Wednesday, August 05, 2009

Irony.... Louisa, don't read this one ;)

Take a look at this picture and take note of the gi-normous item in the middle of the living room:

Now take a look at the close up shot of the corner of the item in question:
Irony, anyone?

Monday, June 15, 2009

Well traveled eyewear

Today I wore sandals to work for the first time this year. At one point I slipped my feet out of my sandals at my desk and looked at the bottom of my foot. There was a strange light blue semi-circle on the bottom of my foot. I peeled it off and it took me a minute to realize what it was. Then I figured it out... it was a contact lens!

Last night I was in the shower and I decided that the next morning I would start a new pack of contact lenses. So I took my contacts out while I was in the shower to let them run down the drain. But it seems one got stuck to the bottom of my foot. It lasted through that shower, all night in bed, walking around the house and taking the dogs for a walk the next morning, a morning shower (where I obviously didn't wash the bottom of my foot LOL), and getting ready and driving to work. That is one sticky contact lens. :)

Tuesday, June 09, 2009

I'm all for appreciating other cultures but.....

This is going to sound racist but I think I have a valid point. Enough with the "Native Awareness Weeks" already!

In the last 2 months there have been:
  • A Native Awareness Week put on by the University including pow-wows, speakers, etc.
  • A Native Awareness Week put on by the city with more pow-wows, speakers, arts & crafts for the kiddies, etc.
  • U of L convocation with native elements in the ceremonies (drumming and songs).
  • A native symposium (lectures, dancing demonstrations, etc) held in the university atrium.
These are just off the top of my head... I'm sure there were more events. All this is just a 2 month period.

My question is, at what point is enough enough? I am "aware" of the natives. Having spent many of my school years in this area I've been to my share of drumming ceremonies, round dances, and the like. It gets to a point where it feels shoved down my throat.

When do I get to celebrate my own heritage? There are a lot of English immigrants in Canada.... when do we get to have "British Awareness Week"? Tea, scones, and yorkshire puddings all around. We can wear crowns like the royal family and play polo. Then we can go to a pub to drink Guiness and sing football anthems. I'd sign up for that!

Monday, June 01, 2009

Yoga Workshop

This past weekend I went to a yoga workshop. It was not the experience that I was expecting. I figured we'd do a total of 10 hours (in a 48 hour period) of yoga but instead it was broken down into some yoga, some meditation (also not at all as I pictured it), some chanting (ummmm, okay), and some qi-gong (kind of like tai-chi).

The yoga was challenging but at no point painful which was a surprise. My experiences in the past with yoga have often involved holding poses so long that I lose circulation and have excrutiating pain. But at the workshop I didn't have any pain like that so YAY! Poses weren't held very long and the instructor fostered a very permissive environment where any modifications needed (due to injuries or whatever) were encouraged.

The qi-gong I found to be very similar to yoga so they went well together. All movements were very slow and controlled and required a surprising amount of strength. I'd recommend it for some variety in a workout routine.

The chanting was a little bizarre. I tried to get into it but I never really was able to. I'd do it again and it was a nice break from the yoga but it's not something that came naturally to me.

The meditation was my favorite part. It was very relaxing. We would lie down or sit in a specific position with our eyes closed while the instructor read to us a story or asked us to picture something in our minds. After a few minutes we would finish and talk about what we saw or experienced. Some people got nothing and some had specific images come to their minds.

During one meditation I saw some salmon jumping/swimming upstream, then a shipwreck, then a fire. I was very calm and peaceful while seeing these images which, to me, was odd given that each image involved a lot of activity. So afterwards I mentioned what I saw to the instructor and she said I was probably seeing images from past lives. I had no idea what to say to that as I have never given much thought to reincarnation and it was a bit of a shock to have someone tell me that I had past lives when I hadn't decided if I even believed in them. It was a bizarre and unique experience for sure but one that I am happy to have had.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Dementia already?

This morning Vince turned to me and said "I heard on the radio the other day....." and proceeds to tell me a story. I stared at him in utter shock the whole time.

