new computer

So I came home the other night and I got a huge present! A new computer!! Den bought it for me for completing my half marathon - only, I haven't actually done it yet. Turns out he is as bad as me at keeping secrets so he gave it to me early :) And I love it! It's fun to put all the settings exactly as I want them. I suppose I have no excuses now to not be the best blogger I can be :P

Thank you honey, I love it!

free is my favourite!

Today I received a free sample of Pond's cleansing & makeup removing towelettes with my Chatelaine magazine. Yes, Chatelaine - don't judge me I love it. So being the lover of free stuff that I am I tried them out tonight and WOW, I love them. I am always looking for the quickest and easiest way to remove make up, that isn't greasy, too foamy, too smelly, travels well - yes I've tried a lot of these - and these Pond's are great!

Five stars for the Ponds! (If you are from Pond's and for some reason reading my blog, please send me more).

burning out

It was bound to happen; too much work, too much life, too much stress. I officially have my first cold of the season. Stuck in bed for most of the weekend trying desperately to get over it before Monday. It's sad when you are literally too busy with work to take a day off when sick. I also missed my 20k run this morning because of this silly cold. It is hard to run when you can't get your breath walking up your house stairs! I also can't breath out of my nose, which is also a problem when trying to run. sigh.. I hope it doesn't set me too far back considering I only have 2 weeks till the big race! Two weeks! Better get better soon.

Back to bed...

animal lover

Don't judge me but I love animal prints. I am in love with these Louboutin's; how could you not be? Gorgeous.

rhetorical questions

At what point do you admit the truth? If only you know the truth. And life is easier pretending.

At what time do you make the right decision? Even if it would change your life?

What would it take? And, could you do it?

Would you spend your whole life wondering?

Could you live with the decisions you chose?

Hmmm.

Mess to some, comfort to others

Ewok resting in the disaster that is my dressing room, or what was a disaster but has since been tidied up.

Girls Weekend

Vic and I went to Toronto this weekend to visit with our friend Kristin. Kristin`s been away in Korea doing PhD stuff for the last several months and this was our first opportunity to catch up. We spend Saturday shopping, chatting and and roaming around Toronto - good times! Vic arrived in time for dinner so went over to the Mill Street Pub in the Distillery District. What a cool place. Kristin lives basically across the street, which was super convenient and she has been to the pub before and knew the food was great. After dinner we headed out to Chovski`s for some drinks and fun. We had the two funniest bar tenders (picture below). With their help we drank way too much but had a really fun time!

Cityslips...Genius!

Today I came across a new item I have never seen before and I bought them immediately! Cityslips!! What a fantastic idea. So, you have a meeting, event, interview etc to go to that require you bust out a great pair of your trendiest heals, but you don't necessary want to wear the heels to walk to the event, all night at the event or after the big meeting/interview - what do you do?? Take your Cityslips in your bag/briefcase and as soon as you don't need your heels anymore whip them off and put on the slips. The flats fold up super small in their own little bag, then the little bag transforms into a larger tote to carry the heels you were sporting for the event. Brilliant!

They are pretty inexpensive and large on convenience and saving your feet from harm!

Look them up or order online at: Cityslips Genius!

1/2 Marathon update

Almost didn't make it to the run this morning, I actually went back to bed before getting up again and getting it together! But Vic and I sucked it up and went. And what a great run! We only ran 13KM today but we felt good doing and felt great after. Progress.

We jump to 18KM next Sunday and that is very intimidating. But I figure if we get through that we can certainly do the 21.5.

Only 4 weeks to got. Can't believe it!

Also got new running shoes today and now have to break them in...no excuses now!

Danna Nicole

It's worth the trip to Stratford...

Danna Nicole - check out the website!

I buy a Donna Ricco dress each season - Amazing! And the BCBG collection is outstanding!

Did I mention Danna tailors every item to your body so it fits perfectly? Where else can you shop and buy clothes so that they are made for you?

Day tripping in Stratford

On Saturday Vic and I went to Stratford for the afternoon. Our purpose was to visit the store that one of our friends owns called Danna Nicole. Her story is inspiring and her clothes are fabulous!

She is one of those people who has achieved her dream. She wanted to one day own her own store, be her own boss, make the decisions, be the buyer and now she's done it! And her store is great! I buy fun accessories and dresses for work from her mostly.

While we were in Stratford Danna suggested a little chippy for us to eat at (Fish and Chip joint for those non-Brits). So we went to Simple for lunch. What a super cute place! And best of all, they offer gluten free batter for all their delicious dishes. So I ordered giant shrimp, fries (home made of course) and coleslaw. Vic had traditional fish and chips and we both loved it!





























The food looked much better when it arrived to our table before I adulterated it.

Getting serious... 16K down

Today's run was the longest and hardest yet. 16km. I thought last week at 14 was hard but once you hit 14...every kilometer is hard. My lungs are fine; if only my legs would cooperate little more I would be great! At the moment my legs start to tighten up at about 12kms and just get more and more tried as I go.

The more I run the more I realize that this race is more of a mind over matter race than the fear of not actually finishing the race. However I suppose not finishing is also a concern :)

Plugging along....7 weeks to go.

The Backyard DIY

While Sandy B, Uncle Nick, Jenny, Victoria and I were busy with our projects, Dennis, John and Madamba got busy building the deck in the backyard.

Den and Vic on the deck for mom's birthday dinner...

DIY at 678

It has been a busy time at 678 these past weeks. We have been diving into several out door projects and to get them done we had to call in the reinforcements!

First, Sandy B and Uncle Nick were called in to build the garbage caddie. For far too long our garbage bins and recycle containers have been an eye sore for me and the neighbours. So first, Den laid down a flat floor with garden tiles - I helped but not very much :). From there Uncle Nick and Sandy B built the lovely little house shown below for all of our ugly things

































While the garbage caddie construction was going on my friend Jenny, my sister Victoria and I were busy staining the wood porch we put in last year. And wow what a difference a can of stain did!






























Did I mention we also built a deck in our backyard the same weekend? That's for my next post :)

Inception - Simply brilliant

Brilliant. Engaging. Thrilling. Adrenaline pumping. Twisty. Amazing.

Just looking at that one image in this picture evokes thought, emotion and mystery. Amazing!

This is one of the best movies I have ever seen. Definitely in my top 3, if not #1. A week later and I still am thinking about this movie and playing it over in my head. Any movie that gets in your head like that is outstanding! I can't think of any movie in the recent past that has done that for me.

And what a great cast! I am a Leo fan. Always have been and he again blew me away in this movie (and he's not bad to look at - at any time). Even Ellen Page impressed me and I find that she is a very one dimensional character for the most part; but she was really great in this movie! Listen to me the film critic - haha.

If you haven't seen it, go. If you have seen it, go again. All star movie!

PS Loved the guy on the right end here - amazing!