I love

I love living in a city where I can randomly bring my niece and nephew home for supper. 

Photos Only.

You've been warned about the lack of funny bits in this post. 

Merry Christmas!

I didn't take many pictures this year.  I have a few on my phone that I'll post on here for posterity.  

Ken, Marion, and Bruce arrived Christmas Eve - Bruce stayed with us this year.  We had three days of eating and Christmas-ing.  I even managed (with Ken's help) to drag everyone to Value Village on Boxing Day!  

My parents came for a mini Christmas last night on their way down south.  So there was more eating and Christmas-ing.  They left early this morning, which means there are only three of us here left to eat all the leftovers! 

Keely and her crew are stopping through this afternoon so maybe I can get their help.  Except we don't need help with my Dad's butter tarts.  Nope.  

My mom let me use her camera yesterday so Maddie and I went outside to get a couple of pictures.  It was crazy cold so neither of us lasted long. 

This is Isabelle - Girl of the Year from American Girl.  If you don't know what I'm talking about then this is a time for you to be grateful.  

We also took some inside before we realized how freaking cold it was outside. 

(yes, those are matching pjs)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Question:

Is it a sign you are a perfectionist if you (feel you) are the only person who knows how to load a dishwasher?  

Or is it (as I suspect) merely a sign of your higher intelligence?

Hmmmm.  

High Rollers

We We stayed on the 38th floor so we had a terrific view of the mountains and the north  end. 

I thought staying at that end would be a pain but it wasn't. We took the monorail one time and walked and cabbed. 

(I swear Jason was on this trip!!) 

Las Vegas

We are having a great time. Tonight I think we will go to Freemont St. We survived our three (3) hour time share "presentation" (read boring and painful sales pitch)

I'm too tired to write anything witty. 

The hallway to our room - #theshining? 

Big Money!!

A secret selfie.  

#15Years

In September Jason and I had been married 15 years. We went to San Francisco for our 10th so this seemed like a good excuse for a trip. 

Four main elements went into choosing our destination: 

1. I'm compulsively thrifty. 

2. I'm always convinced we are broke. 

3. I refuse to go on a holiday that I can't pay for ahead of time. 

4. We already went to SF. 

So.  We are off to Las Vegas for three nights.  We are going the way the two of us do: no plans. Now don't be shocked. I can be spontaneous. 

As long as it is planned. 

Jason says selfies are #lame. So I'm just gonna sneak em in. Don't tell. 

The Reveal

KI guess I forgot to post the final result of my headboard make over. 

I found this king size metal headboard for $20 on kjijiji. The previous owners attempted to paint but didn't prep it enough. 

Should be a quick project. Or so I thought....

Hours of sanding, pressure washing, and finally chemicals (and of course glamour, let's not forget the glamour). 

Finally. Ready to paint. 

And paint. 

This is such a great little add on. Go buy one. You won't regret it. 

It took so many coats. I sanded and primed and painted. I have never had such a struggle. Jason said I just needed to be more patient. Patient? If I was patient I sure as hell wouldn't be SPRAY PAINTING! 

Sammy did keep me company in the back yard the whole time. 

And here is the big reveal! 

 

Dog Shaming

PHi. 

I'm Sammy. I rolled in composted leaves. Then I dug a hole and rolled some more. I stink like dead fish. 

*intended publish date November 6.  I wrote the bedframe post and noticed there was an upload error/fail on this post and the one before. No wonder Someone has been pestering me- it looked like I hadn't really posted!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

*intended publish date October 31

Pros and Cons of Jenn

More like:

Cans and Can'ts.  But that's sort of awkward.

Things Jenn Can't Do

1. Make Chili

2. Go out more than twice in one week

3. text and parent.  it's really one or the other no matter how hard I try. 

4. make a stir fry that isn't gross

5. play any type of team sport.  i just can't.  Makes me want to cry.  

6. do math under pressure (but I am practicing so that I can do it someday)

7. figure out how to make a playlist on my iphone

8. wear an outfit that doesn't involve some form of cardigan

Let's end this on a positive note, shall we?  

Things Jenn can TOTALLY NAIL.

1. Felting a sweater and literally making something out of nothing

2. hanging pictures on the wall.  And if you think I can't, well - you're likely just too tall

3. spray painting pretty much anything (evidence - I painted my friend's 30 year old wedding tiara)

4. getting my hair done by Maddie

5. chocolate chip cookies

6. pie from scratch

7. making a bed with hospital corners

8. squeegee-ing a windshield and not leaving those stupid lines

9. writing lists

10. crying at any (ANY) movie.  You name it, I'll find the sad part.

11. finding beauty in other people's junk

12. trying to please so many people that i actually get sick (not such a positive, but damn I'm good at it)

13. judging people with bad grammar.  your welcome. 

14. staying in touch (however infrequent) with people who really matter to me.  If you are truly my friend you will be my friend forever.  There's no escaping it. 

15. getting really mad, really fast.  (again, not so positive, but so true)

16. there are some days when I think that maybe I am actually really good at my job.  So, in honour of those days, I will add that to the list.  

17. loving my best friend - Jason

18. getting the giggles with Maddie

19. thinking of 18 things that I can do really well

20. making excel sheets for EVERY occasion

ok.  time to go wash Maddie's hair. 

later kids. 

It's time

Someone pointed out that I need to post on here. 

Just haven't felt like giving it an effort lately. Poor excuse I know.  

So to get in the mood I'm going to do an old favorite: Random List

1. My two dogs are sleeping and i love them and worry about what we will do when they are gone. 

2. I just painted my nails. I tried to pick a dark colour bc I thunk it will make me look like a movie star. But now I'm not so sure. 

3. I freaking love the new podcast "Serial". So addicting and awesome. Just finished episode 10. I think I want to be Sarah Koenig when I grow up. 

4. Jason and I leave for Vegas in five sleeps. We have hardly talked about it and have no plans. We have talked about a million other more urgent matters. Obviously a sign we need a holiday. 

5. I finally went for a massage and Chiro. Haven't done that since we left Calgary.

6. I need one more private client. Referrals? 

7. Maddie is so amazing. But you knew that already. 

8. I love things that tell a story. I hate unnecessary multiples. I will never buy a second one if I already have one that "works just fine" 

9. I hate when people are mean and judgey. But damn I'm the Mayor of Judgey Town. 

10. I love quiet time by myself. It's the fastest way for me to recharge.