Everyday Conversations

Nick: "Let watch football!"
Me: "You're such a typical male.."
Nick: "I don't even drive."
Me: "I'll give you that one...."

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!

Makeup galore

So I haven't been good lately. Almost a month without posting! Oups!

I thought I’d share some of my latest obsession which is makeup. It’s kinda strange as I don’t even wear makeup on a daily basis. I’m a brush your hair and your teeth and you’re good to go kind of girl. However, I’ve always enjoyed taking the time to apply makeup when going out or for special events. At work however, I wear my glasses and my hair in a ponytail often, making it pointless to wear makeup. But lately I started applying makeup even when going to work, just for the fun of it. I’ve also, of course, bought a bunch of new makeup.

My first buy was the Mac Bronzer. I’ve never had bronzer before and I’m really pale so it’s a must. But since I’m so pale, bronzer scared me. I didn’t want to look unnatural or dirty. I really love my Mac because it’s very sheer and it goes on very naturally. It looks super dark in the compact, but it’s not at all. My shade is ‘golden’.

I had also purchase some things from Mark which is a sub-branch of avon. My favourite purchase are the Speedway, a little foundation stick you can carry around in your purse for touch ups. I use it as concealer as well. My shade is ‘ivory’.

My next amazing find is the Mark makeup brushes mini kit. It’s completely amazing. It’s this cute black and pink pouch with 5 basic brushes. It fits easily in your purse and the brushes are pretty good and sturdy even though they are so short.

My latest purchase has been from Everyday Mineral. This is a new company aiming at natural organic products. What I really like about them is that you can purchase a sample size for 2$, permitting you to try out different shades and find your perfect one before committing to one. They also offer a 3 different shades sampler with every purchase. Pretty awesome! I got their eyeliner brush (which is amazing!) and their eyeliner powder in ‘little black dress’ shade.

This was the first time I’ve ever used powder eyeliner and I loved it. It gives a much more natural look than the pencil or liquid kind. I’ve heard about this company through the website The Lo Down who has pretty cool beauty tips.

Speaking of beauty tips, a friend from work introduced me to this girl who gives makeup tutorial on youtube. She can be kind of annoying sometimes, but she obviously knows what she’s doing and she has excellent tips!

Last shootout at my current favourite liptstick, the Laura Mercier in Pink Champagne. I bought it in January at Sephora during a trip to New York City. They had a box of Sephora’s favourite lipstick, which I bought to get to try many. I hadn’t been using this one so much until recently. It works with my complexion perfectly and it’s not too pink, but not too red. It‘s really easy to pull it off!

SPCA Montreal

I've been volunteering at the SPCA recently and I'm loving it! :) I had two theory training before I actually got a shift working as an adoption counselor. I am now paired up with a senior volunteer who is my 'coach'. She shows me everything and is really nice and we seem to work together well. That pairing makes it less scary to stand there and try and help people find their perfect pet. The volunteer's shift are 3 hours and I work Saturdays from 11 to 2. I find that shift kinda weird as I get uber hungry!

I was surprised at the amount of filtering that takes place before an adoption. There's a form to fill out before we even give out any info on a animal. Clients are allowed to peruse the cages and look at the kitties and doggies but we can't talk about them until they fill out this form. It's basically information about where they live, what kind of pets they had in the past and how they intent to treat their pets (with questions like 'where will the animal sleep?' and 'do you intent to declaw?') There are multiple red flag questions which, if answered wrong, will terminate any adoption process. They are very thorough to ensure the animal will find a good home and more importantly, a forever home. We do not want animals that are adopted to end up back at the SPCA.

It's important to point out that the SPCA is the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. It's not a pet shop. Our goal is not to sell these dogs and cats. We aren't working for the client like a good salesman but for the animal. We do want people to adopt the animals as they deserve a good forever home, however, we must ensure that this is exactly what it is. I have the power to refuse an adoption if I find the client to be suspicious. It goes beyond saying that any person coming to the SPCA to buy a dog for breeding or to become a guard dog/attack dog will be turned down.

