Monday, November 30, 2009

I Tried

I was on a bit of a role. I had been posting quite regualrly on Tuesdays, Thursday and Sundays, but what the heck happened to this past week.

An 84 hr work week is what happened.

I have one of those down and three more to go before we jet off to Hawaii for Christmas and Ne Years with one of the radest couples ever!

I could have posted, but I was too busy turning the group home into a Christmas dreamland.

Worked a 48 hr shift Friday and Saturday. Slept about 11 hours of that... the other 37 hrs were spent putting up the 5 XL tupperware bins of Christmas decorations up... plus all the stuff some of my kind friends donated last year.

I practiced some serious restraint at home this year. We're out on Dec 22nd for the rest of this Jolly season... so I showered it down on the group home.

Showered it Hella crazy down on those foster girls.

Watching their jaws drop as they saw the final product: priceless.



I'll take pictures, then you can think I'm a great person and give me props.

It's why I do it. To get others' approval ; )

Life With Scotty: The Haircut

Scotty decided to get rid of his flowing locks in all it feathered glory for his 10 year high school reunion this fall.

I went to work on Thursday evening. He then dragged out the razor and went at it alone later that night.

On Friday he went to Vernon to coach his football team. His long chunks he missed just blwing in the wind. I stayed at work for another night- made it a 48 hr straight shift.

Realizing that the back of his neck was covered in fur- he called up a friend and enticed him with the promise of snorkling the next morning.

If a sleepover and trimming each others' hair doesn't scream homosexual... then I don't know.

Add a nice snorkel at Lily Point the next morning?

Let me point it out: I was at work Thirsday evening until Sat night- Scotty and a friend picked me up from work that night and we went downtown Vancouver- straight to the reunion.

On Sunday morning Scotty proudly led me to his bathroom sink....




He spent three nights running from his bathroom to mine to spit out his toothpaste. From his bathroom to mine to wash his hands (at least I like to think so)... all so he could share his special gift: how much hair he lost.

Come in for a Glass of Pink Lemonade


I love change. I thrive on change. When I was a little kid, I loved to rearrange my room to the point that it drove my mom nuts.


Now I get to drive Scotty nuts.


My entire month of September was devoted to a major clean-out of the Villa. So many trips were made to the thrift store, a ton of stuff was donated to our group home and our sister group home.


What I don't understand is that our place is still full!


For 18 days, all I did was work and rearrange/cleanout my house. Every single cupboard and drawer was reorganized.


It felt really good.


We carried furniture up and down the stairs and completely rearranged the house. Scotty didn't complain once... I did... when my finger got caught under a couch out in the driveway and my mood ring was broken.


So sad.


Here's the living room before:

All the furniture in here was grandma's. I only minimally arranged it to be livable in case she decided to come back to the Villa and live in the basement suite (so it'd look like her place and not like I took over).


October brought us a roomie (in the basement suite) which means that we're not going to be moving out any time soon, so I thought we might as well "settle in."


Here's the after:



A before shot of the window in the living room:

The after shot of the window:
A before shot of the living room from a different angle:
An after shot of basically the same angle (the doorway is just to the right).


Okay, I'm done with the "before and after". Now I'll just post some shots of the details of the "new" space.


Sweet records found at Grandma's place... too bad the turntable doesn't work! They're purely for show- we're so pretentious.
I love my little kangaroo
Boots the size of a finger... Polly Pocket ruined me. I'm a total sucker for anything small.
Grandma's house has so many great finds... these coasters slay me.
How do I make one of Grandma's lamps a little sexier? Wrap it in some black lace my dear.
Hahahaha.... the giraffe plant stick from Coombs. So ridiculous. So perfect.
Keeping the "plant-stick" theme going. My mom gave me all her house plants when she relocated. I've kept them all alive mom! Gold star by my name.
Bought this bowl at Superstore back when I was a newly wed (like 5 years ago)... later spotted the exact same bowl in Pier 1. Mine cost $18... Pier 1 cost $60... love it when that happens!

I laugh as I look at these- as I've already changed a bunch of stuff... I really can't leave things alone.

What is it about that lady? Why can a person not resist? Because she's so beautiful (and timeless at that) yet we know that behind the scenes she was a tortured soul? Who knows. Love this snapshot though. Bought it this summer in an antique shop in Coombs.
Kept the ceramic cat. Every house needs a little "crazy"... I plan on being a crazy cat lady once my husband kicks the bucket (ladies outlive the men- it's a know fact).

Ah, the imperfect Eiffel tower. The line of black eyeliner covering the huge scratch across the front is a lovely touch.... did I mention it cost me $49?


I am having a love affair with that chair. It is a grandma's house original. I fancy it a lifetime piece... something I recover about a dozen times, but the form of it is just so pleasing that I'll never get rid of it.

