Howdy!! I’m off to Nashville… a well-stocked car and good friends depart at 3am tonight (ahem… tomorrow morning) and embark on the 17-hour drive to Tennessee to celebrate July 4th in all of its red, white and blue goodness! Obviously, being the internet hound that I am, I’ll be online lots, updating y’all about my (mis)adventures, so stayed tuned!!

Sorry I’ve been MIA lately. My husband and I are traveling down to Nashville with a friend to meet up with even more friends and celebrate Canada Day/July 4th. I told my daily clients that I would write ahead so I wouldn’t miss any time while on vacation, and I’ve been completely submerged in home decor and Canadian entertainment news. It’s been a great creativity-fueled week but my mind is mush. Coming up with blog topics just wasn’t in me… I ran outta steam, my fellow readers, and I’m sorry.

I didn’t think anyone would really care. What was a few missed blog posts? But when I was talking to my best friend Jenn in Toronto last night she asked me, “What’s up with your blog? You’re not doing it anymore?” Surely she must have had a broken link… she couldn’t have noticed a measly three missing posts. “You can’t log on?” “No, I can, but you haven’t put anything new up lately.”

SMACK!

It was a true palm-to-forehead slap. Someone really DID go to my blog on a regular basis and actually noticed I hadn’t written anything in a coupla days!

I was truly humbled. If there’s one wish of any writer it’s to be heard, for someone to give a damn about what you have to say, and to know that Jenn was reading regularly meant the world to me.

Thanks for the great and humbling and flattering reality check friend. I heart you.

For some reason my RANDOM THOUGHTS… has turned into a bit of an ongoing rant, so lets just look at happy things today!

1- The smell of pine, freshly perked coffee, baked apples, a crackling fire, and the top of a baby’s head make me warm and fuzzy inside.

2- Someone needs to contact manufacturers of baby clothes and get them to make adult versions. I want a pair of fleece footy pajamas, a funky mohawk hat that ties under my chin and mittens on strings (I always lose mine!)

3- Our apartment has always been small and hence a tad overcrowded, but I always try and have something pretty in view, even if it’s just a single bunch of lilacs in a juice glass.

4- Stop “saving” stuff (I’ve blogged about this before)… I always have these little “stashes” in my bathroom and kitchen pantry of “fancy stuff” like bubble bath or expensive coffee. I don’t know what I’m “saving” it for. Life’s too short – just enjoy it!

5- If you’re having a crappy day, give someone a compliment. Tell the salesclerk you love her nail colour or tell a mom how cute her kid is. It’s always a great pick-me-up for the complimenter and the complimentee.

I was recently asked about my work experience and more notable career milestones, and at first I shrugged it off, deeming my professional life quite ordinary. But when I actually wrote out a list of what I’ve worked on, I did a bit of a double-take. Not to toot my own horn but since graduating university back in 2003 (yikes!), I have had some tremendous opportunities because of my “press” title.

Here were a few goodies:

- Press events. Who doesn’t love a good celeb-packed press event? My fave was when Paris Hilton launched her shoe line at Browns – I got exclusive entry prior to the opening to the public where I watched as news outlet upon news outlet asked the blonde bombshell questions… and loved every minute of it. I also got octagon-side at my first UFC fight when GSP took on Matt Serra. I was one of very few chicks to be in the male-dominated press section (and I’ve gotta admit- it felt great!)

- Freebies. Although the freebies are great I didn’t get into this job to benefit from samples. But being a journalist has afforded me opportunities to try new things I never would have otherwise. I was treated to a fabulous two-night stay in Stowe last fall and my husband and I had an incredible time. We also spent the night at the John Lennon/Yoko Ono suite at the Fairmont Queen-Elizabeth Hotel in downtown Montreal where the infamous “Bed-In For Peace” took place… I was in awe, being the Lennon lover that I am, and it was one of the neatest nights of my life. I’ve also been lucky enough to eat some of the most exquisite high-end food in the city, like the ridiculous seven-course three-hour meal at the St. James Hotel’s XO Restaurant that left Mike and I speechless.

- The people. I’ve had the chance to work with some amazing editors who have since become mentors and friends (you know who you are Marlene, Emma and Angie). I’ve met amazing writers and photographers (the likes of Daniel Kudish, Davina Palik, Christine Laroche, Jenn Hardy, Miranda Lightstone, and Shawn Loeffler immediately come to mind, to name just a few). I’ve collaborated with stylists, designers, florists, PR agencies, and more, and I’ve learned and loved my job as a journalist because of these terrific people who inspired me.

