GIN AND TONIC*

Three

2010-08-31T06:37:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary Husband!!!! Thanks for sticking it out with me these past three years, here's to 30 more!!!! Love you!!!!! xoxoxoxox

Word of the Day...to the power of AWESOME!!!

2010-08-24T21:39:00.000-07:00

So, you need to check out this website!

www.savethewords.org

This fun site is chalked full of words from the Oxford English Dictionary that get very little use and the website seeks to find "adopters" for abandon words.

It's a fantastically fun time waster and educational too! My suggestion is to view the website with your speakers on....

Enjoy!

Another new family member on the way!

2010-08-21T22:33:00.000-07:00

Not me & Mike! But my special cousin Jody and her lovely husband Dave are expecting their third! Due at the end of October, Baby Wyatt will be another lovely edition to our family and we're excited to meet him!

I've got a ton of photos to update the blog with from this summer, including pics of the latest new family member, Aiden, who arrived right on time on July 6th!

Before I start downloading and then uploading those photos, I wanted to give Wyatt his blog shout-out as I've done with Baby Kate and Baby Aiden - apparently a tradition I've created for myself and you all...hooray??.... :)

So, anyways, the nursery that awaits wee Wyatt is one themed around pirates - AAARRRRGGGHHHHH!!!!! - hence the theme in art work below! Again its all from Etsy and I threw in some other nautical themes as Wyatt is half New Foundlander!

Pirate Dingy

Pirate Ship

Carleton the Crab

Angry Pirate

We both go down together!

Boat

Chesapeake Bay Blue

Rock Lobster

Ladyship

Captain Monkeybones!

Lobster

Docking

More posts to come!

HAPPY CANADA DAY!!!!!

2010-07-01T08:16:00.000-07:00

Happy Canada Day Everyone!!!!

I hope you all have a lovely day!

(Do you like my fancy handy work? I'm pretty please with myself if I do say so!)

And I've brought some Canadian cheer to work! After the Americans get over the shock of my cube (I may or may not have decorated it with a flag that wraps almost entirely around it...), they enjoyed this Food Network Strawberries-and-Cream Tart that I made for them as a gesture of friendship and goodwill! :)

Quote of the Day

2010-06-11T22:58:00.000-07:00

King 5 News @ 10pm:

"The US will play England tomorrow at the World Cup. This game will be a rematch for the two teams, the US won the last time they played each other in 1950"

Ahahahaha, seriously?! Rematch?!?! It was 60 years ago!...I think England has gotten over it! ;)

Good luck to both teams tomorrow!...God Save the Queen! :)

Our little garden

2010-06-06T21:42:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pics of our little garden that I planted a few weeks ago! Due to the wooded area directly behind our building, we only get a few hours of direct sunlight a day (provided its not being wonderfully west coast - gray and pissing rain) so we have to jam our few pots of flowers and cute Japanese maple into the corner of the deck that gets the most sunlight. I'm really pleased with how pretty they've turned out! The colours of the stock flowers are so vibrant, the violas are soft and pretty and the lavender is starting to bloom.

After much coercion Moose agreed to have his picture taken in our "garden".

Under foot beauties

2010-06-04T17:24:00.000-07:00

I came across these two beauties today on Overstock.com

I would love love love to have this Sage Green Peacock wool area rug for my living room, provided the colours were true to the way my screen displays them!

And if I had a cream/neutral coloured themed family room or bedroom, I think this Gensis wool area rug would add a nice punch of pattern without overwhelming the room.

PS - the formatting of these pics is driving me nuts! Why do you vex me photobucket???!!!

Yes, I'm lazy but I wanted to share this article...

2010-05-27T16:49:00.000-07:00

And I promise to provide a 'real' post soon. I swear. Cross my heart.

Although this article on the lost of art of handwriting is a few days old and it's likely illegal to copy and paste someone else's work into a blog post, I thought I'd share it as it's a sentiment that I completely agree and identify with (minus judging people). I do recognize the irony of posting an article on handwriting on a blog, but nonetheless, I too am sad that handwriting appears to be going by the wayside. I still love receiving letters and cards in the mail and going to the mailbox is still something I look forward to everyday - as a kid receiving a letter or card was the absolutely highlight of my week.

Anyways, having read India Knight's piece, I am now going to make a more concerted effort to send friends and family hand written letters and cards - it's a nice friendly way to stay in touch and selfishly, it'll be a good way to practice my handwriting :)

Here's the article without further adieu:

From The Sunday Times May 23, 2010 (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/india_knight/article7133889.ece)

The kiss of death for romance
by India Knight

I judge people by their handwriting, which isn’t an especially nice thing to do but can’t really be helped: it’s one of those tiny snap judgments you make almost subconsciously, like the ones about shoes or ties.

If people’s handwriting is terrible — “thick people’s handwriting”, as I uncharmingly call it in my head — they can slide down a notch or six in my estimation; they risk a complete cull if they are older than 14 and dot their “i”s with fat circles (I’m a bit sniffy about fat, round letters generally). This isn’t remotely fair, but there you go; snap judgments seldom are.

Imagine my horror, then, on discovering that I now have thick people’s handwriting myself. I’m writing a book at the moment and last week something struck me as I was sitting in a cafe. I was without a laptop but I did have a (paper) notebook on me, so I started writing by hand.

First two pages of A4: no problem. Third page: thick people’s handwriting with knobs on — I might as well have been using my toes. My hand ached almost immediately; two more pages and my fingers had practically gone into spasm. Worse, when I got home, I could make out only one word out of 10 in the last few pages. I felt as if I was trying to decipher a doctor’s prescription, except the scrawl was my own.

Like everyone of my generation, and the generations before mine, I used to write reams without thinking twice about it. School essays went on for pages and pages without any discernible loss of calligraphic ability. University essays were practically books; you’d rub or shake out your hand every 5,000 words and just carry on. Novelists wrote in longhand — in fact, I know a couple who still do. Everybody wrote all the time — notes, letters, postcards, instructions, essays, schoolwork, billets doux.

Now nobody does — not even someone like me, who spends all day writing for a living. The only things I handwrite, I realised last week, are shopping lists, birthday cards and my signature on the odd cheque. Everything else is typed. (The other weird thing is that I can’t organise my thoughts properly on paper any more. They make sense only if I can see them before me on a computer screen. I’m sure it means some important hand-eye part of my brain is slowly atrophying.) I love technology more than most but this is really a pitiful state of affairs. A love email — or a love text — is never going to be the same as a pen-and-paper love letter of the kind you carry around with you until it disintegrates. The letter you’ve always wanted to write to your dying father loses something by being delivered via Outlook with a cheerful “ping!”; the diary you keep electronically will never have the emotional heft of the bulging, tattered five-year version you had as a teenager; an ecard isn’t the same as a Valentine.

It isn’t just the sadness of all of the above that concerns me (which it does — it’s a loss of the poetic, a loss of romance on a vast scale). It’s also the fact that we’re forgetting how to write — how to hold a pen and form aesthetically pleasing letters.

Does this matter? Well, yes: if you believe — I do — that beauty brings little darts of pleasure into your day, that a beautifully addressed envelope gladdens the heart. Then, yes, it matters a lot.

You pick your font carefully when you type, or you may even pay some absurd company a fortune to come up with a logo and typeface for you, so it seems mad not to apply the same care to your handwriting. (This is particularly noticeable when you get a typed letter on beautifully designed, letterheaded notepaper — everything made just so, to convey a particular impression — and find, three-quarters of the way down the page, that the sender signs his name like a monkey.) I’m constantly having a go at my older children about their handwriting, which actually makes me feel ashamed on their behalf. They, in turn, are constantly pointing out that nobody “needs” handwriting any more — not when you can type your homework and email it in.

Of course, even that’s going to change: by the time they’re at university, nobody will type by pushing keys — the exertion! — any more. We’ll all be gently stroking our touchpads, and presumably human beings will eventually end up with tiny withered hands that have giant, splayed, spatula-like fingertips.

A survey of 1,188 British schoolchildren aged 7-14, by the charity World Vision, found last week that one-fifth had never received a handwritten letter and one-tenth had never written a letter themselves. In the previous week alone, almost half of the children questioned had either sent or received an email or a message on a social networking site.

This is better than nothing — it’s communication, after all — and although some of the messages or emails will have been in phonetic text-speak, at least the social networking sites are full of voluble grammar Nazis. And I like the fact that children can type — if I were boss of the world, all children would be taught to touch-type at the age of five.

They would also be taught how to write properly, with care and attention given to letter formation, and encouraged to send letters and cards. It’s nice to email your granny — but how much better to send her something you sat down and wrote thoughtfully, rather than dashed off in 30 seconds; something that caused you to find a stamp and meant you bothered to walk to the post box.

Writing is magical when you think about it: you can communicate anything you like just by drawing a sequence of little loops and squiggles, and anyone who honestly believes that the loops and squiggles don’t have a ton more charm than Times New Roman has a section of their brain missing. Handwriting a letter is usually an act of love, which no one could ever say about typing.

Happy Easter and Spring Cleaning

2010-04-04T20:22:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter! I hope you were treated to chocolate and treats!

This gorgeous photo is most definitely not mine but one I pilfered from the very beautiful blog Full House.

With this first rite of spring, I've been inspired as of late to spring clean around our apartment and started with my closet full of clothes! The following photo was taken by me - as if the quality doesn't automatically scream point-n-shoot - and is evidence of my effort! As always, I could have never completed the task with the support and supervision of my Moose! Note the stink eye he's giving me...hhhmmm...

On this particular Saturday (about 3 weekends ago), I managed to purge 12 pairs of pants, 15 tops, 4 sweaters, 1 pair of shoes, 1 pair of sandals, 1 suit and 1 purse - and of course I still have full closet! It felt good to declutter and to get the closet cleaned and organized. I then went through our outdoor/deck storage and laundry room and tidied and purged them too. Moose did his part and purged some of his toys that he never played with and donated them to the Everett animal shelter. And in the vein of tidying and reorganizing, I've done the same with my blogs-I-love column to the right - I've moved some of the less active blogs or those that have gone silent but are super resourceful to the So Helpful column.

I have a LOT of updating and recapping to do here and hope to get to it this upcoming week! Not only did is this post based on historical events but I've been extremely horrible with not posting photos from a very awesome trip in January that we took with my family and my day extrusion to Vancouver during the Olympics. So fingers crossed, I can get all the photos upload, formatted and posted this week!

Have you heard of Instructables?

2010-03-17T21:46:00.000-07:00

It's a really neat DIY website where you can learn how to make almost anything you can think of! I plan on trying this Instructable recipe on the weekend - the 5 minute chocolate cake!

Heellllooooo cake!

There other project I'd like to try is this one - hack a regular pilot pen and replace the ink cartridge with a fancypants Mont Blanc rollerball refill! Instant upgrade for $12!

Happy Instructable-ing!!! :)

PS - Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Statement of the Day

2010-03-11T15:43:00.000-08:00

"I’m so relaxed and happy here, at this hour, that I can turn over a Marc Jacobs bag, look at the price, and not immediately vomit. It’s all so perfect. Like the world would be without all the people."

Ahahahaha! :)

This gem comes from an article in The Times (London) - see, they're not totally evil, only during major world sporting events apparently - and is about how lovely department stores can be at 9:30am, the store in this piece is Selfridges on Oxford St, London.

