June Photo Challenge - Day 7

When the mascot was little, I somehow got myself bitten (ok, mauled) by the scrapbooking bug. At the height of my obsession, I was not only working at a scrapbooking store, but I was actually organizing family outings based on what kind of stickers and paper I had to use up. Apple stickers called for a trip to the orchard; a merry-go-round die cut had us scrambling to find a carnival; a $7 shaker-box filled with glitter meant that I had finally lost my mind.

Needless to say, everything that we did was a photo-op and the mascot got pretty used to having a camera pointed at his little, freckled face. This is why I am so surprised that he has recently become such a reluctant subject. Take this morning, for example. For some reason, the boy was less than enthused at the notion of posing in our front yard at 8am. Or, maybe he was non-plussed about having to pose for a photo taken by a woman standing on a chair in the front yard. Apparently "blog challenge" and "high angle shot" mean nothing to a 13 year old boy on his way to school.



Either way, I got my shot...and, as a bonus, another excuse to buy stickers. I'm thinking little red maple leaves or tiny bike helmets or...

June Photo Challenge - Day 6

Today’s challenge is “books”. Easy enough, considering how much I love to read, right?

Camera in hand, I ventured over to the used bookstore across the street from my office to photograph the teetering stacks of books that occupy every aisle and surface of the store. After less than 2 minutes, however, all of that chaos (and the crazy shopkeeper) was starting to make me twitchy.

I needed to get out of there – fast – so I snapped a couple of quick shots before stopping in front of an especially tall stack of old, dusty hardcovers.



I don’t know what made me peek inside this book in particular, but I’m glad I did. I took my camera out for one last frame, and it turned out to be a keeper.

Who knew that I would find one of my favourite quotes about books inside a book?

June Photo Challenge - Day 5

Last night, Lisagh reminded me that the photo challenge for day 5 would be "Today's Breakfast". Good thing, too, because it gave me time to prepare a picture-perfect muesli before going to bed.

It's a good thing that today's challenge didn't happen on a weekday, or I would be posting a picture of my mid-morning breakfast of melon and microwaved oatmeal, served up at my desk. That's my *usual*; Monday to Friday (and sometimes Saturday), 52 weeks out of the year. What can I say? I'm a creature of habit.

Weekends, though, are a different story. Or, rather, Sundays are a different story. Depending on my mood, there's an excellent chance that eggs might make their way onto my plate, in the form of an omelette or a poched-egg-on-something.

Lately, though, muesli is my Sunday breakfast obsession. With less than 5 minutes of prep on Saturday night, this combination of oats, dried fruit, nuts, seeds, spices and almond milk literally makes itself while I sleep.



In the morning, all I have to do is add some chopped apple (and a pretty garnish), tumble some berries into a bowl and brew a pot of coffee. Then, I curl up on the couch, turn on the TV and see how long I can make it last (the moment and the muesli) before the chaos of the day takes over.

June Photo Challenge - Day 4

This morning was cool and cloudy. In fact, it was cloudy for most of the day...right up until the moment that I went outside to take a picture of some clouds for today's photo challenge.

Camera in hand, I went outside, looked up and saw this:



Now, far be it for me to complain about blue skies, but c'mon people! Throw me a cumulous or something.

June Photo Challenge - Day 3

Hands. The first thing that I thought of when I read today's challenge was, "Uh, no. No way am I taking a picture of my hands."

My hands do many wonderful things, but being pretty seems to have alluded them. Don't get me wrong; they're not gross or freakishly large (cough*SarahJessicaParker*cough), but let's just say that nobody will be signing me up to be a hand-model anytime soon.

So, to save the world from seeing my dry cuticles and the scar on my knuckle, I set out on my lunch-hour to find some hands that I could stealthily photograph. Surely, the Exchange would be full of couples holding hands, children dancing gayly around a May Pole and old ladies knitting scarves for the poor...right? Wrong.

Here's what I had to choose from: a homeless guy cleaning his nails with a pocket knife (fingers AND toes), and about 564 office-workers shoveling poutine out of little cardboard boxes outside the latest fast-food sensation in the Square. Thank Jeebus for the two buskers that came along to entertain the crowds on what seemed like the first truly warm day of the year.



Of course, being all stealthy comes at a cost; the photo is rather lackluster. But, in my own defense, so was their performance. No...I kid. Truth was, I had to get back to work and the small of gravy wafting from the Poutinerie was starting to make me weak.

June Photo Challenge - Day 2

It makes sense that since day one’s photo was of my face, that day two’s snapshot should be of my feet. Or, rather, of my shoes.

Today’s challenge, in case you haven’t guessed, is “my favourite shoes”. The ones pictured below just happened to be the ones that I am wearing today, but are these my favourites?

You betcha they are.



Granted, they are not the sexiest shoes in my collection, but when I came across them at Winners, I literally said, “Shut up.” Bass Mary-Jane oxfords? With wing tips? And a herringbone lining?

Shut up, indeed.

Thankfully, they fit like a glove. Otherwise, I would have removed a toe. Two toes, even. Or I might’ve just plunked down my 60 bucks and used them as bookends or something.

Interesting to note: when I was taking the picture of my shoes, I noticed that the right one was full of grass. I was puzzled for a minute, but then I remembered that I was wearing them when I cut the lawn the other day. Am I nuts?

You betcha I am.

But, at least I have cute (albeit rather sensible) shoes.