- The assignments. I’ve written about charities and landscaping, art exhibits and summer camps, heroes, villains, and more. I’ve interviewed celebrities, millionaires, CEOs, fashion designers, handwriting analysts, mayors, mom, and kids. I’ve penned (or typed) columns, features and even 100-page foreplay guides (lol). I’ve styled photo shoots and even stood in for models when they’ve bailed (haha). I’ve dabbled in a lot, and with each assignment I’ve taken something with me.

- The technology. I got my first assignment as a “ghost tweeter” more than a year ago, and for the first time since the invention of the internet I was completely lost – I had never tweeted, had no idea what a hash-tag was and didn’t know my way around a trending topic. To be a good journalist you have to stay with the times, and that means constantly reeducating yourself on technology. Now I manage five Facebook pages, three Twitter accounts, a LinkedIn account, two blogs, and two websites. PHEW!

Journalism is the type of career where you have to rely on other people giving you a chance… editors need to give you the time of day to read your stuff as well as provide feedback, PR agencies need to deem you “worthy” of a press pass so that you can get your name out there and discover new things to pitch to publications, and writers need to take time out of their own writing to offer some advice. My career milestones would never have been possible if it weren’t for the string of people who helped me along the way, who were willing to give me an opportunity to grow and expand my skills.

And to those special people (teachers, professors, employers, etc.) I thank you from the very bottom of my writer’s heart.

Mike and I are getting our first house this summer. It’s an incredibly exciting and scary feeling, all at once. But mostly it’s excitement. As strange as it sounds I think I’m more excited about buying our first house than I was for our wedding.

We have been in the same one-bedroom apartment for 10 years. We were one of the first of our friends to get their own place and now we are one of the last of our friends to still be apartment dwellers. I have always loved this apartment… it served us well. We loved having friends over for reality show marathons and sports events, we’ve loved the huge tree outside our window that has provided us with privacy and a living example of the four seasons, we’ve loved the little corner in our living room where we put our Christmas tree that was always too fat for our modest space, and we loved the tacky 70s-something flowered tiles that overwhelmed our bathroom and the matching globe light fixtures in our dining area and kitchen. Mike and I celebrated holidays and birthdays here, friend’s baby showers, and put up out-of-town friends and family, somehow all cramming into our tiny apartment. My folder of pretty table centrepieces, recipes for dinner parties, and favor ideas is overflowing – it’s time to move out and finally unleash my inner Martha.

Now I find myself scouring the neighbourhood for inspiring landscaping ideas. I’m working out menus and matching flower arrangements in my head 24/7. I keep “popping by” kitchenware stores and picking up small glass carafes to put on the end table of my guest room or serving platters for the canapes I’ll serve at a summer barbecue in our backyard.

This apartment has been good to us but I cannot wait to be in our very own house.

1- Don’t ask someone “when are you due?” or “is that a maternity dress?” if you don’t know FOR SURE that that person is pregnant.

2- Never tell someone they look tired… that pretty much means you look like crap.

3- If you’re not 100% sure of a baby’s gender don’t “guess” and say “what a pretty little girl.” Baby Jason’s parents won’t be too happy about it.

4- Stop saying “literally.” A friend pointed this out to me recently – everyone says it… “I was scared… literally!” As opposed to what? Illiterally?

5- I’m tall. I know. You don’t have to ask me how tall I am anymore. Get over it. I’m 5’11.

It’s baby fever this summer… if you don’t have a baby you’re growin’ one. I love it… I love baby showers and I love buying baby presents. But given I’m one of the last few stragglers who hasn’t jumped on that baby-train, I often feel like people think I have nothing else going on except thinking about babies… I mean, I don’t have one yet so I MUST be thinking about them 24/7.

I’ll admit – it definitely crosses my mind. How could it not? Just this morning alone I saw three pregos downtown or at the cafe, not to mention someone asked if the dress I was wearing was a maternity dress (not the most tactful comment… and note to self: don’t wear this dress ever again). But right now our focus is on three things: work, house-hunting and the pup. I’m finally at a point in my freelancing where I have more options and don’t have to take every little job that comes my way, and I have a lot of important decisions to make in terms of where I want my career to go. Mike and I should also be getting our mortgage approval in the next couple of weeks, meaning house-hunting, furniture-buying and the like. One big life change at a time – a baby would totally overwhelm things at this point.

But when I see people from work, etc., it would be nice if people asked me “How are you?” instead of loaded questions like “Do you have anything to tell us?” or “Will there be the pitter-pat of little feet soon?” I know Mike and I have been together for over a decade and I KNOW that I’m gonna be 31 this year… but there’s more going on in my life than just baby-planning.

So, since you didn’t ask, I’ll tell you how I am. I’m great, thanks. Work is getting busier and busier and I’m still working on a book and pitching to literary agents. I have some amazing features and interviews in the works and we are so excited to be moving into our first home.

