More babbling and belly...

Here's my v-log for Weeks 20-26 (aka the best 6 weeks so far!) Sorry I ramble a lot in this one, but I also listed all of our baby name choices in case anyone is curious as to what this little guy will be called (I didn't reveal which one we chose though, that's going to be a surprise) :)

Please excuse the clearing of the throat and nervous hair stroking, I'm still not used to making these!

Weeks 20-26 from Genevieve Flynn on Vimeo.

And also here's my 26.5 Weeks belly shot. Not much difference between this and 2 weeks ago, but I can certainly feel a difference in my mobility, putting on my socks this morning was kind of a challenge, sheesh!

Today so rocked.

wish... ;), originally uploaded by {sylvia}.

Today was awesome because...
-I got a lot done on my day off!
-It was sunny and not too cold
-I got a kick-ass deal on a stroller I was wanting (I got this Peg Perego for 150$!)
-I had a Starbucks Caramel Brulé Frappucino and it was DELICIOUS...oh my
-Traffic was light and I didn't catch many red lights
-I got 2 pairs of boots, 3 necklaces, a shirt, some pants, a bowl for the baby's room, and my sister's Christmas present while thrifting
-I took a drive outside of the city and saw how pretty everything is covered in snow
-I bought a pair of pretty (and warm) aqua gloves
-I got my Ashley G prints in the mail, plus the gifts I ordered for my grand mama and Dan's nan
-I made a Hot Italian Sausage soup, perfect winter food
-I recorded my v-log for Week 20-26 (right on time!)
-I stayed on top of my work emails
-Shimi followed me around all morning and was cute/cuddly

Tonight I'm working on more Christmas cards, my December Daily (going to use this list for Day 7), and watch some more Dexters with Dan (we're on Season 4, going to be all caught up soon!)

How did your day rock?

Hugs,
G.

PS-I want another Caramel Brulé...

Sunday Scrappy Vault-Volume 2

While packing away all of my scrapbook albums the other day (they are quite heavy!), I decided it might be fun to take a picture of all of my minis together (they usually sit in a basket on the shelf), and as I looked through them again, I remembered how much I love making them. Minis are great because you have the freedom to do whatever you want; they can be about a specific topic, or just be completely random (I have a nice mix of both). You can usually get one done in a couple of days, they don't always require photos, you can used lots of mixed media, you can choose whatever size you want, and you can just play. I would say that this past year minis have been 75% of my scrapping projects, either as gifts or as on going projects.

My minis include:
-Happiness is... (this is a 6X6 album with sleeves that I occasionally fill with mini pages)
-Project 365 (the behemoth mini that I finished back in June...also the most expensive one!)
-Moi, just 'cuz (mini tin with pullout pics)
-Random '08 mini (my very first mini! 5X5 chipboard album)
-I love art (my 2nd mini ever, made from old file folders)
-5 Amazing years of loving you (4X6 chipboard album)
-Christmas memories (chipboard arrow mini)
-Learn to love your handwriting dammit! (Pringles top mini)
-Summer '08 (hand-bound book made from Toast catalogue pages and corrugated cardboard)
-Bits of life mini (made from 2 long envelopes as cover and random sized pages inside)
-Favourite mini (K&Co mini-kit...the only time I've ever not made a mini from scratch)
-Ode to Autumn '08 (another hand-bound book made from Toast catalogue pages)

I also have my 52Q and December Daily minis that I'm currently working on (my goal is to have them done before the baby is born), and I've also done a few others as gifts for friends and family, so since I started in March of 2008 I've created nearly 20. It's hard to choose a favourite, they are all quite different and meant something to me at the time while I was making them. I think I'll be making minis for quite a long time.

Now, time for my guilty confession: Although I love making minis, sometimes I don't always love filling them out/finishing them. For example, 4 of the albums above aren't 100% done. This usually happens when I make a mini with the intention of filling it in later...a lot of the time it just doesn't happen, or the inspiration stops before it gets done and I just end up putting it away, or I run out of ideas and pages are left blank. I always have the intention of going back and finishing them, but rarely does this happen. (The same goes with my scrapbook pages in general, especially when it comes to journaling...)

Does this every happen to anyone else?

Ok, well that's all for this edition of the Scrappy Vault, until next time!

For Heather.

(can't remember the source, sorry!)

Not sure if you'll see this, but if you do, I just wanted you to know that I'll miss you over Christmas but I know we'll see each other next year. I hope you have a wonderful, safe Christmas with everyone out there. Miss you!

And again, CONGRATS!! You deserve it all chick :)

Holiday/December playlist

What's I'm listening to this month. Mostly Christmas music, the new Moon soundtrack and a few randoms here and there :)

Baby oh baby, what to call you...

As I've mentioned before, we're getting pretty close to choosing our baby's name, but I'm still going back and forth between our 2-3 choices, and wondering if we should go with something else entirely. It's driving me nuts quite frankly, because I want to call this giant belly shown above something other than "bébé" (Dan, of course, has pretty well chosen, so it's just me holding the decision back). So I thought I would ask you all, my dear online/blog friends, for help.

