I was slipping a little.

My new years resolution was to post more... Then, I took a month off. How frustrating. Actually, I didn't have a lot of time. I was quite busy with some projects on the go that I have.

So, a quick update of what's been happening. I planned a surprise night away for Valentine's day for the hubby and I. And it was a huge success. We went up north to Orillia. The drive I can assure you was a disaster though. There was a 30 car pile up on the highway and it took us 5 hours when it should have only been just under 3. Thankfully the victims in the pile up were only small injuries. It was so cold while we were there...

BRRRRRRR

We went to see Cheech and Chong at the Casino. The show itself was lots of fun! The casino of course is lovely. We're not big gamblers so we had a bit of fun before the show but nothing too crazy.

And of course while driving to the Casino we passed a street that I absolutely needed a picture of, based on the nature of the show of course.

What did you do for Valentine's day? Or are you part of the Anti Valentine's day movement?

Google Art Project

So, if like me you are getting restless in the middle of winter and itching for something new to happen. I have come across the greatest of all adventures. The Google Art Project.

Well, Ive known about it for a while but never fully indulged in the tours.

You can do a virtual tour of pretty much any museum you want in the world! The internet is an amazing place.

But seriously, you can sit on your couch and view the marvel of the old moat from the Louvre. In fact you can walk all around the old moat.

You can visit the International museum of Women, which exists only online. You can learn about the many issues women face around the world, motherhood in many different cultures, and women and the global economy. Definitely a must see for everyone!


The Met is another excellent choice. All the artwork right there at your fingertips.

You can view Britain's very own Tate collections. A variety of modern art is quite easily accessible.

The AGO of course. The Art gallery of Ontario. I've physically been there many times and checked it out online many many times as well. Either way is still an incredibly inspiring experience.

The Sand Museum is INCREDIBLE!!!!

And the art inside of The White House. Which everyone should see at least once in their life.

Please, get lost in this adventure. Visit as many museums as you can. Check out the learn link on each museum website, or research. Learn as much or as little as you would like. Just enjoy it!!

What would your life be like, if you won Lotto 649?

We hear this slogan all the time on the radio and the TV.

It got me thinking today, what would my life be like if I won?

I have always wanted to design and build my dream house. Buy enough property to have a couple houses for family and friends. Wiggle my toes in the whitest sand I can find. Climb the highest point and admire the view. Take care of our family and friends. Buy enough land I can have as many animals as I want. And of course donate so much to different charities that I support. Take a bunch of classes and learn so many different skills.

What would you do?

Take a glamorous trip around the world? Live in a castle? Help fund research? Go to school? Pay off debt?

What would you do? I want to know!

Soul Mates

As I was falling asleep last night I had a strange thought. I was thinking about soul mates. I was thinking of the concept of soul mates. Now don't get me wrong, I love my husband dearly and I wouldn't have it any other way. This was just all random thoughts after watching tv last night before bed.

The definition of a soul mate according to wikipedia is:
A soulmate is a person with whom one has a feeling of deep or natural affinity. This may involve similarity, love, romance, friendship, intimacy, sexuality, sexual activity, spirituality, or compatibility and trust.



Now, how do we know that there is 1 person for us in the whole world? The possibilities are endless. What if our one true soul mate was born in a different era than us? Are we destined to be forever alone? How can 1 person be perfect in all aspects of a soul mate? Is that even possible? How do you find your one true soul mate? How do you know you've found them?

There are way too many questions and uncertainties surrounding the idea of soul mates. The person who you are completely romantic, intimate, sexual and compatible with may not be the person you have the strongest friendship, the similarity, or the spirituality. I think we have friends who are our soul mates, our spouses are as well. I think we have more than one. I honestly do. I think there is a sense of familiarity we associate with and surround ourselves with. Maybe you've met someone in your life who has the same thoughts, same feelings and same experiences as you have. Do that mean you are destined to be with this person for the rest of your life? Maybe, are you destined to have a romantic relationship with this person for the rest of your life? Maybe, but chances are not. Sometimes we are completely compatible with someone in one area and not in another. And there is NOTHING wrong with that. Maybe when we go through a tough heart break its the fact that part of their soul and yours were together and fit perfectly. Doesnt mean that the break up was a bad thing necessarily. Some people are toxic together, you need some differences, you need opposition, you need a challenge to grow as a person.

I think I have a close friend who is my soul mate. My husband is also most definitely my soul mate. I also believe that a friend I had a long time ago was my soul mate. And that's okay. You can't choose your soul mate, you can't decide if someone should be or not. Sometimes you find them with just eye contact and other times it takes you by surprise, just sitting there one day and you realize they are the real deal. Maybe your'e thinking of your friends right now and thinking about which ones would fit in a category of soul mate. Maybe you're thinking you don't have one. Or you have too many. There is no set numbers there are no rules with this sort of thing. Matters of the heart and soul dont need rules to follow. They typically dont even make sense to many.

