a year

my first news meeting. olympic anniversary. vancouver 125. stanley cup game 6

It's been exactly one year since I anchored CTV News at 6 for the very first time. Time flies. A year ago today I was freaking out, for a number of reasons. It's always nerve-wracking when you start something new, especially when you know everyone is watching.

2011 was an interesting year. It was exhilarating when it was announced that I would be anchoring the news with Mike Killeen but also quite sad & stressful - I definitely discovered who my real friends were. There's a lot to be said for having grace and some people just didn't have it. I found that people reacted in one of three very different ways: those who were genuinely happy for me and told me, those who were angry that I got the job as they felt I wasn't worthy of it (these people had no problem telling anyone who would listen - but never me) and then there were the people who said nothing and just stopped talking to me.

our first billboard. leadership convention. tv week cover

It's the people that stopped talking to me that I find most interesting as most of them were people I considered friends. Obviously I was mistaken. At first my feelings were hurt and I obsessed about it, wondering what I could do to make it better. Now I don't care. Those people weren't my friends...a tough lesson to learn, but now I know.

This past year has been amazing, everyday I'm challenged and learn something new. Mike and I have anchored the Liberal Leadership Convention, been on location for the Olympic Anniversary, Vancouver's 125th Birthday....and the mother of all broadcasts - 4 and a half hours of commercial-free Stanley Cup Riot coverage, what a night. I have filed stories on rare diseases, breast cancer and the riot...& I have a few more to air in January.  CTV has been my second home for almost 15 years, clearly I like the place and the people I work with. I couldn't have made the leap from weather to anchor without the support and guidance of my co-workers. I feel fortunate to have such a great team to work with...2012 is going to be a good one.

Yes, I lost a few friendships in the last year...some people said some horrible things about me and I had a couple of rough days. It's a job. I love it but it's a job. Seriously. No matter what though, I get to come home to these three little monkeys jumping on my bed. It doesn't get any better than that!

3 little monkeys jumping on my bed. photos by mika inikoshi

I'm excited for 2012. Happy New Year to you, I wish you a year filled with good health, love and laughter.

my 3 elves

There's nothing like a morning photo shoot with three kids under the age of four for the cover of a magazine.  The amazing Janis Nicolay from Pinecone Camp came over bright & early one morning, damn that woman is good.  My idea was for the kids to wear their Baby Gap leggings and t-shirts that I had made that said "Peace" "Joy" & "Love".  You can only see "Peace"....oh well. We only threatened cancelling Christmas (and Halloween) three times....you can tell by the look on Zoë's face that she is playing along for our benefit. I laugh every time I look at this photo....knowing how incredibly chaotic it was in between each shot.  TVW is on news stands until Friday morning. Thanks for the sweet memory Janis. xx

oh santa

The plan was to get in line to see Santa before his 11am start time.  Due to a major Zoë meltdown because she didn't want me to help her put her dress on, we left the house at 10:45am. When we arrived we were seventh in line.  Not bad. All was good, the choir was singing and the kids were happy. As we inched closer to Santa it started to fall apart...Zoë removed her shoes, Poppy was squirming and Beckett was laying on the floor. We quickly put everyone in place for the photo....

Good times....such a hilarious photo!  Out of the six people ahead of us, four cried. Ho Ho Ho!

miss z's 3rd birthday

Miss Zoë turned 3 in September...I can't believe it's November and I'm just posting these now. Time is flying by, my babes are now four, three & one! The theme for the party was Hello Kitty - she was a favourite of mine when I was a little girl and now she's a hit again. Damn that cat stands the test of time.

Zoë's party followed in the footsteps of Beckett and Poppy's parties - hey when something works you do it again and again! My friend Denise rocked the cake and food - come on, that Hello Kitty cake is the best! Sonia from Sweet Sugary Things came through big time with the cookies and Mika captured it all on film.

At the last minute I decided to hire a face painter....amazing! Of course every kid at the party got their face painted - except for Zoë....when push came to shove, she wasn't into it. Kristal from Faceaballoonza is great - a true artist!

If I had the energy I'd have a party every month...I love gathering with family & friends. But the reality is that it's exhausting, on every level. The prep, the party and the (ugh) clean-up wipes me out.

