Happy weekend!

Hello!! Sorry I have been MIA this past week - I started a new job on Monday and have been getting back into a routine and settling in there. It is always scary/stressful/overwhelming/exciting to start a new job so I was just coming home and relaxing after. But I am happy to get back into blogging and catching up on all your blogs!

Today, it is soo cold. As you can see here... (oh, it just started snowing).

But even so, I still crave chilly iced caps from Tim Hortons (mmmmm!).

And here is a picture of the lovely smelling flowers that Joe, Oswald (our kitty) and Mog (our fishy) sent me at work.

Sorry for the phone photos...I need a camera. One that is Meghan friendly - which means I can point and click and it turns out awesome every time. Any suggestions?

What are your plan this weekend? Market Collective is tomorrow so I am going to that and spending the rest of the weekend reading and staying warm inside.

Enjoy your weekend!!

hmpf...

Grey day

(via weheartit)

Today, my brother, Diggity (his real name is Cody, but my family has a thing with nicknames), is coming to pick up his passport and then I am going with him back to Brooks to spend some time with my family (before I start working again!). The next few days will be full of baby cuddles, Mario Party, Polly Pocket, and the Wiggles. I love my nieces (plural now!) and nephew and enjoy my time with them so much.

My mom also recently bought a new house! It is exciting but a bit sad at the same time (I told my friend Rath and she actually started tearing up - my mom's house means a lot to a lot of people). There are a ton of memories in her house - my family has been in it for 21 years now. But I guess when you go from a family of 8 (the most that lived in the house at once) to 2...there is just a lot of space for her to maintain. She isn't moving right away because she has to do a major downsize so it will be another year or so and she is renting it out until then. She is so excited and I am excited to see it for the first time!

The past few days have been so warm and sunny - the major melt has begun and Oswald has very much enjoyed laying in the sun. Today, however, is very grey. Nothing is blooming here yet and still no green but it seems spring is on its way!

Hope you are all having a great week so far!!

Happy Monday Mish Mash

I hope you are all having a great start to the week! Mine has been pretty decent (*ahem* lazy) - I made it to level 20 on brick breaker (a game that comes on my blackberry), the weather is almost in double digits above zero and the snow is melting, I didn't get out of bed until noon, and I got a job offer that I am really excited about!

What are your plans for this week?

I also just saw a commercial that Bravo! (a television station) is having a Coen Brothers Movie Marathon on Friday. I love their movies (which, if you read this blog, you probably know). Have you even seen any? Any favourites? The Big Lebowski, Raising Arizona, and True Grit are mine. There are still a few I haven't seen though.

To add to my mish mash of a blog post - I just found these shoes on Ruche.

(via Ruche)

Love!! I am so excited it is getting warmer here. I am dreaming of wearing sandals and flats, not wearing a down feather parka (seriously), and riding my bike through Confederation Park.

Dreaming of...

(via TrekEarth)

Croatia. It is number 1 on my "must visit" list. Hopefully soon. Dubrovnik looks so amazing! Have you ever been there?

Hope you are all having a great weekend! Tonight, I went for a visit with a girl I worked with years ago. I haven't seen her in years and got to meet her baby, Arden, who is such a doll. Then Joe and I met my brother, Tyler, and went for dinner. We discovered this delicious Italian place called Gus's Pizza awhile ago and went there. Yummy!

Tomorrow, I am going to get my photos taken and have an interview with STARS Air Ambulance. They are relaunching their website and I get to share my story. Should be interesting...

I hope you are all having a great, relaxing weekend!

World Kidney Day

Today is World Kidney Day!

Go here to learn all about your kidneys, early detection of kidney disease, and how to get checked. They play such an important role in your overall health. As someone who lives with kidney disease every single day, I know how important it is!

"The frequency of chronic kidney disease (CKD) continues to increase worldwide as does the prevalence of end-stage renal disease (ESRD). The most common, but not only, causes of CKD are hypertension and diabetes. There are currently over 240 million people with diabetes worldwide. This figure is projected to rise to 380 million by 2025, largely due to population growth, aging, urbanization, unhealthy eating habits, increased body fat and a sedentary lifestyle." - http://www.worldkidneyday.org

Silly Oswald

Oswald has been adjusting pretty well to living here with us, and it has been just over 2 months since we adopted him. At first, it was a struggle because we were taking him to the vet weekly because he had a stubborn case of kitty acne on his chin. I had to scrub it twice a day and apply a gel - so he didn't like me too much. It has cleared up now and he is much happier since we haven't had to take him back.

