Things I love about 2000-2010

2000-2010 has been the first decade in my existence that I can remember from start to finish. So, a little self-reflection on my part and I came up with the following G’s Decade in Review!

2000 – Grade 10. Establish life-long friendships. Teenage angst. Fall in love with Justin Timberlake. Think the Thong Song was discriminatory. Visit Paris, France for the first time.

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2001- Grade 11. Get drivers license. Roll around town in my mom’s acura integra. Lose interest in school. Revolution against my English teacher, Mr. Todd. Earthquake. High school curling championships. George Bush become President of the United States, I cry. Visit Paris, France for the second time. September 11, 2001, I cry again because I know this guarantees a second term for Bush. Enron is bankrupt.

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2002 – Grade 12. Big year! Really lose interest in school. Tuesday night parties, featuring C-Money, K-Baby and Milky. Visit Cuba for the first time. Graduate from high school. Have no idea what to do with my life.

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2003 – 2005 – Get a job at a local hotel. Start school at Camosun. Visit Cuba for the second time. Attend school in Cuba. Fall in love with Cuba. George Bush elected again…my faith in the United States is basically non-existent.

2006 – Backpack through Europe with Katie, Mere and Jen. Love life. Love Italy. Visit Paris, France for the third time. Realize just how GD lucky I am. Start school at UVIC. Fall in love with Environmental Studies. Change major for umpteenth time.

2007 – The year of Africa. Travel throughout Ghana. Epiphany that my life will not involve ‘development studies’. Become inspired.

2008 – Work with the local health authority. Start self-esteem girls group with a kick-ass partner. Finish courses at UVIC. CHEER FOR BARACK OBAMA. Watch Barack Obama take the oath of presidency. Faith in Americans is restored. Lose faith in Canadians as Stephen Harper remains Prime Minister. Environmental Studies Course Union Prez. Rabbit debacle.

2009 – BC Youth voting revolution….yes?! no. Fall in love. Live life according to what makes me the most happy, and what is in my heart. Say unexpected goodbye to a lovely person. Continue self-esteem girls group. Sail to Pender Island with some great friends. Visit Vancouver (3 times!), Tofino, Parksville, Kiwi Grove Lodge with B2. Turn 25 and have the best birthday I have ever had. Feel completely fulfilled. Apply to law school. Anxiously await acceptance to law school. Happy.

What a decade it has been! I can say, without hesitation, I am living my best life.

holiday yum-yums

newsflash!

i love food. i love food more when i am enjoying it with special people.

this holiday season, i was treated to some magnificent meals.

here are only a few of my holiday faves :)

homemade rustic nachos

(raincoast crisps, cherry tomato, strawberries and aged white cheddar cheese)

wild salmon skewers, part of the unlimited tapas at tigh-na-mara

fresh cod burger with yam fries, at shelter in tofino

more delicious food pictures to be posted soon!!

xo

winter warm-up

currently i am tucked away...

in a little log cabin on vancouver island, with my love, b2.

we are sipping wine, and sharing a delicious appetizer.

the sun has just started to go down, after a beautiful day.

b2 is making me pesto and mushroom penne, and the fireplace is crackling.

what a wonderful life i live.

xo

holiday wishes

now that the official holiday is past, i am reflecting on my holiday wishes.

i believe every wish i could ever dream came true this year.

i was surrounded by beautiful friends and family...

i visited with my amazing cousin who i haven't seen in over a year...

i ate delicious food...

and i was able to spend it all with my love...

 
i hope you had a lovely holiday as well :)

dogisms

Recently, I have grown unexpectedly attached to a little show named Dog: The Bounty Hunter.

Why? I really don't know! It's like a car accident for me...I know I shouldn't watch, and yet, I am strangely drawn to it.

So, I will embrace this new addiction with open arms! And now presenting to you....some of my favorite Dogisms!

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5. My grandfather told me years ago, "Watch your fantasies, because you're the kind of person who will live them."

4. When I look in the mirror, I'd rather be studly than sexy. Matt Lauer can be sexy. I'll be studly.

3. Anybody- everybody can make a mistake.

2. At the end of the criminal rainbow- there is no pot of gold.

1. When people ask me if I carry a gun I say "yes". That gun is my wife, Beth. Bam.

Happy Holiday Week!!!

xo

this is what a feminist looks like

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The F word. You’ve heard it before. Perhaps in passing, or in an academic setting, or maybe just in general conversation.

Maybe you have heard it been used in a positive way, or maybe you’ve heard it with a negative connotation.

Whatever the case, feminism strikes a definitive chord with me. I am an active supporter of equal rights. I believe that a woman’s choice is exactly that, her choice.

I am strongly opposed to the anti-feminist voice in contemporary culture.

And when people tell me that feminism is no longer relevant because sexism is no longer a problem, my blood boils.

As a facilitator of a high school girls’ self-esteem group, my ultimate goal as a feminist is to eliminate sexual oppression and increase self-confidence and self-awareness.

