Last Humpday of May...

I've been meaning to link up for #Hashtaghumpday with my bloggy friend Laura for forever and now that I finally am its a week where she's away  #sideeye #shewassupposedtopackmeinhersuitcase #hersnapchatsarenthelping
I leave for a weekend getaway to the Twin Cities tomorrow and my to do list is a mile long and most of it has to do with preparing for my absence from the office #ineedaclone #andapersonalassistant #whycantmysuitcasepackitself
I'm the worlds worst over packer - its a serious problem. I wish I could be the kind of person who makes a list and only takes whats on it. I pretty much throw my entire wardrobe and the contents of my bathroom into my suitcase and call it a day - you just never know when you might need your graduation dress #packthekitchensink

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I'm more excited for Chipotle and Starbucks than I am for anything else on this trip #gonnagainbackalltheweightilostonthewhole30 #imcomingforyoucaramelmacchiatos
I started getting into the routine of taking Krickit for an hour long walk every night last week and then the weekend went and ruined everything #sorrykrickit #maybenextmonth
Trying to plan a stagette where the bride's sister (and one of the bridesmaids) isn't drinking age yet is HARD #wheresherfakeid #weddingsarestressful #iusedtowanttobeapartyplanner
I went for a 5K run/walk on the back roads with my brother and sister in law on Saturday and my entire body still aches from it #gravelroadsarebadonthebones #beersafterwardshelped

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I banged my leg yesterday (on what I have no idea) and now I have a HUGE goose egg on my leg right in time for my vacation #lovely #alwayscoveredinbruises 
I've seen every single episode of Friends at least 20 times each and yet I've been binge watching the entire series on Netflix like I've never seen them before #teamaniston #monicasmyspiritanimal #cantgetenough

Road Trip to Texas...

When I looked at Belinda's prompt for today I was super pumped that my post for today was pretty much going to write itself (isn't that the best?!). The prompt is 'Have you ever been on a road trip? Where did you go? If not, where would you like to take one to?' The prompt came at the perfect time because last year at this exact time I had just road tripped to New Braunfels, Texas with my brother and sister in law over the Canadian May Long weekend - a 27 hour drive that we drove straight through with very little stops
The drive was looong and tiring. Being from Canada we also didn't have any cellular data so couldn't check any social media, etc. The only thing we could do was text message (not even iMessage!).  I managed to read Divergent in a matter of an hour and a half after only being in the vehicle for 2 1/2 hours and realized quick that I hadn't brought enough books to keep me entertained throughout the whole drive. My brother is also a big Howard Stern fan (which I am NOT) and having to listen to him for hours on end almost drove me insane  - thank god for earbuds and an iPhone full of music!
We had originally planned on stopping somewhere in Kansas to get a hotel room and get a few hours of sleep but decided just to go ahead and drive straight through. On the way to Texas we stopped in Minot, ND and stocked a cooler full of drinks and snacks so that we would only have to make a few stops for fuel and wouldn't lose a bunch of time with a ton of stops.
The crazy thing is that Texas is SO big that it took us almost an entire day just to get through it to our destination of New Braunfels. We crossed the Texas state line early in the morning on the Saturday (we left O-town around 2:45 on the Friday) and then realized that we still had an entire day of driving to do before we'd finally be in New Braunfels. When we finally made it to New Braunfels around 6:30 SK time on the Saturday I had never been happier to be out of a vehicle

This is what I was doing at this exact time last year - floating the Guadalupe with not a care in the world. (It was also the day that Kels asked me to be her Maid of Honour and I can't believe we're less than 3 months out from the wedding!). I am completly, utterly, ridiculously sad that I'm not going to Texas this year. A little piece of my heart is broken knowing that I might not get there again until this time next year or even later. I NEED Texas in my life! 

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This accurately represents how I feel about NOT being in Texas right meow
This wasn't my first long road trip either - I had actually done the same road trip TWICE before with my entire family to New Braunfels back in 2001 and 2002. However, over ten years had passed since those road trips and I didn't quite remember how long it was of a drive. Would I do it again though? Absolutely. The cost of driving compared to getting a flight doesn't compare at all. Yes it would be nice to get there in a half a day instead of two days but sometimes you have to do what you have to do to save a little money so you can eat all the Tex-Mex and drink all the drinks once you're finally there! 
Check out my complete #10DaysinTexas recap here

Tell me about your favourite road trip OR where you would like to road trip to

Ten Accomplishments...

