Category Archives: random

Five Friday Favorites

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Happy Friday! Today is a big day- Whitney is coming over to take newborn photos of Wes. And Tyler and I are going out to dinner for our anniversary! (Big thanks to grandma and grandpa for babysitting for an hour or two!)

I thought I’d share my five top favorite things from the past week (aside from Wes, because he would probably win every week)

1. Hospital issued underwear. I mean, they are ridiculously comfy. I was able to snag a bunch of extra pairs from the nurses before leaving the hospital and am really sad they only last through a few washes before they start to fall apart.

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2. Buttered Popcorn Rice Cakes- I don’t ever buy these but my dad picked up a few packages from the store and now I am obsessed. My mom got some of the caramel ones but I am trying to steer clear of those because I know once I start on them I won’t be able to stop. Nom nom nom

rice cakes

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3. Quest Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough bars- Tyler is THE BEST and picked me up a box of these so I could have some in my hospital bag (we were told the hospital food could either be bad or limited and to pack lots of snacks. Turns out, that wasn’t the case and I was actually offered a few meals with some really great options) I only ate one in the hospital, but I’ve found these bars to be PERFECT to snack on at around 1am in between feedings. Only problem? The wrapper is loud as hell so it’s pretty unpleasant for Wes when I am trying to unwrap one of those suckers and he’s on the boob.

I’m pretty pumped that we just got a $10 off coupon for the local supplement store so I can pick up another box!

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4. Juddlies Breathe-Eze Sleeper- After the first few nights of having Wes home, we realized he is not a baby that likes to be swaddled. We’ve found (for right now) the best solution is to have him in a sleeper with a light swaddle from the waist down. We also found out that we had only one newborn sized sleeper, so we had made a few trips to pick up some extras. This Juddlies sleeper is SO soft and it’s breathable, so we don’t have to worry about him sweating or being too cold throughout the night.

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5. Starbucks Unsweetened Black Tea Lemonade- this is one of my summertime favorites and I’ve managed to pop into Starbucks a couple times this week because the weather was so nice it practically begged me to order it. Mmm mm so delicious.

starbucks

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So yeah. most of my favorites are food related. A close runner-up are some of the dinners we’ve had this week: they’ve all been yummy, summery dishes. I just love food. And having my parents in the house to prepare most of it has just been wonderful. Plus, there’s an endless supply of fruit on the counter, so I’m not complaining.

What’s something on your favorites list from this week?

Weekend Recap

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Hey there! On to another week! To recap the last few days

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Thursday: My parent’s flight was delayed a ton of times, so they ended up not making it to Calgary on Thursday. Womp.

Friday: I picked up my parents from the airport around noon, dropped them off at home, then headed to my doctor appt. Per usual, everything checked out perfect- now I’m just beyond ready to get this baby out!!! O.U.T. We headed to Brewsters for an early dinner, then called it an early night since my parents got no sleep at O’hare the night before.

Saturday: Took the puppies to get their annual exams. Cough cough $450 dollars later cough cough. Ugh, not a good time to be on short term disability and be taking home a smaller pay check. We just hung out at the house the rest of the day and watched Taken 3 and The Wedding Ringer before bed.

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Sunday: Mom and I got pedicures! I only get them like once a year, so it felt great to have a mini pamper-session and make sure my toes look somewhat presentable before they’ll be flailing in the air during childbirth. We all watched the Masters for the rest of the afternoon and Tyler made beer can chicken for dinner.

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Kind of a low-key weekend so my parents could catch up on some rest (not to mention, they’re both sick)

PS: I am not ashamed to admit that in 11 days I watched Seasons 1-5 of Parenthood. Which just so happens to be 90 episodes. What to watch next…

Dogs

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I love my dogs so much and I cried this morning because I realized that pretty soon there’s gonna be a baby in the mix and I won’t have as much time to give these guys puppy snuggles.

