Golla!

I've been waiting for quite a while now to get a new case for my camera.

I lost my old one on the plane last Christmas. It was black leather and as sleek as it looked, it was hard to keep track of it on the dark plane and I soon forgot that it had been misplaced and forgot to look for it again when the lights were turned back on.

So, I started looking for something a little brighter, a litle less forgettable. And I found Golla.


This line of bags from Finland was the perfect answer for me. They're bright, stylish and unforgettable. And best of all, it was half the price of my old one.

Spec-TACK-ular Party

February 26, 2008

Going against the voice of my conscience screaming at me to stay home and study for my midterm tomorrow (a voice that was amplified because of all the mediocre marks I got back today), I went over to a friend's place for a little bit of a Tacky Tuesday get-together.

Sure, I'm probably going to kick myself in the face tomorrow during the exam when I realize I know nothing but it was really fun dressing up like total fashion disasters, having our own little photo shoot and playing Hoopla (which we rock at, by the way).


Clearly a remarkable display of athletic talent and artistic style.

New Camera or Not

January 9, 2008

After mourning the loss of LCD screen-usage of my camera, I started to research how much it would cost to get it fixed and compare it to the cost of getting a new camera. I was given various estimates for the repairs, mostly less than half the price of getting a camera that I liked. I was torn. Do I get my beloved little Canon PowerShot SD30 fixed or do I shell out a little bit more to get a camera that isn't quite as little but has more megapixels?

It soon became clear what my heart was set on. At some point during the day yesterday, Andrew went out of his way to drive to Future Shop, purchase a Canon PowerShot SD870 IS for me as a belated Christmas gift, and sneak it into my Domo-kun case without me discovering his plan. When he suggested we take pictures (a fairly odd request), I didn't think anything of it and grabbed my Domo case. When I unzipped it, I found the new camera snugly (because it's a little bigger than my old camera) tucked inside.

I was grateful to have a new camera in my hands, but it didn't feel right. Despite my recent rants to him about a certain person's distasteful rejection of gifts, I was unable to accept this gift from him and asked him to return it. Obviously, he was disappointed by this, after all, he did go through all that trouble to surprise me. But after a lot of thought, I realized that I just wasn't ready to part with my beloved black camera.

That was earlier last night. Then, later on, Andrew asked me to try the camera out. I do like the new camera a lot - it does a lot of things better than my old camera. He kept insisting that I could keep both cameras. I'm not sure why I didn't jump on the chance to have two cameras but I was, and still am, really hesitant to accept this proposal. So, I'm thinking I need some outside opinion. Should I...

A) Get the old camera fixed and return the new camera
B) Ditch the old camera and keep the new one
C) Get the old camera fixed and keep the new camera.

Gift Ideas

December 8, 2007

Everywhere I look in the blogosphere now, people are talking about Christmas gifts and gift ideas. Christmas gifts weren't really a part of my family's Christmas traditions. In fact, we didn't really have many Christmas traditions aside from a big family dinner and putting up a Christmas tree (but that got stopped because our artificial tree got all mangled in the box so we threw it out).

I tried it out for a little while in high school - giving out gifts, but that didn't really last. I don't really understand why people give gifts at Christmas, not that I'm against giving and receiving gifts. I like getting gifts, right Andrew? But anyway, now, I am one of the few (frowned-upon, I'm sure) people who just don't give out Christmas gifts.

However, since I've been seeing so many interesting things, I thought it might be fun to throw together a little gift idea list of my own. Enjoy!

Hug S&P Shakers! for those who love a little spice
Dozi Paperclip Holder! for the paper-pushers
Fingerprint Wedding Band! for the forensic fanatics
The Ex Knife Block! for those who are bitter
Chef's Quad Timer! for the busy cook
Forget Me Knot Ring! for the forgetful ones
Monster Laptop Sleeves! for those with a (Mac) laptop
Nature Mill Plus! for indoor composting
Chair Game! for those who want a bit of balance
Nusskubus Nutcracker! for those who want to slam nuts between wooden blocks

can you tell I love the MoMA store?

Branded

December 7, 2007

Way back in October, I went to Sherway Gardens in search of some warmer clothing. Unfortunately, I was faced with two problems. The stores were jam-packed, in which case I was unwilling to stand in line just to pay for an over-priced article of clothing, and I couldn't really find anything that I really liked.

