Too many winners...

You're all too good at guessing ;)

(sing to the tune of "Happy Birthday")

Merry Christmas to everyone
In the oven is a bun
I hope you have a great time
As we are having lots of fun


I know the words don't really fit the tune, but it's the best I could do! Hope you are all having a wonderful holiday :)

Love Ali Kat

I got one wish!

I got one of my unrealistic Christmas wishes...

CAN YOU GUESS WHAT IT IS???

My Christmas Wish List (yeah, right)!

So, Teresa blogged about her wish list. I am going to follow her advice and do the same. Although, mine seem a little more unrealistic than most of hers ;) It's just nice to be able to dream... in no particular order...


A Wii!!! Hubby and I want this so bad, but I think it'll be a few years 'till we get one. I really wanna try the Wii music.


Photoshop... I would love to be able to diddle and doddle on this program :)


A Jesus Fish tattoo. Sound crazy?!? Yep, hubby thinks so, too, but I'm still working on him ;) I had a friend who had a maple leaf on the very top side of her leg (hip) and I always thought that was a really cool place for a tattoo, but could never think of what I would want there. For a while I thought a star, but something more meaningful recently came to mind. And how neat would it be to tell people who don't know Jesus what my tattoo means to me and other Christians :D


A lifetime supply of Starbucks! Literally, this would be the most awesomest gift in the whole wide world!! Whole beans and coffees made just for me for the rest of my life!?! (For the record, this isn't my drink - it's the new Espresso Truffle - but my drink - (Iced) Mocha - looked really boring in the pics they had.)


A New Diamond ring (I actually LOVE this one, oh, I forgot that hubby doesn't read my blog)! I've been having big time problems with the claws on my engagement ring, and as a result, hardly ever wear it anymore. I wanna feel fancy and married again :( (I'm still married, don't worry.)


Your kitchen is someplace you never go, because you "have people for that." There's a Chocolatessen, which is rapidly becoming your favorite room of the house. Having one is also becoming a trend among your wealthy neighbors. Your master bedroom is the size of a small barn, with carpet thick enough to reach your ankles. Your study has hardback editions of every classic ever written, plus a special edition of Rich Dad, Poor Dad with the parts you ghost-authored highlighted. One of your garages holds your collection of ferraris, and is measured in acreage.

Your home also includes a guest wing and private quarters for your servants. Outside is your hedge maze and gardens, meticulously tended by a team of world-class botanists.

Below is a snippet of the blueprints:
My dream house. I don't know what that is yet (especially the outside - although I really like wrap around verandas) and I'm not sure if that will EVER happen :P But, I went on this website where you can find out a few little blueprints of your dream house just by answering some silly questions, it was fun!


A maid to clean my house, buy my groceries and do my freakin' dishes - still no freakin' dishwasher - FREAK!! (hee, hee)


A trip to Costa Rica (sans child(ren))! I saw a picture in a magazine in high school and have dreamed about it ever since. Who wouldn't want to be on a secluded beach, in your own hut, swimming under waterfalls?!?


A '63 Red Mercury Comet Convertible. I almost had one in high school, but at the last minute the guy's daughter claimed it. I've been ticked ever since :s


Another baby - maybe Santa will get my letter this year?


An ACTUAL NON-SPILL SIPPY cup!! Do these exist, or do all the companies just claim it but not produce???


Black Ugg Cargo III's... Oh wait, I DO have these, mommy bought them for me last week (I never would've spent that much on boots for myself)!!! I so love them, they're super warm and super comfy and super sassy :P

Sick :(

Being sick sucks, I'll be back when my head doesn't feel like it's gonna explode, I'm not blowing my nose every 3 seconds, I don't have to eat 10 ricolas in a day, I don't feel like I'm going to faint...

My two favorites!

Just thought I'd post these so y'all could see what I'm talkin' about. One of my faves (Vincent) got voted off last night and totally didn't deserve to! Oh well, it's hard to get but that's what happens when you leave things in the hands of teens ;) Hubby got tics to see the top ten in February - I'm so pumped!!

GO CANADA!!!

"Canadian's So You Think You Can Dance is second to none" - Dan Karaty.


