30 Days of Gratitude: Day 14

1. Poorly Done  Green Screens
I get a kick out of seeing commercials that clearly use a green screen, but not very well. Something about the 80's style, poorly finished graphics make me chuckle. I always expect to hear some synths and see some neon shapes shoot across the screen.

2. Youtube
Youtube is THE source for ridiculous videos. Many of which, much to my excitement, contain awful green screen footage. Comedic vids aside, Youtube is packed with tutorials.  I love the community of people helping other people learn everything from how to tweeze your brows, to how to cook a perfect steak, to string theory. For a visual learner like me, it's gold.

3. Forward Movement
Just gotta keep putting one foot in front of the other. The next adventure is always around the corner, but if you don't move you won't ever get there.

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 13

Short and sweet.

1. Warmth


2. Drinkable Water


3. My Hot Water Bottle
Having that on a cold day like today is pure bliss.

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 12

1. My Immune System
How many battles has it fought that I don't even know about? I'm plenty thankful for the those times! Now if it can stave off what Blake has then I will be even more amazed. Come on antibodies, work! I'll keep you fed, you keep me sickness free, capiche?

2. Elevators
The thought of huffing up and down four floors to get everything moved into the new place makes my muscles ache. Although the elevator creeps rather slowly it's much nicer than the alternative.

3. Creativity
I love possibilities. I love that with some thought, faith and hard work almost anything is achievable.

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 11

1. Wired Magazine
I really only buy two magazines on a regular basis. One being Vanity Fair, which I mentioned, the other clearly being Wired. Girls gotta get her geek on!

2. Craft Gawker
Looking for a cute little DIY project? Maybe some inspiration? Arts? Crafts? Look no further than Craft Gawker http://craftgawker.com/ It's a collection of ideas from around the web. Everything from coasters, to knitting, to painting, to moustache rings. There are at least half a dozen projects I'd love to tackle from this site when time allows!

3. Soup
Nothing makes a cold day warmer than a nice bowl of soup.

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 10

1. Patience
Visiting Costco, or any major store, on the weekend is the ultimate test of patience. I have never wanted to run through a store, crashing my cart into anyone who gets in my way more than I did today. However, what patience I do have allowed me to refrain. You're welcome Costco shoppers.

2. Tomorrows
Whatever comes of today, there is always tomorrow.

3. Hope
And with tomorrows comes hope. Hope that there is something on the horizon. Of all the emotions, hope is one of the most powerful. It lifts us when we feel defeated. It carries so much weight and so much promise and sometimes just a little promise is enough to persevere.

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 9

I knew this was going to get tough at some point. It isn't that I don't have anything to be thankful for, I'm just having a sour day so teasing out the positivity of it becomes a little tougher. I persist though.

1. Employment
Do I love either of my jobs? No. But I need to grateful that I'm employed. This city is full of people but really light on the available job options. Money is money and I certainly could be doing worse things for less.

2. Pizza
I don't know what it is about pizza, but it makes your day a little better. All the melty cheese and the meat and the veggies and the crisp, but not over-cooked, crust is just so so good.

3. FFFFound
http://ffffound.com/
From time to time I'll just click through images. You never know what you'll come across.

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 8

1. Getting to watch the sunrise
I've been trying to drag myself to the early morning exercise class for a few weeks now.  Unable to muster my own motivation, I did what I always do when I need a little boost, make someone else do it with me. Thankfully one of my best friends agreed to do it with me. Waking up at 5:30 am isn't a dream come true, but watching the sun creep up over the Gorge waterway whilst sweating like hell made it worth it. I am rarely up early enough to see it, so it was a great sight today.

2. Vancouver Island
This is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been and it never stops. Everywhere you turn is more lush, greenery and blue ocean. Had a nice hike at East Sooke park this afternoon and it was stellar. The waves were crashing hard, it was muddy and overcast, but that's easy to forget when you look around and really take in just how lucky you are to be there.

3. Tea
Coffee didn't make it into my diet until my early twenties. I do love a good cup of coffee, but I can live without it. Tea, on the other hand, I'm not sure I could quit that. I can't quit you tea! Cue the trombones, I know that was terrible. Maybe my early wake up is getting to me afterall

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 7

A week of gratitude already! So far so good!