She's ssssoooo awesome!!!

2010-03-06T23:06:00.000-08:00

All things old

2010-03-05T21:13:00.000-08:00

So this is a bit of a hodge-podge post compiled of a bunch of little things that I have just consumed from my couch in the past hour and bare with me, there is a common link.

Randomness #1

So Who Do You Think You Are?

This was originally a BBC series, which I believe continues to air over the UK, and was adopted a few years ago by the CBC and now (finally) has come to America! What is it? Well, it is a weekly program that traces the family history of celebrities. What's cool is not that these people are celebrities but rather how fascinating genealogy is and how much you really don't know anything about where you come from until you have the opportunity to dig in to the family gene pool and story vault. Tonight was the introductory episode of the U.S. version and Sarah Jessica Parker's mother's maternal line was featured (btw, her mother is adorable). SJP's family did not disappoint, her lineage had quite the story to tell from the California gold rush to the witch trails of Salem! Nerds likes me get a kick out of these kind of shows and I can't wait until I can start my genealogy search! This leads me to the next bit of randomness.

Randomness #2

So 10 years ago I started looking into my dad's parental family as I already knew a few things about them which included the name of the first Rivard to set foot in Canada from France, Nicolas Rivard. I ended up with a fair amount of information and was even able to trace the family back by two generations into France! Fastforward 10 years to this past December and I found the old word doc I had created 10 years earlier (happily not corrupted!) and started to Google the French ancestors and the places they were born and was thrilled with what I found! First, there is a plaque in a French village noting Nicolas and his new world compatriot's baptisms in France. Then with the help of Google maps, I was able to get an idea of where exactly in France my peeps were from! As I was doing all this searching one random night in December I was getting so excited and suggested/told Mike that if we get over to France again, I want to travel all to these villages and see if I can find out even more about these people, like my own Who Do You Think You Are!

Randomness #3

While cruising through PerezHilton.com - you know you all read it too! - I came across this super cool moving picture! It is from 1903 and is the first ever Alice in Wonderland movie! The British Film Institute Archive found the old reel and although it was badly degraded through the wonders of technology have been able to restore it. It can make for a long 9.5 minutes but it is very cool to see what they were able to do with movie making technology 107 years ago!!!!

Check out:

So the common link? All these things are old. That's it, that's all.

Anyways, bon weekend!

PS - Mike received some great news today! He's been named the Administrative Professional of the Year for his wing command! Yay! Congrats babe! xoxoxoxo

O Canada!

2010-02-27T20:43:00.000-08:00

So we may not have "Own(ed) the Podium" BUT on the penultimate day of the Vancouver Olympics, we, Canada, do have the most GOLD MEDALS of any country (!!!) and provided Germany doesn't catch up tomorrow, we will have established the record number of gold medals won by a host country in a Winter Olympics! And even if we walk away with 25 or 26 medals total (Dear God/Yahew/Budda/Allah/Vishnu/Krishna, please let us win tomorrow!!!!!!), we still did a fantastic job and we should be immensely proud of our athletes, the cities of Vancouver, Whistler and Richmond and VANOC.

Oh, and Dear International Media - in particular The Times (London) - SUCK IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Especially you, The Times, you've been nothing but miserable, rude, pathetic gits these past two weeks, and well sorry mates but we've now got 13 Golds and the world has said that they've had a great time in Van...so there...I only hope London goes as well because won't you have a lot of egg on your faces then.... :)

PS - To everyone else who isn't The Times, apologies for the aggression but they've really been mega jerks in their coverage and it was both against the spirit of the Olympics and the levelheadedness typically displayed by the paper - basically poor sportmanships and poor taste.

PSS - I DO realize that my ranting against them (nearly) lowers me to their level but you know what? Sometimes bullies need a taste of their own medicine!

The Devil Wore Blue

2010-02-24T11:25:00.000-08:00

So in my new job I essentially get paid to read the news all day long….I’m responsible for other stuff too but mainly it’s about reading. Specifically, I get paid to read news and coverage on Cloud Computing – at times tedious and at times extremely interesting. One thing I’ve come to learn is that in the world of IT, social media is one of the fastest ways to find out about software problems, outages and hacks and the fastest of all social media outlets in this regard is Twitter.

I’ve never bought into Twitter, in fact I did and still do fundamentally disagree with it as there really is such a thing as over-sharing and quite frankly, why do people think that other people care that they’re going for lunch now/they’re back from lunch and had a pastrami sandwich/they’re now in a food coma at their desk but are stoked about Friday’s night concert/blah, blah, blah, blah…… And while I disagree with it I do recognize its benefits – it’s a fantastic and free way to promote products/issues/events/across-North-America-road-trips (a la Alex and Luke :)) and in the world of IT it is a valuable resource for finding out about customer issues before they get through to a helpdesk and in the world of PR it allows you to get on top of an issue (hopefully) before it blows up. So this is all to say, I’ve had to sign up for Twitter and now have a bloody account. I only follow people for work – mainly IT gurus and wanna-be gurus and of course, Alex and Luke – who, by the way, accepted our invitation to stay with us if they find themselves in the Seattle area (I hope they do!) and who will be on CityTV in TO!

Anyways, I keep reminding myself that I’m not really on twitter, I’m just obliged to stalk people online for my job. And that’s ok.

Word of the Day

2010-02-22T17:20:00.000-08:00

Panoply

1.a wide-ranging and impressive array or display: the dazzling panoply of the maharaja's procession; the panoply of European history.

2.a complete suit of armor.

3.a protective covering.

4.full ceremonial attire or paraphernalia; special dress and equipment.

It's origin date backs to Greece around 1570 - 1580 and can be used as an adjective: panoplied or unpanoplied.

I came across this word today in my daily coverage reading on cloud computing - gripping stuff I tell you!

Here's the line:

"In the world of software development today there is a broad panoply of software development models."

When I first read the word I thought perhaps it was IT related so I checked on dictionary.com and then realized how clever it was to use it in this context because it both fits and it's a word that you almost never see. Well played Brad Smith, well played.

Ok, nerd out!

Opening Ceremony

2010-02-12T21:57:00.000-08:00

The opening ceremonies are FINALLY being aired here in the United States...now that it's 10pm....when in fact the opening ceremonies began 4 hours ago! What the F NBC?!!!!!! Seriously, why the hell did I have to sit through 4 hours of local news and endless promotion of other NBC programming and way way too much yabbering by a plethora of hosts and commentators when the open ceremonies were in fact going on live?!? Pathetic NBC, pathetic. I would have watch it online on CTV's website however non-Canadian IP addresses were blocked. Anyways, while this was incredibly annoying, it's not really important when compared to the death of the Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili - how truly heartbreaking. And his poor family and team members. We watched the Georgian team enter into BC Place and I nearly lost it; I thought they were very brave and that it was very touching that they received a standing ovation as well as having the opening ceremony dedicated to their fallen teammate.

Switching gears, Canada just entered the stadium (3 hours after the fact...) and I really like the retro/classic look The Bay went with for these games. The toques en mass looked fabulous! Anyways, the cultural part of the show has begun so I'll sign off for now but before I do, who wants to play a little game of I-spy? Did anyone else see Princess Anne in the crowd when Great Britain entered the stadium? I did!

PS - I went to work today in my Canada Olympic sweatshirt, t-shirt and mittens (yes, the mittens too, my emails today were completely incomprehensible but that's ok, it was for a good cause...) and this jerk on my team started shouting Canada sucks and that we're going down in hockey - I told him to not to crow too loudly because humble pie has a nasty after taste! Jackass!

PSS - This cultural part is awesome - the technology is beautiful! And now Sarah McLaughlin is singing! Yay!

1 More Sleep!

2010-02-11T21:56:00.000-08:00

I went to Van this past Saturday to run errands and do some shopping and there was a buzz, kind of like in the lead up to Christmas. People were decked out in Olympic gear and lots of cars were flying Canadian flags. Tomorrow I will be going work decked out in my Olympic gear and with a flag from my car!

I'm excited. I may even get brave enough to go open next weekend to check it out...maybe...we'll see how heinous the crowds are...

Anyways, this year is our year! I hope all the athletes from every country have a wonderful experience but I hope they don't mind if we keep most of the medals! :) GO CANADA GO!

PS - A little update on the US Speed Skating Team - Stephen Colbert and the Colbert nation have done it - they raised $300,000 for the team! And it has had quite the impact - check out this article.

Free Valentine's card!

2010-02-07T20:48:00.000-08:00

I just came across this gorgeous blog - Ruffled - a wedding blog that posted photos from people's unbelievably stunning vintage themed weddings. Check out, the photos are so beautiful, it'll make you sick.

It's on this website that you'll find this very pretty and free pdf for a Valentine's Day card.

Enjoy!

For all the bumps out there

2010-02-07T17:02:00.000-08:00

As previously mentioned my cousin Shaun and his wife Chrissy are expecting their first bundle of baby in July! And a little boy to be named Aiden! As always in my perpetual cruising of Etsy and whilst in search of a pressie for wee Aiden, I've come across these rather funny and cute shirts for his expectant mommy and daddy!

For Chrissy and the other babymamas out there:

Culpeper General

Disco Belly

Disco Belly

Jellybean Apparel

Jellybean Apparel

KSS Maternity

What's Kickin'

Jellybean Apparel

And for the babydaddys:

Jellybean Apparel

Jellybean Apparel

And Aiden was not forgotten! He will be getting this:

A shopping cart covered from Nancy Deliz via Etsy. It came in the mail yesterday and I took it with me to Target today to make sure it was both easy to use and would, in fact, fit over the child seat and I can happily report that it received passing marks all around! I'm excited for him to enjoy germ/plague-free shopping experiences!

PS - Blogging is way more fun than the Super Bowl. Fact.

Alex and Luke - the social media project

2010-02-05T13:19:00.000-08:00

So I came across this video the other day and thought I would share! These two explorers are setting off from Toronto on March 20th in a VW Rabbit for a year long trek across North America. Here's the interesting part, they have no route planned out and no accommodation booked - everything they will be doing on this trip will be dictated by the public at large - including what they eat! For those of us who live in office towers, we can contribute to their travel plans via Facebook, Twitter, their blog and this Youtube posting. I think this is a pretty cool adventure!...Jane, do they have place to stay with you? ;)

www.alexandluke.com
@alexandluke

Five bucks says by the time their year is over they'll have been on Canada AM and the Today show.

Part 2 - Christmas!!!

2010-01-31T16:45:00.000-08:00

I'm finally getting around to posting Christmas photos...on the last day of January...

Anyways, Mike & I headed home to Ottawa for Christmas and New Years. On route to Bytown, we stopped in Burlington to visit with dear friends, Sarah and Lee and the McDowell family. Sarah & Lee were home for the holidays as well as they live over the in the UK. You can also find Sarah over here www.mcwoods.blogspot.com

Whilst down in southern Ontario we visited Niagara Falls - my second time and Mike's first visit. Having been there now in both the spring and winter, I think it is way more impressive in the winter - all the ice and microclimate is very pretty. After spending a few days with them, we took the train up to Ottawa where we hung out with family and friends and ate and ate and ate some more! :) We also learnt that my cousin Shaun and his bride Chrissy are expecting a little boy in July!!!! Yay! A new baby in the family!

