Call me Princess Fiona

Yes, thirty two, and no more hockey hotties.  What is a girl living in a crappy suburb of a suburb of a suburb supposed to blog about now?  The weather has been really good.  If it's sunny after work, I'm heading out to get some exercise in.  Some running, some walking it all depends on how good I'm feeling.  But lately, I've had a bit of a problem that's stopping me from a lot of running.  My workout pants keep falling down and it's a total pain in the butt.  So I'm moving on down to a smaller size.   Thank you online shopping sales!  Sadly, I am still having fat days, so it's not that big of a celebration.

The fields of skunk cabbages I've been smelling lately.  The blooms are almost all gone now, but the smell is not.  Today, I decided that if it's edible next time I'm going to stop and pick some.  Maybe I'm losing my mind, but it looks delishous to me. Those leaves would be perfect for wraps.  turns out:

FOOD USES: Marginally edible at best, skunk cabbage contains calcium oxalate crystals, which cause the must unpleasant burning sensation of the mouth and tongue. Boiling doesnít dispel this quality. I once dried young skunk cabbage leaves in a food dehydrator for a week, following instructions from Lee Petersonís Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants. Then I simmered them with lots of other vegetables, tomatoes, spices, and beans, making chili. I finally dispelled the calcium oxalate crystals from the skunk cabbage unfortunately, they went into my mouth! After cursing out Peterson for an hour before the burning and stinging of my tongue and mouth, caused by one bite (which I quickly spat out), subsided, I flushed the entire recipe down the toilet, and the plumbing has never been the same since!
I include skunk cabbage in this book only to head off foragers who've been misinformed about its edibility and insist on trying it. If you must use this plant, air-dry it for 6 months, after which it tastes like paper, a vast improvement!
Conclusion: The day you bring home skunk cabbage is the night to go out for dinner and if you do find skunk cabbage, leave it for the skunks!  Source: click here

Damn.  no skunk cabbage for me. 

  Last weekend was the Bradner Daffodil festival (just down the road from me).  The best thing about it is the cheap flowers.  I bought about 25 or 30 cut daffodils for $3.25.  What a deal.

Judy checking out the flower show... is that what they call it?  There were hundreds of different types of daffs. 

In a school gym they also had a art show/ misc displays.  I spied a heavy-set woman in a long gingham dress, sitting at a loom, spinning wool.  She looked like she just stepped out of the 1930's dustbowl, curly hair pulled back in a braid, big glasses, no makeup, ugly shoes.  Actually there was a whole circle of women just like her, spinning away.  She stopped and rooted around in her bag, and pulled out an ipad, and started showing the woman beside her a pattern on her ipad.  It was the most bizarre thing, this woman did not look the ipad type.  I tried to take a sneeky picture, but it didn't work out. 

Hottie of the season

Well that's it folks.  The season is over, and I'm left with a boat load of hottie pictures.  Now I'm just a lonely puck bunny with google assuming that the only thing I ever wish to google is "hot canucks, abs/ no shirt etc." By the way, that particular search will get you a lot of porn (who woulda thunk it?).  You might as well benefit from my hours of searching. 

Here's a sample:

Ab-o-licous Kesler didn't make much of an impact this post season.  Good thing his abs do.

Note the woman in the background.  She's resisting the urge to run over and grab Kesler.  Who can blame her?  I predict that the day Kesler gets traded women will be rioting in the streets. 


And then there's Schneider.  He's been in my top 3 hottie list for a while.  Oh... Cory.  If only the season weren't over, I could post more pictures of you.

The rest I'll just squirel away for next season.  2013, it's officially announced as the best year ever, so you know what that means. These bitches are bringing the cup home.

Thoughts on my birthday

I've decided that I'm pissed off that I'll be 32 tomorrow.  So pissed off that today I did a double workout- meaning I did my "tough weekend workout" twice.  Back to back, and the only reason I stopped was because I ran out of water.  I mourn the loss of another year.  I'm always pissed at myself for all the things that I have not accomplished in my life (even if I actually accomplished a lot).  Thirty Two.  Fucking 32. 

31 lit a fire under my ass.  I try to follow my rule: I am not allowed to be unhappy/whine/moan about something if I'm not going to fix it.  There is nothing in my life that I didn't accomplish once I decided to do it.  So I am announcing officially, that this is going to be the best year ever. 

