30 Things

To lie or not to lie?

2011-02-06T16:49:00.000-08:00

Ya know, all you Facebook haters out there can just suck it. I love Facebook. Not least because I have some very cool friends, and my very cool friends use it to share very cool things like this:

http://www.open.ac.uk/openlearn/history-the-arts/culture/philosophy/lie-or-not-lie

This is a game... of sorts. It's not Tetris, but it's still pretty great. This game poses real life scenarios where people have lied, and asks you to rate your response to those lies, then compares your views to those of three great philosophers. Be quiet. I like it. I'm a nerd.

Just try it, will you?

# 28

2011-02-06T16:39:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago I decided to have yet another go at making brownies. Not something widely considered to be difficult, but I've tried time and again and every time my brownies turn out like chocolate cake. Still good, yes, but when I want a brownie I want something rich, fudgey and chewy, not light and fluffy. I've tried so many different recipes and different techniques, but every time I get chocolate cake. Which is why I made making proper brownies a goal to cross off before the dreaded 30. Because really, who can't make brownies? Well, me apparently.

UNTIL NOW!

My mom and I both love food. Eating it, cooking it, looking at pictures of it, reading about it... you name it, we're there. A fact that my sister teases me about constantly. Have you heard of Food Porn Daily? A fantastic find of my mother's. "Click, drool, repeat" indeed. Anyway, my mom has been introducing me to some of her favorite food blogs, one of which is How Sweet It Is. While browsing through her posts I came across a recipe for Fudgey Brownie Cupcakes. I thought maybe I'd attempt these, because really, with "cupcake" in the name at least I'd have someone else to blame when they turned out to be chocolate cake yet again. You know what convinced me though? This line: "Do you know what these brownies don't lack? Sugar. Two whole cups of sugar that is. There is more sugar than flour in these brownies." Ya, that sounded like something I could handle. So I made them, and you know what? They were brownies! Real, actual brownies! Dense and fudgey and soooo good. The Mister liked them enough to ask me to make more so he could take some to work, where they apparently disappeared in 2 minutes flat. The Mister didn't even get one. I'll take it as a success then, even if they did get crowned "bruffins" since they get baked in a muffin pan.

Butchering the English language

2011-01-20T19:19:00.000-08:00

The Mister was reading some of my old posts the other day and pointed out that I am... exuberant in describing my life and the things I've been doing. I tend to use the word "awesome" a lot, which just shows you how great a writer I am. He asked me if people don't find this annoying, and kind of like bragging. So I have to ask, do you? I can tone that back. I'm a positive, happy person with a life I love, but it hasn't always been that way, and sometimes doesn't feel that way on a day to day basis. There are times where I'm just one big ball of self doubt and insecurity. I struggled with a very deep depression for years, and while I am free from it now, sometimes it's a battle not to let it suck me back in. I have my methods, some of them pretty out there, for staying positive, and one of them is to focus on all the really good things I have going on, like the fact that I've been able to travel, or that I have amazing, supportive friends and a wonderful man. I admit, I get a little over the top sometimes. Honestly? I'm like that in real life too. Exuberant should be my (other) middle name. Danielle Nicole Exuberant. What, too long? Anyway, let me know if you find my craziness a little much to take. I really can scale it back. I might start typing in yellow font to make up for it, but is that a small price to pay to get me to stop using the word "awesome" all the time?

Creep

2011-01-16T15:12:00.000-08:00

Do you guys know about the wonder that is StumbleUpon? Biiig thanks to Sister for showing me this one. StumbleUpon is sort of like Google, except you don't have to have anything specific in mind when you search. You sign up (it's free), go through a HUGE list of topics and tick the ones you're interested in, then start clicking "stumble". The website uses your list of interests to bring you all sorts of cool stuff around the interwebs that you might not have found yourself. I've read articles on how language shapes the way we think, checked out a world sunlight map, found a recipe for Mexican hot chocolate, and discovered this:

http://www.lowmorale.co.uk/creep/flash/lm_creep_%28FLASH%29.swf

Dudes, I wish I could embed this like a YouTube video and save you the work, but really, trust me, click on it. It's pretty amazing. Especially if you're a Radiohead fan like me.

Hello 2011

2011-01-05T20:56:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone! How were your holidays? Mine were fantastic, in keeping with the general awesomeness of my life. The Mister and I visited family, skied, spent time with friends and ate altogether too much wonderful food. Heaven.

Since I wasn't exactly faithful with posting over the holiday break I figured I'd do a sort of recap of the highlights of the past month. A few posts ago I mentioned that I'd written a rather long, rambling post about accomplishing #18 - learn one song the whole way through that isn't work related - while I was in Mexico. It didn't get posted because I'd written it after a couple glasses of champagne, which is why it was long and rambling. And incoherent. And more than a little silly. Champagne makes me giggly, which obviously comes out in my writing. Sort of art imitating life, but without the art part. I was originally going to edit the post before publishing it, but really, it was so ridiculous that I've decided to just scrap it. So shall we start with a (quicker, less drunken) recap of that night?

Basically what happened was that I sang in public. Not a big deal for most people but HUGE for me. I have no rhythm, can't stay on key, and, um, the worst voice in the world. Seriously. I make cats sit up and take notice. Buuuut after a whiskey sour or two the Mister convinced me to set aside my care for the wellbeing of my fellow human beings by taking part in the resort's karaoke night. Do we know how to live or what?! I did have enough common sense to stipulate that I'd only sing if he sang with me. Unlike me, the Mister has a great voice. I figured maybe he could help disguise mine. The problem was, since I was so nervous he let me choose the song, and in an attempt to find one we could both sing, I hit one he wasn't too sure he remembered the words of. Um, ya. You can imagine how that went. Put it this way: when we finished and escaped back to our table, laughing all the way, I declared quite proudly that we were terrible (proudly because we may have been awful, but hey, at least I did it). The couple sitting across from us responded with "No offense, but ya, you were pretty terrible." Aaaaand that'll be the last time I sing in public. You're welcome. Anyway, the reason I'm counting this as #18 is that while the Mister may not have been clear on the words, I remembered them all without prompting. Can't sing, but sometimes these things just get into my psyche. Oh, I almost forgot to mention the song we (I) chose. We went with Smile Like You Mean It, by The Killers. When we chose it, a couple of the entertainment staff mentioned that it was one of their favorite songs. I bet they aren't saying that now! Here's the song (no, not our version. Do you think I'd let anyone capture that on camera??).

So what else did I do over the holidays? Well, I went on a zipline over the jungle/scraggly scrubland area that wasn't good for anything else in Cancun. So. much. fun. I loved it. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a thrill seeker so it was pretty scary for me and I certainly didn't have the guts to hang upside down to get a picture taken, but it was brilliant. On a side note, I just looked up the word "fun" in the thesaurus (because there's only so many times I can describe something as awesome without sounding like an idiot), and it suggested "boffo", "diverting", and "campy". Huh.

