EarthFrisk.Org

For those of you who don't know, Earth Frisk.org is a meta-social Search Engine. Their slogan is "If you can't find it by using this site, it doesn't exist". A pretty confident sounding slogan, I think!

It is a great social search engine with results from all the major search engines. EarthFrisk.org caters to us bloggers, even offering custom tool bars that help our readers find us and may even help out our traffic! I personally like the navigability of the site; it is not all fluffed up with unneccesary info and graphics on the homepage. I hate complicated home pages!

If you have the time, check out this new social search engine and tell me what you think!

Happy Holidays!!! (just a little belated)

My Christmas was excellent! After months of paid blogging, I saved up enough to get my brother the Nintendo Wii, my boyfriend's trimmer and binoculars, and my mother's gift. Everyone seemed really happy with their presents. Whew!

I was in charge of Christmas dinner this year and I made my family a turkey even though I am a vegetarian. The decision to make it was a bit of a struggle but, if I did not cook it, my mother would have. She would have picked up one of those horrible pre-stuffed Butterballs. With me cooking it, at least I was able to pick out a free range, humanely raised, hormone free bird. Everyone seemed to enjoy the dinner so I was very relieved.

My Stella Bella and Nellie were both pretty spoiled this year. They both had stockings full of toys and Stella got a pink collar with tree studs and rhinestones. Of course it sounds tacky but it is actually pretty cool.

All in all I think everyone had a great holiday. And thanks to hours of playing my brother's Wii, I think we each only gained 3lbs instead of 5.

Quick Money For Last Minute Shopping?

First of all let me say that the twins, Bill and Jim both won on Biggest Loser. Jim, the twin who was the heavier of the two in the beginning of the competition, lost the more weight than all of the other contestants who were voted off. His prize was $100,000!!! GO JIM.

Bill won the grand prize for losing something like 165 lbs or so. How crazy is that? In an eight onth period no less. He won $250,000!!! Crazy.

I will tell you, those are two guys who will not be hurting this holiday season!

For the rest of us, if we find ourselves in need of small cah advaces or Payday loans, there are lots of online avenues we can take. If you are so inclined, click on the above link and take advantage of a FREE loan calculator!

Wal-Mart Sues Brain Damaged woman for $417,000

Deborah Shank was an employee of Wal-Mart Until a horrible accident left her both brain-damaged and paralyzed.

Mrs. Shank now needs help with even the most basic of tasks, she cannot even eat supper without help. Mrs. Shank and the family sued, and finally received, a settlement against the trucking company responsible the semi-trailer that caused Mrs. Shank's accident. After legal fees and additional costs, Mrs. Shank only received about half of the settlement award, just under $420,000. The Shank's were happy with this amount as it would likely mean the difference between keeping Mrs. Shank at home with her family and a nurse or forcing her into a nursing home.

This is about the point where Wal-Mart steps in. After allowing the Shank's to go through the entire battle and cost of fighting for a reasonable settlement without offering their help or support, Wal-Mart took away Mrs. Shank's 400,000 + dollars; an amount that is less than a drop in the bucket for the low-end retail chain and yet means everything to the Shank's.

The Shank's are flabergasted as Mrs. Shank had no idea that such a clause was in her in her health plan contract. A lawyer representing the Shanks attempted a compromise with Wal-Mart but was informed that their only intention was to sue for the entire amount, regardless of circumstance. It turns out they were not fooling around. The court ruled in Wal-Mart's favour just six days after Mr.s Shank's son Jeremy was killed while serving in Iraq.

Believe it or not, the above mentioned insurance clause is in a lot of employer insurance contracts across the US but employers do not bother to enforce this. And how could they in good conscience?

This blogger has never been a fan of Wal-Mart. I avoid their stores like the plague. Until this story hit, I had not officilly decided to boycott Wal-Mart. Now, though I would officially like to announce my boycott of Wal-Mart. I hope more people join me.

Souce: Accident Victims FaceGrab for Legal Winnings

Source: http://www.cagle.com/news/PoliticallyCorrectChristmas/images2/crowson.jpg

I know, I know, bah hum bug. Bad Nanette! We all know it is true, though. My own brother is getting about a million and three presents this Christmas, 98% of which he will forget he got before February rolls around. It will end up becoming expensive clutter that fills every corner, crack, and crevice in a house already crowded by pat holidays.....not that I am bitter nor pessemistic.

