I Want to be a Hobbit

 

So there for I want these slippers from ThinkGeek.

  

 

 

CUTE! it makes second dinner and second breakfast that much better!

2012 Perseid Meteor Shower

 

 

Every year around this time, the Earth is pelted with fiery stones from the frigid depths of outer space. Instead of as being as terrifying as that concept has every right to be, it is beautiful and awe-inspiring. For skywatchers, this year’s Perseid meteor shower should be a particular treat, with Jupiter and Venus getting in on the action as well.

ProTips on how to view the coolest light show of the year and a video from the smart folks at NASA, who when they are not sending robots to perfect 10 landings on another planet, are apparently getting other people to do their more menial tasks — like counting meteors — for them. Nice work if you can get it, right?

Get Out of Dodge: If you can afford to take a little late-night trip and, yes, lose a little sleep, getting away from city lights is going to make the Perseids a much more enjoyable show. Escaping light pollution will make for a lot more visible meteors. I didn't see anything particular set up at the observatory SW of the city but it might be worth while checking it out anyway.

Sunday Funday: This Sunday, August 12th will mark the height of the show, which goes on every year when the Earth passes near the comet Swift-Tuttle.

Coffee. Also, More Coffee: Though you can catch a glimpse of the meteors pretty much anytime after 10 or 11 pm, the best viewing is going to be in the early morning hours, just before dawn. So be prepared to either get up real early, or stay up real late. Hot coco is also nice or some kind of tea. Just something warm to put in your tummy and don't forget some comfy blankets to lay out on. This is one thing that is best enjoyed on your back.

Look to the East. Also, A Little North: The majority of the evening’s shooting stars will seem to radiate from the constellation Perseus. For those of you who (like me) have no idea where to begin looking for that cluster of stars, it is to the northeast. For those of you who (again, like me) have no idea what direction northeast is, your phone probably has a compass that will come in handy.

For more tips, we turn you over to the capable hands and dulcet tones of the professionals at NASA. While you’re watching, the space agency would appreciate if you could count meteors for them to help determine the trajectory of Swift-Tuttle. They’ve even cooked up a smartphone app to make it easy for you — at that point, it’s kind of rude not to lend a hand, right? Right.

 

 

and for a special treat, watch this video!

and then check out this month's Star Chart from the TELUS Spark Science Centre.

(via Space.com, pic via Logan Brumm)

True Statements

Some of us don’t like the truth at the time when we hear it but ultimately appreciate the value of it when our ego’s have settled down.

All in all, remember. There isn't anything better then honesty. You are who you are, you've done what you've done and it's time you accept yourself and respect the other person.

And that's all I have to say about that.

Actually, no... I should also note that this isn't coming from any recent experience. It just kind of hit me and I thought I should post about it.

Urban Bocci with Gopher Hazard

Sometimes I read peoples posts and they have these witty code names for the people in their lives. I do that in real life but in my blog life, I lack. I either use their real names or their initials. BORING! Now I have a story about someone new but... I don't know what to call him. I sometimes call him Special K because he calls me Little B or Bossy B (truth)... I just suck at nicknames, lets be honest.

WHATEVER! I haven't been writing very much so lets just get on with it...

Last weekend I played Bocci with my old, new friend Kelly (we'll just use his real name). Kelly is fun because he's like me but in man form. We went to Jr High School together and I think we were boyfriend and girlfriend back then. I also think I was an immature bitch (as an 8th grader should be) and I broke up with him because he wore ugly sweaters.

I'm not like that anymore. I date people who don't have jobs so I'd be lucky if they even owned a sweater. Kidding, the jobless boys have money coming in, they just don't have the 9-5 Monday - Friday jobs that I'm use too. Kelly does and he no longer wears ugly sweaters and if he did, I wouldn't care anyway.

On a side note, Kelly gave me an engraved locket for Valentines Day when we were a hand holding couple. I think I still have it... I should go find it. Just for old times sake.