Seeing how it's getting colder and colder, I am really in need of some warm clothes. Unlike many of the other students on campus, I refused to buy a University-branded sweatshirt in first year and have maintained that stance for the other two years. However, as I headed over to South Campus Hall today to get some Timmy's I finally caved and purchased a UW sweatshirt. There, school, take more of my money.

I'll post a picture later.

Salted Jeans

November 26, 2007

Every winter I have the same dilemma. While I welcome the snow with open arms (as long as it means there won't be any other form of precipitation), it means that I have to face salt stains once again. I realize that the salt is necessary to keep the roads and sidewalks from freezing over and thus, safe (unless of course, everyone just goes and gets YakTrax, then we wouldn't need to salt the sidewalks!) but I hate the slush it creates and I hate how it makes my shoes and the legs of my pants wet.

When my pants (and shoes) dry, I always end up with unsightly salt lines. For some reason, it seems that these lines don't really go away even after washing (at least from what I remember - it's been a while). It's been bothering me all these years. It seems like everyone else has figured out how to either avoid getting salt stains or how to get rid of them afterwards. (I realize that getting a pair of Uggs, or any pair of boots in which to stuff my pants to avoid getting them wet might be a wise option, it doesn't work for me. High boots and my calves have an ongoing argument. It's just not pretty.)

All you people out there have perfect, unsalted jeans. Well, I've had enough. I want in on the secret! So... what's the secret?

(I've also considered dunking my shoes in hot water to make the salt come out - see how desperate I've gotten?)

That's All?

November 24, 2007

Yesterday, after all that shopping, Andrew and I went to get a gift registry set up. When we got there, there was no one in sight to help us and when we finally did find people, they were too busy chatting about whatever high school kids like chatting about these days.

I've read lots of wedding 'articles' that say you should prepare a list ahead of time to make sure you don't go overboard with the scanner. I was excited to hold the scanner. I was prepared to zap everything I wanted. But as we circled the store over and over, weaving in and out of the aisles, we ended up scanning a lot less than I though we would.

I had an idea of what I wanted but I didn't know exactly what I wanted. Andrew on the other hand, knew what he wanted. He wanted food. So after a slightly disappointing trip, we handed the scanner gun back to a sales associate and she looked at us and said "you're only registering for 16 items?". Defeated, I said yes and told her we'd try to add things online.

I have no clue what I wanted. I have no clue what you need in a house. I have no clue how to live on my own. I thought this weekend was going to be a huge step forward for us but I feel like we've been thrown back a mile.

Black Friday

November 23, 2007

Originally, I was pretty bummed about not being able to go to the states with my sister and parents for American Thanksgiving - possibly the most incredible days of shopping ever. But I'm sort of glad I didn't go. This was all before I found out about Black Friday.

Before this year, I never knew what Black Friday was. But now I do (and boy am I glad I do). It is the day of insane extreme shopping where everything is marked down to affordable prices. It is the day I finally come out of my shopping-fast and buy bags upon bags of clothing. Black Friday... is a good day.

Winter Gear

November 22, 2007

Every winter, I make a mental list of the things I should get to prepare myself for the snow and the cold. And every year, 'snow boots' is on the list. Last year, I put off buying boots because there wasn't that much snow and I could manage with my shoes. The most I ever needed them for was when we went snowboarding, but even then I could manage just wearing the boots and my shoes (even though it looks sort of weird with my snow pants on).

This year, the snow has come early (and I'm so happy). It's not even December yet and there's snow covering the ground (and it's not melting)! This year, on my list, not only do I have to get myself snow boots, but I need to get Nathan some snow boots too because I'm sure it'll be impossible to keep him out of it. He loves to discover new things.

Then my boss came into work this morning and was complaining about how much ice she had to scrape off her car. I told her I was just happy that I didn't slip and fall on my face. So she told me about these YakTrax. Apparently, you just attach them to your shoes and they'll prevent you from slipping! Maybe I'll add those to my list because Waterloo is just too full of unpredictable weather.

Driving Shoes

November 16, 2007
I recently bought a pair of shoes. I rarely ever buy shoes that have too much design on them. I like my shoes simple and functional. Anyway, I saw these and I thought I might change things up a bit and go a little crazy. At $19.99, how could I go wrong?