I'm very happy knowing I'm doing something good and I came back home with a smile on my face. Of course, seeing the face of all those adorable animals without a home broke my heart but I know we'll find them some. One forever home at a time :)

http://www.spcamontreal.com/intro.php?lg=fr
http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/QC06.html

Gay Marriage

California abolished their prop. 8 on august 4th, and I can only say this make me even more of a fan of California. I know this is a contraversial issue, but i don't think it should be. Love is love, and it doesn't matter between which gender it takes place. I can't believe that in this day and age, we still frown upon something as beautiful and pure as love between two people.

I'm now going to end this on a piece of humor I had posted on my facebook a really long time ago:

10 Reasons Why Gay Marriage is Wrong:

1) Being gay is not natural. Real people always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, and air conditioning.

2) Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.

3) Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract.

4) Straight marriage has been around a long time and hasn't changed at all; women are still property, blacks still can't marry whites, and divorce is still illegal.

5) Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay marriage were allowed; the sanctity of Brittany Spears' 55-hour just-for-fun marriage would be destroyed.

6) Straight marriages are valid because they produce children. Gay couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn't be allowed to marry because our orphanages aren't full yet, and the world needs more children.

7) Obviously gay parents will raise gay children, since straight parents only raise straight children.

8) Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That's why we have only one religion in the world.

9) Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home. That's why we as a society expressly forbid single parents to raise children.

10) Gay marriage will change the foundation of society; we could never adapt to new social norms. Just like we haven't adapted to cars, the service-sector economy, or longer life spans

Marco Polo

We have a guy here at the office named Marco Perreta. It makes for funny moments as most of us are geeks and yell out "POLO!" when he is called after.

I love my job!

"Marco?"
"POOOOOOOOLLLLLLOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!"

Good times!

Insomnia

Why is it always the nights I decided to go to bed early and wake up early that I can't sleep?

Paradox.

Cupcakes

I just made an awesome chickpeas salad for dinner. I was orginally supposed to make a pasta salad, but i didn't have any canned tuna (and I like to have a protein in my meals!) so i went for chickpeas instead and skipped the pasta altogether. For a last minute whipped up meal, it was pretty good! I also didn't follow any recipe, so i'm pretty proud of the little cook in me! ;)

Speaking of cooking, i have yet shared the cupcakes i made last week-end! At christmas i got this book from my aunt:

And I had never baked before but was extremely excited 'cause i have quite the sweet tooth! So the first cupcakes i made, i kinda cheated and made mint-filled brownie cupcakes. They were delicious but required no icing which didn't make them "full" cupcakes.

So last week-end was my first attempt at baking cupcakes from start to finish from scratch including the icing and....decorating it! Yes, because i never do anything simply, i decided i also wanted to learn how to decorate cupcakes So I had bought a piping bag as well as a basic kit of 4 tips and some food coloring.

I decided to make the ‘devils food chocolate’ cupcake because I love chocolate, and I had all the ingredients! Unfortunately, for the icing recommended for the cupcake (chocolate ganache) I was missing corn syrup. So I decided to make the ‘fluffy vanilla icing’ instead and figured that chocolate cake with vanilla icing is always good!

Here is what my cupcake is supposed to be:

Here are my cupcakes (without the damn chocolate ganache of course!):

The icing was a bit difficult as it required an electric beater, which I do not have. However, I own a whip and an electric blender. Turns out, that’s not the same! The electric blender goes too fast and I hurt my wrist with the whip. I did manage though by alternating between the two, depending on the recommended speed (high = electric beater, low/medium = hand whip). That icing took work which only made it more delicious! ;)

My kitchen after the 'great icing of 2010':

That same night I brought over my cupcakes and the icing at my friend Stephanie’s place and we ate too (after putting the icing in the microwave and melting it and then whipping it back into shape!). On the Sunday, I decided to finally ice my cupcakes (which I had stored as is) and therefore decorate them! So I tinted half my icing in purple and covered most cupcakes with white and proceeded to explore what kind of shape the tips I had made. Of course, a lot of my cupcakes are terribly ugly due to the fact I had no clue what I was doing! But that flower one is kinda pretty! ;)

To reward myself, I bought myself flowers! Who needs a man? Especially one that says he can't buy you flowers 'cause your cat will eat them! HA! Proved him wrong! :P

AC!

