Project 365 Week Nine

Day Fifty Seven:

Ah the sun has been shining all weekend, and we have found ourselves sitting on our front porch after the baby is in bed in the evenings!  Bring on warm summer evenings!  My husband doesn't love getting his photo taken, but is a really good sport about it when I do ask him to be my subject! He is very supportive of my photography journey and I am very grateful for that!  I liked the way the sun was reflecting in his sunglasses!  How do you like to spend your evenings now that the weather is warmer!?

Day Fifty Eight:
Lilies are my favourite flower, and pearls are probably my favourite jewelry!

Day Fifty Nine:
These colours remind me of the fall, which is my favourite season, but I do not want to wish the summer away that is for sure!  But this morning was super foggy and dark, so I felt like the richer colours suited the day.

Day Sixty:
Little crochet flowers.  I am making a little something for a coworker of mine that is soon having a baby girl! I love making little gifts for people, especially babies!  Do you have any favourite items to gift to people expecting a baby?

Day Sixty One:
Balance.  That is the goal, to have a balanced life; to have time to hustle and work hard, to have time to enjoy, to have time to relax, to have time to love and be loved.  It's not always easy, but I am a believer that some of the best things in life are the hardest!  What do you do to help find balance in life?!

Day Sixty Two:
~I'll forever hold your hand in mine, and you'll forever hold my heart in yours~ The feeling of how her little fingers hold on to mine just fills my heart with joy.  I sat with her in my lap for a long time just enjoying the time together and I know I will soon be looking back and forever cherishing these small moments.

Day Sixty Three:
Look who is FOUR months old already!  She is getting such a little personality and is such a happy little girl! I would be ok if time slowed down a little though! She's growing so fast!!

Nine weeks have come and gone so fast! What would you like to see more of?!

xo Suzanne

Project 365 Week Eight

Eight Weeks In!

Day Fifty:
My first Mother's Day!  It ended up raining in the afternoon, but it was still a lovely day spent with my family!  We took the little one for a drive to get out of the house and decided to drive around the local Nature Park.  The trees looked extra green, and the droplets of water on the window made for a neat photo.

Day Fifty One:

I have been knitting this shawl for over a year...we're probably talking more like two years now, which is sad because it will be absolutely beautiful when it is all done!  I am fairly quick when it comes to crochet projects, but knitting takes me wayyy longer, and I am more prone to mistakes that I am not able to fix myself yet.  I enlisted my mother-in-law to help me, yet again, to fix a mistake I had made before I put this project away for months!  I am happy to say I am now back at working on it!  I am hoping (key word) to finish it before the fall...sans mistakes!

Day Fifty Two:

What is one of my favourite things to do? Journal!  I love to write, and I love the feeling of pen on paper and my hands creating the words to be seen usually only by me.  On this day I followed a prompt I had received from a Facebook Group I am a part of called Journals and Journeys (you should join if you like to journal!) that read: What is motherhood teaching you about yourself.  It was a prompt from Mother's Day but I used it a few days later.  I quickly filled the page!  As a new mother this journey is teaching me all sorts of things about myself, and it was fun to think about that and to write it down.  Do you journal? How does it make you feel!?  Let me know in the comments below, I'd love to hear from you!

Day Fifty Three:

Another of one of my main subjects.  He's smiling in this one, hanging out with me on our back deck in the beautiful evening light.  You can never have too many photos of a handsome pup right?!

Day Fifty Four:
Everyday moments.  This little one spent a lot of time outdoors with us this day.  It was a sunny day and Andrew had vacation, so we went for a couple walks, and spent lots of time out on our deck.  After supper this one was just wiped.  Those lips though!

Day Fifty Five:

Isn't nature just beautiful!?  We are finally getting a stretch of nice days, so I've been taking advantage for sure.  Abigail spent some time with her grandmother this day, so Andrew, Austin and I went hiking.  It was strange to be without her for a good chunk of the day but it was nice for Andrew and I to have some time to ourselves to reconnect and go for a hike.

Day Fifty Seven:

We spent the day in beautiful St. Andrews by the Sea with my parents and my brother's little guy.  We went to the playground, had a picnic and then checked out downtown, walked on the wharf and along the front street.  The wind was treacherous downtown so we didn't end up staying long, but these pretty colored buoys were strung along the railing of the wharf.  They remind me of my childhood, being out on the boat with my father exploring the waters along the coast of my home county.  We spent a lot of time together my Dad and I out on the water.  We would see seals, lots of birds and even saw a whale once!  Those are memories I will treasure forever.  Have you ever seen something somewhere that brings all your childhood memories back?

