Stress Relief

The other night, at my friend's house, I did some throw painting. Rob and I arrived at our friend Ashley's house, and she told me that she had some canvases ready for her and I to paint however we liked. There's a lot of frustrations in both of our lives right now, so she thought it was a good idea for us to go outside and just throw paint at some black canvases! It felt pretty good!

I actually really like this painting. I wasn't really expecting to, as it was just globs of paint, but I want to hang it up somewhere. 

Throwing the paint felt really good up until we were done and I stood up. My legs started itching and they were covered in bumps! We weren't sure if it was an allergy, red ants, or grass fleas. We were all pretty confused but the bumps went away by the next morning. 

Paint throwing is a good stress reliever. I suggest you try it out next time things become too much to handle, or even before it gets to that point!

xo. Nicole

Gotta Get Down on Friday..

My Friday started out like any other morning here. With a cat sitting on my face. Rob went off to work this morning and instead of letting me sleep in, she decided it was time to play.

From there, I rolled out of bed and made some hash browns. I guess you could say this is another Photo an Hour days...I didn't spill a bunch of water this time, though!

After eating, I got ready to meet a girl from camp last year, Chelsey. We met at Starbucks and chatted for a while. It had been an entire year since I'd seen anyone from Zajac Ranch! 

When we finished our drinks, it popped in to my head that I wanted to try a relatively simple activity that I've seen floating around Pinterest. 

This was Chelsey's mug! You draw on the mugs with permanent markers and then bake your mug. We each did two and then her mom needed the car. When Chelsey left, I decided to play with the cat. She wasn't really very happy in the position..

Happy Friday!

xo. Nicole

Crazy Cat

A couple days ago, I made the mistake of leaving my laptop open unattended for only a minute with a kitten in the same room. From what we've seen so far, our cat is pretty crazy. She runs and hits the walls for no reason, growls when she runs, etc..

But this...this is a new crazy.

We could NOT find my #6 key anywhere! It's been 4 days and no sign of it. I've cleaned the house, I've swept under everything...nothing. I was beginning to worry that maybe she ate it, but she isn't one to eat anything other than her food (so far).

Today, when I went to show Rob Allison's wedding invites, I picked up my laptop and it rattled. I stood there and shook my laptop a couple times and Rob mentioned "I think we found your number key." I didn't believe it at first. I thought maybe something was just loose in my laptop because it hasn't been connecting to the internet very well lately. Rob asked if he could open it up, as he's never worked on a laptop before...and I agreed.

Little did we know, our cat is possessed.

I realized now that it looks strategically placed, but I took it out to look at it and then realized I wanted a picture. But I assure you, we found it right in that exact spot (upside down, though). I'm not sure if I can trust the cat walking around at night anymore.

Anyone know how to perform an exorcism? ;)

On a less creepy note, I've been forced to make a new Twitter account. My old one, @nicloefran, is out of commission as I've lost the password for it. I changed my phone number but Twitter says that they can't locate it. First hotmail and now Twitter. UGH! So my new Twitter is @nicloemax. Thanks for following! :)

I also was showing Rob the amazing work Allison did on her wedding invitations as I won a giveaway on her blog, and she's going to be designing my wedding invitations!! I'm so excited! Her wedding is in a month, so she said she will designing when all the crazy has subsided. I'm so excited to see her wedding photos and how she got everything together and organized!

Check out her blog!

She also has a Twitter!

Thanks for checking out all those links! And I can hardly wait for my wedding invites! I've got so many ideas running through my head, it's ridiculous and only going to make it harder to choose one design.

Has your pet done something crazy?

xo. Nicole

Tuesday Things

It's been a pretty uneventful Tuesday. I called our wedding venue and the gentleman is calling me back tomorrow with more information for me. Hopefully we get the weekend that we want, next year! Rob's parents told us that they want to pay for the venue for us and are also renting out the three cabins that are there. Rob has already said one cabin can be for my bridesmaids and I to get ready in on the day of the wedding, but I don't know if they're big enough for that...

Last night while I was at work, I saw a tweet from Kaelah about her and her adorable family having a camp out in their living room. I immediately texted Rob asking if he was up for one in OUR living room, and he said yes! I got home at 11:30pm to this:

Yep, that's our couch in two pieces on it's side, with sheets duct taped to the top. We threw our futon mattress in there with all of our blankets and pillows. We watched Wrath of the Titans while all bundled up in our blankets.