I've also started taking French lessons via a computer programme. So far I can say 'the woman is drinking water". Good, hey? I've found a new favorite book in Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four - it's mind blowing and everyone should read it at least once. I drew my own gift cards for my family's presents this year, and I managed to ski a couple of green runs over New Years. The Mister is a wonderful, patient teacher. I'm a lucky, lucky girl. That pretty much sums it up! What about you? What wonderful, surprising, boffo things did you do over the holidays? Have you made any new Year's resolutions?

We No Speak Americano

2010-12-18T22:11:00.000-08:00

Some people have way too much time on their hands.

And I love them for it.

Manifesto

2010-12-14T08:14:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite bloggers wrote something pretty incredible yesterday and I really have to share it. Please, do yourself a favour and go here. Just do it.

Childhood dreams

2010-12-09T14:57:00.000-08:00

I've got a post in the works about how I broke a personal rule, made a fool of myself and managed to check number 18 off my list all in one go, but since I wrote it after about three glasses of champagne it's going to need some heavy editing before it gets published. You don't mind waiting, do you? In the mean time, here's a brief ode to a personal hero of mine - my Grade 2 teacher, Mrs McFadyn.

When I was 7 years old, I was lucky enough to encounter one of those truly wonderful, caring teachers who come along so rarely now. At one point early in my second year of school, she introduced us to the world of whales and dolphins. Being an exceptional teacher, she did everything she could to get us excited, and man did it work for me. I was hooked from that first lesson, and spent the next several years obsessed with these graceful creatures. I was convinced that I would only find happiness and fulfillment in life while working with them, and so decided that I had to be a marine biologist when I grew up. There was no other option.

This belief continued until I realized, with some consternation, that I don't like water very much. It's fine to drink, and I'd be lost without my morning shower, but present me with the prospect of a swim in the sea, or even a so called heated pool, and I start to shiver uncontrollably and break out in goose bumps. Eventually I realized that I'd have to reconsider my career choices, but I never lost my fascination with the under water world.

Enter the Wet and Wild Water Park in Cancun, and more to the point, the dolphin swim. Oh. my. My inner seven year old was squealing with delight so much that it completely drowned out the sterner, more adult voice of reason which makes me deplore these sorts of parks, since I've never been one to believe that animals are here for my entertainment. I'm always disgusted by tv shows like When Animals Attack, because they make attacks seem like such a freak occurrence, something to wonder at and blame the animal for, when really they are usually brought on by a combination of stupid humans doing stupid things, and the fact that we're encroaching so much on what is essentially their territory that they are left crowded into an area too small to meet their needs.

Anyways, my point is, sober logic about the ethical value of animal parks aside, I was excited. I was going to fulfill a childhood dream. And I didn't care about the cold.

For 45 minutes of pure, unadulterated heaven, I got to touch, swim with, and even kiss dolphins (no tongue please). I got to laugh at the way they didn't seem to mind us too much, but were really just doing it for the fish. I got to marvel at the fact that if one of them didn't want to do a trick, they didn't have to, since they are still wild animals. And best of all, I got to swim, belly to belly, with a beautiful Bottlenose dolphin named Pablo while he pulled me across the pool so quickly we were sending waves over the other swimmers. It was absolutely marvelous. I'm still reeling with delight.

In honour of Mrs. McFadyn, here are three facts I didn't know (or had forgotten) about Bottlenose dolphins before my swim with them yesterday:

1. They have spotted tongues.
2. They have between 80 and 100 teeth but swallow their food whole.
3. Their dorsal fins (the ones on their backs) are like fingerprints - no two are the same.

What do you think about animal parks, and dolphin parks in particular? Are you for or against them? Would you, like me, ignore that inner voice for a chance to be so close to an animal you love?

Heaven, I'm in heaven

2010-12-05T16:59:00.000-08:00

So, short post people, because I'm currently on vacation in Cancun, Mexico. Yes, I'm totally bragging. But this place is amazing! The Mister and I are here for our anniversary, though everyone thinks we're on honeymoon which is pretty fun. We've been here just over 24 hours now but I've already got a list of highlights. In no particular order, here they are:

* Being serenaded by a Mariachi band singing Besame Mucho during dinner.

* Watching the sun rise over the ocean this morning from our balcony.

* Getting funny looks from people around me when I snorted with laughter while reading Notes From a Small Island, poolside. Yup, I class it up everywhere I go.

* Being massaged by a very good looking man named Ramiro who whispered in my ear to let me know when our session was over.

* Being able to request a pillow filled with lavender, and then enjoying the best sleep of my life.

Tomorrow we start with the touristy things (including a chance to go ziplining!!) but I really don't know how this could possibly get any better. I may never leave.

Etsy lovin'

2010-11-30T19:11:00.000-08:00

Those of you living in North America must have heard about Black Friday. Those of you not living in North America, well aren't you lucky! I'll explain. Black Friday is a whole weekend dedicated to shopping in the States. That's America for you internationals. People - crazy ones - line up outside stores all night in the freezing cold so that they can take advantage of big sales that are offered as part of the official start of the holiday shopping season. The lining up all night in the freezing cold is crazy enough, but the people who do this are so passionate about it that fights are normal and people have been trampled to death in the past.

Yes, trampled. To death.

Over stuff.

My point here (besides a chance to poke fun at Americans - I'm Canadian, it's required) is to say that there are easier ways to find good gifts. Personally, I am completely addicted to Etsy. Etsy is an online... mall I guess. People from all over the world open online shops that can be accessed at this one site. It's heaven. I love it. I spend far too much time browsing, without even a view to buying anything. Ok, sometimes, but most of the time I'm just admiring all the beautiful, interesting, creative things. I do it so much The Mister calls it lady porn. As in, "are you looking at lady porn again?" My favorite sections are jewelry and art, but you can find almost anything on Etsy.

Squid hat, anyone?

Anatomically correct (except for the leaf) embroidered heart?

Chocolate covered almond toffee? Yes please!

I tried to tell you people about this last weekend when Black Friday was actually happening, but I ended up going off on a tangent about the huge amount of snow we got one day and the fact that looking up at the sky to watch it fall made my mascara run, so I ended up catching the eye of everyone I saw and grinning at them with very sexy raccoon eyes on my way to work. I would like to point out that I was catching everyone's eye and smiling because we get snow so rarely here, and not because I'm a crazy stalker person. Though that's probably what I looked like with my makeup running down my face. It's probably a good thing that that particular post got accidentally deleted just as I was about to hit publish. You're welcome.