Anyways, we've been hanging out for the last few months and just having fun.  Last weekend we took a set of bocci balls to the local park and just started playing it in the rough, in the parking lot... it was a walking version of bocci and damn it was fun. There were all kind of hazards like gopher holes and dogs and children and gophers themselves that though the balls were food.

It was awesome and fun.

I drew a picture in Paint on my computer this morning just because. Just because...

12 More Hours of Awesome

Today's Google Doodle is the best thing since... Draw Something except Draw Something doesn't expire when it gets old.

Check it out and learn to play something amazing before it all becomes a distant memory.

Here is a handy-dandy guide.

xxoo

Music is a Gift

the special C by Jesse

and by gift, I don't mean my gift. It's been a special little gift given to me by different people who have peppered my life.

I was given my first guitar by my sisters. Or maybe I just claimed it as mine. It had been given to her when she was 16 years old by a boy who she dated. I call that guitar Winnie, and he is a little warped, a little old and I spent my whole life messing around with it until I though about seriously considering doing something useful with it.

Then, on my 30th birthday, I was given one by my BFF Laura. A year later when I was wondering to the museum, I met a boy who lived near me and after spending some time talking at the pub, he said he could teach me to play. The following week, there I sat in his living room. It took a few hours but it was enough. Enough to get me started.

I practiced for a year, almost every day so when it came to a year I decided it was time to get a real guitar. It was this year that I was given my own guitar,  Strawberry Jam. She's beautiful and will be with me for a really long time.

I have received other gifts along the way. Songs to learn, songs to play. Different ways to play this chord or another. Different ways to strum and even different ways to hold my guitar. I can't really say that I have a talent, I just love to play. And it's special that my hobby isn't just mine, it's a collective effort of those who have touched my life musically over the last few years.

Last Wednesday, when I was jamming with my friends, Jesse taught me a different way to play a C chord and a G chord. It's beautiful and I'll never forget it. I'm even using my pinky (which I usually never do). Sam taught me some basics of plucking which I am still working hard at learning.

Music is a gift, and the gift isn't in my simple ability of playing. The gifts to me are in the moments and time spent with these people and their support in this new found love of mine.

and I will keep playing.



(whoa, this is a rusty post. I haven't written in a very long time)

You Like Me! You Really Like Me!

I don’t know if this photo of Jennifer Lawrence learning about her 2011 Oscar nomination for Winter’s Bone is real or where it came from. All I know is that it showed up on Tumblr sometime last month and I can’t stop thinking about how magical and wonderful it is, for five simple reasons.

1. The matching parental bathrobes! In kneelength, no less. So risky and carefree. And also, Mom Lawrence has thrown her hands in the air and is waving them like her daughter just got an Oscar nom, and for this I love her so.

2. That hot, hugging brother of her’s. I’ve got something he can bear hug – this bowl of popcorn I just made for us to curl up with on the couch as we watch Mythbuster reruns together and spoon.

3. Silk pajama pants, a t-shirt, a sweater from Old Navey that Grandma gifted you last year, and some cheap black slippers?! Jennifer, you are wearing my wishful thinking signature look and I like it!

4. Hello, Jennifer Lawrence’s boyfriend Nick Hoult. You are in your gym clothes at 5 in the morning which means you are a maniac and you also kind of look like you’re wearing roller skates which means you are the perfect man.

5. Oh look, a movie star decorates her apartment with things purchased at Home Sense. It’s official – Jennifer Lawrence is the most likable celebrity around.

Adult Night 3

SL and I at Adult Night 4 (my third one). Looking a little more
confident and playing with robots.

Adult Night

The first adult night at the new Science Centre. SL and I look lost
and amazed-- and I a little worried too.

Proposing with Pizza

If you were planning on popping the big question in less than a week on Valentine’s Day, Pizza Hut hopes you’ll turn to them after your significant other says yes for the fanciest engagement party Pizza Hut can provide. For just $10,010, the package comes with all the accoutrement's of an engagement party, including a ruby engagement ring, plus you can look back in fifty years and tell your children about the time Pizza Hut threw you an engagement party.

