My Life As You Know It

Okay here goes: - Wallet - Sunglasses in case - 2 packets of Gum - Both Mint of some kind - Coach change purse with MAC Lipglass in Viva Glam VI, MAC Lipstick in Dubonet and C.O. Bigalow Lemon Lip Cream - Numerous recipts - Blue Ant Bluetooth ear piece - Sephora foldong mirror - 1 pen - Lululemon change purse with Gift cards for Lululemon, Sephora and Starbucks - HUMPHREY! - My Camera - Knitting needles (size 8) and 2 balls of yard (I went on a road trip this weekend) - Jar of Advil liqui-gels - Bus passes - Feminine products. - Bic ballpoint pen - Blue - Cheque book - Card for my husb's nephew that I need to mail... Whoops!  That's it!  :D

This is a tough one for me, as I am a Virgo and I am incredibly critical of myself and as far as I am concerned all my habits are bad ha ha ha.  But maybe that in itself is my worst habit.  I put myself down ALL THE TIME!  I am so so so critical of myself it's ridiculous. Nothing is ever good enough for me.  I can never reach high enough and I can never do good enough.  There is rarely an occasion when I am comfortable saying something positive about myself, and I know that is bad.  A few years ago after I got the rug pulled out from underneath me by an ex-boyfriend my Dad made me go see a therapist and she tried to make me say three good things about myself and I almost couldn't do it.  In the end I told her what she wanted to hear and never went back.  I felt stupid. I have tried to figure out where all this negativity comes from, but I can sort of understand where my lack of confidence comes from.  I was teased incessantly as a child....

I am veto-ing this post and inserting another topic - My favourite cartoon as a child. My favourite cartoon character was Rainbow Brite . That girl had it all; great friends, cute sprites and a rad horse .  I used to collect the dolls and I had RB and Lala Orange .  I got the latter one at my Mom's work Christmas party.  I was so excited, and a little jealous of the girl who got the Patty O'Green doll (looking back I realize that Lala had WAY better fashion sense.) Oh man I loved this show!  I loved it so so much as a kid that my aunt made me a Rainbow Brite cake for my birthday.  She worked for hours on that thing.  I am pretty sure that it looked a bit like this: So it was pretty labour intensive.  The problem was that we never got to eat it cause the servers of the restautraunt that we went to dropped it on the floor, and then tried to feed it to us.  Needless to say my family was so pissed we all packed up and left.  I...

7:30 - My husband gets up 7:45 - My husband kisses me goodbye 8:00 - My alarm goes off 8:30 - I actually get up, do my makeup, get dressed 8:45 - Feed the dog and take her out to go potty 9:00 - Make Lunch  - Spinach salad with carrots and red peppers, strawberry yogurt, an apple and a tangelo... Oh and about 12 dark chocolate m&ms 9:10 - Eat breakfast - Cheeios 9:20 - Take the dog out again 9:45 - Put dog in her playpen and leave 9:50 - Clean up the playpen after puppy goes poop just to spite me 9:55 - FINALLY get into the car and head to work 10:15 - get gas (Petro Canada) 10:30 - Get to work (get a SWEET parking spot) 10:35 - Get to my cubicle and boot up my computer 10:40  - Figure out my Internet isn't working, check all the cables, reboot my computer then head off to find the IT wizards 10:45 - IT wizards no where to be found 10:50 - start trying to work only to realize that EVERYTHING I do needs Internet 10:55 - Go...

I live in a cute town in the crappiest province in the first nation of hockey.  (I would argue it's the greatest country in the world!) Canada is pretty much summed up as follows: "Hey, I'm not a lumberjack, or a Fur trader, and I don't live in an igloo, or eat blubber or own a dogsled. And I don't know Jimmy, Sally or Suzy from Canada, although I'm certain they're really, really nice. I have a prime minister... not a president, I speak English and French, not American and I pronounce it About, not A-boot. I can proudly sew my country's flag on my backpack, I believe in peacekeeping, not policing, diversity not assimilation, and that the beaver is a truly proud and noble animal. A toque is a hat, a chesterfield is a couch, and it IS pronounced Zed, not Zee... ZED!! Canada is the 2nd largest land mass, the 1st nation of hockey, and the best part of North America. My name is Joe... and...I......AM......CANADIAN! Than...