Elvis, Money Making Opps and More

Okay folks, I was on a pretty exciting site today (my surfing and website-reviewing increases ten-fold during the 9-5 hours of the December/Holiday season. Be prepared!)

Anyhoo, I was on this exciting site today, complete with dolled up Elvis impersonators, a million people who think they can do a better job than Rihanna at singing Umbrella (I am sure at least half of them are right), and FREE money making opps. That is right, this site boasts the ability for us to Make FAST & EASY money with this free opportunity.

So while you are bored at work this December, and I know you are, go check out this site. Upload a video of yourself in all your awesome coolness singing like a rock star. You just might win a bunch of cash. Or join their FREE affiliate program and earn cash with their triple tiered opportunity.

If you do upload a video, make sure to come back here and tell me where it is!

I am a workoholic nut. It is official.

It has recently come to my attention that I am completely nuts. Loco, off my rocker, out of my tree, stone cold crazy. A while back, I volunteered the services of both Mark and I for a fun thing called Operation Red Nose. Basically we work as a team to drive tipsy people home from the bar or club in their own car. One drives the person's car, the other drives her own...in other words, Mark drives the other person's car, I follow. I have offered our services for tonight, tomorrow night, and Saturday night. I will be dead tired at work tomorrow and on Sunday, I am sure..yes, I also got roped into a shift at the ACC this weekend for a Raptors game. Basically I work today 8am-5pm, tonight 7pm -2am, tomorrow 8am-5pm, then 7pm-2am, and then Saturday 7pm-2am, Sunday 10am-3pm. Then back to regularly scheduled programming on Monday.

Yep, I am bent.

On the upside, if you happen to be imbibing and partaking in merriment this weekend in the Distillery district, feel free to look up Operation Red Nose. We will give you a ride home, free of charge (if you have your own vehicle for us to drive you in).

And the Prize For Most Fun Wedding Dance Ever Goes To...

LOL! I can totally see Mark and I doing something like this if we ever decide to tie the knot. Of course, I can also see us eloping to Vegas and geting married by an aging Elvis look-a-like, too. Or getting drunk on any given vacation and being married by a scary looking sea captain...even though we are landlocked but whatever.

Time is Running Out! BOOK ALREADY!

I am sure there are bunches of people out there who plan to go somewhere over the holidays but have not yet gotten around to making the actual plans. You people (you know who you are) should hurry up! Things are getting booked and deals are running out! Unless of course you go to HotelReservations.com. This site has some great deals on Hotel Reservations, vacation rentals, all of the fun stuff!

For those of you procrastinators, just click the link above or below and get to it already! BTW, this means you too , Michael. It is your turn to plan New Years and we all know you haven't lifted a finger yet!

Christmas Tree Saga

As some of you know, I personally wanted to skip the Christmas and the tree this year but the BF was insistent upon having one. I put up a mild fight until one of my very dear and overly blunt male friends pointed out that, if his girlfriend wanted a tree on their first Xmas, living in their new home, he would feel like a real asshole if he vetoed it. Okay, he was right and now we have a 7.5 ft tree taking a huge portion of our living room. It is not yet decorated despite the fact that it has been up for about a week. Hopefully we will get to it tonight.

Last night, I ruined the diet by making and drinking a mug of hot chocolate and watching one of my all time favourite Christmas movies, Love Actually. It was a ploy to revv myself up, get into the holiday spirit and to become inspired to decorate the tree. The issue now is that I just have SO much to do! I will have to put it off for one more night I guess, my clients will understand I am sure. I will definitely post a pic of the tree after it is decorated.

Diet Day 51...I think?

Okay, so at this point it is no longer a diet, mostly a lifestyle change. I abandoned the diet book long ago because I could not find any logical reason for a diet plan to call for me eating cheese every single, bloody day. It was just weird

I am, however, continuing to eat healthy, in smaller amounts, and more often. I have lost about 15 lbs so far and plan to keep going until I am ridiculously thin and the boyfriend starts to complain that I am too skinny. A gorl can dream, right?

