Is It Just Me...?

I have to confess a secret - not a dirty one (unfortunately) and honestly, thinking about it, probably not much of a secret..but here we go: I hate yogurt. Greek yogurt especially.

I try. I really do.

I appreciate the health value associated with yogurt & the amount of protein in the Greek variety is especially attractive to someone who needs to have more protein than she can ingest in the usual way.

But it's so thick I constantly feel like I'm eating flavoured sour cream. (Don't get me wrong, I love sour cream in certain instances like on nachos, baked potatoes and in made-from-scratch chocolate cake.)

But it's never a stand-alone condiment so why does anyone think greek yogurt should be?

So many people get orgasmic over this thick, goopy stuff - I always hear, "If you don't like yogurt, you'll *LOVE* Greek yogurt!"

Nope. Not this girl.

The crappy thing is that I want to like yogurt, regular & Greek styles. I just find it hard to choke it down and convince myself I'm enjoying it (LOL insert dirty double entendre joke here). 

Making a thicker version has done nothing to win me over.

Now this is completely irrelevant, I grant you, in the face of the real problems out in the world (hello Cleveland, WTF?!?!?) but as I just threw a snack size Greek yogurt out it was timely for me.

Anyone who wants 3 snack size cups of strawberry Greek yogurt just let me know...

Living Up To The Blog's Name!

Hi Everybody!

Well I haven't posted since July apparently so clearly it's time to try and make an effort to justify keeping this domain active.

(That $10 every year is a budget killer if I don't at least pretend like I'm "getting my money's worth"... LOL)

Anyways.

Things have been pretty busy over my way actually so that probably explains the lack of time spent blogging or on the computer in general when not at work. And when at work and with time on my lunch hour, I must admit to an unhealthy Pinterest addiction....it's calling me now, even as I type this very sentence demanding that I come find more recipes I'll probably never try or more crafts that will never be started that would make my house look amazing. 

(Seriously tho, try the lasagne soup recipe on my Delish! board....it's soooo yummy it should be illegal!!!!)

Aside from my overwhelming Pinterest addiction, I also started back to school in September taking classes online to get my Production Accounting (aka CAPPA) certificate. I finished level 1 this past fall & am back to work on level 2 as we speak. There are 4 levels + 1 case study to complete so this time next year we should be talking about me almost being done & how exciting that is (which should be 1 or 2 posts from now...I'm so consistent at this blogging thing!) but in the meantime, someone needs to slap me up side the head and make me sit down and get to work. I never realized just how bad my procrastination habit had gotten until found myself scrambling to try and read all my level 1 course material just days ahead of the midterm & final. (Still got a A tho....poor study habits being validated with a decent mark is probably not a good thing to encourage me to change my ways...)



His Majesty



Elsewhere, I celebrated my one year anniversary with Hitch this past December & he's still just as cute as he was the day I met him. Cute but a bit of a jerk truth be told & somewhere my mother is probably laughing at the karma of it all. He's a (mostly) great little dog with a few habits, like trying to pounce at all other dogs that dare to walk anywhere close to "his" territory, that occasionnally make me wish that vodka came in juice boxes. We're not walking as much as we were last summer (odd how freezing bloody cold weather makes you want to go back inside!) but with spring just around the corner, I expect that will change. It's hard to imagine what life was like before he was around although the occasional "holidays" I get when my parents dog-sit are a pleasant reminder of life pre-poochy.

Ok - time to get back to work but keep your eyes on this space over the next couple days...*this year* is the year that I get back to blogging somewhat regularly (I hope).

Random Quote of the Day:

I put my heart and my soul into my work, and have lost my mind in the process.

~ Vincent Van Gogh

Out & About Tonight

Out On The Town


Just a quick post tonight as it's about time to get to bed so I can get up and do it all over tomorrow morning but I wanted to post something before that crawling into bed as I realized just how long it had been since my last post!