What about you? What are your thoughts on soul mates? Do you think people have only one? Have you met yours? Do you have more than one? I would LOVE feedback on this.

Happy Monday!

Socially awkward?

Most people are fairly socially awkward, but we wont admit it. There's quite a few things we do, think or say in a day then for a long time afterwards wonder what possessed you to do that particular thing.

I've added a few examples I've found in either in my own personal life or read online at some point or another.


When you're walking and suddenly become very conscious about how you're walking and start walking all weird or so you think.

You open a birthday card or any other holiday and you pretend not to notice there is money inside while you're reading the card.

Asking someone to repeat themselves 3 times then finally just laughing and hoping for the best because you still didn't hear them properly.

Accidentally make a sound that sounds like a fart, then keep trying to make the same sound to prove it wasn't a fart.

Have imaginary arguments in your head and making the corresponding facial expressions and look really strange walking alone.

Not being able to say "Well this is fun" without sounding like you're having the worst time of your life.

The weird little dance thing you do when you're walking in someone's path and trying to decide which way you're going.

If you get to a restaurant/theater/ wherever before whoever you're meeting there and you don't know what to do with yourself.


There's so many more, but you need to remember it's okay to have awkward moments.

I want to hear your thoughts on this? What types of awkward or weird moments have you had? What do you do when you're having one? How do you get past it?

It all comes back to volunteer work

Hey guys!
Do you remember when you were younger and just wanted someone to talk to other than your parents or your friends, sometimes they just didnt understand? Have you ever hoped for some attention from someone, felt left out or rejected? How about hungry, cold, lonely? There are thousands of children out there that do every single day.

There are 168 hours in a week. Could you spare 1 of those hours to enrich the life of a child?

I volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters and I can honestly say it is the most rewarding experience of my life. I have a little girl that I see weekly. We started our friendship with the in school mentoring program and when the school year was done we would have had to say goodbye as T was moving onto high school. (The in school mentoring program is for grade 8 and under.) So we were faced with a decision, go our separate ways with the small mark we left on each other or transition into an actual Big and Little mentor program. I love T dearly and love spending time with her and she loves spending time with me. So we took the plunge. Its a huge commitment, dont get me wrong. it most certainly is not for the weak of heart. But I figured if I could spare an hour of my week at the school to see her I could up my game and see her for a couple hours a week. We make it work. obviously some weeks are more hectic than others but I wouldnt change it for the world.

T loves a variety of things, crafts and making stuff mostly. She loves new experiences and seeing new things. Shes a quick learner and whenever we go somewhere that has some educational value (which i try to do often) she is always very interested in learning all about it. She asks alot of questions, sometimes I have the answers and sometimes we get to ask people that work there (wherever we are). The butterfly conservatory was so much fun. We had butterflies all around us, landing on us and eating near us. We got to learn about the different types of butterflies, their habitats and got to see one hatch from a caterpillar!

We went to Ripley's Believe it or Not! Which was awesome, there was so much to learn there and to see. It was a rainy day and we needed a change of scenery for once. Learning about all the world records, seeing different clothing and weapons from different eras and statistics from films was so much fun.

We go for walks and look at the wonders of the world we live in. We feed the ducks, we watch the falls, and we love to people watch. There are alot of tourists in this area and we love to watch everyone go about their business as they look at the falls. We take advantage of living so close by and dont really see the beauty that is so close by. The looks on wonder and amazement on other peoples faces is so much fun to watch and brings a sense of pride to us as well.





Have any of you volunteered? Maybe not with children or in this type of setting but for anything? I would love to hear about it. I have my name on a volunteer list for the 2015 Toronto Pan Am Games. I believe this would be an amazing opportunity and would bring pride to our area having such an event this close by. I want to hear from you and your ideas on volunteering, the Pan Am games, anything!

Happy New Year

Hey everyone!

I decided back in December that I was going to try to get back into the swing of things around here and start posting again. 2014 got pretty hectic pretty fast and alot went on so I had to shift my attention elsewhere. Ive worked out a better plan this time to get back on track and keep things moving along nicely, I hope!!! We've all gotten sidetracked at one point or another

This year Ive made a few resolutions. I think posting resolutions helps hold you accountable for them. Everyone can see and we can all help keep each other motivated.

2015 is my year to

Eat healthier. Im not talking about starving myself or anything along those lines. I mean more greens every day, less processed food, more water, and less salt.
Setting realistic goals is better then unrealistic, the second you start slipping you abandon all hope and give up. More attainable goals keep you motivated.


