17 - A picture you're tagged in on facebook, but not actually in
Day 18 - A picture of you had no idea was being taken.
Day 19 - A picture of you drunk.
Day 20 - A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel.
Day 21 - A picture of something you wish you could forget.
Day 22 - A picture of something you wish you were better at.
Day 23 - A picture of your favorite book.
Day 24 - A picture of something you wish you could change.
Day 25 - A picture of your day.
Day 26 - A picture of the last vacation you were on.
Day 27 - A picture of yourself and a family member.
Day 28 - A picture of you on your birthday.
Day 29 - A picture at a time where everything was changing.

Firstly, I don't really know why it's called the 30 day challenge but it only has 29 days to it. If you have a revised list, please feel free to let me know.

Secondly, I'm not sure I'll post an actual picture for all of them but I'll try - this is after all, a blogging exercise for me so I'm going to focus on writing a little sumthin' sumthin'.

There goes nothing...

Freezing Fog

The view from our backyard last week.

More pretty wedding-ness!

Last week, I posted some photos of our wedding from our friend Nick's Facebook album. It's been insane the amount of pictures that flowed through the interwebs since the wedding. I figured I'd share a bit more with everyone on here to keep you on the edge of your seat until we get our professional shots and can share them with the world. 

Worry not, if you hear a faint *squee* in the distance sometime next week, it's because we got the pictures. :)

As promised :

I highly enjoy this one simply for the look on Js' face. Relief? Whistling?

With my Mom and my Papa.

I really really like this picture Maggie's hubster got.

The last people standing - consists of pretty much my pretty peeps and my parents. :)

G'bye!

Most of those are from the Maggie Cam except the first one, I believe, which is from Js' cousin.

Wedded!

Done.

I'm not really sure where to start and I'm still trying to take it all in and get used to being called something else that I have been for the last 26 years. It's still surreal but I wanted to share an update with y'all.

Everything went flawlessly. Everything was absolutely perfect. We weren't late - in fact, we were ahead of schedule for most of it. The weather was perfect, our vendors were fabulous, the food was amazing and the people were enjoying themselves.

There are already some pictures posted on FB but I'm anxious to see what our photographer captured of our day. I saw some teaser photos already (more on this later) and it all looked so magical! :)

Here are a few of my faves from our friend Nick's photos :

My Dad and I, walking down the isle.

Signing my life away.

Joel, myself and Nick - all smiles! :)

That's enough for now... ;)

Fantastic Sunset

The Saskatchewan skies have to be one of my top favorite things I discovered since moving here. You can try to describe it to people but you can't quite "get it" until you've seen it in all it's glory. Sure, like everything else, some days it's boring but we need those days or we'd get neck cramps.

Here are a couple of my favorites of the Saskatchewan skies.

 

The above were taken on July 1st, 2010 ... I love this country! I wish I'd seen the sunset early enough to be able to drive out and get a better shot without the row houses, hockey rink and shed but it was all over way too soon. The gorgeousness was, of course, followed by a monstrous storm.

 

Alright, not gonna lie - this one's from Manitoba taken this last Thanksgiving Weekend out in the quarry by our friend's house. The day was gorgeous - cold but friends and puppy love filled the air. Hi Js!

On the way to Moose Jaw from Saskatoon taken in Buffalo Pound Park on June 18th 2010.

I just love the contrast between the sky and the field in this photo taken somewhere between Regina and Moose Jaw by Rouleau (Dog River) on June 20th 2010.

I really wish I had my camera with me all the time to take random pictures of the sky - it's so unpredictable, I think that's a huge part of what makes it so fascinating. 

Wedding Planning Status Update : Photog booked! Hurray!

Title is self explanatory but doesn't even begin to show my excitement. :) We're really happy with our choice. He's one of those photographers we emailed, thinking he'd most definitely be booked already but figured it was worth a shot. Was it ever!

Of course we haven't met him in person but the days spent creeping on discussion forums were well worth the research. Only good things about him and the more samples of his work we see, the happier we are with our final choice.

So here it is, we have booked, confirmed the date, signed on a dotted line, sent a deposit for Garrett Elliott photography to be a part of our special and immortalize our memories and make special moments last forever!

Here are another couple photographers we considered for our big day :

Andrew Geddes - He photographed our friends Maggie and Marc's wedding in May 2008 and it was wonderful!

Genevieve Albert

Eva Hadhazy

Photographs.

In my efforts to fix the living room so it's somewhat presentable for when the movers come and rip it apart... I stumbled across my old box of photos and a couple of old albums. Oh my!

There were a couple of photos of my friend Rosa. How I miss her! We have a great friendship and trust that's lasted all these years. We don't get to talk very often but every time we do, it's like just yesterday we were hanging out... I wish we could be closer, I wish we would make more time to call eachother. It's one of those friendships where you don't tell yourself "I have to call her cause she'll think I don't care!" because you know she'll care regardless of the time or the distance...

I found so many old photos of Maggie and I and the gang... High School, College and everything in between. It's nuts! Our first, second and third apartment, our fish, old jobs, Canada Day at Maggie's place... It almost hurt my eyes a bit at times. This was back in the wait-I-have-to-put-film-in-my-camera days! Oh the memories! We were so young, we've changed so much!

I found so many photos of Js, it's kinda hilarious! I found some photos of his old gray hoody... I remember it perfectly from high school. It looked so comfy! I totally forgot that he'd spent Canada Day with us the year we had mini fire works thingys. I also found some photos of him when he played in the band while I was in the play. My uncle just took a photo of the entire band and some close up of the musicians... and there he is, a not-even-facial-hair-young'un! I found some pics of our graduation and he was sitting one row in front of me, a couple of people down. There are a few were you can clearly see his face between the graduation hats... clear as day! There he is! *giggles with giddyness*

Who would have thought that, a couple of years from then, I'd be moving half way across the country to live with him? I would never have guessed that the man who would make me this happy was just right there... a couple of feet away. Did he know that he was perfect for me but got scared away by my giant-hockey-playing-boyfriend!?

A while ago I heard about this theory that you don't really see something until you know it exists, even if it was always there...