Ringing in the new

Soon I will be tucked away snug in my bed...but before I do that, I thought I'd try to recap 2010...

And I have lots stored up in my brain, so there might be regular posting in January...

Once again I tried to do this without looking at my previous answers (from 2007, 2008, and 2009)

1. What did you do in 2010 that you’d never done before?
started tweeting

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't make New Year's resolutions

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
I know a few people who had babies, some I know better than others!

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No, thank goodness

5. What countries did you visit?
We stayed home

6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?
Maybe a little more time to read, more organization at home so there's more time to play and knit and write...but we're pretty fortunate and we don't really lack much. Maybe time with Alex because of his silly hours.

7. What dates from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
February 14 - 28 (28th in particular) - Olympics
March 23 - the day it went nuts (officially) at work

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Not going crazy during the last ten days or so of March

9. What was your biggest failure?
good question...no answer

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
no

11. What was the best thing you bought?
a tie between a new bed and ten visits to the acupuncturist

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Vancouverites and Canadians from coast to coast to coast during the Olympics.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
no one close to me

14. Where did most of your money go?
mortgage and daycare

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
winning the lottery...oh wait, no, that was just a dream

16. What song will always remind you of 2010?
BINGO

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
 a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer?
happier, thinner, richer

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
sleep, spent time with Alex and J

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
feeling stressed about work/situations out of my control

20. How did you spend Christmas?
In Kelowna for ten days, celebrating with family and friends

21. Did you fall in love in 2010?
nope...I was already in love!

22. What was your favorite TV program?
I would like it if the TV went away - that said, I try not to miss Criminal Minds...it's my new obsession

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
no

24. What was the best book you read?
The Book of Negroes

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Yeah, I didn't make any...there just wasn't time

26. What did you want and get?
a new bed

27. What did you want and not get?
the whole apartment painted...but we got it started, so we're on our way!

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
I think I might have only gone to one movie this year and it was Thomas the Tank Engine...And I don't think we rented anything...Maybe the original Death at a Funeral that I finally saw when I was home this summer?

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Went to a wine tasting with friends and out for dinner with Alex. 33

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
nothing

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
ugh...I'm working on it

32. What kept you sane?
J and Alex and daycare

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
none

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
can't think of one

35. Who did you miss?
a bunch of people who don't live in Vancouver

36. Who was the best new person you met?
I didn't meet a lot of new people this year - the daycare ladies, my new boss (who I knew but didn't know...does that make sense?), Lisa, AndreaClaire

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010
If you can't do anything about it, it's not worth the worry. It will work out somehow in the end

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
I don't know any songs...see #25 above

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is my year. I feel very blessed and very lucky to have such wonderful people in my life.

Wishing you a safe and memorable New Year's Even 2010 all the very best in 2011! I hope it's a year of love, laughter, adventure, great friends, super memories, delicious, good health, and many other great things for all of you (and us too!)

Reality Beckons

In a few minutes the last party of our vacation will start...J and I have been away for quite a few days and we head home tomorrow. J is loving the party mode she thinks we've settled into. Anytime anyone comes to the house or we get in the car to go somewhere, she asks if this is another party. And if we say no, she wants to know why.

Why.

A word she learned on the plane here and we hear all the time now. I think maybe we might even hear more whys than nos. I'm not sure how I feel about that!

It will be great to get home and have a few days to settle into a familiar routine before we head back to daycare and work. We have a few days to get some groceries into our house and for me to try to figure out a week's worth of meals that we can all eat or at least are easy to modify so that I can eat them.

I've got about six weeks left of the GAPS diet...maybe eight. It depends on how long it takes me to recover from Christmas. I was pretty good, but there were a few times when maybe, just maybe, I had something that is on the list of foods that are not recommended. You know. Maybe.

Everything I read about eating things off the not recommended list made me a little scared a few times - the consensus seems to be that often when those foods are eaten, bad things happen. Reactions like headaches, stomach aches, digestive problems, skin rashes etc. Sometimes not long after and sometimes a few days later. Sometimes it sounded like I'd end up going through another healing crisis. Thankfully, none of that happened. I ate as well as I could and occasionally didn't. So, the next six weeks I am going to try very, very, very hard to stick to the recommended foods list. We discovered some interesting foods that I can eat (by accident) like some yummy spiced nuts my mom made, so I'm a little excited to have more choice!

I'm off now to get little miss ready for her last party of the season.

Hope you had a great holiday!

Christmas Eve

We've been busy for the last week since holidays from work and daycare started.


