The skinny on skinny

Yesterday, I was trying to squeeze my butt into a pair of jeans that usually are my "comfy" fallback. My hubby came up behind me, gave me a loving pat on the tush and commented "oohhh someone's getting a booty!"

With daggers in my eyes, I glared at him. We went for a drive and I was silent. You know those moments, where you look out the window and say nothing at all but are seething inside, met with him asking you if everything is okay and you haughtily respond "yep." Then five minutes go by and he asks you what is the matter and that question is met with the following response: "Nothing".

He then wanted to talk. So I talked. I asked him several times if he thought I had gained weight and where, and he did the dance of complimentary words as follows: "You're beautiful. I love you just the way you are." I asked him several times if he thought I had gained weight. All men know this is a no-win trick question but I would truthfully like to know from my own spouse which parts of my body have seemed to have grown. I badgered him in a sort of Law & Order form of questioning until he finally shouted "In your ass okay????"

Silence again. Quiet all the way home. My husband is the most kind hearted and generous soul there is, but sometimes, the truth hurts. It's no secret that I've been up and down in my weight. I used to be stick thin and in my 30's certainly filled out to a more curvacious woman. With that being said, I've also been teasing Michael lately that he needs to lose the chunk.

It's such a double edged sword, this weight thing. On one hand, you don't want to fall into the trap of the media where you know their perception of beauty is unattainable, especially when everything is airbrushed these days. On the other hand, there is always the thought in the back of your mind when your clothes are simply too small or you don't feel good about yourself.

Today on The Ellen Show, her wife Portia was a guest and discussed her new book regarding her lifelong battle with an eating disorder and self-worth issues. I realized that as a woman, no matter what the upbringing, we all battle with inferiority complexes in some shape or form. I'm quite certain there is not a woman alive out there who thinks her life is perfect or has never been her own worst critic regarding some aspect of her life.

I'm a perfectionist and always have been. I'm quite sure that will never change. I am not happy unless in my mind, I have done everything I can to get to where I am. For example, there were so many details about my wedding that drove me nuts in trying to plan; details I'm sure that nobody even paid attention to, however I noticed. I'm a big fan of the phrase "overplan and then go with the flow."

Sometimes in life, there is only so much you can do to accept things the way they are. I do believe this weight issue in society is getting out of hand but I am also a believer in getting off my (fat) ass to do something about it. We can all complain about some aspect of our lives but I know that when I look in the mirror and am not happy with what I see, it's not because I'm irritated about that fact. I'm actually irritated that I'm unhappy about something and not doing anything about it.

Sometimes, we just have to get off our butts and start moving.

Does anybody want to go for a walk?

Check out that boot-y!

Technology: Friend, Foe, Fabulous...or just plain Frustrating?

I know there are more of you out there like me who have surrendered to the technology age and way of life, but sometimes just feel like throwing your hands up in the air when something goes wrong.

My mom called me yesterday irritated that her wireless keyboard for the Mac wasn't working, even with brand new batteries in it. Her cell phone was also flashing and she was told she had to do a software upgrade. My husband got on the phone with her and simply told her to go to the website, download the upgrade, something about a patch, blah blah blah. I know that if I don't know what he's talking about, my mom certainly isn't going to have a clue. I have to commend the baby boomer age for embracing all the changes in technology that are thrown their way. Really when you think about it, we don't have much of a choice.

I made the mistake of telling the Partners of an accounting firm I worked at for two years about my one month stint working for RIM. I lasted there for one month for a reason. When I first started, I was given six Blackberries for the multiple carriers and models of phones. In the first few weeks I worked there, I was not only expected to create a 200 slide powerpoint presentation, but I was to present it to a crew of Rogers staff and the RIM training team. As I practiced delivering the presentation to my husband and slew of stuffed animals, I noticed a glazed over look in his eye and I knew I was in the wrong field. After all, I'm quite certain that even the youngest Rogers employee would know more about what I was talking about than I did myself.

One senior Partner asked me to upgrade her Blackberry. The disclaimer I announced was that I did not know what I was doing. We had no I.T. people onsite and I spent four hours on the phone with our outsourced remote I.T support person. This woman I worked for was feared by so many. She grew up in a military background and treated her staff as such. I had the joy of being her Assistant and although in time, I won her over, you certainly didn't want to get on her bad side.

