thunder bay

i like long weekends. i like long weekends more when you can entirely relax and not just add another day on to your already stressful weekend. i especially like long weekend when you get to leave and go somewhere else for a few days - somewhere that stress is not even an option because your wont let it be. i loved this february long weekend! my boyfriend and i got to spend four days relaxing, away from home (sort of not for him) and stresses associated with it. terry and i spent our long weekend in thunder bay and i entirely enjoyed myself.
i am not surprised in any way that i enjoyed my weekend but you honestly should have heard some of the warnings (i guess you can call them warnings) i got when i told people i was going to thunder bay.
"eww thunder bay- why would you go there!?" 
"haha, i got sent to thunder bay once for business and the next time my boss tried to send me i got down and cried in front of him asking him why me!? why me!?"
"there is nothing in thunder bay - you should refund that plane ticket now"
"highest crime rate per capita in thunder bay"
"dont get stabbed - its common there!"
yup.. true say. i heard all these comments.

so obviously i disregarded the concerns in these statements and went to thunder bay with terry.
the purpose for us going was for a stag and doe ("shag" as they call it in thunder bay). terry's cousin is getting married in september but the stag and doe was over the long weekend so we made a short trip out of it - we both booked friday off work!

*picture is of  (frozen over) Kakabeka Falls - Thunder Bay, Ontario*

happy snow day

so whether you had a snow day or had to go to work (or school).. i hope you at least got to enjoy this beautiful snow! its a winter wonderland outside and i love it!
some pictures from this snowy friday..

 that tree is supposed to be much taller and upright.. the snow is completely weighing it down..

 snow in my back yard, piled high

walking to work (yes.. i had snow up to my knees!) .. the lovely snow! 

so beautiful!

i love winter!..

what i learned from earnest..

"the truth is rarely pure and never simple"

the quote above is by Oscar Wilde.. a quote from the importance of being earnest. i read this book/play last month and this quote is what i took from it. although the short sentence was just a line somewhere at the beginning of the book, it stuck with me. 

i feel like i have always thought about truth and lies as black and white. truths are easy and simple. lies are difficult and complex. truths are fact. lies are fiction. truths can be proven, backed up and/or referenced. lies have to be rehearsed and memorized, they are created, staged and/or planned. 

lies seem like so much effort.. so why do people so often choose not to tell the truth? .. because the truth isn't pure and simple. the truth is filled with facts and necessary explanations. it is filled with love and so often with hurt. truth is filled with emotion. truth is powerful and so often misunderstood. truth can ruin people, it can cause tears and harm... truth may be stable but it is very complex.

i believe that often the truth makes people so uncomfortable that lies seem like the better option. you make up a piece of information, more likely than not a piece of information the communicator believes the receiver wants to be presented with. the information is invented.. easy. our brains do that in seconds. but really..when we make a decision, i believe people exhibit an immediate fight or flight response. 

lies are simple, they can be devised in a matter of seconds.. do it.

truth.. complicated..causing anxiety. run.

so we run. we tell the lie instead of the truth. lies just seem so much easier to do. although truth is fact and therefore should be more easily stored in our brains, it is so not pure and definitely not simple. 

simple messages and tiny notes

i am, like many in this day in age, completely attached to cell phone and have a tendency of going crazy if i am without it. its my phone, my camera, my gps, my computer, my alarm clock, my calculator and my calendar.. and its sad but i can confidently state i am not alone in this!.. even if im not on my phone constantly, i am calm when i have it with me. 
so on tuesday i left for work and as soon as i was half way there (it only takes about 5 minutes to walk to work from my house) i realized i forgot my phone at home. i turned around and was about to head back home but i looked at my watch and realized i only had 3 minutes until i had to be at work!.. i turned around and headed towards work (the smart and responsible thing to do).. but i was already stressing out i didn't have my phone.  its not even that i am on my phone at work ever but for some reason i just need the phone with me and alive (i also hate when it dies during the day)..
anyways i get to work and get everything together for the day and i email terry saying.. ahhh! i forgot my phone at home! im going to go crazy"and continued on with my day.
i came home to quite a few text messages.. sent by terry throughout the day.. each message short, sweet and completely perfect. the words made me smile and may have made leaving my phone at home a little worth it!