When he finished I said "yes, I know about that story because I'M the one that told it to YOU two days ago!!! Not the radio... ME!!!"

**Sigh**

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

May long weekend.... time for a movie review post

Hello my blogging friends. In the last week I have seen a few movies and I thought you might be interested to know what I thought of them. Maybe you are and maybe you aren't but either way I'm going to write about them :)

Last Chance Harvey - the trailer looked promising... a cute love story between Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson. But the delivery was slow and, in places, almost irritating. Dustin Hoffman loses his job halfway through the movie (it's in the trailer so I'm not giving anything away) but they never really explained why. Just that he was "out of chances". I finished the movie feeling dissatisfied and somewhat bored. Sorry, this was just a 2 star movie for me.

Star Trek - I think I enjoyed this movie more than most. Based on the fact that sometimes I was the only one in the theater laughing, I got some of the inside jokes that others either missed or didn't find funny. I also love that they legitimately took the Star Trek story in a whole new direction. They can re-explore the relationships between crew members, re-introduce old villains as new again, and enjoy the story-telling devices of new technology while still giving a nod to the original franchise. This movie gets a solid 5 stars from me :)

Slumdog Millionaire - Maybe the fact that I saw this movie after the hype and awards put my expectations too high. It was a good movie but I didn't think it was outstanding. It left a couple of unanswered questions and, frankly, with the news stories about the "slumdog kids" having their homes demolished and so forth, it put a bit of a damper on the whole show. I'll give it 4 stars.

Hound Dog - the controversial movie where Dakota Fanning's character gets raped. It was an okay movie. Dakota Fanning was awesome but she always is. For movie going satisfaction I'd recommend The Secret Life of Bees instead. It's a surprisingly similar story but more entertaining and easier to watch. Hound Dog gets 3 stars from me.

Frost/Nixon - I'm surprised this movie was a nominee for best picture at the Oscars. Yes, the acting was excellent but the story didn't really grab me. Maybe because I'm not a fan of Richard Nixon I was tainted before seeing it. I was mildly entertained but I wouldn't recommend it to a friend. 2 1/2 stars.

Marley & Me - one of the few movies I've seen that does justice to the book. Don't get me wrong, the book is better (it always is) but I didn't feel like anything critical or exceptional had been left out in the movie. I'm not a big fan of Owen Wilson but he did a decent job of being the sympathetic main character. If you haven't seen it, I recommend having a full box of tissues nearby when you watch it. It's a tear jerker but it's worth it. 4 1/2 stars.

Tin Cup - to be fair, this is an older movie although I'd never seen it. To further be charitable, I was tired when I started watching it so falling asleep during the movie may not have been totally the movie's fault. But in all honesty, I can't imagine anything worse than watching an actress (Rene Russo), who seems to only be able to play the same one-dimensional character over and over, unconvincingly act smart and strong while simultaneously watching Kevin Costner attempt to play the wounded hero by either being an idiot or standing around and saying nothing. All this is set on the background of a rundown driving range while Cheech Marin drinks beer, smokes cigars, and tries to be the movie's comic relief. I tried to like it but really none of it was working for me. 1 1/2 stars.

Friday, May 15, 2009

... and I don't care

I'm wearing a sweatshirt to work today even though it's not really dress code appropriate.... and I don't care.

I should be working on finishing up some stuff for a project right now but instead I'm blogging.... and I don't care.

I'm not supposed to work with my office door closed but I am because of the noisy cubicle dwellers just outside.... and I don't care.

I haven't turned my page-a-day calendar to the right date in 10 days.... and I don't care.

All I can think about is food.... and I don't care.

I'm moderately crabby today.... and I don't care.

There are lots of things that I DO care about but I'm too tired to put them in writing right now..... and I don't care :)

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Happy Anniversary :)

Vince & I are celebrating are 2 year wedding anniversary today. My mother-in-law said it wouldn't last a year. Vince & I knew better and we are well on our way to proving her very very wrong :)

The celebration will be small this year. We are having dinner at The Keg and I made this for dessert..... http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/05/strawberry-shortcakecake/

Thursday, May 07, 2009

You know you ate too much junk food when....

