The Sock Bun

I discover a YouTube video about how to curl your hair with a sock, so I had to try it out.

You just cut off the toes of the sock and roll is up into a donut. Then you put it over a ponytail and roll it back over, then wet it and sleep on it.

The initial sock bun

The next morning

The final result

30 by 30 #28 – Bake a pie from scratch

I love to bake though I don't get to do as much as I would like and I had never attempted to make a pie from scratch. It seemed do-able and AJ and I had to bring something to his family's Easter dinner, so I attempted a key lime pie.

The crust I thought would be the hardest part, but it actually wasn't too bad. The meringue went well too, but the actual key lime part was tough.

The pie turned out just okay. AJ's family was kind enough to tell me it was great, but it really wasn't. Edible, but definitely not perfected. The inside was just a bit watery and not quite solid enough. For a first attempt, I think it was okay. I think I'll try another pie for Thanksgiving or Christmas this year.

30 by 30 #16 - Read the Harry Potter series

There has been so much hype about Harry Potter for many years now and, until this point, I had avoided the movies and the books, just because I thought they were just for kids and I wasn't very interested. But now that the movie series is wrapping up, I thought I'd give them a chance. Plus, the books are my friend Ashley's favourite, so this goal works for reading the favourite book of a friend too.

I didn't actually read the books per se, instead I got the audiobooks and listened to them at work. I really did enjoy them, especially the later books as the characters get older. They're written for kids/teens so they're really easy to get through, but the stories are good and I really enjoyed listening to them all back to back instead of having to wait for the next one to come out.

Once I finished the series, AJ and I borrowed the movies from a friend and watched through the series. We just have book 7 part 2 to watch now, which is currently in theatres.

I'm really glad I read the books, they're a big deal for this generation and I've already found that I'm "in" on a lot more inside jokes on TV and in movies when Harry Potter gets referenced.

30 by 30 #30 – Have a baby

Obviously I'm an awesome blogger for not posting for over 7 months, but I have been whittling away at my 30 by 30 list and this completion is the reason for the lack of posts.

AJ and I decided we were ready to start a family and we found out I was pregnant at the end of October 2010. On July 8, 2011, we had Kyler Jace Martin - a whopping 11 lbs. 1oz.

My pregnancy was really great, no real problems and I actually really enjoyed it. Kai was a week overdue when I got induced, so I was getting a little antsy by the end to finally meet him.

Labour was tough and long, but I was able to get an epidural and that made a world of difference for me. I'm not sure I would have been able to deliver an 11 lb. baby without it.

I think this will easily be the coolest thing I've done on my 30 by 30 list. Kai is amazing. Now he's 5 weeks old and he's starting to give us real smiles, hold his head up more, respond to toys and be awake more often. Parenting is just as tough as everyone says it is, but it's awesome and we're so thankful to have Kyler in our lives.

Comparing Washing Up to Going to Church

This came from a blog post I read. The context: someone told them they don't go to church anymore because their parents forced them when they were younger. This blogger said their parents forced them to wash themselves too so by that reasoning...

"Ten reasons why I never wash

1. I was forced to as a child.
2. People who wash are hypocrites – they think they are cleaner than everybody else.
3. There are so many different kinds of soap, I can’t decide which one is best.
4. I used to wash, but I got bored and stopped.
5. I wash only on special occasions, like Christmas and Easter.
6. None of my friends wash.
7. I’ll start washing when I get older and dirtier.
8. I can’t spare the time.
9. The bathroom is never warm enough in winter or cool enough in summer.
10. People who make soap are only after your money."

Kind of an interesting look at that excuse for not going to church.

Top 5's

I guess the thing to do right now is to make some lists of my favourite things from 2010, so here are mine:

Top 10 Songs: (Top 10 on my playlist, not necessarily new songs)

1. The Script - The Man Who Can't Be Moved
2. Switchfoot - Needle and Haystack Life
3. Ben Rector - White Dress
4. Snow Patrol - Chocolate
5. Tenth Avenue North - Satisfy

6. Taylor Swift - You Belong With Me

7. NeedtoBreathe - Something Beautiful

8. Train - Hey Soul Sister

9. The Afters - Light Up The Sky
10. Jason Mraz - A Beautiful Mess

Honourable Mention: The Joseph & The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Soundtrack


Top 5 Movies: (I didn't see very many new releases this year)

1. Inception

2. How To Train Your Dragon

3. To Save A Life

4. Date Night

5. The Back-Up Plan

Top 10 Moments:

1. Anniversary in Quebec City

2. Moving into our house

3. Good Goo Dolls Concert

4. City Chase

5. Getting hired full time

6. Caloriefest 2010

7. Joseph at StageWest

8. My first ice hockey game

9. Whitewater rafting

                                                      10. Grease: The Musical in Toronto

Top 10 Books:

1. Fire - Kristen Cashore (the prequel to Graceling)

2. Graceling - Kristen Cashore

3. The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

4. Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games sequel - I didn't really like book #3)

5. A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini

6. The Twilight Series - Stephanie Meyer

7. The Chronicles of Narnia Series - C.S. Lewis

8. The Death & Life of Charlie St. Cloud - Ben Sherwood

9. Flashforward - Robert J. Sawyer

10. Something Borrowed Series - Emily Giffin

Snowpocalypse

I don't want to spend my posts complaining about the incredible amounts of snow we have been cursed blessed with over the last 2 weeks or so instead here's a post to say I'm so thankful for a reprieve. Today, for the first morning in many days we woke up and, although it was snowing a bit, there was only a light dusting on the driveway and road. Which means I didn't have to wake AJ up to shovel the driveway before work. And I even had a decent drive into Barrie despite my lack of snow tires. I think we've got enough snow now to give us a white Christmas and then some so bring on the sunshine! Please...