A little bit about me. And why the blog?

I am in my mid-30s.  Feels so unbelievably weird to say that.  I am old and I have the beginnings of grey hair and wrinkles to prove it.

First and foremost I am a new mum to an amazing 5 month old little boy who is the centre of my world.  I am on mat leave with him and cherishing every cuddle, smile, coo, giggle... and the list continues on and on.  Yes, even for the most part loving those spit-ups, poo-namis, teething fussy moments, and sleepless nights.

I am a wife (of almost 3 years) to the most wonderfully caring and gentle man who is also the most intelligent, focused, yet easy going guy that I know.  He grounds me, tells me when I am being crazy, challenges me every day to be a better person.  He is my best friend and I love him dearly.

I am a dog owner.  Our golden retriever puppy is almost 2 years old and is one spicy little girl, hence her name Wasabi.

I am a physician.  After 27 years of school, I am finally done all of my training.  Long hall and I know that I will be a lifelong learner (blah blah blah) but at least now the exams are done and I can actually call myself a staff physician!

I am a domestic goddess wannabee.  I love to cook.  I love to bake, and try to bake healthy.  I love to try vegan recipes.  My hubbie is worried that I am walking a fine line and that one day, I will go all vegan on him.  But I love a good steak, not gonna lie.  When I say domestic goddess, I'm sure some of my friends are wondering, what the heck?!  One of my girlfriends did once ask me what had "gotten into me" and maybe it was the drinking water in Alberta that had "turned me into this".  (sorry Albertans, don't take offence).  I do not mean a Stepford wife.  I think of myself as an independent, free thinking woman but I do aspire to be that mum that can make cool cupcakes, bake that fondant cake in the shape of a car or train or turtle or whatever for my son's first birthday.  I want to have fun dinner parties, decorate our house for the holidays, have a Martha-esque garden.

Why the blog?

I never thought that I would be a "blogger".  I'm more of a "write it down in a journal" kinda gal.  I have a journal.  It's a pretty depressing book.  I have not written in it in 2-3 years.  I only wrote in it when I was upset or needed to vent, usually about a boy.   I think it was a journal of my single girl days.  I paid homage to my breaking of boys' hearts (ha!) and my heart being broken over the years (more of the latter really).

My lack of journal writing in recent years may be a result of being married now, I'm not sure.  Don't get me wrong, I love my husband oh so dearly but our marriage has not been perfectly wonderful all of the time.  I have been upset and have needed to vent on occasion but usually we talk about it ... hence the lack of journal writing in the last few years.

But I think it's time to bring back a writing venue for myself.  A less depressing place though.  My impending return to work in September (or should I say start of my career) is looming over my head and I'm not sure how it will all go.  I have always thought of myself as a career woman... that is, until I had our amazing little boy Nathan.  Now I'm wondering how I will balance things.  This blog is mostly for me, to sort through my challenges.  I am pretty sure though that I am not alone in this whole balancing act of being a good mum and having a career.   One of my female physician mentors posed an important question to me a few years ago.  She asked, "when you die, who do you think you will want to be remembered as first - the best mum or the best physician that you could possibly be?"

On that note, let the blogging begin...