Along with the ruby engagement ring, Pizza Hut will provide limo service, a fireworks show, flowers, a photographer, a videographer, and a $10 Pizza Hut dinner box. The dinner box includes a medium one-topping rectangular pan pizza, five bread sticks with marinara sauce, and ten cinnamon sticks with a sweet icing cup. On top of the obviously posh engagement party, if the significant other accepts the proposal despite it being a Pizza Hut proposal, Pizza Hut is saying there is a chance to win a wedding at Pizza Hut headquarters. Pizza Hut-themed, of course.

Driving a hard bargain, Pizza Hut has only made 10 of these packages available, and they’re only available until Valentine’s Day of this year. However, there’s a disclaimer saying if the package has not been used by March 31, 2012, Pizza Hut will refund the total cost. Sorry, polygamists, there is only one package allowed per person.

Head on over to Pizza Hut’s deals page to check it out.

OH! and this one is only valid in the US

(Pizza Hut via Eater)

Squrriel

Friday night I went to Kananaskis with my BFF and the wedding party. We stayed at the lodge and basically played the day away well into the night. There was food, drinks and laughs. I laid on the floor for a good 3 hours in total with a belly so full I thought I was going to bust.

And then we needed candy. So we went to the store in the lobby of the lodge. A delicious tourist trap of sorts I was delighted by the tacky collection of... well... crap.

Wine glass in one hand and over priced crap in the other I enjoyed my saunter through the aisles. I bought $40 worth of candy and a Dino coin holder for SL with his name on the front. Drunk shopping at its finest.

a few hours later, my BFF and I decided to go to the games room and play ping pong. While there we came across $4.25 worth of change in the machines. Delighted we giggled in our new found riches and ran up to the tacky little shop in the lobby. I had seen the little fur animals the last time I was there but I was too distracted by "sam-a-sorus" to even consider buying one. I mean, I wasn't going to use my own money on that.

LB and I spent about 20 minutes going over each animal, looking at the price and doing simple math in our heads. We split the $4.25 so we each basically had $2.00 each to spend. LB picked Duck and Cow (both of which were $0.98) and I picked squirrel, who was $1.98

Meet Squirrel:

awwww.. it's so FLUFFY!!!

with in seconds of taking the picture above, something horrible happened. I patted Squirrel on the head and...

his nose fell off! :(

I was so sad.

So I tried to mend poor squirrel...

 Squirrel didn't like that because he could no longer see his nuts.

The Gift of Eatible Love

There is no better gift then food. It's a tangible expression of love, passion and creativity that can be taken into the body with the intention to nourish. How fantastic is that. It brings comfort, strength, memory, joy. To be able to create this, see it, touch it, taste it... it's a special kind of special.

I bake. I am a baker. I have been baking since I was old enough to jump on the counter and reach things from the top shelf of the top cupboard. My mum had given me a book called Mudworks for Christmas when I was 10 and in this book was an architectural recipe for gingerbread houses. It was fragrant and hard as rocks. No matter how hard I tried to not over mix the dough or over cook the cookies, it was always hard. I would make sure that I always gave tea with the cookies so people like my grandmother wouldn't break their teeth. Now that I know what I know about baking, I realise that 6 cups of flour and 1 1/2 cups of water shouldn't be in any cookie recipe. But that is when I started to enjoy baking.

Now my ginger cookie recipe is chewy, soft and made with fresh ginger grated with care. There is no water in the recipe at all.

Over the weekend I baked for a collective 24 hours, I pounded out over a dozen different kinds of cookies and treats. I watched as a table filled with over $200 of ingredients slows diminished and beautiful, treats started to pile up beside it.