 

Hottie of the Game - game 4

Tonights hottie of the game is Alex Edler who turned the momentum of the game around with his goal that tied the game.  (and let's be honest, last game he was playing for the other team)
But Cory Schneider was so awesome too.  That's right!  It's a Double Shot of Hot!

I believe

In rock hard abs.

Everybody knows series that go to game 7 are the best anyways.

Mid Game Hottie

Game 2, Second period 0-0

Due to unrelenting pressure from blog fans...
Here is a hottie for your eyes to snack on while you wait for the game 2 Hottie.

Real fans of the blog writter knows that a hottie video was posted on facebook before the game.

Things I see

Originally I had planned to do one blog post from all the pictures I've been taking when I'm out and about.  Now I realized I have way too many pictures, so I'll spread it out.  

Ellwood park/Fish Trap Creek- now the most boring walk to me. Flat, no challenge and when the weather is nice, too many people. The selling points- it's in between work and home

Mill lake, also a pretty boring walk.  I've only been there once and found it was full of slow walkers.  I hate slow walkers, especially when they take up the whole walk-way.  Mill Lake is full of them.

The Matsqui Trail.  It's a trail/ elevated dyke walk along the river.  Hands down the most uncomfortable place to walk.  The parking lot under the Mission bridge was busy, but it was full of rather rough looking men that appeared to be living in their cars.  A few other cars cleared out as I started my walk, and I was the only person walking the trail.  I didn't feel very comfortable walking in this mecca for the homeless.  I did a quick coupl-a Km's and got out of there.  The only redeeming part of the walk was this view was of the bridge.

My new favorite place to walk- Aldergrove Lake Regional Park.  There are 2 main trails, one is 11Km's for horses and people that is mostly flat and a 7 Km trail in the forest that has lots of ups and downs.  I come here at least 3 times a week, I look forward to it so much.  It's not a busy trail, but it's not so deserted that I feel unsafe.  15 minutes from my house, and take 45 minutes to walk the 7Km is perfect for after work.   

I prefer to do the 7 Km trail, because of the variety.  It has sections that are so steep - dubbed by me the Asshole Hill, and bridges going across streams, and mossy trees, and tons of skunk cabbage.  I've been doing a fair bit of running here lately.  I just thought I would try running and see what happened, I ran way further than I thought I could.  I've never been a runner, so this is very surprising to me. 

Lots of wild flowers.  I have no idea what this one is, I've never seen it before, it has leaves of three, so it might be poison oak.

Skunk cabbage.  I love it.  I like the smell, I like how bright it is.  It may be the raw foodist in me, but the cabbage part of it looks really yummy to me.  I wonder if it's edible?

This walk was in Silverdale. It had moments of being the best walk/hike I've done and moments of being the most boring. I did some reading about the trail 17Km's in total, with lots of options to shorten the walk if needed.  I headed out, only to find the road closed, with a big chunk of the trail closed.  In fact, I couldn't even find the trail.  So instead I walked along the river at the Stave Lake Dam and found some shorter trails to walk.  The shore of the river was covered with bits of salmon bones left over from the fall.  Nasty looking teeth for a fish!

Then I drove looking for somewhere else to hike.  I ended up at the other side of the Stave Lake dam.  Again, a bunch of the trails were closed, but I managed to get about 8Km in.  The trail was flat and boring or it was super beautiful, and really, really steep.  I took a lot of pictures, I'll post them next time.  It's not a trail I would do after work being too far, and pretty much deserted.  But I think it would be really good once they reopen it.

I've been thinking lately that one day I'd like to have a dog to take with me. Maybe some day.



Are you ready for Hotties?

Stupid question I know.  Tomorrow marks the start of the Canucks play-off run.  To get you psyched, here is a hottie:


...




....






....

Okay.  Maybe the only thing that's hot is his ass from standing too close to the burning car.


 Lets go back to Petr Sykora.  Never a Canuck, but it really doesn't matter.  He will always have a spot on my blog.

On a completely different note. I updated to the new blogger, at first I hated it, but then I found this: 

It tells me which is my most popular post.  Total shocker!  Who the heck is interested in my video of the cats playing (no sound, bad quality).  Did I really get 35 comments?  Must be spam.  I'm surprised that the Hottie series only ranked 3rd and 4th.  No surprise that my biggest source of traffic is Sarah's blog.  Also if you notice the map- I'm dominating in Canada. :)



Jesus, My Tummy hurts!

