The best of intentions

I've been meaning to flex my photography muscles a bit more lately and thought taking some shots at the Cavalcade of Lights would be a great place to start.

I bought new batteries on my way out, but while testing the camera out on the subway ride downtown I knew immediately something was wrong. My display wasn't showing what the viewfinder was seeing.

I hoped it was just a malfunction with the screen and I could still take pictures by looking through the viewfinder.

I snapped and snapped the entire time I was there.

Here is what pretty much every shot looks like.



I did a little searching online to see if I could figure out what the problem is.

THANKFULLY its a common problem with my model of digital camera and Canon is willing to fix it for free. (Yay!) Its an older model digital camera, but I've always been able to take great pictures with it and didn't want to have to replace it.

I'm hoping repairs won't take too long...

"...and suddenly, when you least expect it...the world rights itself again."

What was I going to post about?!

I headed down to the Eaton's Centre with specific tasks in mind.

1. Buy METHOD cleaning products at Shoppers.
2. Get microwave at Sears.

#2 didn't get done because I realized when paying for a winter hat that I left my Sears card on my desk at home.

And #1 almost had to be re-done because while standing on the subway platform to catch a ride home, I realized I left my bag from Shoppers on the counter where I paid for the winter hat. (Thankfully my frantic run back to that department paid off because my bag was still there! Phew!)

After that, I headed home because I was a little scared of what would happened next.

If these memory lapses are happening at 32...I don't want to think about what I'll be forgetting and leaving behind at 42 (hopefully its not any (future) kids I have...but no guarantee).

We got some snow...call in the army!

Umm...yeah....its not THAT bad.

Every winter in Toronto the first snowfall creates havoc on the roads and the morning commute. YES I was on the road longer, but I wasn't that late for work.

And like clockwork students call the university first thing to find out if classes are cancelled.

The answer is always....no. (especially if you call at 10am and ask about 7pm classes)

Seriously, it could be way worse.....

Worth quoting

"True love is total acceptance without editing

out the parts of you you feel should be better."

The time of my life (again)

The big day finally came!

And here's the one keepsake I really wanted (but I stopped myself from buying).

Seriously...could it be any cuter?!

How cool is this?!

Click the pic for more details.

Joy.

I got the idea off of a favorite message board of mine to question any purchase with the question...

"Does this bring me joy?"

The idea is to only bring new items into your environment that truly make you happy. I think we're all guilty of settling for things either in frustration or on a unplanned shopping trip. I've passed on the idea to a couple of friends and they've come back on numerous occasions to say they've put things back in a store because the joy-factor just wasn't there.

I've also found the question useful when trying to purge the clutter from my apartment.

Then I was watching TV today and noticed an ad where the occupants of a car were blowing bubble out of their windows and sunroof. I found myself smiling at the screen. Definite joy.

Then the end of the ad encourages people to commit "Acts of Road Joy", and refers them to a website.

VW Road Joy

Since I don't have a car, this might be a little difficult for me to accomplish but I'm sure there are ways to commit acts of street joy.

The things that normally make me smile are:

- when people hold a door open for me
- when someone gives up their seat on the bus/subway
- smiling at people as they pass you by

I'm proud to say I do these things on a regular basis, but I'd like to make a conscious effort to do more. I would like to think that it would inspire someone else to do the same. Every little bit of joy in the world helps right?!


My online sources of joy -

Sony Bravia bouncy ball commercial

LJC FYI

Amazing writing at Wil Weaton dot net in Exile

Fun ideas and finds at Not Martha

Inspired.

One of Oprah's guests today was Kris Carr.

Some quotes that stuck with me -

"Why, when we are challenged to survive, do we give ourselves permission to live?"

"I think just go for it. Life is a terminal condition. We're all going to die."

I can't wait to see her documentary on TLC.

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I intended on saying more about her appearance on Oprah today but I'm having a hard time articulating exactly how I felt about it. But I knew I needed to post about her. Truly amazing!