#13

2010-11-21T13:35:00.000-08:00

So, number 13 on my list was to make pesto from scratch, from basil that I grew myself. Any of you who have gardens are probably wondering what the big deal here is, especially since pesto's not all that hard to make. The thing you have to understand though is that I live in a postage stamp sized apartment, and I don't even have a balcony. Not that I'm complaining! I love my apartment! It's tiny but it's gorgeous. But I'm not really a city girl, you know? I love the wild spaces - the wide blue sky uninterrupted by skyscrapers, the dark forests, and most of all the rough, rocky shores along the Pacific Ocean in my part of the world. I daydream about retreating for a few weeks at a time to a lighthouse on a tiny island far away from everything, with nothing but my books, my paints and pencils, and a radio because I have to have music. Since I can't really do that, and I can't have a proper garden, I grew basil on my windowsill this summer. Lucky for me, my globetrotting friend whose plants I'm looking after also grows basil, and since he knew about my plans, he let his go a bit crazy so I'd have plenty of basil to work with. I forgot to bring out the camera till I'd harvested mine and was about to move on to his, so here's a picture of his:

T, you're my hero. At least for this. There was a LOT of basil. I was able to make a couple of jars of pesto and freeze a ton of basil leaves to put in pasta and things. I wish there was something funny or interesting I could tell you about the process of making the pesto, but really it was a fairly mundane task. I enjoyed it, but it wouldn't have been interesting to watch and certainly not interesting to read about. I spent a lot of time washing basil leaves and dry roasting walnuts. And dancing around my kitchen. That's a very important step. Here's a photo of the finished product:

Not pictured: Me sitting in my favorite chair with a jar and a spoon. That stuff is goooood.

Lest we forget

2010-11-11T08:45:00.000-08:00

Look guys, I'm not going to get all "rah rah patriotism" on you, because quite frankly all the traveling I've done has left me lacking a sense of blind pride in any one particular country. However on this Remembrance Day, I will say this: I am eternally grateful to the men and women who have fought and died to protect me and mine, and who refused to stand idly by, but gave up everything to stand against evil and injustice wherever they saw it. This world may not be perfect, but it's full of a lot of good things, largely because of those men and women who fought to protect it.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Tatooine

2010-11-10T19:45:00.000-08:00

The entire (original, non-sucky) Star Wars trilogy condensed in one 2 min, 40 sec video? Yes please!

Jeremy Messersmith - Tatooine from Eric Power on Vimeo.

In the jungle, the mighty jungle

2010-11-06T13:14:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine is going to Cuba for a few weeks for a holiday (lucky bastard). He has a few plants and since he doesn't trust his room mate to keep them alive, he asked me to look after them. I just spent a good hour artfully arranging and rearranging my new jungle. Because when I said he had a few plants, I actually meant he had a lot. Thirteen in fact.

I am literally bouncing with joy. And throwing in a few pirouettes for good measure. The Mister has decided that he could probably just get me a plant every year for my birthday and I'd be his for life. I'm busy trying to figure out how many people I can invite over in the next few weeks to revel in the glory that is my green filled apartment. Brunch dates, movie nights, maybe even an open house?

T, you may have to fight me to get your plants back.

Practising for the circus

2010-11-04T21:19:00.000-07:00

So I've been practising my juggling, which basically means that I've been dropping things a lot. Here's a tip for any of you thinking of taking up this fine sport (it is so a sport! it involves balls and hand-eye coordination!): do not use anything round. If you do, you'll spend half your time chasing the balls around instead of impressing anyone with your prowess. Hard earned lesson, that. Lucky for me, I spent some time working with a wonderful person who happened to be handy with a sewing machine. She kindly agreed to make me some small, square bean bags which have been doing the trick nicely! So far I'm pretty handy with a grand total of two beanbags. Yes, two. This is going to take longer than I thought...

This is pretty much what I look like:

And this is what I'd like to look like:

Though maybe without those amazing man boobs.

In which I prove that you can't take me anywhere

2010-10-30T11:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was our big Halloween party at work. Since I work in a job where I need to be completely unrestricted, I decided a set of cat ears and a tail would be sufficient. When my break rolled around, I took off my cat ears, put on my jacket, and walked out the door.

I forgot to take off the tail.

Now, this wouldn't have been so bad if I'd gone to my local Starbucks where I might have even gotten a free drink for making the baristas laugh. But no. Instead, I decided that since it was such a nice day, I was going to walk around my neighborhood.

My very busy neighborhood.

With a cat tail swinging behind me.

Some guy asked me if I was ready for Halloween when we were stopped at a traffic light. Did that clue me in? No. Of course not. I just smiled and said yes, and continued on my merry way. I didn't realize anything was wrong until I got back to work and the girls started laughing at me.

And I quote:

2010-10-24T08:51:00.000-07:00

I'm having trouble linking pictures, so if you're interested, I got this here.

Wanderlust

2010-10-21T19:29:00.000-07:00

You know, I love my life. I really do. I've been able to do some incredible things. I've lived in four countries in the space of five years, landed my dream job, swam with stingrays, and made some awesome friends. How lucky am I?!

All of that amazing stuff has taught me to want more - out of life, out of myself, out of the world around me. It's taught me that the path I'm on doesn't have to be the path I'll be on for the rest of my life, and that pleasure can come from the most unexpected sources, so I'd better not say no.

All of that has a downside though. Every once in awhile I start to feel a bit... stuck. Like I need a change, and a big one. My insatiable wanderlust kicks in and I want to drop everything and just go. Anywhere. Everywhere. I want that excitement tinged with fear that starting all over from scratch can bring. I want the opportunities for self discovery that come with being in a completely unfamiliar place. It's intoxicating! The problem is, I know that the place I'm living, the life I'm leading, is right for me right now. I'm still loving my life here, and more to the point, I know I'm not done with this path.

So my question is, do any of you ever feel like you want to just pick up and go? Like this need to experience something new is going to make you burst? What do you do when you feel like that?

Or do I just have a really short attention span?

By the way, I still can't add links to my pictures and it looks like I can't add links in the text again, so here's the link to the above gorgeous picture: http://moshfly.deviantart.com/art/Wanderlust-142233692?q=boost%3Apopular+wanderlust&qo=104

Speaking of Shakespeare

2010-10-19T21:06:00.000-07:00

I love love LOVE this artist, and thought this was pretty appropriate. I figured I'd share. Want to see some of her other stuff? Go here.

# 10

2010-10-19T20:32:00.000-07:00

So guess what? It turns out I'm posh. Yup, posh. I'm a wine drinking, opera going, dance class taking, Shakespeare quoting classy, classy lady. Despite my proclivity for beer swilling and my occasional trucker mouth.

Alright, so the Shakespeare thing isn't so much quoting as singing along at the top of my voice to this song. Aaaaand I didn't even realize that the lyrics were Shakespeare quotes til my (sort of) recent encounter with Bard on the Beach. But I'm counting it anyways!

This summer, Bard on the Beach produced the play Much Ado About Nothing. It's one of Shakespeare's best loved comedies, and for good reason. It's a love story about two people who profess to hate each other, and man, the banter that goes on between those two makes me think I need to hire some writerly dude to follow me around and feed me lines. Imagine it - instead of merely asking how your day is going when I meet you, I could dazzle you with my witty repartee! I'd provide an example of what I mean, but really that's why I'd need someone to write the lines for me. This blog here? It's about as witty as I get.