What should we name Kid A?

Some things to consider:
1. It's a boy
2. No "J" or "K" names please (I'm just not a fan of them)
3. It has to be able to be said in French, or at least 'Frenchly". So a name like "James" would be out (even though I like it, despite the "J"-ness)
4. It can be unique, but nothing too extreme

So, will you help me? What names do you love/hate/think are interesting but would never attempt on your own child? Share in the comments if you can, you'll forever be remembered as helping the increasingly scattered and frenzied mind of a pregnant woman with way too much to do.

Happy mid-week, can't wait for the weekend already!

December Goals

My ideal scene...

My real-life scene.

Before listing my December goals (which will be far less extensive than last month's), let's see what I actually did in November (bolded ones are tasks I did):

*Make a Christmas music playlist and upload it to my phone

*Research washer and dryer prices

*Pay off one credit card, start paying off the other

*Buy more cloth diapers (possibly online to save some pennies)

*Start prepping for handmade Christmas presents (research, gathering supplies, etc)

*Set a date for holiday craft making with the girls from work

*Write to Jelena (with pics!)

*Make the cute little trees found above, come up with cute display

*Work on Consulting pitch for my job

*Go through clothes and household items, find what I can give away before we move

*Make an Operation Christmas Child box

*Research cribs/car seats/strollers

*Aim to do at least ten 52Q cards (or more) <--I did get 5 or 6 done, but not 10

*Start a few Christmas decor projects

*Wash and pack baby clothes that I've bought so far

*Work on new blog design

*Print more pictures from the last couple of months

*Record my Week 14-20 vlog and take my Week 22, 24, and 26 belly shots

*Blog at least twice a week (and write the posts ahead of time)

*Throw out BBQ and clean off porch before snow comes

*Put items for sale in Etsy shop

*Make new baby name list

*Buy supplies needed to start December Daily album; start building book and think of journaling prompts <-- didn't get this last little bit done, perhaps this week!

*Buy supplies needed for Christmas cards and look for some cute samples

*Practise embroidering

*Take at least 10 self portraits (not just belly shots)

So overall not too bad! Now for December; like I said, I won't have nearly as many because getting anything done these days feels like a major challenge (I think I'm starting to panic about how short and quick the next 12 weeks are going to be, but shh, don't tell anyone.)

Anyhoo, here we go, December Goals:

*Make 6 more Christmas cards, write in store-bought cards and have all of them sent out by the 11th
*Finish gift for my friend in Italy, mail by the 7th
*Have 95% of my Christmas shopping done by the 18th
*Journal in my December Daily album every day and take a photo every day (print pics once a week to add later)
*Have a turkey dinner with Dan
*Put up Christmas tree by the 18th
*Pack up everything that's non-essential to living for the next 10-14 Weeks
*Learn how to make the tabs at the top of my blog like the ones everyone else has (I need a cleaner design)
*Get the car winter ready (I'm so paranoid about it now that I'm expecting!)
*Find out my delivery date and tell the people at work my final day
*Continue paying off other credit card and saving money; keep spending to a minimum
*Have a name chosen (we're about 65% set on one name, I still have some thinking to do though)
*Wrap all my gifts in an eco-friendly way (re-use items, natural materials, etc)
*Write to Jelena (carried over from last month)
*Record my Week 20-26 vlog, take Week 26.5, 28.5 and 30.5 Shots (eek!)
*Watch Elf, the Sound of Music, Charlie Brown Christmas and other Christmas favs
*Blog at least twice a week (write posts ahead of time)
*Make candied citrus peels, White chocolate bark and shortbread cookies with icing
*Decide on a stroller/car seat and crib; look for a 2nd hand glider, make list of baby items that are needed
*Try not to let this season rush by in a panicky whirl!!

Umm, I think there may be as many goals this month, if not more, than last month! Oh well, that's just me, I won't hold myself accountable if I don't get everything done, lol.

Now, because of all the boxes and messiness going on in my house at the moment, it's getting really hard for me to get into the Christmas decorating spirit. I think that this year most of my viewing pleasure will be done online, but I have grand plans for next year once we're in a more settled space. In the meantime, though, I'm dreaming of looks like this:

(I HAVE to do something with pinecones either this year or next!)


Gorgeous.
(all photos via Country Living)

Well, that's December, it will fly by I'm sure, but there's lots to look forward to, friends that are visiting, a growing baby, family to see, good food to eat, snow (hopefully) and getting some plans set into motion!

Happy December to you :)
G.

PS-Oh, today my friend Anna sent me an early Christmas present, I was so excited! She gave me an adorable pyjama set from Roots for the baby and this book, which is soooo yummy and dreamy and inspirational, it kicked me right out of the no-Christmas-for-me self-pity/gloom I was feeling today. Hopefully I'll get to share some of the projects (and recipes) inside over the coming weeks. Thanks my love!