Pay Day Loans For The Holiday Pinch?

So the holidays are fast approaching and I see everyone aroound me going overboard...okay I can probably be included in the "going overboard" category, with the exception that my extended family members will all be getting charitable contributions in their name this Christmas instead of gifts they probably don't want anyway.

Still, even with finances a little tight, there are just certain things that you can't, in good conscience, scrimp on. To begin with, the above mentioned charitable contributions. Also, the bf decided that we absolutley HAD to have a tree for our first Christmas in our new home so we went to the Canadian Tire and picked up one of the few ones left (big bucks!!). Also, we will be hosting the holiday dinner this year, I still need to get a few gifts, and we will be spending about a billion dollars on gas to visit friends and family.

As stressful as the holidays can be, especially in terms of budgeting and "financial unknowns", a lot of people turn to options like a payday loan. Although I have not done so yet, I know a few people who have used them once or twice and then I know people who use them a lot.

Dog and Cat Finally Getting Along?

My Stella Bella and Nappy Nellie actually sleeping together on the same couch?! Will wonders never cease?

hahaha! It is funny, though because they look like the same siz but Stella is actually bigger than Nellie.

Diet Day 40: Blah Blah Blah

Not much new to report on the diet front. I am still keepin' on keepin' on. Except I ate sushi last night. Eight pieces plus a handroll, a handful of soy beans and a bit of salad. Honestly, I am trying to downplay it because it is less food than it sounds like...and yet it was more than I have eaten in one sitting in a long time and I was crazy full after I ate all of it so maybe it wasn't less food than it sonds like!

I am at a show all weekend this weekend, plus it is the bf's birthday gathering. A combination that will likely lead to a diet death for the next two days but, ah well, these things happen.

It was so busy this week, I am not at all prepared for my show so I am going to be up very late tonight and very early tomorrow. Hopefully, it will be well worth it.

Wish me luck!

Trusted Tours And Attractions Free Contest

A lot of my entries on Nanette's Dog Blog are dedicated to one of my favourite hobbies - vacationing. Vacationing really is a passion of mine and I have never been on one that I haven't liked (knock on wood).

Because I am so travel crazy, I am always looking for travel deals, vacation discounts, tips, and travel advice. Well, today I think I have found a site that offers all of the above. In fact, whomever signs up for the Trusted Travel e-newsletter on this site, which (as the name implies) is chock full of valuable information on Trusted Tours and Attractions, will be entered into a contest. The prize is FOUR tickets to tours in a city to be determined by you, the winner! How cool would that be to win? Hmm, if I were to win, where would I pick? San Diego? I have already been there and LOVED it. There is not much that I didn't like about San Diego, I especially loved the zoo and wild animal park. Likely though, I would pick somewhere new. I think that Savannah is a popular choice among fans of the Trusted Tours and Attractions site so I think I would have to pick there.

Now, if you could go on a tour in any absolutely any city, where would you go?

Diet Day 38: The results are coming in

Okay so I have not quite entirely abondoned my book but I am not following it so religiously, there was just too much cheese and dumb things in it. That does not mean that I have relaxed on the requirements of my diet. I am still eating more helathy, eating smaller amounts, and excersizing more. The scale has started to reflect the changes in my eating habits and I have been getting a few comments here and there as well. This weekend the bf's mom gushed a little, so did my friend last night, and one of my coworkers made a comment as well. I can't help but wonder, though how warranted the positive feedback is. With the exception of the coworker who has no clue I am tryign to become more healthy, a lot of people know my plight and they might just be trying to be encouraging. I am not seeing any giant changes in the mirror.

On The Biggest Loser last week, Kae, my fave contestant was voted out. It totally sucks but since leaving the show, she has lost so much weight she is just 137lbs now and still going strong. Last night B was voted out which means that there is no red team anymore. Totally sucks bc the red team trianer is definitely my favourite trainer on the show. I guess I will find out next week what her fate is now that she has no one to train. I did not really get to watch the show this week, I had an appointment last night, but I did catch the weigh in.

I tried watching the Biggest Loser, Australian Edition but I could only stand it for about five minutes and had to turn it off. Maybe they will get a Canadian edition. Unfortunately, I could not become a contestant on the show because I would likely only weigh a third as much as the heaviest contestant. It would still be cool to see a Canadian version, though.