So without further adieu, here's our Merry Christmas!

Niagara!

Ok, where's the hot water...

Check out the ice!

My Aunt Joan had a great idea to make us all wear wacky/tacky Christmas themed hats for Christmas Eve dinner!

Sad elf....!!!

All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth! My godson Payton!

Moosey unwrapping one of his many Christmas presents! He's not the least bit spoilt!

Happy New Year!

Craft Hope

2010-01-20T13:15:00.000-08:00

For all us of who can only watch the devastation in Haiti from the comfort of our safe and structurally-sound homes, there is yet another way we can help outside of texting and making other donations. Craft Hope. It's an Etsy shop set up by volunteers and by crafting folks donating their goods. All proceeds will go directly to Doctors Without Borders in Haiti. I watched a very distrubing video on BBC today about one of the field hospitals in Port-au-Prince there is no anesthetic, no sterilization, and very little supplies for the international medical teams to work with. Gut wrenching. I hope all those working tirelessly at the Port-au-Prince airport can make some head way today and tomorrow in getting the much needed supplies out to the people and those working to help them.

Here's the link: www.etsy.com/shop/crafthope

I just purchased these:

December 2009 Recap - Part 1: Hawaii

2010-01-18T20:53:00.000-08:00

That is so long overdue! Here's a not-so-brief recap:

As previously mentioned at the beginning of December I got to go with Mike to Honolulu! Mike was there for work and I got to be a lady of luxury! Sleeping late, hanging out poolside and checking out the beaches. The following is a boat load of photos - enjoy!

The view from our room!

Kailua Beach

Bellows Beach - this is a stunning beach! Mike & I spent 2.5 days there because we loved it so much. The beach is located on the Bellows Air Force Base so a portion of it is opened to the public and the remainder is open to military personnel and dependents!

We also went to the Dole pineapple plantation - tasty!

And here are some randoms:

Christmas photos next!

It ain't just for breakfast anymore...

2010-01-11T20:28:00.000-08:00

You need to check out this website! It is hy-ster-ical!!!

www.theoatmeal.com

Be sure to read:

Why I'd rather be punched in the testicles than call customer service

Why I believe printers were sent from hell to make us miserable

How a website design goes straight to hell (this one gets funnier as it goes)

There's also a bunch of genuinely informative little scripts about grammar, coffee and beer.

Anyways, check it out - you will enjoy it!

Words of the Day

2010-01-06T15:31:00.000-08:00

Nefarious:
extremely wicked or villainous.

The word originated between 1595 - 1605 and was used to describe as against divine or moral law. And apparently a synonym is flagitious.

Flagitious:
shamefully wicked, as persons, actions, or times.

This gem of a word originated way back between 1350 - 1400. Geez, those middle-age folks really knew how to have a verbal throw down!

I came across Nefarious while reading an article on Facebook security/privacy changes and it lead me to Flagitious, which I thought was too good of a word not to share.

"God, you're being ssssoooooo flagitious right now!"....or something like that.

Oh and in addition to these fantastic words, apparently every year for the last 15 years the University of Lake Superior in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan (who knew there were two Saults?!) releases a list of words that should be banded in the new year for being overused or just plain obnoxious in the previous year. Their list of words that should be banded in 2010 are:

shovel-ready,
in these economic times,
stimulus,
toxic assets,
too big to fail,
transparent/transparency,
czar,
tweet,
app,
sexting,
friend (as a verb),
teachable moment,
bromance,
chillaxin’,
Obama-prefix words (such as Obamanomics)

I have to say I agree with all of these picks and would have also added socialists/socialism to the list because that term has been so compulsively misused by America’s right (ie: Fox “News” and the GOP) that every time I hear it I want to slap the user with a 2x4. Just saying.

Anyhooooo, I will be posting in the next day or two all my photos from Hawaii and Christmas - be forewarned, it is going to be a very lllllllllllooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnngggggggggg post!

New Year

2009-12-31T11:34:00.000-08:00

Well, I've been a very bad blogger as of late and will remedy it as soon as I am back in WA and have access to my Hawaii photos and can upload photos from our visit home. We leave here (Ottawa) on Saturday and I'm already sad to be leaving. I hate leaving. It's snowing right now and my suburb looks like its been captured in a snowglobe. Everett is the complete antithesis of a snowglobe...anyways...I am happy to be returning to my Moose and the new adventure that awaits me on Monday.

What adventure is that you ask? Well, I got a job. A real full-time permanent employee status job! And I start on Monday with what appears to be a week of orientation and then maybe expected to hit the ground running after those 5 days of grace. I'm looking forward to starting anew and to learning all the ins and outs of my new company and new field, it will be both interesting and a challenge - exactly what I've been looking for!

Anyways, this is my last post for 2009. 2009 wasn't a totally stellar year so here's to 2010 - may it be fun-filled and spent with those I love! I hope to get online with photos at the ready on Sunday!

Peace out and Happy Happy New Year!

Mele Kalikimaka!!!

2009-12-05T23:19:00.000-08:00

Or the alternative title of: Robyn has a lucky feather stuck up her bum!

This is just a quick check in to say that tomorrow morning mike & I will be flying off to Honolulu for the week! Hellzzzzz yessssssssss! How did this all come about? Well, Mike will be in Honolulu for a week long training course and I'm tagging along because this is one of those trips that the Navy says its ok to bring your spouse! Yay Navy! My accompanying him was a last minute decision - we decided Monday and I don't really feel prepared or like its actually happening but we're getting up at 4am tomorrow morning so I guess its real! :)

In other news and lucky feather related - I have an incredibly thoughtful and generous husband! I got my Christmas present today - 20 days early but for good reason - Mike bought me a digital SLR Nikon camera!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT!!!!!!!! I KNOW!!!!!!!!!!!! Its something we've both been wanting for a few years now and Mike already owns 4 Nikon lenses so that's how he came to purchase this camera. Nikon has been pretty consumer savvy, they could have made the SLR models with their own specific lenses thus forcing consumers to buy all new sets of lenses, but they didn't. If you have a Nikon lens that was made in the last 60 years, it will work on today's SLR models. I like things like that. I haven't figured out how to use it yet (we've been busy packing and tidying) but that's what the 6 and a half years of flying time is for!!!!

I'm bringing my laptop so I'll post photos of this weekends activities and Hawaii in the coming days!

PS - Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaiian for Merry Christmas! Think Bing Crosby...

So many little things...

2009-12-03T22:32:00.000-08:00

To get caught up on! I've been both busy and at times a little lazy! But here's a little catch up from the past few weeks.

1) I finished my year-long contract on November 17th and while I'll miss some lovely friends I made there, generally, I'm relieved the year is over. It was a bit of a rough go.

2) I've been keeping myself busy with applying and interviewing for work and being a little Susie Homemaker as evidenced below...

3) American Thanksgiving was last Thursday and my mother-in-law prepared a lovely and tasty feast! I contributed to the celebration with Paula Dean's Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle! It was very tasty y'all!

4) I really like to bake, its fun and I like the level of concentration it requires, focus without intense focus. Anyways, the only hindrance to baking is that it leads to high caloric consumption! Therefore, with my extra time, I've decided to fatten up my puppy instead of myself! I've taken to creating dog biscuits for my Moose.

Check out my newest toy! A 3 cup Cuisineart chopper/grinder! De-lightful!

These tasty treats are the result of leftover chicken thighs & drumsticks from Mike's birthday dinner (frozen raw, not caked in jambalaya!), pinto beans, whole wheat flour, chicken broth, canola oil, grated carrots and grated apples. Moosey approves of them and when I pull them out, he actually licks his lips! He will be sharing them with his buddy Angus.

5) Lastly, last weekend I went to this neat little shopping area in the city of Bothell called Country Village. Country Village is a little western looking 'town' that was built in the 1970s. It has been and continues to be home to a variety of antique, decor, clothing and toys shops owned and operated by women. In one of those antique shops, I found a vintage travel poster for my favourite place on earth, Edinburgh!!!! I saw it and absolutely had to have it. Sarah, brace yourself!

Edinburgh is (in my opinion) one of the best places on earth. It is beautiful, majestic, historically rich, fun, and filled with kind and cheerful people. I was very lucky to spend a year and a half there, doing my master's degree, working and meeting some of my nearest and dearest friends - Sarah (http://themcwoods.blogspot.com/) is one of those people and Mike & I are thrilled to be crashing in on her family's Christmas on our way back to Ottawa for our family's Christmas! You should check out her blog and Christmas card, which is fantanbulous!

Anyways, at a later date I'm going to do a Edinburgh post! Bonne nuit.

Update from the Colbert Nation...a few days late...

2009-11-12T14:37:00.000-08:00

As of Monday of this week $202,000 had been raised for the American Speed Skating Team in 6 days since Stephen Colbert and his Nation/Legion of Fans agreed to sponsor the team! Impressive!

In addition to this achievement, Monsieur Colbert put "Canadian Iceholes" on official notice - apparently the Vancouver Olympic organizers won't let the American team practice at the Richmond Oval in the lead up to the games. Letting teams practice on the ice ahead of time is apparently the norm in speed skating competitions but for some reason, the VANOC and/or the Canadian Olympic Speed Skating Team are being less than hospitable and this landed Canada on Stephen's 'notice' list. I guess the American team is just going to have to bring its A game.... :)

Lest We Forget

2009-11-11T08:40:00.000-08:00

www.combatcamera.forces.gc.ca

20 and 1 years ago today

2009-11-09T12:57:00.000-08:00

Twenty years ago today my parents called me and my sister into the living room to watch as Germans from East and West of the Berlin Wall reunited joyously for the first time in 28 years. The Berlin Wall had come down and with it came the beginning of the end of Communism and what had once been the USSR’s vast empire. As far as elementary school-aged children went, I was a news junkie. I watched the news in the morning as we got ready for our days at school and work and I watched the local news every night after dinner. I distinctly remember watching this particular broadcast and I knew, without being told, that this was a huge event.

Taken from a google image search

I was 9 years old when the wall came down and based on what they taught us at school, I knew about 8 things about the USSR: 1) Berlin and Germany were split in half, 2) people had to line up for food and/or sometimes just bread, 3) everyone is the USSR drove the same model of car, 4) the government told when your family was going to take your holiday, your parents couldn’t decide that for themselves, 5) you couldn’t leave the USSR unless the government gave you permission to and it was very very hard to get permission 6) Pawel S. in my grade 2 class was from Poland and could only speak Polish and Russian because they (the government) wouldn’t teach the children English, 7) Ronald Regan and Mikhail Gorbachev had a lot of meetings, those two were always on the news and lastly, 8) Mikhail Baryshnikov, the premier ballet dancer in Russia and the world throughout the 1970s and 1980s, had defected from the USSR, which meant he could never go home to visit his parents again and I remember this making me feel very sad for him. This is what I learnt/retained from the elementary school teachings on communism. Fast forward 18 years to when I began working in Brussels and one of my counterparts was from Latvia and only a few years older than me. I took the opportunity to confirm whether the information I had been given as a child was Western propaganda or actuality – standing in line for bread, laundry detergent, red meat and chicken were all part of his daily life as a child. And yes, his parents only took vacations when the government told them they could. Fascinating. I could throw my poli-sci degrees into this post and write a few long paragraphs on what it meant then and in the intervening 20 years but I won’t because you can go to the BBC or The Times or The Guardian for more in-depth analysis by people who were actually there and lived it.

