holy moly, me oh my, you’re the apple of my eye

tuesdays tune
edward sharpe & the magnetic zeros - home

this song will be stuck in your head for days. you will not be able to stop whistling it, trust me, i speak from experience. however, it is a fabulous song!! it kinda sounds like a song that was made way back in the olden days which is why i like it. the singers voices are very unique.

the group is made up of 9 members and each band member seems to be an interesting character. they were on david lettermen and their performance was full of energy and very different from your normal everyday band. i have a feeling they would put on an amazing live show.

take a listen to their amazing love song 'home'.

your coffee could save a life.

tomorrow for 'world AIDS day' starbucks is donating 5 cents to the 'global fund' for every drink you buy. with your help, starbucks has already generated contributions equaling more than 18 million daily doses of medicine. last year nearly half a million babies were born with HIV. by 2015, that number could be zero.

be sure to pick up coffee's for everyone in your office in the morning. then in the afternoon you should pick up another one to keep you going so you don't fall asleep when 2 o'clock rolls around. and heck, why not go again after dinner with some friend, starbucks is always a nice cozy place to meet loved ones to catchup!

sad watermelon heads.

i'm not particularly a huge football fan but if i were to cheer for a team i would cheer for, of course, the calgary stampeders. sadly we were beat out by the the saskatchewan roughriders in the western finals to go to tonights final game, the grey cup. as my team was out, i decided to jump on the roughriders bandwagon for a few hours and cheer for the crazy green watermelon head team (this is an example of me giving into peer pressure). as a person who tends to get caught up in the excitement of being a die hard fan it wasn't that hard for me jump right in with all my friends and cheer alongside them. it was a good evening as roughrider fans are known best for going to great lengths to cheer on their team.

while the evening started with good eats and a lot of screaming at the tv it came to an end with a lot silence and broken hearts. for a second year in a row the roughriders had been defeated by the montreal alouettes in a close game which ended with a poor play.

the final score of the game; alouettes 21, roughriders 18. better luck next year my dear friends in green.

fab five friday - dashing through the snow.

five fav winter activities.....

(oops, it's a day late)

1. snowboarding.

this one is a given. nothing beats being the great outdoors, cruising down the mountain with a beautiful song playing on your ipod. sweet sweet bliss!

2. tobogganing.

there is a sweet place to go right by my house that has a giant half pipe and random jumps. i have a saucer that flies down the hill at 60 kms an hour just like chevy chase did in my favorite christmas movie, 'christmas vacation'.

3. licking icicles.

just be careful to not rip off all your taste-buds when your tongue gets stuck to the icicle, it hurts.

4. skating.

i love (ice) skating, and i'm actually pretty good. however, when it comes to doing tricks this is usually how they turn out....

5. jumping out of the hot tub to make snow angels.

the burning/stabbing pins sensation once you get back in he hot-tub is not as enjoyable. warning: be sure to walk (not run) at a senseable pace back to the hot tub, you don't want to slip and crack your skull open.

ingredients: unknown.

for as long as i can remember i have had a, as some would say 'strange/dumb/crazy' perspective when it comes to food. i'm not a picky eater, and in fact i take offence to that when people say that i am (picky eaters are one of my pet peeves). i have traveled the world and eaten things, meat included, that i had not the slightest clue what i was eating.

if there is a disorder or disease out there that is defined as 'her mind get the best of her while eating meat' i have that disorder (so if you know what it is please inform me). if you were able to sit inside my mind for just one day you probably wouldn't be so keen on meat either. i have this thing with eating meat off a bone, i can't do it. it rules out a lot of tasty dinners, t-bone steak, ribs, chicken wings ect. whenever i eat something with a bone i get an extremely vivid picture of me taking a live chicken and just ripping it's wing off and eating it, bloods squiring everywhere, screaming chicken... lets just say that it's not a pretty picture when you are trying to eat.

now i know you are thinking, it's just an animal. trust me it's not about animal rights for me. i do believe that God put animals on earth and that He has said go for it... they will fill your belly's. i'm not saying i'm for the torturing of animals either but my 'strange/dumb/crazy' eating habits aren't rooted in animal rights.

most people would look at sausages and think 'mmm load me up'. instead, my mind can't get over the picture of gnawing on this..... yup pig intestines. gross? well not really, for most people. i just can't get over it.