When I saw the prompt for today for 'Blog Every Day in May' (which I'm obviously not doing every day, but making an effort. I think I get a B- for effort...) I was stumped. I literally stared at a blank page for waaay longer that I actually should admit. The prompt for today is 'List 10 things you have accomplished in the past decade'. There's a lot of things I haven't accomplished yet and the list of things I haven't accomplished came very easy to me. The list of things I have accomplished, however, was a lot harder to think of . Let's break it down: I'm single, don't have any children yet (besides Krickit...), I'm still not a home owner (and living in my parents basement while I save for a home...). I haven't ran anything over a 5K, I've never sky dived or swam with the sharks, and I still haven't read Pride and Prejudice. So what are my accomplishments? 

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But for real 1. Graduated from High School Ok, so not quite 10 years yet but in a little over a month it will have been 10 years since I graduated. My high school reunion is this Summer and I feel like it was just yesterday that I was drunk at my graduation

2. Moved 7 hours away from home  I packed up Tonto (my old Ford Taurus) and moved to Medicine Hat, Alberta for College with two of my best friends. I may be back in my hometown (for now) but I did get out of here for awhile at least
3. Convocated from College with honours In May of 2008 I walked across the stage at MHC and received my diploma, with honours, in Early Learning and Child Care. And I've put it to good use, working in the field for 7 years now!

4. Purchased Gretchen When I started my first job in the ECE field out of College I decided I needed a new vehicle so I sold Tonto and purchased Gretchen - a brand new Pontiac G5. My first brand new vehicle that I purchased all on my own. It was actually a really silly thing for me to do considering my car ran just fine and was FREE (my parents bought it for me when I was 15) but I was proud of myself for doing it on my own (ok, my dad co-signed for it but I made ALL the payments). Oh the silly things young twenty somethings do...
5. Became Director at my previous job I was first promoted to Floor Supervisor, then took over a maternity leave position as Administrative Director, then eventually applied for and was hired for the Director position, the highest position in the company
6. Purchased Eleanor I was working in ' the city' but had left my apartment there and moved back to O-town so was commuting to work 45 minutes each way every day and needed a better vehicle for driving back and forth on the highway during the crazy SK Winter months. Enter Eleanor, my Chevrolet Equinox. She's fully loaded and was once again a brand new vehicle that I didn't need but definitely wanted. I still have her to this day and she runs great (knock on wood) at almost 4 years old. I will have her for many, many more years to come
7. Helped open the childcare centre in my hometown and became Director of the Centre I helped start the childcare centre that I now work from the very beginning stages. It was over 2 years of hard work to get the Centre up and running but it was well worth it. It was actually a really hard decision to leave my job in 'the city', where I had been for over 4 years, and start something new but the idea of being 2 minutes away from work instead of 45 won over in the end. And now I've been there for 2 years!
8. Became a puppy Mama I took on a HUGE responsibility when I brought baby Krickit home last June. She's a handful (I compare her to Marley from 'Marley and Me') and I definitely wasn't expecting the ginormous vet bills due to her medical issues but she's my 'first born' and I love her to pieces and if I could turn back time there's no way I wouldn't bring her home

9. Learned how to sew I FINALLY got a sewing machine for Christmas 2014 (after asking for one for my 25th birthday and getting a beer pong table instead...) and I attended a beginners sewing class that taught me the basics of sewing. I can now make pajama pants and pillows and pillow cases but will be learning much more as soon as I carve out some time to sit down with my machine - its been too long since I created anything! 
10. Traveled to Las Vegas (9 times), NYC & Pennsylvania, Mexico, Texas, and the Twin Cities (4 times)  Traveling is one of my greatest accomplisments. It may mean that my 'Operation Down Payment' has been pretty slow moving but I wouldn't trade those experiences for anything

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Quirky...

quirk·y

ˈkwərkē/

adjective

1. characterized by peculiar or unexpected traits.

