Pescetarian

Wow no updates in a while. i've been kinda lazy. The big news recently is that I decided to be a pescetarian for the month of november. It's inspired by a friend of mine who did the same a while back. I'm not a picky eater and I love all kinds of food (except onions, 'cause those are just disgusting!) so this isn't about me giving up meat or not enjoying it. I really do love meat and even if I'm an animal lover, I don't believe in not eating the flesh of animals, simply because that is how it works. We prey and we eat each other. Ok, things changed and we don't actually hunt our food, but that's still the way it works within the animal realm, so I don't feel guilty eating meat myself.

Now, why am I doing this then? Because vegetarianism is something that's always intrigued me. And because it's healthy and it's good to challenge one self once in a while. So here it is, I'm spending the entire month of September with no meat. However, I am not a vegetarian as I'm eating fish (and I'm not a vegan, as I'm eating dairy). I chose to add fish to the mix because this is the first time I will have a diet without meat and I didn't want to shock my system too much. It's also easier to ensure I get all my nutrients. I'm trying not to eat fish too much though. So far, i've had one seafood meal and one fish meal. So i'm doing good with legumes and vegetable so far! :)

Dogs

I'm obsessed with the idea of having a dog. It's so frustrating...Ever since I became a foster home for Mia (who was re-named Daphne when she got adopted) I wanted to just adopt her. And I feel like I can't as I am gone a lot. I'm gone minimum 9 hours a day (with 8 hours of work and an hour of commute). That's no life for a dog...But I really really want one! My poor little Charlotte is all alone all day and I want a friend for her, but she doesn't like other cats very much. Maybe if I got a kitten that would trigger her motherly instinct but there's no guarantee...My volunteering at the SPCA is giving me pet cravings!

My cutie pie; Charlotte.

High Boots

I bought my first pair of high boots the other day. Shocking I know! It took me 24 years to buy the staple ‘fuck-me’ boots. The thing is, I’m really tall and have been avoiding heels most of my life (being a terribly skinny and awkwardly tall teenager makes you in love with sneakers!). I’ve gotten over my teenage issues a couple of years back and have started slowly reintegrating heels in my shoe collection. But since I’m not use to walking around with my feet in a weird position, I usually end up uncomfortable and don’t wear them much unless it’s a night out and I want to look hot. So all that to say I’ve never bought boots as they are usually in heels. The other reason I don’t buy boots is because my calves are small and I hate slouchy leather boots. I like the really straight pretty ones, like they show them on the presentation shelves. So I took a trip to Naturalizer to try and find comfortable, stylish and tight on the calf boots. Not an easy task. But I found them! They aren’t as tight on the calves as they could be, they do slouch a lot in the lower calf/almost ankle area, but they’ll do. So I can now enjoy the simplicity of skinny jeans in high boots. Yes, i've come a long way!

Thanksgiving and Celebrations

I've been pretty busy lately! I've fostered a dog from the SPCA who had kennel cough (dog flu) and that took a lot of my time. She was really worth it though as she was the cutest thing ever. She got adopted by good friends and will therefore keep being a part of my life, which I'm grateful for.

Here's her cutsy face:

Really the nicest, funniest and cuddliest dog I've known. She loves to sleep all night in your bed and cuddle on your legs while you watch TV. She's really like a cat/dog, some kind of weird inter-species personality! ;) She and Charlotte got along fine which means that I can volunteer myself to babysit her when her owners are away on vacation! :)

I've also been busy planning my mother's 50th birthday. It includes a dinner and a week-end getaway at a cottage with her friends. It's quite a lot of planning! From getting confirmation from people, to reserving at the restaurant, to grocery shopping for the chalet and also collecting money for a collective gift! Pfiou! Sometimes I wish I had brothers and sisters to help me pick up the slack. But oh well, I really can't complain at this point! ;)

It's thanksgiving soon and I'm planning on baking Martha Stewart pumpkin cupcakes recipe for Sunday night dinner in my boyfriend's family. i'm debating right now whether or not to make homemade marzipan to shape little pumpkins to decorate on top. But considering I'm trying a new recipe and I'm already a beginner baker, this might be over doing it a little...