Taken from The Guardian's website

Switching gears…

1 year ago today my little monkey-butt, Moose, was born! My, how he’s grown! We’ve bought him a pile of new toys, which he will have in tatters before bedtime tonight. We’ve wised up and will very rarely buy him toys at the pet store because while he’s only an 11 lbs dog, he can chew through anything! Dollar store or bust! So Happy 1st Birthday to our Moose!!! Sniff, you’re growing up so fast!!!

This is Moose on his first night home with us, he was 12 weeks old, he hated us (seriously, you should have seen the comtempt in his eyes) and had walked himself into his cage and passed out from a day of nerves and new places.

One of my many mild obessions...

2009-11-06T15:32:00.001-08:00

There are a number of things I have mild obsessions with: stationary, art prints, the UK, France, lamps, cheese and tea towels. I've labeled them mild, instead of full-on-full-blown-oppressive-yet-exhilarating obsessions because while I love them I manage to restrain myself from packing our apartment full of these things. Instead I'm a very keen window shopper who occasionally indulges by giving in and buying one or some of these things...except the UK and France, I looked into it, I simply can't afford the mortgage to acquire both swaths of land...shame...

Anyways, in the last few days and apart from my Olympic chatter, I've come across some absolute gems in the realm of tea towels! They're pretty and cute and sophisticated… or at least as sophisticated as a tea towel can get! And there’s lots of them…and this why they stay a mild obsession and do not come home with me…where would Mike keep his clothes?

From the awesome online store Keep Calm Gallery and in their new(er) shop ToDryFor.com

Branch Handmade

www.etsy.com/shop/branchhandmade

Brookish - um, how awesome is this? Mr. Darcy's 1st proposal to Lizzie

www.brookish.etsy.com

Humble Collection

www.humblecollection.etsy.com

Mr. PS

www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5091410

Nesta Home

www.nestahome.etsy.com

Oola Designs

www.ooladesigns.etsy.com

Petit Coterie

www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6505304

Show Pony

My mom would love this one...

www.showpony.etsy.com

Skinny La Minx

www.etsy.com/shop/skinnylaminx

Teresa Sheeley

www.etsy.com/shop/teresasheeley

Hello Handmade Paperie - the photos of this aren't great but its a 2010 calendar, pretty no?

www.hellohandmadepaperie.etsy.com

Emma Bridgewater

www.emmabridgewater.com

Bon Weekend!

I stand corrected, Ralph Lauren throws it back to the 30s and apparently we're hackers...

2009-11-04T09:37:00.000-08:00

So, apparently I stand corrected! When I was in Vancouver on Sunday and took the photo posted below of the Olympic countdown clock which read 131 days until the Olympics, it was wrong. Because today, the news and The Bay in their email to me (me specifically don't you know) announced that there was only 100 more days until the start of the 2010 Winter Games! Well that's dandy, but does VANOC know? And is this a sign of things to come? Brace yourself Vancouver, brace yourself...

In other Olympic related news today, Team USA revealed its uniform/gear for the Games - 1930s inspired pieces created by Ralph Lauren. They are nice, if not a little plain but what I particularly do not like about them and quite frankly find Mr. Lauren to have exercised poor taste, is that they are festooned with the enigmatic branding of polo player and horse and his initials. I think the term I'm looking for is... egotistically tacky?

America’s Olympians are representatives of America. They are representatives of their respective sports and they are representatives of their states, towns and families. They are not representatives nor models employed by Ralph Lauren Polo & Co. And while Mr. Lauren’s rise to fashion world stardom and riches follows the story of the ‘American dream’, I wonder if his designs and logo strewn clothing is representative of America and American athletes going about their daily lives outside of Manhattan? Moreover, given the economic climate and the hardships many Americans have faced over the last 12-18 months, how inviting and broadly representative are these portable symbols of athletic and sporting pride when the men’s sweater pictured below is priced at $385 and the women’s is priced at $165...i mean, really?

(BTW, what is up with Ralphie cutting off people's heads? We already have headless manikins, are models next? How will they smoke to stay so thin?)

America’s Olympic strengthen has always been in the actual matter and substance of the Games, athletic prowess, but if the US Olympic Committee and teams want their compatriots to take a more active part and investment in their athletes and their organization, than they need to bring the Games to the masses - and one way would be through broadly appealing and affordable branding. I simply see can't large segments of the population with 'Get R Done' bumper stickers picking up one of these jaunty sweaters...just saying…

Anyways, Ralph Lauren rant aside (and please note I do generally enjoy Mr. Lauren’s clothier creations), an update on the American Speed Skating Team and the Colbert Nation!!! Apparently, Canada is to blame for the initial technical difficulties the donation page experienced in its first 24 hours… Stephen said that the donation links had been removed and a note reading, "Sorry about this" had been left in their place – ergo, the politeness of the note meant that we North of the 49th Parallelers must have been to blame…good times ;) However, all was not lost, as Monsieur Colbert announced last night that with technical difficulties resolved, a healthy sum of $40,000 had been raised already! Awesome!!! I think this is very exciting and a fantastic way to get that buy-in from the general public that I mentioned above. They, the skating team, too have been hit by the economic fallout of market-speculation-gone-wild and need more than a vintage/WASPY-esque uniform to get through the Games. And by the by, I wonder what Monsieur Colbert thinks of the new threads?

Lastly, and just for total clarity, while I support the Colbert Nation in their support for the American Speed Skating Team, once the opening ceremonies start, its red-and-white-maple-leaf pride all the way baby! I will be rooting for the home team!

Canadian expats...we're everywhere!

2009-11-03T15:49:00.000-08:00

So to keep along the lines of all things Canada...because no one ever gets bored of that subject...on Saturday I will be going to my first ever Canadian Expats Living in the Seattle area event! Whoot-whoot! :)

I recently discovered this crew of Canuk's through another Canadian here at work. She and I met rather accidently about a month ago when she asked me for directions to someone's office and noticed my antique postcard of the Parliament buildings pinned up in my cube (good eye). She then sent me the link to the aforementioned group and I've been waiting for an event or meet-up to come up ever since. Anyways, this Saturday there will be a ladies only brunch at the very yummy Portage Bay Café, just a stone's throw from my work. I'm looking forward to meeting ladies from the true north strong and free...hehehe...hopefully none of them are hosers ;)

Only 130 more days...

2009-11-02T20:20:00.000-08:00

Till the world comes to Canada and Vancouver more specifically. Yesterday we made one of our quarterly-ish visits back 'home' to Vancouver to top up my supply of Shreddies and Alberta steaks...as you do...and decided to put my birthday present from my Nanny to good use by swinging through The Bay to get ready for my preferred Olympic sport - armchair obnoxious fingernail-biting fan!

In order to partake in this particular Olympic sport, one must first be kitted out in highly fashionable and super cool clothes:

Thanks Nan!!!!

And if The Bay hadn't run out of these, I would totally gotten this too...

Aaaannnnddddd, if I had seen these, I would have to snapped these up too! WICKED!

Aaaaaannnnnnnddddddd, as I type this I'm watching the Colbert Report and Monsieur Colbert just announced that his show and the 'Colbert Nation' aka his legion of fans will be sponsoring the US Olympic speed skating team! Awesome! What happened to get a Comedy Central show to sponsor a Olympic team? Well the Dutch bank, DSB, went under yesterday. There was a run on the bank as well as truck loads of bad debt and voilà, the bank, which was the American speed skating team's sponsor was no more. So tonight, moments ago, Stephen Colbert stepped up and the speed skating team will now (hopefully) have all the money they need to make it to and through the Olympics! I'm going follow this story and therefore, so are you!

Lastly and more Canadiana propaganda (!), The Telegraph (London) has named Montreal as the second happiest place live in the world! Tabarnouche!!! I really like MTL, we have often gone there for shopping, weekends away, enroute to family in Odanak and for the reason that the newspapers vote of confidence, the very awesome Just for Laughs festival! Mike and I also went there the day after our wedding for a very mini honeymoon. Next time anyone's in Montreal, you need to stop by Reuben's for a smoked meat sandwich and Pier Gabriel for amazing French food!

Félicitation!!!

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T20:08:00.000-07:00

As you can see Moose is less than impressed...however, his disgruntled-ness has provided us with much entertainment! This was the only photo of about a dozen I took where he doesn't look like he's in extreme pain! Poor Moosey!

Anyways, here's the pumpkin I carved and the Red Velvet with Cream Cheese Cinnamon Icing cupcakes I made for the potluck lunch we had at work yesterday.

And if I had a large property with a large budget I would set up my yard like this and wait for tricker or treaters in style!

From Country Living

I shake an angry fist at you Seattle!

2009-10-23T16:44:00.000-07:00

So for the second time in 9 months one of my tires went completely flat while I was on the road! I've been driving since I was 17 years old and in all that time never once had I encountered a flat tire and yet somehow I've now managed to get 2 in less than a year! Moreover, I had never once gotten a chipped or cracked windshield and again in less than a year that too happens to my car twice! Aaaarrrrgggghhhhhh!!!!

Dear Seattle,

Clean your streets!

Love,
Robyn

Et Bon Weekend!

Art, baby, art

2009-10-20T15:34:00.001-07:00

I think its been well over a month since I said I would post some cute and sweet baby/kid themed Etsy-found artwork. And today I'm very inspired to create such a post as my friends Amy & Chris have just announced
that they are expecting a little one at the end of April! So exciting! A big congratulations to them!!!

So here's to celebrating a new bundle of joy and the talented folks of Etsy-land!

Penny People

www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5058067

Nella Designs

www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5587246

Made by Girl

www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5352520

John W. Golden

and for the older kiddies (I also think these would have an excellent use and application in the office setting!)

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=64040

Le Canot Rouge - because every Canadian child should have a print of a beaver or moose...!

www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7806937

Bella and Boo

www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5108910

Sarah Jane Studios

and a personalized family tree!

www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5317715

Yay Amy & Chris!!!!

Update on Urban Cheese Craft - there's a blog!

2009-10-16T21:18:00.000-07:00

Hellz yes!!!!!

http://urbancheesecraft.wordpress.com/

And there's recipes!!!

Jane and the rest of the Boutette ladies, this one's for you!!!!!

Yuuuummmmm, mozzarella

More Etsy awesomeness

2009-10-16T14:21:00.000-07:00

Hello and happy Friday!

Its a very soggy gray and dark day here in Seattle. The rain can't decide between pouring, misting or drizzle. And the sky hasn't gotten any better than early evening dusk. Ah, yes, fall/winter settled upon the West Coast!

However, all is not lost! The perpetually bright and shinny spot, Etsy, has not disappointed! A feast for the eyes over there these past few days. Here's some gems I found and hope you enjoy!

How awesome!!! Make your Goat's Cheese and other cheese delights kits!!!

www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6800381

From PaperDoll Woodshop - a super cool and cute magazine rack

Also from PaperDoll Woodshop is this rather fantastic antler frame and I'm thinking I may just have to buy it for a photo of my Moose!

www.paperdollwoodshop.etsy.com

And I really really want this clock - but in black - doesn't Her Majesty look lovely? Thank you Naked Decor!

www.nakeddecor.etsy.com

Bon Weekend!!!

Happy Birthday Beth!