   "her sense of humor was decidedly quirky"

Say quirky a few times and it feels like its not even a word, like you've made it up in your mind. Do it. I'll wait right here..... SEE WHAT I MEAN?! I honestly had to stop for a minute to make sure it actually is a word. Anywhoodle, now that the word is making sense to me again, its time to list off my quirks for you. I know I can't be the only one that does some of these things, right?
* I can't stand for my hot foods to be touching cold foods. Hence the reason I ate my Easter supper off a serving platter... I also own numberous children's sectioned plates for this reason
* I am terrified of riding an elevator alone. All the 'what if's?' run through my mind. What if it breaks down? What if I'm stuck in there alone with a creeper? What if I start hearing voices?
* I think inanimate objects have feelings. I always used to rotate my stuffed animals out so that none would feel left out. Same for my makeup and hair products - I don't want to upset any'one'!
* I have a terrible fear of not being able to swallow while getting work done at the Dentist or my Orthodontist. I've been very close to having a panic attack while in the Dentists chair
* I cannot just watch television or a movie - I have to be doing something else too or I feel like I'm wasting my time. Whether the 'something else' just be talking to someone or checking social media, I still have to feel like I'm doing something
* I keep a Mint EOS lip balm in my car, my nightstand, my purse, my desk at work, my desk at home, and in the upstairs bathroom at home just in case. I also have three backups stashed just in case I run out. I'm a little obssessed
* I'm completely terrified of heights. Even going up a small ladder gives me goosebumps. Yet I get peer pressured into doing height related activities all the time
* I have no sense of direction whatsoever. My family makes fun of me for it all the time. Thank goodness my SUV has a compass in the dash or else I would have gotten lost sooo many times
* I am terrible at geography. Ask my sister in law who was my partner during game night at Easter and asked me the question 'What's the biggest continent' and I couldn't even remember that Asia is a contintent. She won't be picking me as a partner anytime soon...
* I refuse to write with blue pens. Give me a black pen or I will not be a happy camper
* Speaking of camping - I'm allergic to tents. Found that out the hard way when my eyes swelled up five times their size at Girl Guide sleepaway camp. Allergic to tents and the outdoors - not a great combination for camping but I still love it (just give me a 5th wheel camper pleaseandthankyou)
* I listen to Christmas music all year round (and this year am keeping my Christmas tree up all year round...)
* I cry when I'm mad. Like I could be in a physical confrontation with you and be SO angry and throwing punches but there would also be tears streaming down my face. It's super annoying
* I skip ahead to the end of books, then go back and read the whole thing through
* I can tell when weather is changing because my knees get inflamed and start popping out of joint. It aint pretty

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What's your biggest quirk?

This Time Last Year...

So... I certainly haven't blogged every day in May (I'm sure your thinking to yourself 'Obviously' and rolling your eyes). My Mama brought it up to me when she went to catch up on reading the other night. My bad guys. I knew May was going to be a busy month, I just didn't anticipate how busy and I never should have committed to something so challenging. I'm still going to try and keep up as much as possible but the every day in May thing obviously is not happening
Today's prompt for Blogger May I? is 'This time last year'. I love posts like these - I used to be big into scrapbooking but now that I don't have the time for it I'm all about Project Life for memory keeping (have a blog is great for that too!). I love being able to look back and see how much things have changed or stayed the same over a course of time so today's post is right up my alley

1. I had just finished 20 days of the Whole30 (this year I'm currently on Day 24!), losing 11 lbs in the process. I knew going into the Whole30 last year that it would actually only be the Whole20 because of my vacation plans so I'm excited to see the entire 30 days through this time - only 7 more sleeps until wine. I think I can, I think I can...
2. I was preparing for #10daysinTexas. I am completely, utterly, ridiculously sad that this year May Long will be spent in O-town and not floating the Guadalupe. I may hole up in my bed all weekend in protest of the fact that I'm not in Texas 
3. Krickit was a newborn little pup but I didn't know that she existed yet. I'm so glad that I have her in my life this year!

Quick, someone please talk me out of getting a Chiwienne puppy and naming it Krickit

— KRMathison (@ChigleChic) April 18, 2014

Before finding Krickit I saw a Chiweenie on a FB garage sale group and messaged the lady about it. The puppy had (thankfully) already sold and I ended up with my Krickit a little over a month later after finding a different ad at the beginning of June. I'm the crazy person who has names picked out long before there is anything to name. You should see my list of baby names...