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In other news,

  • I’m now on season 4 of Parenthood (yes, holy shit I did watch an entire season yesterday)
  • The guy cutting my blinds to size at Home Depot this morning was getting a little too chatty about my pregnancy. Awkward.
  • OJ is really expensive but so so so worth it
  • The ‘barista’ at Starbucks this morning had the HARDEST time understanding someone’s iced coffee order. It was painful to witness. And if you don’t understand how to pour coffee in a cup with ice, you probably shouldn’t be working at Starbucks
  • My parents get here in 2 days!!!! And my mom and I have pedicures on Friday because y’all know a gal’s gotta have decent toes when giving birth. I kid, I kid…I’m only in it for the massage chair and potential Five Guys burger for lunch.
  • Anyone in upstate NY need a large unused dog crate? I bought one for Layla 5 years ago and she never used it and it has been sitting in my parent’s house since I moved to Calgary and I need to get rid of it. Let me know!
  • Calgary has the worst drivers ever. Like the WORST. I’ve subjected my poor unborn child to entirely too much swearing when I’ve gotten behind the wheel. No one knows how to back out of a parking spot. Or merge. Or use their turn signals. Or just the freaking speed limit. Gahh, I’m getting worked up just thinking about it!

What’s something random you’d like to share?

Weekend Recap

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Well sleep is officially no fun anymore because I am super uncomfortable. At least Layla got up with me at 4:30 this morning and joined me for a few handfuls of multi-grain cheerios in the kitchen.

So this weekend was fun. Again, it’s pretty hard for me to jog my memory on what the hell we actually did, so I’ll do my best!

Thursday: Had my weekly doctor appointment, picked up a pump at the wine store (to de-gas our pinot grigio) and napped a lot. It was super exciting. I also watched SO MANY episodes of Parenthood. As of right now, I’m halfway through season 3 already. Hashtag I need to get a life. Hashtag this is my life and it’s pretty friggin awesome considering I haven’t put a real bra on in about a month or so. I picked up some wine from the nearby liquor store (I saw on twitter they were having a huge sale, so of course I needed to check it out) and we had an awesome steak dinner. PS: The more butter in mashed potatoes the better. We rounded out the night with a few episodes of Bloodline and some popcorn.

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Homemade kettle corn: 1/4 c coconut oil; 1/2 c kernels; 1/4 sugar, sprinkling of salt. NOM NOM NOM

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Oh, and I did some creeping online and found the Medela breast pump that we wanted was available at Target (in the US) for $150 less than Canada (I think there was an advertising error because I just checked again and it’s marked back up in price) AND my mom’s friend got her employee discount since she works there so my mom ended up getting the pump for $200 less!! Also, the final price is still a TON of money, but um….yeah I have no reason to justify it but we are REALLY excited about it. Unreasonably excited considering it’s a BREAST PUMP.

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Friday: Let’s just call this a wasted day. More napping and Parenthood while Tyler replaced the spark plugs on his truck. And I think that’s about it.

Saturday: We picked up new baseboards to replace in the living room/kitchen then I made carrot cake cupcakes and Reese’s pieced cookies to bring over to Susie and Frankie’s. (recipes for both can be found here and here). We had a DELICIOUS dinner over at their house and ended up staying and chatting until way too late! Sidenote: I’ve HAD to shower before bed every night this whole pregnancy- which includes nights we come home from friends houses at 1am. Woof.

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Sunday: Parenthood. We finished Bloodline (anyone else watch it?). Laundry. Painting. Napping. Smoothies. Eggs benedict. Puppy snuggles.

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(the beagle couldn’t be bothered- he was napping)

That about sums it up! Lots of house-stuff to do before my parents get here on Thursday!

How was your weekend??

Five Favorites

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Just thought I’d pop in today and share some things I have been loving lately. And of course, feel free to share in the comments what YOU’VE been loving lately, because I will probably check them out and end up loving them too. Unless you’re loving seafood or Glee or country music then fat chance.

1. Kerastase Elixir Ultime

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This stuff is amazing. I put a few drops in my hair after I wash it and not only does it smell DIVINE (think of the glorious salon/expensive smell) but it makes me hair soft and light when I style it. Which is rare these days, but I will still throw some in before I go to bed because the smell honestly just makes me feel sexy. It’s a bit pricy ($54 CAD) but it last forever and well worth it. Several of the other products I rotate through are also a bit on the pricy side but they too have been in my hair regiment for a long time!