Happy Easter.  On one of the blogs I read, the author explained that Jesus was a zombie.  He died and then raised from the dead to walk the earth- that's what zombies do!  Plus the buggers are really hard to kill, and it seems they had a tough time killing the Jesus dude too.  It's a good argument, think about it. 

I've had a four day weekend full of awesome weather, family visits and lots and lots of exercise.  Unfortunately I feel like crap.  I should be feeling hella awesome, but my stomach hurts.  There are 2 possible culprits: 

1.  I bought a bag of Indonesian mini roasted peanuts.  I used to love them.  They don't really fit into my diet, (raw fruits, veg, nuts and seeds) because they're roasted.  But I'm letting myself cheat as long as it's vegan,.  I was being hard on myself for the odd cheat, but then I came to reality, my cheats are cooked vegan food.  On the scale of cheating, that doesn't even rate.  But anyways, nuts aren't super digestible, so maybe I over did it.  

2. the assholes at Starbucks screwed up my order and put milk in (instead of soy milk).  I thought it tasted funny, and I checked on the side of the cup, and sure enough the bastards had screwed it up.  I'd already drank half of it, and it seemed a waste to throw it out, so I drank it.  Or actually, I drank 3 or 4 more sips until the thought of what I was drinking made me gag, and then I dumped it.  Stupid?  Yeah maybe.  About 5 years ago I watched a documentary by Woody Harrelson called Go Further which features him on a mission to inform America about environmentalism.  In it, he talks about how milk contains blood and puss.  This little piece of information helpfully popped into my mind as I had a mouthful of milky latte in my mouth.   Yuck!

So yeah, upset stomach.  I used to have an upset stomach frequently, like at least 4 times a week- even after I found out I had Celiac disease and cut out all gluten, I never felt 100%.  When I made the switch to raw vegan, that changed almost instantly.  There was 1 or 2 days at the start when my body went into some sort of panic over the amount of fibre.  But other than that, I haven't had any tummy issues in ... like 4 months.  That in itself is motivation to stay on the raw vegan thing. 

Enough moaning.  I have some good posts coming soon!  I have been snapping away like a Chinese tourist while on my hikes.  The next post will have lots of pictures.  Plus, I updated the links section that was very out of date.  Yay!

Katimavik

Last week the federal government cut the funding for Katimavik.  I was so sad to hear this.  I participated in Katimavik in 2001, I traveled to Ontario, New Foundland and Manitoba.  It was one of the most significant experiences in my life.  During that time I had was exposed to so many new things, people and experiences.  Some were bad- like having a mother screaming on the front lawn at me at 1am because she thought I had brought her 17 year old son to a bar (I didn't, but I did try to get him to leave); and some were good- like going into abandoned mine shafts to collect and release bats, working at a food bank and meeting some of the craziest Newfies. 

More importantly, I figured out what direction I wanted my life to go.  Before Katimavik, I was living with my dad, feeling guilty that I had to stay there so he wouldn't be alone.  I had failed Chemistry 101, and was seriously reconsidering if I was smart enough to become a veterinarian.  That was all I ever wanted to be, and if I couldn't do that, then what was I going to do with my life?  It was in Manitoba where it all came together.  The house leader was Kim, she was older than our two previous house leaders, she had lead an interesting life, and somehow we started talking about psychology and it just clicked.  I don't even remember how I decided that I was going to go back to school and get a psych degree, but I know it has a lot to do with Kim.  I was also volunteering at a thrift store, a food bank and a senior's day program.  I realized how much I liked working with people and helping people.  Before Katimavik, I would have never have imagined that I would have held the jobs that I did in the last 10 years. 

I don't know where I would be if I hadn't had the opportunity to step out of my life and try on a new life.  For seven months, I was free to do what I wanted, and try new things.  I did so many things that I would never do now.  I saw lots of bands, I went to every bar in town- in every town I went to, I went swimming in the middle of the night, I got kicked out of a bar (although it was really just an garage that was an illegal bar), I partied in a drug house, I learned and performed traditional Newfie square dancing, I went show shoeing, kayaking, hiking, I shoveled snow for 8 hours a day, I learned French, I went to tons of community events ... I had fun.  Most importantly, I made good friends,  thanks to facebook all 12 of us are still in contact.  Some more than others. 