You go to the convenience store near your office where you used to go every day and buy popcorn, chips, chocolate, and candy.... then one day you go in and just buy popcorn and a diet beverage and the woman behind the counter exclaims "That's all? You usually get much more than that".

Uh, thanks for the comment on my dietary habits, stranger. That wasn't uncomfortable for me at all! LOL.

Tuesday, May 05, 2009

An uncomfortable situation

So here's the situation.... I'm at the massage therapists getting a massage. She was stretching my gluteus maximus muscle. She asked if my leg was relaxed. It wasn't and she knew it wasn't but I said yes anyways. Why? Because I had to fart. And if I relaxed I might have farted. And I couldn't confess that to her because then one of three scenarious would have happened. Either:
1. she would have said "go ahead and fart" and I would have and stunk up the room and been embarassed.
2. she would have said "go ahead and fart" and I wouldn't have been able to because of the embarassment.
3. she would have said "please don't fart" and I'd be right back where I was with the additional embarassment of her knowledge of my gasseous build-up.
In any scenario I would be embarassed and uncomfortable. So it was just as well I lied and said "yes, I'm as relaxed as I can be".

Friday, May 01, 2009

I have a new blog

Not to worry, this blog will still be up and running. This is where I like to bitch and moan about the injustices in this world. This is where I eloquently expound on the issues facing the modern woman. This is where I just get stuff off my chest.

The new blog has a very specific purpose. It is where I will theorize, hypothesize, experiment, document and come to conclusions about important issues to me in the world of food. I have a few ideas already of various experiments I would like to try. I imagine more will come to me the more testing I do.

An introduction is already up and I look forward to doing my first real post soon :) Come join me at my new blog.... http://www.foodiestudent.blogspot.com/

Sunday, April 19, 2009

A word about punctuality

This blog often contains my rants about situations in life that bother me. This will be no exception :)

This morning Vince & I went to Walmart. The best time to go is as soon as they open on Sunday... there is hardly anyone around and we never have to wait in line at the checkout. However, this morning we arrived at Walmart at 6:59, one minute before they opened (yup, we're early birds LOL). The doors were locked so we waited... and waited... and waited. At 7:05 we got impatient and went in a side door where we saw the night shift staff were leaving. The greeter person was there and commented that she was surprised that management hadn't come to open the doors yet. We agreed that since the store opens at 7:00am that yes, they should have come by now.

So anyways, this is just a bit of a rant about the annoyance of people not being where they are supposed to be at a certain time. Time is valuable and it would be nice if people were a little more respectful of others' time.

Thursday, April 09, 2009

A word about personal space

In the last 24 hours I've had 3 run-ins with people over personal space. In none of those incidents did I say anything because it's not against the rules or anything but just something of a societal norm that I think some are more sensitive to than others.

The first incident was last night in Safeway. I was standing in the express lane with my selections and a woman came and stood behind me with her basket. But her basket kept touching my lower back. It was very annoying and she was clearly in my personal space. I couldn't take a step forward or I would be in the next person's personal space and touching him with my own basket. So in a very passive aggressive way (LOL) I leaned back to hopefully signal her that her basket was touching me. However that did nothing and by the time I could have said something the person in front of me had moved up so I moved up too.

Second incident occured this morning at the gym. After my workout I went to shower in the open shower area. There are 6 shower heads and someone was using #6 so I started using #3. #6 finished and after a few seconds alone another woman came in and started using shower #2. I was very put off by that. There were 3 showers she could have used that were not right next to me (#'s 1, 5, and 6) and it seemed a huge invasion of privacy to be naked and have a naked stranger stand as close to me as possible. I finished showering as quickly as possible and got out of there ASAP.