We rock Canada :D Talent coming out the ying yang ;) I so LOVE this show - it's up there with my other two faves - Grey's Anatomy and ER (boo hoo, ER is leaving us)! Maybe it's the fact that I've always wanted to be a "real" dancer, but man, I love this show (oops, did I say that already?)!! Okay, that's all I really have to say... Watch it, and see for yourself :)

Update

Not much is new with us! I was performing with the Ballet at the end of October, so rehearsals were keeping me quite busy. We FINALLY got carpet in the basement, so it's actually functional now (and Beth just loves roaring around)! I'm trying to get the storage room organized now so we can get the rest of our belongings which have been living at my sisters place for the past 3 years. Obviously if we can live without them for that long, they're not too important (a lot of books). I'm hoping to really do some good purging in the next few weeks. I already dropped off 5 huge garbage bags full of clothes. I can't believe I actually kept things from 10 - 15 years ago! YIKES :P Here are some pics for you to enjoy (or don't enjoy them ;) I figured if Teresa could do them, then so could I!! Although, you can't see hers anymore... maybe she'll humor us, too?

My little monkey has now had two poops in the potty! It's spanned out over a few days, but it's a start!


An avid reader. She often just goes to her room and sits to read for a long while :D


She loves this "truck. It mostly gets pushed, 'cause she's not quite tall enough to reach the floor and push herself well enough to steer without banging into everything. We have an awesome video of Beth and Rachel pushing each other, way too cute :)

Bethany Following Instructions

I thought it was about time that I posted a video of Beth! I just love how she actually followed my instructions at first! She's still only saying dada and I'm starting to get quite upset, me being home with her all day :( Sorry it's sideways, but it took me 5 days to finally be able to load this and I'm not about to try and turn it yet too. Just tilt your head and suck it up ;)

Bethany's One Year Pics

I'm quite ticked at the way these scanned, but it's the best I could do, short of going out and buying my own scanner (which just wouldn't get used enough to warrant the money spent)!

BubbleShare: Share photos - Find great Clip Art Images.

Sick again?!?

Man, this is getting a little old (or maybe I am?)! I can't believe I have my third throat infection of the year!!! What's going on with this silly body of mine? It's really hard being so sick that you can't get out of bed for 2 days. I can't imagine if I had more than one kid. At least we've got family around that can take her so I can rest. And, thankfully it happened on a weekend, so hubby was home most of the time and was such an awesome help. He did everything (well, almost everything, there were lots of dishes to catch up on yesterday ;) Seriously, though, he was such a fantastic help! I love him and it was so nice to hear him playing with Bethany and reading her books. It kept my mind off how incredibly sick I actually was. High fever, achy body, exploding headache (yep, my new expression), sore throat, no appetite and no freakin' energy whatsoever. Am I asking for sympathy, heck yes!! Thankful that I'm done breast feeding so I don't have to deal with Thrush from the antibiotics on top of the sickness. I'm not a fan of meds, but it's really the only way with these infections. Unless I want to be out of commission for more than a week, and that my friend would be even less fun :P But, I'm feeling much better now, just a slight ache in the bones, less energy than normal and still some strain in the throat, but almost back to myself. I had a rehearsal on Sunday night that I had to be at, boy was that fun... NOT! I have an audition on Sat. that I really need to start practicing for, but just can't begin to think of singing yet :( Guess I'll have to talk to my doc at the end of the month about maybe, possibly, thinking about getting my tonsils taken out? YIKES! That's a scary thought when you're a singer!!!

ONE!!!

Sleeping in the hospital. So incredibly precious!

Tomorrow my baby is one! WOW! It's really hard to believe that it's been a whole year already. She's standing on her own now, and has taken one step a few times, but she's a very cautious child and I think she's waiting until she can do it perfectly before she starts walking. I had to post this today as we are going to the lake tomorrow. She is such a joy to have around, and I can never be frustrated with her for very long! She has such a personality and is just fun to laugh with, tickle and hug :D What an amazing and beautiful gift God has given us this past year! I can't imagine the time I will get to spend with her in the future, and can't wait until we can talk and do girly things together. Hubby is amazing with her and they have a really neat bond (can't wait to see their relationship grow, too).