It totally felt like 8:00am when I finally crawled out of our fort, but it was 1:00pm! From there, Rob woke up and took down our masterpiece and I started on laundry. While I was doing that, Rob reformatted my laptop for me. I lost ALL of my pictures! I thought I had copied and dragged my pictures folder on to the hard drive, but I copied and dragged the pictures shortcut, not the folder. I was so upset until I realized I still had some on my phone, Facebook, the blog, camera, etc.. I've definitely learned my lesson, but I still decided to eat my feelings.

When my Grandma was out a couple Saturdays ago, she bought a hanging basket of flowers for our porch! I've kept them alive for a full 10 days so far! Rob didn't want flowers, he wanted something more "productive" and asked me to grow herbs or vegetables instead. I'm keeping the flowers and am really thinking of starting a little windowsill garden of herbs! It would be a fun project for me :)

"I know where your #6 key is..."

I was being watched while painting my toe nails and I guess it wasn't too exciting, as she fell asleep by the time I was done..

My night consists of reading blogs (again) and pinning (again) while Rob is at work. Tomorrow, we're going over to a classmate's house for a bonfire. Exciting! 

xo. Nicole

Pinterest Sunday

This weekend has been a blast! Friday was my last day of classes, and then on Saturday, I found my wedding dress!! Analise, my MOH, and I met up in New Westminister on "bridal row" and decided to look for a wedding dress. We did not, in a million years, think we would find 'the one' on the first day of shopping! I tried on at least 30 dresses in about 4 different stores, but I found the one in The Bridal Gallery. The consultants were so so nice and I would definitely recommend them to anyone. Their names are Carrie and Ariel, just so you know ;)

I'm not going to post my dress on here or any social networking sites, as I don't want to run the risk of Rob seeing it. I guess you guys will have to wait a whole year to see it ;)

While trying on my dress, I was given a veil to wear with it. They are so darn expensive that I'm thinking of just making my own. The one they let me try on with my dress was $119! Now that I have my dress, it's time to start looking for accessories! Woo! While browsing Pinterest, I've found so many nice things to wear with my dress.

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Alas, Pinterest Sunday is a little late this week. With everything going on, I forgot about it haha. Today, Monday, I have work tonight, but before that I'm going to browse some blogs, make hashbrowns, and submit my resume to a bunch of places! This girl needs a job!

xo. Nicole

Done!

I am an official Child and Youth Care Worker! Today was my last day of classes! We had our mock interviews today for our professionalism class, and we reviewed the tapes. The instructor had no negative feedback about it, even though I giggled the ENTIRE time. Sometimes I wonder how I've gotten a job from my interviews.

In one year today, Rob and I will be married! June 22, 2013 is the day we've picked. I have to call our campground tomorrow to see if we're able to reserve that weekend next year.

About a month ago, a few of my bridesmaids and I got together and made T-Shirts! One of my bridesmaids, who is so artistic, forgot 2 letters in "bridesmaid" and we all had a good laugh. Unfortunately, I didn't put anything on the inside of the shirt, so the paint went right through to the front. It looked a bit like polka dots, so I painted dots all over the front. I can't wait until I can have all of my bridesmaids together and we can just craft for the wedding. I plan on making a lot of the decorations myself, as it is usually cheaper.

Oh my gosh, the wedding planning book that my dad's girlfriend mailed me is so helpful! I highly recommend one! It shows me how and what to write on all the invitations, how much everything should cost, it has a calendar. I filled out the calendar and it really showed me that at Christmas time, it will only be 7 months until our wedding!

Last Saturday, when my Grandma was over, I found my cat in this compromising position while I was making brunch. I am always finding her in the oddest positions and it pains me when I don't have my camera ready to go or that I know I could reach my camera, but it would make her move. She is so adorable and I'm happy that she is our first pet.

Happy Friday :)

xo. Nicole

Photo An Hour

I've seen this on a couple blogs and decided it would be a fun project! I had to take a photo every hour during the day. 

It started at 10:00am with browsing some blogs.

 At 11:00am, I decided to make some coffee. Unfortunately, I found out the hard way that there was already water in it and that I didn't need to pour another 6 cups in all at once. Water EVERYWHERE.

 At about noon, my friend and I arrived at Burnaby campus for our second to last day of classes!

 I grabbed an Italian soda from some coffee shop while waiting. It lasted me until about 1:00pm, so this is that hour's photo as I was in class at the actual time.

 I was in class until 3, but when we got out, there was a ladybug on my friend's backpack. She told me to take a picture of it on her hand for my challenge.

 While waiting for her boyfriend to pick us up (we waited a little while), there were some pretty flowers all around us.

