Half way there!

As a proud mom to be, I just had to share my ultra sound photos with you all. We are nearly halfway through the pregnancy and doing very well. I wanted to thank all of you for your lovely comments of congratulations and well wishes to Hubby and myself. We appreciate every one!

Now, isn't this just the cutest pickle you've ever seen? Well, ok, except for the alien face shot. I do admit that is pretty scary. But the bitty foot and that perfect little nose brings a tear to my eye. I can't wait to meet this little person - but for now, I'm really enjoying my expanding belly and I'm amazed by my crazy new eating habits (I have become the bottomless pit!). I have to say that I'm really surprised by how pleased I feel with pregnancy so far. I know there are a lot of aches, pains and strange body changes ahead of me, but it is quite a miracle to know there is someone in there. I don't think I've felt this little guy or girl move yet, although when I'm working out, I can feel something going on. I'm still not clear if it is actual fetal movement or if I'm just sloshing everything around and it is causing extra gas...





And on the subject of guy vs. girl - I'm pretty chocked about the gender determination restrictions out here. I was 19 weeks to the day when I got this ultra sound done and just dying to know the sex of our baby. I was looking forward to this day for weeks! The first question to the technician was "could you please tell us the sex of our baby?" And his response was, "Sorry, no can do until 24 weeks." Arg. He said I could blame it on the cultural issues of this area which has affected all parents to be. It seems that certain couples have actually gone to the extreme of aborting a perfectly healthy baby after discovering the baby's sex to be inappropriate according to some crazy cultural guidelines. I just find this so outrageous and incredibly sad. I also heard that this is only a problem in the Vancouver area, and in most other parts of Canada, they will tell you the sex of the baby at anytime. Anyways, I suppose we will have to wait, and the important thing is to know the baby is healthy and growing. But I am tempted to make an appt for 3D ultrasound. I am seriously considering it since I just found out that my benefits will actually cover it.

Ok, enough on the baby update. In other Sally news, I am working on a painting right now so I should have it up by the weekend sometime. For my b-day last November I received a set of acrylics and a couple blank canvases, so lately I have been experimenting. I must admit, I find this medium quite challenging after working with watercolours and ink for the last while, but I'm determined to get something done with them. And as soon as I do, I'll be sure to share it with you. Wish me luck!

Embroidery Swap

Back in October, I signed up for Faun's embroidery swap - my first ever swap within the blogging community. And how exciting it was to see this surprise in the mail!


I got this hilarious embroidery from Fizzelstix (sorry about the poor quality picture - click on her name to link to better photos on her blog). The embroidery is entitled "spank the chicken" where a beaver appears to be about to swat the chicken with a whisk. I love her quirky sense of humour and she is a super talented illustrator. I've been eyeing her blog for quite some time now. You can also see a better photo of my embroidery at this link since she has obviously swapped with me.

And as an added bonus, Faun threw in a print of her illustration! I am so happy to have a piece of her art. I love her style and the print is such excellent quality. I must learn her printing secrets.

Both these items are perfect decor for the baby's room. I'm anxious to frame the print and hang it up. And I think I will make a special little pillow (perhaps to hang on the door knob?) with the embroidery. Love them both - thank you thank you to both these talented artists! I'll be sure to update you all on the items when they are in their proper spaces.

5 Things

I've been tagged by Flossy-p with a fun little game called "5 things" which means I must now share 5 things about myself that I haven't left on my blog. Well, what a great way to get my butt in gear and post something already. Thanks Flossy! It is no secret that I have been in a funk for quite awhile now and I just haven't wanted to post anything since I figured I'd be moaning and complaining the entire time and who the heck wants to read about that! Well, here is a nice format for me get back into the groove, it is also a fun way for me to make my BIG announcement, so please, read on!

1.) Ok, don't know how else to tell you, so here we go : I'm Pregnant! That's right folks, knocked up and getting ready to pop out a baby in mid July. I suppose that is the main reason for the uncreative rut I've been in lately. Between the fatigue and constant nausea, it was difficult to do more than eat, sleep, and pray that I wouldn't lose my lunch on the sky train. Even work was becoming unbearable! Also, if I have had any energy, I've been consumed with pregnancy books, references, and anything related to baby this and baby that...wow, never thought I'd get to this point in my life! But here I am, and holy cow, are we ever excited! (I'll be blogging more on this soon!)

2.) I grew up playing the violin and if my audition had been good enough to be accepted to Western, I would have majored in music. Currently my violin is in the closet, strings loosened, gathering dust. But I do miss playing and hope to one day revive it and join a string quartet. There is something truly magical about playing an instrument in a larger group!

3.) I secretly wish I could be a boxer. I'm not really one to spend the afternoon watching boxing matches on tv, but ever since I read Bryce Courtney's The Power of One about 5 years ago I have been quite interested in the life of a boxer. When The Contender reality show aired in 2004 (you know, the one with Stallone and Sugar Ray), I wouldn't miss a week - I was so caught up in the individual fighter's lives; the glory of the wins and the tragedy of the losses. And let's not forget about Million Dollar Baby, Clint Eastwood's finest achievement. After seeing that movie, I searched all over our neighbourhood to see if there were any boxing gyms where I could train...of course I totally chickened out and decided I'd live vicariously through Hillary Swank.

4.) I work as an artist in video games, but I have to admit that I absolutely can't stand video games...Yes, I know... What am I doing in this industry? I absolutely despise talking tech shoppe away from the office and I have a hard time explaining exactly what I do when someone asks. I suppose it's one of those careers where you wake up one day and ask yourself, how did I get here anyways? Especially when I had studied traditional animation and fine arts for 4 years. I'm not complaining, it is a great job and I love the people here. But I dream of a day where I can work from a small studio and create my own art and actually make a living from it.