4. My brother and sister in law were newly engaged. Now we're only a few days shy of 3 months until the big day! My bridesmaid dress should be in within the next couple of weeks and then things will seem even more real
6. I published one of my favourite posts, my Things That Make Me Stabby list, inspired by a newly developing kinda/sorta relationship at the time (update on this year: not a current kinda/sorta relationship peeps) 
7. I had just booked a July Vegas trip with one of my high school best friends (still have never recapped that trip...), which happened to fall right on my birthday. Coincidentally she was down on Sunday visiting and we are going to be booking another Vegas trip for this July any day now for my sisters Dirty Thirty celebration

What were you doing at this time last year?

A First Birthday...

Krickit turns ONE tomorrow y'all - where has the time gone?! I swear it was just yesterday that I was picking her up in Carlyle and falling immediately in love.

I made sure to ask the girl I got her from what her birthday was so I could celebrate it each year. Less than 4 weeks after getting her she had a medical scare and I wasn't sure I would even get to see her celebrate her first birthday so now her birthdays just mean that much  more to me.

Tomorrow there will be cake (for the dogs, not this girl - unfortunately), party hats, balloons, and birthday banners. My Bicki deserves it!

5 Books That I Love...

I LOVE to read. When I have to list out my hobbies and interests reading is always on the list. I would spend all day, every day, in bed reading if I could. I love getting lost in a good book. My siblings both love reading too (yes, even my brother!) thanks to our Mama reading to us since we were babies (she's also an avid reader). When we were young we used to play 'library' all the time and I always wanted to be a librarian growing up. We won awards for reading through our local library - I still have my medals at home. I actually found them on the weekend while I was Spring cleaning and my nieces were so impressed at how many medals I had just for reading. I'm a book nerd, what can I say! 

My mama saved this newspaper clipping of my sister and I with our awards one year. You know you're from a small town when... (insert crying laughing emoji here)

Narrowing down my list to 5 books that I love was really, really hard (I also cheated a little bit...) and I would hate for some of my favourite books to feel left out so I also included a runners up list at the bottom. I just love reading so much I can't leave any out!
5. The Girl Death Left Behind - Lurlene McDaniel I'm pretty sure I've ready every single Lurlene McDaniel book ever published and up until about a month ago I still owned a bunch of them. When my friend Scooby was down at Easter I gave her all my Lurlene McDaniel books for her Grade 8 classroom but kept my beloved copy of The Girl Death Left Behind. I don't know why I was so into those books when I was young considering how sad they are but they were always in my pile of reading and I was constantly checking the same ones out of the library to re-read. This is one of the saddest she ever published but I just love it. I got rid of most of my young adult novels to clear up space but I just couldn't bare to part with this one
4. Before I Go To Sleep - S.J. Watson
I just did a re-read of this book a couple weeks ago. I originally read it a couple years ago for a Book Club facilitated by my sister and I absolutely loved it. It keeps you guessing the entire time, which I LOVE! If you haven't read this its a must. It was made into a moving starring Nicole Kidman but the only reason I know this is because I saw a copy of the book in Target with the movie cover - I haven't heard much else about it 
3. My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult This book ripped my heart out of my chest and stomped it into a million little pieces, but it was okay because the book was sooo good. This was actually the first Jodi Picoult book I ever read and as soon as I was done I starting reading all her others. Don't even get me started on how badly they ruined the book when they made the movie. I'm still angry about it

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2. The entire Harry Potter series - J.K. Rowling I'm cheating a little bit with this but I can't pick what one is my favourite - they all are! I'm gearing up for my annual Summer re-read and itching to start! My brother starting reading these books when he was really young - at the time I didn't think I would like them (what was wrong with me?) but eventually I starting reading my brother's copy of the first book and then I was hooked. When someone tells me they've never read Harry Potter I just stare at them blankly - how is that possible?! And my number one favourite book of all time (Drumroll please...)
1. To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee As if there was any doubt. It was mandatory reading for Grade 8 curriculum. While everyone else grumbled about having to read it (or just didn't) I fell in love (and even stole a copy from the school library - I'm such a rebel...). I'm taking inspiration from Kristen's love for Pride and Prejudice and starting a collection of TKAM books with different covers. I also have tattoo plans for my favourite book...

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Runners up include The Notebook (it was SO hard to keep that one out of the top 5!), The Girl on the Train (new favourite), Nineteen Minutes, Beezus and Ramona, The Tenth Circle, The Truth About Forever, Bossypants, & Yes Please 

What is your number one favourite book of all time?

