Merry Christmas!

Hope you are all safe, happy, and warm with loved ones!

Running in a Winter Wonderland

I needed to go for a run yesterday (can't believe how quickly the Resolution Run is coming up!), and got it in late morning, by work. It was gorgeous out - like, breathtaking. Plus, this was my first run on snow, and it made me feel pretty badass. Seriously though, I feel like it has been forever since the sun shone that bright - at some points, I was running with a big grin on my face, I was just enjoying myself so much. Check it out!

This is what fresh snow is for, right?

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

It is amazing how a little snow can really put you in the holiday spirit! This was the playground outside our place this morning:

My plan for tomorrow is to show you the amazing pics from my snowy run today! (Also, we're travelling, so not sure what posting is going to be like for the next little bit...)

Ice

In honour of the freezing rain we got yesterday, I picked a pic of what could have been... which is perhaps all the more lovely because it's not something that we have to deal with.

Present Under The Tree!

My Mom sent us an early Christmas gift, with express instructions to open it. Hubbub insisted that it take a turn under the tree first though...

I spy a sparkly present...

 It's a lovely First Married Christmas ornament!

It looks perfect next to our engagement ornament...

Like they belong together!

Thanks, Mom!

So dreamy

*Swoon*

Baby!

So, the visit this past weekend - it was great. Great to meet my nearly-nephew Ross, great to see my friend C and her hubby. C and I went to dinner on Saturday, and then both went to bed early (her because she expected Ross to be up to eat at midnight, me because "I haven't been getting enough sleep lately" - to her credit, the new mother just chuckled at me).

Sunday was a busy day. We went to church, and then brunch (mmm, Cora's), and then to the gym...

Baby workout. Looks like a LOT of fun to me!

After some tummy time, Ross was wiped, so I got to put him in his swing, and read him a story while he fell asleep.

Hand, Hand, Finger, Thumb. Dr. Seuss is awesome.

This kid is hilarious. He's super alert for a 6-week old, but is clearly keeping an eye on everything, and I don't think he's sure what to think of this big bright world. Don't worry kid, we'll help you figure it out.

Let it snow...

PLEASE????
I'd love to go down to Parliament and see it looking like this:

Apparently right now it looks something like this:

Which, while still lovely, is just not the same.

By the way, no posts Friday or Saturday because we got together with friends on Friday evening, and then visited friends in Toronto this weekend. Photos to come, but let me just give you a head's up: my nearly nephew is a total ball of cute. If ever you wanted to self-induce some baby rabies, visiting a delightful infant is totally the way to do it.

SQUEEE!

It is pure cuteness covered in snow - this is supposed to be a holiday season thing, right? Right. He's a Japanese dwarf flying squirrel, and also adorable.

I just - can't - even...

For more along these lines, see Reddit's r/aww subreddit. Seriously.

More Hawai'i

So I could totally just cheat and show you honeymoon pictures for the rest of the month - coz Hawai'i is AMAZING. Our photos totally don't even do it justice. Today, I shall share my have beach on Big Island (and tied for first place with Blowhole Beach on Oahu). The swimming here was fantastic, and the beach was just amazing. Still hard to believe that a) places like this exist outside of photoshop and b) that I've been there!

Honu

Honu is the Hawaiian word for green sea turtles. They're awesome. We saw them on two different beaches on the Big Island, and they were definitely one of (if not the) highlights of the trip for me.

See? He's just chillin'

You can get pretty close to them, but you're not supposed to get too close - you're supposed to show them aloha, and let them nap.

Farther away than I look, but pretty darn close.

 And sometimes they do awesome things, like cuddling.

These ones may have been my faves.

This is not my first glass of wine this evening

But it sure is pretty

Gorgeous Sunday Run

Today's Sunday run was the longest on our training schedule for the resolution run - 7 miles, which is 11.2km. We ended up going 11.8km (and walking 1.5km back to the start coz we were winging it!), but had some lovely scenery on the way, including Hog's Back falls. Check out the icicles on the rock faces!

Photo courtesy of Running Buddy's phone.

Christmas is a Magical Time

Doubly so if you live in Japan. (Special thanks to hubbub for showing me this!)

Pure potential

 (Argh, I had this ready to go yesterday, and it failed to publish from my phone.)

...Is an empty stage

At the Bell Centre last night

Hubbub and I headed to Montreal to see Neko Case and the National. The show was great. Not the venue I would choose, but I'm so glad we went. Surprise guest appearances from Arcade Fire and a thousand-strong sing-along + The National = awesome good time.

A Different Kind of Beautiful

If you haven't seen this video, prepare for tears... it's the video of a woman who was born deaf hearing herself for the first time, courtesy of a fancy hearing implant. So cool. Very moving.

Flashback to Summer

It's a chilly day out, so I thought I'd share something from earlier this summer, when it was warm and lovely. I meant to share this at the time, but am pretty sure I didn't. The hubbub and I went to see the Sound and Light Show at Parliament Hill this summer with my friend Alice, and it was great. And free! I highly recommend, and look forward to going again next summer. Anyways, here's a pic of the Parliament (Centre Block), all dressed up - which reminds me that I'm going to need to go check out this year's Christmas decorations!

Looks like stained glass. Breathtaking.

Librarian Hey Girl

Okay, so I've really enjoyed the Ryan Gosling Hey Girl meme, but it just hit close to home - go check this out! There's a whole Tumblr of them!

Lovely Owl

Have you seen this yet? Because it is absolutely adorable. He's the kitten of the owl world - makes me want to get an owl just so I can pet him. (Not so keen on the owl pellets though - I suspect that those are less than attractive.)

(Via Pink India Inkblotter and Skepchick)

Tradition

Ladies and gentlemen, tonight marked the first (but certainly not the last) instance of my holiday baking! Yum, folks. I decided to try my hand at Peggy's Christmas Loaf. Peggy is my mom's awesome neighbor, and for years she's been bringing over a loaf of this delicious bread at Christmas. It has almonds and fruit in it, but bears no resemblance to fruit cake, in case you were worried. At my bridal shower, she passed on the recipe - perfect timing, too, coz we won't be in Windsor this season. I can't wait to try them (not tonight though)... they've got this amazing lemon-sugar glaze on them. Ooommnomnomnom.

Hello loaves, I am so happy to see you!

Days 2 and 3

For the record, I tried to post this yesterday from my phone, but the post failed. Ah well, such is life. Anyways, yesterday we were at the hubbub's work Christmas party, and they had a ginormous tree (which smelled lovely) - it was so pretty!

Today we put up our own tree - and it may not be as impressive (or smell as nice), but I think it is pretty all the same.

Yes, our Christmas tree wears a Mother Russia hat.

 Plus, a while ago we started bringing home ornaments from our trips, and they bring up lovely memories - like this Chinese dragon we got in San Fransisco!

Gorgeous December

No, I'm not talking about what I see when I look out the window - it's grey and drab out there.
BUT, a friend said she enjoyed the Thankful November series, and thought I should have a theme for December too - she suggested "things I find aesthetically pleasing" for the Season of Lights.
 I think that this is a great idea - hence, Gorgeous December!

We're going to start with an image that was shared on Reddit. An image of such heart-stopping cuteness that I made it my desktop... and then cleared off a whole bunch of icons so that I could actually see it. Without further delay, I present to you - spooning squirrels.

Still makes me squee every time I see them.