Third and final incident was also at the gym. I was doing my hair/makeup before leaving the changerooms for the day and I left my gym bag on the bench in front of my locker. About one minute before I finished a couple of young girls (obviously university students) walked in, scooted my bag down the bench, and sat down. Now I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt and assume they had a locker nearby. But they never opened a locker, they just sat there and talked. But I fail to understand the need to move someone's bag. I would NEVER move someone's bag that was on the bench because it's not mine. But these girls had no problem doing so. Note that I try to be aware of those around me and if they need bench space that is being taken up by my bag I will always move it out of the way.... but again, it's my bag and I'll be the one to move it.

So this is a little bit of a rant and really not much can be done to improve these situations because no one is really doing anything bad or wrong.... they are just making me uncomfortable with their obliviousness to personal space. A little more awareness from some people would go a long way to making this world a better place :)

Monday, March 30, 2009

That's some kind of math ya got there!

Yesterday I turned 35 years old. My dear husband turned 43 a couple of weeks ago. Last night we were chatting and he said "do you realize that when you are 70 I'm going to be 86?"

Ummmmm, okay then.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Boundaries

Since we started renting a room in our basement to a student I have learned some important things about myself. It took a while and some soul searching but I think I have figured it out. At first I thought I was anal-retentive, then selfish, then just a bitch. And while I realize all of those things may be true to a point, at the end of the day it just all comes down to boundaries.

Vince couldn't understand why I was getting so upset when the renter kept coming up and using the dishwasher, using my seive to drain his pasta, and using the stove when he has burners downstairs to use. It's all about boundaries. I realize he's not going to wear out my seive (although I would have appreciated it if he had asked first but that's another rant) and that it's more practical for him to use the stove burners which are larger than the ones we bought for him to use. But my kitchen really needs to be MY kitchen. I'm uncomfortable going in there when he is in there and there are times when I HAVE to go in there (cooking, cleaning up, putting away leftovers, etc). And if there is one room in the house that really is mine, it's the kitchen! So he needs to really back off and allow me my space.

So what we have done, in order for me to quit losing my mind every time he comes up the stairs, is purchase all the items to build a mini-kitchen downstairs for him to use. It will have a sink, counter, microwave and microwave cart, and a fridge. The only thing it won't have is an oven (or toaster oven) and any additional appliances the renter may want such as a popcorn popper, blender, etc. Tonight we will start building the cabinets. Within a few weeks I hope to have it fully assembled and functional.

The only thing we still need to buy is a 28" wide refrigerator. If anybody hears of a used one for sale in Southern Alberta please let me know :)

Monday, March 09, 2009

Our tax dollars at work

In the bathrooms at work 2 of the cubicles have those "potty billboards" where advertisers will try to entice you to purchase their cell phones or cable service while you are doing your necessary business. They change them every couple of weeks so a new advertiser can have your attention while you are grunting.

Anyways, about a month ago a new advertiser went in. It was the Alberta provincial government.... they had an advertisement aimed at students trying to show them how perfect Alberta is to work in. You know... work in this "great economy" all week and then spend the weekend fishing, hiking, hang-gliding, etc in the mountains.

Then last week that advertisement was replaced with a new one. This one is from the Canadian federal government.... they have an advertisement aimed at students advertising the opportunities to work and study abroad.

So my tax money is being spent by people with totally contradictory interests. Awesome!

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Raindrops on Roses, Whiskers on Kittens

Kelly of KLAD Cockers fame (yup, she's famous) tagged me, to be honest she tagged anyone who read her blog LOL, to come up with a list of my 10 favorite things and post them here. I am excluding my husband, family, dogs, etc from this list as I think they are a given. And it's fun to be more random than that. So, for your reading pleasure, may I present my top 10 favorite things.......

1. Coke Zero - I'm so original that I picked something sitting on my desk. We're off to a flying start here LOL!

2. Gossip - now, before you all beat me up for this one let me explain. I don't mean passing on questionable information. I just like to collect it and if I question it I will go to the source to verify. I am woefully out of touch with so many friends that I like to hear what is going on with them and that sometimes comes via 3rd parties. I realize it is hypocritical to say I don't spread it (which is true, I rarely if ever pass it on, partly because I really am so out of touch LOL) but in order for me to receive the gossip, someone else has to be the gossiper. I'm not judging here... I'm confessing one of my favorite things. Can't we all just get along? Never mind. Let's move on.