2. Smoothies

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In previous years, I loved making smoothies (mostly ones that included protein powder) but I had the crappiest blender ever. When we reno’d our kitchen, the blender kind of when kaput, so my smoothie consumption drastically went down. Unless I felt like shelling out $7 bucks at Jugo Juice. BUT- this year, I finally decided to splurge on a Vitamix..using some of the money I got from my work bonus! Holy moly is that machine the most amazing thing ever. It blends anything and everything like a charm. Tyler and I have both been loving smoothies lately because they are quick and tasty and cheap! We can use not-so-good looking fruit we have leftover and stock up on a ton of frozen fruit from Costco. I’m excited to try out more recipes this summer! Oh, and I’ve given up on Nutella for a bit, but if you’re still on that wagon, check out this YUMMY Nutella Milkshake recipe.

3. Whimzees dog treats.

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Ok, obviously this one isn’t for me but the dogs go NUTSO over them. We generally only give these types of ‘big’ treats to them on Friday and Saturday nights and ones we’ve bought in the past have either not agreed with the pup’s tummies or Reggie gobbles them up faster than you can blink. Which is unfortunate, because you’d hope they’d last at least a few minutes when you’re spending upwards of $20/bag on them! Reggie gets the hedgehogs and Layla get the alligators and both dogs love them- I think it even helps with Layla’s mouth troubles! (both dogs have each had a tooth removed but Layla also has a lot of nerve damage on the left side of her mouth making it hard for her to chew).

4. Behr Marquee paint

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Do I sound grown up for listing PAINT as a favorite? But seriously, this paint is great. Here’s why: Our house was built in 1981 and I’m guessing there have been quite a few previous owners- most of whom had terrible taste in decor. Paint colors included. When I moved in 3 years ago, most of the house was a weird dark brown/mauve color and totally barfy. We tried to lighten up the dining room and living room a few years back, and it took us 3-4 coats of crappy paint to just cover the yucky brown. When we did the basement this winter, we decided to give Marquee a go because of the one-coat guarantee and it covered the basement’s dark green like a charm! We were so impressed that we bought another can to do the guest bedroom, another for the baby’s room, and are now currently working on covering up our previous poor paint job in the main living space/kitchen. The paint line comes with a slightly higher price tag, but it DOES work in one coat which could really make it more cost efficient in the end.

5. Home Workout Equipment

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Right now, my arsenal includes:

  • bosu ball
  • rope less jump rope
  • gliding discs
  • resistance bands
  • TRX
  • dumbbells
  • bender ball
  • stability ball
  • DVDs

Since I haven’t had a gym membership at all this calendar year (gasp) it has been really great being able to alternate between what I do have here at home. Sidebar: I can’t wait until after this baby is born to join the Y again!!! Obviously my workouts and far less intense while pregnant, but it is really nice to be able to grab a few weights or a band and do SOMETHING while I’m watching TV.

Regarding pregnancy DVD workouts: I bought the Tracy Anderson Pregnancy Project, the Complete Prenatal Vinyasa Yoga & Short Forms, and the Prenatal Fitness Fix.

DVDs

-I’ve only done the Prenatal Fitness Fix once because I thought it was a really cheesy video and could honestly come up with the series of moves myself.

-I’ve done the vinyasa yoga DVDs quite a few times because it is a nice change up from typical workouts, plus it offers 15/30/45/75 minute practices depending on how much time or desire you have!

-I’d like to say that I love the Tracy Anderson Pregnancy Project series, but that would be a lie. She has some great moves that actually target all those muscles that might be hard to otherwise reach during pregnancy, but I really just can’t stand her teaching method. Her explanations, banter, and demonstrations just bug the bejesus out of me. And you can tell when she gets tired because her rep counts are very inconsistent. Tyler laughs when I do these DVDs because I yell at her a lot.

So that’s it!

I’ve covered, beauty, food, dogs, home and fitness. Only topic left untouched is baby- which will come tomorrow! (the topic, not the baby).