2009-10-13T13:15:00.001-07:00

Today is my little sister's birthday! Although she is no longer little and even owns her own house, she's still the kid who wouldn't stop talking and could talk a mile a minute, who would laughed hysterically at the banana song, loves turnips and went for years only ordering chicken fingers at restaurants, and who, thankfully, no longer steals my clothes!

Happy Birthday Bethie!!!! I hope you had a great day!!!!

In other news, yesterday was Thanksgiving in my home and native land and as always (or at least since I moved from home in 2003), I had a group of people over for dinner to celebrate. And not surprisingly we have a ton of leftovers! In order to move away from turkey sandwiches and turkey and potatoes,I'm going to throw together a turkey based soup tonight and hopefully by Friday we will be turkey free!

The day the internet ran out

2009-10-09T13:07:00.000-07:00

Do you ever have those days when you feel like you’ve seen everything on the internet, like the internet just ran out of websites and stuff to see and do? That’s me most days, I get the urge to announce “Aaaaannnndddd done. I’ve seen everything on the internet that isn’t pornographic or violent in nature”. I don’t, of course, because that would annoyed my coworkers but I do have the urge nonetheless to stand on my chair and shout. Today happily was not one of those days – today was a great internet cruising day! Yes, my life is that full…!

So today’s internet finds come through the really great blog How About Orange (www.howaboutorange.blogspot.com) – Jessica is incredibly crafty and a lot of her projects are right at my level, beginner. Check out these two neat-o projects:

How to make a bow from a magazine page

Photo from How About Orange

Spooky packing tape transfers

Photo from How About Orange

Through her website I also stumbled upon Megan over at Plum Pudding (myplumpudding.blogspot.com) and her DIY cleaning kit! She collected a bunch of recipes for make-your-own cleaning products which are very environmentally friendly and I’m looking forward to trying them out and seeing how effective they actually are. Here’s a soft scrub recipe – I wonder what the aspirin does????

Soft Scrub for toilets and tubs (and more)
1 cup baking soda
3-5 drops tea tree oil
¼ cup liquid castile soap
2 aspirins, powdered

Mix all ingredients and add enough water to make a paste. Store in a squeeze bottle. To use, apply with a sponge, scrub and rinse thoroughly.
From Make Your Place by Raleigh Briggs, 2009.

And now to switch gears from germ removal to birthdays (a natural conversational bridge) - this is pre-emptive birthday shout out to Carisa! I hope you have a super duper day tomorrow! If you lived here in Seattle, I would bake you this cake:

A Root Bear Float Cake from Joy the Baker

Yuummmmmmmm! And Bon Weekend!

Jamie Oliver, you disappoint me...

2009-10-07T10:56:00.000-07:00

Dear Mr. Oliver,

Can you please tell me what you were thinking when you instructed us culinary novices to add 700 grams of long grain rice to our jambalya for only 15-20 minutes? And what exactly made you think that it was a brillant idea to mix 70% dark chocolate with dark beer and cocoa powder and only use 5 tablespoons of sugar to sweeten a bread pudding that consisted of a whole loaf of white bread? Seriously? What exactly was running through your intentionally deselved hair topped head? Explain.

Not so in love with you right now,
Robyn

Ok, here's how my angry letter to young Jamie began - on Friday and as previously posted here, it was my husband's birthday. We decided to be fiscally responsible this birthday season and dine in instead of out. So in my daily scouring of The Times (London) I found Jamie's recipe for jambalaya and after reading the list of ingredients I thought it would be a great birthday dinner for Mike. Unfortunately, a well cooked jamabalaya did not result by following his directions. Apparently 15-20 minutes was sufficient amount of time according to Jamie for long grain rice to cook....well, its not. By the time the rice was almost cooked (adding an extra 45 minutes to his 20 and it was still somewhat el dante) it was 9pm, the vegetables and meat were practically pulverized and I was getting fed up. I'm not sure if the time was a typo or if the recipe was an adaption of a slow cooker recipe or if in Jamie-land rice cooks really quickly but in normal world, rice (not instant rice or with the help of a rice cooker) takes at least 50-60 minutes. I would like to try this recipe again as it is an inexpensive meal to prepare for a large group and it had really good flavour but I think I would cook the rice separately and then mix it in with the rest of the food and let that all simmer together for 15-20 minutes. Maybe that's what he meant to say but unfortunately was left out.

Here's what ended up on our plates (apologies for the crappy photo)

As for the second item in my letter - the chocolate and beer bread pudding for which I posted the recipe here a few weeks ago and put on my list of 30 things to do by the time I'm 30 - well, I can cross it off my list and out of my life - a little dramatic perhaps but it is deserved. I followed the recipe to the letter and end up with a soggy pile of very bitter and acidic tasting bread. The sauce was very lack luster and by following his directions of letting the bread sit in the cream/milk for 30 seconds, it absorbed way too much liquid and even after leaving it in the oven 10 minutes longer than what was called for, it was still very soggy. It was probably one of the least enjoyable desserts I have ever had. Truly. I will likely not attempt it again but if I did, I would use a less dark dark chocolate, perhaps 52%; I would add more sugar; I would add a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg; and I would replace the beer with either Baileys or Kahlua - probably kahlua. Anyways, here's what the yucky mess looked like (and again apologies for the crappy photo):

So yeah, Jamie is not on my favourites list at the moment. I think he and I need a time out. Too bad Jamie, we could have been great together!...

Happy Birthday to the Sailor of the Quarter

2009-10-02T10:37:00.000-07:00

This is Mike around the age of either 5 or 6 and today is his birthday! But wait, there's more - yesterday he found out that he was named (for a second time!) Sailor of the Quarter for his command! Double whammy! I'd said his new year is starting off rather well wouldn't you? :)

As the Navy blocks blogspot.com (boo), I can reveal the menu for this evening's birthday dinner that I began to prepare last night. We'll be feasting on Jamie Oliver's Jambalaya (a recipe from his latest book), a green salad with lemon dressing, some sort of bread which I'll pick up on the way home and a chocolate cake a la Hines (there was no way I could get off work early today to bake from scratch). I'm excited and a little scared of the jambalaya - it calls for chorizo (could that be any more riddled with fat???!!) and 2 red hot peppers...H2O will be on standby. And of course, in keeping with my tradition of not always thinking things through, I'm hoping it turns out alright because I've never made this recipe before. Awesome. I'm also excited for him to open his pressies and I hope he likes them!

And speaking of birthday's today is Gandhi's 140th birthday! Shout out to him. I wonder what he would think of us and the state of the world today...?

These super cuties are school children in Bhopal, India who yesterday were taking part in birthday and cultural celebrations to mark Mr. Gandhi's big day. I think they're too adorable!The photo is from Reuters.

So Happy Happy Birthday to my Hubby and Gandhi! xo

Still in love with Chair but not with table and a little note on Sin

2009-09-30T11:43:00.000-07:00

So on Sunday while running around for last minute birthday stuff for hubby – he’s 34 on Friday – I popped into Pier 1 in Everett to see if perchance they would have the table and chairs I posted about below. Well, happily they did and the chairs are lovely AND comfortable! The table however is poo. The lovely vegetable green colour in the photo below is not remotely close to the actual pukey mint green that adorns the base of the table in real life. Sad.

Moving along and completely changing gears, last night I came across this little gem of an article from Wired - the 7 deadly sins mapped across America! Fun! The information was collected and graphics created by Kansas State University and the accompanying intro from Wired notes “Christian clergy, likely noting the Bible Belt's status as Wrath Central, question the "science." Valid point—or maybe it's just the pride talking.” Ahahahahaha!!!! :)

Anyways, I thought this was funny and worth sharing! Note that the Pacific Northwest particularly suffers from greed, envy and pride - its like Puffy/P-Diddy once said, Mo money mo problems!

Chair love and other stuff

2009-09-25T13:01:00.000-07:00

So I am forever pouring over websites looking for furnishings to fill our abode - its really become a sickness because I dedicate hours to this pursuit. One of my prefered websites for decor ideas and inspiration (athlough there are many blogs I love too) is Decor Pad. One of the really great features of this site is the Look for Less section - it lets a girl think some of those stunningly designed rooms may actually be acessible to those making less than a 6 figure salarie! Anyways, as much as I pour over these sites, I haven't found a particular look or style that I'm ready to commit 100% to BUT every once in while I come across something I absolutely love and I know it's what I absolutely want and the chairs and table below are it!

Both are from Pier 1 and I love the café/French farmhouse look of these chairs and as for the table, I think its unique but not so wild & crazy that it came mesh while with other styles and looks. The sad thing about the table is that it doesn’t expand so we couldn’t buy it for a dining room table :(. And the sad thing about the chairs is that they’re $119 a piece!!!! {Choke} Maybe the sale fairies will magically sprinkle sale dust on them and drop them by $50 and then we’ll all live happily ever after! Le sigh…

Aaaannnnndddddd, if the sale fairy worked her magic and I won the lottery and bought said table set, I would have these Etsy finds on my table top for those who came over for a visit - the stoic sheep would be filled with strawberries and the wicked vintage serving tiered tray would be covered in lovely little pastries! I think this would make me very popular no?

Keep Calm & Carry On bowl by Rae Dunn http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5334039

Tipsy Time Machine http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7011217

Of course it would be easier to win the lottery if I actually played it...maybe that will be this evening's activity...hmmmm...

Bon weekend!

30 Things To Do Before I'm 30

2009-09-23T11:06:00.000-07:00

So today marks the beginning of the end. I’m 29 years old today. I find myself both sad and honestly, a little scared of what it means to be turning 30 in a year. I freaked out on my 15th birthday because I was half way to 30 and at the time 30 meant you were old. Well, I’m certainly not getting any younger but I still don’t feel like a grown up either. I still feel like that 15 year old but with an additional 14 years of experience under my belt. In effort to get myself on track for the next decade, I came up with a list of things to do before I’m 30 which turned out to be harder than I thought it would as I wanted the list to be more than tangible just lofty ideals. Drum roll….

In no particular order:

* Lose 30lbs and stick to it

* Print off photos & create albums from the last several years

* Stay in better touch with friends and family

* Go home for a visit other than Christmas

* Work towards getting my career on track

* Moisturize daily – I never do this and my skin hates me for it

* Drink at least 3 glasses of water a day – I don’t like water, its weird, I know

* Wear the skirts and dresses I own instead staring at them in the closet

* Go for walks after dinner

* Learn how to drive a standard/stick-shift car

* Use the cookbooks and food magazines we already have

* Research our new posting like crazy, wherever that may be

* Call my Nanny more often

* Buy a used sewing machine and learn how to use it

* Get back to jewelry making and my little Etsy shop

* Read more books – both the light fluffy stuff and more topical politico stuff

* Go for a walk/hike in one of Washington’s rainforests

* Visit the Oregon Vortex because I like weird stuff like this

* Go to a ballet

* Frame at least 1 of the 2 giant antique posters we bought in Brussels

* Hopefully find and commit to upholstery for our wingback – I’m cursed with my mother’s fabric/upholstery indecisiveness!

* Learn how to reupholster a wingback chair!