3. Learning - this is an odd one. When I was in school I absolutely hated it! I hate being told what I have to learn about. I want to learn what I WANT to learn about. Therefore, you will never see my butt in a creative writing class or history of Canadian government class. However, recently I have taken classes in fitness theory, group exercise instruction, and project management. In the future I'd like to take some cooking or baking or cake decorating classes.... something fun for me.

4. My laptop - how is a girl supposed to watch TV while sitting on the couch with her feet on a footstool while simultaneously playing Little Shop - Memories without a laptop? I tell you, there is simply no other way.

5. My sister - yes, I'm breaking my own rule by including Louisa. But that girl can make me laugh like nobody's business. Our recent e-mail exchange devolved into spewing of fake "facts". Example.... FACT: 3 out of 4 people will not try a recipe if there is no picture of the finished product. Okay, you had to be there but it seriously made me LOL.

6. Lost - I vowed never to watch this show until it was available on DVD so that any end of episode cliffhangers could be dealt with by watching the next episode immediately.... a solution that is good for my heart and allows me days of Lost-marathon pleasure. However, I admit now that I am hooked and simply cannot wait until the current season comes out on DVD. Therefore I am now watching Lost every Wednesday at 9/8 Central (why do they always omit Mountain Time?) on ABC.

7. My van - We are currently down to one vehicle since Vince's car died a couple of weeks ago. It has been an adjustment for me to, after about 15 years of vehicular independence, suddenly have to share a vehicle with someone. We have a system where Vince drops me off on his way to work and then picks me up again afterwards. It is working so far but I am now limited in my ability to make appointments right after work or on the weekends when Vince is working. I am now aware of the freedom I had before and am looking forward to having that again when Vince gets another car.

8. Air Conditioning - not so much now but in July and August A/C will be one of my favorite things. It's sometimes surprising to me that we grew up in a house without A/C, the cars never had A/C, I don't even think the schools had A/C but don't quote me on that one. A/C has gone from luxury to nearly a necessity these days. We don't use it much but on the days we need it, we REALLY need it.

9. The Hot Tub - on chilly days the hot tub feels soooooooo good. It's especially nice after working out. Ahhhhh, just thinking about it makes me smile.

10. Recognition - whether it's a ribbon at a dog show, thanks from a student after teaching a fitness class, or an acknowledgement from a coworker for a job well done, recognition for hard work just plain feels good. The flip side of the coin is that lack of recognition is one of the most demotivating tools. This goes to show that financial reward isn't everything.

The end. Following Kelly's lead, I tag anyone who reads this to post their own top 10 favorites list. This goes for both of my siblings who haven't updated their blogs in months!!!!!

Friday, February 06, 2009

Workout song list

I've been getting bored of my old workout mixes so last weekend I put together a new song list. Most of the songs are up-tempo... perfect for motivation during monotonous cardio workouts. The last two are slower... more appropriate for cooling down and stretching.

Note, these were mostly downloaded from iTunes so I've left their original names and artists as I found them in iTunes just in case you want to dowload them too. So, if you are interested, here is the list:
  1. Rock This Party (Everybody Dance Now) [Featuring Big Ali & Dollar Man] - Big Ali, Bob Sinclar & Dollar Man
  2. Keeps Gettin' Better - Christina Aguilera
  3. When I Grow Up - The Pussycat Dolls
  4. Womanizer - Britney Spears
  5. Disturbia - Rihanna
  6. Just Dance - Lady GaGa & Colby O'Donis
  7. Hot N Cold - Katy Perry
  8. Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It) - Beyoncé
  9. Back to Life (However Do You Want Me) - Soul II Soul
  10. Bootylicious - Destiny's Child
  11. Cotton Eye Joe - Rednex
  12. Hollaback Girl - Gwen Stefani
  13. Check On It - Beyoncé & Slim Thug
  14. I Beg Your Pardon - Kon Kan
  15. I Don't Feel Like Dancin' - Scissor Sisters
  16. It Takes Two - Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock
  17. Poker Face - Lady GaGa
  18. My Love (Paul Oakenfold Radio Edit) - Justin Timberlake
  19. Nasty Girl (Radio Edit) - Inaya Day
  20. The Power (7' Version) - Snap!
  21. Rasputin - The Dancing Queen Group
  22. SOS - Rihanna
  23. Spirit In the Sky - Doctor & The Medics
  24. We Like to Party! - Vengaboys
  25. The Way I Are (feat. Keri Hilson & D.O.E.) - Timbaland
  26. Africa (feat. Culture) [Radio Edit] - Karl Wolf