But not everyone likes cookies, cakes and sweets. Not everyone can have these things. I have a large family and between my mothers allergies to anything cow related to my aunts kidney disease, my dad's insatiable sweet tooth and my brothers cynical ways... I have to make sure that everyone can have something.

and then it dawned on me. What's easy to make, easy to alter and everyone (I thankfully do not have any gluten sensitive family members) can enjoy? Fresh Pasta. I received an old fashioned pasta maker and cutter for Christmas a few years back and realised that this might make a perfect gift. The pasta that is, I like my pasta machine far too much to give that up.

I picture fresh herbed pasta or cracked black pepper. My Dad likes really thin noodles and my mum just likes anything fresh and organic. This is easy, it's healthy and I'm going to do this.

I looked on line for direction and method. I wish I had been able to spend time with my mothers grandma who came over from Italy in the early 1900's as a teen. She used to cut pasta by hand, rolling it out with a broom handle and laying it out on the bed over a towel all the while her home made pasta sauce bubbled on the back of the stove. Using her hands she would motion for my mother to keep eating, at 10 years old she was thin for her age and this was the during the times that thin was out. It was my mothers grandma's mission to make my mum gain some weight.

**

This is the site that I found that I'm going to use as my method. I'll let you know (hopefully) how it goes!

Picture borrowed from: Here

HMMMM.... so I went looking for a lemon pasta thing I posted about a few months ago and I came across THIS post. Seems like I'm loosing my mind a little these days. Hahahaha.

The Perfect Grilled Cheese

There have been times in my life when I haven't always loved food. Awkward teenage years, angsty young adult years, those younger years when all you want to eat is candy, soap and grilled cheese sandwiches.

Grilled cheese sandwiches. They have always been one of my favorite "go to" foods and maybe one of my first ever food obsessions. the first grilled cheese I can remember were these grilled cheese buns my mum used to make for me as a child. Day old hamburger buns, hot dog buns and dinner rolls would be cut in half with thick slices of aged cheddar shoved in the middle, the outer part of the bun spread thickly with salted butter and then placed on a cookie sheet, it would be sent to the oven to sit under the broiler.

Make sure to put it on the lower part of the oven because it has a tendency to burn quickly. Also, it gives the cheese a chance to melt. The house will smell like baked bread and browning butter-- a beautiful smell if you ask me. My mum would place the grilled cheese bun in front of me, I remember how shinny the top of it would be. She often left it in just a second too long so the top would be just a little too dark. The butter would make that outer crust a little salty and inside, the cheese would be a warm, oozy mess. and I would eat, with a glass of milk beside me, and watch Belle and Sebastian.

**

I came across this post from Closet Cooking about How to Make the Best Grilled Cheese Sandwich

nomnomnomn...

Some of Canada's Most Haunted Houses (OK, not really)

 

I've never been the type to shy away from a good ghost story. OR even the type to really believe in ghosts... but I like a good story and I also like to get my freak on so... here is a list of some of the interesting buildings across Canada that you can eat, sleep and shop at.

Calgary's Rouge Restaurant

Think your kitchen’s a nightmare? The staff members at this creepy resto have had to deal with frying pans moving by themselves, doors opening and closing on their own, and multiple ghost sightings, including the figures of former house residents Helen and Nellie Cross.

Rouge; 1240 8 Ave. S.E.; 403-531-2767; www.rougecalgary.com

A post about my LOVE for Rouge

 

Montreal's Notre-Dame-Des-Neiges Cemetery

Send a tingle down your spine exploring the biggest cemetery in Canada. Boasting over one million resting six feet under, this national historic site is crammed with enough mausoleums and headstones to spook you senseless.

Notre-Dame-Des-Neiges Cemetery; www.cimetierenotredamedesneiges.ca  

 

Ottawa's Jail Hostel

Before checking in to this hostel, you better muster up the courage to spend the night in a former cell. Originally the Carleton County Jail, the gruesome inmate mistreatment in this old stone building has resulted in frightful hauntings.

Ottawa Jail Hostel; 75 Nicholas St.; 613-235-2595; www.hihostels.ca.

 

Toronto's Keg Restaurant

Spot one of several resident ghosts lingering around this beautiful steakhouse. Listen for children’s footsteps running around on the creaky second floor or look above the main stairs for a popular ghostly hideout.