The budget for Katimavik was only 15 million a year.  Participants volunteered 40 hours a week for 9 months, the amount of work that participants do in each community they visit is worth the 15 million dollars.  I'm so disappointed.  My hope is that the Conservative government will be tossed on their arses and the new government will bring the program back.       

stockpiling for war? or stupid obsession?

I thought it would be funny to see just how many sticks of deodorant I had in the house.  I think I have a few more hidden away somewhere.  But clearly, I have enough to last out the rest of the year.  It made me think of Sarah pulling out like 10 lip balms from her purse that she was carrying around with her on a quick outing.  Why?  Won't just one or two be enough.  Yeah obsessions....

This week I went out for coffee with a friend that obviously doesn't read my blog.  She started going on about smelly people, and how unbelievable it is that they aren't aware of how smelly they are and how they should just do something about it.  Um yeah.  That was a quick change of conversation.  At least I didn't assume she was talking about smelly people as a hint to me.  (Something I probably would have assumed before).

I guess that everyone has too many of something.  For me it's deodorant, for Sarah it's shoes and lip balm, for my step mom it's candles and throw pillows. What do you stockpile?

kick'n butt and decorate'n

I had plans to go on a walk/run today, but the torrential rains quickly changed my mind.  I watched a couple TV shows- Once Upon a Time because it was recommended to me (it's alright) and Californication (a favorite of mine).  Then I made myself a goal, do some major spring cleaning, or as I like to think of it.... aerobic cleaning. 

I switched out my winter clothes for my summer clothes (early, I know, but I'm optimistic) and washed every piece of clothing I own.  I like to wash everything every once and a while.  The wood scent of my cedar dresser seeps into my clothes if they sit in there for too long.  I don't like that scent, so I take the opportunity to purge a bunch of my clothes while I do it.  I figure if it sat in my dresser for that long, I don't need it.  I cleaned out my closets, getting rid of a ton of stuff, I moved all of my furniture and cleaned under it.  I found out where my cats have been hiding their toys (under the couch).  I had Deadmau5 pumping on Pandora and before I knew it, I was redecorating my living room.  It feels fresh and new, like I just moved into my home.  Best of all I worked up a pretty good sweat. 

My sister sent me this picture from Pinterest earlier this week. I had thought of doing something similar. Last summer I bought a sticker tree but didn't get around to putting it up.   My version isn't so awesome.  I thought it was going to be a lot bigger.  I'd have to put teeny tiny pictures on it, all the frames and pictures I have would overwhelm this little sapling.  I might just leave it as is.



Not bad I think.  The biggest change is in my bedroom.  It was a disaster.   It's the only room that I can close a door on, so if I need to hide something away, chances are it was in there.  Boxes, recycling, vacuum, clean clothes in piles waiting to be put away, bills, etc etc.  I find the messier my room, the poorer I sleep.  I should sleep like a baby tonight.

I'm hoping that tomorrow the weather is better, I have a trail in mind I want to do.  

You're Welcome

Can I just point out that you have just received 7 fabulous blog posts from me in the month of March and the month is not done yet.  I only hit 15 posts in 2009, so I'm kicking butt.  Gold star for Hilary

Sprout You!

Okay, well when I took this picture I had the best of intentions of following through.  I bought a sprouting kit and this was day one.  I planned to take a picture every day until they were ready to eat.  Whatever, I'm sure you can imagine that. 

Sprouting is really really easy.  All you do it soak the seeds for a few hours and then twice a day you rinse and drain on an angle.  In 3-4 day you have sprouts.  Above is a jar of beans, peas and lentils just waiting to sprout.  On a salad, let me tell you, they are so amazing!!  I have also grown sandwich sprouts; a mix of clover, alphalfa and something else. 

Why?  I would buy sprouts from the store, and they would go bad before I could use them all.  I would feel bad, so I wouldn't buy them again.  Or worse yet, I would try to juice the sprouts- yuk.  This way I can grow a smaller quantity when I want them.  Plus it's dirt cheap.  The hardest thing is waiting for the sprouts to grow.