Thank You...

Today's prompt for Blog Every Day in May is "Write a thank you letter, to anyone for anything". I'm not in the right  frame of mind to write a mushy, ooey gooey letter to my family thanking them for all that they do for me  - after 4 days of non stop Spring cleaning I just don't have the energy or brain power, so instead I give you this:
Thank you to Starbucks for simply existing. As soon as the Whole 30 is over I'm coming for you Iced Caramel Macchiato's. (Give me all the coffee all the time)

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Thank you to Allegiant Airlines for being super affordable (and located at an airport an hour and a half away from me) so I can enjoy a Las Vegas trip every year. Although I do remember the days it was even cheaper... (just sayin...)
Thank you to my sister* for first introducing me to the Whole 30 last year. It's now Day 15 (halfway there!) and things are still going great. My clothes are fitting better, I feel less bloated after eating, and I feel SO full after eating waaay smaller meals than I used to 
*Though she did force me to drive 45 minutes with her takeout order from Pizza Hut in my vehicle yesterday, wafting the breadstick and pepperoni/green pepper pizza deliousness all over the place... It's a good thing I have really good willpower 
Thank you to the inventors of Pinterest for inventing the biggest time suck I have ever encountered. (I really do sincerely thank them. I waited at the dentist office for 2 1/2 hours the other day and its the only thing that kept me sane)

Travel Bucket List...

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Y'all. Can I just say how much I am loving these prompts?! Talking about my love of traveling is one of my favourite things to do (traveling obviously being my number one favourite thing to do)! I've actually been meaning to write out my Travel Bucket List for awhile now - ever since Helene posted hers last August. I love to travel but have a teensy, weensy problem where I fall in love with everywhere I go and then I want to continue to go back to those places over and over again. I need to start experiencing the new places and taking some time away from other places (I just love Vegas SO much you guys!). I want to see the world while also re-visiting some of my favourite places. Not having a vacation to look forward to makes me severely depressed - I need travel in my life! My Travel Bucket List also includes the places I have already been -  most of which I want to see again someday very, very soon
NORTH AMERICA
United States
(Side note: I have been all over North Dakota since I live 20 minutes away from it; however, I don't really consider that traveling so it didn't make the list)
Chicago, IL Orlando, FL Atlanta, GA San Antonio, TX (check) New Braunfels, TX (check) Gruene, TX (check) Corpus Christi, TX (check) Napa Valley, CA Denver, CO Minneapolis, MN (check) San Diego, CA Seattle, WA Boise, Idaho (so Laura and I can patio drink our way through Boise) Harrisburg, PA (check) Hershey, PA (check) New Orleans, LA Emerald Isle, NC New York City, NY (check) Las Vegas, NV (check) Austin, TX Maui, HI San Franciso, CA Cape Cod, MA Charleston, SC Boonsboro, MD Boston, MA Jackson Hole, WY
Canada (I obviously live in Canada so I can't include every single place that I've been, so I'm just including the more popular tourist destinations as the places I have traveled to within Canada)  Banff, AB Jasper, AB (check) Kelowna, BC (check) Vancouver, BC Halifax, NS Toronto, ON Niagara Falls, ON Ottawa, ON Quebec City, QC Rankin Inlet, NU Charlottetown, PE
Mexico
Cancun Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo (check) Puerto Vallarta Cabo San Lucas Playa Del Carmen
CARIBBEAN
St. Lucia St. Kitts & Nevis Bahamas Turks & Caicos Jamaica Dominican Republic

EUROPE
Paris, France Nice, France Prague, Czech Republic Florence, Italy Milan, Italy Naples, Italy Lake Como, Italy Tuscany, Italy  Rome, Italy Rimini, Italy Pompeii, Italy Venice, Italy (check) Verona, Italy (check) Cinque Terre, Italy (added by suggestion from Laura) Barcelona, Spain Madrid, Spain Vienna, Austria London, England Brighton, England Oxford, England Belfast, Ireland Dublin, Ireland Edinburgh, Scotland Rothenburg, Germany (check) Frankfurt, Germany (check) Heidelberg, Germany (check) Munich, Germany (check) Lucerne, Switzerland (check) Zurich, Switzerland (check) Santorini, Greece Athens, Greece Amsterdam, Netherlands
AUSTRALIA
Sydney Byron Bay Cairns Alice Springs
I'm sure I'll be adding more places to the list every now and again as I think of them - and hopefully I'll be checking some of these off the list soon! When I went to Europe I did an EF tour and I think I'd like to do a Contiki tour of Europe one day (soon!). I also want to take a long road trip through the US someday. I've got a lot of saving to do before I get to some of these places but I'm going to get a start on some of them sooner rather than later!

