More love.

For the tiny little amount of $640, these could be mine all mine.

Hey Universe -- why all the hate? Send some love over on my way (I'll help with a suggestion -- please let shopbop.com have a 95% off sale).

Or, alternatively, you could just have these show up on my doorstep tomorrow:

Yes, please.

Loves. These.




Have I mentioned that I am in hate with my work clothes these days? But, I've hit upon this: just because I'm a lawyer doesn't mean I have to dress like one.

lazy nights = two thumbs up

My last night consisted of the following:

Arrive home at 5, immediately hit the couch and nap until 6. Wake up, go to the bedroom where Ty was napping. Try wake Ty up, realize it's fruitless, so join him in napping until 6:40. Finally wake up and make macaroni and cheese (with horseradish cheddar). Eat a ridiculous amount of Mac n' Cheese. Feel full. Hit couch for a Law and Order. Flip to the National, fall asleep after 15 minutes (as a side note -- what is with the new National set up? The news doesn't really change whether Peter delivers it standing or sitting). Wake up, head to bed.

Bliss.

Every once in a while, a girl needs her Mac n' Cheese and a side of laze.

If you want something, go and get it.

Feelin' pretty glorious today.

Welcome Welcome Little Squawker!

Had myself a little catch up over lunch today -- enjoyed a lovely hour with Sandra and gorgeous little chicken, Viena. Check out that lid!

Get Your Happy On

I’ve mentioned happiness is a choice.

Well, I’m going to mention it again, just so I am sure that we all get it. We truly have one hundred percent control over how we live each day.

And, I’ll admit, I lost control a bit on Sunday night / morning, while I was at the Vegas airport, waiting for our flight that was hopelessly delayed. What, you say? Annoyed at a late flight, Ainsley? Doesn’t that go against this philosophy that you have been trying to live? YES! It does. However – it wasn’t the late flight that made me scream at the airport (yes, I actually screamed. And no, it was nothing witty – it was completely un-inspired screaming), it was those terribly obnoxious people who were also waiting on the same flight as we were. But, needless to say, that’s no excuse. So yesterday, when I woke up after a few hours sleep and noticed that it was a beautiful day out, I re-thought about the previous day and came to the conclusion that I could’ve handled the situation a bit better (ok, a lot better). I have control over how I act -- and so I’m going to use it next time.

Now -- on to the happy stuff!

Vegas was fantastic. A weekend away with Ty can certainly be filed under things that make me happy. Along with the blue skies that we had all weekend (plus 31!)....

...we also had a little bit of fun gambling...(this particular machine was my lucky one -- $1,000 bucks!!)...

...we walked around and enjoyed sights...

... and we had some...interesting...meals...

And we saw two great shows.

All in all it was a relaxing and re-energizing weekend. Thanks Vegas! A good way to commemorate one year!

First time "official" thanks were given at 400 Boreham

Well, the weekend of giving thanks has come and gone and there was much to be full of thanks for:

Hung out with the greatest gals, starting on Thursday night and ending on Monday (with lots of hang out time in between);

Enjoyed great dins complete with wine and giggles (Dear Pizzeria Gusto: please remove the pizza with anchovies on it from your menu…anchovies taste exactly like what they are – little fishy tasting fish. Not even the craziest amounts of salt can cover that shit up);

Went for a gorgeous run with the best runner in the world (we hightailed it out to Fort Whyte) – why does running always seems so much easier when you have a great companion by your side?;

PW’d around the neighborhood with Haney and Andrea dressed in long johns and toques and lest we get TOO healthy while we were powerwalking, we brought down our level of health by stopping at Starbucks for a signature hot chocolate with plenty o’ whip;

Had a wind-up party at a brewery. Seriously. A brewery. Oh, and my team dominated at Flippy Cup (yes, flippy cup – at a BREWERY!!!);

Had Andrea model for my photo assignment;

And….wait for it… Andrea and I cooked a (non free-range) 16 pound turkey with all the necessary trimmings for dinner with Mom, Dad, Ty, A. Gail and U. Craig!

So….

At the end of all the craziness that was visiting and laughing and sipping wine and …suddenly…saying goodbye…I did what I always do at the end of these fabulous visiting weekends. I get upset. I miss everyone more than usual. I start noticing the things I dislike about Winnipeg as opposed to noticing the many wonderful things about my adopted home. This feeling hit me last night at about 7 or so, shortly after: (a) I dropped Andrea off at the airport; and (b) Ginnie began overheating and I was in a crap part of Winnipeg with no heat in my car. I trudged home, plopped myself on a chair and let that wave of feeling sorry wash on over me. And compounding that feeling sorry for myself was the fact that I had to go to my first volleyball game at 9 p.m. on a cold and dreary Tuesday night in a place that I'd never been to before with a bunch of people I didn't know. Urgh.

But, being that I committed to a team, and being of the philosophy that if one signs up for a team sport (or anything, for that matter), one should attend, I hauled my butt to volleyball. And…

I had the greatest time.

I laughed. I met new people. I served underhand (and [mostly] made it over the net). I had the most hilarious “hit” of the night (Ty does a deadly re-enactment).

There just might be something to the old "sweat once a day".

Bullying Ty

Here's a pic from dinner with Lank and Jen on Sunday (remember how I said dinner with friends makes me happy?). Cilantro -- hmmmm. Love, love, love.

and now on to the bullying...

Ty falls asleep the moment his head hits the pillow. Usually, I’m really not far behind, but in those few minutes before sleep, I often do a few things that I’m pretty sure drive Ty crazy.

#1. I put my always-cold feet on Ty (how else am I going to warm them up?); and #2. I talk.

Last night, after my feet warmed up, we talked about blogging and then I bullied Ty into talking about what makes him happy (and not just leaving Costco on a Sunday). Practice makes perfect, right?

After a bit of prodding, Ty got into the swing of it. One of the things he mentioned was that playing ping pong with his wife (!) makes him happy. We did play ping pong last night! Glad I could help in the happiness, Wirv.

p.s. I emerged the victor. Mad skills, MAD skills.

Simple.

Happiness is a choice, right? Isn’t it? Can’t you find the happiness in your life every single day if you just look around a bit? I think you can and I think I can.

So – that’s my new goal for my renewed blog. I want to write about what makes me want to get out of bed every morning. And I want to encourage you – the peeps – to think about it as well.

Guys! This is it! This is our life – let’s make it the best one we can, ok?

I have been driving Ty absolutely crazy by finishing many a sentence these past few days with “________________ makes me happy”. (Snippets from my conversations with Ty over the last few days: “New recipes make me happy”; “Having friends over for dinner makes me happy” and “Falling asleep next to Ty every night makes me happy”.)

Ty is trying to get it, but he’s not exactly at the same point as me (his version: “getting out of Costco on a Sunday makes me happy”).

Fall makes me happy! Blogging makes me happy! Friends + Thanksgiving makes me happy!

Sunny fall days at the camp make me happy.

Gorgeous Isaac makes me happy.