kim through
   the looking glass

… that a lot of my frustrations and feelings of inadequacy about motherhood are:

1. Normal
2. Partly due to just how busy I was before Gwen was born (thanks, mom, for helping me see this!)
3. Partly due to an intense need to do things perfectly Read the rest of this entry »

… from my sister Jenny’s blog. Wuhoo for stolen blog fodder!

I can’t get to sleep without:
Brushing my teeth!! But seriously, at this stage in my life (with a 3-month-old and all), I can fall asleep every night just fine, thank you!

If I were a doll, the accessories packaged with me would be:
Gwen, ring sling (or babywearing accessory of some sort), laptop

I have an irrational fear of:
Being attacked by a man while I’m walking somewhere (maybe that’s not irrational?)

At my grandparents house I usually eat:
Ummm … I remember once eating really nasty soup, does that count?

When I was born I weighed:
7 lbs something (Jenny, you were in the 7’s, too!)

I am most opposed to:
Commercialism, war, abortion, the “cry-it-out” method

On myspace I like to stalk:
Me no have no myspace. On Facebook, I often stalk my sisters =)

I am too old to be:
In grade school - or even high school, for that matter!

I find the thought of childbirth:
Exciting and empowering!

Next door to my house is:
Railroad tracks. Like RIGHT next door.

My feet are:
Flat. I need orthopedic shoes =(

My preferred style of jeans are:
Blue ones that have a bit of flare

I know how to cook:
Quite a bit of stuff!! That doesn’t mean I’ve been doing it lately, though …

I am annoyed at:
The fact that I can’t get anything done during the day anymore. I’ve realized I’m a ‘doing’ person and that not be able to ‘do’ drives me bonkers! I’m also annoyed that our house isn’t completely unpacked/set-up, even after being here for months and months …

Men should always:
Hold the door for women =)

Women should never:
Talk about others behind their backs (please remind me of this)

The scariest sea creature is:
Sharks

The world is over populated with:
Cell phones

I recently broke:
Hmm … I can’t remember!

I last cried because:
A girl I love very much is in a very difficult situation

My favorite shoes are:
My birkenstocks (that’s right. I wear birkenstocks)

As a parent my greatest fear is:
Being too selfish and my kids knowing it

When I think of Full House:
I think of the time I tried to start a club like the one in the book Phone Call from a Flamingo - did you even know there was a Full House Stephanie book series??

Check out a beautiful blog post here - titled “What Mother Must Sacrifice”. It sure made me stop and think.

So in my new Bible reading plan (which I’m going to post about every so often, helps keep me accountable!!), I just finished Jeremiah. It’s a book that’s made me go “Hmmm …”. Read the rest of this entry »

Chelsea tagged me for this meme, and I quote, “to help her blog about something other than the baby”. LOL Thanks, Chelsea!

What I was doing ten years ago:

1. Finishing grade eight
2. Hanging out with my friends watching horror movies
3. Discovering the internet and messaging random people on ICQ (best. feature. ever.)
4. Preparing to move to Kingston from Port Dover
5. Going on car rides with my sister Becky

5 things on my to-do list today (first off, well done on catching me on a day where I’ve GOT a to-do list):

1. Sweep the main floor of the house
2. Go through all the gifts from my shower with Brad
3. Go for a walk with Brad
4. Knit
5. Clean up my stuff from Brad’s desk

5 snacks I enjoy:

1. Plain yogurt with chocolate chips
2. Doritos
3. Cookies of any type
4. Ice cream!!
5. Salsa and tortilla chips

5 things I would do if I were a billionaire:

1. Build a Generations of Hope here in Hamilton
2. Buy up some houses in our neighbourhood to provide lower-cost housing
3. Pay off the mortgage … and the mortgages of all our family members (maybe student debts as well)
4. Open a yarn shop on Locke Street
5. Do some crazy donating to World Vision and other worthy agencies

5 bad habits

1. Stolen from Chelsea - not thinking before I speak
2. Being sometimes a little too sarcastic
3. Chewing on the insides of my cheeks
4. Forgetting to pray =(
5. Not putting my stuff in it’s place

5 places I’ve lived:

1. Port Dover
2. Kingston
3. Simcoe
4. Waterloo
5. Guelph
6. Hamilton

5 jobs I’ve had:

1. Blueberry picker
2. Non-Registered Nephrology Technician (heehee)
3. Dish pig
4. McDonald’s CSR
5. Microbiology Laboratory Technician

Tag some people:

1. My sister, Jenny because she’s confused about this whole ‘tagging’ thing
2. Ryanne
3. I’m not tagging any more people, because the last time no one did it!