I soon found out exactly how I could go wrong. The first day of wearing the shoes, my feet ached. So here's the deal. I have flat feet and I usually wear my orthotics but it was too much of a hassle to put them into these shoes. These shoes also have very thin soles so they don't provide much cushion when I walk. Anyway, so after that day, I decided these were going to be my driving shoes - shoes I'd wear only when I drove.

But these shoes kind of grew on me and I wanted to wear them everywhere. I wore them on long shopping trips and I wore them to work (and that means I wear them for a fair bit of walking). Now, after a week or two of walking around in these shoes, my legs are dead. I waddle around the house like I have no ankles.

Going against everything I've learned in my Injuries in Sport and Workplace class, I gave those shoes another chance at being functional walking shoes and they failed me big time. If my lecturers knew, they'd totally say "I told you so". Darn them.

Will Starve For Money

November 14, 2007

When I left home today, I thought that if I could stay at work the whole day and not have to walk back and forth, it would be great. I could get some research done and get paid at the same time. However, I forgot to factor in the fact that I did not bring any food with me. So, basically, after working for 8 hours or so, I'm waiting hungrily for my food to finish cooking.

But that's not exciting. So I'll try to liven up this post for all you who are supporting me through the madness that is NaBloPoMo. As I promised, the pictures of Jo and Jas. I present to you: Winners Costumes

Jas and Jo - I apologize, but it had to be done.

Coloured Wedding Dresses

November 11, 2007

I've been starting to look at wedding dresses a little more lately. I'm not exactly the girly type of girl. I'm not going to search high and low for a wedding dress. I'm not going to drop a few thousand dollars for a dress I'm only going to wear for one day. But, I do want it to be perfect - in my terms.

Lately as I've been scrolling through pictures of wedding dresses, I've noticed that many ladies have taken the untraditional route and wore dresses that had a bit of colour (other than white and ivory). So, just to see if that idea would work for me, I decided to try on a dress. I didn't want to do it at first, it was a small size and I didn't think it would fit. I think it has a bit too much sparkle, and maybe too many embellishments... but let me know what you guys think (Andrew, don't look):

Can you see how ecstatic I am to be wearing that dress? I think it looks fantastic... for a $20 princess costume for an 8-year-old. I'm actually really surprised I could squeeze my body into that thing. And I'm pretty sure the people at Winners have me (and Jo and Jas) blacklisted. (Wait til you see what they tried on!)

But anyway, maybe it's really time now for me to start looking for a real wedding dress. Time's-a-ticking and I only have 8 months left. Yikes! I need some help.

Super Markets

November 10, 2007

A new Sobey's has opened at the end of our street. Last night, we were starving and there was nothing around the house to eat, so my sister and I headed out to check the place out. We arrived and there was no one there. It being 12:30am, that was sort of understandable. It felt like we were in a small town - a feeling we've enjoyed over the years as we traveled with our parents.

We walked in and my sister was in love. We barely made it in the door and there was already bags of apples in our cart. As we circled the entire store, and then walked slowly up and down each aisle, our cart quickly filled up.

As we were the only customers at that hour, checking out was quick - well, sort of. The check out lady saw that we picked up a piece of black forest ham. She asked us how we cook it. And since it's already been cooked, we said we didn't, but you can if you want. She was a little confused and repeatedly asked us how to cook it. We didn't know! But she refused to scan the item until we had satisfied her with a sufficient answer.

We raced home and arrived in just 3 minutes. How convenient! The one small problem we found was with a 'sale' they had. Otherwise, it was super!

Winter Hats

October 13, 2007

I never liked wearing hats when I was a kid. Maybe it was because my hats always looked dorky or because it made my hair static-y. Or maybe it was because it just felt uncomfortable and I just didn't like that. But, when I was a kid, I always got sick and maybe not wearing a hat was why.

I'm determined to keep little Nathan from suffering the same fate. Last year, he had at least 4 hats to choose from. They were all really cute and they all kept his little head nice and warm. This year, the unpredictable weather left us unprepared. We had no hats for him to wear! So we went out to find some hats to keep his little head warm.

Pressed for time, we ended up at BabyGap - not my usual choice for his clothing but Eaton Centre doesn't have a Children's Place! Anyway, we found some hats and we narrowed them down to two. One of them was this one... I think he looks like a little dinosaur (which is good because he currently has a white jacket/vest which sorta doesn't help distinguish whether he's a boy or girl - some people apparently can't figure it out :/). Andrew likes it (and picked it) because he thinks it looks like a Spartan helmet. Either way, it will keep his little head warm and there are matching mittens that go with it.