Post more on here. While I wasnt publishing anything myself the past few months I have definitely been reading. Reading blogs, blogs on how to write a blog, to keep you motivated, to captivate your audience, everything... I came to realize I love blogs that have a mixture of information. A bit of personal, some instructional, some funny, and some serious posts. I'm a bit random and all over the place so I think that style will help me keep on track and keep everything in order.

Learn how to knit. Seriously though, I dont know how. Looks super cool and I would love to learn....

Spend more time outside. Fresh air, sunshine, thats all.


My Pinterest is back up and running too!


I would love to hear from you guys what your New Years resolutions are!

Im making it a goal of mine to be posting progress about resolutions at the beginning of every month. :)

Man Crush Monday Part 5!

Dark Shadows


How could you not love Dark Shadows!

Johnny Depp plays a wealthy man who pretty much runs the town who broke a womans heart. Unfortunately for him that woman happened to be a witch and she cursed him to become a vampire then buried him alive in 1752. Fast forward 2 centuries and Barnabus is accidentally released from his casket and set free in 1972. He returns to his family home to find what is left of the Collins family desperately needing his help. Together they come up with a plan to get the family back on track and the family company back up and running.

With a stellar cast this movie is sure to thrill all age groups. Winning awards in the kids choice awards as well an award for the film music it is bound to please most people.

Of course what would a Tim Burton film be without his gorgeous wife in it. Helena Bonham Carter, as we know if definitely one of my favorite actresses and she always plays her role perfectly. She is the live in psychiatrist for the Collins family and adds that little bit extra into the mix of weird and crazy that this movie is so full of.

A perfect example of how funny this movie is and how out of place Barabus Collins is in the new world.

Finally Barnabus has a fling with the woman who turned him into a vampire and this is the wake of their destruction. Probably one of the funniest scenes I have seen.

Did you like Dark Shadows? I personally like the dark humor in any of the Tim Burton movies and Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter really make the movie.


What movie would you like to see featured next week?

Man Crush Monday Part 4

This week I would like to mention Sleepy Hollow

Set in 1799, a young police officer named Ichabod Crane who is facing charges for going against traditional methods and solving crimes using finger prints and autopsies deemed useless and a waste of time for the era embarks into Sleepy Hollow to investigate the murders of 3 victims. When he arrives in Sleepy Hollow he is told he is not looking for someone physical, but more of an apparition. A headless horsemen to be exact.

Of course skeptical about the horseman Ichabod searches for meaning and reason behind the murders. As more victims fall, all the pieces start to fall into place about the Headless Horsemen. Ichabod boards with the towns wealthiest family, The Van Tassels, and in doing so starts to fall for their daughter Katrina, the beautiful Christina Ricci. Which of course is deeply frowned upon by Katrina's suitor who later goes to poise as the headless horsemen in an attempt to scare Ichabod away.

What I find to be one of the most interesting facts about this film is that they traveled to England in search of the perfect city to film in. Instead they ended up spending approximately 1.3 Million Dollars to build a small town around a duck pond for this film. They built all the houses and the interiors to have the perfect setting for this movie. They did an amazing job of course.

As the plot thickens and Ichabod is lied to and misled to deter him away from the truth the whole town is in danger.

I think there is a great interest in movies that instill fear in us. I know for a long time I was not fond of being outside when it started getting dark. Not specifically about the headless horsemen of course. Just the fear of the unknown I guess.


As always Johnny Depp is amazing in this Tim Burton film.

What do you like or dislike about Sleepy Hollow?
What would you like to see next week as part of my Man Crush Monday of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp films. Only a few left!

My sorely missed best friend

2 years ago I lost my best friend. He was everything to me. We would talk about everything and anything no matter what time of day or night. He would always be there to encourage me to try harder or keep going when I wanted to give up. He would be my voice of reason and my conscience sometimes. I would turn to him when I had a question or anything really in my life and he would come to me. I feel like he did alot more for me then I did for him even though he assured me all the time that I helped him out too.
I moved away and came back all within a couple years and we still didnt lose touch. I had just moved in with my now husband and Leon was complaining about some ingrown hair under his arm. We made a couple jokes about it and I urged him to get it checked out. A couple weeks passed and it wasnt mentioned again our lives went on as normal, talking about work and the different day to day activities we did. Then one day he messaged me and asked if I was sitting down. I thought he was going to tell me some ridiculous joke or something, I was not prepared for what came next. He had been diagnosed with lymphoma.I didnt know what to do or what to think. I must have been sitting on my kitchen floor crying for about an hour or so before J came home and I had to go over it again with him. I didn't know what to do. I wasn't strong enough to support my best friend through this. I couldn't even handle it myself let alone try to help him out like we always had.