I'm crafty, "She's Crafty"

I finally caught an episode of "She's Crafty" on HGTV. So far....TWO THUMBS UP!



The host of any show is SO important, and can make or break it regardless of how awesome the content is.

For example:

Awesome show and host -

Design Inc. with Sarah Richarson


Not-so-awesome show & host -

The Style Dept. with Suzanne Dimma

(I really really wanted to like this show because WISH magazine is so awesome, but it just doesn't work for me and a lot of that has to do with the host. Obviously she knows how to do her job in terms of the magazine, but she's just not a TV personality)

The host of She's Crafty (Wendy Russel) is awesome. I could tell that within the first couple of minutes of watching. So I'll be keeping an eye out for future episodes!

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Note to self: Buy rechargeable batteries for camera. No crafty pics can be taken if I'm always in search of batteries.

Some things just make me happy

** Edited to mention: Found here via Magpie & Cake

Update - Re: Day One post

Yeah...the running never happened. But with summer brought two mini walks on breaks and a daily lunch walk with my co-workers.

I'm VERY happy with the results.

Now to keep off any unwanted weight over the looooong cold winter.

Here I am again...

It's MONTHS after starting a blog (again!). I think I managed a handful of posts when it all went to hell (again!).

But I'm back....going to give it another go.

I guess I usually feel like I don't have anything interesting to say.

There are some blogs I read religiously, and the posts are always interesting and/or the writing is amazing. So I think I put too much pressure on myself to be that creative when really I can't make my blog like theirs...its impossible...I just have to make it mine.

I also struggle with what kind of blog I want it to be. Ideally it would be about the things I'm working on. Projects, things I'm making, things I want to do....and there's been a seriously lack of all those things in the last couple of months. Granted...I have been busy. Moving and getting settled do take some time.

Then I hesitate about writing about personal stuff...but I guess it all kind of goes together. Its all part of the same (so-called lol) life I'm living.

So...we're into the middle of October. I'm about as settled as I'm going to get I think and (again) I should stop making excuses.

Here's my list:

Something I'm making: a scarf (winter is coming whether I want it to or not)
Something I want to do: the mural on my wall (I just need that overhead!!)
Other projects: career overhaul...its time to move on. Resume is almost ready to go, then its time to get it out there to see what happens. Very scary...and exciting at the same time.

I also booked my flight down the US for Christmas. THAT I'm excited about. Can't promise I'll post much about that on here, but we'll see. ;)

Day one...

5642.

That's how many steps my pedometer recorded on my first official power walk today.

I'm attempting to work my way up to running, but I've read that its best to start slow or you'll just burn out too quickly and running will never be fun for you (because you're not doing it right). At this point I can't picture running being fun at all...but I'm going to give it a try.

I need to focus on "other" things, and I need to get in shape...this will hopefully accomplish both.

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I'm grateful...

1. that I have the ability to walk/run with relative ease. I saw a young girl while I out with a walker and it made me realize how lucky I really am. (how easy it is to forget that some days)

2. that the rain earlier made the air outside perfect for walking - not too hot, not too cool

3. that I still have a lifetime ahead to accomplish everything that I dream of...that its not too late

Happy Mother's Day!

The Time of My Life

Seriously, we had the BEST time.

You could feel the positive energy in the sold-out theatre. It was amazing to have the writer of the movie and musical in the audience. Having people cheer and applaude throughout the movie made it seem fresh even though I've lost count as to how many times I've seen it on tape.

November now seems that much further away.

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I'm grateful...
1. that the rain stayed away on our walk to and from the movie theatre
2. that I could experience the evening with good friends
3. that the movie was made, because its given me so much joy

Spring Cleaning

All the renewal happening outside tends to inspire us all to try renew our indoor living situation. Though I'm often tempted to just pack up and move somewhere else, that's not always a reasonable solution. (and really, packing isn't fun either)


So I began to notice that we seem to accumulate a lot of stuff in this household and I've been attempting to purge as much as possible over the last couple of days. But what I've also noticed is that in an attempt to organize and clean, the apartment tends to get way worse before it gets better...and that is very discouraging.