A post about something other than June Bug! I was beginning to think it wasn’t possible!!

However, my bloggy friends, I’m actually going to write about knitting. I have missed it. I haven’t picked up yarn and needles since Christmas when my sister got me my fabulous metal sock needles and I COMPLETELY lost any amount of time to seriously devote to the craft that I love. However, after receiving a certain email (I won’t talk about it now because it’ll give away my project!!), I was spurred into action. I needed to knit something, and I needed to start knitting it now and finish the object ASAP.

So, I took my butt down to Yarnopolis (aka Ashley Yarns) and there I met a very lovely knitter and yarn store manager, Steph! She helped me pick out my yarn and we had a lovely chat about various women’s studies issues. I loved the store, and I’m very glad I made the venture!! It’s not the most convenient of yarn store locations (try a mighty long 30 min bus ride!), but it’s the closest yarn store to me, which I suppose makes it my LYS (aka Local Yarn Store). They even carry a selection of fair trade yarns!!!

Anyways, we picked out two yarns - a cotton weight and a novelty yarn … I’m knitting double stranded, yo! (No …. not yarn over … I actually meant ‘yo’.)

Can I say how it never ceases to amaze me that you can start with yarn and needles and end with fabric? It’s incredible that I can make something by pulling loops of yarn through other yarn. I’m hoping to finish this object this weekend, if I can, so you won’t have to wait too long in utter suspense of what it is =) The picture doesn’t quite do the hues of purple justice, but it’s all I had to work with … the other pics were either too fuzzy or too blue.

p.s. I finished The Friday Night Knitting Club. It was phenomenal. That may or may not have something to do with the why I was so excited to pick up my knitting again. May or may not.

So, I finished my last day of clinical today.

Which means I’m officially done my University Degree.

My wonderful preceptor (Hi Heather!) gave me a classical music CD to play for June Bug, a hippie (lol - it’s so me) bracelet that she made (she makes micro-macramé jewelery - it’s really pretty!!), and a book I’ve been wanting forever (how’d she know??) - The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs. I can’t wait to relax and read it!

The end to my University career feels so anti-climactic. Maybe it’s because I have to go to bed early so I can get up at 5:30 so I can walk to work for a 6:30 - 14:30 shift … maybe it’s because it doesn’t quite feel real yet. Either way, it’s done, and that’s that!

And I’m thiiiiis close to being four months pregnant! What a wonderful end to a whirlwind of a year!

Things started off with a trip to Mexico for my big sister Jenn’s wedding in February, our week-long New York trip, her baby born in August, finding out about our OWN baby in October (!!), celebrating our first anniversary, buying a house later that month, my grandma breaking her hip, my aunt being diagnosed with breast cancer (please continue to pray … her chemo regimen is beginning soon …), Brad finishing school for good, my big sister Becky getting a great new job, and yeah.

So I was 15 weeks on Friday - our baby now has developed taste-buds and my amniotic fluid tastes like whatever I’ve eaten =) The baby can also sense light and (since next week he/she can hear things on the outside of my body) hear what’s going on inside my body. I’ve had a couple moments in the last couple days of “was that the baby moving?” But I’m not 100% sure yet.

Here’s my belly now =) It’s definitely growing!

It’s pooching out now even when I lay down! (it would disappear when I laid down before) And my belly button is rapidly becoming more shallow! The uterus hits the belly button at about 20 weeks, and I’m almost 16, so it’s got 4 cm to go before overtaking my former umbilical cord attachment site - which, by the way, isn’t centered.