The Keg Manson; 515 Jarvis St.; http://www.kegsteakhouse.com/.

 

Vancouver's Gastown

Check out the city’s oldest ‘burb for some paranormal activity. Home to Blood Alley, named after the buckets of blood that landed on these ancient cobblestones by butchers who held business here in the 20th century, this pathway maintains a ghostly energy even today.

Gastown, www.gastown.org.

**

I know that there are spookier places in this young country of ours, but this was a pre-built list and I was feeling a little lazy today. PLUS, I was impressed with the Ottawa's Jailhouse Hostel. Looks fun! I'm not a big believer in ghosts (I'm too skeptical for that, I'm sorry. I do believe in Santa though. OK, not really) but, like I said above... I love a good story, I adore history and everyone once in a while I try and let my mind go blank and believe in things like spooky stories and magic.

Is there a spooky place in your area that gives you goose bumps every time you walk past?

Halloween Costumes for Two

You can go with the traditional Sonny and Cher, Antony and Cleopatra, Sid and Nancy, Plug and Socket (this list goes on and on), but if you are a part of a twosome this Hallow’s Eve, why not go for something quirky and different? Here are ten great ideas to ensure you have couples everywhere slapping their heads in the proverbial “why didn’t I think of that” gesture.

1. Jay-Z and Pregnant Beyonce – Pick your favorite looks from the reigning King and Queen of music. Double points if you add the baby bump and wear anything from House of Dereon.

2. Boris and Natasha – From Rocky and Bullwinkle!

3. Go as each other – This idea only works when you attend a party with mutual friends who get the joke, but it just requires switching wardrobes and adopting your significant others’ charming mannerisms.

4. A pair of blue jeans - You both just need all blue attire and name tags that say “Gene” and “Jean” respectively. Inexpensive, clever and perfect for the guy who isn’t into costumes.

5. Lady Gaga and Jo Calderone - Great for the girl who wanted to do this look solo, great for the guy who just wants to dress like Danny Zuko.

6. Jake Ryan and Sam Baker – 16 Candles anyone? A letterman’s jacket and an awful 80′s bridesmaid’s dress is all you need to make this throwback costume golden!

7. Quailman and Patty Mayonnaise – Everyone’s favorite cartoon duo brought back to life! Pink polka dots for her and underwear on the outside of the khakis for him. For you third wheel friend, Skeeter Valentine is a great addition. Awwww.. love the show Doug.

8. Double Rainbow – The YouTube sensation comes to life when you construct two rainbow costumes. One smaller so one person can crouch down to make the perfect photo op.

9. Carmen Sandiego and a Globe (or map) – Won’t take a gumshoe to figure out that this idea is pretty great. Or she looks pretty good with Waldo too.

10. Jack and Sally – From Tim Burton’s most successful animated film, The Nightmare Before Christmas. This one is for real Halloween enthusiasts because it involves make-up and pretty specific attire.

You can also add “Zombie” in front of any and all couple costume ideas (much like adding “in bed” at the end of any cookie fortune) and it totally works. Zombie Ken and Barbie, Zombie Romeo and Juliet, Zom-bee’s (Zombie Bee’s) are just a few of the endless possibilities.

Affordable Adventure

Hotel Penang, in Malaysia

Here is a list of the worlds best new affordable hotels and here is the enticing slide show.

Who wants to go on an adventure with me?

(and you think I'm kidding... I'm not)

**


A slice of my Adventure Bucket List... it keeps getting bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger

My Summer Bucket List almost completed, next step... fall/winter

Spring Flowers in Australia

As the days get shorter, the nights get cooler and the leaves on the trees go from green to amber to dead; we in Canada get ready for winter (did I use the semi-colon right? I read this and think I understood it but I'm not 100% sure. Dino's party gorillas and other such wonderful things distract me). That's a different story on the other side of the world, in Australia, where my blogging friend Rolley lives, it's the (pun intended) polar opposite. He just posted this wonderful little diddy about the flowers in spring. Being a nature geek (or really, just a big ol' geek), I love it. Two years ago, we had an exceptionally rainy summer in Calgary which in turn, created lush, flora rich forests. I have never seen so many flowers as I did that year; I have also never seen so many mushrooms. I had the wonderful ambition to write about every species of plant I found but I never got around to writing the posts about them. It was time consuming and the last thing this girl wants to do in the summer is spend copious amounts of time in front of the glitter box computer.

