The August Giveaway & A Superbad Cat

(Click on image for a closer view)

I've been superbad at blogging lately, but honestly haven't felt inspired to write much lately. It's time for the August giveaway though, so a post is due!

This month's giveaway features some great summery items...

The prizes: include two tank tops, one each of pirate kitty and clever kitty (pick from S-L); a clever kitty glass tile pendant necklace and three moustache kitty buttons in new eye-catching colours. Total value = $67 US

To enter: All you have to do is leave a comment telling me what your favourite movie has been so far this summer - could be one that you saw in a theatre, on dvd or on tv, old or new.

As usual, any purchases made in my shop from now until the 31st will also get your name entered in the draw.

For bonus entries: Become a follower of my blog (follow button to the left) and/or on twitter and come back here to let me know that you did so.

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Since I did not hear back from the original winner of last month's giveaway, Matt redrew a name last night. This time Ashley was the lucky kitty! So I will be in touch with her shortly and hopefully get those goodies mailed out to her early next week. If worse comes to worse and I don't hear back, I will simply add last month's prize to this month's. How's that for a prize?!

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In kitty news, I was not a pleased kitty mom the other night, after discovering a chunk of fur missing out of Suki's neck scruff. The cats were alone in the house for about 7 hours - not long at all - but ample time for Dex to get restless and decide to use Suki as his plaything. Of course, I don't know for sure that he was the cause of her little wound, but that's my first guess, since I found a few tufts of fur scattered on the floor downstairs. Plus Suki has never hurt herself on anything else in our place before (knock on wood!).

My little sweetpea, I'm sure she curses me for the day I brought Dex home. He is actually really good-natured 99% of the time and I don't think he ever means to harm Suki. And after their last vet visit, we found out he's not even that much heavier than her anymore (9.5 pounds vs. about 8 pounds), but still, that little bit of size difference plus the fact that he's younger and male gives him the advantage when he decides to wrestle with Suki. The way she's yowled before, I know she doesn't enjoy "playtime".

Anyways, I'll be back in a few days with photos of some recent purchases, my new do and hopefully the results of my next ultrasound!

Happy Weekend!

Missing in Action

Baby bump at 17.5 weeks

Oh, Blog! How I've neglected you.
You could say I went AWOL.
(This post should make up for it. Beware, it's a big long-winded)

But I had good reason to these past several weeks.

Various projects have been keeping me busy. A graphic design job - my first big design job really - has been taking up most of my time. It's been fun and a good learning experience, but reminds me that I'm not creating my own things. So I'm looking forward to when I finally finish everything and can get back into creating for myself.

I also had a few wholesale/custom orders to fulfill. And some shops to restock.

But most significantly, Matt and I had a rather unnerving development with the pregnancy the other week...when I got a phone call from my doctor's office. You know how they tell you no news is good news? Well, to put it mildly, I was not too happy to have received that call.

I had gone for my 3rd prenatal visit mid-month and since I was around 15 weeks, I was due for some genetic screening. This is optional, but I didn't know that until after doing some reading on the internet. My doctor seemed to have thought my results would be normal. But 4 days after I had my blood taken, I got a call asking me to go in to speak with my doctor about the results. No other explanation really and since it was the end of the day he had already left. It was not a good night for us. Matt and I both had sinking feelings.

So the next day I got in touch with him to find out more. I was partly glad I did, but also a sobbing mess after I had. The gist of it was that my blood test indicated I was at a higher risk for a baby with a chromosomal disorder, specifically Down Syndrome. It didn't mean it was definitely true, but it certainly wasn't good news to us.

To hear this after months of carrying this little growing miracle inside me, after months of trying to get pregnant, after years of trying not to, was just a little devastating. We all hope for healthy babies and to be told that yours may not be is a big blow. You wonder if you could have done anything different? You wonder "Why us"? You pray (even though you're not religious) that things will turn out alright.

After a night of soul-searching and deep discussion, Matt and I decided that we would continue with the pregnancy, and we would love our baby no matter what. And we opted not to have an amniocentesis - the invasive procedure involving a needle going into my amniotic sac - even if it would tell us one way or the other whether our baby was healthy. The slight risk of miscarriage was not worth it to us.