I think I’ve gained about 10 lbs now, which all the books say is a normal gain for this stage. I’m hoping to start back on my healthy eating bandwagon in the New Year now that my food aversions are mostly gone … although I still can’t even think about chicken breast!

I’ll update with Christmas pics tomorrow =)

randomness…feed your mind and your blog

week of sept 23: do you prefer…

1. day or night? Daytime …I used to be more a night owl, but 2.5 years of a job where I normally start at 6:30 AM has squashed that out of me. Now I have a hard time staying up past 11 or 12 PM!
2. chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate 100%!
3. coffee or tea? Tea. I love me some coffee but my intestines don’t like it anymore =( I love Earl or Lady Grey or specialty teas.
4. renting a movie and staying home or going out to the theater? Hmm … depends on the movie. Action? Theatre. Thriller? Home. Fantasy? Theatre. Romance? Home.
5. regular books or audio books? Regular books regularly. If I’m working on a knitting project, however, I love audiobooks!
6. driving to a faroff destination or just taking an airplane? I honestly don’t know! I haven’t been on a long road trip since grade five. I love flying though! Maybe if Brad and I ever take a long road trip I can let you know whether I preferred it over flying.
7. hamburger or hotdogs? Homemade hamburgers beat out a hotdog any day!
8. listening to music or watching tv? I love watching tv, but  we haven’t gotten any channels in almost 2 years!
9. Desperate Housewives or Survivor? Neither (see above)
10. homecooked meal or fancy restaurant? Fancy restaurant, hands down! I love homecooked meals (like my Mom’s beautiful turkey dinners … *drool*), but going out to a fancy restaurant is great too, because I eat things that I wouldn’t normally get in a homecooked meal - like grilled salmon (my fav)! We are in love with a small bistro within walking distance of our place called Amuse-Bouche (it’s on Locke St.). Phenomenal!

till next time…

Doing memes is like blogging for dummies. I love it!

This meme is ‘The Moaning Meme’ - I was tagged again by Crystal, apparently because I have some unfulfilled need to be flattered (lol) - thanks for the free pass to rant away! (Edited to add: Sarah at My Peculiar World also tagged me … I feel so special and loved!)
5 people who will be annoyed you tagged them.

1. Everybody I know who blogs.
2. I’m not tagging anyone.
3. (Because I’ve five and insulted that no one has responded to my tags from yesterday.)
4. So I’m beginning the moaning meme by moaning about that!
5. So there. (Really though, please do the meme even though I haven’t tagged you. You know you secretly want to!)

4 things that should go into room 101 and be removed from the face of the earth.

1. Spandex. I don’t care how skinny you are or that you’re a marathon runner and it cuts your time down, it’s ugly and wrong. The only time spandex was okay was the 80s, and seriously people, 80s fashion? Was only barely okay and should never be re-lived!
2. The AIDS virus (HIV). Need I expand on that? I think not.
3. Pornography. I think it’s destructive to society (and marriage!) and is disgusting.
4. Plastic. It’s a horrible polluter - not just the substance itself but the process to make it.

3 things people do that make you want to shake them violently.

1. Give unsolicited advice about childbearing. I believe that the choice to have children and if/when a couple chooses to have 0, 1, 2, 8, or 24 children is between that couple and God. Regardless of how you feel about their choice, it is none of your business and you should not presume that it is! (This is not directed at anyone in particular … just an observation!)
2. Ask really stupid questions. I know, I know, “there are no stupid questions.” But there are … oh yes, there are!
3. Muggings. Really now. You need to resort to pushing some old lady over and stealing her purse? I don’t think so.

2 things you find yourself moaning about.

1. How much I want to be finished school.
2. My job. I shouldn’t - really, it’s fantastic - but I do anyways.

1 thing the above answers tell you about yourself.

1. I complain a lot!

RULES

• Link to the original meme at freelancecynic.com so people know what it’s all about!
• Be as honest as possible, This is about letting people get to know the real you!
• Try not to insult anyone - unless they really deserve it or are very, very ugly!
• Post these rules at the end of every meme!