So I'm a bit late, but we just had a heat-wave here in Montreal. The heatwave is still happening i believe, but the temperature aren't as high anymore. As much as i wanna be a California Girl, 43oC is TOO HIGH! So I gave in a bought AC. Yes, i didn't have AC. Not everyone has AC around here as we have generally a pretty cool weather with a few hot days in the summer. We just deal with fans. I mean, some people have AC, but it's not a standard like in Cali.

It was 33 in my house, so I decided to get AC. Even with it I was only able to bring it down to 29 during the heatwave. We got some pouring rain friday so the air chilled a bit and then i managed to get a nice 25. YAY!

My poor Charlotte was sticking her tongue out like a dog trying to cool herself. I felt terrible. The poor thing is covered a fur coat during a heatwave! I don't think i've introduced Charlotte eh? Next post!

St-Jean

So yesterday was St-Jean Batiste here in Québec. Which is our "national" celebration. Basically an excuse to get drunk and listen to french music. I use to really milk that excuse to party, but I guess I'm old now as I don't anymore. I went to a BBQ at my mom's place with family and friends. It was neat but I left early as I was really tired and I had to work the next day. Which is today. Getting a Thursday off and then working on a Friday isn't great. I feel like it's Sunday and I should be in bed. And lots of people took off today so it's basically boring. I've been here for an hour and it feels like 4. This is going to be a looooooooooooong day!

Sunshine

Bah! I've been super bad and not posting! The thing is, there's not much to say. But here goes!

Tonight I'm going to have drinks with my friend Caitlin which i'm excited about. She's going on an American tour road-trip for 3 weeks so we're grabbing a last drink before she leaves.

Last night I did 30 mins of my pilates DVD. But before you applaud me know this; last night i skipped the one-hour pilates class at my gym i was suppose to attend. So basically, i felt guilty and did some at home. I really really like pilates. It doesn't feel too hard as you're doing it because you change position so often adn yet, it really works all your muscles. I feel toned afterwards. I then rewarded myself with a long shower and exfoliation and then some very light suntan lotion. I like the Bioterm one as I'm very fair skin and usually even the lightest suntan lotions give me streaks as they are much much darker than my skin. This one is what they call "progressive tan" so you basically need to apply it multiple times for it to do something. Which makes all the layers blend and come out nice and pretty. For those of you who enjoy a nice dark tan, this won't do good. It,' for the Irish skin like me who enjoy thinking they are tan but really are not.

So on that note, I wish you all sunshine!

Lost Finale

Anybody watched the Lost Finale? What the hell happened? Purgatory, really? Anyways...

I gotta a couple of questions:

1. So Jin didn't think of his daughter when he decided to die with Sun? "I'll never leave you again", really? What about that poor ORPHANED daughter you never meant?
   
2. Kate & Jack are each other true love? Really? BOOORING. What about Kate & Sawyer? Why did Kate cry when Sawyer told her he was gonna propose to Juliette?
3. Why was Hurley in the purgatory? Isn't he some kind of god now? Jacob lived for a very long time. I don't think the rules of humans applied to the protector of the island...
4. Why was Aaron in the purgatory? Did he died already? And if he did, why is he in baby form? Poor dude, can't even make it to heaven while talking and walking!
5. Wouldn't Jack and Juliette recognize each other in their alternate universe thing? I mean, they did kinda date on the island and obviously had a bond!
6. Speaking of which, Jack and Juliette had a kid? That means they did the nasties! Hot.
7. Sayid and Shannon? Really? I thought that was kind of a consequential fling. They were both single and attractive kinda thing. Wasn't Sayid great love Nadia?

I'll stop there but I could go on. i'm ok with not getting all the answers, I do like a bit of mystery adn the island is definately mystic. But I wish we would have learned a bit more about the character's life. What happened to the "survivors" when they finally left the island after killing the Man in Black? Did Kate and Sawyer hooked up? They probably did...those two kids can't keep their hands off each other!