My mom made everyone white "Hello Kitty" ears...so sweet. Even Stanley got into the spirit.

Why is it that we're always attracted to the icing? When I was a kid I prayed for the corner piece of the cake, or better yet - a piece with a flower. Remember flowers made of icing? Heaven. Happy to see my girl is right on track with her love of icing.

Zoë's not quite into sharing that cupcake quite yet though.....xx

poppy's 1st birthday party

We celebrated Poppy's 1st birthday in August. Some of Poppy's friends, all born within the same year as her, were at the party. Lots of babies, friends and family - just how I like it.

My sweet friend Denise made the cake, I showed her a photo of my "dream cake" and thought we could make it together - she showed up with the cake looking exactly like the photo. Amazing. The poms on the cake are from Potter and Butler in Oregon. Sonia from Sugary Sweet Things made Poppy's cookies.

The cupcake toppers, birthday hat and tags all came from Toadally Cute in Seattle. The lanterns are from Cathay in Richmond and the little sandwiches were made by my mom and mother-in-law. It really does take a village to throw a party...especially when you have three in a row (Zoë's party pics are next)!

I thought Poppy would go for it with the cake and cupcake - she was mesmerized but wouldn't try it! All of the photos were taken by Mika Inokoshi...best idea I every had was asking Mika to take photos of the birthday parties.

Here's the crew of kids that were at the party...our three and four other babes. Perfect. How much fun will it be to watch these littles grow up together?

A really fun day but so hard to believe that our baby girl is now one. A year flies by. Poppy is almost walking, she is determined to keep up with her big brother and sister...I'm enjoying every minute. Sigh.

beckett's 4th birthday party

Oh we had a good time. We went with a Yo Gabba Gabba theme for Beckett's 4th birthday. If you haven't heard of Yo Gabba Gabba, check it out - it's a good time. We know all the songs around here. I ordered Dave's DJ Lance Rock outfit online and my mom made furry hats for everyone.

The cake was fun! My friend Denise made it, she'll tell you that we both made it but we didn't. I put a bit of the green icing on Brobee but the cake was all Denise! It looked perfect and tasted great. Denise is the kind of person that shows up and makes stuff happen. Thank goodness. Oh yeah, she also made the food - seriously. The woman is a machine.

The cookies were made by Sonia at Sugary Sweet Things in Delta. She is amazing - what an artist! I really wanted to make the cookies again this year but it wasn't a reality. Life is full and my oven is broken. Let's face it, my cookies would not have looked like this! Oh, they were delicious.

I love birthday parties and celebrating another year. Toddler parties are truly exhausting and I have three of them in a row. Poppy's 1st birthday party was the week after Beckett's (photos to come) and Zoë's is in September. Clean up is made a little easier thanks to our dog Stanley. This year I decided to get help in the photography department, I love taking photos but it's way too chaotic to get it all. Mika came by and documented the day. Best decision ever.

I ordered all of the party favours online at Birthday Express, the lanterns were from Cathay Importers and the balloons from The Party Bazaar.

Beckett knew the party was for him and he had a great time. He was surrounded by family and friends. Zoë was a bit confused about when her party was, it's tough turning three and watching your brother and sister party before you. We will celebrate again soon.

oh where does a year go?

Poppy 5 weeks old.  photo by ka davidson

It's amazing how fast a year goes by and what a wonderful year it has been. My sweet Poppy just turned one. When she was born she had jet black hair & olive skin, we were positive that she was going to take after my husband's Japanese ancestors. Not to be, Poppy has porcelain skin, blue eyes and light brown hair. It's incredible how much she has changed and grown in such a short amount of time.

Poppy 11 months old.  photo by kyrani kanavaros

Poppy is sweet.  She is kind, calm and incredibly loving. I'm so happy that she loves to cuddle, Poppy has spent countless hours in my arms and I have loved every single second. Now she is one, crawling, standing and ready to start taking her first steps.

Poppy 12 months.  photo by ka davidson

I can't wait to find out who this girl is. Will she be feisty & outgoing like her sister or quiet and thoughtful like her brother? Maybe she will be completely different....it's so much fun to discover bits of who she is each day.  Happy Birthday Poppy. xx