jingle bells

so much to talk about, so little time!!

New job - awesome!
Honeymoon - AMAZING!
New house planning - frustrating
Renovations - tiresome
new puppy - can't wait!

'tis the season - holiday baking and meals here I come!  I have recently begun learning how to bake gluten and dairy free, as well as a lot of the time vegan - and relatively healthy.  To my surprise ... people are actually loving my stuff!!   I get all of my recipes from glutenfreegoddess blog, and she is amazing - seriously... try her out!  The gingersnaps were to.die.for, and the chocolate peppermint cookies were awesome too.  Tomorrow is Christmas with the inlaws - and not only are we doing everything g and d free, but we are also attempting a pumpkin cheesecake - drool.

Life has been pretty busy, and there is quite the steep learning curve at my new job.  I really am loving it (and feeling super CSI - was even on TV!!).  I don't mind the dead people thing that much - and I am actually finding it rewarding talking with and helping the families!  The investigation part is super cool - figuring out time and cause of death, whether its suspicious, etc.

We have a couple of things coming up (other than christmas) in the next month or so.  We are getting our new pup sloan so maya has someone to play with - hopefully she will have a little less energy all of the time.  And will also be moving into our new house.  We built out in evergreen, and can't be more excited -- although it's super scary knowing you have 2 mortgages you have to have covered every month - but hey, that's what you get with real estate investment right?

Well, time for some last minute christmas shopping - crazy right? Who waits until 3 days before christmas? Apparently everyone in the city - because that's who will be joining me today!!

As per usual, I leave my AVID readers with a quote. This time holiday themed.

"Love the giver more than the gift"

--- Brigham Young

great indoors

today, my husband (still getting used to that word!), and I stayed inside most of the day (we did take pup to the dog park) .. despite the 28 degree weather .. and worked on the house. He dry-walled, and I tiled the backsplash. I have to finish the grouting tomorrow, so pictures to come! In case you were wondering, tiling sucks. Especially because I made him cut around the receptacles wrong, and now he has to figure out how to make it work because the tile is already up... whoops. My bad. 

Something that I am much (well, not that much...) better at is baking quinoa granola. I made some tonight, and made the house into a sweat box in the process. I thought I would post the recipe, because turns out, not only did it smell delicious, it WAS, in fact, actually delicious. 

Ingredients:

2 cups GFree rolled oats

1 cup uncooked quinoa

1/2 cup mixed dried berries

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup almond slices

1/2 cup sesame seeds

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1/4 cup chia seeds

1/4 cup flax

1/4 cup hemp hearts

1/2 cup cocoa beans (optional)

1 cup agave nectar

1/2 cup maple syrup flavoured agave nectar or coconut oil melted

3 tablespoons cinnamon

- preheat oven to 225 degrees on bake

- mix dry ingredients together well

- add wet ingredients and stir stir stir!

- bake on cookie sheet with wax paper for 45 mins, stir, bake another 45 mins and voila! Delicious.

Tomorrow, I will be continuing with the "good wifey" deeds on my day off, and making chili and soup to freeze for the winter. yum. Just way too obsessed with food at the moment apparently??

"I like a cook who smiles out loud

when he tastes his own work"

--- Robert Farrar Capon

this perfect day

boy, what a day. Perfection. It's really amazing when a year of planning, scratch that, a lifetime of planning your perfect wedding day comes to fruition right in front of your eyes. Everything looked exactly as I wanted it to - and more importantly - I got to marry the man of my dreams.

From the way both of us looked, to the decor, the food, the speeches and the FUN, it was amazing. I feel so blessed to have the family and friends that I do, and I cannot wait for the life ahead of me with my best friend and husband. Here is just a taste (I mean a TASTE.. there are 800 pictures) of our very own perfect day: June 30th, 2012.

Voila. Un perfet de jour. I have NO idea if thats right... 

diamonds are a girls best friend

well, my diamond I received last summer, was cause to celebrate my stagette this past weekend! And boy did we celebrate!!! I had THE best time, and pictures are to come. I barely have enough time to type this blog entry, due to house renos, house bills, planning a wedding (the lists are MILES long people, MILES!), work, and a puppy to take care of,  let alone upload and edit pictures, but I digress. This weekend was truly awesome, and as I sit here writing this, my husband-to-be is on his way to his own stag weekend in Waskesiu (thats a place in Saskatchewan, in case you thought the word was weird like I did).