Tonight was a rare week night out for me & man did it ever go fast! Yet again that old saw about time flying when you have fun was proven and honestly that's just the best.

So tonight I met up with some great friends, Ryan & Chris (aka The Bourgners...LOL), for some tapas & conversation and both were utterly delightful. The chemistry of good friends and good food is something magical, in my opinion. This "magic" is something that we rarely pay attention to but should certainly be more present in our lives - we should never put off seeing friends and family but all too often we allow ourselves to make the excuse that "life" just gets in the way.

When I got home tho, I had yet another reminder of the pervasiveness of the modern age & how we are always so connected to social media & it's related doodads. I mean, I had a great meal but kicked myself because I forgot to take pictures of the food! No food porn! I mean, seriously, how am I supposed to show those who didn't make it out just what they missed - or show them just why they should come and try the place out at some later date. I didn't even check-in via 4Square or Facebook. How were people to know they should be jealous that I was out? LOL What a change from just a few short years ago when none of these networks existed.

Other Good News

I just joined The Indie Bookshelf as a reader/reviewer. It's a great new site that aims to spread the word about all the awesome independently publishing authors that are out there doing great work and deserving some love & attention. I got my first 2 books to read and have gotten started on the first one - I'll be sure to post a link here when my first review goes up. :) In the meantime tho, make sure you all run (or just open a new tab) over to the site & check out some of the amazing titles that have already been reviewed.

Last but not least....it's Friday in about 20mins and really what more needs to be said aside from: "Thank God! Finally!!!!"

Sitting In The Rain, Waiting For AMA

No big emotional post tonight, just a reflection on the fact that the universe does like to play mean tricks on occasion (& tonight, I'm the butt of the joke).

I say this because my oh-so-trusty (until now) car, Betsy, has begun to enter her "jalopy" phase & let's just say, it ain't so much fun. I'm sitting in my car, while the heavens weep above me (in sympathy?) and my car simply refuses to acknowledge she was running just fine 45 scant minutes ago.

Much like the infamous Zed, Betsy appears to be dead.....

This will at some point become a funny story I tell friends & coworkers but at the moment all I really want to do us throw a good ol'fashioned tantrum. I want to wail, moan, gnash my teeth & beat my breast as I cry out to the cruel, moist world around me.

Then I hear my mother's voice in my head telling me to stop being a drama queen & somehow manage to simply sit in my car with the windows fogging and not make a giant (childish) spectacle of myself.

I am lucky tho - I have an AMA membership that means I won't be stuck here forever (thanks Dad!!!). Sometime in the next 45mins, my liberator should appear & with any luck, he'll be a hot, single fella that falls madly in love with me (those romance novels have to be based on some sort of actual event, right?).

Maybe the universe is arranging a meet-cute of epic proportions....or more likely she's simply being a bitch...either way, it'll be a story to tell in the morning!

Getting Back Into A Rhythm

As I started a new week at work today, I found myself thinking about getting into a rhythm and how important that is.

It's pretty easy to get into a routine that isn't good for us - I've been the queen of that particular habit most of my life. I'm the girl who hated to exercise as a child/teen/young woman etc & would do just about anything to avoid it. I was a reader, a dreamer, a crafter who enjoyed hanging out with friends but I was never sporty (unless you count the one summer I played softball [got a black eye by catching the ball with my face, naturally] or the one winter I played hockey [let's just pretend I didn't]).

You might guess where I'm going with this - my inert lifestyle along with a horrendous diet & genes that absorbed any fat that might be lurking in a 5km radius led to me being charitably labelled as a "Big Girl". As I got older, my weight ballooned until I didn't want to even acknowledge myself when looking in the mirror, which I did  my best to avoid.

I always had a "pretty face" & was constantly hearing "if only...". If only I was thinner, I could wear prettier clothes, attract a boy, get a better job or get promoted. Why I had to be thin to be treated like everyone else was not something I ever questioned. Life wasn't fair & really wasn't it my fault I was fat? I deserved the treatment I received (or in some cases didn't receive) - that's what I was always hearing form pop culture anyways.