1. Small Successes
When we started the whole dresser redo project I had no clue what I was in for. Much to Blake's amusement I thought it was going to be a pretty quick and easy task. Turns out I was way wrong. Once we had gotten through most of the work it became apparent that what I wanted to do with dresser wasn't possible. It was a little disappointing that I wasn't going to get the dresser I had imagined. Now that all the work is done I'm content with the change in plans. The dresser looks amazing and I'm so glad it turned it. Success! Hurrah!

2. Sunshine
The wind could sweep me off my feet today, but at least it isn't raining! Good day Mr. Sun, it's nice to finally see you, would you mind staying a while?

3. Sleep
I'm not ashamed to admit I was in bed at 10pm last night. Nothing wrong with sleeping when you're tired and giving yourself an extra hour or so if you need it.

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 6

Anyone know when spring is coming?  I'm about ready for some sunshine and to pack away the rubber boots. Speaking of rubber boots:

1. Rubber Boots
It took me almost four years of living on this rainy island to realize that not having proper footwear wasn't somehow going to make it stop raining. My first, second, and even third, winter here was spent laughing at everyone in their hideous Wellies. I just could not bring myself to get behind those functionally awesome, but aesthetically awful pieces of footwear. Well, many ruined pairs of shoes and days of uncomfortably wet feet later I caved and bought the first pair of rubber boots I've owned since I was 6. I still loath them, but I'm happy to have dry tootsies!

2. Spray Paint
Blake and I have been refinishing my dresser all week, which, I must say, is a lot more time consuming then I had thought. That's another thing though. Much of the work involved painting. So much painting. Which would be a piece of cake, or at least more manageable, if the dresser was a plain square box. It isn't. It has all sorts of rails and curves and lips and swooshes and dips. I am so sick of painting, but my work wasn't done yet. The hardware needed to be redone too and to match the dresser it is also curved and swooshy and gruesome to paint by hand. Thankfully some person decided to put paint in a can. Thank you sir!

3. Privacy
It would be foolish of anyone to think that their private lives are completely private. While many people envy the lives of celebrities, I don't. Ok, I do envy the money, but I am so glad I can leave my house without having people follow me around. At this point, I'm still in control of what I let people know and the choice to share my life with others is mine. That, I am thankful for.

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 5

1. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Way back when this album came out, Lauryn Hill was still sort of keeping it together. Breaking out of the Fugees was a big deal then and this album had critics raving. She was nominated for 10 Grammys and took home 5, becoming the first female to take home that many in one night. It was also the first Hip Hop album to take home Album of the Year. In short, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill blew up. And subsequently so did Hill. As it often happens, things went south really quick and she has gone a bit loopy since then. It's really too bad, because Miseducation is incredible.



2. My Hair Straightener
Yes I know this is vain, but really, who doesn't want to look good? Really!? If I leave my hair to do what it pleases, it's not a good scene. Some of it flips out, some of it curls under, none of it does anything useful. Without my straightener, it would be wild ginger everyday and no one would want to be seen with me.


3. Vanity Fair Magazine
The older I get the more I really appreciate a well written article. Gone are the days of recycled Cosmo prints about impressing men and knowing when it's ok to lie. Thanks for those life tips! The more you pay attention to more you realize just how much poor writing there is on the news stands. I covet those exceptions and V.F is one of them.

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 4

Happy Sunday everyone! Hope the weekend was exactly what you needed, relaxing, crazy or otherwise. On this overcast afternoon I am grateful for:

1. Genuine Kindness
There are so many caring and truly kind people out there that would give anyone in need the shirt off their back, all the change in their pocket, the shoes off their feet and whatever else they have to give. Those people are often the ones that get less credit than they deserve. Thank you to all those wonderful ladies and gents!

2. Health
I have been fortunate to have lived a life without any major medical issues. Health is something we often take for granted until something goes wrong, so it's important to appreciate every injury free day.

3. The L.A Times Sunday Crossword
The L.A Times Sunday crossword is a little bit harder than the weekly puzzles, but not as hard as the New York Times version. You see, I haven't quite made it to the level of knowledge needed for the New York Times puzzle, there are so many ridiculously obscure clues! One day though!