J is having a blast...see you in a few days!

We're happy to have celebrated once already with Alex's family and will be celebrating for the next five days or so with my family...

And so, we'd like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

See you in a few days...

70. Knit a winter hat for J

So, this happened by accident.

It was freezing cold.

FREEZING...

And J's hat looked more like a beret and she really needed something to cover her ears. So I set out to make her a new toque. That covers her ears.

So, I pulled out my knitting supplies (still not unpacked from our move three years ago...) and dug through my stash and found some leftovers. I love this stuff!

I made the Stitch 'n Bitch Valentine's Hat and Mittens of out it.

See the heart? It was much easier to do that I thought it would be. Good thing...


Flaps! I think I must have swatched this...if I hadn't it would have been all wonky.

The hat. With the braid things. Its supposed to have a heart like the one on the glove in the middle of the forehead, but I decided against that.

These were great for a while. I attached an i-cord to the mittens so that I had lots of options for hot hands when I walked home from work.

Yes. This wool has been around since 2004, although these were a 2005 project.

I'm actually tempted to frog these and make something else. I haven't worn the hat much at all and I have barely worn the mittens since I stopped working somewhere easy to walk home from. Oooh, bad sentence ending with a preposition.

I also made this other hat that is probably something I adapted from a couple of patterns. I hate swatching, but this turned out all right and I wear it a lot. I think I made this in 2005, but this is 2006.


And this is the hat I made J. It's a good thing her head is so much smaller than mine or I would have been tempted to steal it and make her another one. I LOVE IT!


She spent the evening after I made it wearing it around the house. I think she may have even worn it to bed.


Of course, now it's too hot for this hat, but at least she has it for when the evil winter we're supposed to get strikes!


This was such a success and so much fun that I have three (non-baby blanket) projects on the go. Two Christmas gifts and one not Christmas gift. Yes Fiona, I'll post them on Ravelry...soon...

Innocent Coffee

38.2 Eat at ten new restaurants or coffee shops


At the beginning of November, this coffee shop opened in the complex across the street from us. I can see the back of coffee shop from our living room. We'd been hoping a coffee shop might open up here because sometimes it's nice not to have to brew your own coffee. [edited to remove link - if you google the name, it's the first result. Their website was updated after the comments about the website were posted]

One afternoon when I was home with my lung infection, Alex decided we needed coffee and that he'd try the new coffee shop out.

Hmmm....

The coffee was good. It was pretty too. There was even latte art under my take out lid.

But it was expensive. They only have one size - 12 oz - which is fine. But their 12 oz cost more than a 16 oz with a flavour shot would at the local-Seattle-based-soccer-mom-mega-coffee-shop. Expensive.

Oh, and they have no flavourings. Which is fine with me, I'll drink it without or with a bit of brown sugar, but Alex really likes flavoured drinks. And with another independent coffee shop less than two blocks away and a local-seattle-based-soccer-mom-mega-coffee-shop about three blocks away, you'd think they'd have flavourings. And more sizes. And better prices.

They make all their baked goods on site which is super. We didn't sample any as I was still wheat-free and they were actually in the process of baking everything when Alex got there.

We haven't been back. I'm not sure if we will go back. Maybe. Who knows, their prices might come down once they get a feel for the market in the area.

How much do you think is too much for a cup of joe? a latte? some other specialty coffee drink?

Vij's Rangoli

38.1 Eat at ten new restaurants or coffee shops

Back in October, Alex and I celebrated our wedding anniversary. He was working until 7, so a week night date wasn't a possibility. I had just started on the crazy diet and I wasn't able to eat much and going to a restaurant wasn't appealing.

But I remembered what the first naturopath told me (the one who initially prescribed the crazy diet) - I'm not going to die if I have to eat non-recommended foods at one meal. If I can prepare but being extremely careful, I should, otherwise, I just really needed to watch what I ate the next few days.

So we decided to get a sitter and go to Vij's. Alex has been trying to take me there for almost three years, but first heart burn from being pregnant and then breast feeding (and a baby who didn't appreciate spicy breast milk) got in the way of those plans.

We had trouble finding a sitter and then my sister recommended Vij's Rangoli. It's next door and they do take out.

It was perfect. J was teething and it took forever to get her to go to sleep. It was a miserable night and pouring rain and there's always a huge line up at Vij's, but Alex was able to go up, get dinner, and make it home in likely less time than we would have spent in line. We live close enough to it that it was all still hot. AND IT WAS GOOD. I'd go there again. Regularly.