Diet Day 30: 30 Day Blues

I am having some serious doubts about this diet. I think I going to call up my cousin-in-law and show her my book with all of the menu plans. She is a nurse and an avid iron man and triathalon contestent. She seems very healthy.

I am just eating so much cheese on this diet. I am not a big fan to begin with and the daily dose of cheese (although it is low fat) is really starting to get on my nerves. I find that I skip a lot of meals just so I do not have to eat the cheese I prepared. I think it is time to rethink my plan.

I am also, starting tonight, going to hit the gym a lot more than I have been, Poor Stella will just have to do without me for another 45 minutes out of the day. She can torture the cat while I am torturing myself at the gym.

I am not giving up on this diet yet. I am simply going to have to rethink some parts that do not make sense to me. For instance, why is low fat cheese and cottage cheese listed as a protein but low fat milk is listed as a protein/fat? Same with yogurt. Why are soy burgers listed as a protein but ground soy and edamame listed as a protein/fat? Some of this stuff is just making me wonder if they simply moved cheese out of the protein/fat column and put it into the protein column because I am a vegetarian and it is difficult to come up with meals using the protein column.

Anyway, I can't believe 30 days have gone by already. It certainly does not feel like that long since I started it.

Oh, on the plus side, Stella and I met a friend at the mall last night (she was sleeping in her purse after a very fast paced walk there) and I once again had to face the challenge of the food court. This time I went to the North foodcourt in the Eaton's Centre and found the Soupman. I ordered a very delicious and filling salad that seemed to have a good ration of fat/carbs/protein. Very cool! My faith in the food court is restored.

Thinking Back to My Oregon Vacation

By the way, just to add to my last post, how I am thinking back to the time when I had the time to read a good fiction book, I will tell you when that was.

I was living in the States, goig to school. I was on summer break and decided to really take advantage of my break. I drove from Washington State to Oregon and then drove along the Oregon cost. I started reading the Stepahanie Plum series on that holiday, and still think the books are so clever and witty! Anyway, before I got to the Oregon Coast I stopped at the Tillamook Cheese Factory. I do not even like cheese but it was quite the tour. I also went to a Wild Animal Petting Zoo and I played with a baby tiger and pet a baby lynx. I made the mistake of petting a goat too, and then the grumpy bugger followed me around the park head butting me in the butt every time I stopped petting it!

I shopped and touristed my way along the Oregon and then the California coast. To be honest, I did not really take my time because I thought the California coast was going to be so much better. It wasn't.

I have always thought about going back to Oregon and I was really hoping that a few of my freinds that graduated from Idaho State University would get jobs over in Oregon so I had a good excuse to visit the state. So far it hasn't happened. I think, though that I would like to rent a home or condo on the beach (way better than hotels!).

There is a site that specializes in Oregon Beach Vacations in general and a Lincoln City Holiday Vacation in particular. I should go check them out.



Of course, as we all know, I am Florida bound this February. Luckily there will be lots more vacations and lots more destinations!

Visions of Stephanie Plum Dancing in My Head

This has been a VERY frustrating day. I am going a little nuts playing catch up and the fact that our server seems to be having huge problems is not helping any! My Internet access is very limited and intermitent.

I am supposed to go to class tonight but I do not see how I can possibly make it in time because it is a "field trip" and we are supposed to meet up in downtown Toronto just 45 minutes after I leave work. I have the feeling that this will be one field trip that I will be missing!

All I really want to do is go home and give my Stella Bella a nice walk, then curl up with her and my cat and a good book on the couch. I bought 11 on top, a Jenet Evonovich novel like a year ago now and have not even read it yet! It is at the top of my "unread books" pile and everytime I see it I think jealously back to a time when I had the time to sit down and read for pleasure. Not a business book, a financial management, or a marketing book, but just a nice, silly peice f fiction like the Stephanie Plum series.

Maybe tonight will be the night? Maaybe I will not even bother with trying to make it to class on time! I will just go straight home, take the dog for a walk, buy a cup of hot chocolate while I am at it and then curl up with a nice book! Do I dare?