Monday, February 02, 2009

In the news

So some people are up in arms about the whole Michael Phelps smoking pot situation.... click here if you haven't read the story. They say he's a role model and should be ashamed of himself and Olympic champions should be held to a higher standard and blah blah blah.

Here's my opinion (and if you don't care about my opinion, why are you reading my blog????)..... Michael Phelps is a grown up and can do whatever he wants. He wasn't hurting anybody. He wasn't using drugs to give himself an unfair advantage in competition. He wasn't selling the drugs to kids. He wasn't promoting the use of drugs in any capacity. He was doing what many people his age do.... experiment with marijuana.

Last year Michael Phelps pledged to "My Victory," an initiative to keep competitive sports clean of cheating and drug use. This will cause some people say he is a hypocrite. But the occasional recreational experimentational drug use is not the same as doping with steroids and cheating in a sports competition. They are two completely seperate issues.

I really don't think all the hoopla is needed. I also think it's sad that he has to issue an apology for it. Unless you are living in a fairy tale, Disney-esque world, this is not unusual and I feel sorry for the backlash Michael Phelps has had to endure for his actions. He's a grown up. Back off and let him live as normal a life as he can.

Friday, January 30, 2009

What do you blog about when nothing is going on?

I check a few blogs on a daily basis and none of them have been updated for over a week. Then I realized I hadn't updated mine either so who am I to judge? But here's the conundrum, if nothing out of the ordinary is going on, what do I blog about? So I decided to just blog about some random stuff that I'm doing these days.

Today is Friday. Friday is my weigh-in day. I have basically been maintaining my weight for months now (+ or - 5 lbs). Last week I was fairly low and feeling good. However, today I stepped on the scale and was up 3.5 lbs! Still within my "maintenance range" but quite a wake up call for a girl who works out at least 5 times a week, and eats salad for lunch most days. Okay, looking back on it, this certainly wasn't my best week... many sugary treats including a new recipe for "cheesecake bars" which I helped myself to. So I'm acknowledging the errors I made and am planning to correct them. So hopefully next Friday I'll see some or all of that 3.5 lbs gone :)

There is an almost empty bag of Honey-lemon Halls cough drops on my desk. It has been sitting there for months, just waiting for me to get sick again. I should probably put it in a drawer or something but now it's like my good luck charm. Sore throats will stay away just because the bag is on my desk.

Today is pay day. My check is a little higher than the one in December because the union and the U of L finally agreed to an increase for union employees and it took effect this month. However, we are owed back pay for the months of July - December 2008 and we won't see that until next month's paycheck. It would have been nice to see it today but oh well.... at least we'll get it eventually.

Yesterday I was so tired in the afternoon I almost fell asleep at my desk. You know when you start to drop off and suddenly your body protests and your head snaps up? That happened to me while I was sitting at my desk. Luckily no one saw it :)

The only part of my job that I'm actually enjoying these days is the Project Management part of it. I'm so over the programming. I'm really glad I'm taking my career in a new direction by earning a project management certificate and, hopefully, will soon have a job that uses those skills all of the time.

Okay, those are all the words I can think of right now. I hope you are all having a lovely Friday (or whatever day of the week you are reading this).

Monday, January 19, 2009

I'm a fan of ESBM :)

Lately I've been really into cooking. I've never been much of a cook but it has been a lot of fun exploring and developing my culinary talents.