So, Much Ado About Nothing was fabulous. I laughed so hard I couldn't breathe! I laughed so hard I saw it twice! No really, I actually did see it twice. Even knowing the lines before the actors said them didn't make it any less funny, or well acted, or moving. I loved the whole experience. Plus, it's another one off my list! Number 10 down!

Oh, to complete the lineup of classy things I've done lately, The Mister and I are going to the symphony next month.Pretty soon I'm going to start calling everybody daaaahling.

P.S. I just went to the gym for the first time in, like, a year. I'm so friggin' proud of myself I could burst!

Technical difficulties

2010-10-14T08:26:00.000-07:00

Hi friends! I'm working on a post outlining how I've become inexplicably posh lately and how the heck that happened, but it might take a few days. I'm having problems with Blogger again. It's annoying, but I'm hoping to have it fixed soon.

In the mean time, here are some great songs I've been listening to lately, just because I believe in sharing music and I'm excited about the fact that most of these are Canadian. Hello Dan Mangan, Hawksley Workman, The Dudes, Hot Hot Heat, Great Lake Swimmers, and The New Pornographers! You rock my socks!

Um, I can't get the music player to embed in here either. More technical difficulties. Instead, click below for the music. DO IT! Trust me!

http://8tracks.com/blueeyedbaby/october-2010-mix

Grace

2010-10-10T10:22:00.000-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving friends! You know what I'm thankful for this year? All of you, my readers. I thought that it was pretty much only my Facebook friends who read this, but I checked my stats for the first time yesterday and it turns out I have readers from as far away as Russia. This may be a tiny little blog that I've done pretty much for my own enjoyment, but it's nice to know someone out there is listening. Oh, and guess what!? I just figured out that I had the comments section set so that only "followers" of my blog could comment. I've changed that now, so comment away! I love reading what you write! Don't make me beg, now.

So guess what? A couple of my friends and I have signed up for dance classes at a local studio! I'm pretty excited about this. While I may do yoga now and have even managed to go skiing a few times without breaking any bones, graceful I am not. I was looking through a friend's photos of our last big night out, and it seems that my signature move is "throw your hands in the air like you just don't care". That, right there, is why I need dance classes.

Now, while I love music and have a nearly impossible time keeping still when I hear something I like, I don't have much of a sense of rhythm. Other friends who say they are dance - challenged still nearly fall on the floor laughing when they see me attempt anything remotely formal with actual steps. I mean, who uses steps? I just kind of wiggle my hips and hope for the best. Oh, and throw my hands in the air like I just don't care. Right.

The studio we've signed up with is offering a range of classes, and we want to try them all. There's hip-hop, zumba, contemporary dance, and even something called burlesque beauties. I'm not sure if I'd quite have the guts to go on my own, but with my two friends supporting me (read: laughing so hard they won't be able to concentrate on their own moves, which just might be my master plan), I'm going to give it a go.

Here's hoping I don't make any of the instructors quit out of sheer frustration.

# 21

2010-10-01T14:02:00.000-07:00

Forgive me if my recollections are a bit hazy here, because I really should have written this awhile ago. Number 21 on my list was to go to an opera, and I'm happy to say I've now done this! "Now" being a subjective term, since the actual date of the show was Aug. 30th, but still, that's another thing off my list.

Going to an opera is something I've wanted to do for awhile. My previous experiences with this genre of music had been limited to pieces that have been "mainstreamed", like Bach's Air on a G String (used in several airline commercials), and, of course, the forays made by the inimitable Bugs Bunny. I couldn't find the whole skit in English, but here's a taste of what I mean:

Luckily for me, every year Vancouver puts on a festival called Bard on the Beach . Bard on the Beach is a Shakespearean festival usually featuring three or four of his best loved plays and a special performance called Operas and Arias. This year the UBC Opera Ensemble and the Vancouver Opera Orchestra chose to perform La Bohème - a tragic love story composed by Giacomo Puccini.

Now, I've got to say here that I went with several friends, none of whom had ever been to an opera before, so we really weren't sure what to expect. While we don't spend our weekends drinking beer and listening to Kenny Chesney, we aren't exactly what you'd call "cultured". Actually, being honest, I do spend my weekends drinking beer. I like beer. But I draw the line at singing along with "She thinks my tractor's sexy". My point is, before La Bohème actually started we were looking at each other and saying things like, "Three hours? Really? This thing goes for three hours?" Once it started though, it was magic. The...actors?.. were amazing. Lots of expression, beautiful costumes, and of course, truly marvelous voices. Three hours went far too quickly. We laughed, we cried; well no, the crying bit was just me really. In the closing scene when Mimi died I was sobbing like a little girl. Tears collecting on my chin and everything. Sexy, no?

I can't wait to see what Bard on the Beach will have for us next year.

A case of the early morning crazies

2010-09-26T08:30:00.000-07:00

I think I'm back now. I'm not positive since my beautiful aunt's memorial is on Saturday, but I'll try. I think it might be awhile till I can get back to writing with much of a sense of humour, but I'll continue to write anyway. You'll just have to bear with me for awhile, ok?

Of course, I could feel that way because it's currently 7:40am on a Sunday so my body is screaming at me to GO. BACK. TO. BED. Pleaaaaaase.

However, despite the rain currently pattering on my window panes, I woke up with a forest of images in my head that I've got to get on paper. See, in an attempt to 1) live my life with colour and noise as an antidote to death (as suggested by Mel Brooks) , and 2) honour the person that my aunt was and the spirit she passed on to me, I've been throwing myself into my art. That seems like a pretentious thing to call it - "my art" - since currently it consists of me sprawled on the floor with an arsenal of pens, pencils, paintbrushes and sketchbooks scattered around me. Not exactly high-brow, and no great masterpieces being produced here! So far there's been a lot of nature studies - flowers, trees, birds, and one pensive girl in a ridiculous dress sitting in a sort of hazy meadow in the forest. It's very angsty. I'm quite proud of it anyway since I usually completely fail at drawing people. Plus, the Mister said it was the most "arty" of everything I've done so far since it's all done in watercolours. High praise, no? Maybe not. I'm keeping it anyway.

One good thing to come out of all this paint covered introspection is that I've got a commission to create a series of three high fashion drawings, a la Project Runway. Alright, so the commissions are from a friend, but I'm still counting it as a foray into official artist-dom.

So now I'm off to paint.

Past tense

2010-09-08T16:30:00.000-07:00

Last night I found out that someone I loved very much has died. It's weird saying that in the past tense - loved, instead of love. It doesn't feel right, because I still love her, even if she's gone. She was my aunt. She was an artist, a comedian, and supporter of all things whimsical and silly. When I was little, every time I visited her we'd take turns wearing her chicken shaped tea cozy as a hat. As I got older she'd show me how to use things like her kneadable eraser and watercolour pencils. I have a picture of a castle on my wall that she drew me once while taking a graphic design course. It was the inspiration for most of my little-girl dreams, and many of my big-girl day dreams too.