Watch this Lost unanswered questions from College Humor

Birthday

I completely forgot my birthday! Well, I didn't exactly, but I forgot to mention it here! ;)

On May 6th, I turned 24. *gasp*

I had a quiet and fun get together with friends at a local lounge called Typhoon. They have a very chill atmosphere with cool music and an awesome martini menu (the fries are pretty decent too!). So it was a good night! :) I had decided to take the pressure off the planning of my birthday, as I usually organize a big night out and stress and disappointment usually come with it. I'm so busy organizing and missing the people who didn't come I don't get to enjoy myself. This year, I just enjoyed myself and it was marvelous. I strongly recommend it!

The only thing that was missing? A birthday cupcake! Take notes friends! ;)

Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind

I just came back from acting class which ended early today. This whoel acting thing is getting very difficult for me to juggle. I love acting. Love it. But I still don't know if I want to pursue it as a career. It scares me to pursue it. It means letting go of the stability i've craved and created for my self. I like my job, i love my colleague, i love my company. Who am I to yet want more? I am blessed, and i am thankful. And yet, i am not complete. There will always be a 'what if' if I don't pursue it. But I'm scared of regrets if I do. So I try to do both. To take acting workshop, to sus out projects where i can act, where i can model, anything, anything that permits me to be in front of a camera and pretending. I love it. I breathe it. It's been impossible for me to stop.

I did it as a teenager, starting at age 12 and decided not to pursue as a career when i applied for university. And even THEN i never really stopped, because i thought about it, and i took classes in theatre at my school. I even lied to my fellow students in those classes telling them i was doing a minor in theatre. As if i felt ashame i wasn't a part of them. Of those who pursued their dreams and didn't shy from them. I'm a coward.

Recently I've been re-exposed to this world again as my boyfriend produces. And i can't help but always wonder 'what if I was myself in this field?'. Would I feel more like i have a purpose? Would I fill fullfilled or is it human nature to want more then we have? Can the people around me appreciate me if i'm not even accepting myself for who i am or fulfilling my potential.

One of the thing my teacher would say about my acting is that I hold back. But maybe I hold back because i'm scared if I go there, I'll never come back. However, I wonder if my ego isn't twisted to think that i could make it where so many have failed before. To even think i could have the talent.

I mean the answer to 'should i follow my dreams?' is obvious. No one will answer no to that, unless they are the vilain in a movie. however, how do you determine what would really make you happy? How do you determine if you aren't happy right now? I mean, i AM happy. Why would i want more? Would pursuing acting make me more happy or just a different kind of happy? Is it worth the risk? Is it worth what i would lose?

Gym & Acting

I haven't been good lately and haven't posted in a while. The thing is, nothing big happens to me most of the time so i feel like reporting weather is kinda boring...

But I have news now. The fist one being that I'm officially joining the YMCA west mount. I made the decision recently. I've been twice as a "guest" with my friend Caitlin and had a blast. And i think it'll be really good for me. I'm mostly going to do classes, I’m not a big machine fan. But I do get a free training with a personal trainer so maybe they’ll be able to turn me! So far I’ve taken a Zumba class, two afro-Caribbean dancing classes and tonight I’m going to my first Aerobics with Stephanie. We’ll see how it goes…So far I’m motivated, I’ll keep you posted in two months! ;)

I also took yet another acting workshop, so I’ll be doing that every Monday night for the next 6 weeks. Busy bee I’ll be!

My Best Friend

Sometimes i can't find the way to say what i want. So i find songs or lyrics that express it for me. Also they often make it sounds way prettier than i ever would.

For the person who makes everyday a little brigher:

I never had no one
I could count on
I've been let down so many times
I was tired of hurtin'
So tired of searchin'
'Til you walked into my life
It was a feelin'
I'd never known
And for the first time
I didn't feel alone

You're more than a lover
There could never be another
To make me feel the way you do
Oh we just get closer
I fall in love all over
Everytime I look at you
I don't know where I'd be
Without you here with me
Life with you makes perfect sense
You're my best friend
You're my best friend, oh yeah

You stand by me
And you believe in me
Like nobody ever has
When my world goes crazy
You're right there to save me
You make me see how much I have
And I still tremble
When we touch
And oh the look in your eyes
When we make love

You're more than a lover
There could never be another
To make me feel the way you do
Oh we just get closer
I fall in love all over
Everytime I look at you
And I don't know where I'd be
Without you here with me
Life with you makes perfect sense
You're my best friend
You're my best friend

