rosie and andrew are married!

This weekend I had the honour of standing up next to one of my very best friends as she married the love of her life. It was a beautiful wedding and I could not be any happier that Rosie and Andrew get to spend the rest of their lives side by side. I know from personal experience that it is pretty darn awesome being married to your best friend.  

Rosie and I have been through so much in the 15 years that we've been friends. We've been classmates, coworkers and roommates... I like to think that we are practically sisters by this point. My baby will grow up knowing her as Auntie Rosie... and after this weekend he or she has gained an Uncle Andrew!    

Way back in 2007, I longed to explore and made plans to move across the ocean to Australia. At the time, Rosie was my roommate and I felt extremely guilty leaving her behind. When she began dating Andrew, I knew that I was leaving her in good hands.  He did one heck of a job replacing me as her roommate, and as the years went by I (along with everyone else) pressured him to pop the question.  He waited, and waited, and then one day when nobody expected it, he finally proposed. 

I was thrilled when Rosie asked me to be a bridesmaid.  I bought my extra small dress and eagerly anticipated the big day. When I realized that I'd be 7 months pregnant by the time the wedding rolled around, I felt like a teenager breaking pregnancy news to her parents.  Fortunately, Rosie was no bridezilla and rather than kicking me out of the wedding party, she was excited about the news and ensured me that we would find a solution to the dress crisis.  Thank goodness for flowy dresses and a laid-back bride!  

It was such a great day, and I feel so privileged to have been a part of it! Congratulations Rosie and Andrew! You deserve all of the happiness in the world. Now hurry up and make some beautiful babies! ....I'm kidding. I know how annoying it is hearing that when you are newlyweds. But also, I'm not kidding. My kid needs some friends. No pressure. But seriously... 

one last east coast adventure

Last week I jetted off to St. John's, Newfoundland for one last east coast adventure before I go on maternity leave later this month. I was looking forward to the trip, as I'd found myself with a selection of some of my absolute favourite flight attendants that I've met during my time here. We would have a great time... if only we could get past the overnight flight.  

I'm normally great at sleeping during the day when I know that I'll be up the entire evening.  I close the curtains, curl up in bed, and indulge in the fact that I can sleep during the day while everyone else is busy at work.  Naps are great when the conditions are right.  Unfortunately, that day was the day that my neighbours decided to finally build a fence. This was no quiet task. Added to the fact that it was a warm toasty day with temperatures in my house soaring, there was no sleep to be had. I may have managed a couple of hours, but I was feeling less than eager when it was time to head to the airport.

We started off our evening delayed, after a quick but intense thunderstorm rolled through the city. We'd make up for it en route, until we arrived in Ottawa and had a mechanical issue with our aircraft. At 3 am local time, there were few people around to fix the issue and we had to wait patiently for the maintenance crew to arrive.  We were exhausted and our enthusiasm was lingering as we faced the prospect of a potential night in Ottawa instead of St. John's. Fortunately, it was a quick fix and we were once again on our way east.  

By the time that we arrived, our entire crew was eager to get to the hotel and snuggle into our beds. Few things are more satisfying after a night flight.  Seeing as how it was my last time in St. John's, I had high hopes of a day of fun, but those plans went out the window when I tried to wake up a few hours after arriving. I wouldn't climb Signal Hill or venture to Quidi Vidi that day. Instead, I'd press the snooze button repeatedly until finally forcing myself out of bed to go for a dazed walk in search of food.  

I was joined by the lovely Caitlin for the second layover in a row. We strolled to a small place called "Happy Hummus Hut", which has stole my heart with its delicious, unusual, healthy menu. We loaded up on treats for the next day and then walked back towards the hotel via Water Street, stopping in a few shops along the way. 

As usual, we had dinner plans with the crew. Seeing as how it was my last trip here, conveniently during lobster season, I was on a mission to spoil myself.  I was in luck, as the restaurant we chose had a nightly special of lobster chowder and a lobster grilled cheese sandwich. I was sold. Both contained huge chunks of delicious lobster and I ate until my stomach hurt... which doesn't take much these days with a baby occupying space formerly reserved for meals.  

Despite my attempts to embrace healthier eating in the days prior, no trip to St. John's is complete without stopping in Freak Lunchbox to load up on candy. As usual, my crew tagged along and couldn't resist leaving with their own treats.  I refrained from purchasing everything in the store and left with only a small bag of sugary goodness. (I also forced Cait to pose in front of the store...)    

By this point of the evening I was struggling to fight the fatigue and couldn't wait to get back to my hotel room. It may have been an uneventful trip, but I was too tired to care. 