This is my first photography project, but after eight weeks I am proud that I am still committed to it.  I have found that when I decide to take on challenges, I have a tendency to give up after a few days/weeks, but here I am eight weeks in and still going strong!  Thank you for reading and keeping me accountable to continue!  

xo Suzanne

Journal and Journeys

I love to journal.  I love the feeling of my pen flowing across the page and the ink creating the words my mind is thinking.  I love the look of my penmanship, and watching how it changes based on how I am feeling.

I am a part of a Facebook group created by Alyssa Kuzins, yoga teacher, biz coach and creator of the Journal Deck that is being launched soon! If you're interested in journaling and community along with it check out the group here!

Within this group I joined a challenge that is being run starting today; each day for eight days a new prompt to write about.  Day one's prompt is: What are you grateful for?  Well, my goodness I feel like I could write for days, there is so much to be grateful for!  But I will try to keep it short and sweet! First and foremost I am grateful for my family.

That I have a loving and supportive family, that I am surrounded by people who encourage and believe in my dreams and help me pursue them.  I am forever grateful to share this life with someone whom I love and loves me, someone whom I trust with my whole heart to share this journey called life with.  I am grateful to have been blessed with a beautiful baby girl just a mere three and a half months ago, who has taught me about how to be a mother and about a love I never knew I was capable of until she came along.

I am grateful that I live in a country that grants me a year of maternity leave to spend with my daughter during such a pivotal time in her life of growth and development.  This fact reminds me to be grateful for my career as a Registered Nurse.  My job has taught me many things about how to deal with people when they are at their most vulnerable; leading me to be grateful for my good health.  Grateful that I am healthy and was able to house and birth a child without any complications, to recover and resume the activities I had previously enjoyed including yoga, hiking, and lifting weights.

I could go on and on for all the things I am grateful for, but for today I will conclude that I am grateful for this challenge.  It has helped bring my awareness back to all the things in life to be grateful for, to remember that mindset can help you take what you may perceive as a negative experience to a positive one.  That being mindful during the day to day can help you grow and learn about yourself.  I am grateful that this challenge has helped spark my creativity and love for writing, and to give me the push I needed to get back to it.  Thank you Alyssa!

xo Suzanne

Project 365 Week Seven

On to Week Seven!!

Day Forty Three:

My husband and I have starting meal prepping on Sundays.  We have always made a supper meal plan the week ahead, shopped on the weekend and were prepared for suppers all week.  Now, we have started planning all our meals ahead of time to ensure we are making healthy choices.  We know that we will have more energy and be happier the healthier we eat, but we get lazy sometimes and get off track, so back on track we went!  It's only been two weeks so far, but we've been eating very healthy and we both can feel the difference!

Day Forty Four:
My little girl is growing and learning every day.  She is just full of smiles lately, despite the fact that I think she might be starting to teethe; she chews and sucks on her hands constantly, but between those chews/sucks she's flashing all kinds of smiles!! I am taking them all in, as the year is passing much too quickly for my liking; I'll be back to work before I know it, and won't have all day every day with her anymore!

Day Forty Five:
With this ring, I thee wed.  These rings signify the promise we made to each other, to be partners in this life, no matter what.  Becoming parents has been the best and most challenging thing for our marriage, and I am sure there will be many more challenging times ahead, but every day I am thankful that I chose to share this life with such an amazing man and get to share my life with him!

Day Forty Six:
Getting outside and exploring our great city!  This is at the Irving Nature Park, and is a beautiful spot to explore! With trails, a road, beach and lookouts there is so much to take in, its truly amazing to have this right in the heart of the city!

Day Forty Seven:
I have read both of these books before, but they are worth reading multiple times.  I took some time to look through them one morning to revisit the great messages within.  I sometimes find myself in a bit of a funk, where I just go through the motions of each day without finding much joy within it.  These books help me reconnect with life, find joy in the every day, and help motivate me to do the things that make me happy!