5 Photos That Tell My Story...

5 photos that tell MY story? I've been going over and over this in my head all day long. How do you tell your story in just 5 photos? And what really is my story?
I asked my Mama for some insight into what photos she would use to tell my story (my brain was exhausted for over thinking it) - her response: "One would be of you drinking wine, one would be of you traveling, one would be of you at the daycare, and one would be of you with your family". She was spot on with her 4 picks. When I asked her for the 5th she told me she had given me 4 and that I could figure out the last one for myself. My first thought immediately went to my baby, Krickit. So lets have at it - the story of my life in 5 photos (if you now have One Direction stuck in your head I'm sorry...)

I remember the first time I drank 'real' wine - I was 15 and out for supper in Italy. Wine was offered to our table and we were each allowed to have one glass. I choked that glass down and swore up and down that I would never drink 'real' wine again. It was so dry and was absolutely terrible. At 15 I was already quite the drinker (I'm from a small town - it's totally normal) and after that I went back to my trusty beer/vodka, with the occasional bottle of Boone's Snow Creek Berry 'wine' enjoyed. In December of 2012 I traveled to Ixtapa, Mexico for my friends wedding. I returned from the wedding on December 23rd (cutting it waaay to close to Christmas!) and my cousin Starley and her husband were at my parents house visiting. Starley had a bottle of Barefoot Sweet Red wine that she was drinking and she insisted that I try it. I very reluctantly did so, still remembering my horrible experience in Italy. Star poured me a glass and I hesitantly took a sip. It was like getting a little taste of heaven - I was immediately hooked. After that I started drinking Sweet Red wine regularly, and then branched out into trying different kinds, finding a love for my beloved Moscato and most recently, Roscato. I love relaxing in the tub with a good book and a glass of wine, or having a glass at the end of a long and stressful day. Wine makes me happy. I see it like this: I could have other vices - drug use in this area of SK is crazy or I could be someone who can't make it through the day without a stiff drink. Instead, I have a couple glasses of wine per week. If that's wrong then I definitely don't want to be right! (PS - talking this much about wine when I'm currently on Day 13 of the Whole 30 and haven't had a sip of alcohol in over two weeks has me a little on edge! HA)

I developed a love for traveling at a fairly early age. My family traveled around Canada a lot throughout the Summer months when I was growing up, hauling our 5th wheel camper and spending weeks at a time away from home. In 2001 my family took our biggest vacation - a trip to Texas to visit my aunt and uncle. We went again the following year during Easter break and it was then that I knew I wanted to continue to travel and see the world. Then, when I was 15, I had the opportunity (thanks Mom and Dad!) to go on an EF tour to Germany, Austria, Italy and Switzerland. It was my first ever plane ride and my first time using a passport. The trip was amazing, but I feel like (almost) 28 year old Kayla would appreciate the sights and the history much more than 15 year old Kayla did. I will make it back to Europe one day and revisit the places I saw at 15, as well as experience new places. After my Europe trip I didn't travel for quite a few years (outside of Canada) - I ddn't take another plane ride until August of 2008 when I went on my first trip to Vegas. That was the trip that spurred my love of Las Vegas and I've now been there 9 times since 2008. Since then I have also been to Pennsylvania/NYC, Mexico, Minneapolis, and back to Texas. It may not seem like a lot of traveling to some people but for a small town girl like myself I still have to pinch myself sometimes to think that I've been to somewhere like NYC - I never would have imagined that for myself when I was younger. I have big traveling goals for myself and I'm excited to see them come to fruition

I don't actually have a photo of myself at the Centre because of privacy reasons so this photo of me with my adorable niece will have to fill in