Christmas is Going to the Birds

Nothing says Christmas like bejeweled birds. Bought these two, and wish I had more money to cover the Villa in them.


Sunday, November 22, 2009

If Barbie Had Hightops

While throwing my stuff in a locker at the gym a few weeks ago, the girl next to me pulled out the loudest pair of hightop sneaks I have ever seen. They were every colour of neon.

"I LOVE YOUR SHOES" I said in an awkward, monotone, way-to-loud voice (my IPOD was already thumping in my ears, and I was too excited to think to pull the earbuds out before trying to have a conversation.

I have been looking for my very own pair of colourful hightops for the past half year, but have had no luck finding what I really want for discount.

I get so addicted to the price tag, that I sometimes find myself buying stuff I don't love because it's too cheap to pass up.

Problem is that sometimes I end up spending more in the end because I keep looking for that thing I really wanted in the first place.

It's a skill I'm trying to learn- knowing when to spend and when to save.

It's like those cheap $12 jeans that have way-to-small pockets, and thus, make your rear view humongous. At the time you thought they were a good idea, but then you catch a glimpse of the back of yourself in a photo and suddenly you want to burn them at the stake.

I'm a sucker for anything and everything cheap, but I'm tired of all the "burnings."

When I saw those bright hightops in all their glory- I decided I would only buy a pair I loved.



These shoes will get me noticed.

The funnest pair of shoes since those LA Gears I had in grade 2 with the ribbon laces.

My seven year old self would be high-fivin' me right now.

I also feel my Brooklyn girls, Jenny Humphrey and Vanessa Abrams, would let me tag along to some cool, underground concert.

They say "Bronx" inside. Total street cred points.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Sweaty, Hot Lemonade


When life hands you lemons...

Missed the Ferry- stuck at Duke Point for 3 3/4 hours. Me, not happy. I had predicted we would be too late for the 3:15pm sailing and wanted to pull off the Island Hwy and bide our time poking around in shops.


I'm not a gambler- if there's a decent chance it won't work, I usually accept defeat and move on (turns out Scotty had wanted to get home so he could play basketball with his buddies).


As we set down our bags in the waiting area, I was seeing red.


"This is my nightmare," I grumbled... "stuck doing nothing for the next 5 hours" (I was factoring in the 2 hour ferry ride).


Scotty, sensing I might turn into a polar bear and mull him, moved a few rows ahead of me and buried his head in his textbooks.



I let out a few heavy sighs, so my frustration would be made clear (in case he hadn't noticed my red glowing eyes).


After a minute or so, I realized my sour mood wasn't gonna get me anywhere. In fact, I had very recently come across two things that had stuck with me: the first was something that Michael Buble he said while on "The Hour- with George Stomboulopolous" the previous evening. He talked about how often he has missed out on a good evening because he was too busy playing passive aggressive games with his significant other every time he got his nose out of joint. It never gets him anywhere, so he's been trying to just let things go, and in the end, he's been having a lot better time.

I am queen passive aggressive.


The other was a quote I had read on a card in "House of Leaves" while hunting for more trinkets earlier that morning:



Take care of the minutes, for the hours will take care of themselves
-Lord Chesterfield
---


I dramatically unzipped my sac and grumpily started pushing things from side to side. I yanked out my IPOD and headphones, followed by my spandex and runners... if anger was gonna be my main course for the evening, a good bum was gonna be the side dish.



All the heavy breathing caught Scotty's attention (I like to think he believed I was turning into the Incredible Hulk, and was prepared to see me in all my green glory with shredded clothing, ripping the benched from the ground). A slight smile crossed his face as he watched me doing squats under the weight of his backpack full of textbooks.


45 mins later, I finished a pretty good weight session (thanks to those textbooks). I headed outside to find some stairs to run and stumbled upon a set with a fantastic view (right on the edge of a small cliff overlooking the ocean).


 20 mins later, stairs were done and I found myself jogging along a truly gorgeous trail that snaked along the ocean, popping in and out of the forest.





Another 30 mins later, I was racing against the twilight. As darkness began to swallow the point, Nanaimo's city lights twinkled across the bay.







I returned to the terminal with only 40 mins to change out of my sweaty gear and reapply a little makeup.


I had sweated out all my toxic, passive aggressive anger- found a little adventure and took in a whole lot of beauty.


Sweaty lemonade... much better than sitting around being a crock pot of fury.







Wednesday, November 18, 2009

For You.

I have been priviledged.

Spoiled rotten.

And I know it.

Anyone who knows me, has heard me brag.

I speak higher of her than any person.

I have been witness to her strength, and over the years have discovered this strength in my self.

The way that she has lived her life has been the greatest gift to me. I have been greatly blessed by her. She's always in my corner, and has made me believe I really can do anything.