I know the thought of terminating a pregnancy wouldn't ever cross some people's minds, even if they knew their baby had some kind of deficiency. But I have to be honest and say that it did cross mine. I may be getting myself into some sticky territory here by admitting that, but becoming a parent is scary enough to me. To think that we'd have to raise a child who was born with a disadvantage terrified me. I didn't think I could handle it. But I know it was just my fear getting to me. Plus I couldn't imagine ever going through with that.

The next day, Matt and I were able to see my doctor in person and he went over my results again, and explained that the next thing to do would be to get an amniocentesis, if we wanted. He said that most people who had the procedure and did find out that their baby had Downs decided to terminate. Since we'd already decided against one, the appointment was more of a formality. The doctor just wanted us to be aware of our options.

Anyways, we took our time getting home from the doctor's. When we finally did get back, there happened to be a message from him. Another phone call! What could have happened in the few hours that I had seen him? I called him back immediately and was floored by what he told me. Apparently he was faxed new blood test results and this time the news was much better... like 250% better!

The weird thing is that I never had any more blood taken. So where was this coming from? And why had they done the test again? Or was it not my results that they initially gave me? Matt and I were pretty confused but a lot relieved. The doctor told me not to worry anymore and well, I'm trying not to. It's all really a waiting game now. And I'll find out more in a few weeks' time at my next checkup.

So, now for the winner of my second blog giveaway! Matt picked the name again and the lucky winner is Kim! Although there were only 4 comments on the blog post, other ways to enter the draw including buying something from my shop and also being one of my Happy Customers on flickr. Kim sent me a photo of herself in one of my mustache kitty tees a while back, so earned an entry into the draw. I'm not sure what this month's giveaway will entail yet, but I promise it will be another good one.

That's all for now. Happy (Long) Weekend (to my fellow Maple Leafs)!

Time for a New Giveaway!

It's that time again...

Giveaway time!

This month's draw prize features my Hi Kitty Stationery Set and four blank greeting cards, purrfect for sending to loved ones or simply to frame as an art piece. Total value is $25.75 US.



To enter:
All you need to do is visit the paper goods section in my shop and come back here to let me know which item is your favourite. And to keep things fair, I should mention that you can't win twice in a row.

You have until July 31 to enter and again, any purchases made at my shop from now until the end of the month will also get your name entered into the draw. Winner will be announced on August 1.

Happy Giveaway!

Summer Snapshots

The summer is whizzing by as usual.

Here are some snapshots from our recent trip to New Brunswick. In honour of Matt's dad's (and his twin's) 70th birthday (this past April), his parents organized a summer costume party, since the weather is generally better in July. Go figure that the weekend we went it was foggy and rainy almost everyday we were there. We had maybe an hour or two of sun on the night of the party, but the rest of the night nearly 100 people had to cram themselves into the Garden Gate B & B.

Matt and I decided to go as John (Lennon) & Yoko (Ono) on their wedding day...

Matt Before


I'm Almost Ready

Matt as Rock Star


Me in the Backyard

Us as John & Yoko

I think Matt was a more convincing Lennon. I should have donned some big dark sunglasses, but then my face isn't as angular as Yoko's, so I don't know if they would have helped anyways. Our costumes worked better together than separately.

Matt's Dad & Uncle went as Hosers (Bob & Doug)

My parents (who aren't really into costumes) dressed up in some traditional Asian fashions

Matt & his sister Sara

(a blurry photo of) Sara & her hubby as Trekkies

I couldn't find a decent photo of Matt's mom, but she was a party girl all in pink. And unfortunately Matt's other sister, Suzy, couldn't make it but she and her boyfriend sent warm wishes via email, so she was there in spirit.

All in all, a fun trip, but I was happy to head home by the end of it.

I'll be back tomorrow with a new giveaway! Stay tuned :)

New Tee in the Shop!

Seriously, these days, listing a new tee in the shop seems like a milestone for me. I had thought my energy would return once I was past the first trimester, but I still feel exhausted from time to time. Mind you, we did go away this past weekend to visit Matt's parents in New Brunswick and sometimes you need a vacation after your vacation, you know? I'll post some photos soon and write more about our trip, but Matt was the photographer so I need to get the photos from him.

Today is a milestone for us though... it's our 2nd anniversary as a wedded couple. We're going to celebrate tomorrow night since my dear hubby has to work late tonight. Dinner at The Keg, most likely followed by a movie. My ideal, though somewhat typical date.