She passed me in the hallway and asked me how the Blackberry upgrade was going, and then she posed a question to me that made me stop dead in my tracks: "You backed everything up right?" Silence. I looked at her and confidently remarked "Obviously."

I walked away, knees weak and a lump in my throat. I didn't remember backing anything up. I had to finally go to her and admit that I didn't think I conducted the back-up when configuring the installation. If looks could kill, I would have been dead on the floor that very moment. Her face went red and veins coming out of her face and told me that I better have backed it up because all her passwords and everything personal was on the phone that would not have been automatically backed up by our server. I spent the next four hours trying to figure out how to get everything back and to my delight and relief, I had clicked a button on the installation process that said "Backup". It was a win/win situation as my boss thought I was just fabulous after that, but then the other Partner I supported also wanted me to upgrade her phone. It was Thanksgiving weekend and the office staff was due to be let out at 1pm. By 1:30 pm I was still on the phone with our I.T. guy as he remotely upgraded the phone and the Partner was yelling at me that she wanted to get going to her cottage and she needed her phone. I was just as frustrated as the last thing I wanted to do on Thanksgiving was to sit in the office with someone over my shoulder and muddle through something that was already time consuming, but equally frustrating as I didn't know what I was doing.

I have always been the go-to person in a smaller office setting. It's not as if I know anything more than the next person but I am resourceful and will find the answer if given the time to do so. The problem is, sometimes I really don't want to know the answer. Is that wrong? For example, our photocopier and printer would jam on a daily basis. When you're working in an accounting firm that operates in a predominently paper environment, this is a big deal. I was told in my interview that my predecessor quit on her lunch break because of the photo copier breaking down. We had a chuckle and I started the job. On my first day, the printers broke down. Everyone was complaining and yelling and coming to me. I could understand why the person went for lunch and never returned.

The Blackberry issue never went away. Instead, now all Partners and Managers of the firm were given one. I knew if the word got out that I used to work for RIM, I would now be the go-to person for all their phones. I called Rogers and asked if they had any type of support for businesses who are operating on the BES system (Business Enterprise). They informed me that training was usually conducted for groups of 50 people or more. I arranged for a meeting with a local contractor called "Just fix it."

This name I thought was genius. How many times do representatives for your local service provider try and walk you through why your phone won't work? The Canon representative who used to come in and fix the photocopier would literally take an hour of my already jam packed day explaining what went wrong and what each component was used for as in my head I was thinking to myself..."I don't care, just fix it."

For all you I.T. wizards out there, there is a niche market for your expertise and patience. People need you like they need a mechanic, lawyer or doctor; specifically the older generation who were not born into technology. I consider myself to be bright and resourceful and I can usually find the answer with a little patience and a whole lot of perseverence but you can rest assured there are also a whole lot of curse words thrown in there as well.

These companies who sell such complicated and complex products really need to supply the consumer with a support aspect. These smart phones and computer systems are the way of the world, however if you don't speak tech speak, you really don't have a chance. My mom asked me yesterday, doesn't anyone speak English anymore?

I'm going through the same thing with our Mac, camera and photo editing software. I have figured out what to do to get by, but I'm sure there are ways to be more efficient and bypass time with shortcuts. I'm self taught in mostly everything I know and spend a lot of time reading, looking at tutorials and absorbing but the problem is, just when you get a grasp on something, things change again.

So often, a button on one of our five remote controls is accidentally hit or I've done something on the computer and can't figure out for the life of me what I've done or how to get it back. I spend hours perplexed on what just happened and in the meantime, I think I make things worse by hitting every button under the sun. The last time I did that, I erased every photo on my camera.

For the love of God....just fix it!

Whenever I'm down, I call on you my friend.

Lately, a few different women from Brantford have allowed me the opportunity to have some fun with my new camera. What I have found about all of these women is they are all gorgeous and beautiful, but that the beauty comes from their heart and soul and shines outwards. It's amazing how some women just do not either know or appreciate their own attributes and although you can clearly see it with the naked eye, it's so much more apparent behind the lens. I think I've stumbled upon something that allows me to capture the emotion that I so often feel towards people or situations and to be able to catch those fleeting moments, stolen looks or melt-worthy expressions is something that brings tears to my eyes. Here are a few of my favourite images from the past few weeks including some special appearances by Matteo Hall.