**Important**
Have you fallen in love with dates?  I am so in love with dates!  (frozen banana, frozen blueberry, date, kale smoothie is to die for with a bit of "chocolate"protein powder.)  But I never mentioned this super important thing.  Always look inside the date before you eat it.  Every now and again, I find a date with little bugs or bug eggs in it.  It's gross, but the dates must be good if bugs want to make it their home.  I'd rather have bugs in the odd date, than pesticides.  I ate a lot of dates before I read that you need to check them.  I don't want to think about how many bugs I've eaten.

Bonus Post

I have been going though my back log of posts I created and never posted.  This is one from 2007, back when I lived in the ghetto co-op and when I was still at SFU.  Wow, that was 5 years ago!  Marley still stares at me for hours a day.  No blinking, just staring. 
------------------------------------------------------------------

Sometimes it's hard for me to focus. I find it hard to keep my mind on whatever I'm doing on the computer. I just have this feeling that someone is watching me.

Let's lighten stuff up

It's a product review.  I think it's been years since I did a product review on the blog.  How exciting!

So I remember being little and setting up a toothpaste taste test with my friends down the street.  We collected toothpaste from our homes in little sandwich bags and then tasted them.  I don't remember which kid had the best tasting toothpaste.  We kids were freaks, this is what we did for playtime.  After we were done with the taste test, we turned the baggies inside out and threw them at the neighbours house where they stuck to the vinyl siding.

I'm still picky about my toothpastes.  I cannot handle minty toothpaste, it's so intensely hot, it burns my mouth.  I used soft mint flavours up until Crest came up with a Vanilla Mint flavour.  It made me feel like this...

But then I for a while I couldn't find it in the stores.  So I was forced to look for something else.  From what I've been reading, fluoride isn't good for you, and the action of brushing you teeth does more than the actual toothpaste.  (side note, my teeth don't get fuzzy anymore being on the raw vegan diet, but if I cheat and eat non raw, I notice my teeth feel nasty)  So I was in the health food section of my local Thrifty's and saw this brand... Newco Bubblegum flavour, made in Canada, vegan, not tested on animals and fluoride free. 

  Ingredients
MSM & Aerobic Oxygen in Deionized Water (Cellular Energizer), Vegetable Glycerine, Calcium Carbonate (naturally occurring source for abrasion), Carrageenan (emulsifier & thickener derived from Irish Moss), Unpasteurized Honey (natural preservative), Foodgrade Bubblegum Flavor, Sodium Bicarbonate (Baking Soda), Yucca Extract (foaming agent), Organic Tea Tree Oil, Sea Salt, Organic Sea Kelp (Source of Vitamins & minerals), Neem Oil (healing properties for mouth), Stevia.

It sounded a heck of a lot healthier than the Crest label.  It doesn't taste like bubblegum at all.  It's really sweet and tastes a little like fennel and smells a little like Eucalyptus.  It has a smooth texture, not gritty and reminded me of brushing my teeth with jell-o.  I was able to tough it out, but remember it is supposed to taste like bubblegum, it's for kids!  There is no way a kid would want to use this.  Also it doesn't foam up when you brush.  I didn't like that, I almost felt like I wasn't cleaning my teeth without the foam. Oh and did I mention the tube was like $7?

So I got to the end of the tube (thank god!) and it was time to find another brand.

I decided to go with a more well known brand Tom's.  I have used a few of their products in the past and liked them.  I had the choice between fennel or strawberry flavour.  Strawberry was the obvious winner.  It's good, tastes like strawberries, good about of foaming action, vegan and not tested on animals.  I like that they out the ingredients on the box like this:

Name	Purpose	Source
Glycerin	Moistener	Vegetable oils
Water	Consistency	Maine aquifer
Calcium carbonate	Mild abrasive	Purified calcium from the earth
Hydrated silica	Stain removal	Purified silica from the earth
Fruit extracts	Flavor	Strawberry, banana, & other natural flavors
Carrageenan	Thickener	Seaweed (Chondrus crispus)
Sodium lauryl sulfate	Dispersant	Derived from coconut and/or palm kernel oil

 
Nice and easy to understand, and I don't have to google ingredients to make sure I'm not putting gluten in my mouth.  (gotta read those labels, I just noticed the new hand soap that I bought has wheat in it.  Can't use that!)

I bought the next tube at the same time because I was afraid of being stuck with nasty toothpaste again.  I figured this upped my odds.