One of my favorite parts of visiting Maui was learning about all the nature I had never in my life EVER experienced. It was an exceptional experience for me, it inspired me to want to move there, pretend I was 23 and study it all at the university. Looking at Rolley's post does a similar thing to me. Australia is so unique from the rest of the world that I am dying to explore, though I'm scared of the spiders. I would have commented on his post but for some reason my blogger profile won't let me. It keeps signing me out, so I thought I'd give him a little shout out and post openly about my feeling for his post.

Good post Rolley, I want to see more! I want to smell the sarsaparilla bottle brush flower too!

[picture credit]

Planning my Best Friend's Wedding

As I mentioned before, my BFF in the whole wide world is getting married. I've appointed myself Maid of Honor (I'm so bossy) and have taken the task underhand. I don't know anything about weddings and that's OK. This is a small one. LB and CK's closest friends and relatives, coming together in celebration. I get all misty eyed just thinking about it.

• On Friday we are heading out to my families country house to see if that would be a good location. It's free and it's in the mountains. Lots of space for dogs and people.

• I will be making the wedding cake *eeek! Not sure why kind to make.. I have to start practicing now.

• I will be taking Laura out to get fitted for her very special Wedding Jeans.

• I also plan to arrange for my lovely and very talented friend Sam Livermore to do photography.

This is so exciting! It's like my baby sister is getting married but really, it's my best friend. Best of both worlds!

*love

**

I don't think about weddings that much. When my good friend Rheann got married last year, that was the first time I really started thinking about it. In my mind, it shouldn't be that big of a deal. A perfect party for everyone to celebrate love. That's about it. One should not go into debt over it, one should not focus more attention on the wedding then on who you are marrying.

I want to get married, or have a union or something. I want to share my life with someone like minded. Someone who loves and lives the same as I do. I don't care if it's a destination wedding or a small thing at the country house or my parents backyard. I'd like the dress but I don't need it. I do want a good photographer. I want dancing, live music, an open bar and good food. I want just my family and closest friends there. I want the man of my dreams to be there, standing tall, without a hesitation in his heart. Proud to have me in his life just as I am proud to have him in mine. I want to see love and kindness in his eyes. I want only tears of job.

That's my dream wedding.

Dress for the Day

Work Dresses by J. Crew

If you know me, you know I love dresses. More than any other thing a woman can buy to wear. My make-up is hardly there, my hair.. well... it's red right now. Shoes, I get classic things, one in black and one in brown and purses. Well... I've been using the SAME Burberry purse for the last... 6 years. I love the thing because it goes with black and brown.

I don't focus much on what I do with myself, I am who I am BUT I do buy dresses. Lots and lots of dresses. With my new red hair I had to hit the stores hard and find things that matched and complemented my green eye, ginger look. I bought 5 in the last 5 days.

Dresses are great because all you need to worry about is picking a dress. I don't have to match tops to bottoms or bottoms to tops. I just throw on a dress, put on some shoes and go. It's easy and always looks good PLUS it's as if you don't have any bottoms on at all.

My favorite dress at the moment for everyday wear is this cute little black baby doll sun dress from Urban Outfitters. I wore it almost everyday while in Maui because it was easy, didn't wrinkle and always looked good.

Yesterday, Cup of Jo had a quick little post about work dresses and I have to admit, I want them all. I don't need them. I need anymore dresses but I want them.

Check out the post and tell me what you think.

Office Romance by Cup of Jo.

Dino Survival-- which would you choose?

Which would you choose?