My wee Ma

Besides my own wonderful husband and children I would like to thank my mother for all her support over the years. Again, my team keeps me going. Each person represents a leg on my many legged table that supports not just myself, but this little adventure in entrepreneurship.

Craft Brew Week - An evening with Upright Brewing

I just want to start out by saying thank you to my darling husband for the invite to accompany him to one of the many inaugural Vancouver Craft Brewing Week events.

Tonight's festivities were hosted by Upright Brewing and the Irish Heather. I will say now that I had so much fun and I can't wait to wander through Gastown again as so many very interesting venues have opened up as of late.


My husband is a bit of a craft beer afficianado. He brews his own amazing beer and has visions of one day opening up his own brewery. After a recent trip to Portland to suss out the local brews there I myself am quite educated and was ready to fully enjoy this evening of food and beer pairing.
The evening began at Shebeen a most excellent whiskey bar hidden in behind the Irish Heather. I was very pleased to visit the Irish Heather again as my last visit was at it's old location which was many moons ago.

The final game between Montreal and Pittsburg which was a fantastic way to begin our beer tasting.

Woohooo!!! we all know what happens here. I was standing beside the wife of Upright Brewing's owner and we snuck in bits of hockey talk and Canadian culture.

This is the first beer and it was quite lovely. I believe it was a pilsner. Upright Brewing specializes in Belgian inspired beers. My only complaint was that this little glass was all that was offered. I did understand though that Upright did not bring limitless quantities of beer and they did have a second evening event planned. Our conclusion for next year is to come to the second night!

Our dinner was served long table style at The Salty Tongue and I will definitely be heading back to that deli to check out their daytime vibe. I loved the surroundings.

We sampled two different beers with our meal and ... arghh... I can't remember! They were numbered and... nope, no memory. I did enjoy them though!

The owner of Upright Brewing, Alex Ganum, letting us in on some secrets which of course I can't remember as I do not get out much and I really was quite enjoying the festivities.

We finished our course at salt, just across the road in Blood Alley. Super yummy cheeses and copious amounts of bread and crackers greeted us with ample beer to wet our pallettes. Nice!

I loved salt and I will return. As I said before, I had so much fun visiting all these places and with glimpses of many more we will be arranging a babysitter in the near future so we can keep the good times comin'.

My wee bro...

He would probably hate to find out I posted any pictures of him, but then perhaps he should be checking in with his big sister's blog to see what she is up to in the land of photography. He sat for me and I believe that is an open invitation in his case.

My children absolutely adore my brother; sometimes so much that I feel as if I am a second thought. I love it though.

My brother gives me many a Monday as a catch up day. He spends time with his daughter on this magical day and the monkeys play together. It helps that they are the same age. Our little tribe of women will be welcoming a new being soon... and this new face will be a boy!

Thank you my dearest brother for your devotion to my children. I am so pleased that the three girls are so devoted to each other. I guess that says a lot about our relationship too. You are the whole package and offer me support in every fathomable way!

More words of gratitude

My mother-in-law worked in the film industry and we did not see much of her. Then she left it and in the year before she returned to her native land of New Zealand, she spent so much of that last year with my monkeys.
Without her I would not have been able to commit to starting my company. She looked after my children without question and was there when I needed her...which was a lot of the time.
I am very lucky to have such an amazing mother-in-law. She is spirited and creative and crafty and very very joyous and we have missed her dearly so it is wonderful to look at these photos from her last month here.
She will return for the summer and fill our lives with sunshine soon. My kids already have their list ready of things to do, places to visit and crafts to make. Her connection to them was very strong and I am very pleased as she is in the forefront of their young minds.

Happy Mother's Day... and a big thank you

When I think of where I am in terms of my business and how my kids and my husband manage my crazy schedule, I offer a great big whoop of gratitude for my most amazing support network. It is not just me who started this business. My team is very large and not a day goes by when I do not think of them.
This is team grandma and grandpa. It actually overwhelms me a little when I think of how far I have come because of these two.
It is Mother's Day today, but I am seeing it as a day of acknowledgement of all those who are so freakin' amazing and without whom I would not be the mother that I am.

This week I want to thank them all and I will put up little pics that I have taken over the last little while to acknowledge them.

yes, wedding season is upon me!

Paula and Maike fell in love. I know the whole story now and it is lovely. As we wandered Sunset Beach on what turned out to be a gorgeous evening I was filled in on all the details.
This is what I like about engagement sessions.

I love that I am able to see a couple be oh so silly before the seriousness of their wedding. It also gives me a great chance to get to know them so that photos on the day of the ceremony are more relaxed and we can incorporate a bit of fun.