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 3

Lot's be thankful for this morning:

1. The Boy
This week he's been handyman, cook, chauffeur and even dog walker. Pretty great deal I'd say!

2. The Gang
I somehow weaselled my way into a pretty incredible group of friends and I love it when we can all get together. All our lives are so busy that it's important to appreciate the times when everyone comes out for a night regardless of where we go or what we do. $3 G and Ts don't hurt either.

3. Lotion
I hate dry skin, what can I say?

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 2

Today I am thankful for:

1. Silence
The world can be a noisy place, cars, alarms, sirens, music, advertising, barking, talking, creaking, groaning, beeping, booping. Having to deal with all that all the time is overwhelms my ears sometimes, so it's nice to have a reprieve from it. I really enjoy spending the early parts of my morning without any extra noise. I find the silence comforting.

2. Solitude
Being alone is nice from time to time. Gives me room to breath, think and do all those embarrassing things I don't want to admit to anyone I do which may or may not involve terrible music.

3. TED Talks
I can't promise I'll stop talking about TED talks, but I will try not to bombard you with them all the time. Just most of the time!
http://www.ted.com/
Really though, if you have time take a look, you might just be inspired.

30 Days of Gratitude

There are plenty of things in life that I can't change. The weather, the amount things cost, my height, the lack of a Jetson style flying car, to name a few. While I could dwell on those unchangeable aspects for days, it won't get me anywhere. What I can change though, is my attitude and perspective of the world around me. Playing into the theme from the video in my last post, I am going to start with being thankful for 3 things a day, for 30 days. Persuading myself to look on the brighter side of life seems like a great thing to do in the middle of Victoria's drab rainy season. So it begins!

Today I am thankful for:

1. My Parents
 Late 2010- 2011 was little rough. I hit a rough patch and needed some help to get back on my feet, especially in the finance department. Even though it bruised my ego to slink back home, it was the best decision I could have made. My parents have been so incredibly helpful by allowing me to live with them, feeding me, lending me a few dollars, all without making me feel guilty or like a failure.

2. Hot Water
Nothing soothes the soul better on a drizzly day than a nice hot shower. If I didn't hate having pruny skin so much, I wouldn't question staying in the shower for a good hour.  It's also great for tea, but that comes in at a far second place.

3. Books
I realize that's pretty broad, but I love books. Books I've read, books I'm going to read, even the ones I'll never get to, they're all important to me. I value knowledge and creativity and literature is still a solid way to soak in both.

The Power of Small Steps

As I've said a million times, I LOVE TED talks. The idea of bringing inspiring, intelligent and interesting people together once a year is so simple, but so important. Not only that, but all the talks are available online for free! But, on to the point. Here's a TED video for you on the importance of making small changes while still keeping sight of your larger goals.



Lofty goals are important because they keep us going. They keep us trying and reaching. But small ones are equally as important. Once you achieve a small goal, the bigger ones seem more attainable, and we prove to ourselves that we can do it.
What can you change for 30 days?

Unfinished Business: Untitled

Here comes an embarrassing confession: I read the shopaholic book series. Not all of them, but most of them. I can't help myself, sometimes I like to read simple, easy, outlandish and purely female comedies. The fairer sex is know for their questionable taste in literature from time to time. Twilight? Daniele Steele? Sweet Valley High? Ladies, ladies, ladies. What are we thinking? As I said, these books aren't necessarily feats of literary wonder and I kind of like that. So much so that I figured I could write one myself. A simple story about a crazy lady doing crazy things only to realize that maybe there is more wrong with herself than she cares to acknowledge because she's too busy being crazy.

*******

I should have known, really. That’s what everyone says and they are all right. We all should have known that the charming man who swept us off our feet would end up turning into a fat slob. Because, of course, as pony boy once said, “Nothing gold can stay.” This apparently, goes for anything stylish, anything cultural, intelligent, and beautiful. Hell, even anything kind of cute in a disturbing frat boy kind of way. Once the vows are vowed and the rings are ….. ringed, everything “gold” seems to magically disappear. And we still gotta love these fat fuckers, or so they say. But “they” aren’t living with the blobs that used to be their sexy boyfriends. No, “they” are either single, or have become equally as tarnished as their significant other. That’s nice for them. Be slovenly and in love! Righteous! I, however, did not sign up for this, and something has got to give and it better not be the couch.  Starting right now, I am on a mission. I am going to do everything in my power to get back the stud I agreed to marry before I have to come up with an excuse for hiring a pool boy. As if that wouldn’t send the cheater alarm going!