However, developing culinary talents while trying to lose weight has been tricky so I was very happy to discover "Eat, Shrink, and Be Merry". This is the title of both a recipe book and a tv show on the Food Network. The authors/hosts take existing restaurant recipes and make them significantly healthier with a few substitutions. Then they do a taste test with the restaurant's customers or the public to see which is preferred. Cheesy puns aside, it's quite fun and an inspiration for adjusting existing recipes we all love.

I tried 2 of the recipes this weekend and was very happy with the results. Keep in mind, these are not "diet" recipes... they still have fat, calories, and other bad stuff but they have less of it and have more fiber, protein, and other good stuff than their restaurant counterparts.....

Smackaroni and Cheese... http://www.foodtv.ca/recipes/recipedetails.aspx?dishid=8422 (anyone who knows me well knows I eliminated the mushrooms from this recipe and it was still yummy LOL)

The Better Butter Chicken... http://www.foodtv.ca/recipes/recipedetails.aspx?dishid=8423

One I haven't tried yet but is on my radar is Shockolate Cheesecake... http://www.foodtv.ca/recipes/recipedetails.aspx?dishid=8418

And if you are interested in watching the tv episodes that featured these recipes in a taste test just go to any of the above links, click on "Video" near the top of the screen, then "Full Episodes", then expand the option for "Eat, Shrink, and Be Merry".

Enjoy :)

Monday, January 12, 2009

Sigh.... what is it with people?

A while back I posted about the grossness of not flushing a public toilet and other public bathroom blunders. Apparently that was the first in a series of bathroom rants I will be making. This is part 2.

Okay, I really don't care what people do in their own home. They can keep their surroundings in whatever state of cleanliness they like and become the most disgusting human beings in the world. It's their home and their hygiene habits.

But, for the love of all that is good and pure in our society, when you use a public bathroom please, oh please, wash your hands before you leave. The water will not hurt you. The soap will not kill you. The person who exits the bathroom immediately after you (and therefore will touch the door handle right after you) will thank you. Only good can come of this action.

Please also know that if I know who you are and I catch you not washing your hands, you will NEVER be able to live it down in my head. I may not say anything and you may never know my disgust, but I'll never forget it and the stench of that one indiscretion will taint my view of you forever more.

So please, pretty please with a cherry on top, when you use the facilities in a public place make it a complete bathroom experience by using the sinks and the soap provided.

Thank you!

Friday, January 09, 2009

Mascara Recommendation

A few months ago I was getting my hair cut & coloured at the salon. While I was in one of the "processing" phases someone came around and handed out some mascara samples for Kissme Mascara. I didn't think much of it, put the sample in my purse and promptly forgot about it.

Just before Christmas I was going through my purse (clearly not a common occurance) and found the mascara sample and decided to try it. It was a slightly different experience. Not so much with the application but with the wearing and removal of the mascara. I tend to have bad under-eye smearing problems throughout the day with mascara but not with this product. I also find removal a pain, especially with waterproof mascaras, but not with this product. I was shocked at how good my lashes looked at the end of the day and was slightly amused by the removal process.... it just takes some water and pressure and the mascara will actually slide off your lashes onto your finger. It's unlike any other mascara I've ever used.

For more details you can check out their website... http://kissmemascara.com/

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Holy Snowflakes Batman!

I'm really trying not to pick up my phone and complain to the city that the road in front of my house needs plowing. I know they are being inundated with people calling to complain. I know I live on a cul-de-sac so my street won't get touched no matter how much I beg. I know the crazy amounts of snow we have received are not the city's fault.

But when both Vince & I get stuck right in front of our house (in separate vehicles within an hour of each other) because some idiot in a truck spun his tires and made a giant trench that no one but the same idiot can drive through without getting stuck, it really sucks! So now, just to get out of our driveway, we have to drive on the sidewalk for a few meters before getting on the street just to avoid getting stuck.

And at the end of the street is so much snow that you have to be going at least 20 kmph just to have the momentum to plow through it. That's a little scary when you are going around a corner and you can't see what you are driving into.