What Not To Wear - Bee Edition

October 11, 2007

After my very successful old-clothes purging session over the summer, I miscalculated the amount of clothing I might need to survive the harsh and rapidly-changing weather pattern of Waterloo. Instead of being sensible and going out to buy brand new clothes, I thought, 'hey, maybe I'll save myself a whole lot of money if I just live a little simpler and not buy any new clothes. I'll survive...' What the heck was I thinking?!

I spent Wednesday afternoon huddled under an umbrella in the middle of the soccer field at school because I thought I had enough clothes on, but definitely didn't, to block out the wind and rain. Idiot.

And then in class today, of all days, the lecturer tells us to 'take off your shoes and socks' (for better palpation of foot structures) and what was I wearing?!...


Lovely.

Red or Pink

October 1, 2007

Just a quick poll before I get back to some hardcore studying. In your opinion, would you say these shorts are red, or pink?

Dresses and Airports

July 14, 2007

Yesterday, Chris mentioned that RW&Co. was having sales (his mom apparently goes shopping frequently and ALWAYS knows when all the good sales are). So, I was determined to go and see if I could get that dress I really wanted. I ended up dragging Andrew and Little Guy along with me. Anyway, I found the dress (rah!) and there were only two left a size 10 and the one I got. I tried it on and it was a lot looser than I remembered it being. Don't really know what happened there, but after much deliberation, I ended up taking it to the counter and paying for it. AND!

1. It was actually $39.95, compared to the original $88.95
2. It's still too big, but I convinced myself to get it because I can still get it altered
3. I'm going to keep it and alter it AFTER I finish the 101 thing as my little reward to myself (bahaha)

On another note, we went to the airport to pick up my parents (they went to BC for a couple of weeks without us because they no longer love us and don't wish to pay for our airfare - just kidding). It was pretty late, so it was like one of those postcard pictures of a city at night except it was the airport area at night. On top of that, the night air was cool and not the least bit humid. Just perfect. I don't know what it is but every time I go to an airport it makes me feel happy.

And this time, instead of waiting in front of the terminal, like a lot of people, or even parking in the lot beside the terminal and paying like some more people, we drove to the middle of no where and parked there for free (although, I don't think it was meant to be free parking because I'm pretty sure I saw a lot of employees parked there and some parking tags in people's cars). Because we parked so far, we got to ride in that shuttle thing, which was also fun and cool because we got to whiz by the lights and see them from a higher point. I'm sure Little Guy liked it!

Last note - one of the pieces of my parents' luggage got shipped off to Yellowknife. It was a good thing though, because I drove the small car tonight and there would have been no way it would have all fit. Don't you love how some things work out so well...

Dress Me Up

July 6, 2007

Having the day all to myself, I set out to get lots of important 'do by myself' things done. Going to the bank, getting my eyebrows done, getting things ready for my sister's birthday party. I wandered around the mall, several times in fact, only to find that Bulk Barn had gone missing. So I asked the woman at the information desk what happened to it. I supposed I was interrupting her oh-so-important conversation with this guy so she tried to brush me off but I was persistent in asking (and taking up her precious flirt time) and she ended up redirecting me to another mall.

Normally, this drive, out of my way, would have been a bit of an annoyance and I probably wouldn't have bothered. But then today was different. I didn't have anyone else with me. No one else's options to take into consideration, no one else's schedules to adhere to. So, I made that extra trip out of my way and lo and behold, I find myself in RW&Co. I start looking around, pinata and candy in hand, which was a little bit of a burden but I manage to browse around anyway.

Then the nice saleslady comes up to me and asks if I would like to put my bags down. I realize she probably did this just to increase the chances of me buying something but it was a refreshing bit of kindness. She relieved me of my burden and at that moment, I decided since I had TWO hands free now, I might as well grab all the dresses I can to try them all on. When I got into the change room, I conveniently remembered that I brought my camera with me today, just in case.

Look at all the pretty dresses I found! (I apologize for the poor picture quality. I wanted to take as little time as possible because the girl who helped me sounded like she was afraid I would steal the headband and bracelets I ended up buying)
Now, if there was just a way I could make all of them mine without breaking the bank...