Day 1

                  The alarm is blaring in my ear. Its rhythmic beep beep beeping is muted by the gregarious snoring coming from the man beside me. Each breath rattles through his nose and against his throat making it sound as if there is a lot of extra skin in there flapping around. Did he snore like this when we started dating? I try to think back to our beginnings seven years ago, but it’s early and it’s loud in this king bed. I can’t think of whether I had been sleeping with an ogre all along, but that’s neither here nor there because I am definitely lying next to one right now.

                  “Baby, I think it’s time to get up.” I whisper, poking him gently with my toes. He snorts, but doesn’t move. “Jess, get up.” I move closer and give him a little shove. He groans. That’s it. I scramble to my knees and begin shaking him like a dirty rug, “for the love of god, Jesse Raymond! Wake up!” I yell. One arm slides from beneath the covers and grabs me by the waist.

                  “Beautiful girl, relax and lie here with me for a minute.” He responds, tucking me against his chest.  The hairs on his chest tickle my skin as his belly presses against mine. I don’t remember it being so big, or this hairy. When did this fuzzy bear like creature crawl into bed with me replacing my husband? If I could only get him out of bed, then I’ll be able to start the transformation, but he wants to spoon instead.

                  “Ok, it’s been at least a minute,” I say wriggling from his arms, “time to start the day. How about I make us some breakfast?”

                  “Mmmm, bacon and eggs would be great.”

                  I’m not making bacon and eggs. Clearly all that bacon has gone straight to his gut. “Yea, something like that. See you in a few.” I give his arm a quick squeeze before jumping out of bed. I’m not sure what we have in the kitchen but there has got to be something healthier than bacon. I bet there is some fruit somewhere. I could make a smoothie!

                  The cold air falls from the open refrigerator and blows against my toes as I scan the shelves. Not much in here. A few apples, those will do. Perhaps some milk too. So an apple smoothie doesn’t seem that appetizing, I should check the pantry. Ah ha! A can of peaches. That should be alright, a peach apple smoothie. With a little hop in my step I pull the blender out, and a cloud of dust along with it. Some wedding gifts never get used, this happened to be one of them. With a quick wipe, I am ready to whip up my dear hubbie’s first life changing breakfast.

                  The blender whirs to life in a flurry of health induced fervour. First the can of peaches. In an instant they are nothing more than mush fit for those lacking teeth. Next goes in the apple. The white and red swirls against the orangey peach mush. Now the mix looks like old person skin, gray and kind of icky. Who said healthy was appetizing anyway! Last, a splash of milk for that added calcium kick. Beautiful!

                  “Since when does bacon and eggs involve a blender?” Jesse quips from the doorway.

                  “Oh, I’m trying something different. “ I mumble, jamming the “high” button on the blender to drown out anymore questions.

                  “It looks like you’re making paper Mache” he’s giving me those eyes. It’s the same look he gives me when he thinks I’m wrong about something. What does he know about being healthy?

                  “It will taste better then it looks,” I offer attempting to place some sort of conviction behind the statement.

                  Those eye just keep staring. He’s not convinced. “I appreciate the effort, buuuuuut, I think I’ll just make myself some cereal or something.” 

                  “Ohhhh, sorry love, but I used the last of the milk for the smoothies.”  I lie hoping he won’t pick up the half full carton sitting next to the blender.

                  “Toast then.” He’s eyeing the smoothy as if it might come to life and devour him.

                  “Please just try it.” I lean over the counter hoping he’ll be swayed to give in after he catches a glimpse of my goods. If I’ve learned anything from being married it’s that boobs are often the best bartering tool.

                  He raises his eyebrows slowly and smirks, “Fine, I’ll try it, but don’t think I’m doing it because you flashed me a peak at those.” He makes a circling motion in the air around my chest.

                  Fuck, he’s on to me! I turn around quickly to search for a glass so he won’t see my face turning red.