You're more than a lover
There could never be another
To make me feel the way you do
Oh we just get closer
I fall in love all over
Everytime I look at you
And I don't know where I'd be
Without you here with me
Life with you makes perfect sense
You're my best friend
You're my best friend (my best friend)
You're my best friend (my best friend)

Cooking

I've recently discovered this website: www.soscuisine.com and i find it completely amazing. They have really cool recipes and include the nutrition table for them, which permits you to search for recipes according to their intake (high in fiber, low in calories, high in iron, etc). It's pretty fascinating. And they also offer a weekly meal planner. I discovered the website a couple of weeks back when i decided to start making meal plans in order to promote grocery shopping and cooking. I like cooking. But I never knew what to do, so I never really grocery shopped and everynight i would pick out the ingredients for tonight's dinner, which is not only a waste of time but doesn't promote big time cooking. So now I make a meal plan and a grocery list.

I usually only plan 4 meals, knowing that during the week-end things always show up and you go out and there's plenty of leftovers. So far it works. I've been discovering recipes which just makes me more excited to cook. i've also been really good about cleaning my dishes since knowing that I'm going to have to cook the next day, i like to have a clean kitchen. Anyhoodles, so far it's successful! My boyfriend seems to enjoy it too! ;)

Next step: baking!

Spring Time

It's Spriiiiiiiiiiiiiiing. Ok i'm a little late but last week-end was amazing here in Montreal. We got beautiful weather. Sunglasses wearing, running in shorts and walking around at night with only a little jacket weather. I am very impressed. Kudos mother nature! Now, with every spring comes two things:

1. I gotta change the tire of my car (yes, I'm very late...but we used to have snow in march!)
2. I gotta dye/fix my hair

Now...everytime i need to go to the hairdresser (due to a bad roots situation) I ponder: blonde or brunette? It's a big dilemna for me...I'm a natural brunette who's had dyed hair since i was 15. It started slow...some highlights here and there. Now I'm pretty much blonde all over. Although, last time I went, we put in a darker color (amber-golden blown) to try and avoid the bad roots situation. Because yes, i am obsessed with my roots showing. If my roots show, that's all I see. I do everything to hide it, except go to the hairdresser as it's expensive and I try to put as much time as possible between my visits. And everytime I wonder if I shouldn't just go back to my original color and therefore avoid the whole roots-from-hell fiasco. But you see, blonde is my cover blanket. I'm comfortable like that. I feel hotter.

I dyed my hair back to brown about 4 years ago and I got some bad reviews. And I'm not even a Marilyn Monroe blonde, I'm a dark golden blonde. So it's not THAT much of a contrast. But nonetheless.... I went to a L'Oreal sale with my mom and bought a box of brunette dye (because yes. i will dye my hair brown from a box but never blonde! too dangerous). But i'm thinking to stay blonde for the summer and then dye it brunette in the fall. It sorta makes sense don't you think? But then again, i might just be giving myself an excuse NOT to go back to brown right away....*sigh* It's so hard being a girl! ;)

Brunette VS Blonde

Here are my problems

You know one thing I hate? People transferring their problems unto my shoulders. Example: you are walking down the street all innocently and someone stops you and ask you where this restaurant is. You have no clue and say so and then they just stare at you. You mumble 'sorry' and then they start explaining how the restaurant is supposed to be on this street but they can't find it and they are late and bla bla bla. All the while you are standing there, trying to looking compassionate, but you feel trapped and guilty because you can't help them. And like that, they've made their problems yours! A complete stranger. You didn't offer your help, they interrupted your brisk walk to your destination. And as much as you wouldn't mind helping them out if you could, you can't. So why can't they just say "oh well thank you" and let you go? Why do they have to hold on to dear life to you as their savior? Maybe I'm the one who's too sensitive in feeling like now i have to find a solution for them. But nonetheless.