I'm not going to lie - it hurts right now. I'm a mess and I didn't even get to see her as often as I wanted to. I can't begin to imagine what her husband and sons are feeling. I know we'll be ok in the long run, but right now I can't see it. However, my Mom just sent me something that we both think Auntie Anne would have approved of, considering who she was. Here it is:

" Look, I don't want to wax philosophic, but I will say that if you're alive you've got to flap your arms and legs, you've got to jump around a lot, for life is the opposite of death, and therefore you must at the very least think noisy and colourfully, or you're not alive." -- Mel Brooks

So that's what I'm going to do.

Validation

2010-08-08T16:40:00.000-07:00

Today is a two post day friends! This short film is one of the best things I've seen in a long while, so even though it's not new I had to pass it on. Enjoy!

Philosophy for life:

2010-08-08T11:06:00.000-07:00

Why my city is better than yours

2010-08-04T20:04:00.000-07:00

Have I told you how much I love my city? Because I really, really do. I live in Vancouver (the one in Canada thank you very much!), and am privileged enough to live downtown, right in the heart of all the action. No, not that kind of action... well maybe that kind. I do live near what is apparently Vancouver's oldest strip club. But the less... let's call it controversial kind of fun too - the kind where I can step out my front door on any given day and find all sorts of cultural festivals, street performers, outdoor movies and other general awesomeness. I mentioned a couple of posts ago that I've been dealing with some stuff, and ya know, that kind of emotional burden can get a girl down. Which is why I love this city so much! Nothing beats getting off the skytrain (that's monorail or subway for you out-of-towners) after a hard day's work and seeing what's going on in this crazy city of mine.

One of my favorite things about living in a big city has got to be the buskers. Vancouver's got the best buskers I've come across, even beating out Dublin with it's interesting mix of limbo-ers, living statues, and guys dancing the tango with life sized dolls (yes, it was as creepy as it sounds). Lately I've been lucky enough to catch a few really great local musicians, some of them with pretty unusual acts. Last week I stopped to watch a guy singing Pearl Jam songs while accompanying himself on the cello. Unusual mix right? But it really worked. Today I ran across a two man band called Sons Of Granville. Their self described music style? "Rock and classical got drunk and had a baby". It was pretty great, friends. They interacted with the crowd and had lots of energy, and their sound was really infectious. Since they seem to be a new band I can't find any Youtube clips to post like I usually would, so I'll just direct you to their MySpace page, here. I'm loving all their music so far but my favorite has got to be their self-titled song, Sons Of Granville. Friends, do yourself a favour and go check them out. They are part of what makes Vancouver so great.

In which I set myself yet another challenge and get all of you to help

2010-07-26T17:26:00.000-07:00

So this art thing? It's hard. I get discouraged easily because it's difficult to make the drawing on the paper match the vision in my head. I'm not very patient with myself. But you know what? It's time I said "enough of that." So I've set myself a new project. I'm going to aim for fun, uncomplicated, easy practice, and I'm going to do this by making my own postcards. There's not a lot of room on those cards so I should be able to manage it, right? No limits except my imagination, no pressure to make it perfect. I mean, they aren't something you keep forever. I once read a lovely book which said that postcards were like an early version of text messages - dashed off quickly and usually without a lot of thought. So maybe I'll try my own, but with more thought. At least for the drawing.

And friends, here's where you come in. If you'd like me to send you a postcard, email me and ask! Make me do this by sharing it with you!

Please bear with me...

2010-07-14T21:54:00.000-07:00

Alright, I know it seems like I've abandoned my beloved blog, but I haven't. I've just been taking a bit of a break while I deal with some things. In the mean time, posting is going to be pretty sporadic. Since I feel guilty though, I'll fill you in on a few of the (pretty great) things I've been doing lately.

A few weeks ago I crossed # 30 off my list - "Host a dinner party where I actually cook everything". Of course, it was my version of a dinner party so it wasn't exactly fancy... In fact I'm pretty sure people who know about these things wouldn't admit me into the elite group of dinner-party-throwers due to the extremely laid back nature of my event. No decorations, no theme, no dressing up, not even a table to sit at. Hardly qualifies, right? Well, the important thing for me was that I cooked everything. Almost. Alright, not quite everything. I made Indian food, in honour of my progression with #7 (learn to make Indian food... duh), but sent The Mister out to buy the naan bread because I wouldn't have had time to make it. The reason I wouldn't have had time? For some reason I decided to be really brave and make a dish that is not only complicated and time consuming (for the neophytes among us), but that I'd never actually made before. I figured go big or go home right? I made a dish called chicken biryani. Done right, it's out of this world delicious. My version needed some work, so it was not out of this world. It was, in fact, the culinary equivalent of a small town - charming in it's way, but fairly bland and not something you'd chose to revisit. Good thing I make killer chocolate chip muffins hey? Anyway, despite the restaurant bought naan, I'm still crossing this off my list, if only because the only dinner parties I plan on hosting from now on involve ordering pizza. I'll provide the beer.

Other than that I'm slowly but surely progressing with my list. I've read 34 of the 75 novels I plan to read for #23, I'm growing copious amounts of basil for #13, have got tickets to an opera (#21), and am working on a piece of artwork for Sister, which I believe will qualify for #22.

My other great accomplishment of late isn't on my list but probably should have been. I learned to ride a bike! Yes, a bike. Shut up, it's a big thing for me! I re-learned I guess, but let me tell you, that thing about never forgetting how to ride a bike is a load of crap. I hadn't been on a bike in 20 years, and graceful I was not. We went with a bunch of friends to do a bicycling wine tour in Penticton, and with (almost) free alcohol in the offing I wasn't about to let a little thing like having absolutely no frigging idea how to ride stop me! Good thing The Mister is such a patient teacher. I had a blast even though we were on bikes for so long that I'm pretty sure I bruised my butt.

So those are the highlights so far. I'll keep posting, sporadically for the moment, but I hope to get back to a more regular schedule soon. Thanks for being patient!

In which I show some love for local talent

2010-06-30T22:12:00.000-07:00

By now you've probably figured out that my two great passions are music and things that make me laugh. Right there is where one of my favorite local bands come in. Headwater is a fantastic Vancouver based folk/roots band that I was lucky enough to discover on the ferry of all places. I was coming back from visiting Sister in Victoria (site of previous adventures in spider wrangling and sake tasting), had finished my book and done the obligatory browse through the gift shop, and was looking for a way to keep myself entertained. Lucky for me, Headwater was coming back from a gig on Saltspring Island (I think), and fabulous people that they are, they decided to take advantage of their captive audience and play right then and there. I've since learned that this is pretty normal for them, and I love them for it. Every time I get on the ferry now I hope they'll be there.

ANYWAY, they've recently put together a hilarious re-make of Katy Perry's I Kissed A Girl. See? Music and things that make me laugh. Great tie back right? Here's the video. My favorite moment? The random geese chasing that seems to have nothing to do with the rest of the video. Awesome stuff.