 The view from the Pattullo bridge on the way home from Burnaby.

 I got home around 5:30pm and started organizing my resume, references, and certificates in to one binder to make it easier on myself.

 At 7:00pm, I went to Rob's parent's house and picked up some packages that were there for me. I forgot that I ordered these! If you want to order one, check out this shop.

I also received this wedding planning book from my dad's girlfriend! Enclosed was a note saying her mom (who invited Rob and I to live with her in Red Deer) is setting aside some money to help us out with the wedding. Gah, awesome!

I'm ending my challenge at 7:00pm as tonight is just going to be me memorizing some stuff for my mock interview at class tomorrow. One more day until I'm done my college program and I will have my Child and Youth Care Worker Diploma!! Aaaahhhh!

Did you do the 'photo an hour' challenge? Link me up!

xo. Nicole

One of Those Days..

It's the first day of summer! It's pretty gorgeous out despite the last few weeks of rain. It gives me hope for June next year! I'm not sure what we'll do exactly if it rains on our wedding day, but I know there will probably be umbrellas involved. No wedding updates, but I felt like posting today. I feel that I can also use this blog as a way of documenting my days so that I don't forget everything in the haze of planning the wedding.

We ran out of coffee filters this morning, so we decided to use the french press that's been sitting in the cupboard for over a year now. A lot of avid coffee drinkers say that the french press is the best way of having their coffee, and they were so right. I don't know if I want to use the coffee maker anymore...

After coffee and browsing the blogs that I read every day, Rob and I decided to walk up to Shoppers Drug Mart so that I could buy some postage stamps. I mailed my dad his card and now I have 7 more stamps. I just love love love snail mail! Anyone interested in doing a monthly swap or just being penpals? For me, it's always a day-brightener when I receive mail that isn't bills. If you're interested, contact me via Twitter or through email @ nicole.franson1[at]gmail[dot]com :) I look forward to hearing from you!

I also sent a bunch of photos to Shoppers to be printed so that I can fill in the picture frame that my cousin got me 2 Christmas' ago! I'm 1/8's of the way done. I can't wait to hang it up. Our walls are so bare :(

What did you do during the first day of summer?

xo. Nicole

For Dad DIY

After a lot, and I mean a LOT, of thought, I've decided to ask my dad to walk me down the aisle. I have other plans for my mom so she will not be disappointed. I found this decision difficult for a ton of reasons and I knew the other would be hurt by my decision. There were a lot of factors that I had to include but I feel that I have come to the right one.

So, for asking my dad to walk me down the aisle, I decided to do it in a creative way. Creative for me, anyway. It didn't take very long and I ran out of glue so I had to use duct tape. Ah, good ol' duct tape.

I always enjoy getting snail mail, so for my dad to mail his answer back to me is going to be awesome! I really hope his computer is still down and won't be able to see this post until after he receives it.

The thought of my mom walking me down the aisle crossed my mind a lot. She raised my sisters and I, while my dad was in Alberta. It doesn't make me love my dad any less. They are both massive parts of my life and I want both of them as huge parts in my wedding. I found this to be one of the biggest decisions of the whole wedding planning so far. The other might just be my dress.

Did you need to make this decision? How did you ask?

xo. Nicole

Pinterest Sunday

My grandma was out from Alberta this week and carved out yesterday to spend it all with me. We had some brunch that I made with my great aunt, and then my grandma and I laid on the couch ALL day and talked. It was awesome to have that day with my grandma, as we've never had a day like that before. In the midst of conversation, my grandma told me something that kinda rocked my boat a bit. In 2004, my dad was diagnosed with colon cancer and was given, I think, a 30% chance of survival and about 9 months to live (according to my grandma yesterday). My dad made the trip out from Alberta to sit my younger sister and I down to tell us in person, rather than over the phone or through my mom. The cancer went away, and then came back again. Thankfully, today, he is still alive and cancer free! 

My dad and I in 2009 at my high school Graduation.

Yesterday, my grandma told me that when my dad found out about the cancer, he told her that if anything, he wanted to stay alive long enough to walk each of his daughters down the aisle. 

Sometimes I forget how much family can love me, and this really put it in to perspective for me. So in honor of Father's Day, Pinterest Sunday is going to be all about fathers!

My dad would love these for his peanuts!

Golly, even I would love this.

I am totally doing this when we have children.

This is SO my dad!

When Rob becomes a dad, this is the card he is getting.

We can't forget those single moms! (Thanks mom)

What did you do for your dad or mom today?

xo. Nicole