Another thing about sausages or the packaged meats that we get at our local food store is that i really struggle with is the 'unknown meat'. things like hot dogs and every little kids favorite, bologna. what the heck is in bologna? and did you ever eat that bologna that has little bits of cheese and pasta in it? sick! i'm pretty sure it's not a cut of meat that is straight from the pig, last time i checked cheese and pasta did grown inside a pig. this must mean that the 'meat' was in pureed form and then stuffed into a circular package, probably pigs intestine.

I recently read a book that probably did not help my issue of having skewed images while i'm eating. the books called, 'skinny bitch'. not only does it explain exactly what eating meat does to our bodies but it is extremely graphic about the way the meat is handled and treated before it reaches our belly's. it's an interesting read which i would defiantly recommend.

now that you have read this maybe next time you have a chicken wing you will think of me and possibly be repulsed by what i have had to say and never eat wings again. i know 99% of you this wont happen to. this is something you should be thankful for!

kamikaze airplanes in the sky.

tuesdays tune
tyrone wells - sink or swim

an oldie (as in a few years) but a goodie... enjoy your new (or possibly old) tune!

fab five friday, shoe box style.

5 reasons why you should do a shoe box...

this weeks fab five is more of a visual list. five years ago i was privileged to be chosen to fly down to costa rica for 2 weeks with samaritans purse's 'operation christmas child' to deliver shoe boxes to kids filled with toys. this is a project i'm sure many of you have heard of if not participated in by putting a shoe box filled with toys together.

it was a trip that has changed my perspective of christmas forever. the trip was in the first couple of week of december. it wasn't until coming home that i was really struck by what i had seen. i had just been in a country where children had never been given gifts before and were overjoyed when given a simple gift such as a pencil. upon returning home to canada i was bombarded by christmas commercials on tv and mall santas where children would line up for hours to tell santa the long list of expensive gifts that they expect him to bring on christmas morning.

as cliche as this is going to sound, we truly are blessed to live in a country where our basic needs are met no matter what. however, as far as the true meaning of christmas, the real meaning of giving, i'm not so convinced that most north americans have got that going for them.

here are a few pictures from my trip to costa rica... just a few of the reasons why you should do a shoe box (there are more then 5 pictures, so this week it can be called fab six friday)!

this is the little girl that i gave the shoe box that i packed and brought down to. i got to sit with her and open her gifts. the coolest experience ever!

this was at a local community center where many of these kids walked hours when they heard we were coming with christmas presents.

many of the kids that would receive a box would often open all the little toys in the box and play with them. when finished playing they would re-wrap all their little toys. when i asked a local pastor why so many of the kids did this he told me it is they could take the gifts home to their siblings to open so they too could receive and share in the experience of opening christmas presents!

at the different places we distributed the boxes we would often play games, paint faces and give out balloon animals. we also had a chance to give each child a picture book of the christmas story.

collection week is going on as we speak until november 22. there are a ton of places all over the city (no matter what city you live in) to drop off your boxes at. if you visit the below link you are able to search by your postal code where a drop off centre is. if you live in calgary you are also able to volunteer your time at the head office to sort through each box to make sure that all gifts are appropriate!

so get packing people... there are lots of kids out there that will love your gifts!

samaritan's purse website: http://www.samaritanspurse.ca/OCC/Default.aspx

i laughed my head off

i saw this commercial on tv last night for the first time and rewinded it (thanks to pvr!) several times to watch it over and over, the entire time laughing my head off. i thought i would post it here so that you too can watch it over and over... enjoy!

let it snow

tuesdays tune
dean martin - let it snow

in honor of the massive dump of snow we got last night i thought that i would get us out of the 'crap i have to drive to work in this' mind set and move us into the 'christmas is coming' spirit!

ps- it's deadly out there, good luck getting anywhere. drive safe!

1/2 way to 48.

what a wonderful way to ring in my 24th year of being on earth. the evening kicked off with an overnight rendezvous in a random hotel at a middle of nowhere town with my dearest friend. next up, a surprise girls evening with my closest girlfriends (minus one) which consisted of a fondue dinner (my favorite), high heels, facials and a girly sleepover! to conclude the special coming of age i had a wonderful dinner with my family and was treated to my favorite dessert ever, coffee toffee mud-pie ice cream cake, mmmmm!

i truly have the most amazing friends. as i turn a year older today i am reminded again how lucky i am to have such loving people in my life. thank you to those who made my birthday something special, you mean a lot to me!