I started baby-sitting at a young age - I have a very large extended family so there was no shortage of younger cousins to babysit. I took my babysitters training course when I was 12 and the rest was history.I spent many, many hours after school and on weekends babysitting various children (some who now have kids of their own - what?!). I spent the Summer after I graduated from high school nannying for my 3 cousins - it was my first experience of spending all day, every (week) day working with children and I loved it. After the summer ended and the boys all went back to school I was lost for awhile - I moved to 'the city' with my best friend at the time, getting a job as a hotel housekeeper and then waitress at the hotel restaurant. My friend lost her job that December and since I couldn't afford the rent on my own it was back to O-town, where I started working at my aunt's clothing store/cell phone business. My best friend found out shortly after we moved back to O-town that she was pregnant and my other best friend from high school was away at University 6 hours from home. I started spending a lot of time with my friends Millz and Taigan, who were still in Grade Twelve, and we all became really close. They both decided to apply to Medicine Hat College in Medicine Hat, Alberta for the fall semester and when I saw that the College offered an Early Childhood Development program I immediately just knew that I needed to go with them and get my ECD certification. I convocated in 2008 from MHC with an honours diploma in Early Learning and Child Care and I have worked in the early childhood education field ever since - working my way up to eventually being the Director of two different Centre's. It all has seemed to come full circle for me. My career is very important to me and the Centre that I helped develop from the very beginning stages is very much my baby - I don't know how I'm ever going to be able to leave it!

My family means the world to me - I honestly don't know where I'd be without them. My parents have supported me 100% in everything I've done and for that I am eternally grateful. I have the best brother and sister that I could ask for and my amazing SIL and two adorable nieces completely round out our family. We have so much fun together - not many people can say that they play beer pong with their parents or get along so great with their siblings spouses - I'm very, very lucky. I could go on and on and on about them but I'll save that for another day and another post

I became a puppy Mama to this little nugget on the first day of Summer 2014. She celebrates her FIRST birthday next weekend and I still can't believe she's been mine for almost a whole year.  She's my first big responsibility (besides running a business but that doesn't count). Our family dog Misty passed away in 2007 at the age of 15 and she truly was my best friend. My parents have had other dogs (that I love, don't get me wrong) but Misty had always felt like mine -  I honestly wasn't sure if I'd ever be able to love another animal the way that I did Misty but I've realized that I can, its just a different kind of love. I had a sisterly type love for my Misty - she was my best friend but I never had to be responsible for her. My parents paid her vet bills, figured out who would take care of her if we'd be away, bought her food, etc, etc. With Krickit, I'm her owner, her Mama, the one completely responsible for her. When she's had medical scares I'm the one driving her to the vet with tears in my eyes, and the one paying over $2000 in medical bills in the last 9 months. She's my baby and I love her just as much as I would a tiny human. She's my first born (my nieces tell me I'm crazy when I say this! HA)

So there you have it, a glimpse into my (to be continued) story

May Goals...