So, since complaining to the city won't do any good and the budget just can't take a tractor to clear it out ourselves right now, you get to read all about it. The problem is still there but I feel slightly better. Thank-you, my blog therapists :)

Monday, January 05, 2009

I'm not dead :)

I haven't updated my blog in a very long time so I thought I'd give it a go today.

First of all, a belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all. I had a great Christmas break.....

Dec 23 - Valerie's birthday dinner. I took the day off work to prepare for hosting 2 feasts on the 24th and 25th so it was great to go out that night and have someone bring food to me :)

Valerie's birthday is, in my mind, the real kick-off to Christmas. I'm usually done work by then and it's the first in a series of family gatherings. At this particular supper I sat between Ben and Scott... both of whom have new iPhones so I spent much of the meal being jealous of them as I looked sadly at my ghetto phone (which, BTW, I love in spite of the fact that it can't do anything more than call and text).

Dec 24 - Traditional 7's game. Usually we do a pot luck dinner and then play Sevens but this year I wanted to try out a bunch of new recipes so I told everyone to just show up and I was so surprised and flattered by the oooo's and ahhhh's and the fuss that everyone made over the food I prepared that I briefly considered changing careers and becoming a caterer.... VERY briefly LOL.

Dec 25 - Vince & I opened our stockings in the morning. I filled the stockings for the dogs and cat so I made Vince open them up too.

Then we exchanged presents and I had to confess that I went way over our agreed on $50 limit. But I had the best of intentions! It went like this.... I went to buy Vince a $50 gift card to his favorite golf store. While I was there I decided to get him something that I could tape the card to so he could unwrap something (instead of just open an envelope). I selected some new golf balls and, since it's Christmas I splurged on the best ones - they were about $50. And when I mentioned to the salesman/manager who it was for it turned out he knows Vince very well and he said he's holding a wedge for him as Vince wanted to buy it in the new year. On the spur of the moment I asked him to add it to my bill so I could give it to Vince for Christmas - it was about $130. So, as you can see, I really did only go in to spend $50... it's not my fault that I walked out with a $230 bill LOL. Thank you Visa :)

Immediately after the gifts were opened I was back in the kitchen preparing the Christmas dinner. I wish I had had the forethought to take a picture but I didn't so you get a list of what I made.... turkey breast with bone in (oh man, it was SOOOO good and just had the good white meat which is all that Vince & I like to eat), gravy made from the turkey drippings (I'd never done that before and it was, without a doubt, the best gravy I've ever made), mashed potatoes (a new recipe and it was very good), yorkshire puddings (my one disappointment... they didn't rise as much as usual but were still quite edible), green beans (sauteed and steamed with almond slices), salad, fresh homemade buns, stuffing (another new recipe made from cornbread and french bread.... delicious), corn, cranberry sauce (I was going to make it from scratch but at the last minute decided to use canned and it's just as well as I was the only one there who likes cranberry sauce), and I think that's it. We had regular and non-alcoholic white wine which complimented everything nicely (although my sister in law implied I was an alcoholic even though she has never ever seen me drink alcohol before.... that's a whole other story though). It all ended with a white chocolate cheesecake topped with kiwi and raspberry artfully shaped into a Christmas wreath. Okay, anyone else drooling right now? LOL. It all went well but I felt bad for Ben... he came over and was so sick he took a nap on our couch after dinner. What a trooper for coming over though. It wouldn't have been the same without him.

After those three days I didn't do anything too memorable except take a day trip to Calgary with Scott. We saw a movie ("Milk" which I HIGHLY recommend... not a dry eye in the theater at the end), and I was introduced to Pottery Barn (which didn't do much for me) and Williams-Sonoma (in which I could easily spend thousands of dollars and enjoy every second of it - but I only bought some measuring spoons and wooden spoons). The drive home was scary as the snow was falling and visibility was crappy... and, as you may know, I'm not a great passenger at the best of times - imagine how bad I was in scary road conditions. I joked with Scott that I might have to replace the "holy shit" handle in his vehicle as I was pulling on it so hard.

So those are the highlights of my Christmas break. I hope yours was good and that getting back to the usual routine isn't too painful :)