Goth Dating Site

I have more than a few single friends who are using online dating and chat sites to meet other (hopefully) single people. These sites have come a long way over the years and I am friends with one married couple who claim to have met online and I am friends with another couple, now engaged, who on a dating site.

The problem with a lot of the dating websites that are out there right now is that they tend to cater only to the mainstream. Other than one site out there that I think caters to dog owners like me that are fanatic about their furry babies, and another site or two that caters specifically to Christians, I have not really heard about any alternative dating sites. Until now.

Darkyria.com is a Gothic dating site that caters to Goths, Vampires, and other interesting people who might not feel comfortable at “mainstream” sites. There are chatrooms, forums and other fun...I mean dark stuff. I know of at least a couple of people who will be interested in this site.

With online dating sites branching out into niche markets like this, you can really see how far the online dating world has come!

Diet Day 29: 2 Steps Forward, 1 Step Back

My resolution to be uber healthy last week went really well. I actually saw a dramatic positive change on the scale. Of course this weekend I was at a show, the WHOLE weekend, and I saw a lot of my good deeds come undone. argh. I had to get up so early for the show, on both Saturday and Sunday I ended up eating Tim Horton's breakfast sandwiches for breakfast and two samosas for lunch. I skipped snacks because all of the food at the show, with the exception of samosas, came in dessert form only. I cannot recall what was on the dinner menu on Saturday, if anything, but Sunday was Chinese Food at a restaurant with the family. I tried to order healthy but I have no idea how healthy/unhealthy the sauce that I had on my veggies were or how many calories are in a bubble tea. Ah well....I am probably better off not knowing!

Adgooroo - Adwords Supplement

I was just on a site that offers a product called AdGooroo Express. It is designed to help people that using Google Adwords but maybe feel like they are too busy to be getting the most out of their campaigns. Not only does the program run like a gazillion diagnostic tests per day and keep track of all of you natural linkings, it also monitors competition.
AdGooroo Express offers 24 hour, 7 day a week support (including live chat), which is cool and free. Also free is a trial, available by going to their AdGooroo Express website so go check them out, if you are so inclined!

Diet Day23: Kink in the plans

I am in an awsome class all week that my employer sent me on to learn some really cool stuff. Unfortunately us classmates are in such close quarters and breaks are usually taken at our seats whilst in conversation. This is not condusive to sticking to my my strict, pre-planned diet. So while I may not be able to comfortably follow my preplanned diet, I can at least resolve to eat and be healthy. I had Thai food yesterday with some others. I stuck heavily to veggies, tried to get a proper amount of preteins, carbs and fats, and did not reach for seconds. Today I had a salad not doused in dressing.

BTW, I watched American Gangster this weekend. I don't usually like Denzel Washington but he was SO great in this movie. Also, I can't stand Russel Crowe, he always appears so grungy to me, but that dirty, grungy look really suited his caracter. I thought that some parts in the movie could have been emphasized or developed a little more but all in all, I enjoyed the movie a lot. I highly recommend it

All I want for Christmas is....

Okay, so I know what website I am going to be sending people to when they ask what I want for Christmas. I can tell them that I am not picky, any old thing from JR Dunn Jewellers will do nicely! I can picture it now....

Them: "What do you want for Christmas"

Me: "Oh don't trouble yourself, I don't need anything"

Them: But you are such an awesome person whom I love very much even though I only see you in the gym on Sundays (or walk dog/work in the same building/have been friends with you for two and a half weeks/etc.). I have to get you something"

Me: "Okay, well if you insist, I guess any old thing from JR Dunn would do. You know, one or two corum watches, maybe a solitaire diamond necklace, even a gift certificate would be fine with me."

Them: "Thanks for the tip, amazing lady, I will spend a lot of effort picking out something perfect for you. If I can't decide, I will buy both!"


Yes, that is how it will go. I have played this scenario out in my head over and over again. It always ends the same way.

I love Christmas.

You built your house where?

Okay, what architectectual genius thought this was a good idea!?

My boss just came in and caught me looking at this and all he said was "I would not be able to sleep at night?" whew.

