Vodka and Soda

goodbye life of a housewife...

 

my days as a housewife are numbered so i've been trying to enjoy every single minute of unemployment until i have to head back in 2 weeks... and the days are scarily flying by!

i can't say how awesome 2013 will be considering i have to go back to work but i hope it'll be as amazing as 2012.  although i love my career, i love being a lazy asshole even more so needless to say, i'm sort of dreading having to go back to work.  the whole idea of it makes me tired:  the traffic, the stupid people i'll have to deal with, the annoyance of having to prepare my giant cooler of food every evening because i don't want to eat the garbage in the work cafeteria that they call "food", switching my workout time from a wonderfully leisurely 930am to a brutal 5am and being the routine-oriented person i am, i don't like schedule changes!

i know, first world problems.

when people hear  me whine about having to go back to work, not only are they mean by not extending any sympathy but they often question what i was doing this whole time.   i mainly skirted around the topic but the fact of the matter is:  i didn't do much.  i worked out, did a bit of housework and then did whatever the fuck i pleased every.single.day.   if that meant lying around all afternoon and watching tv, then that's what i did.  sometimes i napped.  sometimes i met friends for lunch.  sometimes i ran errands (not really) and sometimes i went to the spa. mostly, i relaxed a hell of a lot and it was fantastic!

did i organize my house?  not really and by "not really", i mean no. i started to organize my closet but stopped because i probably got distracted by something more exciting, like a nap.

i started to organize kayla's toy room but then decided i needed my hubs' advice about something and by that, i mean i just didn't feel like doing it anymore and thought he should do it instead.

what i did do every day without fail, was work out.  i had the time so it was much easier for me to stay on the wagon and stay in shape.   this was probably my greatest accomplishment during my 8 month work hiatus and when i went to visit the office a few times (to bring kayla to see hubs), everyone was all "omg, you look great!  you lost SO MUCH WEIGHT!" which sounds good but in reality, made me wonder how huge of a heffer i was before. 

i kept the laundry under control, cleaned what needed cleaning so my house wouldn't look like a pig sty but but for the most part, that doesn't take up too much time and the rest of the day was my oyster.

so now you know my dirty little secret for the past 8 months. 

going back to work is going to be a huge transition for me, mainly because i've been wracking my brain trying to figure out my new workout schedule and i've decided that the best time for me to get in a good workout is to do it at 5am every day.  major suckage, i know, but i'm up at that time anyway so instead of lounging in bed reading, i might as well get up and start my day.  i'm in the middle of figuring out how i'm going to arrange my meals around this new workout time since my timelines are now compressed so i need to understand when i'm going to eat and more importantly, what i'm going to eat before/after my workout and throughout the day at work.  you have no idea  how much i wish i extended my hiatus until april.

as for 2013, i only have 3 resolutions: 

1) to get my abs just a more defined

2) book my boudoir shoot.

3) update all the pictures hanging on the walls because they're all circa 2008 or older. 

 

hope your 2013 is great so far!

 

life of a housewife: 6 month update

 

 

it's been 6 months since i became a housewife of markham.

when i posted about my upcoming temporary retirement that began on june 1, i had so many things planned like organizing my mess of a closet, making kayla's play area so organized and awesome that everyone will pin it, cleaning out the pantry and making my kitchen so efficient/organized that martha stewart will beg to cook in it and exercising every day so that everyone will want tickets ... to the gun show  *flexes both arms*.

well... i'm embarassed to admit all that stuff didn't pan out so well.   not a one... except the workout part - that's about the only thing that i've been  consistently doing during these last 6 months.  i half organized my closet, ran out of steam and left it 'for another day'.   i started organizing kayla's play area then got distracted by something else (probably a nap).  it seems i've fallen victim to leaving things 'for tomorrow' since i have so much time to get to them but i'm running out of time so i need to get my ass in gear!

the original plan was for me to go back to work in mid-october after our disney vacation.  well, disney has come and gone and if that were to have gone through, i would be at work by now.  thank god that last month, hubs approached me and asked if i wanted to go back to work in january instead and hell, he didn't have to ask me twice!  you see, this works for the both of us -- once i go back to work, we'll have to resume our schedule of dropping kayla off at school on alternating days which means he won't be able to hit the gym first thing in the morning on a daily basis and prolonging my time off works for me because i get to be lazy for a longer period haha!