                  As I start to tilt to the pitcher I can see that the mix of fruit doesn’t want to budge. I give it  a little shake to loosen it up The eyes are growing more and more doubtful across the room and honestly, so am I. Not only does it look like cement, but it is about as solid as it. Another useless shake I and I’m forced to grab a spoon.

                  “Are you sure about this?” Jesse untwists the bread bag and begins reaching for a piece.

                  “Wait! Just wait! Please!” That man doesn’t need any more crabs! I must get this health concoction out of this Satan possessed, evil, useless blender. No sooner did the curse leave my mouth when plop a chunk of smoothie lands in the glass. “ Here you go lover!”

                  “Aren’t you going to have one too?” I can see his eyes twinkling mischievously. Of course, if he has to suffer I do too.

                  “Absolutely!” I mimic cheerfulness and hope my enthusiasm will give him some sort of psychic boost and that he won’t vomit upon first sip.

                  Chunks of unblended fruit tumble from the pitcher and splash the hideous gray mixture all over the counter. I would rather eat draino and given the texture of my experiment, this will probably do the same thing to my guts.

                  Jesse raises his glass to his lips, but stops just before. “This is your gourmet breakfast. You must try it first! I don’t want to ruin the purity of the moment for you.”

                  The man can barely hold himself together long enough to get those words out. He’s mocking me! He has no faith in my abilities! “Don’t mind if I do!” No matter how awful this is I must not let it show. Mr. Raymond thinks he’s so clever and more importantly he thinks I’m wrong!

                  I open my mouth and pour the semi liquid down my throat. It creeps out of the glass so painfully slow that I doubt any will reach my lips so I give the bottom of the glass a couple taps. Of course the whole wad shoots out at once, into my mouth, down my chest and all over my face. As soon as the first atom hits my tongue I can’t control my body. My face begins to pucker and contort in disgust. My gag reflex kicks in hard and I begin coughing the shit back up. Except it’s just like cement and it get’s stuck in my throat.  I keel over the sink and begin hacking.

                   Over the sound of my own asphyxiation I can here Jesse chuckling, “Yea. I thought so.”

                  “I’m…….. going to …… choke …… to……. Death!” I wheeze in between waves of retching and hacking.

                  “Aw beautiful, you’ll be fine. Stick your head under the tap and have a drink of water.”

                  He’s still chuckling to himself when I finally manage to compose myself. It feels as if I’ve just finished severe boot camp I’m sweating so hard! This was a bad idea. Why did I ever think an apple smoothie would be delicious? Have you ever been to the local juice bar and ordered an apple fucking smoothie? No! Why? Because they’re disgusting!

                  “This was a stupid idea,” I mumble as I toss both glasses and the pitcher into the sink.

                  “What was that?” Jesse turns as I clatter the dishes in frustration. “Toast?” He waves a crispy piece of bread in the air to entice me.

“No. I don’t have time for toast. I need to get ready for work.” After ingesting a cupful of what I can only describe as sludge, I can’t imagine eating anything else. That, and I feel foolish for my vigorous attempt at instant healthiness. Cleary this is something that will take more planning.  Shoulders slumped I head back upstairs.

                  “Nice ass!” Jesse calls as I climb the stairs.  My cheeks begin to flush, even to this day that little perv can still make me blush.

There has got to be a better way to go about this. I step out of the shower feeling a little deflated. I do love that man, but I could stand to love a little less of him! Hey, I could even love him more I bet; more for less! That’s just grand! Feeling smug and pretty happy with myself I drop my towel and use it to wipe the steam off the mirror. A circle of skin begins to appear before me and the more I wipe, the more skin I see fill the circle! It’s as if my reflection is taking over half of the mirror! Wait a second! Just one single second! Since when did my body take up so much of the mirror!

Maybe it’s a bad angle. I turn a few degrees and am satisfied with what I see. Then I exhale. Shoot! There it is again! That mirror encroaching skin coloroed blob is back. The more I turn the worse it seems to get! Maybe Jesse isn’t the only one who needs this health kick.

Someone’s ears must have been burning because I hear a quick tap at the door, followed by the metallic clacking of the door handle being shook. “Are you just about done in there?”

“Just a second