I don't have any pictures because we were too busy inhaling our food.


But I have a picture of the yummy beer we shared. It went so well with the food!

To the other people who use the road

Dear cars, buses, bikes, and pedestrians,

I'm not a perfect driver or a perfect bus rider or a perfect pedestrian, but I try not to do things to scare other people and make their drives, pedals, rides, or walks to work, school, home, or wherever a constant source of heart palpitations. Maybe you could try to do the same? Most of you are great at sharing the road, but some of you, well, maybe you need a reminder.

Dear cars,

You have these neat new fangled things on your car called signal lights and head lights.

SIGNAL LIGHTS: It's really great if you flip the little lever up or down before you turn so that the cars behind you know what you're doing. Not while you're already turning or when you're done turning, *before* you start turning.

HEAD LIGHTS: It's winter. That means it starts to get dark sometime not long after 4:00. And if it's raining or snowing or just a miserable Vancouver day, it can be dark much earlier than that. It usually doesn't get light until sometime after 8:00. Again, it can stay dark longer if it's raining or snowing or just a miserable Vancouver day. Please turn your head lights on so that the rest of us (other cars, buses, bikes, and pedestrians) can see you. Also, your high beams, those are for when there is no oncoming traffic or traffic directly in front of you. I think it's 100 m. Your high beams shining in my eyes or my rear view mirror don't help things.

In Vancouver we have a few kinds of ways to get through intersections. We have through intersections in one direction with stop signs or lights in the other. We have four way stops. We have through intersections with lights controlled by pedestrians and stops signs going the other way. We have roundabouts. We have intersections with traffic lights in all directions. I'm sure there are other ones too.

Please follow the signals and signs. And watch for pedestrians. I don't like almost getting run over when I'm crossing with the lights. I don't like getting honked at because I'm in the CROSSWALK. I don't like getting honked at because I'm not turning because I'm waiting for a pedestrian to cross the road. WITH THE LIGHT.

And when you're in the roundabout...follow the signs and rules. That means you need to yield to the vehicles IN the roundabout (to your left). Don't honk at me when I'm in the roundabout and you have to wait your turn. Signal when you're going to leave the roundabout so that people waiting to get in can and people behind you don't almost rear end you. Oh and pedestrians? They still have the right of way. Don't try to run them down in the crosswalk or honk at them.

And four way stops? First vehicle to stop has the right of way. If there are multiple vehicles, you yield to the right.

If you happen to drive in the area around the UBC daycare centres and UHill Secondary, those 30km/hour signs are there for a reason. Don't pass all the cars going 30 and then slam on your brakes because you almost hit a child in a crosswalk. Don't go faster than 30. There are lots and lots and lots of little kids around. Little kids and teenagers can be unpredictable. Just be patient (or take another route...people who tend to do these two things seem to be using the road as a way to avoid the centre of campus)

Those are just a few things that are annoying me today about cars...I'm sure there's more.

Dear buses,

See notes to cars.

Also, I know I have to yield to you when you pull away from the curb. And really, I'm happy to do it. I don't want to argue with you...your bus will cause more damage to my car than my car will to your bus. BUT...if I'm right beside you and you signal that you want to pull away from the curb, signal and then pull away, don't just pull away and signal and assume we'll all be able to stop. Sometimes we can't because the car behind us isn't paying attention. Also, if I'm beside you, I might have to keep going because there isn't enough room in front of me for your big bus to fit.

And even though I HAVE to stop, it's nice of you to acknowledge that I DID stop with a little wave.

Dear bus riders,

It sucks to take the bus when it's wet out...mostly because it's crowded and steamy and wet. Please don't shake your umbrella off in the bus. Please don't open your umbrella into the crowd of people waiting to get on when you get off. Wait until you're a safe distance away. Your backpack doesn't need a seat. Your backpack makes a good weapon, so please take it off before you decapitate someone with it as you shove your way through the crowd. Those seats at the front? Give them to people with mobility issues (even if they're not in a wheelchair or using crutches or a cane or some other mobility device) Give them to people with a disability or injury. Give them to pregnant women, people with young children, and the elderly. The fact that you didn't get enough studying done before your exam today doesn't mean that you get to sit there to study. That's what the library is for. Be courteous. Please.

Dear bikes,

You are not glorified pedestrians. Stay off the sidewalk. If you're uncomfortable riding on the road, ride on a bike street or don't ride at all. I don't like almost getting knocked down by you or the near misses my little girl has had.