But more about my stagette! Friday night we had a chill night at my moms place, where we had a passions party and sleepover! So cute, right!!! My best friend and maid of honor Amie flew in from Grande Prairie to attend, and I am so glad she did. We all had such a good time! Saturday we woke up to such a delicious breakfast (all gluten and lactose-free... I have the BEST friends!). Ps. did I mention that 2 of my bridesmaids are celiac, and my other good friend is too? That, combined with my weird lactose/preservative/FOOD intolerance, makes for a great time at restaurants :)! After breakfast we baked in the sun for a bit, we went to a burlesque dancing class! The instructor oozed sexy, and introduced us to the proper strut, which we obviously did for the rest of the night, including walking into open sesame, our amazing dinner location. I haven't been there in so so so long, and I forgot how much I love their scallop and veggie stir fry you make on your own. YUM, I want to go back, now!

After the delicious supper we headed to a Ranchmans line for 40 mins (no line no cover my ass... we only got no cover!). Once we got inside the party really started, and we danced the night away, closing the place down (I wouldn't let ANYONE leave until we did that, apparently). The best part... I actually LIKED the outfit they put me in, when does that happen on a stagette?

It was super cute.. and I got to wear my sexy leather skirt to boot. My "Future Mrs. Pavier" tank was so cute, as were my bridesmaids' purple "Team Kaylee" tanks. It was a great sendoff, and made me excited and motivated once more to plan more wedding stuff! I had been on a hiatus for a while, but I'm re-amped now. I have the best friends. Period. Although, not all of the could make it, the ones that did really made me feel like a special bride! Holy crap, sometimes I still can't believe I'm getting married! 6 weeks until I'm a Pavier.

Another thing that is taking up, say ALL of my time lately has been our house reno's. I feel like I have zero spare time to do anything these days.. so sitting down to pay the bills (and blog apparently) today really has given me a much needed break. We are almost livable, just needing to finish the island and countertops, then we just have little things like trim and painting to do. It's super exciting to see what it's actually going to look like, instead of just picturing it in your mind. Here's where we are at!

Exciting for sure, and not as dark as it looks in the picture! We sure are working hard to get this done as quickly as possible. And little tiny me even installed flooring! And demolished a bar, and painted, and so much more. Apparently I'm a carpenter, painter and floor installer. A right Mrs. Fix-It. ha, kidding. But I sure am liking the way it is beginning to look, or at least, that we have walls again! haha.

Well, I must get back to my bills and overdue library books (oops!). 6 Weeks and counting, man.. I have to practice my new signature. I use it everyday at work a million times! Here's my customary quote about my life. Of course with our stag/stagette being on my mind (thank god I'm working this weekend...), I chose our love story as inspiration...

"Once in a while,

Right in the middle of an ordinary life,

Love gives us a fairy tale."

--- Author Unknown

here i am

After having spent the weekend at the BMO Center in Calgary (reminiscing about Stampede's past...) learning about real estate, I am now back in the flat land of Saskatchewan. We made it home in record time last night, doubled both by our weird side road we found, and the speed des was allowed to go since backroads usually don't have anyone on them. However, once home, we discovered our keys didn't work, and waking up the landlord at 11 when he's already sleeping isn't do fun. Neither is standing in the cold, trying to jimmy a lock, with our puppy whining beside us. Like I didn't know it was cold, or want inside either!

Learning about real estate investing was really eye-opening. We learned a lot of tricks, and how to invest in real estate safely and smartly. It's all about the cash flow baby! haha. Now onto making my personal belize collage. What this means is putting together a collage of all of the things I want to accomplish in my life. A reminder of why I want to start investing in real estate to begin with -basically what this financial freedom will do for me, and why/what I will do with it. It was reassuring to know that all the calculations added up for the property we have already purchased. I was a little nervous as we were doing them, but it looks like someone was watching out for us!

What this now means is that I have a BUNCH more planning to do. Not to mention putting up multiple ads on kijiji for both our suite and garage and the suite I'm in. I'm also making a folder on our finances, and real estate bookkeeping as well as one on our current property. I must learn how to think like an investor. We also have to find an accountant, and set up more bank accounts for business. Holy moly lots to do this week.. I guess it kind of is a good thing I'm not working!

I wanted to leave the post with a picture of our adorable puppy (almost a dog... wah). I've done some more experimenting with my camera. Again, with editing it would be much better. All in due time. 

On a healthy note.. put the following in a mug, microwave for one minute.. and you have an instant, sugar-free muffin.

1/4 cup ground flax
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp coconut oil
1 egg
1 packet stevia

Saw it on doctor oz, and totally want to try it! I'll let you know the results!