but i know january will be here in the blink of an eye because we're already in the middle of november and going back to work when it's snowing and cold is going to suck all kinds of ass and i'll hate every second of it.  well, i'll hate every second of it anyway but even more so because of the awful traffic.  damn, i couldn't even stand the traffic going to get coffee around the corner from my house after dropping kayla at school that i turned around and went back home.  if i can't even take that, how can i sit in traffic for 1.5hrs going to an office?!

the good thing is that people have been contacting me asking if i'm interested in working so i'm very grateful that there are opportunities out there.  the bad thing is i feel bad for turning them down; after all, they didn't have to seek me out but they did.  

hubs asked if i would be interested in staying home until april... um, HELL YES.  i'm in no hurry to get back to work but won't it look bad if i'm off for nearly a whole year?!

decisions, decisions......

fall loves

 

 

holy crap, it's september 1st.  it's always a time of sadness and excitement because while i love the fall, i'm sad to see the summer go.  here's hoping for a warm fall season marked with pockets of hot temperatures (like this weekend!).

 

 

my favorite things about fall:

cozy sweaters | cool, fall nights | warm soups | halloween! | picking pumpkins | hot, delicious tea | fall boots

all of my fav shows are back:

big bang theory (who doesn't love geeks?!) | vampire diaries (oh, damon) | revenge | new girl

 

*********** 

 

with school starting on tuesday, kayla and i spent some quality mom and daughter time together: 

school shopping (wah! my baby girl is all grownsed up!) & getting our hair did | lots of morning cuddles | eye appointments (confirmed: she has eagle eyes) | lunching | looking so adorable

 

 what do you like about the fall?

 

what happens in the boudoir stays in the boudoir

 

{via}

 

i have very few things on my bucket list; i've crossed off some of them but for the most part, i'm content with what i have, what i've done and where i've gone.   i do however, have one item that was on the bottom of the list and i honestly thought that i'd never get around to it... until recently.

since i've been working out like a madwoman and getting to a fitness level i haven't been since my late teens/early 20s,  i've been seriously considering doing a boudoir photoshoot.  

*gasp*shock* .... i know.  

a long time ago, i saw a movie that had a black and white framed portrait of a woman  wearing nothing but a white shirt that was half unbuttoned, her hair tousled as if she just rolled out of bed.  when i saw that image (and for the life of me, i can't remember the name of the movie), i thought: that is one badass picture... one day i'm going to do that!  well, that day  may come sooner than i thought.  i figure i'm young now, i'm in pretty good shape and i don't know how long this {motioning to body} will last so i want to capture myself in this moment so that when i'm 80 and wrinkled, i can look back and remember this exact time in my life ... and tell my grandkids your granny was a badass motherfucker!

in my opinion, a boudoir shoot can go high on the cheese factor pretty fast.  i prefer tasteful and sexy instead of raunchy and slutty (and i've seen those shots, oh my!).  i don't want thongs or fishnets or  those strappy things that hold up your pantyhose.  i know exactly what i want to wear, what setting i would like to be in and how i want the photographs to look..... my problem is finding a photographer and a make-up artist, who i assume would have to be on-site for the entire shoot.  

i know lots of photographers and makeup artists who are friends but i'm thinking of using complete strangers because i might be a little gun shy when it's time to bare for the camera.  while i know my friends in the industry would be 100% professional if i did decide to hire them, it would be hard for me to keep a straight face  and be serious since i would probably laugh my ass off at every pose and ruin the entire shoot.  

 i would also need to go to a studio since i'm not comfortable doing this in my home.  the search for a toronto boudoir photographer is proving to be difficult mainly because i don't really know what to look for other than reviewing their portfolio.   i don't think any of my friends have done this so i can't ask for a referral either.  

i'd like to do this in spring 2013 when i've reached my fitness goals so i'm glad that i  have some time for more research.   if you've done a boudoir shoot or know of anyone who has, how was it?  please tell me!!

life of a housewife: an update

 

summer is almost over, can you believe that?!   

remember i posted about having the summer off and what i'd be doing?  i did most of them except venture downtown to meet friends for lunch (sorry ladies) but i did do a whole lotta nuthin'.  it's amazing how staying at home makes you so lazy!!  i had trouble even getting up to go to the grocery store because that required me to get up, get dressed and drive that whole 10 mintues.  and those little house tasks that i  said i would do?  yeah, that didn't pan out so well.   the whole lotta nuthin' got in the way and my day would basically consist of me putting around the house - blogging, doing a bit of housework, napping, watching tv/movies - and when 3pm rolled around, i got up to do the dishes that were sitting in the sink or cook.   let me tell you, 3pm comes pretty fast when you're relaxing.  it's so awesome.