* Bake Jamie Oliver’s Chocolate-Beer Bread Pudding and Joy the Baker’s Peanut Butter and Bacon Cookies (this will defeat the 30 lbs lose, but perhaps they can be a reward? Hmmmm…)

* Start to acquire my ‘fancy’ tableware

* Go to the gym or do a workout dvd weekly

* Treat myself to a manicure, pedicure and massage

* Throw away clothes I haven’t worn in 4 years

* Give sushi one more chance – we’re already at 3-strikes-you’re-out, but a fourth attempt won’t kill me

* Get through my permanent residency application process without having a nervous breakdown from a) the cost, b) the amount of repetitive paperwork, c) the inevitable losing of paperwork in the system, d) all of the above – I’m not worried about the interview, we’re married for real, point finale.

* Find several missing items that have gone awol since my move from Vancouver

So here’s to 29! 365 days and counting till the next major milestone.

PS ~ A very Happy Birthday to my birthday twins Erin and Mark!

Quote of the Day

2009-09-22T15:57:00.000-07:00

"I think I should start drinking at work because its got to be healthier than all the chocolate I eat...right?"

~ Trudy A of Seattle (one of my colleagues)

You know you've acclimatized to the Pacific Northwest when...

2009-09-20T10:00:00.000-07:00

rain is threatening and you still choose to sit outside at Starbucks. That's what I did yesterday while waiting for my car's oil to be changed.

Flee fleas!!!!

2009-09-18T11:38:00.000-07:00

That's right - the Rivard-Cook household is currently home to a pack of unwanted visitors - fleas! This morning as I was finishing up getting ready for work, Moose was on our bed playing when I noticed a bug race across him. When I took a good look at him, I realized he was covered in little black dots and saw second bug! Disgusting! So I called my colleague Trudy who happens to be a very knowledge and long time dog owner and she informed that he has fleas. A google search confirmed her diagnosis. Friggin awesome.

So after some minor panicking at my inability to be a good puppy-mommy, I went out and bought some flea/tick shampoo and flea/tick medicine/serrum and Moose had a bath. While he dried off, I went into overdrive with washing everything I could think of that he had touched/sat on and then went out to Pet Smart when it opened at 9am to get carpet and upholstery santizer. The laundry is done and the furniture has been sprayed down and our bedroom has had the carpet cleaned but there's still more to do and all the fun from this morning awaits me when I get home tonight. Good times.

Moral of this story, if you take your dog to a beach, make sure he's wearing a flea collar.

Bon weekend! I hope yours is flea free!!!

You, Me and Francis Ford Coppola

2009-09-16T20:58:00.000-07:00

Long time, no blog, what gives? So I’ve been absentee from the blog for a week mainly because I’ve been distracted by other things but I’m back and with a photos and updates of our trip to San Francisco which we took over the Labour Day weekend. San Francisco is a great city and we had a really nice time as the weather was perfect and we got to see nearly everything we had set out to see. We had two fabulous dinners, one at the excellent Café Claude which was feet from our hotels and came recommended by Time Out magazine and it certainly lived up to its praise. The other meal was at Kuleto’s, recommended by a colleague, and for being located on a street that looked and felt like a tourist trap, this restaurant was anything but a trap – it was lovely Italian food served in a lovely and surprisingly intimate (for a large) restaurant.

As for the title of this post – as you’ll see from the photos (I took about 300 photos so below are a smattering of them), Mike & I stumbled upon Mr. Coppola’s very own restaurant in which we not only enjoyed our late afternoon lunch but were also treated to a unintended sideshow by Mr. Coppola’s family/friend v/associates (we’re still not sure the connection these guys had to the director but it was obviously close) who were without a doubt members of the mafia from New York. Awesome.

All in all, San Francisco is a great weekend visit and an excellent cardio/leg work out. If you’re ever down there, my recommendations would be this: 1) you must have at least 1 meal at Café Claude and 2) avoid the wharf unless you want to see the sea lions or take a tour of the bay – it’s a total tourist trap and could do with a good power wash.

Without further adieu:

Here is Mike inside Francis F. Coppola's restaurant - Mike wanted me to take the mafia godfather's picture but I dare for fear of ending up by in the bay with bricks in my pockets...just joking! I'm sure deep down, he was a very nice man.

After a rather epic trek up one of the many many hills in the city, we were awarded with this lovely view

We took a boat tour of the bay as part of our Expedia package and nearly missed out on seeing the Golden Gate Bridge up close and personal - this is what the bridge initially looked like - a black specter in the fog

but then the captain turned to boat hard starboard and then we got this view

Yay! Its a bridge!...

One of the great things about San Francisco is the amazing architecture and architectural details that you can see pretty everywhere in the city, here's a sampling (and this is only a small sample of all the photos I took of houses):

This sign is a fixed to the fence shown above - I guess this hood was a bit rough during a time when $10 was a serious award

How amazing is this gate?!

Chinatown in San Francisco was very impressive

We also went out the the San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts, designed in 1915 by Bernard Maybeck - it is a very beautiful park and it is definitely worth making time for.

On our last day there we made our way to the Gaybourhood and it was fabulous! It was very warm that day so we stop in at Orphan Andy's for root beer floats - it had an awesome 50s/60s dinner dive feel and the burgers were the size of a small child!

Also in the hood is the Harvey Milk Plaza

Hopefully sometime soon Prop 8 will be shot to hell (where it belongs) and Mr. Milk's dream for equality will finally be realized.

San Francisco is known for its trolley but perhaps what is less known is that the city is also where vintage trolleys go to find rebirth. Below are two trolleys from the 40s mid-West America and the early 20th century from Milan, Italy. Both were very pretty!

Lastly, I swear this is the end of the deluge of photos - one of the only things worth going to the wharf is the sea lions. They're amazingly huge stinky beasts and here are 3 of about 20 photos I took of them.

All in all, I give San Francisco...

Oh Yum!!!

2009-09-03T12:37:00.000-07:00

At lunch time I like to torture myself by reading delicious recipes online while shovelling salad into my mouth. Incidentally, none of the recipes I read are ever for salad.

I came across this gem moments ago on The Times (London) website and knew it had to be shared! We're hoping to have our friends Shaun & Melissa over for dinner soon so perhaps this will be the after dinner sweet treat. I'm also thinking my friend Kate would appreciate this as a pick-me-up during our résume bonanza in a few weeks.

Jamie Oliver's bread pudding and chocolate-beer sauce

Serves 8-10
*I've added the imperical measurements next to the metric

For the pudding

~ 5 large eggs, preferably free-range or organic
~ 5 tbsp cocoa powder
~ 5 tbsp golden caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
~ 300ml single cream (10.5 fluid ounces)
~ 700ml semi-skimmed milk (24.5 fluid ounces)
~ 1 x 800g loaf of white bread, ends removed, cut into 1cm-thick slices (1.76 lbs or 28.5 ounces)
~ 100g good-quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids) (3.5 ounces)
~ 1 small handful of pecan nuts, roughly chopped
~ 1 punnet of strawberries, to serve (optional)
~ Vanilla ice cream, to serve (optional)

For the sauce

~ 100ml dark beer (3.5 fluid ounces)
~ 100ml double cream (3.5 fluid ounces)
~ 2 tbsp golden caster sugar
~ 100g good-quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids) (3.5 ounces)
~ Sea salt

Heat your oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Crack your eggs into a large mixing bowl with the cocoa powder and sugar and whisk until smooth and silky. Gradually whisk in the cream and milk until combined. Cut your slices of bread into rough triangles and add them to the mixing bowl. Push them down gently and leave for 30 seconds, or until they’ve soaked up that lovely chocolate custard. It’s best to do this a few slices at a time rather than all at once.

You’ll need an ovenproof dish or tin about 30cm x 25cm x 6cm (12 x 10 x 2 inches) deep. Layer your soaked bread triangles in the dish, then pour over any remaining custard so it fills the dish. Leaving the chocolate in its wrapper, smash it against the worktop to break it into chunks. Unwrap and poke these chunks between your slices of bread. They’ll melt into wonderful warm pools and be nice little surprises as you’re eating.

Scatter your chopped pecans over the top of the pudding, then sprinkle over some sugar evenly from a height. Pop the pudding into the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until it’s golden and the custard is delicately setting, but still wobbly.

While that’s happening get a medium pan over a medium-high heat and add your beer, cream and sugar. Keep stirring and as soon as it comes to the boil, take it off the heat. Smash up your chocolate as you did before and stir the whole lot into the hot cream mixture with a small pinch of salt. Serve your pudding with your chocolate-beer sauce drizzled over the top. Lovely with a few fresh strawberries and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Extract from: Jamie’s America by Jamie Oliver is published on Thursday September 3, 2009.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/recipes/article6809206.ece?token=null&offset=0&page=1

And should I run out of time to prepare the above described delight - I'll make this instead from The Times Five ways with peaches article:

Baked with almonds

Halve and stone the peaches and pack them, cut side up, into a baking dish. Crumble some amaretti biscuits and soften them with a little Amaretto liqueur. Spoon over the top of each peach, scatter with flaked almonds and bake at 180C/350F/gas 4 for about 20 minutes or until the peaches are tender and the topping golden.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/article6734485.ece

LOL-tastic!

2009-09-02T13:14:00.001-07:00

Check out this video I just came across on facebook from my undergrad friend Bruce.

Hy-freaking-sterical!!!!

Enough said!

Part 3 and the last installment

2009-09-01T16:35:00.000-07:00

Before I start with the last installment of our trip home, I just have to brag about the meal Mike made me last night for our anniversary! The boy did good! For dinner he prepared swordfish with a champagne and grape sauce! What kind of sauce is that you say? It’s the ridiculously good kind!!! The sauce consisted of champagne, butter, thyme, dried mustard, fish stock, capers and sliced grapes. The fish stock, mustard and thyme were cooked together first and allowed to reduce by half, then the fish, champagne and capers were added and once the fish had been cooked through, the butter and grapes were thrown into the pan and it was moved from the burner. It was delish!!! And I think this is a sauce that could be nicely paired with a roasted chicken because swordfish doesn’t have a fishy taste to it but does have a very meaty flavour and consistency. Anyways, it was a great meal and I really appreciated his efforts!

So, back to Bytown! Part of the reason for our visit home was to witness my baby cousin Shawn getting married to the lovely and fun Miz Chrissy. I can remember Shawn as a newborn – my first memory of him was watching him getting his diaper changed and he still had the remnants of his umbilical cord. But I digress, on August 22nd Shawn and Chrissy wed to the delight of their family and friends! The wedding was a lot of fun and Shawn & Chrissy both looked fabulous as did their wedding party!

Their vows, with my super zoom on so the image is a bit hazy

I stayed for their photos to drive them and their truck back to the reception - as you can see a storm was rolling in. This is Shawn and Chrissy with their maid of honour and best man - Sarah & Simon.

A few days after the wedding and the day before we flew back here, we went up to my Uncle Danny’s cottage on Lac Leslie. The lac/lake is about an hour and half drive from Ottawa on the Québec side of the river and is a really pretty and peaceful place. Danny and Sally’s cottage is located in a cute little bay and the lake itself was named one of the top 5 cleanest lakes in Québec in 2008. It was great to be able to spend time with my parents, sister, uncles and aunt! And yet again, Moose had a whole new set of adventures – it turns out he’s a boater – he loved being on my uncle’s pontoon. I can’t wait to get back up there next year!