In my role as high school facilitator, I see issues pertaining to sexual oppression affect the girls on a daily basis. Why? Because they are constantly inundated with images like this:

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Now let me be very clear – I am a fervent supporter of sexual liberation.

Some argue a blurry line exists between liberation, choice and exploitation. I don’t agree. To me, it is very clear that distinct differences exist between sexual liberation and sexual oppression and/or objectification. After looking at the ad above, you cannot tell me that women is empowered. That women is pinned on the ground, while not one but four men stare down at her. This ad – and all others like it, reinforce a patriarch paradigm, and the notion that women are to be controlled, dominated and used.

Think I read too much into this simple ‘sex sells’ ad for perfume? Consider this – a 13 year old girl named Hope in Florida took her own life when the topless photos of her, that she took and texted to the boy she liked, were distributed school wide. Or Srey Rath from Cambodia, who was just 15 when she was trafficked to a brothel, drugged and beaten and forced to sleep with men 15 hours a day, 7 days a week. Or the girls in my high school group – who just like me when I was their age – constantly question their appearance, their popularity and their self-worth.

We, the global community, can and will do better than this. We can do better than this with every thought and with every action we take. We can stand up, and fight the oppression (my favorite thing to do? I storm off the dance floor if a song comes on I find demeaning to women…I just, stop dancing. It is so easy!)

So, I challenge you to stand up as a feminist. Stand up for your rights, or your mother, or your brother, or someone you have never met. It feels pretty damn good.

And soon everyone will yell from the rooftops, this is what a feminist looks like.

(for more reading, check out the awesome book feminism is for everybody, by bell hookes…or visit http://www.halftheskymovement.org/get-involved)

me = homer simpson

I just had the most glorious insanely huge sandwich of my life. My boss took pity on me and my sole can of peaches, so we went to the Safeway deli where I proceeded to devour a 6-inch gourmet sub (and where I insisted on paying for my own sandwich of death).

Now I feel full and gross. Le blah.

And the first thing that comes to mind…is the infamous Homer Simpson sandwich.

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Curse you sandwiches of death, curse you.

a can of peaches

Lately, I have desperately been trying to pay off my credit card.

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I am not the type of person who ever gets in to debt. Even through university, I never took out a single student loan (thanks to living with my parents and their generous support, working a serving job and studying my ass off to get scholarships).

But a few months ago, I was unemployed. It lasted much longer than I thought it would – and it caused a major blow to both my ego and my bank account.

Since then, I have a job I love, and my confidence in being a ‘strong candidate’ for jobs is slowly coming back…although thinking of job searching again scares the crap out of me.

One of the reasons why I find being in debt so awful is because of the stigma associated with it.

I am embarrassed that I created this monster!

But that is ridiculous…life is full of ups and downs, and I will learn from my mistakes.

How?

Well, every pay cheque since I started my new job, I have put a small amount of money into savings, and a large amount of money on my credit card. This leaves a small amount for rent and spending.

So what gets cut? My food budget.

I am down to the last can of peaches in my house!

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It is so sad – but this can of peaches will be my breakfast and lunch today. Luckily I get paid on Thursday – and I am thrilled to announce that after this pay cheque, I will be one pay cheque away from getting out of debt!!

And then I will breathe a heavy sigh of relief, and stop stressing about something so insignificant.

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smitten mitten

Cold hands, warm heart

This is the adage I have always been fond of.

Why? Because I constantly have cold hands. I have cold hands when curling, when sleeping, when driving, when walking…and I recently discovered my right hand (computer mouse hand) has been extremely cold in my office.

I always attack B2 with my cold hands. Not on purpose, it just seems unavoidable!

So, my complete admiration and obsession with mittens makes sense then. I adore mittens. They have potential to add pizzazz to any boring, “I don’t know what to wear so I won’t be bothered to look cute today” outfit.

Here are some of my favorites I found online:

Hi 5's all around!

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cute and indie style

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ridiculous

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Mittens the Kitty

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a blogger’s dilemma

Here’s the thing…

I like to write down my thoughts. I love having a record of what is going on in my life. I really love knowing that someday, I will look back at these entries and smile.

But…

Blogging feels like a chore. I dislike chores.

So how can I fall back in love with blogging?

Maybe by not putting so much pressure on myself to do it regularly

Maybe by not feeling guilty when I forget

Maybe by telling more people that I have a blog

But the main reason why I ‘forget’ to blog? Because I am so easily distracted – whenever I attempt to create an entry…I wonder what is happening on curls&coffee, or on le love, or on 4080records. And then, soon enough, minutes turn into hours, and I have run out of time to focus on my own work!

I figure, this is ok…roll with the punches, water off a duck’s back, don’t cry over spilled milk – whatever! As long as I am doing what is right for me, and for my life, I am ok with forgetting to blog.

So until next time – whenever that may be,

x to the o

g

GLEE!

Why do I love Glee?

Because it is hilarious.

Because it is a musical.

Because it is dark.

Because I watch it with B2.

Because I always feel happy at the end. Pure happy.

Because above all, it sends a message that it is OK to be different - and it is OK to follow your heart.

Glee to you, from me :)

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