Whoops so I fell asleep at like 8 last night, so I didn't post... oh well I am going to cheat and fake the date so no one will know... So my Youtube video is a clip of one of my FAVE shows Top Gear.  It's awesomeness will speak for itself. (The real magic is at 7:16 - classic Top Gear)

Okay so this one was actually pretty easy for me!  I visit foodnetwork.ca RELIGIOUSLY!  I love to cook and bake and so this is where I turn where I want to get creative. I love that whenever I need inspiration I have thousands of recipes at my fingertips!  I'm not afraid to make pizza dough, risotto and fondant au chocolat cause now I can just watch a video when I get stuck! My favourite hosts are Laura Calder of French Food at Home and Giada !  :) I would love to be a food network host, but I lack the culinary training to make everything look easy.  Maybe I'll try one day and post my creation here. hmmmmmmmm.

My recipe today is for red beans and rice.  I am not a vegetarian, but that does not mean that I feel that I need to eat meat at every meal.  The rice and beans combine to create a complete protein, so I find it a very satisfying meal.  I make a big batch and then eat it for the rest of the week. (This recipe comes from " It's just food ") 1 Tbsp. (15 mL) olive or canola oil 1 onion, peeled and chopped 4 cloves garlic, crushed 2 19 oz. (540 mL) cans red kidney beans, undrained 1 14 oz. (398 mL) can of diced or stewed tomatoes or 1 cup (250 mL) chicken or veggie broth, tomato juice or water 2 bay leaves 1 Tbsp. (15 mL) thyme 2 tsp. (10 mL) oregano 2 tsp. (10 mL) salt 1/2-1 tsp. (2.5-5 mL) pepper 1/2 tsp. (2.5 mL) garlic powder 1/4 tsp. (1 mL) allspice 1/4 tsp. (1 mL) ground cloves 1 tsp. (5 mL) Tabasco sauce 1-1.5 cups uncooked rice (white or brown) Heat the oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven set over medium heat. Add the onion and g...

My latest hobby is knitting.  I picked it up about a year ago when my friend taught me how to do the basic stitches, knit and purl.  Since then I have learned a few different patterns and I have recently started my first "real" project, a Gryffindor scarf!  As you can see I am not very far along yet, but I am hoping to have it done by the time part 2 of the Deathly Hollows comes out!  For those of you who are interested it's k1p1 for 43 for 37 rows in maroon then 6 gold then, 6 maroon, then 6 gold - repeat w/ the 37 rows of maroon.  Oh and no the tension is not too bad, but it looks tight because of how it's draped over my leg.

Okay here's the thing, I am not really "talented" at anything.  There is nothing that I do that I can stand back and look at and say "wow I am really good at that."  So I am sorry friends, but I almost can't do this post.  I have been racking my brain all freaking day and I can not come up with anything.  I am an "okay" cook, I used to be a decent enough singer, I am a mediocre horseback rider... That's it.  So I am defering this post for a few days.  I'll come back to it when I find something I am talented at.  Sorry, I'm lame.

Most people will tell you that their wedding day was the best day of their lives and blah blah blah.  For me not so much.  I would not have another wedding for a million dollars.  I hated my wedding, not because it was a bad wedding, quite the contrary most people who were there told me that it was one of the funnest wedding that they've been to.  You see the problem was that I am not the "bride" type.  I do not like attention, I do not like a lot of pictures taken of me and I do not like to have to "make the rounds." Why then did I have a wedding?  One word - Mom.  My mother wanted the wedding, I wanted to elope in the Caribbean.  So alas my dream of a barefoot ceremony attended by only our parents turned into the 80 person wedding that I had always  dreaded.  Actually I shouldn't say that, I had always dreaded getting married in a church and then having a reception in a hotel or golf club.  We got married at the beach, and inv...

Sorry guys, today's post is going to be a little light too cause it's 8pm and I already feel like I am going to fall asleep.  My favourite piece of art, well my fave painting anyway is "Still Life With 3 Puppies" by Gauguin.  This was one of the first paintings I ever really "loved" and I discovered it because of an art project I had to do in the 4th grade. My 4th grade teacher was an artist a HUGE art buff (she later became my high school art teacher.)  She had us do a lot of art projects, one of which was to choose an artist and we had to re-create some of their art, learn about them and then do a talk show interview as the artist.  I chose Gauguin (as I said this teacher was a huge art lover and she exposed us to EVERYTHING from Monet to Dahli to Picasso and everything in between.)  This was one of the few paintings that I re-did (I don't have it any more, but I wish I did!)  Anyway the painting is a MoMA and if I ever get to NYC that is on my p...

