My Bean Burrito

Dear Bean Burrito,

I know things have been a little shaky between us since the"other" guy came along. But we won't talk about him again in this post. No, this post is entirely, completely dedicated to my Bean, my Lala, my Baba boo, my Lola.

I know we haven't done any impromptu photo sessions lately, like this one, where I try to get you to look into the camera, and I fail miserably at it every time.

As I am writing this note, you are pouting on the couch because James and I didn't take you for a ride in the car today. You are spoiled. But you are the coolest friggin dog on the planet. You snore. You grunt. You hump my leg. You spit in people's faces. You fart. You ROCK.

Hang in there queen bean. I know the "other" guy annoys you right now. He pulls your tail. He crawls after you. He steals your thunder. But I think in time you will come to be great friends. Until then, think of the good times. When you had all the glory...

xo,

Your mommy.

oh Santa Claus......

How great would this be on my bed?! I am a sucker for nice bedding. The quilt is a little spendy though, and I don't think I have been a good enough girl to get this puppy from Santa!

And this.....

One of these paintings will make it on my wall before the end of the year.

I almost killed a guy...

and his name is Stephan Howard. He is the owner of this sweet spot. I bought this beauty there a few weeks ago.

When I saw it, I asked him if he had any of the robin's egg blue Flik and Company paint left in the store, since I wanted to paint the desk. He gave me the look of death and gasped. Now - you should all know that I am not an expert antiquer, so I started to laugh asking him what was the matter. Apparently, this desk is from the 1890's and the paint is original. Apparently, this is a big deal. It also just made it's way back from a film set.....

I am thinking it is going to be my new scrapbook table for my office downstairs. I also bought these beautiful baskets to be used as storage.

So.......should i paint it?!

I'm turning Japanese ..I really think so.

I had a layover in Narita, Japan on my way to and from Thailand. I think I took more pictures at the airport then I did in Thailand. I definitely spent more money there. I am fascinated by Japanese culture, and it's definitely on my list of places to visit. I think I have seen the movie Lost in Translation at least twenty times. I dream of staying at this hotel. I visited the National Origami Museum and almost keeled over when I saw these beautiful exhibits.

I bought some animal origami to put together for Rowan's room. I'll post pictures when I am finished making them.

I also bought these....I call them Michelle and James the Japanese edition.

I'm calling this house my home.

My house is a transplant kid. A bungalow built in the 1930s that belongs on the beach along the Atlantic Ocean rather then in the heart of Toronto. Years ago this house was actually moved from the country to it's current location. I was seven months pregnant when I stepped into this house for the first time. The fire was burning in the living room. There was beautiful stained glass in old little windows all over the house. An old school claw foot tub sat in the small bathroom upstairs. Old rickety wood planks laid on the floor in the bedrooms. It wasn't the place I thought I would fall in love with. In fact, James is the one that dragged me to this house in the first place. I wanted a brand spanking new townhouse with ultra modern fixtures. James wanted a detached house with a backyard for Lola and Rowan. When we walked into this house with were both shocked by how much I fell in love with it.

There was a bidding war. In the end, we ended offering the maximum amount of money we could afford. When we were signing the papers, the previous owners said that the house had brought them luck and they wished us the best. We moved in two days before I went into labour. It's where Rowan will grow up.

I purchased some words from Timeless Treasures, as a housewarming present to myself. I haven't got all the words up yet. There is still the word "SPLASH" that needs to be hung on the bathroom wall downstairs. James and I are in a power struggle about the word "EATON" that is sitting on the fireplace. He says it distracts from his original watercolor painting that he bought in Australia (he has this picture tattooed on his chest and arm, that's how much this painting turns his crank). We'll see where it ends up.

There is nothing on TV at 4:00 AM.....

I know this because I have been waking up at around 4:00 AM every night since I returned from Thailand almost two weeks ago. And it's killing me. Not the TV part. The not sleeping part. I have always been a ten hour sleeper. Like clockwork, I would go down for the count at around nine o'clock at night. Always slept well. Then Row came along, and shook my sleep schedule to the core. Now my little one sleeps all night. And I am not. And this makes for a very cranky mama.

So , I think it's time to call my doctor and see what he recommends to get me back on track. Any suggestions from fellow insomniacs would be appreciated at this point....

Allow myself to introduce....myself....

OK....I am way behind the curve on this whole blogging thing. But since I have been a constant lurker on many a blog, I thought it was high time I get one of my own. If your here, you probably know me, so no need get into all my personal nitty griitty's.

The whole raison d'être for this little blog of mine, is to keep in touch with my eleven newest gal pals...The Thailand posse. Eleven gals that live all over the world. Eleven gals that could not be more different. Eleven gals that captured my heart and lightened my spirit. Eleven gals that came into my life exactly when I needed them to.

So here's the story, of a gal named Michelle, who just this year had her very first child, and who was in desperate need of an adventure...

First and foremost you should know, that I was not initially picked for this trip....Yes, that's right. I am not ashamed to tell you, that I got a very lovely rejection letter when I applied to the Find Yourself retreat. Not that I am bitter or anything :) But things have a way of working out it seems, and a few days after the rejection letter came and went, an e-mail from this lovely lady had me doing a happy dance. You see, I have met up with this gal before, and I felt like if I had the opportunity to spend a week with her, we could get into all sorts of great trouble together...And we did.

The lovely Amy. My roomie for the first leg of the retreat, and the gal whose rockin' clothing I stole for the whole trip.

Em and Jo journaling on the beach. What can I say? I have never met an Ozzie that I haven't fallen head over heals with. And these two lovelies didn't disappoint...

Kari. My roomie for the first and last days of the trip. She is funny. I think I am funny. In that respect we are same same (inside Thai posse joke).

I have a confession. I am more of a guy's girl. I don't cry that often. I don't much share my feelings...But I found myself babbling on and on to these girls. Telling them my secrets. They listened. They laughed. They understood. I love the quote below....So simple. So sweet. I read it and I think of all of you....

"Even if we never talk again after tonight, please remember that I am forever changed by who you are and what you meant to me" (quote from the movie Chasing Amy...)

Northern Love,

Mic