and the best part?  i've decided to extend my extended summer vacation to january!  be jealous, bishes.

i went out for high tea with the girls a few weekends ago and i'll be happy to announce that i fought the urge to eat the best scones in the city.  it sat on a plate right in front of me (with my face 3 inches from the plate just staring at it and inhaling the goodness).   a few friends commented how great my skin looked to which i replied:  that's what not working will do!

on to the pictures...

with the gals at the king edward hotel

 

 

i also got my ears pierced.  that's right, at the age of 36, i got my ears (re)pierced.  kayla wanted to get hers done and asked me to do it with her.   i'll admit that i was scared!! and yes, i have several tattoos but there's something about a piercing gun  shoving a dull stud through skin that is unnerving.  

but do you know this means?  it means my accessory world has opened a brand new door so you bet your ass i've been scoping out new eargasms.

 

my home gym is complete.  that mini bar is what keeps me from passing out.  it's so awesome to be able to reach in and grab a cold bottle of water while getting my ass kicked from the crazy workouts.

 

after years of birthday money and grandparents spoiling-her money, we decided to open up a bank account for kayla.  

her signature on her first "official" document.  adorable, isn't it?

 

 

kayla also went to the dentist for the first time.  she was so good and didn't complain once; even when they used that torture metal thing to scrape at her teeth (i hate that part!).   then she took xrays of her teeth and jaw and was a perfect angel during the whole thing.   and look ma, no cavities!

 

have you heard about tophatter?   my friend introduced me to it and i can't get off the fucking thing.  it's a live auction site where you can buy or sell stuff in a live auction setting.   i'm putting up a bunch of purses that i no longer use but i've given some friends first dibs in case they want.  here's a sneak peak at some of the ones i'm putting up for auction:

 

 

DIY: jewelry organizer

 

enough with the fitness posts, right?  let's move onto to something fun... like my new, awesome jewelry organizer!

my last organizer was also a DIY but not as efficient and by efficient, i mean it was just a different way to dump my shit in a more organized manner and by that, i mean it wasn't really organized.  it was still hard for me to find my bracelets/rings and the only things that were easy for me to find were my necklaces.

when i went to my cousin's house, i saw her organizer (and loved it) and i simply stated: "i have two  of those at home.... and i'm going to totally steal your idea".  however there was one glitch:  hubs uses this organizer for his nuts, bolts and screws which meant he was going to have to find somewhere else to store them.

 

folks, this is a carpentry organizer for screws and such, hence the ugly blue color.  men don't care for esthetics and neither does home depot or rona.  i'm still trying to figure out if i can repaint this but that would require some work (sanding and spraying with color) and i'm not about that.   the best part?  these are stackable!  you're not looking at a single unit but a series of units all put together.  how awesome is that?

these are also over 20 years old as it was my dad's who, bless his soul and heart, kept it in pretty good shape.  when he passed away and we moved from the old house, hubs had the foresight to keep this which i'm thankful for because at the time, the jewelry gods hadn't activated my probe yet.

 

hubs:  just dump the screws and crap in this bin;  i'll organize it later and put them away.  I LOVE THIS MAN

 

cleaning it up.  i used kayla's baby wipes - stronger than paper towel and chemical free!

 

 

while cleaning out the drawers, i found some things that brought back memories as well as some tears.  the first picture is a pendant that my father gave to my mother when they were dating.  on the back, his initials are inscribed.  this made me bawl my eyes out. 

the middle picture are the studs from when i first got my ears pierced... when i was 5 years old.  i really don't know why my dad kept these... probably for the same reasons why i would keep something like this of kayla's.  by this time, i'm a weepy mess.

the last picture is a bracelet that my mom kept.  how fitting that in the midst of all the screws and other stuff in here, i find jewelry. i think this organizer has fulfilled its destiny.

 

i lined each drawer with non-slip foam shelf liners courtesy of the dollar store.  actually, i had lots of left overs from when we moved into this house so i didn't have to spend a dime.  i love not spending money.

 

the finished product:

LOL i just noticed kayla snuck a few things of her own in here (she was helping me clean this up) -- can you spot them?