He has started feeling comfortable coming into our room in the mornings which he didn't do at all before, and he is always wanting attention and wanting to play. He will come up to Joe or I and touch our legs to let us know he wants something. When you pet him, it always has to turn into a game. He just flops down onto his side and tries to get your hand and then will gently bite. He doesn't use his claws at first, but then he gets pretty excited and they come out.

As I was waiting for Jen to pick me up yesterday, I noticed this...Oswald was sitting. I thought maybe he was going to clean himself or something, but nope, he just sat there looking around. So I captured it on my phone. What a silly guy.

Day 21 - Favourite picture of yourself of all time. Why?

I am getting pretty random with this blog challenge...but I don't care as long as I finish it eventually.

This is my favourite photo of myself...

(photo by Photograhy by Eiko)

It was on my wedding day right after I finished having my hair done and before getting into my dress. I like it because I was feeling so many different things in that one moment - I was nervous, I was happy, I was sad (it was pouring rain), I was excited, I was scared, I was anxious, and I was (and still am) feeling a lot of love. This was taken in the bathroom at my mom's house. It was important for me to get ready there and to be surrounded by some of the most important people in my life (my mom, Auntie Ninny, Kelli, Marley, Ainsley, Gavin, and Rath too!). This photo just captured a really nice moment in my life.

Do you have a favourite photo of yourself?

More headbands

You know me and my love of headbands. Just can't get enough. And I found these lovely ones! Aren't they pretty? Although, I have a feeling that the elastic might slip from my hair (which is fine and not very thick). The first one reminds me of a maple leaf.

(via The Candy Thief)

Also, I have this thing for America's Next Top Model - it is just something I can't get enough of; I love it. And in the first episode, during judging, one of the girls was wearing a peacock feather headband (we all know I love them) and one of the judges (Andre Leon Talley) said it was awful and to get rid of it. Joe immediately said, "uh oh, Poo, they didn't like it!" But I don't care. I want him to explain how it was bad, yet he can wear this crazy duster thing in his hat. I'm not an expert in fashion by any means - but really? Sometimes I don't get it...

Hope you are all having a great week so far!

Feeling patriotic...thanks to beer commercials

Hockey is on...even better, a Flames game is on. And we are winning. What better way to spend the evening at home alone then with the game? With the hockey game, comes many beer commercials. Specifically, Molson Canadian beer (which, when you order, is called a Canadian, not Molson**).

Molson Canadian beer commercials have a way of making me feel very proud to be Canadian (although, I always feel that way). Wouldn't you with these 2 commercials? They are worth a watch - they are short, one has amazing scenery, and the other is so funny (can't wait to get to those mountains when it warms up!).





**When I was in Pittsburgh I ordered a Canadian and was told they don't carry it. Then I asked for a Molson; she brought me a Canadian.

McKinley Lauren

Hello weekend, it is nice to see you! I hope you are all having a nice Friday!

Mine has been pretty interesting, including some nice white smoke that smelt like burnt hair rising out of my steering wheel column. No fun - so now I can't drive anywhere and I have to take the car in on Sunday evening to get checked. Not driving isn't usually so bad because Calgary has an ok public transit system and we live close to the train and buses and I have a bike; however, it is freezing outside and we have a lot of snow so it isn't fun to walk (or bike) to the stops and freeze. Not that I had any major weekend plans, but it looks like I'll be bumming around at home. And not only that, but I had plans to go pick up Vietnamese takeout tonight since Joe will be out...but now I cannot. So sad.

In other news, meet Ms. McKinley Lauren, my newest niece (finally a picture)! Is she soo cute or what?

(via Photography by Eiko)

What are your plans this weekend?

Just because

(via weheartit)

Day 20 - Nicknames

I have been called nicknames my whole life. It started when I was very young - I don't remember my dad ever calling me Meghan (or Meg). It was always Little or Medzi. Even in old cards I have from him, they are addressed to those names. Then, I remember my brother calling me Merg, which somehow became Egg. Egg (or some form of it - Egglyntine, Eggelin, Eggo) is something I am called to this day by a couple of friends and my family (my mom often calls me Egg). My sister, Kelli, calls me Sister Bear. And then there is Joe, who used to call me Jiggly Puff but now it is Poo. Sometimes I wonder why was I even given a name!?

What are your nicknames?