Her party will be next week. I sent out Tinkerbell invites and even added sparkles to them so people could experience the "pixie dust" for themselves. We are frantically trying to get the house ready for 40 guests... the basement is still in pretty rough shape. Hubby's coming home early this afternoon to build shelves and then next week I'll be organizing and purging. I already started last night... I can't believe the amount of clothes I have kept over the years. I was in a throw out mood, so I'm making sure I don't go back and look through the boxes today, otherwise I'm sure more than half would stay here ;) And with having maternity, fat, less fat and skinny clothes, I still have so flippin' many, it's ridonculous!

My birthday was great. It's funny how as you get older, your birthdays matter less and less ;) I had a cousin and her 3 kids over in the am. We played and ate lunch and talked, it was nice to have another adult to talk to, and for Beth to be able to interact with her 2nd cousins. In the afternoon I made apple sauce with my MIL, it was a great time and Beth had a nice long nap so that we could get lots done. In the evening, hubby and I went to my parents for supper (the cheap way) and then went and picked up my birthday present - a brand new Bicycle!! We went for dessert, which was not great at all (to a place which has apparently been going downhill for a while). All in all, a really nice day :) I'll leave you with many recent pics...

Learning how to eat on her own with a spoon. It's such a mess, but I'm sure it'll be worth it once she's go it down!

Playing with mommy after a feed - some of the best snuggle times, EVER!

Sitting with daddy outside. I have at least 5 great pics from this scene :D

Chomping into one of the many apples (two of those bins full) that we used for sauce and pies. I'm sure she thought she was helping me out somehow?!?

The only pic of us three that's decent until Beth is much older than one day!

My B-Day!

I had to quickly do a post before midnight, because then it wouldn't be legit anymore. It did end up being a pretty great day! More info about my day to come in my next post. For now, I leave you with a ridiculous pic that hubby wanted to take of me because he said I looked sexy... you be the judge :P

Too Long...

Man, has it been a really long time since my last post. We've been through two sicknesses (Beth with roseola - a form of the measles - and a cold and me with tonsilitis and strep throat and then a cold). A little crazy and scary, but we made it through and are now nursing a diaper rash and thrush - which we've had for 10 months off and on. She's talkative and very mobile and likes to be busy and active. Crawling, walking around furniture and curious :) Life is busy with household stuff, play dates and going to the lake... no excuse for not writing, but I'm using it anyway. Beth is almost 11 months old - wow time sure flies. Hubby and I just had our 5th anniversary and are hoping to celebrate with a night on our own, but it hasn't happened yet and Beth is still breastfeeding, so it'll be difficult. She finally took a sippy cup, after she had been sick she only wanted mommy and then I got sick and had absolutely no milk, so it was pretty stressful. Life is so fantastic and the summer is great! It's so nice to finally be outside and to have sunshine and no snow. I'll leave you with some pics...

Tried to eat the daisy many times

Loves bath time, but often tries to climb out

Has so much fun on the swing, especially when daddy pushes her really high

Come and see me!

It's gonna be a great show :)

Busy Life

Things have been a little crazy around here lately. My Grandfather passed away last Friday (he was 97 and very ill, so it was a blessing and he's in a better place). We've had funeral stuff and tons of family came out, so that's been the last week. However, I did have time to do my very first scrapbook page. I want to post it, but still need to add one more pic, so once I do you'll get to see it. Although, I can admit it's not too great, I don't have much of an artsy streak. I'm very particular and love organizing, though, so I thought it might work for me to start this whole scrapbooking addiction. Guess I
ll have to see what all you pros out there think. For now, I'll leave you with a pice of my niece brushing Beth's hair - this was her first hair brushing experience!

6 Months!

I can't believe my baby's already 6 months old! Wow, time flies! She's teething right now, yesterday was not a fun day (for either of us). She's usually so good and happy, so it was hard to deal with and I really didn't know what to do. Hopefully today will be better.


Also, I wanted to post this right after the oscars - but just didn't, so here's my beef...

If any of you have seen the movie "Enchanted" you know that Amy Adams sings both the working song and How Do You Know. So, I was quite surprised to hear that Kristin Chenoweth was singing the latter. I don't know exactly what the reasoning for this was (I heard something about Disney thinking that she was more experienced with live performances), and frankly, whatever it was, they obviously didn't know what they were doing. I like Chenoweth, don't get me wrong, but Adams would have done a much better job. The song was made for her, and Chenoweth cacked so many notes and just didn't have the right character. Anyhoo, I'll let you judge for yourselves...