Seriously, I don't think that Hallie still reads my blog, but just in case I don't think that this is a good post for her to read cause I don't want her to have any more reasons to cry.  I love you Hallie. xoxoxoxoxoxo This is the first song that came to mind: One More Day is probably the song that makes me cry the most often.  I don't even know what else to say about it, it's a heartbreaking song.  Honestly I think about people I've lost, and even animals I've lost.  I have dreams sometimes where someone I've lost (or my old dog) is there and I have a moment, when I know they shouldn't be there and I wish and wish and wish that I won't wake up so that I can spend a bit more time with them.  (Okay I am even getting a little watery-eyed right now thinking about it, so I'm going to stop.)  Enjoy the song guys!  :)

Well this one is easy for me!  My dream house would be a house with a beach and mountain view like you can get on the West coast.  I definitely love a more "modern classic" look with warm and "homey" touches.  I tend to like clean lines and neutral colors with crisp and bold accents.  Actually this house is my dream house.  It was a prize home about 5 or 6 years ago and I fell in love.  Granted the kitchen is a little too country for my taste, but the scope and grandure of the space made me drool.  They also don't show you the full master suite!  It had an AMAZING closet!  The view was amazing too!  I tend to like the Frech-style house exterior amd this one fits the bill. I love Sarah Richardson (she designed my dream house) to me she can do no wrong.  My dream house (even if it isn't THAT one) would have to be designed by her.  As I go through her portfolio I fall more and more in love... She just seems to be able to...

I have read many non-fiction books over the last little while and so this was another tough one, but I chose a book that really made me look at my world just a little differently. Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things is a book I borrowed from a friend a few years ago.  It was written by Michael Braungart , a German chemist and William McDonough , an American architect and has to do with the "cradle to grave" mentality that comes with consumer products.  Everything we make from paper to steel has a shelf life and will eventually become waste.  Think about it, everything we have from our shoes to our homes will eventually become garbage.  Even when we recycle we are only delaying the inevitable, as everytime we "recycle" something the material degrades. (They use the term " downcycling " in the book.) A little depressing isn't it?   Well it's not all doom and gloom.  McDonough and Braungart are proponents of the ...

So I decided to write this post about the last book that I read.  The last book I read was Waking the Witch by Kelley Armstrong , which just so happens to be the latest book in my FAVOURITE series! The rear cover of the book says: "The orphaned daughter of a sorcerer and a half-demon, Savannah is a terrifyingly powerful young witch who has never been able to resist the chance to throw her magical weight around. But at 21 she knows she needs to grow up and prove to her guardians, Paige and Lucas, that she can be a responsible member of their supernatural detective agency. So she jumps at the chance to fly solo, investigating the mysterious deaths of three young women in a nearby factory town as a favour to one of the agency’s associates. At first glance, the murders look garden-variety human, but on closer inspection signs point to otherworldly stakes. Soon Savannah is in over her head. She’s run off the road and nearly killed, haunted by a mystery stalker, and freaked out ...

I am OCD about a lot of things.  But according to my husband the one that I am worst about is laundry folding.  I am not the greatest laundry folder, but I like to have it done a certain way.  The towels need to be folded in half (bisecting the long side) and then folded in half again (bisecting the short side) and then folding one end to the middle and then the other on top of that so that you can put them away without a raw edge showing (I put it to the back.) However this is only true of bath sheets and bath towels as hand towels are folded only using the first two steps.  I have been known to re-fold all of my towels if my husband does it wrong. Shirts need to be folded so that there are no wrinkles in the sleeves and that they have the correct shape when they're done.  It irks me soooo much when they're not folded correctly... grrrrrrr. So that just one of the many things I am OCD about.  Others include, food, food prepar...

Fewf I almost missed today!  So I have been avoiding the camera lately as I am not happy with how I look at the moment, so this is a tough one for me, but I did my best. This is pretty much typical of most pictures taken of me recently, well this or me with a deranged expression on my face.  I have actually lost about 10lbs recently, but all the pictures of me still have me looking gross, so as I said I am avoiding cameras. This picture was taken last summer at a friend's apartment in Paris.  We visited there as part of our trip to Europe for my brother's wedding.  It's funny going back to Paris, it feels like going home.  It hasn't lost that sparkle, but there's also something very familiar about it.  This building is actually where my now husband (then boyfriend) lived, so it was nice to go back to where it all began... now I am thinking that we should have gone back to the bar where it REALLY all began, but oh well!  It is hard not to laugh sort ...