Now the only reason I even bought this one was because it was cheap.  50% off.  I did not want to get suckered into another tube of expensive toothpaste that tasted like crap. 

Ingredients: Calcium, Sodium, Magnesium, Zinc, L-Absorbic acid, Calcium carbonate, Glycerin, Water, Stevioside, Carrageenan, Grapefruit extract, Silica, Aloe vera gel, Cranberry extract, Sodium bicarbonate, Perilla extract, Essential oils (cranberry, blueberry, strawberry, cinnamon, ginger), Sodium cocoyl glutamate.

I'm in love with Jason.  The flavor is orange, cinnamon and mint, but it's mild not painfully minty.  And this stuff really foams up when you brush.  This would be my only complaint.  It's almost too foamy, and I need to spit before I'm done brushing. It's also vegan and not tested on animals.  Now the Crest Vanilla Mint is back in the stores, but I'm not going back.  I'm committed to Jason and Tom.

PS thanks for the comments and texts from my stinky post.  Appreciated.  I should probably do a product review of deodorant, I literally have 10 different brands/scents in the house right now.

Thoughts on Whitney Houston

Yes, I realize it's been a while since Whitney Houston died.  I've been thinking about writting this post for a while, and have written it in my head about 4 times.  I'm processing some recent family drama, it's all interconnected.  Old drama, new drama and Whitney Houston.


Warning, this is another heavy post.


So my mom died when I was 12.  I didn't know she was dying, not because I wasn't told she was sick, but because I didn't understand what I was told.  So anyways, on a fateful day in December 1992, my sisters and my oldest sister's boyfriend drove us to the hospital where my mom was staying.  Blah blah blah.  And then a nurse came in and said she was dead.  Blah blah blah.  Funny thing is, the blah bah blah, is because I don't remember the things that happened in between.  So in between people crying, I remember the hospital being really really quiet.  I remembered that I wanted to leave, and that I wanted to go see the nurses station becasue they had a dog there.  And I remember that the nurses station had the radio playing.  I remember that the song that was drifting down the hallway when my mother died was Whitney Houston's I Will Always Love You.  As a result, the song means a lot, and at the same time I sort of hate it.  I never told anyone about the significance this song holds for me.  Not for any reason, it just doesn't come up in conversation.  Know one ever asked if my mom died to music. 

The week that Whitney Houston died, I heard that song a lot.  I found myself being strangely upset that this washed up has-been crack head died.  I"m not a huge fan, and I hardly ever listened to her in the last 10 years.  But I can never think of Whtiney without thinking about my mother and vice versa.

After these last two posts, you're going to be happy to read about kale.  Aren't ya.

Edit. turns out I have one more depressing post to go after this.  2012 is shaping up to be a real piece of shit year.

Just Putting it Out There

This is probably one of those posts that is going to be deleted shortly after I write it.  It's 100% cathartic, and if you actually got to read these words, you will probably be learning more than you wanted to know about me. 


So I have said before on the blog that I have an obsessive thought, but I didn't say what it was.  I had done some work on re-training my thought processes.  I had a really good stretch, but today it's back.  In sum, I obsess that I could/might or actually do stink.

Now where did it start?  Well not to place blame, but my nickname growing up was stinky.  But it didn't bother me.  If fact this wasn't even a thought in my head until I accidentally left clothes in the washing machine too long and got the dreaded musty towel smell.  Unfortunately, I also had a cold, and was completely unaware I went to work smelling like musty towels.  For a while it totally devastated me.  So that was the beginning.

Now here's the thing, I'm obsessive about doing everything to not smell.  Showering daily, wearing only freshly washed clothes, smelling my clothes frequently, bringing changes of clothes with me, using soaps, body washes, scented lotions or perfume, using pantyliners, applying deodorant several times a day, applying multiple brands of deodorant a day, carrying baby wipes with me and smelling myself multiple times a day.  Even in doing all of these things, I still worry that I might smell.  If someone touches their nose, of sniffs or coughs, or moves away from me, or doesn't sit next to me, I'm convinced it's because they could smell me.  If someone mentions they smell something stinky, it sets me into overdrive.