During this process, I get distracted. Facebook becomes even more enticing and I can't tell you how many time I've checked my e-mail in the hopes of getting something that I can respond to. Suddenly shows on TV that I've never watched before become super interesting and even cleaning

My Wish List - Spring 2007

** Side note: I'm having a small (but annoying) issue with font size. I apologise if the some of the text is illegible.

At the moment I'm a little cash poor, but that doesn't mean that a girl can't dream about her next retail therapy session.

So here's my Spring 2007 wish list (so far):

1. A sun dress. They're everywhere,
are so cute and fairly inexpensive.




2. Shoes - Sporty. Casual. Dressy. Fun.
(so more than one pair for sure)



3. A bag - suitable for spring
with great color and pattern

4. Something to read
and to keep me busy




* click on each pic to be taken to the retailer where the item is available

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I'm grateful...
1. to be able to spend a beautiful spring day with friends.
2. the clouds rolled in after I was already home
3. the apartment isn't too messy, so cleaning up should be a breeze

Snapshot Saturday

In the interest of having something to blog about each and every day I thought I'd put all the photo sorting I've done lately to good use. Each Saturday I'll post a picture that's a blast from my past and write about a memory that goes along with it.


As a kid we spent some time each summer down in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. My family along with aunt, uncles and cousins would pile into numerous cars and vans and make the LONG journey from Toronto down to the beach.

My brother and I (shown in this picture) had a blast. Unlimited access to a heated pool and ocean was almost too much to handle. We had these small inflatable rafts (printed with the Rebel flag) and would spend hours riding wave after wave up to the beach.

I remember the midway, the boardwalk and that the older kids went "cruising" at night. I also remember their parents made them take us one night and I can only imagine how much we cramped their style. We're the youngest cousins in the family so getting to hang out with our older cousins made us feel pretty cool.

I would really love to go back one day. Maybe not so much for the cruising, but that wave riding would still be pretty fun.

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I'm grateful...
1. for happy childhood memories
2. we have a cozy couch to watch my favorite movie on
3. for a clear sky so I could see the (almost) full moon

No one puts Baby in a corner!

I don't feel "old" too often, but hearing that its the 20th Anniversary of the movie Dirty Dancing kinda made me cringe a little bit.

I admit it, I had the cut off jean shorts and the white collared shirt tied at the front. Ok, I was about 12 at the time so I didn't actually fill it out...but I thought I looked cute. (though I'm grateful there isn't photographic evidence to contradict this)

But all that is forgotten when I realized that the 20th Anniversary means:

• the movie is being re-released in theatres May 1st & 2nd
  
• there is special DVD release (with bonus footage) coming out May 8th
• and I have my tickets already for the musical in November

And to keep the Dirty Dancing fest going, this video on YouTube is extremely cute!

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I'm grateful...
1. for the opportunity to reconnect with old friends
2. that it didn't rain too hard when I went to pick up some food
3. that my guy did great on his exams

Michele's so-called Life - v 3.5

I think this is "Michele's so-called Life - Version 3.5".

Livejournal was first (but it never worked for me the way I wanted it to), Blogger was next (was ok, but not what I was looking for in terms of esthetic's so I went in search of other options), then TypePad (I liked, but I couldn't justify paying each month for space I rarely updated), and now I'm back here (free is good).

Let's just say I've been completely living up to my blog name and there hasn't been much to post about. There's only so many times you can write..."I went to work today, I came home and made dinner, I watched LOST and fell asleep".

Yeah...boring blog.

But since this is my first post, I'll go easy on myself....

Did you see LOST tonight?!?! Didn't man-with-eye-patch get himself zapped by the scary perimeter fence?

I wonder if they'll EVER reveal all the islands secrets.

I just hope they do it before my interest is lost. ;)