eHarm, No Foul

Alright, I finally did a 21st century thing that I probably never thought I would do and that probably everyone will do once - no, not get a cell phone, I did that 2 months ago - I joined eHarmony!  eek!  Now, calm down out there and stop laughing, I did it for no other reason than pure interest - to see what the world of people are doing out there and what they are all about these days.  Obviously I have never adventured into any other virtual world other than a dating one - will somebody please buy me World of Warcraft for Christmas next year?  Anyways, back to the eHarm story, it all started when Judy said she had signed up for free on a lark, "ages ago" she said, and her inbox was always full but she never replied to any of it.  Well, tick tick tick, I was like "free?  full inbox?"  How could I resist?  Honestly, you all would have done the same ;-)  

If you are going to sign up, put a pot of coffee on because the opening questions are like YOU on a mid-term, practically a deterrent, by the time I reached the half-way point I had no idea what I was saying about myself except for the obvious ones that jumped out like "introvert", no, "creative", yes - the rest of it was like "caring" "warm" "open-minded" (who is going to say they are narrow-minded?  I am not sure if anyone thinks they are - a good future thesis question, tuck that one away for later) anyways, I am totally thinking that all of the above depend on the situation blah blah blah, nonetheless, drum roll please, I got through it!!!  Even if I clicked the middle ground on everything, I got through it!  

Enter the "radius" of potential man mates - they tried to auto click a box of within 100km of where I live for me...ha!  Yes, I am looking for love in Rae Edzo (the only community within 100km) - and failing that, I could be matched up with a hefty bison, after all, I have always had a slight penchant for the unconventional (slight, people, slight).  Finally, I took control of the mouse and clicked the box for "The World!" - it actually had an exclamation mark at the end of it, just like that "The World!"  as if they are saying to all who click this box, "bitchin!  Way to go for the whole world!  Why narrow the field?  Go for it you daring animal!"  So I guess if I get a guided communication question that asks what my idea of being adventurous is, I can reply, "well I did click The World!, didn't I?"  Score, there's one guided answer in the bag.  After all, according to boxes I clicked, my matches are expecting someone witty.  I had better get to work on the other answers.

I give this relationship 2 weeks.  

Curses!

Argggh, thwarted at every pass!  If anyone knows how to insert a suite of images please let me know - so far I can only get them inserted at the top of the post...  oh well, I will prepare for the best - I am sure it will work itself out...  Yipee!  I figured it out - see post below - I am totally out of order it is true.

Lemon Wedding Cake - Part 1

Obviously, I don't know how to remove photos yet...  So you get it twice!
This my friends is the finished product.  A humble, 3-tiered little lemon number.  The pictures are out of order and I have way more of them, such as, wait for it, the crumb coat montage - who wouldn't want to see that action?  But I am going to retire from this tired (no longer fruitless - all hail the lemon!) wedding cake thread.  Alright, maybe it's just me who is tired. 
Yay - I figured it out!  Please excuse the little lemons in the above photo - they are, ahem, naked.

Well achievement demands consistency!  I had such success posting the December 28th picture (no luck with video though) that I am going to attempt to walk y'all through my documented making of a humble lemon wedding cake for a Dec. 27th wedding.

Here goes; it all started with some beautiful lemons and a rape....

 

DECEMBER!!!!

Hey Hey,

I thought it was about time for something new - it looks like it took me a couple of months to recover from October - lol.  I suppose when one thinks that no one is reading one's blog that it does not matter whether one writes or not.  And then one woke up and thought "what if there is one lone soul out there reading my blog, just pining for an update?"  Well, I will not disappoint!  December has been a good month.  I had the great pleasure of performing the Messiah, what a treat.  Also, I sang at an AIDS benefit earlier in the month and that was a treat as well.  Progressed in a serious way in one of my work projects, thanks to some ultra-dependable colleagues.  Visited Toronto for the first time with a good friend of mine.  Spent a lovely Christmas with mom and sis and a surprise visit from an old family friend.  Made a wedding cake, lemon mmmmm.  All with 3 days left to spare.  Life is sweet.  I have pictures of the aforementioned events and I will try to put them up.  I am making it my project for the evening ... go go go! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving homeboys and homegirls.  I have plenty to be thankful for not the least of which are great friends and family. It is a gorgeous day here in Yellowknife - fresh and sunny - hope all are having a shiny happy day.

From my end, Jason is the host for today's festivities - should be grand :-)

October is such a heavy month...