Day Forty Eight:
Went to visit my parents for a day, and my mom's plants are already blooming!  Ours are just barely starting to come up!  My nephew was also over to visit at my parent's house and it was so great to see him interact with Abigail.  He even tried to share his Tonka trucks with her, despite her being too small to really play with him.  Such a nice boy!

Day Forty Nine:
Sun rays!  Taking in every day that the sun comes out!  It feels like we've have two months straight of rain and dreary days, so I make it a priority to get outside and enjoy the sun when it does come out!

Another week gone by already! Hope you've enjoyed!

xo Suzanne

Project 365 Week Six

Day Thirty Six:

It was a gorgeous day out, but super windy so we decided to go out for a drive.  I was also hoping Abigail would have a little nap in the car (she did)!  We came across this lighthouse at a nearby park, so we pulled over and I snapped a couple photos! The sky was so blue, but the water looked very frigid, and the wind was whipping pretty good.  We didn't stay long because of the wind (and Abigail started to wake up!), but I'm glad we stopped.  I had never been here before, despite it being right in the neighbouring town!

Day Thirty Seven:

I have these decorative balls in a bowl on my kitchen table.  They provided a photo with some visual interest and texture, and filled the frame nicely.  Some days you just use what's in front of you and snap the photo!

Day Thirty Eight:

The day I took this photo was a busy day.  My mother in law had my daughter for the afternoon; I took advantage and went to the gym, ran errands, and did some things around the house.  I had been planning on taking my camera with me and getting some shots of the city, but it was raining quite hard so I opted not to take it.  That resulted in me almost forgetting to take a photo.  In the evening, while I was prepping some meals for lunches for the next few days, I realized I had yet to photograph anything.  There was still some light coming in through our kitchen window, so I took advantage, utilized the natural light available and snapped this photo of this wine and glass.  I currently am not drinking as I am nursing our daughter, but it still made for a cool photo.

Day Thirty Nine:
As the weather is starting to improve, I am trying to get outside more with my photography.  It was completely sunny and cloud free this day if I looked behind our house, but as I looked in front of it there were these fluffy clouds.  They looked fairly threatening, but thankfully it did not rain.

Day Forty:
Wow forty days already!  My mom is a very talented woman, and makes absolutely beautiful quilts.  She made this one recently, and when I gushed over it when she showed it to me, she said Andrew and I could have it! I am so grateful that she chose to give it to us, I love it so much, and it looks beautiful on our bed!  It was hard to capture its beauty in a photo, and I couldn't fit the whole thing into the frame, but man is it ever gorgeous!

Day Forty One:
Getting outside again! This photo is at Rockwood Park in Saint John NB.  I love this city, and am so glad I decided to call it home.  There are some absolutely beautiful spots ranging from nature to the stunning buildings in our uptown area.  I plan to get out more and try to capture more of the beauty of this city!  This day was quite cloudy, and with it being early spring, the trees are still bare, but the blue sky poked out a bit, and the water was very pretty!

Day Forty Two:
I had my husband press the shutter for me on this one, I had him stand in this location as I figured out my plan, then had him actually take the photo for me!  I have loved yoga since the first time I tried it, which was probably eight or more years ago.  I am not the most flexible, but I have learnt that yoga is about much more than just the pose - in fact the pose is only one small part of yoga!  If you're interested in learning more about all the limbs of yoga, I recommend reading Do Your Om Thing by Rebecca Pacheco!  It is a very interesting read, and it helped me really think about who I am and what yoga can do for me! Before having my daughter, I could sink much lower in this pose than depicted below, but what little flexibility I had gained has backtracked some with pregnancy and recovery.  I am in the process of regaining that flexibility and strength that I once had and am just trying to enjoy the progress as it comes, however slowly.

Well that was week six!  Time is flying by and lots of photos are being taken!  Comment below if there is something you think I should try! I would love some new ideas!

xo Suzanne

Project 365 Week Five

Day Twenty Nine:
This is my all time, favourite mascara!  It never clumps, has beneficial botanicals, goes on easy and washes off easy, and one tube lasts me like six months!! If you're looking for a great mascara, you should definitely try this one out!

Day Thirty:
Somewhere along the way I got my Instagram number wrong on my days!  I think I have two marked as day 25, oops!  Watching this little girl grow is just amazing!  Just a few short weeks ago, she barely opened her little fists, now she opens them, holds things (briefly) and explores the world around her with those little hands.  They have also found their way to her little mouth!