June Photo Challenge - Day 1

What did I say yesterday about my self-portrait? I think it was something along the lines of “it’s going to be a janky, grainy, low-light, arm’s-length snapshot from my half-charged Blackberry”.

Well, do I know myself, or what? This is possibly the jankiest self-portrait in the history of janky self-portraits. It was almost completely unviewable in its virgin state, so, ironically, in the interest of clarity I have upped the graininess and contrast. Now, It's not just janky, it's artistically janky.



But, that said, I don’t look all that horrible and I was in a very relaxed, post-dinner/pre-dishes, sitcom-watching stupor. One could almost say that this is me in my happy place. And, really, besides Tyra Banks, whose happy place includes flattering lighting?

Note: the camera is now charged and I promise to do better. I have 30 29 days to get this right!

Challenge this!

I don't quite know what happened to my Girl Geeks, but there hasn't been a challenge in the blog challenge for quite some time. That, I'm sure, is the reason for my poor blog being rather...um, challenged...as of late.

So, at the insistence of a very insistent friend, I am taking on the June Photo Challenge. If nothing else, it will force me to get the camera back up and snapping and, more importantly, give this poor beast another kick in the pants.

I think I’m going to have to get creative with today’s challenge – the self-portrait. I’m at about 5% power on my Blackberry and 0% on all of my many (ha!) cameras. My plan is to charge little Elphy as soon as I get home, but you all know how good I am at getting stuff done (ahem, 365 project)! If all goes to plan, I should have a lovely arm’s-length or bathroom-mirror shot to post in the morning.

If not, I will be available over the lunch-hour for a good, stern talking to.

Strength by Numbers

What’s this? Another fundraiser?

Yup. ‘tis the season, I suppose. Everywhere you turn there are rapidly shrinking snowbanks and charity events. It must be spring!

When I heard that one of my favourite galleries in town would be throwing themselves a fundraising bash, I immediately contacted them to see if I could contribute a piece of art to their silent auction. The timing was perfect, really; I had just completed three new collages and only two were earmarked for the MAWA auction. I offered up number three to Jordan and was thrilled when she accepted.

True to the name of the event “Strength by Numbers”, there is an impressive list of artists who have donated their artworks to help strengthen the coffers at the Cre8ery. I have seen just a few pieces from the show and I can honestly say that this will be a not-to-be-missed event.

Bidding for the silent auction items will start on April 12th and close on the 15th, during a big party at the gallery. Like any good bash, the Strength by Numbers party will include music, theatre, storytelling (storytelling?) and a 50/50 draw. And, I’ll be there, too! (As if you needed any more reason to go!) Silent auction bids start at $50, so this is a great opportunity to pick up some new wall-candy and support a great cause!

Visit the Cre8ery website or the event Facebook page for more info!

Feeling Bookish

I laughed out loud and clapped my hands with glee (well, almost) when I read this week’s Winnipeg Girl Geek Blog Challenge topic. Our mission, should we choose to accept it, is to write about possible book titles for our book, should we ever find ourselves inclined to write one. I don’t know that I would ever actually write a whole book, but it is something that I have given some thought to...especially when it comes to coming up with attention-grabbing titles and sizzling (ha!) plot lines.

“Always the Bride”
A cautionary tale of a girl who got married one too many times.
Chapter 1: “I do!”
Chapter 2: "I did..."
Chapter 3: “I do?”
Chapter 4: “I really don’t.”
Epilogue: "Mulligan?"

“Designated Parent”
A thinly-veiled work of fiction; based on my years living in a townhouse complex in Port Coquitlam, BC. The story would center on a core-group of neighbours who would meet regularly for after-work cocktails and weekend BBQs in the driveway, while their children ran amok throughout the aptly-titled “common areas”. The name comes from our policy that at least one parent had to stay alcohol-free, should one of the kids require emergency medical care or, as was more often the case, we needed someone to do a beer-run. Usually the job of “designated parent” fell to one of the pregnant gals in the group; there was always at least one of those.

“The Secret Ingredient”
My cookbook; named by the Mascot, who insists that the secret ingredient in all of my cooking is love. (It’s not. It’s salt.) Of all of my book ideas, this one is the most feasible, because at some point, I suppose I could just get the recipes on my food-blog “Relish” published. I’m sure that there has to be a market for 30-minute vegetarian/flexitarian recipes that feed 2 to 3 people and use an inordinate number of pots and pans. I would have to come up with a better title, though. No offense, Mascot.

“This Will All Make Perfect Sense Someday”
My apologies to John Mayer for appropriating one of his song-titles. (At least it’s not “Your Body is a Wonderland”!) My dad always wanted to dole out advice, and, in his honour, this’ll be my chance to spread my wisdom to the world. TWAMPSS will cover a wide range of topics and will contain such gems as:
- “Never leave your child anywhere that you wouldn’t leave your purse.” (parenting)
- “Don’t feed your baby in a place that you wouldn’t eat a sandwich.” (breastfeeding)
- “If you figure out what’s causing it, stop immediately.” (pregnancy)
- “Nobody ever got an upgrade in sweatpants.” (air travel)

Of course, these are all hypothetical at best. These days, I can barely finish writing a grocery list, never mind a self-help/how-to,/how-not-to girl’s-guide-to-life. When I do, though, you can bet that it’ll be spell-checked and edited to within an inch of its life and, of course, have a *fabulous* author’s picture on the cover. I’m thinking something along the lines of a Jackie Collins style shot, but with softer focus and bigger shoulder pads...