Here are a few pictures from the aging event....

mmmm, a chocolate/fruit feast!

all dressed up!

silky smooth skin

Fab Five

5 (but actually 10) gift ideas....

(a day late, how typical....)

the season of giving is quickly approaching us so i thought i would ease your worried mind and give you some fantastic ideas! here are some ways you could spend you money this year and not only buy gifts for your loved ones but also give to those who made the product. here are a few organizations that you're not the only receiving a beautiful gift but you also are giving something in return...

1. fashionABLE - www.livefashionable.com

in ethiopia (and many other countries), prostitution is often linked with deep levels of generational poverty and financial hopelessness. lacking meaningful resources and a sense of hope, many women resort to prostitution as a means of supporting themselves and their families. these women are often desperate to leave the sex industry but remain trapped by a lack of opportunity and rehabilitative support.

fashionABLE is a a non-profit organization that creates jobs making beautiful scarves for women living in poverty. in purchasing one of the scarves you are ABLE to provide opportunities, and these women are ABLE to have a new choice.

2. invisible children - www.invisiblechildren.com

this is an organization that i have always had a heart for. it started out with 3 young guys traveling to uganda just for a adventure but were quickly confronted by the war-affected children in this country. they made a documentary about the young children called 'night commuters' (young kids that walk miles each night to just sleep in a safe place) and child soldiers. children, as young as 6, are ripped from their homes and force to fight in the army. their documentary was originally just shown to close family and friends but but now, seven years later has been shown to millions around the world.

they non-profit organization, invisible children now builds schools in uganda, has a teacher exchange program, and much more. their work is incredible interesting and very honorable. check them out and see what kind of swag they have.

3. 31 Bits - www.31bits.com

it's a company out of california that sells beautiful ugandan bead necklaces. you can purchase all their items online as well as in their store if you happen to live in california. on their lovely website they have a section that tells the stories of the women who make the jewelry.

4. toms - www.toms.com

this was an obvious choice for making this list. not only because the work they do but also because i am the proud owner of these shoes and i love them! they are affordable, comfortable, trendy, and when you buy a pair they give a pair to a kid who needs shoes.

they are also partnered with charity:water. this means that not only does a kid get a pair of shoes, but they also donate to charity:water to help build water wells in ethiopia. so really this buy is a triple bonus. two pairs of shoes and clean water. perfect.

5. sari bari - http://www.saribari.com/

sari bari is a safe home where women, who have been exploited in the sex trade, can have their dignity restored and experience new life in the making. their products (purses, scarves and blankets/quilts) are hand made from indian saris. you can put in a request for different colors and then your product is made by women who have escaped a life of imprisonment in the sex trade.

two of my best friends had the chance to serve in india at sari bari and have brought back quilts and purses so i know first hand that all their items they make are absolutely beautiful and are made with love.

late - but never to late to remember.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

- Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, 1915

to all those who have and will continue to fight for my freedom all over the world, thank you.

life as a musical

if i could change one thing about life what would it be? how about that i could bust out in song and dance in the middle of a crowded place and not only would people not look at me like i'm a nut but that they would join in.

really when you think about it, it only seems logical. so many people use music as an outlet, a way to express how they are feeling. so instead of people bottling up how they feel they should just bust out in song and dance. it would cure a lot of our societal issues. the first being peoples mental state, people wouldn't go crazy and act out in a negative way (maybe our prisons would be half as full if all those big burly men would just belt out their feelings through song instead of keeping them locked up and act out in violent ways haha maybe this is the social worker in my coming out). the second, maybe we could cure obesity. dancing around like they do in those musicals must be exhausting and i'm sure is good exerciser. sure we might have to come up with more powerful deodorant as we would probably be sweaty messes all the time, but it's a price that may be worth it.

okay okay, i'm being ridiculous. and if i could change anything about life it wouldn't be that life was a musical, it would probably be something like world peace (how cliche, i know) but you have to admit my idea seems pretty fun?! take a look at this prime example of what i am talking about....