You are a vehicle. And like cars and trucks and motor bikes and buses, you are subject to all of the laws pertaining to a vehicle (ahem, stay off the sidewalk). You need to stop at stop signs. Don't give me a dirty look when you almost slam into my car that is legally in an intersection because you decided not to stop at the stop sign. Four way stops...those pertain to you too. Stopping for pedestrians in a crosswalk? Oh yeah, that's for you too. Don't stop your bike in my blind spot and bang on my car to tell me you're there. I probably know you're there because some of you are kamikazes so I keep a close eye on you. You could pull up closer or stay a bit further back and avoid my blind spot too...and if I'm stopped, I'm not going anywhere, so don't bang on my car. It scares my daughter.

And you need to turn your lights on. Or get some lights. One light on the back of your bike doesn't help me see you at all when you're coming towards me and you're wearing dark clothes and it's dark out. Reflectors are great, but lights are essential.

Dear pedestrians,

Yes, you have the right of way. Do you also have a death wish? Because a lot of you seem to think you're invincible. You're not. A car is a lot bigger and heavier than you and if anyone "wins" in a car vs a pedestrian, it's not usually the pedestrian.

Please don't j-walk. Especially if you're going to hide between SUVs with tinted windows so I can't see you and then just jump into traffic. Come on. There are street lights and crosswalks for a reason. And most of the worst offenders are only a car length or two from the corner.

Be aware of your space, your umbrella, and the people with you. If you're taking up the whole sidewalk, it's practically impossible for people coming the other way to walk. Don't give them dirty looks when you need to move over so they can pass.

Dear cars, buses, bikes, and pedestrians,

Mostly, please just be courteous and aware of what's going on around you. And be patient. I'm talking to you, black car that zoomed around me when I slowed down because someone was parking. I ended up right beside you at the stop light a block and a half away...it didn't save you a single second! I'll do my best to do the same...I just want to get where I'm going in one piece!

Thank you.

Updated p365

My p365 was so far behind the times...it was almost three months out of date...

It's not now. I'm starting to go cross-eyed.

And the layout has changed. It might change again in the next few days.

I'm not sure if I like it...we'll see...

Time for the full GAPS diet

This post was originally published at Get Fit Chicks. It may refer to posts on Get Fit Chicks that no longer exist. Please email me if you run into any of those and I will break the links. More information about the reposting is available here

Life is going to get easier!

Today I got to start the full GAPS diet and there is so much more on that list that I can eat than there was on any stage of the intro diet.

Honestly, I wasn't convinced I wanted to continue with the diet until I actually saw the naturopath this afternoon. I was considering moving straight to the Nourishing Traditions cookbook and giving up on the GAPS diet.

I wasn't hungry. I wasn't craving anything. The biggest problem was that I often didn't feel satisfied after I ate. I wasn't hungry anymore, but my meals weren't making me happy.

And I feel that eating is for fueling our bodies but that it should also be a positive experience.

Before I announced I was done with the diet, we went through the complaints I had last time:

• horrible cramps, evil periods, vicious PMS (the PMS part was new following the birth of J two years ago)
• horribly chapped lips that wouldn't heal
• fatigue. EXTREME fatigue
• frequent migraines
• difficulty losing weight

Then she asked me what the status of those things is now:

• horrible cramps? nope, just a few little twinges. evil periods? not so horrible, still not perfect, but we’re getting there. PMS? none of that
• horribly chapped lips that wouldn't heal? GONE
• fatigue? improving. There are some environmental factors that need to be addressed and that will likely help too
• frequent migraines? how about no migraines since I started the GAPS diet. I haven't gone this long without a migraine since I was pregnant.
• difficulty losing weight? solved. For now. Now I just need to keep it up and then maintain…

So after that little chat, I decided I wasn't making any announcements this week. Sticking to the diet is a bit of a pain, but if it means that all those things will continue to improve, well, it’s worth it.

Oh, and the bonus? I hoped I'd be able to wear my wedding rings by Christmas. I've been wearing them for a week. It feels so great to have my rings back on my finger where they belong!

The naturopath also ran some tests and the most interesting result was that my cortisol is LOW. Very very very low. The last time I had extreme fatigue, my cortisol was off the charts high. There were some other interesting results, confirming what I thought – hormones a bit out of whack which in turn makes my thyroid unhappy – and telling me things I’d never thought of – my insulin production is out of whack so my pancreas is a bit unhappy (coupled with the weird hormones means no weight loss) and a few other things that I’ve since forgotten but were interesting at the time!

A little update on 101 in 1001

So, as usual, I'm way behind in updating 101 in 1001.