I kissed a girl from Headwater (Official) on Vimeo.

My life just got happier

2010-06-18T17:18:00.000-07:00

Alright, I have to admit that I'm ~~stealing~~ borrowing this. One of my favorite bloggers, the amazing Ms. Von of Yes and Yes fame, posted this link earlier today and I'm about ready to propose to her for her habit of continually suggesting great gadgets, music, websites, etc. This time she's brought the genius that is www.steriomood.com to her reader's attention. This website is everything that I love about the music scene. Since there's very little music that I don't like, I love discovering new bands and sounds, and this site is perfect for that. The tagline is "tuning your emotions", and let me tell you friends, I'm the type of person who chooses music based on how I'm feeling, so I'm loving this.

Here's how it works: Go to the site, and click on a tag that describes your mood. You will then be taken to a play list of great music that people have tagged as fitting in with that mood. That's it. From there you can add songs to your own play list, send a song to a friend, buy music, and tag songs to add them to other play lists. I'm currently listening to the "sunny day" mix, but with tags like "epic", "asleep on my feet", and "bicycle" I don't think I'm going to run out of great music any time soon.

Dance = Fun

2010-06-12T08:27:00.000-07:00

I love this! LOVE it! And while I'm probably late discovering it, I figure it's awesome enough to share anyways. And c'mon, it's for a great cause.

In which I explore my body's pain limits

2010-06-09T07:40:00.000-07:00

So friends! I've been doing yoga lately! Committing to a month of regular yoga is number 24 on my list, so awhile ago I thought it might be a good idea to buy a dvd so I could give it a try. I know classes are supposed to be great but remember when I said I used to be a walking disaster area when it came to athletic things? Ya, well, that's still my mental image of myself.

And before we go any further, if you're thinking I'm exaggerating by calling yoga athletic, my friend, you try this shiznit for yourself and see. It's hard dude.

So, the dvd. I figured it was the best way to avoid any potential embarrassment, and while I'm working on not being so self conscious, I've seen enough movies where first time yoga leads to embarrassing bodily functions that I figured I'd let myself off the hook. Because we all know that if it's been in a chick flick it must be true, right? Anyway, the first time I tried it I made The Mister do it with me. A few minutes in I remembered what a wuss I am when it comes to pain, and started groaning and wincing and making it very clear that my body was NOT LIKING THIS THANK YOU VERY MUCH! By half way through the session I was about ready to give up when I suddenly realized that The Mister had been more or less silent the entire time. So, while wincing very dramatically I asked him, "Why are you so quiet? Doesn't this hurt you?" He turned to me and calmly said, "yeah, but I'm used to pain." What a boy thing to say! It did the trick though - if he could get through it so could I.

After that first session I was hooked though. I felt so loose and calm afterwards, and I thoroughly enjoyed laughing at some of the ridiculous phrasing. I mean, in what other context can you talk about having bright hands, opening your heart out in front of you, and sensing the spaciousness inside without sounding like that girl from the New Age shop down the street - the one named Moonflower who always seems a little spaced out and eerily blissful? Doing it regularly has been great. I've got more energy, I'm slouching less, and as an added bonus I've developed an addiction to my yoga pants. These things are comfortable with a capital c. The only thing is that I have to remember to close my blinds when I pop in the dvd. I'm pretty positive I caught a guy in the opposite building watching me through binoculars today. Creepy...

Partying it up Vegas style!

2010-05-30T22:46:00.000-07:00

So, instead of writing about how things are progressing on my list, I'd like to talk about something else for a bit.

Like, how Vegas is THE MOST FUN EVER. Ever people. It's one craaaazy town. So much to do! So much to see! So much damn cigarette smoke! What's with that? Everything else about the trip was great but getting a lung full of smoke every time I left our hotel room was something I could have done without.

Vegas was a trip of firsts for me. After looking at the photos from our trip, someone very close to me said that there were a few things we'd done that could have gone on my list, and you know, she was right! It was my first time gambling, my first time drinking giant margaritas, my first time seeing an opera (maybe; that'll be a later post), my first time carrying a designer bag - thanks to a loan from a very kind friend, my first time in a desert, and my first time in a helicopter. Every time I think of that last one it comes out in triple bold italics and all caps though, because I'm mentally jumping up and down from remembered excitement. So. much. fun. And it was a surprise from The Mister too! When the trip was still in the planning stages I'd mentioned that it might be cool to try to see the Grand Canyon, thinking we could maybe swing a bus tour there. After looking into it we pretty much wrote it off (or so I thought) since the bus tours were like 12 hours long, so you can imagine my surprise when we head outside our hotel one afternoon to, as it turns out, wait for a LIMO to pick us up and take us to our HELICOPTER tour! I was so surprised and excited that I got a little teary! Though, it's been pointed out that I do cry easily so maybe that's nothing to be shocked about. But c'mon people! Is that a great birthday gift or what?! The whole tour was gorgeous and amazing and I took way too many pictures before we'd even landed for lunch. Ya, that's right, we got lunch in the Grand Canyon. With champagne. No big deal. HA! I've never felt so spoiled in all my life! It was definitely the highlight of the whole trip for me, and that's saying a lot because every day was a ton of fun. We even got to sit in the front to the helicopter on the way back.

Other than the helicopter tour we went to Madame Tussauds where I came close to molesting the wax figure of Johnny Depp (don't look at me like that, you know you would have done it too), went to shows every night, walked the strip till our feet threatened to drop off, got very little sleep and just generally had a great time doing all the crazy stuff Vegas is famous for.

To sum up, Vegas = fun overload, and everyone should go at least once in their lives.

P.S. Please excuse the lack of pictures in this post. Blogger has changed it's layout and while some things are easier I can't seem to figure out the pictures. Again. Boo.

And I quote:

2010-05-16T20:51:00.001-07:00

Photo credit

Help! I need somebody; Help! Not just anybody

2010-05-12T20:19:00.000-07:00

So friends! My life is good, you know? I mean, I am one seriously lucky girl. I have an amazing man, a wonderful family, fantastic, funny and beautiful friends (yes I'm talking about YOU!), a job I adore even on the bad days, and to top it off, having lived in four countries in the last five years, I think I can call myself a world traveler!

So, time to give back, yes?

Awhile ago (like, several months ago now) I started looking in to some volunteering opportunities. There were a few I was interested in, mostly because they had to do with kids, but I decided to try something new and more out of my comfort zone. I checked out http://govolunteer.ca and let me tell you friends, the list of opportunities is exhausting. Who knew so many people needed help? And that they'd need such interesting help? Did you know you could be an arts and crafts volunteer? Or help supervise bus outings? Or even be a troubadour? Yes, really!