Surprise surprise it's another animal.  This is Rusty.  He was the first pony that I half-leased.  This photo makes me laugh because that shirt was by Westbeach, and at the time Westbeach was the big brand and I was so happy that I got it, but it was SOOOO big!  ha ha ha. Also the halter and leadrope that Rusty is wearing was my 13th birthday present. Rusty was such a good pony. He belonged to my coach as a child, and when I was riding him he was already in his 20's and he lived until he was in his late 30's!!! (By then he was OLD, in pain and unhappy.  He was put down very peacefully in a field with my coach, his owner for over 30 years, by his side and he was then burried on the property, so he's always close.)  This pony had such a big personality, he was "the king" of ponies and he was the boss of all the boys in the field.  Once we took him on a trail ride to the beach and he got bored so he threw his rider a...

I am not going to lie, this was not my first choice picture, but as I couldn't find my other one I had to fall back on this one.  This is not a particularly great picture, but then again I am not a particularly skilled photographer :P I took this picture while I was on Maui this past year, and truthfully it sums up my trip.  I love Hawaii, it is paradise.  That's about all I can say about that.  Maui is fantastic, the people are amazing, the scenery is breathtaking and the beaches are to die for  ANNNNDDD I am going back in August!!!!!!!  YAY  My very dear Aussie friend is marrying her very sweet American fiance in Hawaii and I am going!!!! (Okay my husband and I are going!)  The best part is that it will be my ummm probably 10th time going and it will be my husband's first time, so I get to live it like it is my first time too!  EEEPPP!  Surfing!!!!!!! Snorkeling!!!! EEEEEPPPPPP! I am very lucky travel-wis...

So originally I was going to take this in another direction, but then I read a post that my friend Crazy Princess posted on her blog (here) and realized that she said it better than I ever could.  So here's my picutre: This is me and my mare Viva.  When I moved to the East I chose to leave her in the West over the winter, so that she wouldn't have to be transported in the winter.  My intention was always to bring her here in the spring when the weather was nicer and the roads would be better.  However, as they always say that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.  Right before my first Christmas in the East she got hurt in her field and since no one was riding her (I couldn't find a half-boarder for her before I left) no one knows how long she was hurt before they noticed.  She had a very small (like hypodermic needle small) puncture in her hock (the backwards knee on their back legs) that went a...

Okay so I may have cheated a little, but come on these photos are priceless. My poor fur children. They look so upset like they're saying "what have I done to deserve this?" As many of you can guess I dressed them up in hopes of getting a picture to make into a holiday card, but whenever we got them close this happened... Yes that is Willow attacking Harley (she doesn't seem to understand that he is not another puppy.) So then I decided to take picutres of them alone in hopes of using some photoshop magic, but then I realized that I am photoshop illiterate and so that didn't work.  But fear not fur children because your struggle was not in vain as I have now found a use for these photos!  (Something tells me they don't feel any better...)

I feel like Oprah (my fellow "O" namer!) You all get a PEPPERONNNNNNNNNI PIZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! (No not so much?) Well in that case here are my 20 favourite things in no particular order: 1. Grande non-fat, no foam, no water Chai lattes from Starbucks.  (and yes my friends all those modifications are necessary for my enjoyment of the drink.) 2. Prego Spahghetti Sauce Original (Yeah I know it's probably full of chemicals blah blah blah, but in a pinch it's AWE-SOME) 3. Levis Boyfriend Skinny Jeans (YAY Skinny jeans that fit my body type!) 4. Ariat Heritage Paddock boots (They're the only paddock boots I'll wear) 5. Movies 6. Chapters/ Indigo (bookstore = Love) 7. Banana Republic Martin Fit Pants (They have petite sizes for us short people and they fit SOOO well!) 8. Hagen-Daaz Dark Chocolate and Raspberry Ice cream (mmmmmm soooooo goood...) 9. My new Black Berry Torch (I LOVE that thing!) 10. The internet (I'd be lost wit...

This one for me is actually easy.  (FINALLY! lol) "In the end we remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."                       -Martin Luther King Jr. It always amazes me how true this quote can be.  I first came across it in high school when I was being bullied and it always made me so mad that my "friends" would never come to my aid.  Mind you that was mostly beacuse they were worried about getting the forces of evil turned on them.  Later in life I realized that this is something that carries with us throughout our lives.  I mean we're sort of always taught to "stay out of it" so when we see stuff going on we hesitate to get involved.  The truth of this quote stands true however.  I remember when I was in a somewhat emotionally, shall we say unhealthy, relationship and my friends all saw it.  They saw h...