:)

I've always loved this song by Groove Armada and the video is fun too. If you ever just sit in your beige cubicle dreaming of fun times and the beach, you'll probably appreciate it too.

A stranger is someone who, with a simple "hello", could well turn into a lifelong friend.

Happy Halloween!

I don't know what got into me today. Usually, I loathe the idea of Halloween. On any given day or night, I'm scared of my own shadow. I am tortured by scary movies or commercials and can't stand the feeling of fear. When I used to live on my own or with a roommate, I'm certain I called the police at least 20 times when suspecting a villain breaking in.

On this cold and dismal Sunday afternoon, I met with a colleague and friend who I was interested in shooting with and learning from. She took me to the Apps Mill in Brantford where there were trails and an old boarded up building that she said was always locked up. We rounded the corner and I shrieked in delight and fear that there was a window kicked in, and that we could enter through there. "You first," I encouraged her. There was a rusty old bucket that we were able to step down on as we entered the filthy, dusty, cobweb ridden place of the past.

Huge pieces of ancient machinery resided with stacks of wood, old signs and to my dismay, a dead carcass of some sort of maggot infested bird. My friend started ascending up the creaky and rickety old stairs to the second floor where the only signs of daylight crept in and danced as if taunting us through the cracks of the building as well as the dusty old window panes. My knees felt weak and the hairs stood up on the back of my neck but it was well worth the cool shots we got.

It was scary, but not near as scary as some of the costumes that came to our door tonight trick or treating. The kids are so cute but I hate clowns of all ages!!

Happy Halloween, 2010!!

Making a list, check it twice and then unplug.

I've often wondered if I have a bit of OCD when it comes to ensuring the doors are locked, the coffee maker is unplugged and my hair straightener is turned off. I once came home to a smoke engulfed apartment because I left my oscilating fan on all night one sweltering August evening.

I drive my husband crazy because like clockwork, we'll just get on the highway and I'll ask him if he shut the iron off. He looks at me and asks why I hadn't thought to check that small detail when we were actually still home.

Every morning, I ask him before he goes to work if his cell phone is charged, if he has his wallet, if he's taken his pills and if he's wearing his MedicAlert bracelet. Every evening I ask if he is sure we have locked all the doors, windows and let the cat inside.

Last night I was so damn tired that I forgot to ask any of the very important questions. I woke up this morning, started the coffee and started to clean the house. After taking the dog for a walk, I went to clean the stove and noticed that our gas burner was on. Replaying our evening last night, I knew that the water had been boiled at around 8pm and we ate shortly after that. It's noon on Saturday and this means that our gas stove was on for 16 hours and we are still alive to tell the story.

So the next time someone chides you about double checking something regarding your safety, it's definitely better to be safer than sorry and take the extra five minutes to check.

I literally think I'm going to create a checklist and photocopy about 100 of them and put it in my purse before I leave the house to ensure everything is turned off and unplugged. When you consider the alternative of losing your loved ones, pets and household of memories, it's probably not as crazy as it sounds.

Make a list, check it twice, and unplug.

I'm dreaming of a White Christmas....

I was on my way back from Woodstock today when I discovered a Winners and just had to take a gander and couldn't believe the Christmas displays are already in full force. I saw a white feathered Christmas Tree at Bouclair the other night, and decided that this year as our first Christmas in our new home, I would arrange a White Christmas theme throughout. I know it's only October, but it sure feels like winter out there today. Here are a few images to inspire, which range from a beach Christmas to cottage chic and also urban contemporary. I hope you're bundled up and enjoying your Friday!

FYI

Did you know that the product by Dr. Scholl's to remove those gross skin tags actually works?

I had two that were so annoying and bothered me forever. They are gone!

Just thought I would share this miraculous product that you can use in your own home without going to get them surgically removed.

You've seen the commercial. The little girl is telling her mother how beautiful she is and then says "Ewwwww mommy what's this?" and points to the skin tag. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with the way God created us; hair, moles and all, but the skin tags sometimes get in the way and are uncomfortable or painful.

Another product that works!