About Me

The Basics

Hair Color: Dark brown

Eye Color: Hazel

Height: 5’6"

Profession: A stay at home mom, taught junior high and high school music for four years

Relationship Status: Married

Religious Views: Christian

My Favorites

Favorite Color: Green

Favorite Car: A new Bug convertible

Favorite Movie: Any musical and I’m good

Favorite Hobby: TV and reading

Favorite Song/Singer: Song: Someone to Watch Over Me
Singer: Harry Connick Jr.

Favorite Book/Author: Jane Austen

Favorite School Subject: Musical Theatre

Favorite Vacation Destination: Venice/Rome

Favorite Food: Pizza

Favorite Restaurant: Starbucks – only for an Iced Mocha

Favorite Animal: Zebra

Favorite Store: Dynamite

Favorite Celebrity : Patrick Dempsey/Christian Bale

Favorite Childhood Friend: Courtney – and I always wonder what she’s up to now

Favorite Childhood Memory: Rollerskating in our basement

Favorite Baby Name: Not gonna tell, you could steal it

Favorite Person In Your Life: My hubby and my daughter

This or That

Chocolate or Vanilla: Chocolate, who in their right mind would choose vanilla?!?

Big Mac or Whopper: Neither, yuck

Coke or Pepsi : Pepsi, all the way

Beer or Wine: Beer

Coffee or Tea: Coffee, but with chocolate milk

Apple Juice or O.J.: O.J. every morning


Summer or Winter: Summer

Windows or Mac: Mac is the best

Cats or Dogs: Dogs

Boxers or Briefs: Boxer briefs, ha!

Rain or Shine : I like both

Chips or Popcorn: Again, both

Salty or Sweet: Usually salty followed by something sweet

Plane or Boat: Boat

Morning or Night: A night owl

Movie or Play: Play

Walk or Drive: Drive.

Money or Love: I can have both, can’t I?

Breakfast or Dinner: Dinner

Forgiveness or Revenge: Forgive

Paint or Wallpaper: Paint

House or Apartment: House

Do You?

Have Any Pets: Fish, and they keep dying

Have Any Children: One beautiful little girl

Smoke: No

Drink: In moderation

Exercise: I have the best intentions


Play On A Sports Team: No

Belong To Any Organizations: Manitoba Opera, Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Winnipeg, Springs Church, Canadian Actors’ Equity Association

Love Your Job: When she’s happy (which is most of the time)

Like To Cook: Cook, no – Bake, YES

Play An Instrument: Voice, Piano, Bass Guitar, Flute and dabbled in many others

Sing: Heck yes

Dance: Yep, but I wish I was better

Speak Multiple Languages: No

Ice Skate: Hate it

Swim: Yep, taught lessons for 7 years

Paint: Walls

Write: I only wish I was as good as my husband

Ski: Downhill since I was 6

Juggle: Nope

Have You Ever?

Stolen Anything: Yes, a chocolate bar when I was 4 and an ashtray

Been Drunk: A few times, but never again – it’s way too embarassing

Had Sex In A Public Place: No

Got Caught Telling A Lie: Yes

Got A Speeding Ticket: Yes

Been Arrested: No

Littered: Yes, but I’ve changed my ways

Fantasized About A Co-Worker: Yes

Cheated On A Test: Yes

Cheated In A Relationship: No

Failed A Class: Ummm… yeah

Screened Your Phone Calls: All the time

Eaten Food Off The Floor: Yes, 3 second rule (or is it 5?)

Stuck Gum Under A Desk: Yes

Wished You Were Someone Else: Yep

Cried During A Movie: All the time – even in “Home Alone”

Had A One Night Stand: No

Other

Describe Yourself
In One Word: I have no idea

Biggest Fear: My daughter dying before me

Biggest Mistake: Too many to list

Your Proudest Accomplishment: Becoming a mom, and loving it

#1 Priority In Your Life: My child

Dream Job: Broadway

Causes You Believe In: Childrens hospital

Special Talents: I’m a musician, that’s all

Where Are You Right Now: In my office at home

Where Would You Rather Be: In bed

Place To Visit Before You Die: Jerusalem

Song Played At Your Funeral: Faithful to Me

My soldier girl!