I work in a scent-free workplace.  This has caused me some issues, because in the past if I ever worried I smelled, I would quickly use yummy smelling moisturizers, or something.  I can't do that now.  So today after lunch a co-worker mentioned that she thought she smelled cat spray.  I immediately panicked.  I had done all of the good hygiene things, so why would I think it would be me?  I rushed off to the washroom at break to check out the situation.  I definitely smelled my laundry soap on all my clothes (fresh out of the dryer),  my hair smelled good, deodorant was doing it's thing.  So I knew it was not me.  Even though I knew, I cannot possibly be smelly, I was still convinced that the co-worker was talking about me when she was whispering to someone else.   

I realize this is 100% crazy.  But what if I really do fill a room with stink?  OMG that would be the worst.  Now the obvious solution is to just ask someone.  I have asked a few trusted people, and they have confirmed that I'm insane.  So why can't I get past this?  It doesn't help me in my social life at all, let me tell you.  Anyways, if you think I don't smell, I could really use the confirmation.  I'd rather be crazy than smelly :)  

um yeah, this post will have a short life.

Today was grocery shopping day.  I like grocery shopping for the most part.  I like checking out what's available and deciding what I''m going to buy.  As if making those decisions are big life decisions.  It's so satisfying.  And then!  (Now this is the really bitchy part of my personality that I try to squash)  I like looking at other people's grocery carts and I like to judge them for their choices.  (Ugh, I know.)  This is a really bad thing.  But when I see someone buying 6 frozen pizzas, diet coke, ice cream and fruit loops, I just can't help it.  Now when I see a cart of junk like that, I like to look at the person and see if they match the food in their cart.  I am always disappointed if they aren't obese.  Like, how are they eating total garbage, and not fat?  But those are few and far between, usually, people match their food.  I wonder what people think of me sometimes.


Today I was checking out the organic section, marvelling at how good the prices were today.  So I grabbed two 5lb bags of apples, a 5lb bag of oranges and then the pineapples were under $2 each, so I grabbed two of them.  I was making my way back to my cart, lugging about 20lbs of produce, when I noticed I was being watched.  A middle aged man was looking at me like I had 3 heads.  Apparently I was the only person that bought like 50lbs of produce today.  (???)  I was contemplating asking the produce guy if I could buy a case of bananas or coconuts, but then I decided the guy that was watching me would probably lose his shit.  Here I thought I was just buying a bit of fruit, but to others, I was a total freak.  Oh well, I guess there are worst categories of freaks out there.


Edit: I came back to this post to add something really profound.  But in the 30 seconds it took me to get here, I forgot what that was.  Must start writting things down...

spring time

Ok, it doesn't look like spring.  But I'm back walking at one of my favorite walking places in the sun, and that makes it feel like spring.  Actually it was really cold, and my nose started running, and I was forced to be super classy and use my sleeve.  :)   In the fall I kept wanting to take a picture of this stretch of the path when the leaves were changing, but there were always too many people in the path.  This was the last week of February, and I had the path to myself.  Too bad the colours are so drab.

I thought I spotted a lookout through the trees last time.  This time I decided to check it out.  It's a lot of slippery stairs to get there, but the view of the lake was pretty good.

This weekend, I decided to go to the garden centre and say goodbye to winter.  Did I mention it snowed like 2 days ago?  I'm pretty happy with my new container ($9) and $8 for the flowers.  They are growing in organic soil.  But I didn't buy the soil for them.  In between the flowers I sprinkled salad green seeds.  When the spring plants are done, the lettuces should be on their way.

I'm very ambitious this year.  I'm growing parsley and cucumbers in these little pods.  In the past, I haven't had great success container gardening fruits and veggies.  I'm going to give it another go.  I have also talked Dad and Judy into doing a patch of kale for me.  I dropped a package of kale seeds in their mailbox on my way home.  That will probably really confuse them.  It's like a drive-by involving kale.

And if that wasn't enough, I also bought a sprouter!  Sprouts are supposed to be so good for you, and taste good.  I don't usually buy them at the store because they are expensive.  This set up was $14.99 including the sprouter, and 1 bag of mixed beans and peas, and 1 bag of sandwich sprouts (radish, alfalfa, clover).  I'm most excited to try the bean mix.  They should be ready in about 3 days.  Stay tuned for an update.

AND.. I'm going to have to have a discussion with the Canucks staff.  Why are they moving out all the hotties.  I had a whole post planned for Byron Bitz.  They better call him back up for the playoffs.