It may sound selfish of me to say that I was worried about how I would handle it but its very true, first you worry about your friend then you worry about yourself then the rest kind of falls into place like the treatments he will be going through, the things he will be missing out on , the things he will have to see and endure. Its all very overwhelming. Im very happy that I can say he met someone during his struggle. They were perfect for each other, she is an amazing person and was by his side through the whole thing. I would be glad to call her my friend. I talked to him through it all. I would drive up to Hamilton after work frequently to bring him food and other assorted goodies. He remained calm through everything but you could tell that it was difficult for him as well.

He finally got to go home and we thought everything was good. For 6 months things were great he was out walking to the store and everything. Then again he messaged me asking if I was sitting, this time I expected the worst. The cancer was back. There was a tumor in his back that he had to get checked out. Then what feels like a crazy whirlwind, he was diagnosed with kidney failure, liver cancer and bone marrow. He had a bone marrow transplant and still through it all he was calm.

Then one day his girlfriend was done visiting and we didnt message as much since I didnt want to cut into his alone time with her since he had been sent home again after finding all this out. For a couple very quiet days on my end I wondered how he was doing, how he was feeling and so on. Then a mutual friend of mine messaged me and asked if I knew Leon had been rushed to the hospital. Which I didnt. I quickly called his phone which had no answer of course. I jumped up and started getting dressed even though I had a huge sinking feeling. It felt like time had stopped. I grabbed my phone again to check to see if I could get ahold of his brother to find out what hospital, I opened my Facebook app and dropped my phone. He was gone. Just like that. In a matter of minutes of finding out he was at the hospital someone had posted on Facebook that he was no longer with us.

There is not a day that goes by that I dont think about him. Something always reminds me. I will always regret that I never got to say a proper goodbye as our last conversation was more joking about his girlfriend visiting and how badly I needed a vacation before starting my new job the next month. Maybe it was better that way, a normal conversation instead of trying to get all the words right. I'll never know though.

I went out and got a tattoo in memory of him the following month I wanted to have something tangible to remember him by and have him with me always.

Spring is in the air! (Finally)

Hey guys!

Noone is more excited about spring than I am! I love to garden, I love being outdoors with my fur babies, and I'm so sick and tired of wearing a jacket!!!

Over the weekend J and I started up our garden at the new house. We did alot of the planting in flower pots so its easier for us to move around once we actually figure out where we want everything in the yard, like the table and such. We started off our vegetables in the house with seeds about a month ago, and I bought some pre started plants as well to fill things out. I only have the pre started ones out right now, my seeded garden took a bit of a hit during the move and is still struggling. Fingers crossed I can get them outside this coming weekend.

We have lots of pretty flowers too. I just haven't had the time to get some photos. Hopefully, I'll get some good shots this weekend when we're out there rearranging the yard.


How's your garden coming along? Anyone started anything up yet? I know you should wait until the long weekend but it's been so warm out lately I was itching to get my hands dirty!

Man Crush Monday Part 3

Alice in Wonderland

Happens to be one of my favorites. I even had an Alice in Wonderland themed bridal shower...

There are many morals in this story even though it just seems like a children's dreamland fairytale.
Alice is constantly asked by the characters who she is, and she doesn't really know. As the movie progresses she own identity and works to overcome her fears.

Cheshire Cat: What do you call yourself?
Alice Kingsley: Alice.
Cheshire Cat: *The* Alice?
Alice Kingsley: There's been some debate about that.
Cheshire Cat: I never get involved in politics.
[disappears]

The Mad Hatter: You're not the same as you were before You were much more..."muchier" You've lost your "muchness"
Alice Kingsley: My "muchness"?
The Mad Hatter: [Points to Alice's heart] In there.

To think outside of the box, think creatively. Alice's father says to her that he thinks of 6 impossible things before breakfast every day. Which Alice later goes on to repeat to herself later on in the movie to give herself strength.

Alice Kingsley: I try to believe in as many as six impossible things before breakfast. Count them, Alice. One, there are drinks that make you shrink. Two, there are foods that make you grow. Three, animals can talk. Four, cats can disappear. Five, there is a place called Underland. Six, I can slay the Jabberwocky.

Then there are the characters, costumes and the scenery! Its all amazing!

The talented Helena Bonham Carter - Red Queen

The voice of Michael Sheen - White Rabbit

The beautiful Anne Hathaway - White Queen

Matt Lucas as Tweedledee and Tweedledum

Alan Rickman's voice is the Blue Caterpillar

The versatile Johnny Depp - The Mad Hatter




What are your thoughts on Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland? What morals did you take away from it?

And as always what Tim Burton / Johnny Depp collaboration would you like to see next week featured on Man Crush Monday???