For years, I managed to fool myself into thinking I was "just like everyone else".

But I wasn't like everyone else....I was like 2 or 3 everyone else's.

At my heaviest I could hardly move - going across the street & back was too much work and I despaired of ever again being able to just do something without worry about whether I could actually do it. If I went out, would the seating be comfortable? Would people stare at me? Make snide comments? Was the activity something I could do that wouldn't slow everyone down & make me look stupid? In my younger, somewhat lighter days I had prided myself on being fat but not letting that interfere in me living life. Well my body had begun to interfere big time (no pun intended) and finally it was time to do something about it.

About 2.5 yrs ago, I went to a clinic that specialized in helping people who were morbidly obese start to lose weight naturally without guilt or shame. This is a true rarity in this day and age where fat is an acceptable reason for prejudice & most fat people are treated like some disgusting disease that doesn't deserve to breathe the same air that thinner folks breathe. They referred me to a surgical program a couple hours out of town and I began a 2yr journey towards reclaiming my life & health.

I'm on the other side of the divide now - I'm losing weight and getting healthier. I'm getting more active as my body gets smaller and I'm feeling much more in control of who I am going to become. I can see the promised land and after all the struggle, it's just so worth it.

I'm getting back into the rhythm of life again and it feels wonderful.

I'm back! (But not from outer space...)

So this won't be a long post but Hi There!!!
Believe it or not, friendly reader, I've missed you & our little one-sided conversations. You might be wondering where I've been & what I've been doing for the past year....well, we'll chat about that another night, promise! I have loads to say and am finally getting my writing butt back in gear and getting back to my blog.

The tone of the blog may change a little, don't be too surprised - I plan to make it a bit more personal and talk about some of the challenges & triumphs from the past year so hopefully you'll stick around for the journey.

But honestly, I think I've finally come to the conclusion that it doesn't matter if you decide it's not what you want to read....I'm writing for myself now (like I should have from the start!) & it's not about simply amusing others and trying to find readers/a following.

I want/need to find my voice and I look forward to doing that with a steady dose of just banging away on the keyboard over the coming months. I may never be The Bloggess (but that's probably for the best - she's so amazing that two of her would likely cause the universe to implode due to epic awesomeness) but I do plan to start being a dedicated writer/blogger.

So! The hibernation is over.....stay tuned to this channel for more ramblings of my decidedly strange little mind.

 

"Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it." ~ Greg Anderson

On The Road Again

 

So after a hideously stressful week at work, tomorrow I'm hitting the highway and heading home to celebrate my youngest brother's 21st birthday....and you can officially consider my mind blown that it's actually here cuz wow, I remember him when he was all of 10 minutes old and 21" long. So yeah, not only is he officially legal all over the world now, I think I've also sprouted about a million more grey hairs just thinking about it.

So what do you give a young man for his 21st?

Having little experience with such major coming of age birthdays (my middle brother was not around for his 21st & I was at university for mine), I was a little stumped until I decided to stop being creative & just give him some cold, hard cash.

Before you all start to chide me for being so clearly useless when it comes to being a big sister & gift-giver, know this:

a) he's *impossible* to shop for....he has few interests (aside from video games) and the Vancouver Canucks (that he lets us know about anyways) - he won't wear the clothes I've bought him and doesn't drink (and I don't have any sort of contact to get him some of what he does indulge in)

b) he's going with his dad to visit his sister & her family (including the new baby) so the money will actually come in handy when he's in London/Paris/Berlin as I'm pretty sure he doesn't have much saved on his own

So that's my big plan for the weekend - what are the rest of you planning? Any crazy good fun on the horizon? Let me live vicariously thru you all as I've apparently decided to voluntarily exile myself to the crack of Satan's ass (yes it's that hot & while not on the map, it is my pet name for the city of my birth - but it's not all bad, we are also the home of the world's largest teepee) for the next 48+hrs.