A cute fun picture with a serious post!

I have a feeling many Christian parents have had these thoughts, but I just needed to get them out of my head, in writing and out there for some opinions. It's a crazy world we live in. I sometimes wonder why I brought a child into it - but then conclude that this is what we were made to do, and just hope that I can be a good example and teach my children what they need to know to follow the right path and tell others about Jesus. I know we don't / can't have all the answers, but I've been thinking lately that I don't know if I would have any. I've never really been book smart, so reading the Bible for me is a challenge. Hubby bought me the Amplified Version for my birthday 2 yrs ago, and I really love it and it brought a lot out that I hadn't realized before. But, I'm not a huge conversationalist when it comes to talking about my faith, and I always get nervous when it comes up. Why is that? Something I'm so confident about on the inside seems to be so hard to get across to people. I want my daughter to be a soldier for God - a fisher of men. But I don't even know where to begin! One verse that stands out for me is Ephesians 6:11 - "Put on God's whole armor, that you may be able successfully to stand up against all the strategies and the deceits of the devil." I know life doesn't always go as planned (and I know what I was like growing up, and that my parents probably didn't expect a lot of what I did to happen), but, man, this is making me nervous. I'm so excited to watch Bethany grow up, but so scared that I won't know what to do!!

Let's end on a better note: Happy Valentine's day :D

A long time coming :P

One of the only nice pics I have with Bethany and me


I know, I'm a schmuck for neglecting my blog for so long (and admittedly opting for an easy way out by posting videos). I don't know what's wrong with me (a mix of facebook, baby and laziness)! Anyhoo, I'm posting now, and I'm guessing not many people will even read this, since I've lost so many of you to my lack of posts. Much has happened, and I'll start with the most recent.

Beth is almost 5 months old!! Yikes, time flies. And as I sit here typing, she's playing with me and giggling - how much fun can we have?!? Here are a few cute pics:

Laughing and playing with mommy (one of our favourites)


Sitting up and so proud :)



On Saturday we had a Dance Dance Revolution Party at my aunt and uncles. It was so much fun, I think we're gonna have to do it more often.

Hubby and I went to see Michael Buble! I was pleasantly surprised by how entertaining he was and we really enjoyed ourselves. A vocal play group called Naturally7 opened for him and they were fantastic - totally my kind of music :) We've already agreed to see him in concert the next time he's here.


We went to Palm Springs for Christmas! The weather was sunny, but not as hot as I had hoped. I ended up getting really sick and was in bed and didn't leave the hotel room for 3 days - this really put a damper on the holiday for me. We were happy we had decided to go for 10 days instead of 7, otherwise it would have just been too quick. Bethany and I got Thrush again because I had to go on antibiotics, and for two days I had absolutely no milk, and my supply just got back up in the last few days.


I actually sent out Christmas cards this year!! Big accomplishment, since I've wanted to do it for the last four Christmases! I guess having Beth arrive helped, since we combined "Merry Christmas" with "We have a baby". I wanted to post the card (I actually did for a few days) but then realized it has our last name on it and I can't figure out how to take that part off, so you'll miss out on that one, sorry :(

The schedule thing is going much better (although Sundays and going out always messes it up). But she's content and usually good about the whole thing. Thanks Logziella for the great advice - I LOVE the Babywise book and am trying to find book 2!

And.. I'm running out of news, so I'll just say that I've been in such a moomy (oops, I meant MOMMY, or did I?) mode, that I had my first rehearsal for G & S yesterday and just didn't feel like being there. This has never happened to me, I'm usually totally pumped to go. It's a combo of wanting to be with my little one, not being vocally up to snuff, wanting an actual part (like last year) instead of just being in the chorus and being just plain tired (which seems to make no sense, since she's sleeping through the night). Hopefully I'll be more "there" for tonight's rehearsal.

PS at first I felt bad about so many pics, but then I read Lozi's recent post and all of those feelings went by the waste side.

This guy is hilarious!

And yes, it's actually him singing! So good, had to share...