If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there

--- Lewis Carroll

winter winds

I'm not sure why, but lately my days off have been way too lazy for my liking. It's nice to be able to have days off, but when you're home alone all day, you kind of reserve yourself to doing nothing. I baked and worked out yesterday, and am doing laundry today, but I still feel like all i'm doing is sitting on the couch watching TV and on my computer. Granted, "on my computer" means looking up things for the wedding or house reno's, but I still feel like a lazy bum!

Today we have our first marriage prep session, and I'm getting nervous. What if they tell us we will break up soon, then what do we do? Kidding, they wont say that, even if they thought it. I'm looking forward to seeing what we are going to talk about and get up to. Should be interesting to say the least. 

Next weekend I have my Moose Jaw wedding shower. Who would EVER have thought that I would one day be having a wedding shower in Moose Jaw.  There are going to be a lot of people there - mostly Marilyn's friends, but my mom and a couple of my friends are coming as well. I'm pretty excited to have a get together in Saskatchewan with numerous people there that's all about ME. haha, I feel like I don't know too many people in this province, so it will be a nice change to have people all in one place that I know, and that are there for me. Sounds selfish, but I'm allowed to be every once in a while! 

Today's picture is one I took this summer of the new surfboard that Kevin bought for his new boat. The one below this is a picture of Desmond wakeboarding. They both remind me of last summer, and as luck would have it -  I had the best time last summer! Vicky and I spent a week out at the lake on the boat.. it was perfect, and I got the best tan! It was also the summer we went to Camp Arbuckle and got engaged. Other not-so-nice things happened, but its best not to think about the bad, and instead concentrate on the good! And I have so much more good in my life. 

I just can't wait for it to be summer again. Not only will I be getting married, but summer means no more snow and cold. I don't do cold well. And no, that does not mean I simply need more meat on my bones, it means that I don't do cold well. I'm always cold. always. Coupled with my poor circulation and coordination this girl has trouble in winter! Which is probably why I try to avoid heels in winter at all costs, as cute as they may look... but I digress... 

I don't know about everyone else, but I have always wondered what it would have been like to be extremely rich or extremely poor. How different would you be as a person? I almost think the middle class have it best - they (typically) work hard, and appreciate what they earn. They aren't stuck up like the extremely rich, and they aren't like the poor. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have more money, but I feel like the middle class, or even upper middle class is one of the best places to be. Being middle class or working class, if you will, growing up has taught me the value of money and life in general. Money can't buy you happiness, but it sure as hell can make you comfortable enough to find happiness. I've learned that things aren't just given to you, you have to work hard and earn them. I wasn't given a brand new car for my 16th birthday, were you? That said, if I have the money, I'll totally spoil my kids. 

"Anyone who lives within their means

suffers from a lack of imagination"

--- Oscar Wilde

top of the world

I am officially an RN. Years of work and one stupid 3 hour test later, I have passed and joined the ranks of the Canadian Registered Nurse. No more hours spent worrying about my test results - behind me those minutes lie!

It feels good to be DONE. Now just to find a permanent job, as opposed to this casual business. I'm really blessed in the fact that they pre-book me for shifts, but when I am called 3 times in one day to cancel some of my shifts... it starts to become a little bit more treacherous territory - with a new house, and a wedding, money is not just something thats "kind of" needed these days.

Oh yeah, new house. Just a home inspection this sunday, and we are good to go. Ah, so exciting... now to tell my current landlord.. I'm so not good at confrontation. When it comes to people I love, great at confrontation. But people of so-called "authority" not-so-much. God give me strength. Cute little innocent, soft spoken blonde seems to come out on the cusp of confrontation. Other than that... kind of bitchy, opinionated blonde (still pretty cute though?) seems to come out. In the future, I'm going to try and find a balance between the two.

I honestly feel on top of the world. Fiance, puppy, amazing family and family to be, RN status, new house, new job, wedding in 114 days (totally not counting). What is there not to be thankful for? Well, getting rid of this snow might help as well.. but no one can have that much going for them at once, right? I just stopped today and thought... even though there are some (pardon my french .. btw, kind of hate that saying) really shitty things happening, I have so much in my life that I need to give thanks for. God, or whomever is up there watching over me, is good. Great, really. As I am cleaning my house today, I'll remember that life is good, even though cleaning really sucks. I want a maid, so badly.

I've decided to share another picture I took with this post. Maybe I'll try to keep sharing pictures I've been taking with every post - seeing as how I love it, and maybe it will help me to become better at actually taking some. Who knows, maybe it will actually become a hobby of mine, this whole picture thing, instead of something I love, but don't do very often.

"I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. 

I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle.

 But if you can't handle me at my worst, 

then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best" 

 -- Marilyn Monroe