In the intro to my April Goals post I asked if we could just skip over April and go straight to May - and guess what? I think it worked! I say every month that it feels like the month just flew by but for April it was a complete blink and you miss it month. I feel like it was just yesterday that I was at home getting ready to leave for the Twin Cities that night and yet I've been back home for almost two weeks already. Being busy makes the time fly by, that's for sure. Being busy (with work plus life in general) also meant that I didn't accomplish as much as I would have liked to with my April Goals - but I'll let you see my 'progress'
1. Make better use of my time in the mornings I've gotten a little better but not quite where I'd like to be. Now that I've got things in life a little more organized under control and I'm back to having the entire basement to myself I think I will start getting much better with this
2. Start running again! Ughh no it STILL hasn't happened. I think I *may* have my SIL and brother convinced to be my running buddies for the next little while until my sister finally gets herself a new pair of shoes. If they actually follow through with saying yes then we are starting on Monday
3. Send out 10 forms of snail mail
I have half written snail mail cards on my desk that I will be completing today and getting to the post office (hopefully) before it closes. Putting actual pen to paper is harder than I thought!
4. 10K steps per day
I was doing really good with this before our Twin Cities trip and then it took me about two weeks to recover from the whirlwind weekend plus the lack of sleep following getting home so late from the trip after our tire mishap. There were actually only 10 days in May that I made my step goal - crazy considering before I went to the Twin Cities I had no problem hitting that amount each day. Yesterday I put in a solid 14,751 steps with all the cleaning and organizing I was doing - I'll take it!
5. Read two books off the 2015 Reading Challenge Done. I re-read Before I Go To Sleep by SJ Watson  - SO good y'all! I read it once for a book club that I was in and I finally re downloaded on it my Nook last weekend to re-read. It was made into a movie starring Nicole Kidman - I haven't seen it yet but would definitely like to.  And I also finished reading Yes Please by Amy Poehler (my bff). Brooklyn recommended that I listen to the audiobook - I've never listened to an audiobook but she suggested doing it while running which is pretty much the greatest idea ever. If you listen to audiobooks what do you think is the best way? Please help!
6. Do yoga 4 x per week with my Yoga Studio app Done! I'm loving the app so much! And now that I have  my old (and much bigger) bedroom again it will make things even easier 
7. Start another round of the Whole30 Yes! Started another round on April 20th so this is now Day 12 and so far it is going great! Other than the fact that is has been gorgeous around here lately and I could really go for a beer on the deck...
8. Complete 5 things off my Spring Bucket List  Spring clean - It feels so good to be getting this done. I've been purging things that I've held onto for years that had no actual purpose. I finally switched bedrooms and cleaned up the basement - I even washed walls!  Make Snickers Caramel Apple Pie for Easter supper - Done! I don't think I'll make it again though. I had seen it on Pinterest and it seemed like a great dessert but we didn't love it Make Spring cookies - Done!  Complete a Spring photo challenge - Done! Yesterday was the last day of #30PhotosinBetween - I may have started a few days late but I caught up and posted 30 photos following the prompts. Now I start #20HappyDaysinMay with The Daily Tay today. Follow along on IG - ChigleChic Make a carrot cake - Done! And it was sooo delish
9. Complete 5 things off my 28 Before 28 List Completed one and halfway through another. I got to start kicking this into high gear - only a little under 3 months left  - yikes!
10. Get a massage (not counting the one from April 1st) Didn't get done but since I got one on the first of April it's not so bad. I'm going to call this afternoon to make an appointment for one in May though. I get them for free through my benefits for work so I need to actually do it!

1. Send out 5 forms of snail mail (not counting April's that will be going out today) If I have the time today I may just finish up April's and then do May's in the same swoop so that it can be over and done with and I won't forget about it until the very last minute like I usually do 
2. Green every day in May  I want to make my FitBit step count light up green every single day in May, hitting 10K steps per day
3. Read three more books off the 2015 Reading Challenge I'm going to aim to start crossing these off in order on the list so I don't miss any - since I already read a book that became a movie this month I will be striving to read a book with more than 500 pages, a classic romance (I have Pride and Prejudiced downloaded on my Nook just waiting for me to have some spare time - I can't believe I've never read it!), and a book published this year
4. Complete five more things off my Spring Bucket List Less than 2 months of Spring left and 19 things left to cross off so I'm hoping I'll get even more than 5 accomplished
5. Complete five things off my 28 Before 28 list I know I've mentioned this a zillion times already but this Summer is crazy, insanely (but awesomely) busy. My birthday is towards the end of July and there isn't going to be a whole lot of extra time to complete my list so I need to get going on it before the madness begins!
6. Complete one thing off of my 30 Before 30 list So far I've only crossed 4 things off the list so I need to start making myself work towards these items - I only have a little over 2 years to go...
7. Finish setting up my blogging/writing space I'm so close to finally being able to enjoy the space and show it off - the perfect chair is still being super elusive but I think a trip to Target in Minot may be just what I need
8. Send a care package/baby gift to my College BFF My College BFF Marissa had a baby girl on April 20th and I know that if I don't write it down and set a goal to send out a gift that her daughter will be entering Kindergarten before it finally gets in the mail. Just ask my friend Quinn  - it took 9 months before I finally got her son his gift and I finally just had to do it in person
9. Be intentional with Social Media  I spent a lot of time on social media - I'm the first to admit that. However, I usually just scroll through and rarely take the time to comment, 'like' things, or even post my own content. I want to be more intentional with it this month
10. Blog every day in May Yes, you read that right. The girl who only posted 7 times in all of April is planning on blogging every single day in May (I love that that rhymes). Yesterday Janet introduced me to Belinda's blog and she is hosting Blog Every Day in May and then today Laura posted about doing Blogger, May I with Angelica, Meghan, and Katy so between the two different link ups and all of the prompts I should be golden!
What are YOUR goals for May?