I applied to be something called a Vision Mate. I'll be volunteering with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, and basically what I'll be doing is visiting a blind person in their home, maybe reading to them or helping them sort out their mail, helping them run errands, and just basically visiting. I completed my training last weekend, and let me tell you, I can't wait to start. And friends, it's so easy to get involved! They pair you with someone in your area because they want to make it as easy for you as possible, which is great for me, Ms. Public Transportation. It sounds like a lot of fun, and a great way to give back a couple hours a week. Apparently some vision mates and their clients end up becoming life long friends. And really, who doesn't want a new friend?

Anyway, if you're at all interested in doing some volunteer work, here are a few sites to check out.

So go already! Get involved!

Photo credit

In which I get all literary on you

2010-05-04T20:33:00.000-07:00

So guess what friends? Since I'm such a geek, I've been having a great time working on #23 on my list - "Read 75 of the top 100 modern novels (as passed on to me via a Facebook note)". I'm actually making pretty good progress, though I have to admit I'd read some of them long before this note came to me. But, I wanted to share an amazing discovery I've made with you. Are you ready?

Charles Dickens, author of Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, and A Tale of Two Cities, was funny. Yes, you heard me, FUNNY!

Ya know, if they'd told us that in high school I bet there would have been a lot less people automatically hating English class. Ok, maybe not a lot less, but a few less anyway.

Really though guys, Dickens has been a revelation for me. I started reading Oliver Twist with the expectation that it would be a good story if I could get my head around the dry writing style, but Dickens was not dull and boring. The only way "dry" is an apt description of him is if you're talking about his dry wit. The guy was downright sarcastic, wickedly clever, and very, very entertaining.

I expected to finish the book and breathe a sigh of relief. Instead I've been thinking, in the words of his most famous character, "Please sir, can I have some more?"

P.S. Here's the photo credit...

Mmm chicken...

2010-04-29T20:55:00.000-07:00

It's Thursday friends! Which means that it's time for another Things I Love Thursday!

This week I have to profess my deep and abiding love of Indian food. The colours, the smells, the beautiful spices, the rich variety of tastes... it's all good. All of it. Which is why number 7 on my list is learn to make Indian food. Vancouver is a foodie's paradise, and we have some fantastic Indian restaurants here, but eating out every time I crave biryani or dhosa would get very expensive very quickly. So what's a girl to do? Make it myself of course! Good thing I like cooking...

Here's the book I've been working my way through:

It's probably not that authentic, but with "cooking school" in the title I figure it's about my speed.

The Mister and I eat a lot of chicken, and one of his restaurant favorites is tandori chicken. Tonight I decided to give it a try. Here's what it's supposed to look like:

There are a lot of steps but it's actually not that hard. This works out well for me since a lot of the chicken recipes in the book use tandori chicken as a base. Here's my version!

My verdict? Pretty good actually! I'll have to play around with the spices a bit more but I'll happily make it again. The Mister's verdict? He was his usual eloquent self of course!

T.M: "Mmm"
Me: "Is it ok?"
T.M: "Yup."
Me: "Does it taste like the one you get at the restaurant?"
T.M: "Don't remember. S'good though."

And the wins keep on coming

2010-04-24T08:45:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to think of a funny opening paragraph to explain why I've been away from here for so long, but instead of anything witty I keep coming up with this:

"I'm not dead yet!" Seriously guys, for those of you who just read this on my FB page, go to my actual blog to see the video. If you skip it, you're missing out on a classic piece of comedy, and you won't get my joke.

Uh, of course there's always the possibility that you won't get it even if you do watch the video.

MOVING ON! Sorry about the blog hiatus folks. My wonderful in-laws came to visit for almost a month, so I was busy being a tourist in my own city. Try it sometime! I know people who have lived here most of their lives and are always complaining that there's nothing to do, but we honestly couldn't fit everything we wanted to do into the time frame of their visit!

My point being, I'm not dead yet and I'm back to a hopefully regular blogging schedule.

So, a couple of weeks ago I went skiing. To most of you that's not a big deal, so let me try to say it in a way that conveys the depth of the situation for me. I went skiing! ME! I did it! Seriously guys, this should have been number 31 on my list. I'm not an athletic person and have always shied away from doing sports related things. I spent a good portion of my life being dangerously uncoordinated (I once broke my wrist playing badminton, no joke) and even though I'm no longer likely to cause a small disaster zone by walking down the street, I still have this idea that athletics and me are a bad mix. As a result, The Mister has been trying to get me to go skiing for awhile now and I've always resisted. Yes, I wanted to go, yes I wanted to challenge myself, but if can break my wrist playing badminton can you imagine the level of pain and heartache that was going to result in me flinging myself down a mountain side with only a couple of very thin looking boards strapped to my feet?? No thank you sir, not for this girl!

Still, The Mister loves skiing so I was kind of obligated to try it. Um, plus the whole vow to push myself to try new and uncomfortable things. Ya, that. So, with visions of a horrible wave of small, broken children being left in my wake, I made my way to one of the bunny hills on Whistler.

I wish I could say that it was love at first...ski? But unfortunately that's not how it works for me. The Mister, being the kind, patient, and above all, long suffering person that he is, put up with a good half an hour of me complaining about the cold, the uncomfortableness of my boots, and my complete incomprehension of why anyone would do this for fun, before I finally relaxed enough to enjoy myself. You see why I need a list of challenges now, right? Well, in the end I had a blast. I fell once, could not for the life of me figure out how to turn left, and took forever to learn to stop, but I'm proud to say I didn't injure any small children. Or even any big ones. And, most importantly, I look forward to doing it again.

Oh, and here's a picture of me on the magic carpet thing just to prove that I'm not making this all up, and I really am that ridiculous:

#22

2010-04-06T21:31:00.000-07:00

Alright friends, time for a confession.

Of all the things on my list, number 22, create a piece of art that I'm proud enough of to show people/hang on a wall, is the one that scares me the most. Those of you who know me might have guessed it would be the tarantula holding, or the backpacking trip (since I have slight princess tendencies and weigh roughly the same as a wet piece of paper), but I've always wanted to introduce myself as "Danielle the artist". I love to draw, paint, sculpt, and generally get messy. However, I am very critical of myself and easily discouraged. Art is one of those things we tend to assume you need to have an inborn talent for, and friends, I do not have an inborn talent for art. So, while I come up with plenty of ideas, I find myself getting frustrated by my efforts to get it down on paper, and often give up for months at a time.

You can see why number 22 might be difficult then, right?

Well, I'm working on it. Last week, I took a BIG step. I volunteered to paint something on the window of my classroom. Where it'll be seen. By lots of people. I may not want to hang it on my wall, but I've really put myself out there. Here's the result:

Things I Love Thursdays

2010-03-25T09:12:00.000-07:00

Good morning friends! I had a thought the other night. It occurred to me that while this blog is supposed to be about the whole challenge of 30 new things before I hit 30, sticking strictly to that criteria for my posts would get very boring. I mean, look at it this way: if I average out my list over the next 3 years, that'll be 10 posts a year. That's a good way for me to lose interest, and I highly doubt all of you, my theoretical readers, would want to stay around for that.