Oh, and do I anticipate hearing the pitter-pat of little feet? I already hear em… they’re Theo’s paws.

Mike and I go on long drives around St. Lambert or downtown, sipping on a Timmy’s… only now I have the seat warmer on to soothe my aging back (lol) and we have a pup in the car. I feel nostalgic when I go to my parent’s house and we wake up on a Saturday morning and gather around the kitchen table to eat dad’s eggies in bright plastic eggcups with finger toast and wash it down with tall glasses of milk… only now my “little” brother eats 14 eggs and Mike is there and the milk is in a bag instead of a jug. I feel nostalgic when I chat on the phone with one of my Florida girls, and I find myself lying on my bed, propped up on my elbow, just like I did for endless hours in my cozy bedroom in Boca… only now I’m in my own apartment and I have to pay for the call and I don’t get to see them the next morning gathered around my locker before first period (oh how I miss my dear Florida friends). I feel nostalgic when I look down and see my chipped nail polish… only now there are more wrinkles and a grown-up engagement/wedding ring, and my nails are slate grey instead of neon pink. I feel nostalgic when I wear my cuffed jean shorts and Converse to the mall… only now I’m not wearing a matching denim studded jacket, shoes without laces, a T-shirt with cuffed sleeves, a huge scrunchie, wandering through the mall with bags of coloured earrings from Claire’s and scented purple nail polish from Clothestime and tops from Wet Seal.

Where does the time go? What makes you feel nostalgic?

Obviously, after a baby-filled week, I have nothing but that on my mind, so today’s RANDOM THOUGHTS… will be all about birthing, babies and other B’s.

1- We are amazing creatures. We women may get the periods and menopause and hormonal problems but we also get the credit for the greatest most amazing thing in the world: having babies. We can grow em and push em out of miniscule openings and feed em… we’re incredible.

2- The belly button tells you when the baby is ready, just like the lid of a Snapple bottle – when the button pops it’s time!

3- Two things I want when I have a baby: a big comfy rocking La-Z-Boy and big boobies.

4- I think it’s criminal how much baby stuff costs. The industry knows you have no choice but to buy certain supplies and I know they take advantage of that. $300 video monitors, $27 Sophie giraffes (that honestly look like doggy chew-toys)- it’s ridiculous!

5- I know that it’s better for babies to be in the rooms with mommies, but I miss the days of going to a hospital and sneaking up to the maternity ward to look in the nursery window at all the babies. It was fun, like looking at puppies in a pet store window.

My best friend Jackie gave birth to a beautiful (and I mean BEAUTIFUL) baby boy last night. It was the first time I “experienced” an entire labor… usually I am just clinging to my cell phone waiting for updates on friends who are giving birth, but this time, I was at the hospital for 14 hours. She was induced and they broke her water at noon, and baby Blake was born a healthy 8 pounds 2 ounces just before 7:30pm. I actually watched them break Jackie’s water, and then watched her face contort as she experienced actual contractions, and then cheered with her when the anesthesiologist showed up with the epidural, and then did crossword puzzles and played “lets name the baby Felix” games to pass the time, and I tied Jackie’s hair in a ponytail and squeezed lotion into her hands while she had the IV in her arm, and when it was time to push the baby out I stood with Jackie’s amazing mother-in-law Suzi, while Jackie’s amazing mom Marilyn and her AMAZING coach of a husband Mike held her legs, and we propped the door open an inch as we waited in the hallway so we could listen as they yelled “C’mon Jackie! That was a good one! Another big push like that!”, and I heard her grunting… and then I heard baby Blake cry, and I burst into tears and me and Suzi hugged, and in that moment, I was so overwhelmed with total emotion that I was happy and bawling and relieved and excited… all at once.

I thought it would scare me… I would see Jackie strangling Mike and having excruciating pain and begging for more drugs and completely be traumatized into never having children. But (to Mike’s dismay) it only made feel more excited about when it will be my turn. I know Jackie had a FANTASTIC birthing experience (and pregnancy in general) and some of my friends haven’t been so lucky, but this was definitely the “best” birth to witness. Jackie was uncomfortable and nervous but she was also laughing (except for the few moments before her epidural when she told us we were not allowed to speak during her contractions… and she meant it!). Jackie was indescribably strong and her husband was the best of coaches and I had so much fun hanging out with their moms.

And I felt so privileged that they allowed me to share in such a personal amazing experience. After so many months of planning and appointment updates and watching her belly grow and feeling the kicking and hiccups, it was the most incredible thing in the entire world to hear baby Blake let out his first cry (and then hear Jackie say a few moments later, “Hi baby. I can’t believe you were just inside of me!”)

I can’t either… wow. I heart you baby Blake.