The trip home was a long one, but with my awesome crew and extremely light passenger loads we eventually made it back to Edmonton. I can honestly say that I am beyond thrilled to be officially finished with working red eye flights!

After my trip I drove down to Red Deer to spend the weekend with friends and family. A few days later sleep deprivation and my lowered-by-pregnancy immune system have got the best of me... I'm now nursing a cold that makes flying far too hard on my poor ears. I guiltily called in sick today for one of my few remaining days of work!  Maternity leave is fast approaching and I feel as though it will be bittersweet. Life as I know it will soon be a thing of the past!  

hanging out in hawaii.

I'm back home after another wonderful vacation. My mom and I spent a week in glorious Maui, basking in the sunshine, splashing in the ocean, and eating everything in sight.   In a perfect world, Ryan and I would pack up our lives, move to the island, and raise a little surfer baby.  

Since that is unrealistic, vacations will have to suffice. 

I could write a long post about every little detail of our trip, but that would be a whole lot of proclaiming my love for fish tacos and coconut gelato. Instead, I'll leave you with the photos, because that is much more fun anyways.

We flew standby and didn't know until an hour before our flight whether we'd make it to Maui or not. When the gate agent hands you a boarding pass with assigned seats, it's like winning the lottery. We had woke up in Edmonton, and we'd be going to bed in paradise. 

We lucked out and got a great deal on a perfect condo suite for our stay. The man on the phone must have liked my mom, because we were upgraded to a 2 bedroom condo on the top floor with an ocean view.  I'm pretty certain that I could get used to this.  

We also cruised in style for the week in our red Mustang Convertible. Our hair was a permanent state of windblown mess, but we felt like the coolest people on the planet.  

Maui has some of the most gorgeous sunsets. My camera is often abandoned as of lately, but I made sure to put it to good use.  

We indulged in fish tacos on several occasions... they just aren't the same anywhere at home! I'm missing them already.

We spent a day driving the Road to Hana. It was a gorgeous drive down windy roads with incredible views. We blasted "Island Radio" and cruised to the mellow beach music. 

Along the way we stopped for my first of many shaved ice that trip. It was incredibly hot outside and they would always melt too fast, but my goodness, Hawaii knows how to do shaved ice. This hungry pregnant lady was in Heaven. 

Our last stop on the Road to Hana was my absolute favourite! The views were incredible and we truly felt like we were in paradise. 

This was also home to the black sand beach, which was so amazing to see. We were both in awe of the  soft, pure black sand and perfect little pebbles.  

Of course, we went to the regular sand coloured beaches in Kihei as well. 

On our last night we went to a luau. That buffet was my paradise.  Every bite was delicious and I may or may not have used the "eating for two" excuse... 

It was a great night, and so much fun to get dressed up with flowers in our hair and leis around our necks! 

I skipped part of the show because I couldn't resist taking sunset photos... 

Baby Shippelt loved Maui too! It was his/her first time in the Pacific Ocean.  With baby and a little help from all of the food that I consumed, I'm really starting to feel rather large these days! 

Sadly, our trip had to come to an end. The flight out of Maui was full so we decided to island hop to Kona for better odds of getting back to Canada.  We flew on a Cessna Grand Caravan, much to the dismay of my mother, who happens to be exceptionally afraid of small planes. 

She did just fine once we were in the air and she was able to take in the incredible views as we caught our last glimpse of Maui. 

We managed to get on the flight, and after a long sleepless night we landed in Vancouver. We spent the day exploring Granville Island and buying ourselves more delicious treats.  

For dinner we searched for a good seafood restaurant and after the longest wait in the history of long waits, we finally got a table. I was initially disappointed to discover a lack of non-alcoholic beverages (Not even Sprite!) but the food certainly made up for it.  

The next day, it was back to miserable, rainy Edmonton. I missed Maui, but when my husband and puppy met me at the airport I remembered how great it is to be home, sweet home! I've now returned from my last vacation before the baby arrives!  From here on out, it's family vacations for us!

more maui... in the 3rd trimester!

I'm still in Maui. It's still wonderful. We've ate our body weight in Hawaiian treats such as macadamia pancakes, coconut gelato, fish tacos, and shaved ice. We've conquered the Road to Hana in a Mustang convertible rental car.  I have the ugliest most patchy sunburn on my back because apparently my SPF 60 sunscreen coated hands didn't make it all the way during application.  All I can say is that I'm thankful my friend Rosie didn't choose strapless bridesmaid dresses for her wedding that is 2 weeks from now. I'll stand out enough without insane tan lines just by being the pregnant one.   