Mine - Taylor Swift

You were in college, working part-time, waiting tables
Left a small town and never looked back
I was a flight risk, afraid of fallin'
Wondering why we bother with love, if it never lasts

I say, "Can you believe it?"
As we're lyin' on the couch
The moment, I can see it
Yes, yes, I can see it now

Do you remember, we were sittin' there, by the water?
You put your arm around me for the fist time
You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter
You are the best thing that's ever been mine

Flash forward, and we're takin' on the world together
And there's a drawer of my things at your place
You learn my secrets and figure out why I'm guarded
You say we'll never make my parents' mistakes

But we got bills to pay
We got nothin' figured out
When it was hard to take
Yes, yes

This is what I thought about:

Do you remember, we were sittin' there, by the water?
You put your arm around me for the fist time
You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter
You are the best thing that's ever been mine

Do you remember all the city lights on the water?
You saw me start to believe for the first time
You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter
You are the best thing that's ever been mine

Oh, oh, oh, oh

And I remember that fight, two-thirty AM
You said everything was slipping right out of our hands
I ran out, crying, and you followed me out into the street

Braced myself for the goodbye, cause that's all I've ever known
Then, you took me by surprise
You said, "I'll never leave you alone."

You said, "I remember how we felt, sitting by the water.
And every time I look at you, it's like the first time.
I fell in love with a careless man's careful daughter.
She is the best thing that's ever been mine."

You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter
You are the best thing that's ever been mine

Do you believe it?
We're gonna make it now
And I can see it

I can see it now

New Habits

Recently, I've been reminiscing about the fact that there are so many things that are new in my life. If I would have told myself at 18 if I would be who I am now, I never would have believed it. And I don't mean this in a bad way. But I've gained interest in things I wasn't interested in before. I've realized recently how many side activities I do. I'm interested in so many things I don't have enough time to fulfill all my wishes. Some of the things I've gain interest in recently:

• Fitness: I've always been a really really lazy girl. I'm not the sporty type. I don't like sweating and risking getting myself hurt. However, I've always loved the outdoors so I used to do crazy things like white river rafting. But until recently, I had never been to the gym. And until even more recently, I had never played a team sport. I now go to the YMCA about twice a week and I am in a ball hockey league with my work. It's kinda crazy to me that I play hockey. It's such a weird concept...
• Nutrition: And my regained interest in fitness brought another one for healthy lifestyle, including being more aware of what I eat. I've always enjoyed good food, however I would also eat poutine and cheeseburger on a regular basis. I always considered that since I was naturally slim, I could afford it. But now that I exercie regularly, which makes me feel good, i feel like eating a cheeseburger with fries just totally cancels it out. And I'm not just talking about weight. Because even if I'd like to lose another 5 pounds, i'm not really in any need to lose weight. i'm talking about feeling good and looking a bit more fit and muscular. I joined myfooddiary.com and learned a bit more about what I ate that pushes me over the edge of my daily calories. It helped me out a lot to see where and when I ate badly. Now I don't even crave poutine as much. I'll still eat it, 'cause I believe in not depriving yourself of any pleasure but I crave way less fried food than before!
• Dogs: Kinda sounds weird but I've always been a cat person. I've owned cats and think they are lovely creatures. Big dogs scare me. They get all excited and run towards you, barking and jump on you and I pee my pants. I remember when me and Cait went to pick up Charlotte (our lovely kitten) she house where she was staying owned 4 dogs. 4. I got out of the car, gasp and hid. The owner was nice enough to put them in the backyard. However, now I feel like a dummy because working at the SPCA lead me to love dogs more and more. To the point where I really want one one. A small one of course, because big dogs still are kinda scary. But yeah, this is a new found love which I will have to fulfill one day!
• Fashion: I used to be jean, t-shirt, sneakers and ponytail girl. I've gained interested in not only fashion, but beauty and trends. I now love makeup more. I now love shoes more. I still can't wear really high heels even though I think they are gorgeous, but I refuse to be 6'3 with 5 inches heels. A girl has got to have limits. I'm too tall for gorgeous shoes. However, I've gained interest in the last couple of years in clothes and purses and necklaces. I still have a pretty easy going style; however I do put more effort into looking easy going! ;)

I think these are the main things that changed about me in the last couple of years! It's kind of interesting to look back and see how you grew. I mean, there's obviously a lot more things about me that has changed, my personality and my outlook on life. However, these are activities that I now do I never thought I would bother with when I was in high school. I remember rolling my eyes are people talking about hockey...and now I play it!

Sprinkles Cupcakes

Tonight i made cupcakes from a Spinkles mix I bought when I visited my friend Maresa in Toronto. I have a tendancy to buy things when i'm on vacation I wouldn't normally buy! So anyways, I finally decided to try it. They took me about 1 hour and a half to make, mostly because I don't have an electric mixer so I mostly beat by hand or with a hand blender. It's quite the pain!

They turned out allright, except the chocolate for the frosting needed to be melted (from their original baker's square) and then cooled to room temperature. I therefore put the bowl in the fridge after melting the chocolate, thinking I was being clever. The damn chocolate got hard at the bottom and on the sides of the bowl (without even being cold!)

So there's little chunks of chocolate in my frosting...oh well, i'll pretend I intented for that all along!