 

you can find these stackable organizers at home depot for $19.99.  they've probably updated the look but for $20, you can't go wrong.    also, the bottom drawer spans across the entire length so i can lie my cuffs flat. 

i'm so in love with this thing.. and the fact that this was my dad's just makes this so awesome. 

life of a housewife - holistic healing

 

yesterday was awesome; it was a day spent getting acupuncture, a massage followed by a lunch date with myself.  what's weird was i got all kinds of strangers staring at me because i was eating by myself!  another post on this very topic to follow....

i've been seeing my acupuncturist for a over 5 years now and she's the best.  i started seeing her because i had the worst carpal tunnel; i'm talking so bad that it would keep me up at night or wake me up at night, throbbing.  every doctor i saw (and i saw about 3), recommended surgery (which i didn't want to do) so as a last resort, i took my sister's advice and booked an appointment with leanne.

i won't lie: i was scared (they're needles for christs sake!).  i was also a non-believer because how could a few needles cure me?  psssssht!!  well, after three treatments, not only was my carpal tunnel 100% cured, i was also a believer; so much so that i sort of became her unoffical advocate, often pimping out her name to my friends and family who complained about health ailments or pain.  

leanne had opened up her own clinic - called living waters therapies - close to the beaches but i wasn't able to visit until yesterday.  

 

that's leanne - owner and doctor of traditional chinese medicine.

 

this looks like my mom's medicine cabinet at home!

 

i called leanne because i'm convinced that part of my recent skin freakouts is due to my hormones.  after our consultation, she believes that while my exercising is great, part of the reason why my skin is reacting is because the toxins that are leaving my body are coming through my skin instead of going through my digestive system.   i also told her about my whole imbalanced hormone thing so we've started a treatment to target my kidneys and endocrine system to stabilize the hormones. 

 

my treatment room.  fell asleep and took a 15min snooze, needles and all; it's that relaxing!

 
to divert the toxins to exit my body through my digestive system, leanne gave me several months' worth of ginseng.  there are 2 kinds here - canadian ginseng (which isn't as strong and has a "cooling" effect on the body) and panax (chinese) ginseng (which has a "heating" effect on the body).  my mom drinks ginseng on the regular but i prefer pill form because drinking boiled ginseng tastes as good as eating week-old garbage, it's so disgusting.

 

 lunch was a yummy california salad with a seared steak and a raspberry mojito.  i figured i could use a drink since i was going swimsuit shopping (ugh, worst) and the booze would soften the blow. 

 

 

HAPPY FRIDAY!!

 

looking back ... 2 years of awesome

 

[photo location:  anguilla, BWI]

i was in a very different place around this time 3 years ago.   darkness, despair and sadness surrounded me daily but this month 3 years ago, i was finally cured of my depression and every june, i think about where i was and how far i've come.  while i don't focus on what happened, i will also never forget it because it'll always serve as a reminder that there's nothing more important than life, family and friends.   i've written about my journey several times; all of the posts can be found here. 

the  last two years have been totally awesome - happiness, love and laughter surround me.  

my depression put a strain on my marriage and it took us a long time to get back what we had but my marriage is stronger than ever.   i have the best, most supportive and loving husband in the world who is all kinds of sexy man-hunk.  i know, barf.  sorry y'all.

i love being a mother and it still makes me sad that i lost that first year with kayla.

i am head over heels madly in love with kayla.  she's the most brilliant, adorable, gorgeous and hilarious kid ever.   i can't imagine my life without her.

i thought i had a close relapse towards something which i thought was my depression coming back but after a session with my psychiatrist, it's gone (thank goodness).  since my depression, i'm now aware of my triggers and what i need to do to get back on track.

when work was going on, it was fun, challenging and most importantly, interesting.  to be honest, i was a little disappointed that i had to leave (the project) because it was my baby.

i haven't been this healthy in years and i'm so proud of myself.  i've been feeling so awesome because i'm doing ass-kicking workouts that are changing my body; like, insanity ass-kicking.  i'm going on 6 months strong and i pat myself on the back every single time.

i'm off for the summer and loving every.single.minute.  you all must be tired of my life of a housewife posts and tweets by now.

with the gorgeous summer weather, i want to spend more time with my awesome friends.  wonderland?  zoo? playdates?  shopping?  dinners/drinks?  i'm available!!!  last weekend we had an impromptu bbq and everyone - including the kidlets - had a blast.  i want to have more of those so friends, consider this  your warning.