I stumbled upon this photo at: http://givernews.com/images/photo05/maison-bizarre-g.jpg

Diet Day 19: Diets and FoodCourts Don't Mix

I was sooo on track yesterday. Good breakfst, snack, lunch.....then it was dinner time. I was meeting a friend at the Eaton's Centre and decided that it should not be too big of a problem for me to fiind a heatlhy, well rounded meal there. I was wrong.

The Marche's salads were looking a little grungy so I decided to try the Thai place (in the south side food court). I ordered the pad thai with tofu and vegetables. I thought that rice noodles should be okay, especially mixed with healthy fresh veggies. The whole meal probably would have been awesome except it was very heavy on the noodles and light on the veggies. And not a as much tofu as I had hoped. Basically I ate a bunch of very yummy carbs. I am not sure how healthy it was. Plus I probably ate way too much. Oh, and too late! I am suposed to eat dinner around 5pm and snack around 8pm. Instead I just ate Thai food at about 7:30pm. Then I wallked to the other end of the mall and had a blackcurrent flavoured bubble tea! Those things taste way too good to be good for you, I think.

My only saving grace for the evening was that I walked (briskly) to and from the Eaton's Centre, then walked around the Eaton's Centre and then took Stella for a nice fast paced walk as soon as I got home.

Well, I am allowed one cheat meal per week, right? right? sigh.

New York New York!

Even though I am within driving distance ( a very long driving distance) from New York City, I have never gone. I have always wanted to and whenever my boyfriend, friends and I try to figure out where to go on New Years (it is a tradition with us that we head out of town), I always suggest New York city. Every year I am inevitably vetoed. How unfair!

My bf does not really want us to go to New York on our mini holiday becase he pictures me going absolutley insane with shopping fever! He pictures me at Bloomingdales and Nieman-Marcus and Normstom's. He shudders with fear and then swiftly suggests Ottawa instead (where we have gone the last two years in a row).

Okay, so yes, I will not deny the shopping appeals, REALLY appeals to me but I really want to go to soak up the culture...to visit the Gugghenheim, Times Square, and the Empire state building. You know, all of the tourist-y stuff.

Well, I have the feeling that this year might be my year(if the whole property tax increase thing doesn't damage my wallet too bad). I just found out that there is a New York City CityPass. For like a fraction of what it would cost to get into all of the museums and tourist places that I want to go, I can buy a New York CityPass, get into all of these places and skip the line ups! How cool is that!? Plus Iget all of the insidr tips and info. It is only $65 to get into like a gazillion places, including the places I mentioned above and the museum of modern art....okay maybe I should leave out the MOMA part when I pitch this to my boyfriend!

Toronto Property Tax to Go Up

So it turns out that all my worrying was not for nothing. The Toronto property tax rates are set to increase by 5%. This is Mark and I's first year in the condo, which I think is always the hardest, especially financially speaking. We are nervous about property taxes to begin with but this increase really has me biting my nails. We have been putting money away but I am not sure it will be enough. How nerve racking is this? Yet the government goes on redecorating the mayors offices and wasting money on frivolties.

I stumbled this pic this morning and I think it is very apt for the situation:

Retrieved from: http://www.tuxick.net/pics/humor/art-of-survival.jpg

Diet Day 18: So...Hungry....

Yesterday was such a blur. I woke up late and (gasp) skipped breakfast to make it to work on time. So I ate my morning snack at 10am instead of 11am because I was so hungry. So I ate lunch at 12:40 instead of 1pm because I was still so hungry. So technically I probably should have eaten my dinner early, too and then called it an early night. Unfortunatley I had to leave work early and get to the post office before it closed, then run (literally) to my final exam for my night class, so I ended up skipping dinner entirely. I left my exam at 7:10pm which gave me 20 minutes to make it to a meeting with one of my clients. At 7:15, I found myself in front of a Subway restaurant so I ran in and ordered a salad. I was eating it, while rushing to meet the client when she called to cancel because she has that nasty flu that is going around. So I went home and prepared lunches, snacks and dinners for my bf and I for today. UGH.

On the bright side, my mother bought the most adorable sweater and coat for my Stella Bella from Talbots yesterday. I will try to get some photos tonight, she is adorable! I took her for a walk at about 11:30pm last night and she looked like she was toasty! That is the one thing that is great about the the boyfriend being on nights. Stella gets up to four walks per day and we can give our wallets a break from the dog walker.