And when I was receptionist (and still occasionally am, when the current receptionist is absent) i felt the same way. When people called and needing to speak to a certain person urgently, and that certain person is not at their desk, it is suddenly your responsibility to get up, go to their desk, walk around, look in the caf, open the bathroom stalls one by one to find them for them. (ok i'm kidding about the bathroom...) Is it just me? Why can't I just say "well I'm sorry they are not there, i'll give him the message". No, i have to do everything in my power to solve this problem as it became MY problem since you're using me as a tool to solve it. I really hate it. But I'm wondering if I shouldn't be hating myself for caring so much. Maybe eh?

Customer Service

You want to know something that bugs me? Bad customer service. I face it on a daily basis at work. I’m a purchasing rep so I deal with distributors who don’t give a shit about me. A lot of my rep from my different suppliers are completely incompetent. They will often answer a question by giving me a phone number to call (instead of finding the answer themselves). I loathe it. I’ve always worked in customer service. My current job is the first one where I’m never directly in front of clients. I mean, I’ve met a few, I talk to a lot of them over the phone and I definitely write a lot of emails to all of them. But it’s still not the same as serving them food, you know? And I feel like I’ve got costumer service down to a T. I always take my customer’s need in consideration and I always try to meet them at the best of my capacity. We have clients who request ridiculous things all the time and I do it. I send quotes after quotes to clients who never ever answer me and I have to follow up to finally get a “thanks but no thanks” answer, making all my work irrelevant. But I do it because that’s how you make money. That’s how you gain people’s trust and loyalty. If you screw people over, they’ll screw you over first chance they get. And I feel like I do all these things for my costumer but I rarely get it back! I appreciate so much a particularly friendly waiter or a clerk that gives me pertinent recommendation. I give them an extra smile because I know how hard they work and how little they get back from it.

The Title

Ok. So you might wonder (or not!) what the title of my blog mean. Well aside being an awesome song, it's always a reality for me. I love California and i dream of living there. Now this dream started when i was really young, naive and disillusioned that i would move to LA and become an actress (yes, I've wanted to become an actress for many years and took my craft very seriously). I'm a bit less young, a tiny bit less naive but still disillusioned now. I understand that i will not win an Oscar. However, California is still my favourite state. Now, I know I've barely been to the States and therefore shouldn't pick favorites but i can't help it. It's nice and warm there and it feels like the place you go for your dreams to come true. I've actually went to California for the first time last year and it was everything i knew it would be. Santa Monica is a dream and I love the ocean (starring at it, not swimming in it as it was way too cold). I've always been really into nature but i used to go in the woods. I still love the woods, but there's something about the immensity of this water that just takes my breath away. I can just sit on the sand and stare at the water for hours. You feel tiny in comparison and it puts things back in perspective.

Another important bit of information about me is that i hate the cold. Loathe it. And yet I've lived in freezing Montreal, Qc my whole life. I do not respond well to -30 Celsius. I have dry itchy skin due to the snow and wind and extremely bad circulation in my fingers and toes. People sometimes say a state like California can be depressing as there is no change in season, no leaves falling, no snow, no spring. A perfect summer day everyday. You know what? I think i can deal with that...

Here goes nothing...

As a little girl, I could never really hold a diary. I never really figured the point. I mean, i think my thoughts, what's the point of writting them down of no one else but me reads them? I mean, I'm aware of them as I thought them. If seemed like too much work with too little rewards. I did own some diaries. I had those with a lock on it and a key you keep. Yeah...Everybody wants little girl to keep diaries. And with reflection, I probably think i should have kept one. It would have helped with my writing as I dreamed of writing, a long time ago. As you can see, that dream was a long time ago and I now write like a sailor speaks!

My mother always wanted me to write as she kept saying "you have such great imagination". Yeah, so? Imagination is great but it doesn't get you much places if you don't have the talent to carry it. I don't think i was meant to be a writer. I write weird. Like people talk. Not like writing talk. Probably because i talk a lot. Yeah, if you know nothing about me, you know i talk a lot. I was called verbal diarrhea once, in high school...by a teacher. Yeah, that was an humiliating moment... But it's ok, he was a math teacher and he was young and cute so i forgave him.

So anyways, the conclusion is i'm not much of a writer, but i like babbling. So i figured a blog would be good for that. Maybe make the people around me happier since I'll babble less after writing things down. i'll introduce myself a little later, for now all you shall know about me is that I babble a lot!