It seems to me that I have been avoiding blogging about weight loss.  And maybe it is because there is none of that going on in my life right now.  Sigh, and I know my friends are all saying "but you look great" - THIS SECTION HAS BEEN CENSORED.  October tends to be a dangerous month for me - for the past 2 years this month has been the back end greeter for a long term winter guest of fifteen pounds.  And lo, every year I think that I am going the other direction, October rolls around and with it those fifteen little guests who think they are just going to settle in nice and cosy for the winter.

I guess I am posting this now to give myself some sort of accountability.  Right now I weigh CENSORED.  Eeeek!  OMG, there, I said it.  I think about 3 weeks ago I was in the YES FOLKS, CENSORED AGAIN kilo range... Jaws theme song music please.  Anyways, my personal weight loss is probably of no interest to anyone but me, however the topic may interest others (I know I am not the only one of my friends trying to get rid of a bit of unhealthy body fat, which is a good thing) - I am going to try to set up a tab or something in this blog where I will religiously log my progress, tips, tricks etc. - it's all about mitigation people, mitigation.  It will include fitness, but will probably be food centric as the latter in particular is my Dante-esque ring.

But before I go trying to set up a tab and take several months doing it and re-visit this subject when I am a million pounds heavier - I just have 2 parting words my people and those are THE END.     

guest list

I like imagining that Tina Fey and the Queen of England are reading my blog.

More Alice than White Rabbit

Whew, as an addition to yesterday's "can't be late" theorem, I was literally just on time for work, having ran from the gym to work, in the door and out the door. In the end it was a super smooth move to not have been late due to excessive time spent blow drying.

I am thinking, maybe, if no one is reading this then I need to get a gimmick - pictures of food, or presidential candidates, or Tina Fey! I'll just slap her picture all over and the people will surely come. Speaking of which, I wonder when 30 Rock will start up again? The first season is totally worth buying, of which the first disc is a noteworthy gem. Sigh, I guess I will go start getting ready for the gym - lower body weights today - groan.

Thanksgiving update - have been looking through my weight watchers book for appetizers - have found nothing I would subject my friends to. I will now broaden my research to regular people food magazines. Thanksgiving pictures will be the first pictures I post. If I can accomplish it - I am dying to pimp out my blog. In that vein I am off to find clip art of Tina Fey ;-) Please let me know if I used the correct use and spelling of the word vein there, I feel like I am in a bear bare situation here.

Brrrrrr...

So Yellowknife is starting her grand ole descent into darkness and cold.  Calling it a descent is probably a mistake right off the bat seeing as I will be fighting gaining weight soon not to mention losing scant fistfuls of hair with every shower.  Not to be alarmed though - everyone loses hair when they condition, n'est-ce pas? Haha, I am not in denial, just making a joke, keepin it light (I wish!) no pun intended.

It's really not that bad yet, key words there being "that" and "yet" and what are we left with?  Hooooo someone is in quite the mood this morning.

On to funner things like Thanksgiving!  Right around the corner.  We are going to Jason's apartment, I am in charge of appies, I am going to use the KISS principle on that one, keep it simple simon, and the LOW principle, lots of wine.

Saw Nick and Norah in the theatres and loved it.  The drunk friend deserves an oscar for her pre-puke burp in the train station or as Jason would call it, a vurp.  And her Christmas tree stint.  All in all super enjoyable, laughed and laughed.

Righto, I have to get ready to go for a run, I can't be 3 minutes late for work today - I got invited to a big senior management meeting - I feel like Alice!

Ciao for niao amigos.

Welcome to my newer template

The previous entry remarked on the dots template that I had picked out.  I just found the writing too small and difficult to read.  So I am test driving this template - I like it so far.

Welcome to my new template!

Hey party people,

So I have gone with the dots template - welcome to my disco ;-)  I like it, I am still not sold one hundred percent but I like the direction it is going in.  I think I need more pictures, something that focusses the eye - this is my version of renovating a room.  Funny how I seem to be far too lazy to do this in real life where I resign myself to just accept the tacky wood panelling that is my living room and bedroom walls creating a forever 70's romper room effect - paint it white already, ugh, and while your at it take your little heater stove out of it's box and plug it in before you freeze to death!  What's my damage?  I don't know, but back to the dots and the blog, why focus on the stop points in my life that could cause me to just stop motion and stare at the wall for lack of wanting to act when the blog is moving along nicely.  So dots, but needs more focus somehow.  We'll see what will happen.