Speaking of pregnancy... today marks the beginning of the 3rd trimester. The glory days (AKA the 2nd trimester) are in the past and from here on out I'm preparing myself for discomfort, swollen feet, and insomnia, most of which I've already experienced.  It's so glamourous growing a baby!   

It's amazing that 3 months from now I'll be begging this child to hurry up and be born.  Lately everyone has been asking if I'm ready for the huge life change. Some like to throw in their horrific labour stories as well. People get a sick pleasure out of terrifying first time moms, I'm certain of it.  Really though, can you ever be ready?! It won't always be easy, but I'll take what is thrown at me it as it comes.  

I've found that in Hawaii I'm unmistakably pregnant. At home I can wear baggy clothes and somewhat succeed at hiding my belly if I really want to. Here in paradise, I'm flaunting my bump in bikinis and summer dresses. People stare, but I'm sure that pre-pregnant me probably found myself doing the same.  Pregnancy really is a crazy, amazing thing. 

With my photographer husband and tripod both back home, I've enlisted my mom as my personal maternity photographer for the trip.  I'm a bit bossy, but I think that the results are worth it. 

That's all for now, it's time to enjoy another perfect day of sunshine followed by a luau this evening. I can't drink my fancy tropical drinks, but I'll certainly attack that buffet!  

VACATION!

In recent weeks I've neglected the blog, as I've been overwhelmingly busy with work and the start of the summer wedding and birthday season.  I've been back and forth across our great big country several times, having little energy to do much else but sleep on my few days off. 

Fortunately, the end of May came with a week's vacation. My mom was able to get the time off as well, and it was decided... we'd go on a last mother-daughter trip before I become the mother and she becomes grandma. We anxiously opted to fly standby to make the trip more economical. We woke up in Edmonton, unsure of the day's final destination. We went to bed here.... 

And here we will stay for the rest of the week. So excuse my absence my wonderful blog readers, but there are virgin cocktails to be consumed.   

high on sunshine and life.

Springtime has arrived. Last week was pure bliss with hot, hot sunny days. Between flying to the arctic and a few months of morning sickness, this past winter felt as though it would never end. I'm thrilled that it appears there is actually a light at the end of the long, miserable tunnel known as winter.  

The sun is shining, the snow is melted, and I'm feeling great.  Now if I could just stay this comfortable throughout the summer, life would be wonderful. I'm not getting my hopes up. I know that hot, sweaty days and swollen feet are in my not so distant future.  

In the spirit of the warm weather, we have started to make our yard look a whole lot nicer. And by we, I mean Ryan. He planted shrubs and trees (I helped... a bit) and pulled up sod to create a pretty little area by our fence. I help out by watering our new plants when I'm at home during the day.

 Feeling inspired to have a beautiful yard, I ventured to the garden centre with the intent of buying gorgeous flowers to plant and make the yard a bit more girly. It didn't take long to remember that I am absolutely useless when it comes to such things as gardening, and I left empty handed. Grandma, I know that you are reading this... please come plant flowers for me. I will water them and admire them. 

The rest of the week was lazy and great, with the exception of one long work day that took me far north and back. I was fortunate enough to have great crew, making the day reasonably bearable.  

This weekend we ventured to our home town, Red Deer. We spent Friday night with Ryan's parents who were just about to jet off to Mexico.  They are celebrating their 40th anniversary, so they certainly deserve the vacation! 

Saturday we dressed up and headed to celebrate Ron and Sky's wedding. The weather could not have been more perfect for their big day.  I love weddings, especially when they are friends that I've known for quite awhile. Ron has been to so many weddings as a photographer, so it was fun to watch him have his turn walking down the aisle with a great big smile on his face. Pregnant, emotional me managed to maintain my composure, which was a nice bonus. While the rest of the guests sipped beverages at the reception, I made up for the fact that I couldn't have any wine by indulging in food. So much food. Regret would follow, but binge eating is always worth it in the moment.  

Sunday was Mother's Day. We spent awhile visiting Ryan's grandma before taking my mom out for dinner. We opted for a sushi night, and I was in tempura and maki heaven. I might not be a mom yet, but I will be soon, so I requested ice cream as my Mother's Day wish.  We headed to my beloved Little Ice Cream and Soda Shop, where I showed no moderation and chose not one, but two flavours.... cake batter and mint chocolate chip, in case you care to know. 

I blamed the baby for my unhealthy eating, as per usual. I know a few ladies who have been through tough losses and long to be in my position right now, so they were in my thoughts Mother's Day as I reminded myself of just how lucky I am to be growing a healthy baby.  The same thoughts got me through my glucose tolerance test this morning, where I was forced to drink a not so yummy sugary drink and have my blood taken to test for gestational diabetes. It wasn't much fun for a big wimp like me, but I got through it. 