Time For a New Car

So Mark and I have decided that we are going to have to get a new car in the new year. With him on nights, it is just too much pressure for me to be driving his beloved baby to work and back every morning. Our next step is to figure out if we want new or used, Honda or Subaru (my two choices :))

There is a website called CarsBlvd.com that has tons of deals. I am going to take a look-see at their site and possibly get a Honda Car Quote.

As I said, we are not looking to purchase until the new year but it is time to start doing te research, that is for sure.

My Dog is a Bat

Here is a photo of my Stella Bella in her bat costume on Halloween. With her big giant ears, her bat outfit is not much of a stretch but oh how cute! Besides, it really was last minute.

Stella loved being out with the kids (her favourite kind of people) and the costume did not seem to phase her. She just sort of pranced around in her cape and cap and mingled with whomever she came across on the sidewalk. My family and I went trick or treating around the beaches area. I am betting that there are a lot more kids trick-or-treating there than arond the Harboufront where I live. They really seem to go all out in the beaches on Halloween. Houses done up with moving dragons and strobe lights, crazy haunted lawns...very cool. Unfortunately we had to cut the night short because Mark and I had company.

The leash is a reflective leash with a ghost and spiderweb pattern that my mother bought for her. I will probably continue using it on really dark nights. Especially after my near miss with that car on Monday night!

Diet Day 16: Keep on Keepin On

So I was running late and did not have time to prepare the recipe for dinner that was in the book. In a rush to class, I simply ate a half of a veggie and swiss sandwich on whole wheat. I just hope it is the proper proportion of carbs to fat to protein. Hmm...the sandwich was mostly vegetables so I probably had more carbs than fat or protein but whatever, I can't imagine me getting fat from having half of a sandwich for supper!

Today will be another good diet day, although I have company coming tonight so I may or may not have a glass of wine.

Last night as I was walking home from work, I was nearly hit by a car. it was dark and rainy out. I was walking across the street (I had waited for the walk signal) and a woman turning left did not see me and turned into my path. I tried to jump out of the way when I realized she did not see me and was going to hit me but she looked up and saw me at the last second and then slammed on her brakes and swerved in the same way I was moving! I jumped the other way and she narrowly missed me. VERY narrowly missed me. If I had freezed instead of moved, I would have been seriously injured. The poor lady driving screamed at the top of her lungs and when I looked down and realized I was still in one piece, I kept walking through the intersection. When I looked back, she still hadn't moved from the intersection, she was trying to calm down.

Walking the rest of the way back to the condo, I decided it was my fault that the lady almost hit me. I was not wearing the proper clothing. I did have a bright pink purse and book bag but I also had a black coat, pants and shoes. It was such bad weather I should not have walked until I was sure she saw me....I looked and saw her, for some reason, I thought she saw me too. Duh.

So I am either going to have to go out and get myself a new winter coat or I will have to put something reflective on my coat. The coat is a vibrant pink on the inside, too bad I could not just wear it inside out.

Ouch, reason 1001 not to cheat

beware of a woman scorned


So if you would like me to explain this picture further, this wife found out that her husband was cheating on her and threw paint on her husband's Jaguar. After calming down just a bit, she must have then remembered that the car is in her name.

She decided to sell the car for just a fraction of the value on a UK based website called BuyYourCar that helps people find or sell both used cars and new cars. They even help out with car loans . Anyway, she posted a very funny advertisement to go along with the above photo, definitely worth clicking on the link!

Hoo Boy! Now here is a woman that should not have been messed with...or messed around on, to be a little more specific. The whole situation reminds me of that Carrie Underwood song, the one where she takes a baseball bat to her cheating boyfriend’s car. Whose story do you think inspired whom?

All I can say is Don’t Cheat! If you don’t cheat, you won’t get caught. If you do not get caught cheating, you will likely not have to regret that you put your car in your wife’s name...which you probably did to avoid taxes or some other shifty thing, but I digress. Silly man!!!

Diet Day 15: On Track!

Following this diet is an awful lot of work but I think I am getting the hang of it. I am on track with a breakfast of cereal, eggwhites and almonds, and then a morning snack of low fat yogurt and peanuts. I have lunch of mushroom-barley soup at the ready and my dinner will be the same as my lunch.