The amazing brother and sister duo of Jake & Jersey! My uncles 2 year old golden retrievers

Kisses in the mud

Even though Moose doesn't seem to care for the water, he proved he could swim

The amazing duo amazingly spend hours fishing every day as evidenced by these photos. They walk for hours in the shallow water looking for fish. Their attention span and focus is pretty cool.

Out on the pontoon - I swear my parents have eyes and not just sun glasses as place holders!

Beth & Moose riding the waves

Captain Dan, Uncle Garry and Sally

My dog boats...seriously, its like he lives the high life everyday or something...

Nessie of Lac Leslie and her accompanying boat mark some of the shallower and rocky patches in the lake

Part 2 of Many

2009-08-31T13:41:00.000-07:00

The Byward Market has been a central fixture in Ottawa since 1827, although between then and now its taken on several incarnations. For me the market is the centre of downtown and was/is a fixture of summer living. On Saturdays my mom, me, my sister and my grandmother would head down to the market to get our fresh produce for the week ahead and would often end up in one of the many restaurants for post-shopping refreshment. In my younger years, all the farmers were local and came usually within an hour or two of Ottawa from both the Ontario and Québec sides of the river. Nowadays, not all the produce is local to the Ottawa area but from the province of Ontario or Québec.

In addition to the fresh produce which is sold in the market stalls, the surrounding shops trade is fresh meat, fish and cheese, European delicatessens, locally owned cafes and bakeries and shops that sell all sorts of Canadiana paraphernalia - Caribou droppings anyone? It should be noted (and to clarify some of the pictures below) that in February, the second-coming of Christ aka Barack H. Obama - came to Ottawa on his first official foreign visit. He went rogue after his meeting with our Prime Minister and made a stop at the market. You'll see from the photos below that effect it had on the local merchants...nerds...

Anyways, without further adieu, the Byward Market!

My Mom and one of the local farmers

Blueberry pie anyone?

Uuuummmm, cheeeeeeeessssssseeee

My Mom & Dad check out a basket of garlic - I guess they're not vampires after all...

One of the market's bakeries was visited by President Obama on his trip to Ottawa and from this bakery he bought 2 of their maple leaf shaped cookies for his daughters...

Bakery: "OMG, President Obama is going to buy some cookies for us! Take his picture, take his picture!!!" {Squeal} "We're going to have to post this in the exact spot where he bought the cookies!!!"

Bakery: "I know, let's blow up the picture we took of him with the cookies to largest frame size that Ikea sells and then let's rename the red and white iced maple leaf shaped cookies that have CANADA written on them to...wait for it...Obama Cookies!!!!" "Brilliant - soon we'll be headed for cookie world domination!!!"

(ok, ok, in all likelihood, that's not at all how it went down and no doubt meeting this president is a geniune highlight of one's year/life but Obama cookies...puh-lease!)

La Botegga Nicastro - delicious pizzas made for you by real Italians and a shop that is both a feast for the eyes and the palate!

My parents checking out the wall of oil

12 year old balsamic vinegar $99.99, 15 year old balsamic vinegar $150.00, 25 year old balsamic vinegar $199.99....

We'll be back in Ottawa for Christmas and hopefully it'll be a white one so I can show-off how pretty the city looks under snow!

Happy Anniversary Husband!

2009-08-31T09:48:00.000-07:00

Today is our 2nd anniversary - how he survived me this long, I don't know but 3 cheers for him!!!! Love you babe!

I'm taking this opportunity to self-indulgently post one of our wedding photos!

And probably one of the best all time wedding party photos - The Zoolander!!!

More Ottawa photos to come later today!

Part 1 of Many

2009-08-28T09:35:00.000-07:00

I'm back! And feeling fairly recharged! Our trip home was great and this will be the first of a few posts on the subject!

But to deviate for a moment - yesterday was a great day! Why you ask? Because yesterday I finally found a long lost friend! Yannick of Australia!!! I have been searching for her online for a few years now and with no luck. I've even tried tracking down her brother but my google searches still produced no joy. Yesterday, I tried Facebook again and viola! There she was! So, to recap how Yannick & I became friends: in grade 6 my teacher, Mr. Rogers, had a friend teaching year 6 in Keysborough, Victoria, Australia. We spent 3 weeks learning all about Australia and at the end of it we wrote generic introductory letters that Mr. Rogers sent to his friend Down Under. After several weeks, we each received letters back from the Australian students we had been paired with and Yannick and I became pen pals. We wrote back and forth for several years and spoke on the phone a few times as well but lost touch about 10 years ago. Well, I sent her an email yesterday to make sure it was her and yes, she is Yannick of pen pal days! It totally made my day and my week! I can’t wait to get caught up on everything that’s been going on with her!

Anyways, back to the trip! This trip home provided a lot of firsts for my little boy Moose. It was the first time Moose was in his other home country (I’ve decided and have granted him Canadian citizenship through my citizenship, all legal you know, naturally…), the first time he stayed in a hotel, the first time he flew, the first time he went for a swim in a hot tub…, the first time he went off-leash, the first time he went to the cottage and swam in a lake and the first time he went out on a boat. He was a total superstar on the plane and the Air Canada cabin staff couldn’t believe how good he was. He loved my parent’s home and its 2 flights of stairs, which on the first night there he ran up & down one flight of them 8 times in row as though it was a new toy. That same night he got his first hot tub experience by (hilarious) accident – earlier in the evening he had been burning off energy by jumping on top of the hot tub cover so he could get a good view of us and the backyard. A few hours pass and we humans decide to get into the hot tub to relax, however, Moose being 10 months old and a canine failed to realize that with the hot tub lid off and as I was about to step into the tub he sailed through the air and plunged into the hot water and then struggled against the jets to get to the surface. Now this probably shouldn’t be all that funny, but it took us all (Moose included) by surprise and when I pulled him out he looked like a drowned and frightened rat! I wish I had had my camera there to capture it.

Apart from Moose and his adventures, we humans had a great time at home too. Summer finally arrived in Ontario just a few days before we did so Mike got to experience 28C with 10 degrees of humidity – gloriously gross! We went into Ottawa a few times and Mike got to see his first Canadian Changing of the Guard. They have the same ceremony outside of Buckingham Palace (and likely Her Majesty’s other palaces) but her guards wear rather drab gray tunics where as our Governor General’s guards are kitted out in striking red! Below are pictures of the ceremony and I’ll post more of the city over the next couple days!

Finally, the last of the photos attached below are that of the newly decked out Vancouver aiport. The last time I flew out of YVR was April 2008 and much of the domestic arrival/departure gates were in various stages of construction or renovation and having forgotten what it previously looked like I was super impressed at how spiffy it looks now and so much so that I took pictures - odd, I know, but its really pretty, trust me. And I think the changes will make a great first impression for those arriving for the Olympics in a few months time!

Les photos

Parliament Hill (Centre Block) - the ceremony begins several blocks away from Parliament Hill with the Guard marching up Elgin St to Wellington St and then onto the Hill itself.

Marching onto the Hill - the old looking building across the street with the Canadian flag is the old US Embassy - they built a new one a few blocks away 10 or 12 years ago and now the old building has been turned into a portrait gallery.

The Band

The red tunics are made from 100% wool and their dapper hats are made of real bear fur. I've heard that the temperature inside the hats can get up to a torturous 50C/122F!

And as a result of the thermal uniform, additional members of the army are on standby to pick up those that drop, like this guy on the stretcher. Had the day been sunny and hotter, several other Guards would have likely passed out.

Mike taking it in!

Last one of the Guard...I promise!

Now for Vancouver's airport! Below are photos of the new & improved interior!

Children's tv area

Aboriginal sculpture installations at the gates

The Bathroom - ok, I realize its a bit odd to take pictures of the airport bathroom and in other contexts with people behaving inappropriately, it would no doubt lead to arrest but the tile work and wood doors have to admired! Some hotels don't even have bathrooms this nice! And you could tell that the tile had been laid by hand. Very impressive.

And last but not least - a few shots of Moose being off leash at the park!

We threw the ball about 5 times before he decided it was too warm for him to continue! He really is a West Coast boy!

Congratulatory Side Note: My sister-in-law and friend, Keisha, just today got a job with Veteran's Affairs!!!! She's going be to the region's Veteran's Services Representative!!! YAY!!!!!

Prints on Etsy & Count Down to Take Off!

2009-08-13T14:40:00.000-07:00

Long time, no blog. And in less than 2 days (43 hours to be exact but who's counting...) I'll be at home in Ottawa with likely limited posting opportunities. This week hasn't been a banner one but my goal is to keep with space light and upbeat so today's posting is a compilation of prints/posters from Etsy that I l♥ve! Some of these are more on the motivational side of things, which would have come in very handy this week at work! And others are just fun and remind me of places I've lived.

I'll likely do another instalment of this post but with a focus on all the fabulous kiddy inspired art work. I wish I could plaster my godson's room with all those super cute prints but:
1) he's a 6 year old boy
2) he would rather receive toys then art for his birthday and Christmas (duh Robyn!)
3) a lot of the really cute prints are too baby for a big boy of 6!

Oh, why can't he be 2 again????!!!! (My cousin, his mother, is probably cursing me right now, I didn't live through the 2's, she did!).

Anyways, here are some visuals from the world of Etsy.

From Looky Loo ~ Rumi Poster

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5336060

From Hijirik Studio ~ Live What You Love Letterpress Print

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5584012

From Roll & Tumble Press ~ Dream Big- Handprinted Letterpress

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6356691

From Made by Girl ~ I Love You, Blogs and Coffee
This is just one is too cute! It would make a great pressie...hhmmmm, who shall I send it to?...

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5352520

From Nicodesum Green ~ Bacon Is Like A Little Hug from God
How awesome would this be in a kitchen?! And let's be serious, bacon really is like a little hug from god.

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6792346

The following 3 prints are from DripStick Artwork and he has other great vintage inspired travel poster prints.

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5132097§ion_id=5307809

From Julia Pott ~ Brussels

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5594921

These two prints are of my beloved city Edinburgh from Artquirk ~ the first is of Victoria St, and the second print is titled Edinburgh windows.

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5039982

I think that may my last post for several days, but ya never know, if my parent's computer is on its best behaviour I may be able to post some mid-trip photos.

Aurevoir pour le moment.

Monkey on the bed!

2009-08-09T22:32:00.000-07:00

I was changing the sheets on our bed this morning and after I had just smoothed out the top sheet, this monkey decided it was the perfect place from him to park his butt. Monkey and Monkey-butt are two of about 10 nicknames we have for him and yes, he answers to almost all of them.

Yes, those are pink sheets. About every 3 months (hence why they're so wrinkled) I can sneak them on the bed without too much protest from Mike. The way I see it just because I got married to a boy doesn't mean I have to give up everything girly.

Anyways, here's a photo of the finished product and my attempt at decorating. The Union Jack and birdcage pillows are both Etsy finds.

Barcelona 4 Sounders 0 but still a good time

2009-08-07T14:15:00.000-07:00

As mentioned on Tuesday Mike and I joined Tracy & Alberto at the Seattle Sounders game against Barcelona and even though the Sounders lost (no surprise), it was a lot of fun!