I almost forgot to mention that on Sunday evening we booked a mother-daughter trip that will take place in a couple of weeks. I'd tell you where we are going, but flying standby one never really knows.  Regardless, it will be a great time and a good excuse to show off our pretty pedicures that we got last weekend at the Walmart spa... yes, I'm completely serious.  

Spring is wonderful, life is good, and I'm even looking forward to work this week as it will take me to visit my friend Kimmy in Saskatoon and to eat French onion soup in Montreal! Oh, and did I mention that one of my best friends and my former Dubai roommate is coming to Canada to visit me in July?! We will have so many adventures, even though I'll be a giant, waddling pregnant lady by that point.

 I'm not sure how on Earth I'm so lucky, but I'll take it! 

springtime in yellowknife

It's May!  Spring is in the air! I can feel it! The days are getting warmer, the sun is shining well into the evening, and on a less happy note... the mosquitos are swarming.  

I'm excited for spring because it's generally followed by summer (but we live in Alberta, so who knows)  and summer means warmth and ice cream and happiness. I'm also a bit terrified because summer means the arrival of baby Shippelt. While that's wonderful and I can't wait to meet him or her, I think any first time mom who says that they are 100% excited and 0% scared is a big, fat liar. Except not really fat... just big. That's a bit of a touchy subject.  

Back to my spring bliss... I started my month of May by going to work. I squeezed into my uniform, which at 23 weeks pregnant is becoming somewhat of a challenge.

 Our first stop was the lovely Fort McMurray, where we brought a plane full of (mostly) men back to work.  You can always tell the difference between the ones headed to work, and the ones beginning days off. On the way up they sat quietly and graciously accepted their snacks and soft drinks. On the way back to Edmonton, they were loud and rowdy, and a few even had the nerve to complain about the lack of alcoholic beverages available onboard... because Heaven forbid, they hadn't had a drink in over 2 weeks.  Without being the least bit subtle, I clutched my baby belly and forced fake sympathy.  Try 5 months, boys.  

Our final destination that day was Yellowknife. For the past few months I've done what I can to avoid the arctic city, but with temperatures rising it just might be okay this time around.  We got to our hotel late, and while the rest of the crew planned to go for a bite to eat and a drink or two, I headed to my room and called it a night.  In this industry we call anti-social people like me "slam-clickers", but being pregnant has given me a hassle free pass.  

I was up early the next day as the sun peaked through the blinds.  My husband's cousin Sarah (would that make her my cousin-in-law?) also happened to be working in Yellowknife at the time and we'd agreed to go for breakfast following her night shift.  We met at my hotel and I dined on some fabulous chocolate chip pancakes, leaving me in a carb-induced state of laziness for the next few hours. 

It was fun to see a familiar face in a place where I don't know anyone.  Back in Edmonton we lead busy lives between work and home, and rarely see each other.  In Yellowknife, there isn't a whole heck of a lot else to do, so it was a perfect opportunity to catch up.  

As Sarah headed back to her accommodations to sleep the day away, I rejoiced in the fact that the temperature was above zero.  I decided to venture outside for a walk, feeling as though I should make the most of my free day. My flight home wasn't until 4 pm, and I had plenty of time to kill.

I headed to Javaroma, a pricey little coffee shop that I love for the fact that it's the only place I've found to serve espresso in Yellowknife.  I got myself a decaf mocha, and because it pains me to order decaf I rewarded myself by topping it with whipped cream. 

With my cup in hand I headed for the Frame Lake trail, unsure of what to expect given the fact that there were still patches of snow on the ground. In the fall, I'd loved this trail and this was the warmest day I'd experienced here since October. Google tells me that it's a 9 kilometre trek.  It was a gorgeous day, warm enough to walk without a jacket. With a few icy and muddy patches I had to take it slow, at least for me. I'd normally power through it, but these days I try to be a bit more cautious.  The weather was beautiful, and few people were on the trail. It was a great walk, and when I got back to the hotel I felt energized and thankful that I can still maintain my active lifestyle more than halfway through my pregnancy. 

Back in my room I showered and packed my bags, wasting time watching horrible daytime television until it was time to catch my shuttle. I flew home to Edmonton, where it was even warmer outside! 

The rest of the evening was spent watching the finale of Big Brother Canada. At the shocking ending of the show, Ryan and I were happy fans. It was a bittersweet moment, as there will now be a void in our Sunday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings.  Come on summer, and Big Brother USA!