I'm just way behind in most things. 'Tis the season. Or not.

I've decided it's time to review my expectations of myself and not expect quite so much. And first on the list of not expecting quite so much is not necessarily updating 101 in 1001 AS SOON AS IT HAPPENS.

But.

I will be blogging about these later...maybe tomorrow because tonight I have other things to do. So that I remember what I was going to blog about, I've got a quick update here...italics means in progress. No italics means done. If it's not here, I either haven't started it or I'm done and it's been blogged about. Go here for the full list.

Update begins now

ME

1. Fit back into pre-tumble down the stairs clothes
The GAPS diet has helped this a bit, but I'm a tad concerned than when I do get to reintroduce grains and beans I might have a bit of a gain...I'm working hard to be prepared so that doesn't happen.

2. Enroll J in swimming lessons before she turns 3
She's enrolled. Lessons start in January. I'm not considering this complete until we actually complete the lessons.

7. Pack away all of J's clothes and things that are too small or too young for her
I think this is going to be an ongoing game....one day it will be complete!

10. Really reconnect with an old friend
Oh yeah, this is happening. Stay tuned for details (they make take months to materialize) about a potential (VERY FUN) reunion with said "old friend"

11. Mail Christmas cards before December 24th
One can hope, right? It could still happen.

12. Get up every workday morning for a week without hitting the snooze button
OOooooh...I did today...maybe I can keep it up all week? We'll see!

13. Weigh less on day 1001 than on day 1
A direct quote from above (these are two different goals): The GAPS diet has helped this a bit, but I'm a tad concerned than when I do get to reintroduce grains and beans I might have a bit of a gain...I'm working hard to be prepared so that doesn't happen.

16. Update address book
This is an ongoing process, but once the book is free of post its, I will consider it updated. Even if it's only for a day or two!

Family
21. Do an insurance inventory of the contents of our home
This is going to take forever! All the more reason to get rid of more stuff!

22. Get our 72 hour emergency kit properly stocked
Almost done!

25. Stick to our budget for Christmas gifts
So far, so good!

26. Write 10 thank you cards with J
We're at 5/10. Christmas should look after the rest!

Food
31. Make gingerbread with J at Christmas
Gingerbread is made...now we just need to roll it and cut it and bake it and decorate it. The dough is in the freezer, waiting for the perfect time...hopefully before Christmas...

36. Try 50 new recipes
They're here and I've tried 16/50 - the five new ones are cake and icing à la Martha, hummus à la Martha, Mars Bar squares, and almond bread (it's not as good as it sounds, but more on that later)

38. Eat at ten new restaurants or coffee shops [2/10]
Back in, oh, October and November. We don't get out much...obviously!

Home
40. Decide what we're going to put on the clutter collecting wall in the living room and buy it/have it made
I think we've decided. Now we need to clear the stuff out of the space, put the current pieces of furniture on craigslist, and then go get the new furniture. Maybe in the spring.

44. Clear J's closet of the boxes from the move
I've done two boxes...we're getting there

50. Declutter 101 items to toss, give away, sell on craigslist or give to charity - they're all here [12/101]
I keep forgetting to take pictures or make note of what we've gotten rid of lately. But not to worry, I should still have little problem reaching 101!

Entertainment
57. Get an iPod and load all of our CDs onto it
It's ordered...

59. Have a dinner party one weekend a month for three months [1/3]
Does it count if we had four in two weeks in November?

62. Host a Christmas party
Done! It was fun...

Creative and writing
70. Knit a winter hat for J
Done...totally by accident! Oh knitting, how I missed you!

73. Blog about each one of the 101 things
It's happening...I'm just a little bit behind...

76. Send a special thank you letter just because
I'm still writing it...

77. Get the postcard section of the blog up to date
This could take a while...

79. Make a list of 101 beautiful things in my life
So could this....

Professional and Volunteering
88. Take a risk and take on a BIG challenge that is outside my comfort zone on the next project at work
Project isn't over yet...but risk is sort of taken...

90. Sponsor a family at Christmas

91. Find a new position within Guiding
This might have solved itself...I took on a project that will last past my end date, so I might have a new job...

92. Clear my personal email inbox - home and work
Every time I get two clear, the third one goes out of control. Soon...that is my goal!

Fun and Random Stuff
100. Put $5 in a special savings account for every item I cross off this list - 9/101 saved
It's growing...slowly but surely!

So that's that...I've now completed 9 of the 101 and have 28 in progress...we'll get there I'm sure!