I got to see my two (imaginary) boyfriends:

Freddie

and Thierry

And although Alberto had to work the game – he translates the games to Spanish and now hosts a Sounders show on Sunday nights on Univision (yep, I hang with celebs) – Tracy, Mike & I had a great time taking it all in. Qwest Field was over capacity at 66,800 in attendance and the Sounders Club I thought did a really nice job of making you feel like you were at a match in Europe - their announcer is English and when Barcelona scored, a Spanish speaking announcer can over the PA and only spoke in Spanish. Small details but important ones I think.

The following are some photos from the game including shots of downtown Seattle and Puget Sound from the stadium.

Tracy & Mike outside Qwest Field

My first ever shower of ticker-tape (like I said, its the small things like this that I love!)

Pre-anthem - what was Barcelona wearing? The hideous cross-walk-guard neon orange did no one favours!

Tracy & Alberto - whose that guy in the dodgy England shirt???!!! Lee...

Qwest Field full up with Sounder's love

Tracy & I looking fabulously coordinated with the pitch and the crowd!

Over here! I'm over here!!!!!!!

Seattle at sundown

As for this weekend’s entertainment…house cleaning and preparing for our 12 day visit home!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!! We leave next Saturday morning for a long over due visit home to Ottawa (I haven’t been home since April 2008) and wee Moose is coming with us. This will be his first ever plane ride and depending on how he copes, either it will be the first of many or the last! So, this weekend will be filled with cleaning, organizing, laundry, and shopping. What fun.

Bon Weekend!

Feeling French

2009-08-06T15:01:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling French today. Not as in I come from France but I've been listening to my French music on repeat as I reconcile expenses and was searching the internet earlier for two French rappers I liked when I lived in Belgium. I know, I know, French rap - fairly gross and weird but I think that was back in the day when rap first crept across the Atlantic and French rap didn't have much in the way of flow. More recently its become pretty good, well, for those that like rap.

Anyways, attached are two videos - the first is of the Canadian band Coeur de Pirate, who I love and the second vid is by Kamini, one of the French rappers I was reminiscing about. I think his song and video are funny and he rocks some serious hair! The gist of his diddy is that he's from a very small village (and yes, that's his village in the video), is a member of the only African-French family in the village and mentions some of the social perils of that status and that he can't rap about pimps and hos because he's from a very small village. So without further ado...

Coeur de Pirates - Comme des enfants

Kamini - Marly Gomont
/>

Apologies for the pixilation and small format but alas I couldn't embed the video from youtube.

Sidebar: Carisa A. of Wisconsin was not a happy bunny this morning when I did not have a word of the day for her to enjoy. Apologies to Wisconsin. I read several online news sources today to try to find another great and rarely used word but alas, no dice. I shall keep my eyes peeled for other lingustic gems.

Word of the day

2009-08-04T16:16:00.000-07:00

Insalubrious

as defined by Webster's online dictionary:

not conducive to health; unwholesome (an insalubrious climate)

I love this word. It's awesome to say and I've only ever seen it used in 19th century writing or BBC adaptions of epic novels. Today it appeared in The Times (London) in an article about building a modern design home in Stratford. The sentence was "The five-bedroom semi in the insalubrious suburb..."

I will be returning on my insalubrious suburb after the gym this evening. Front yards littered with the carcasses of cars mounted on cinder blocks and festooned with remanents of lawn mowers, bbqs and other household applicances is most unwholesome... :)

Soccer.Football.Futbol!

2009-08-04T11:34:00.000-07:00

Prior to moving to Europe in 2003, to me soccer/football/futbol was a participatory sport that primarily girls/young women played and dominated or so was the case in my home town. It wasn't so much a couch sport or a go-down-to-the-pub-to-watch type of sport, however, when in Rome (or the UK)...soccer/football is a way of life. Anyways, this spring Seattle got its very own MLS team, the Seattle Sounders, and they're actually really rather good...not that I really know what's considered good in professional soccer but they win a lot of their matches so that's gotta be a good thing, right?! :)

Well, my friends Tracy & Alberto hooked us up with tickets for tomorrow's Sounder's game against...wait for it....Barcelona!!!! Wicked! I think the game is going to be pretty awesome and it'll be a very cool experience to see a professional and incredibly good European team play and all the way out here on the West Coast!

I hope to have photos of the game posted before the weekend! Go Sounders!!!

Etsy stuff I am hearting

2009-07-31T13:56:00.000-07:00

Etsy is by far my favourite online shopping site. I love that stuff is either handmade or supplies for you to handmake with. My mom and Nanny instilled a love for craft fairs and my Grandma and Grandpa were talented painters and jewelery makers and Grandma also liked to sew and embroider.

Anyways, below are a few things that caught my eye on Etsy today when I was going through my Favorites list. Some of its crafty and some of its vintage finds.

From SolsticeHome - a vintaged painted galvanized tub with robe handles - I think this would look really great outside on a patio with large amounts of ice and pitchers of mojoitos & pims nestled in it!

www.solsticehome.esty.com

From Emily Lynch Vintage - a vintage souvenir plate of Canada - because every Canadian living aboard needs one!... ;)

www.emilylynch.etsy.com

From Bouquet - a vintage brass mouse receipt holder - I'm becoming increasingly more keen and interested in brass animal figurines, and I think my new found interest stems from the brass donkey figurine I have of my grandfather's...maybe the donkey would like company?

www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5758691

From Teresa Sheeley - the super cute 1,2,3,4 tea towel

www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5189006

From Montrealer Eva Juliet - this pretty 8x11 Les Cuilleres print

www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7508447

From LinenMe - this lovely French Linen Tablecloth in Natural & Blue - I love simplicity and richness of this table cloth and as Mike can atest, I have a small yet still controlled addiction to table linens.

http://www.linenme.etsy.com/

Anyways, Bon Weekend!

We're having a heat wave, a tropical heat wave...

2009-07-28T21:51:00.000-07:00

The dodgy picture below is of the thermometer on our deck at 8:45pm! 30C! And tomorrow the mercury is suppose to rise to almost 40C!!! And what's weird, or at least compared to the east coast of North America, is that the heat of the day out here is between 3pm-5pm!

Anyways, 3 cheers for our window air conditioning unit!

Weekend Projects - Part 2

2009-07-27T15:59:00.000-07:00

As per usual, I get ideas in my head about how easy something is going to be and as usual, it’s not! That’s how this weekend’s projects played out. As mentioned above, Mike & I set about this weekend adding a new finish to the new/old spare bedroom bed frame, staining our new-to-us bench and staining our kitchen/dining room table and chairs. On Friday when I was writing my first ever post, I was full of confidence and for some bizarre reason thought that this all this work would somehow only take maybe 3 or 4 hours on Saturday morning! Ahahaha!!!!! Oh, how I live in a fantasy world!!! We ended up sending 6 hours on Saturday and another 5 hours on Sunday working on all our projects and will be doing touch up work in the evenings for the next 3 nights! Here’s how it played out:

Saturday morning came and we were up & out of the apartment by 9:30am ready to tackle our projects! My father-in-law Mark kindly lent us the use of his garage and equipment for the weekend as otherwise there would not have been any way us to do all this work. And being the novice that I am at both blogging and diy projects, I forgot to take ‘before’ photos so below is a random collection of nearly completed, and in the case of the bench, completed projects!

The bench was the easiest project to complete – a bit of light sanding with the electric sander and 2 coats of outdoor stain et violà – a new bench! We’re quite pleased with how it turned out and it now coordinates with our little teak table & chairs that also find their home on our deck. The second project that Mike diligently and painfully worked on on Saturday was the sanding/grinding down of the previous layers of paint on the cast iron bed frame. Typically you can spray paint directly on to previous layers of paint, however, there were a number of deep nicks and scratches covering the frame so we smoothed it out as much as we could and on Sunday Mike went to town with the white satin finish spray paint and the bed frame turned out really great! Now, for the last project and the one that was the most time consuming and in the end turned out completely the opposite from my original plan! The table and chairs! I wish I had remembered to bring my camera with me to the garage on Saturday but as I forgot it this lengthy description will have to substitute.

In the course of THREE hours I managed to sand only ONE chair! 1 chair in 3 hours! Why? Well, the manufacturer of this table set had coated the whole thing in very durable sealant. And in order to apply wood stain, the stain must be applied directly to wood…so obvious yet so difficult to achieve! Once that labourious task was finished, I began staining the chair I had so carefully sanded…well, there were nearly tears…as I was applying the stain, very noticeable blotches started appearing on the seat and the stain colour itself was making the chairs look like they belonged at some run down country/western themed family restaurant! It turns out that the blotches were the result of wood glue that had likely been split on the chair during its assembly – awesome! The new stain colour was too dark to sand down so after some contemplation on Saturday night, we decided to spray paint the table & chairs the same white satin as the bed frame. It has not yielded nearly the same look I was hoping to achieve (aged, dark wood table) but it will make the table look like new and should brighten the apartment up.

On Sunday we spent another several hours in the near 30C/85+ F heat spray painting our hearts out! And I have to say we did a great job on the whole! The bed looks great and the table and chairs look fresh and new. Below are a few of the pictures I took on Sunday, when I remembered to bring my camera! More to follow with the final products!

The newly stained bench!

The table before we went crazy with the spray paint

The table nearly done!

Here's a shot of the foot board and 3 of the chairs.

Hello!

2009-07-24T16:25:00.000-07:00

Well hello!

So I’ve caved, I’m finally going to give the world of blogging a try. I read a lot of blogs and enjoy them all thoroughly and have finally decided to create my own online repository for things I like and any happenings in my little world as I live far from my family and many of my friends out here in Seattle. I’ve never been good at keeping at diary or journal so who knows how well I’ll be able to hold this together but here goes!

Weekend projects – part 1

I have a number of weekend projects lined up for my and the hubs and he is no doubt pumped…

The first of the projects is the refinishing of a bed frame I bought off of craiglists for $75 (photos to follow). We have a double bed in our spare bedroom for guests in the last several months have had the privilege and delight of receiving visits from Jane, my parents, my sister Beth and her friend Angie and Amy. While the current bed frame has served us well, it’s a bit of the wonky side of life and takes up quite a bit of space in the room. Both the new and old bed frames are relics of days gone by – the old frame has a nice Bed knobs and Broomsticks feel to it and I do like the warm feeling the brass adds to the room but its wonkiness is getting to be a bit much. The new frame is an old hospital bed, actually I don’t know if it was ever used in a hospital, but it does look like one you see in an old black n’ white movie and is made of cast iron. I really like it’s simple lines and it is considerably less bulky than the current one. The new frame will be getting a fresh coat of white spray paint and as neither of us have ever spray painted before – fingers crossed – it turns out nicely!

The second project is the refinishing of our kitchen/dining/junk-collecting/catch-all table! Its current colour is that rather unpleasant early 1990s yellow/blonde oak – yuck! Moreover, no matter how much I wipe it down, there are permanent grey streaks from god-only-knows-what that became caked on there during my husband’s bachelorhood. We will be changing the table from beechwood blonde/yellow to a rich light brown and staining the chairs a darker shade of brown to create some contrast. My inspiration for this change comes from a picture of our table I found online and of course now I can't find it to save my life!

And the third project is staining a wood bench we just inherited from my friend Tracy. She no longer had use for the cute bench at her new place and we knew it would find a good home with us.

So, a big weekend ahead! And the weather here is suppose to be lovely 26-28C/mid-80sF! And top it all off, on Sunday on I have Skype date with the lovely Sarah! Yay! :)