1 year!

terry and i met in september when school began. by october he pretty much stopped showing up for classes. by november classes picked up, group members started to get their acts together and dead lines needed to be met. terry and i started working on group projects with group members and by december terry and i were hanging out by ourselves outside of school (and he even made me dinner a few times). over christmas holidays last year, terry went back home to thunder bay for maybe two weeks.. he came back on january 6th.
although we had been hanging out before this date and anything so traditional as a dinner date didn't occur until valentines day.. we chose this date - january 6th - as our day. our somewhat official "we have established we are dating" day. therefore january 6, 2013 was our one year (we'll call it our anniversary).
i can't believe it has been a year! sometimes i feel we are so young in this relationship.. other times i feel we have grown so much and overcome many of the significant issues. we have learned a lot about each other (he has learned i am a horrible dancer and i have learned he will never give up his horribly weathered and ripped hat).  its hard to understand how two people so different can get along so well..
i'll be honest though - as different as we are - its not hard. i don't find our relationship a challenge (or a least not a difficult one) . yes, we need to go out of our way for each other sometimes, yes we have arguments and we don't always see eye-to-eye and yes we both have busy, busy schedules.. but no its not difficult. it feels good to go out of my way for him sometimes and our arguments teach us about each other - they allow us to be more considerate of one another and grow together. when we don't see eye-to-eye, there is opportunity to veer away from stubbornness and any existing single-mindedness. we are able to listen and talk  - seeing as we are so extremely different, this is crucial. our busy schedules allow us to both appreciate the time we have together and understand the need we both have for our own individual time (because yes, we both desperately need our "me" time).
anyways.. to keep it simple.. it works! we work! and HAPPY ONE YEAR TERRY xo!

we spent our day at the arcade paying video games (where we kicked butt at wheel of fortune) and at chapters picking out books (i requested he pick out a book for me - i warned him it better be a good choice). arcade/chapters was followed by a lovely dinner at a tiny pasta place with some amazing food and great wine (and i also tried oysters for the first time!).. 

*i lack pictures :( my phone died shortly after we got to the arcade..

welcoming 2013

cheers to the new year

despite the fact this picture - a glass full of champagne - may not appropriately demonstrate my wishes for a happy, healthy, fun and safe 2013..

i do wish all the best for you in 2013. 

may wishes come true and goals be met..

may love be spread and passion be shared..

may smiles be seen and hearts be touched.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

not a white christmas

its boxing day here in canada! the day after christmas - here we call it boxing day - is usually day three of christmas festivities. i hope everyone had a wonderful christmas (or anything you and your family celebrate at this time of the year). although this christmas was a little less hectic and eventful than other christmas's (and there was no real SNOW) i had a great christmas and santa (and my family) was way too good to me. in the past we had something going on on christmas eve, christmas day and on boxing day. this year there was nothing planned for christmas eve (and i actually didn't make it to the boxing day event my uncle had planned). for me it was just christmas day - entirely fine by me!..

christmas morning - i woke up around 8:30 (shortly after my mom and my sister). when we wake up on christmas morning, we are allowed to empty our stockings. when we were younger and used to wake up way before our parents the rules were - we could go down to the living room and open anything in our stockings but were not allowed to touch anything under the tree. traditions stick, we still are allowed to open only our stockings until everyone in the house is awake. more often then not (recently) - our parents are up before all three of us (my sisters and i) are up.

 the presents are packed all under (and beside) the tree

 even the little fluff ball got spoiled this year

 guinness goes for the squirrel

most of guinness' presents were just placed in a bag under the tree. thats normal id assume - why would you wrap gifts for a dog?! well my sister decided to be different - she decided to wrap the present she got guinness. guinness was a pro at unwrapping the present. he dug his teeth in and ripped the paper right off that gift.

he's content with the gift .. he worked hard to get it. it kept him distracted why we opened our gifts

after we opened our gifts we had our usual christmas breakfast - eggs benedict for my family and an english muffin toasted with butter for me! (i dont like eggs). around noon terry came over and we exchanged gifts. he spoiled me too - i absolutely had no idea what he had for me.. complete surprise! i think he liked his gift too! :) terry and i took guinness for a christmas day walk and we watched a movie with my sisters. we prepped for my dads side's family christmas dinner we were hosting - small gathering this year, only my grandma and my aunt, uncle and my three cousins. all the other aunts/uncles and cousins couldn't make it this year!

then came the turkey, mashed potatoes, squash, broccoli casserole, carrots, STUFFING, gravy and dinner rolls (with lots of wine). followed by pumpkin pie, apple pie, pecan pie and home made christmas cake (rum cake?). oh and tea and coffee! lots of food! way too much! but all delicious.
after dinner we played our usual gift game (in which everyone ends up with a small gift) - tradition. although it a much smaller gathering this year (considering we were missing 9 family members who are usually there on christmas day) and despite the fact i am bitter about the lack of snow.. christmas was fun and filled with great conversation and everything good and special!

i hope santa was good to you and your tummy is full with lots and lots of great food!