you’re in my veins, and I cannot get you out

tuesdays tune
andrew belle - in my veins

this young chap, originally from wheaton, illinois has a simple but stunning voice. his music and voice draws you in and slowly in time release you. i also love the girl that sings harmony's with him, she too has a heavenly voice. i first heard his music when it was featured on the show grey's anatomy but since then i have fallen in love with every song he has put out. some other songs by him that i would strongly recommend would be 'static waves', 'make it without you' and 'open your eyes'.

never grow up

I spent this past weekend with my best friend. it's not like it used to be back in the days when i would call and ask 'do you want to play?'. our biggest worry is no longer who's parents we can convince to drop us off AND pick us up from the movie. we now have cars which means we are no longer slaves to our parents schedules (although for us it seemed to be be the opposite). it also means that we no longer spend our nights innocently walking around the community getting slurpees and playing at the park on a friday night. it's not like that anymore. not at all.

it's not even like it was two years ago when i could

call her up and we could spend time together at the drop of a hat. living only 5kms apart, that was handy.

now we see each other once a month, max. we each have to drive 3 1/2 hours to meet half way and spend a night in a hotel in a tiny town to get that quality time together that we used to take for granted. our conversations are far from the same of those from our 'friday night play ground' days. instead of talking about the boys we had crushes on (all the while pinky swearing we would never tell anyone about it), we now talk about buying houses, marriage, traveling the world, having babies and living in different cities. we have real adult conversations.

when did we grow up? i often still feel like that little kid inside. it feels strange to talk about things like having a career, i'm still a kid and kids don't have careers.

it's scary being an adult. having to make big choices about things that can and will change the path your future takes. it's scary to think about your future, not just about what your parents will do if you are 5 minutes late for your curfew, but for things that really matter, like moving to a new city. it's scary when all you want to do is 'play' with your best friend but she lives in a different province so you have to settle for long distance phone dates.

sometimes the thought of going back to being a carefree teenager sounds really nice! my oh my, the times have changed!

Fab Five Fridays

my 5 favorite smells.....

1. the crisp smell of the air after a rainstorm

2. the smell of clean diapers

3. of fresh coffee beans. it reminds me of waking up to the smell of
dad making coffee when we were camping as little kids in our

tiny trailer.

4. Pine-Sol, my favorite house hold cleaner

5. freshly cut grass

giddy as a school girl...still!

he was my first love. the first time i ever cried over a boy i was sitting in my family room watching him on tv, i just started crying knowing that i would never get to meet this boy that i was in 'love' with. brian littrell aka b-rock is his name; yes i do mean the backstreet boys.

that was 14 years ago. i was the biggest backstreet boy fan there was. i knew every single fact, had every tv appearance on video tape (on the tapes there was a piece of tape with writing on it that read 'laura's BSB movie, tape over and die. i wasn't joking) , had all their cd's (some of them i even have 2 copies just in case one was misplaced), tshirts, pillowcases, posters, socks... you name it i had it. i knew EVERYTHING about them, i could spit out a fact about whatever you wanted to know. in grade 12 at my 4th backstreet boys concert my 'dream' actually came true and i got to meet them after the show, it was a surreal experience. i remember when i met brian i wanted to be 'cool and mature', i didn't want to act like every other teeny-bopper fan that was there with me. so instead of asking the normal questions like 'can i have your picture' i asked 'can i babysit your kid'. what was i thinking? i still ask myself this question today. truth is, i wasn't, i was in complete shock and my brain shut down. it was not one of my finest moments. to this day i still kick myself for it.

for the past 5 years i haven't been the most loyal BSB fan and have somewhat fallen off the band wagon. the boys were on oprahs 'past heartthrobs' episode today so of course i did what i used to always do and taped it (this time on PVR, no tapes necessary in this day in age). thinking that i'm too cool for school and that my 'loving bsb' days were over now that i am a more 'older and more mature adult' (haha, yeah right) that i would be able to control my emotions and that watching the episode wouldn't effect me. i was wrong. watching them perform i got butterflies in my stomach and a cheesy grin was plastered on my face. after watching the episode a couple times over (okay it was 4 times) and singing along to their performance i had a good laugh at myself. i felt like i did when i was 12, like a giddy little school girl. it was nice to feel that again. like they say... you never forget your first love.

sing loud all you people

Tuesdays Tune
Stereophonics - Uppercut

i haven't heard much of this band but was given this song by a friend and have throughly enjoyed it... i hope you do too. perhaps i will listen to more of their music and give you a full assessment at a later date, stay tuned (haha, no pun intended).