I'll leave you with a sweet photo of one of my youngest "fans", sent to me by his lovely mom. The shirt was a birthday present for him and I think he looks adorable in it!

Happy Thursday to you!


edit: I forgot to say thank you for all the congratulation wishes from the last post! Thank you!

The Winner and Some Big News Revealed!

Happy Canada Day!

In honour of the holiday, the video for the draw is set to the awesome sounds of Arcade Fire (and if you listen closely you can hear my silly voice in the background at the very end, barely). Thanks to my dear hubby for editing this for me and also for picking the winner. She is a well deserving winner, being one of my very best and favourite customers!

Thank you to all who entered my giveaway! I wish I could give you all something, but at least there will be another one to look forward to later this month.

And the time has finally come for me to share some big news in blogland. If you recall this post, I mentioned that I was starting a new creative "project" but couldn't yet reveal all the details. Well, I'm happy to finally spill the beans... I'm 13 weeks pregnant!


It took a lot of self-control and patience to not share the news with more than a handful of people since I found out back in April. I've gradually been telling more people as the weeks progressed, but we had a few scary moments, so I know why some people choose not to say anything until after the first trimester. It certainly has been a bit of a roller coaster, emotionally and physically these past several months.

When I first found out, I started bawling, I was so happy. We had been trying for a baby since last Fall and weren't sure if it was going to happen for us. I know 6-7 months is nothing compared to a year or two years with nothing happening, but I'm no Spring chicken and especially after years of trying not to get pregnant, I wondered if I still even could.

For the majority of the first trimester, I couldn't believe how tired I'd get, after being up for only a few hours. And that was even after a decent night's sleep. And after not doing anything really, but eating and being on the computer. I had to keep reminding myself that I wasn't being totally unproductive during the day - since my body was working to create a little baby - but it did make me feel rather lazy and useless. I was lucky to escape morning sickness for the first 8-1/2 weeks or so, but week 9 came and almost every day for 2 weeks, at some point, it would hit me. It's no fun being nauseous, especially when nothing comes up either. Sorry, was that an overshare?

This past Mother's Day was pretty sweet though, since my mom was visiting and we were able to celebrate the momentous news together. It will be the first grandchild for both Matt's and my parents, so needless to say, they were all pretty pleased when we told them. Or rather, they all probably thought that it was about time :)

I have to say, 9 months of waiting to meet our little one seems like ages, and we're only a third of the way there. But I suppose it gives us time to prepare ourselves to be parents. I think when I was younger (like 10 or 11 years old), I probably imagined myself as a mom. But once the teenage years hit, I'm pretty sure I changed my mind. And something a guy I knew in University said to me has stuck with me for years ... that he couldn't ever imagine me being a mom. Well, I was 18 at the time, so yeah, I definitely wouldn't have wanted to be a mom at that age. I still don't feel like I'm ready, but who ever is, really? If I've learned anything over the years about parenting, it's that you take one day at a time and you do the best that you know how. My parents are just people like anybody else and they did the best they could with raising us. I think I turned out alright :) The same goes for Matt's parents and Matt.



In a way, I view looking after our cats as sort of practice for a human baby. Of course, there are quite a few more responsibilities involved with a little person, but I cherish our cats and treat them like our babies right now. And Dex certainly acts like one, with his (at times) constant meowing. I'm hoping our little one does not cry too much, but then maybe he/she will so much that it will make Dex stop. At any rate, I definitely hope we can all live together under one roof harmoniously. I don't ever want to have to give up our cats because of the baby. My mom, being the cat lover that she isn't, asked me if we were going to keep the cats? Hell's yeah! No matter how much Dex drives me up the wall sometimes, life without either of the cats would not be the same.

Well, there's more I could write about the subject, but I'll leave it at that for now. Time to enjoy the rest of the day! Cheers!

Last Day to Enter Giveaway!

Just a quick reminder that you still have one day to enter my first giveaway! There are three great prizes (though I'm slightly biased) worth $100 total! The entries count stands at 35 so far.

I will make the draw tomorrow at some point and announce the winner on my blog, as well as contacting the winner by email. And I have another exciting announcement to share tomorrow too. Stay tuned!