 

here's to an awesome summer! 

the life of a housewife - update

 

 

it's been about 2 weeks since becoming a housewife (of toronto) and i gotta say, i'm totally loving my time off and spent no time getting used to doing nothing.

my first week off was my 'vacation'.  yes, yes; i know i have 3 months off but i'll be keeping busy during these 3 months and i wanted to have a 'do nothing but pamper myself and fun stuff' week before i started all of my house tasks.   my vacay week was filled with blogging, relaxing, napping and putting around the house; not to mention shopping, facials, massages and pedicures.  oh the life of a housewife... it's pretty fucking awesome.

i recently blogged about my switch to an all-natural makeup line and last week, i had my facial and skin consultation at Pure + Simple; a spa that is dedicated to providing holistic skin treatments using natural and organic products.   since my skin hasn't been on its best behaviour lately and after some chats with bloggy pal, elaine, i decided to book an appointment to talk to them about my skin and possible alternatives for skin products.

 

 

when i walked into the spa, i saw rows upon rows of skin products and i felt like a giddy kid in a candy store; i'm glad i got there early so i could take some pictures and browse the products at my leisure. oh and just so you know, by the time i remembered to take a picture of the room before i messed up the bed, i was already in my underwear fumbling around with my phone camera in a very dim-lit room so i couldn't get all fancy and photographic because i was afraid the lady would walk in and see me nekkid.  

i received the super hydrating facial since my skin is dry and not only did i love the products that were used, it was an awesome and relaxing facial. although my skin looked great, it still felt a little tight but i think it was because the proper moisturizer wasn't used.  i also didn't really click with my esthetician (which is very important for me in order to trust her with her product recommendations etc), but i enjoyed the facial and the atmosphere so much that i went ahead and purchased a package of 3 facials and will just book with another esthetician.  hmmm... i wonder if that's bad form?

prior to my appointment, i researched the hell out of their products  and while i was disappointed that i didn't get the answers i wanted about my product inquires, i decided to go by my research and hauled the following products:

 

martina gebhardt black mud cream | P+S organic peppermint lip oil | P+S organic lime lip balm | P+S collagen elastin Plus | P+S rejuvenating rosehip mask | P+S calming cucumber mask | jurlique eye cream | P+S sunflower cream (sample) | P+S sensitive skin oil (sample)

 

you don't want to know how much i spent (it's ridic) but i'm excited to use everything.  after what i spent, i expect to have skin as soft and smooth as Kayla's in no time.  product reviews will soon follow.   

*****

there's a lot going on in my house right now; we hired some painters and finally, our screaming white walls are no more.  they're painting the entire bottom and top floor with amazing colors that hubs picked out and we got a steal on the quote.  it also helped that my good friend is the owner's good friend and i'm convinced (although he never told us) that he's doing this job with a very low profit margin.  

right now, i'm holed up in my media room listening to them trudge all up in my house with their boots on (!!!!).  i was raised in a house where shoes remain in the front foyer and while i understand their need to keep their shoes on (safety with ladders etc), the chinese in me cringes every time i see them trampling upstairs or leaving boot marks on my hardwood floors and it takes everything i have not to follow them around with a vaccum or mop.

next week, the shutter guy will be coming but here are some before and after shots of what our house looks like (besides being a freaking mess):

 

once everything is done, i'll be posting another update.  it's going to look so awesome i can hardly wait.

 

summer, i'm ready

 

[source]

 

today is my last day at work and i'm so fucking giddy.  actually, i've been giddy all week leading up to today and hardly anyone at the office could stand me.   while the chaos around my project continues, there i sat like an idiot in every meeting with a smile plastered across my face because i knew that these problems - that frustrated and irritiated me to no end - will no longer be my problems and all i could think about were my appointments booked all next week - facial, massage, pedicure and a trip to visit my sister.    like i said - fucking giddy.

in addition to enjoying some "me" time and being a housewife of toronto,  we've decided to do a few things around the house. 

 

 

while i love my floor-to-ceiling windows that allow gorgeous natural light to stream into my house, it's also converts this mofo into a freaking sauna in the summer.  when we had our first heat wave of the season last weekend, our a/c wasn't working properly (of course) so weez be ghettoing it when i made hubs climb up and instal these hideous things to block out the light.   on june 15, we have a shutter guy coming to install more shutters not only on these windows but on the windows upstairs.   relief will ensue. 

in addition to that, we're also getting the interior of our house painted that same week.  talk about money pissing out of my pocket.  for real yo, our tax refunds can't come soon enough but at least i'll not longer have to live in a house with screaming white walls.

then on monday i'm heading to the gym to sign up for a 3-month membership which will be weird since i haven't stepped foot in a gym in years but here's the truth:

 

 

happy friday everyone!!