It's official. My spot is reserved. And I bought my first pair of real hiking boots a couple days ago. Whew!

I, Andrea Matte, am going to climb to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in January 2011 to raise $8,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation!

In doing so I'm going to help make at least one child's special wish come true… A child who may not have the opportunities that I've had. A child who is suffering from an illness that threatens his or her life. A child that might not have the luxury of saying “someday”…

It is very exciting. It's also very humbling.

{Read more}

It’s January 2nd and even though I knew the holidays would go by in a flash – I’m still surprised to find myself sitting here on the second day of the new year, reflecting on 2009 (and more specifically the last 2 weeks) and a little unsure how I let so much time go by before writing a new post for A.O.K. (so much for my 2-a-week commitment – sigh)... I do have a few in the works though...

I really can’t complain that I haven’t had the chance to get online much recently. It’s because of all the extra opportunities that we’ve had to spend time with family and friends in the last few weeks. Like many of you, we had a busy but fun holiday season which is only now slowing down. We’re actually hosting one last casual dinner party tomorrow night (after which I’m done entertaining for a little while... at least a week...). I’m still not sure what I’m making, but whatever it is – it will be SIMPLE and QUICK.

So it’s 2010...

Happy New Year!

“2010” has a nice ring to it don’t you think? I’m not sure why but it seems like a nice round number, full of promise and possibilities. What does that mean? I don’t know, but I just bet it’s going to be a good year!!

It started with fireworks... that’s gotta be a good thing!

Here I am trying to get one of these fireworks ready... so concentrated...



Although in the past I’ve never been big on making New Year’s resolutions, I have a few changes and/or improvements that I’d like to make for 2010.

For starters, I am committed to continuting and improving this blog – A.O.K Okay with Andrea – in 2010. Since I started writing in July, I’ve learned some things about myself. 1) I really enjoy writing 2) I have the desire/need to have a “voice” 3) I’m liking having an outlet to share with others and 4) Writing about my life and experiences gives me a unique perspective on both – and a more positive one (go figure!).

So what can you expect for 2010?

A new design. I’m hoping to go from the generic template to something a little more original and personalized. I don’t know how quickly I’ll be able to get my cards in order, but my goal is Spring 2010.

More food. More stories about my inability to follow instructions. Although I’ve let the ball drop a little in the last few weeks, I’ve been cooking up a storm and my A.O.K “trial” Gourmet series will be back on track very soon (expect to read about “my not-so-traditional Christmas dinner” and “eggs-3-ways” in the next week or so). I’ll continue to post one new recipe a week until next Thanksgiving. Maybe even after that...

10 in 10. I signed up for the “Ten in ‘10 Healthy Challenge” – a ten week commitment to making a healthy change in my life. Participants are challenging themselves to everything from eating healthier to gaining weight (...don’t laugh – for some that IS a healthy change). My personal goal is to incorporate exercise back into my regular routine.

Aside from A.O.K I plan on keeping busy with the girls, tightening up my budget to allow me the financial freedom to return to work part time when the time comes, continuing to figure out and improve this thing called love (& marriage)... and continuing to figure out and improve ME - physically, mentally, spritually.

What about you? Do you have any resolutions for 2010?

A.

Some of the books on display for last night's party

I've recently decided to try my hand as an Usborne Books at Home Consultant. I discovered these AMAZING children's books when Layla was barely 6-months old and I hosted my very first "book party" (think Tupperware party but with a gazillion cool books for kids instead!). I love the books and I love "girl" nights so when my good friend (who's been a consultant for 3 years now) told me about a great deal to buy the start up kit I said to myself "why not? I'm on mat leave... I have a little extra time... I can do this". And although I obviously have a supervisor, when it comes to Usborne, I get to be my own boss, choose my own hours, decide how much time I'm willing to put in (which in turn will decide how much I get out of it).

So, after receiving my starter kit (hundreds of dollars of books at drastically reduced prices) a couple weeks ago and borrowing a bunch of other books from my supervisor - I officially hosted my first "book party" last night.

Looking through the books as I was preparing for the party totally takes me back to my childhood and gets me excited about the years to come with Layla and Meaghan. I don't remember a time in my life where I didn't enjoy reading and I hope to pass on that passion and interest to my girls. I also can't wait to do some of the arts & crafts or baking that I've been peeking at in Usborne's activity books. So much fun to come!

Layla was pretty excited about all the books set up in the living room...

So back to last night's book party...

Although I'm definitely new at it and I don't know everything there is to know about the books yet, I think it went really well. In terms of sales it was a HUGE success (thank-you, thank-you, thank-you to all my lovely guests!) I think a few of the girls are going to be hooked on the books! I also got the chance to re-connect with some people I haven't seen in YEARS. I'm convinced that motherhood gives you a whole new slew of things to connect on (ie. the 5-6 months post-partum hair loss... gross... I know!)

So far the best things about becoming an Usborne consultant are...

1. I get free books (huge benefit for my girls!)

2. I get to have regular girls nights (albeit eventually I hope it will be with ladies I don't already know... my friends can only buy so many books!)

3. I get to meet and connect with new people

The only down-side... I haven't worked out since Monday (and I was being so good...)! But I (and more importantly my girls) will have lots of new books to check out as soon as my order arrives... and I don't think a few days off will erase all the hard work from the last few months. Come on. Cut me some slack................ OK OK so maybe I have to cut me some slack too...

A.

I'm a little nervous, but also kind of excited to be starting my very own blog "A.O.K". At the moment there are so many ideas buzzing around in my head - I feel like I'm trying to start a magazine! To simplify things (and try to gain a little focus) let me start by introducing myself and why I've decided to give blogging a try...





"Hi!" I'm Andrea. I'm 27, married to my high school sweet heart (Brandon) and have 2 beautiful girls (Layla and Meaghan), a dog (Reuben), a cat (Reggie) and other pets that I don't really consider my own (I'm sure there will be more about them in future posts). I was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia but have lived the last 22+ years on the South Shore of Montreal, Quebec (so yes, I speak french too). I work in communications or "PR". I'm a Christian. There's the facts.





I love... God, my husband, my girls, my family, my friends... eating, kissing, swimming, organizing, decorating, cooking, baking (did I mention eating?), vacation, wine, coffee, reading a good book, ice cream, the beach, sleeping, massages, singing (mostly in the shower or with my babies), decorating, evening walks, the smell of summer...





I'm not a fan of... needles, cantalope, pregnancy (although of course I love the end result!), cleaning the bathroom, ... that's all I can come up with right now, though I'm sure I'll think of more once I stop writing.





This blog is a chance for me to share my experiences (or lack there of), my ideas and opinions with others. I don't have a specific theme but I know that I will write mostly about my experiences as a wife, a mother, a friend, a professional - the highs, the lows, the pretty and the ugly moments of this life - as I try to achieve some balance in it all. Here's a sample of the kind of things I'll be blogging about over the next little while, unless of course life gives me some more interesting things to share with whoever wants to read...

- sleeping through the night
- my baby is smarter than yours
- loving what he loves (or at least trying to)
- Jealous with a capital J
- Learning to accept AND love "me"
- I want a hobby!
- Recognizing the face in the mirror
- Cleaning under the fridge & dusting the base boards

Hope this piques your interest and you'll join me for the ride as I figure out how this "blog" thing works!

A.