Day Thirty One:
The weather outside is starting to get a lot nicer, and this day it felt truly like a hot spring day!  It made me long to wear my sundresses again, although this dress wouldn't be the most breastfeeding friendly!

Day Thirty Two:

My husband was away for a few days for work this week, so my mom came to stay with us!  It was really nice to have some girl time together with the three of us, and I know she enjoyed spending some quality time with her granddaughter!  It also happened to be her birthday while she was here, so my dad came down as well and we were able to have a lovely dinner together the day Andrew came home!

Day Thirty Three:

My aunt bought my mom some tulips for her birthday and since she was here when she received them I was able to use them for a photo!  I love the vibrance of them! It is such a bleak time of year, its nice to add some colour however you can!

Day Thirty Four:
This photo is reflective of the dark and dreary days we've been having! It's a darker photo, the colours are kind of bleak and there are lots of shadows, but I like it!  It's quite contrasting to the photo above, but thats the fun of this project - diversity!  This candle holder was a wedding gift from a few of my nursing schoolmates and it hangs on the wall in my family room! I love the pattern of it!

Day Thirty Five:
When Austin was a puppy, we had a bed for him that he used to fluff up with his paws before he would lay down.  One day when we were out, I came home to fluff all over our bedroom.  I think what happened was that he tore a little hole with his paws when he was fluffing it up,  and once he saw the stuffing, there was no going back!  We tried to give him a bed again after that, but he pulled the stuffing out again, so since then he hasn't had a bed, just a blanket on the floor, the poor pup.  It has probably been a year since then, and he is way less destructive now, so we thought we'd try again and get him a new bed.  His first night with it, he slept half the night out in the hallway (which is one of his main spots) and half of the night on the new bed beside our bed - so far so good! For all you dog lovers out there: did your fur babies destroy things too?!

Another week complete! Week five flew by!  This week had a bit more variety in style of photos (I tried not to have Abigail dominate the whole week again - but I can't help take some photos of her!)! Now that the weather is starting to get nicer I am hoping to get outside a bit more and explore the city for some good spots to take some photos! Comment below if you have any suggestions! I'd love to try something new!

Hope you've enjoyed week five!

xo Suzanne

Project 365 Week Four

Week Four already! Tried a landscape (which I struggle with) and some different compositions this week!  Hope you enjoy!

Day Twenty Two:

Easter Sunday was spent with my parents back in my hometown.  It was a beautiful day despite the dreary and rainy start, so we were able to get out for a really nice walk.  This view is only a few minutes walk from my parents house, and many many a days were spent playing on this beach growing up.  It will always hold a special place in my heart.

Day Twenty Three:
This little doll fell asleep after her suppertime bottle with her dad, and when he set her down this was the position she took, and stayed like that for quite a while.  Oh to be that age and be able to sleep anywhere, who am I kidding, I can sleep anywhere as well!

Day Twenty Four:

Embracing shadows.  The light coming in this window in our basement created the perfect shadow.  I try to squeeze in a workout while Abigail takes her morning nap (that's if she naps, as you'll see below), and I really liked the way the light was hitting my water bottle, so I threw the weights up there too, grabbed my camera and snapped a photo!  Nothing like getting my photo and a workout in at the same time!

Day Twenty Five:
She is so peaceful when she's sleeping!  This day she resisted the naps big time!  I tried walking, nursing, rocking, and even a soother, she'd fall asleep for ten minutes then be up again!  Finally I thought going outside for a walk would work...man was that a mistake!  She screamed the whole way down the street!  Needless to say we didn't go far!  Finally, after another nursing session, she conked out and had a decent nap!  Poor little thing was exhausted!  But doesn't she just look so perfect sleeping like that?

Day Twenty Six:
Play time!  Now that Abigail has more awake time, we have more time to actually play!  She was full of smiles this morning, but they always just flash so quickly it's hard to catch them!

Day Twenty Seven:
This dog poses so beautifully, and the light was perfect to make his fur look so soft! I am starting to feel more comfortable shooting in lower light situations to give more interest to my photos.

Day Twenty Eight:
Well this little beauty dominated week four!  Four of the seven photos were of her! I will cherish these photos forever! I am so happy to see the improvement in my photography as I collect more and more photos of her as she grows (which she is doing at an extraordinary rate I might add)!

On to week five!!

xo Suzanne