5.) The last one..On the subject of jobs: The worst and toughest job I've ever had was working in a greenhouse during the hot humid Ontario summers to make money for school. Everyday for 4 months my best friend and I would leave our comfortable air conditioned homes to face the 100 degree Fahrenheit oven called a greenhouse. We'd cart around bedding plants and load them onto racks for shipping all over Ontario, Michigan and Ohio. The worst part of the job was that we'd arrive each morning with no clue when we'd leave. Early summer was so busy that we could end up working until 10pm or even midnight 7 days a week. And all this fun, for minimum wage and no over time pay. Good times! We were zombies and completely unaware of what day of the week it was. I did this for 3 summers and was so so happy to land my next job at a paint-your-own ceramics studio. It was less hours and crap pay, but I have never taken air conditioning for granted ever since. It sounds cliche, but I think every person needs a job like this to truly appreciate all the future careers/jobs they will have. I know I do!

Well, that's it folks. Now it's time for me to tag some others:

Babelfish from CrustStation (however, I think you've done this already...)
Julie from Little Cotton Rabbits
Hubby hubberson
Ken

..I'm not sure if anyone reads my blog anymore, but if you read this post, consider yourselves tagged as well. Have fun!

Stuck in the 90's

Happy New Year everyone!...yes, I know it is quite a bit overdue. But, hey, better than never, right? I have to admit, I am still in quite a rut as far as my creative activity is going. I wish I could say that Christmas was the rejuvenating break that I was expecting...Unfortunately a long plane ride to Toronto brought a dreaded cold and more exhaustion. Gotta love recycled air! It was wonderful to see the family and I did get a ton of rest while I was home. Even my Dad was concerned with the amount of time I spent crashed on the couch. So, here we are back on the west coast awaiting yet another wind storm and I feel like the break was some sort of dream and here I am back at life. I do believe I need to pick up the Artist's Way again and get a kick in my creative pants. This is getting ridiculous.
But before I dig that out again, I'd like to share with you one of my Christmas gifts. My ever so thoughtful brother and his wife were kind enough to buy me this Natalie Merchant CD which has been on my amazon wish list for about 4 years now. Don't ask me why I didn't ever just pick it up myself, I have no idea...perhaps it's because I get music amnesia every time I walk into a CD store. But I was so excited when I opened this gift because it brings back sooo many memories. My first apartment, roomates, college papers, art projects and all those years of dating Mr. Hubby. Yes, reliving the late 90's all over again :) This is the part of my life I like to remember. Forget high school, it was awkward, painful and filled with horrible decisions. But leaving home and embarking on a new beginning, new friends, and of course, no money. Sigh. Those were the days. So, off I go to listen to it again. Have you all heard of this CD? I think I am a bit stuck in the 90's , but it really is one of my faves.

Blogging Rut

I'm stuck in a rut. I'm a bad blogger. I was being so good and consistent with this blog and suddenly this last month I feel like I've run out of steam. I feel tired and uncreative. Every time I sit down to start an illustration or photograph a little project, I suddenly hit this mental wall. What happened? ...I'm not really sure.
I do know that the shorter days are exhausting and that after work I can hardly do more than get up from the couch and go to bed. Perhaps the problem is that work has been creatively draining for the last while and now it has sucked any energy left for my personal projects. Yes, shocking; I know. After all the complaints I had about work being boring and pointless and suddenly it is flipped completely; now I complain that I don't have any creative energy to work on personal things. Honestly, I'm impossible to please (hubby, don't say a word!)
At this point I really want to say to you all, please don't give up on my little blog! I will be back, I promise. I plan to recharge over the holidays and buckle down with new personal projects in the new year. Embroidery, book ideas, illustrations, these are all hovering in my mind. I just need a little more time to reflect. I hope you will come visit when I am myself again!
Until then, Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and all that other jazz. I'll be seeing you soon!

The Christmas Countdown

Is anyone else looking around and wondering how the holiday season just sort of snuck up on us? Geez...Already December and I can hardly believe another year is coming to a close. Yesterday Hubby convinced me we needed to get into the Christmas spirit, so we busted out the decorations and lights, popped in The Sound of Music DVD and away we went. Nothing like a little Julie Andrews doe ray me to get us into a festive mood. I'm really looking forward to the break - it has been a hectic fall. Although work has been pretty slow, everything else in our lives is bustling. This would explain the lack of posts on this here blog, but I do plan to get right back on the blog horse as soon as the New year rolls around.

So, until then, please bear with my sparatic check-ins and some rushed photos of mini projects that are going on around here. The 2 stuffy ornaments below are not quite finished - I still need to find some little bells to sew to the end of the sleeping toques. But aren't they cute?

Ok, my elementary sewing skills are not exactly working for me here, but the design is the best. I found a photo (can't remember where) of Hilary Lang's ornaments she had published in a magazine. Now, I have no idea where to find this magazine - perhaps someone out there knows of this magazine and where it is sold? But the photo was so amazing, I was inspired to try to make some myself. Yes, quite risky of me to attempt a sewing project without instructions...eeek!

Well folks, that's all for now. I'm so tired these days, it is defenitely the time of year for cocooning! Ug....bring on the holiday season!

Illustration Friday ~ Invention

"Eureka!" he exclaimed as he revelled in the invention. And the fish soared higher and higher - finally experiencing the wind against their gills.

Great topic this week! I really had a blast painting this one. Of course my flying fish had to make another appearance ;-)