In other news I had a lovely and delicious salt cod dinner last night with my favourite PEIers - so good, so full...still.  Let's give a little more detail - the potatoes were yellow, fluffy, creamy fleshed little enticers every one of them.  We undressed them with our forks, my mom and I ate the skin while the eastern islanders put theirs in a separate bowl, only to drape them in white gravy with sauteed onions - oh yeah.  On to the cod, it was salted, but not too much, and it was delicious when eaten with the lovely green chow - is it chow chow?  I am not sure, it was not the dog, it was the green tomato relish sauce.  We are going to try and make our own if we can only get our hands on some green tomatoes.  At this point we all agreed that we loved the movie "Fried Green Tomatoes" and by virtue of association "Steel Magnolias" got pulled in there too, and we all agreed that we loved it, and even re-enacted some of the more touching Shelby moments.  On to the pork belly fried in lard - do I really even need to say anymore?  I didn't think so.  And dessert, oh dessert, delectably moist white cake with a gorgeously simple brown sugar nutmeg sauce - delish x 12.  Mr. X (I have to ask him if I can ever use his name), and I kept on going back past the stove for dips of the white cake into the butter brown sugar sauce still in the pot.  Just when the last piece had digested, it was back for another dip.  I think I may have injured my stomach.  As an aside, was this a blog regarding weight-loss?  hahaha, this is the food portion of the event.

After dinner we played Yahtzee and that was quite the fun, rip roaring I should say.  What a great game!  Not a big thinker and yet still a good time, and it clips along at a nice pace.

The night was ended with a little dip by Mr.X and myself into some internet dating sites to browse the profiles, the moms chatted, and then the whole thing wound down at a sensible hour in anticipation for brunch this morning.  As I mention the brunch I am reminded that the moms and Mr. X went out to lunch without me yesterday while I ate alone at the Ledge, but I have vowed to drop it and move on so I am not even going to mention it ;-)  Suffice to say it was my karmic retribution for a Russian incident gone awry the night before and now the score is even all round once again - game on.

Well I need to walk my dog and get ready for the day.  To leave this entry with some points of common interest, I will reflect on things outside the realm of my meal activities - I have to research this Canadian election more so that come October 14th I may feel comfortable about voting; the movie Burn After Reading was very odd and bad in an interesting way with a very good ending that makes you leave with the satisfaction that it was a good film and satisfaction is key; hmmmmm, that's all for this morning - my week was so busy that I am having a hard time taking myself out of my little me bubble.  Oh alright I will mention it - where has Barack Obama gone?  I heard he turned down SNL - yikes, not a great move.  Sarah, however unpopular, seems to be all the rage since the debutant party - and that's all I have to say about that.

2 days Olivina free.  Peace out homeys.

Thought for the week and curtailed addiction

As arrived at through my weekly session with my brilliant friend who is studying to be a life coach, my thought/mantra for the week is "I'm single and learning to love life".  A true statement.  Apparently it is my thoughts that are shaping my reality and quite frankly since I have adopted this one ( I am on day 2 of the pilot) I actually do feel a lot better about the whole situation of being single and not in the relationship of my dreams.  That said, "dreams" is the operative word in the previous sentence - be careful what you wish for etc.  That aside, I am single and learning to love life.

A little bit more about life coaching Later.  I have to get ready for work and a run now.

As a closing remark, I have taken the first step in conquering my Olivina addiction this morning by throwing the not empty yet tub I had on the go into the garbage.  Score one for Olivina free evenings.

Ciao.  

after midnight

Even though what I am normally doing after midnight is sleeping, it has certain connotations of open discussion that I like.  It's a time when we seem to get into the stuff of the soul and not just the stuff of survival.  The daytime world has stopped and our surroundings take on a certain brand of peaceful, a different hue. 

Plus the fact that I like sleeping so it reminds of important things - good conversation, beauty, sleeping and dreaming.

Brave New Blog Re-visited

Inspired by a new friend of mine, whose blog I love reading and always want to dialogue with when I am faced with his full screen, as well as by other blogs that I have enjoyed as of late (I have a new Mac = life is better) I have decided to dust off the Blogger account and throw-down to the big blog party going on.

Back in the day of this particular Blog Origin, I had anticipated sharing my musings in the form of commentary, poetry, anything in the written word really.  I do not think that this has changed although I have certainly changed a bit since then and therefore it will inevitably be different.  I find that this is also a great way (and easy - freewebs was a little over my head, wink wink) to keep up with friends old and new when all of our locations and lives are not necessarily complimentary.  So, friends, I will share the link with you.  Thought I would remain anonymous before so that I could truly be candid, but wtf, where's the fun in that?

We'll see what new friends I make ;-)

There is one poem that I had posted almost 2 years ago, I like it, still true, I'll keep it.  

Since then (over the past 2 years), all the while living in good ole Yellowknife, other than continuing to be musically lyrical, I have not been creating written material (we'll call it).  Perhaps this will inspire me to write again - we'll see if well enough should have been left alone, haha, enter at your own risk.

JY