Wow Day 4 already? So as far as books go, I read a lot, but I am not too sure which book, if any, I would call my favourite.  There are series that I love, but not one particular book...  My favourite series is the Women of the Otherworld series, by Kelley Armstrong.  I like her books because she switches her narrators up all the time (mostly from book to book, but occasionally within a book as well) so you get different perspectives on their world.  Because of that I feel that the characters are richer and are more relatable (well as much as you can relate to werewolves, witches and half demons...)  Anyway, if I was on a deserted island I would definitely want this series with me. My favourite book right now is  Puppies for Dummies , as I have recently adopted a puppy and am going through the trying process of trying to raise her without her destroying my house.  Seriously what was I thinking? When I was younger (as in in elementary school) my...

Guess what?  I have more than one TV show too!  :) Odette's Top 5 Current TV Shows 5. Top Gear - British humor at it's best!  I love this show, it is SO freaking funny.  Basically it's a BBC show that's supposed to be about cars, and it is, but it's so much more.  They do challenges every episode which can be anything from racing the TGV through France to making a car into a space shuttle.  If you've never seen it, even if you don't like cars, watch it. 4. Big Bang Theory - I love this show and it's not just because I can relate to the characters (my husband is an aerospace engineer and our "group" here used to consist of two physicists and a mathematician) but it is smart as well as being funny.  My husband and our friends all knew someone in University like Sheldon and although none are as nerdy as he is, my husband WILL point out when they make a mistake in one of their equations. 3. The Amazing Race and Top Chef (tie) - As far as...

Okay so once again I cannot honestly be expected to pick just ONE!  I love movies, big time so picking one movie would be almost impossible for me, so we're going to try the genres again!  (Oh boy!) Favourite New Movie- Star Trek What can I say?  I love the Star Trek franchise, I love the casting (Simon Pegg as Scottie?  Genius!) and I love the story.  I watch that movie over and over and I am constantly saying "I love this part" throughout the whole thing.  JJ Abrams you had me at USS Kelvin.  Favourite Old Movie - Sabrina I am SUCH a huge Bogie fan.  I mean how many people can express that much emotion without changing their expression?  I also love Ms. Hepburn especially in this movie.  When she comes back from Paris and David can't figure out who she is, it's just a great moment.  I am super tired and so I won't go into the ins and outs of why I love this movie so much but if you want to discuss it let me know. Fa...

(***Disclaimer I have crappy taste in music, but this is my blog so deal with it.) Okay first off, anyone who knows me knows that I am as indecisive as they come, SO I have decided to divide this into categories: Favourite down in the dumps song: Fix you - Coldplay Okay so this is the best song hands down when you are feeling like crap.  I mean what is more depressing than that song?  Favourite song to get over it: Get Over It (Duh) - The Eagles Love the Eagles 'nuff said. Favourite Musical Score: Tie Les Mis and The Wiz (runner up Wicked) What can I say?  They are AWESOME! Favourite Karaoke Song: Don't Stop Believing - Journey I liked this song BEFORE Glee thank you very much! Favourite 90's song: Mr. Jones - Counting Crows This song brings me back to the greatest summers of my life with the best friends a girl could ask for AND ponies!  I worked at the barn throughout my childhood and summers were the best!  One of the girls was OBSESSED w...

Okay so I am "borrowing" this from my good friend Crazy Princess  in hopes of jump starting my blogging.  The deal is that I will do one post a day on the topics listed below.  I am hoping that I will gain a little more motivation to blog... we'll see.  I am treating this like my weight.  If I mess up I will put the set back behind me and soldier on.  (Also I'll try not to cheat and do like 3 at once and then schedule the post lol) Here's the list: Day 1 – your favorite song Day 2 – your favorite movie Day 3 – your favorite television program Day 4 – your favorite book Day 5 – your favorite quote Day 6 – 20 of your favorite things Day 7 – a photo that makes you happy Day 8 – a photo that makes you angry/sad Day 9 – a photo you took Day 10 – a photo taken over 10 years ago of you Day 11 – a photo of you recently Day 12 – something you are OCD about Day 13 – a fictional book Day 14 – a non-fictional book Day 15 – your dream h...