SO! I've come up with a new feature. Enter Things I Love Thursdays! Fairly self-explanatory right? It'll just be a post, probably once a week, featuring something that makes me smile and motivates me in some way.

For my first edition, I thought I'd share with you some of the music I've been listening to lately makes me instantly goofy-happy. The kind of stuff that makes me drop everything and have an impromptu dance party in my living room, and when I say dance, I mean jumping around, twirling, and even throwing in the occasional disco move. You know, the kind of stuff that shows why I don't go clubbing much anymore. This is the music that makes me feel like no matter how bad a day I'm having, I can handle it, and no matter what the challenge, I'll rise to it. Enjoy!

Hello, my name is Danielle and I am a procrastinator.

2010-03-21T20:39:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the late blog entry folks. Technical difficulties, procrastination, what can I say. Here it is:

I went to Victoria on Vancouver Island this past weekend to visit my gorgeous sister. Baby girl turned 20 this year! Being the wonderful, unselfish person that she is, she decided that what she wanted to do for her birthday weekend was help me with my list. I ask you, have you ever met such an incredible person? We decided to focus on two things: trying sake and spider wrangling. Yes, these things do go together. Helloooo liquid courage!

First up was sake. My sister Kay, her friend and I went to this great little sushi restaurant downtown that Kay knew about. We order the sake, and after the first sip I'm thinking "DUDE! Why have I not tried this sooner?"

We had it hot, in case you are wondering. Highly recommended, and just in case you ever go out for sushi with me I'm warning you that I will be ordering sake, and I will insist that you try some. Delicious.

After a suitable digestive period (read: after imbibing an appropriate amount of sake), it was on to the Victoria Bug Zoo. Friends, if you are ever in Victoria and are looking for something new and different to do, go here. Admission is only $9, and there's a whole lot of creepy crawly fun to be had. It's very hands on, there is a ton of information if you're a nerd like me who likes to know about the creatures your manhandling, and there are lots of expert tour guides around to answer your questions. It's also a great place for kids parties, in case you're so inclined.

Pictures you say? You want to see pictures?

This is why I don't normally let anyone follow me around with a camera. Sexy face, no? But look at the SIZE of that thing! I took one look at Mr. Tarantula here and said "Ahh! It's HUGE! And FURRY!" So I decided to ease my way in, and joined the nearest tour group of excited kids and apprehensive parents.

I wish I could remember what this one was called. I remember the word Madagascar being mentioned but I was so wrapped up in how cool it was to be holding this giant green grasshopper thing that I didn't pay a lot of attention!

This one I remember. This one was a stink beetle, who fortunately didn't feel threatened enough to stink. Did you know there are other beetles that look almost exactly the same and mimic the stink beetle's behaviour to warn away predators? See? I told you I was a geek!

This one's a stick bug, and it really did look amazingly like a stick. Sorry it's so hard to see! The guy in the background is our lovely guide, demonstrating how a young stick bug's legs come off easily when grabbed by a bird, to make it easier for them to get away. He's not actually pulling a leg off, don't worry!

Alright, now on to the main attraction:

Look! I'm doing it! I'm actually holding a giant, furry, fanged tarantula! Which, incidentally, I named Big Momma. Friends, if this isn't a moment of win I don't know what is! Sorry the photo's so blurry. My camera crew (made up of my sister and her friend) were more than a little nervous.

So there you have it, I can officially cross two things off my list. And I'd even do them again! Especially drinking sake...that one's going on my "to do regularly" list...

What about you? Have any of you out there tried anything new and exciting lately? Any moments of win in your lives?

What arachnophobia?

2010-03-11T20:03:00.000-08:00

With a big weekend lined up I'm finding this thought very comforting:

Time to start on my list, yes? By the way, you can find this fantastic tile here.

Coolest. Video. EVER.

2010-03-05T09:12:00.000-08:00

I had to share this. I just had to! This is exactly the amount of fun I'm aiming for my life to be!

What's it all about, Alfie?

2010-03-02T17:08:00.000-08:00

Alright friends, since the whole point of this blog is to document my (possibly painful and hilarious) attempts to accomplish 30 new things before I hit 30, I thought it might be time to share my list with you. Not all of these are wild and crazy, but they all represent a challenge for me in one way or another. So here goes:

Go on a zipline
Take at lease one singing lesson
Learn enough French to hold a conversation
Try sake
Dye my hair a ridiculous colour
Volunteer
Learn to make Indian food
Take part in a flash mob
Spend a night in the desert
See a Shakespeare play not done by teenagers
Create a sketchbook diary and use it everyday for at least a month
Give my sister a perfect day
Make pesto from scratch with basil I grew myself
Take a trip in a hot air balloon
Learn to juggle
Take a photography course
Hold a tarantula
Learn one song the whole way through that isn't work related (in other words, not Twinkle Twinkle Little Star)
Get my drivers license
Go on a backpacking trip with The Mister (otherwise known as my incredible and gorgeous husband)
Go to an opera
Create a piece of art that I'm proud enough of to show people/hang on a wall
Read 75 of the top 100 modern novels (as passed on to me via a Facebook note)
Try yoga consistently for a month
Stay up all night to watch the sun rise (not the same as getting up early to watch the sun rise as suggested by The Mister!)
Do the No Pants Day subway ride (S, I'm holding you to your offer to do it with me!)
Ride an elephant
Make brownies that taste like brownies, not chocolate cake
Make a meal with my mom
Host a dinner party where I actually cook everything

So there it is. Any comments? Suggestions? Offers to help/join me? Additions to my list?

Oh Canada

2010-02-28T09:59:00.000-08:00

Since today's the last day of the Olympics I thought I'd get all patriotic for a minute. I'm currently loving this song.

Let the good times roll

2010-02-27T20:33:00.000-08:00

So, my sister recently challenged me to start a blog when I told her about my big plans for the lead up to turning 30. I can't believe I'm even writing that - turning 30! 30 people! What happened to turning 20? I remember looking forward to that, but 30??

Alright, I'll get over it. I still have a few years left til then. Breathe Danielle, breathe!

When I was growing up life wasn't so good, and I learned to be quiet and still and as unnoticeable as possible. Those traits worked for me then, but now, well now my life is pretty damn great! But I'm still pretty quiet. At least on the outside. On the inside it turns out I'm kind of an extrovert - the kind that wants to dance on tables and do No Pants Day! Anyone who knows me will be reading this and going, "uhm, what?" But yes, it turns out I'm actually a crazy person who wants to dye her hair purple and do cartwheels down the street.

So back to the plans. I think it's time to let the crazy person out! Since I've had so much more practice being the mouse, I've made a list of ways I can challenge myself to be that crazy person instead of falling back into my old habits. Enter 30 things to do before I turn 30! Otherwise known as 30things. This blog will chronicle the whole process for your entertainment. Cuz that's what I'm all about friends!