instagram diary..

christmas is in two days! i cant wait for way for turkey dinner and apple pie, family and merry christmas hugs!.. heres a little christmas-y picture post in honour of the up coming celebrations.

 my aunt came over and brought guinness a bag full of christmas gifts for the little fur ball. raw hide, cookies, toys and more cookies (and a gift card for me - i usually use petsmart gift cards for when i take him to the groomers)

our christmas tree all decorated and lit up                              home made egg nog (with baileys/rum)

i went to a work christmas party with a blind gift exchange. basically each person was to bring a gift worth approximately $15.00. everyone picked a number and beginning at number 1, each person was allowed to pick a gift from under the tree and open it or they were allowed to steal a present from someone else who had already opened one (there were 36 of us). the only rule was that each gift was only allowed to be stolen 3 times. once the 4th person has it, that gift is theres and no one can steal it. i was number 36! i got to have last choice and i ended up choosing the book and the coffee (absolutely perfect for me!).

 guinness got into our dads christmas present from my aunt. my mom caught him down stairs eating this chocolate bar. not good guinness, not good!

November Glossybox

the november glossybox was christmas themed and even better than i expected. since the price went up from $15 to $21 (which is a huge % increase) i definitely had higher expectations for the november box than i had for the others. i promise you it did not disappoint! i'd say this box is probably my favourite glossybox yet. 

november's box even came with christmas-y tissue paper and mini candy cane!

the perfectly selected products that made up the november glossybox:
1. Nicole by OPI Kardashian Kolar Holiday Shades: i love getting nail polish and i loved the shade i got, all is glam, all is bright. it has a bit of a purple tint - its not something i would wear all the time but its perfect for around new years and it goes on nicely! i found i needed to layer it with a clear coat over to make it smooth (otherwise it is rough to the touch).. but i often layer nail polish with a clear coat to make it last longer anyways. FULL SIZE and valued at $10.99
2. Kryolan for Glossybox Blusher in glossy pink: this is absolutely adorable! i love the slightly rose cheeks in the winter while im so pale. you don't need a lot of this, the colour is fairly intense..a small amount is perfectly noticeable. FULL SIZE and valued at approximately $16.
3. Nexxus Salon Hair Care - Hydrate Kit: the hydrate kit comes with amazing smelling shampoo and conditioner. i used the products on my hair for the past week - they left my hair soft and smelling nice. these came in sample sizes but they were huge samples!
4. Vitabath: this is an exfoliating sugar scrub. it doesn't indicate anywhere whether it is a body, hand or face scrub (i just assumed it was a body scrub by the name vitabath) but i used it on my hands and arms and my skin felt so soft! i'm not too fond of the smell but i like the product very much. i'm not sure if this is a full size (full size usually runs between $15-18)
5. Maybelline MNY MY Gloss: the gloss goes on nice and doesn't have much colour. i normally dont buy maybelline but i was very impressed by this product. FULL SIZE valued at $7.49.

6. CUREL HAND & CUTICLE THERAPY CREAM: this is a bonus product! this cream is lovely. it goes on smoothly and it is not greasy at all. i wash my hands excessively and my hands get so dry (especially in the winter) so i always need to use cream. the problem with many creams is that they leave my hands oily/greasy and that really sucks when you are working on a computer and with paper work all day at work. the curel hand & cuticle cream is also nice and light, which i also like. some creams are so thick. FULL SIZE and valued at $3.99

thank you glossybox so very much! i can't wait until the december box!

christmas is on its way

its december again! the month where stores can play christmas music without complaints and christmas baking becomes my hobby. december 1st started my preparation for this holiday season with the chocolate advent calendar, christmas shopping and christmas tree cutting. my sisters and i have been getting chocolate advent calendar every december 1st since i can remember! one chocolate for everyday in a count down to christmas. i truthfully believe my parents will be buying us a chocolate calendar every december until we have children of our own - its a simple and common tradition.. then came the christmas shopping - christmas shopping excites me! i love shopping for the perfect gifts for family and friends - i like when there is room for creativity and thoughtfulness in the gift, some people are easy to shop for while others want whats on their list and no other. i've so far managed to get two partial presents for two different people.. id say its a good start!
another tradition of my family for the past few years has been to pick out and saw down a christmas tree for our house! all 5 of us put on our winter boots and warm jackets (guinness also got his sweater on) and we drove out to the christmas tree place we've gone for the past few years to scout out the perfect tree.
we now have our christmas tree decorated in our living room and christmas lights strung out outside our house.. im definitely in the christmas spirit!

we selected our tree and each took turns sawing it down.

 **proof i helped with the dirty work :)**

guinness observed.