My bf is going on nights this month so it will make the whole matter much more stressful, I think. Also, I gave my car to my mother so now I am driving his baby. A car he has driven for about 6 years (never in winter) and not even gotten in one tiny fender bender with. Yep, stress...I feel like visiting Godiva just from thinking about the upcoming month.

The family thing still hasn't gone away so I am simply going to stop thinking about it entirely.

I have been putting more thought into the workout thing and I think I will start speedwalking with my Stella Bella. Too bad the cat hates being on leash!

Malaysia's National Sport Coming to Canada

Can anyone guess what Malaysia's national sport is? I bet most Canadians haven't even heard of it before. It is called SEPAK TAKRAW and it is actually a game of kick volleyball!

The sport is being promoted here in Toronto and some teams from Malaysia are coming here to play some exhibition matches for us.

Here is the info:

Malaysian Sepak Takraw Exhibition matches in GTA - OPEN TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC


Sunday, Nov. 11th: 2:30 - 4:00pm, MAGNA CENTRE , 800 Mulock Rd., Newmarket (near Mulock & Leslie)


4:30 - 6:00pm, DENNIS R. TRIMBLE CENTRE,29 St. Dennis Dr. , North York , Toronto (near Don Mills & Eglinton, near Ontario Science Centre)

Monday, Nov. 12th: 5:30 - 7:00pm, ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC HS, 2188 Rodick Rd., Markham (near Woodbine and 16th Ave.)

Garage Cabinets

As some of you may be aware, my boyfriend is a mechanic. He loves living in a condo in downtown Toronto, but boy does he miss not having a garage! We decided to splurge and buy a double size storage unit and it is almost the size of a garage. We bought some shelving units that run a long each wall and there is still a bit of room. I am almost thinking that, if we had garage cabinets in there and a work bench instead of those shelves, he would have a work room! I wonder how the condo board would feel about that? hmm...maybe he should stick to borrowing his parents' garage.

Diet Day 14: Feeling Good!

I ate a proper breakfast and I played badminton for about an hour, squash for about 1/2 hour, and around the key on the basketball court after that. Even though I was too busy playing games to prepare my morning snack, I am feeling pretty good. I am going to clean up around the apartment a little bit, and then work out plans for next week regarding the diet and everything else.

I am very aware that I need to excersize more. Aside from the Sunday thing, I tend to walk a lot, with Stella and just to get around, and a friend at work and I walk to the mall and back every Friday (about 20 minute walk each way if we hurry). Still that is not enough. So I need to work in at least one more workout per week. My three night classes are coming to and end and then I should only be in one or two per week after that. I am in meetings one night per week, and I need to bake for Temple Treats once per week but I am convinced that I can fit it in. I will think on it this week and try to work it out.

My one concern is my pets. Stella and the Nellie are home alone all day and when I come home they deserve to be lavished with attention. On the nights that I am in night class or meetings, I know that my boyfriend is with them. Likewise, if he visits friends or goes out for some other reason, I like to stay home with the furballs. If I go work out, though, my boyfriend will definitely want to work out with me. Maybe we can work something out.

Diet Day 13: Does A Bottle and a half of wine count as a cheat?

I stuck to the diet all day yesterday even when I had friends over for dinner, with the exception of the wine. Today is not going so well. Not because I am cheating but because I skipped breakfast and the morning snack. I also did not eat lunch until almost 3PM. I was just too tired and I wasn't hungry. As I mentioned in my last post, some members of my family have really gotten on my nerves and the whole thing has been suppressing my appetitite. I am trying not to dwell on it and instaed to regain my focus.

Police Gear, Anyone? New online store

So as of yesterday afternoon, my entire family has been in a battle. It all started with one overly demanding person and one fed up person but now everyone is getting involved, from Toronto to the hometown. It is like each side is rallying troops. So imagine how I had a good laugh when opp came along to take a look at this new site called 5.11TacticalOutdoors.com. The site is filled with all sorts of police and tactical gear, from Galco holsters, to eyewear, to freebies. If my family kicks it up even one more knotch, I am going to send all of them this link...well all of the people on the side I have chosen, anyway!