I know that my independence, stubborn streak, creativity, drive, my "I am woman hear me roar", and intense love for my family and friends all come from her.

She has taught me to be thankful for what I do have, to get up and brush myself off no matter how hard I am knocked down, and to always care for "the least of these."

Her life has been the single most greatest example of love, integrity and perservearance.

She's my hero.

If I can be half the woman she is, I will feel I have suceeded.

... and I am blessed just to be her daughter.

Happiest birthday Mum. I love you with all my heart.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Robo Boogie

While out trick or treating, I always pick out my next years' costume. Next year I am going to go as a moth... a 60's bohemian style moth.

This year, I hunted down a couple cardboard boxes, dryer tubing, duct tape and silver spray paint and made myself one wicked "robosapien" costume.

It all started in September when I walked into a machine rental store (which also sells moving boxes) looking to buy a "book box" for the head of my robot. I bought boxes because I wanted them to be in pristine condition and I was looking for very specific sizes.

Too bad they were all sold out of the book boxes.

Over the next 15 minutes, the two mechanics ran around looking for boxes that some of their "parts" came in. I stood there trying various boxes on my head. Some were pretty dirty- covered in oil stains- others were far too shallow- more of a hat than a head, but I still put them on because I found it all so humorous. I left empty-handed that day, but I had a good laugh about it all.


Head, body and hands done. All it needs is a coat of silver spray paint. Now to make boots. I looked around for a couple shoe boxes and some bendy cardboard for the shaft of the boot.... all I came up with was these yard waste paper bags and some big chunks of sturdy cardboard.


But all covered in duct tape, and no one knows any different.


Eat your heart out Jimmy Choo.
The finished product. The motherboard featured functions such as: pinch, kick, jump, throw object. There were also "Dynamic Walking" choices like: Reverse, Crab Walk, and Emotionally Aggressive.

I even practiced my binary code... didn't get to show case it as much as I would've liked.

I carved a pumpkin of myself.
The trick or treating crew. What you can't see in the picture is that I had speakers shoved up one of my arms (the gibbled broken looking one in the shot below) and my IPOD in hand.

"Robots" by Flight of the Concords was my theme song, obviously, but there were great dance tunes pumping out of my arm the whole evening.


Sunday, November 15, 2009

A Winter Wonder Woodland

While mulling over the gorgeous grey and silver bird-themed center piece that would be eaten alive by sheer "busy-ness" of the Villa, thus completely inappropriate for my place but so pretty, I came up with this years' (and following years') theme: winter wonder woodland.

Truth be told, I have been gathering a few items over this past year without Christmas in mind at all. There's the big black and white papasan chair I bought in Seattle over Valentines which features a pattern of trees and woodland creatures. Then there's the squirrel and owl made from grasses and pine cones that I couldn't resist at Coombs market last spring. My owl collection grew to be a little family of three this past fall and has taken up permanent residence on my bookshelf.

While I tried to find some ideas online, I couldn't find any one site that featured the ideas floating around in my head in one cohesive theme. Instead, I found some adorable decorations from an assortment of sites that, all together, begin to describe my idea.






www.liberty.co.uk


www.liberty.co.uk

I adore these little glass birds. We used to have some on our tree when I was just tiny... I love the vintage feel of them.



http://www.bronners.com/

And speaking of vintage, I'm beginning to comb the "glass figurines" section of Value Village for things like this little raccoon. So far I've found a squirrel (another purchase unrelated to this idea- bought it in the summer) and a couple ceramic toadstools.

www.etsy.com

I only wish I had the slightest clue how to make these felted acorns, but I don't so I'll have to figure out another way to make acorns as I didn't have the foresight to collect them this summer.

www.etsy.com

I love the acorns, and I love love love these little toadstools. I've already picked up some Styrofoam balls that I hope to cover with felt.

etsy at this address

Does anyone have a clue where I can buy one of these? I've yet to see them in pink sparkles. I'm a little torn about getting one though as I've seen a variety of them everywhere this year (I don't recall them last year)... I don't want to just jump on the trend bandwagon, but one like this is just so pretty.

www.heals.co.uk

Or I could go with a glittery head on my wall. I feel like this is kinda mocking all those trophy hunters out there and I like that.





www.heals.co.uk

www.target.com

Then there's this idea for the centerpiece. I like the use of colour, but I don't know if I want all that glitter. You can find the craft tutorial for it on the Martha Steward website (link is below the picture).

Tutorial on Martha Stewart website

This next Saturday will be my last one off before we jet south for Christmas... a Mele Kalikimaka to be exact. After this next weekend, it's four 84 hour work weeks until we leave, so I'll be spreading a little cheer (not the standard xmas explosion that takes 4 insomnia-filled days to set up) around my place this weekend.