My Favourite Oscar Dress!

So I know this is a little late since the Oscars were on Sunday
night but I couldn't resist. Usually I don't sit
down and watch them but this year I was lured by all the promotions and there wasn't much on that night anyway. One of the first stars I saw was Nicole Kidman and her dress was awe inspiring. It just made such a big impact when she walked in. Way back when she was married to Tom Cruise I remember reading an article (it was either while they were married or after they divorced) and Nicole said that Tom Cruise never liked her in red. Well I strongly disagreed as I thought she looked amazing and boo to those people on ET (Entertainment Tonight) that said she looked like a tomato. Stephen Cojocaru on ET didn't like her dress but I didn't agree with his best dressed. Another show I watched picked this as their favourite. Now I didn't like her hair and thought it would have looked great with a wave or curly.

On the other hand there were some unflattering dresses that night as well such as Jessica Biel. She looked miserable in another shot I saw that night and this dress just didn't fit right. Plus she should have worn her hair down for a softer look. So that's my take on the Oscars.

:) S.

Switchfoot, The Band!

I've always loved this band and have seen them in concert many times at this huge festival called Creationfest that is during the summer. So the other day I was watching this show and they mentioned they were airing Switchfoot's new video so my ears perked up. Honestly I had no idea they had a new album and enjoyed their interview and video. The picture above is taken from their tour WEBSITE and if you want to learn more about the band, check out this LINK.
All their albums are good but I also like and have "Beautiful Letdown." After seeing the new video and liking it here it is for your viewing:

Chow for now,

S.

Must See UK Honda Ad!

A friend sent this to me and I thought it was amazing. There are some facts about the commercial before you view it that are interesting.

Read this before you look at the Video at the bottom.

There are no computer graphics or digital tricks in the film. Everything yousee really happened in real time exactly as you see it. The film took 606 takes. On the first 605 takes, something, usually very minor, didn't work.

They would then have to set the whole thing up again. The crew spent weeks shooting night and day. By the time it was over, they were ready to change professions. The film cost six million dollars and took three months tocomplete including full engineering of the sequence.

It is fast becoming the most downloaded advertisement in Internet history.Honda executives figure the ad will soon pay for itself simply in "freeviewings" (Honda isn't paying a dime to have you watch this commercial!). When the ad was pitched to senior executives, they signed off on it immediately without any hesitation - including the costs.

Everything you see in the film (aside from the walls, floor, ramp, and complete Honda Accord) is parts from two cars. The voiceover is GarrisonKeillor.

Oh. and about those funky windshield wipers. On the new Accords, the windshield wipers have water sensors and are designed to start doing their thing automatically as soon as they become wet. It looks a bit weird in the commercial.



Isn't that wild? I can't even fathom how they came up with the whole concept and put it all together. It's mind boggling. I'm sure this ad will increase sales.

Ta ta for now,

S.

Happy Valentines and Great Idea!

To everyone reading this, Happy Valentines Day. I was trying to find a card that wasn't all romantic to wish everyone Happy Valentine's Day but they were all bad so I chose this one. It's crafty but hey you learn something. I know it's a day early but most of you probably won't read this until tomorrow.

Aren't these little buttons adorable? Well I was watching Martha yesterday and there was some boring stuff on but then they showed us these cool idea that I went nuts over.
Now all I need to find is a button maker so if anyone knows where I can get one let me know. Yes, I know Martha sells one but I'd like to find something local. I have a few places in mind I'll check out. Now here are the instructions that go with it. They are also HERE.

Valentine Badges

These clever and cute badges are a great way to personalize a valentine for everyone in the class. Kids editorial director Jodi Levine recommends using thin paper such as wrapping paper, origami paper, or plain computer printout sheets. She used a badge maker to make the project quick and easy. You can find a similar version at toy shops or crafts store.

1. Create valentine messages on your computer or download our templates. Cut out the messages and follow the instructions provided with the badge maker.

2. To create gift cards pictured (at left), cut and fold a piece of sturdy paper stock or purchase precut cards (available at crafts stores). Punch two holes 1/2 inch apart. Slide back of pin into the holes of the card. Fasten pin. You can also attach the pin with a loop of tape.

3. Optional: Write additional message on the badge cards.

There is also another recipe I thought looked like pretty good. It's a heart shaped cake but a mini size like the heart shaped candies you used to eat as a kid with a saying on it.
Martha had one that was already made that said "it's a good thing" and she was looking forward to eating it. The recipe can be found HERE.

Okay this link doesn't seem to be working so if you want the recipe go to this SITE then on the upper right you will see a search and recipe button, click on recipes, then type in: Mini heart-shaped cakes and it's the first one that pops up.

Some of these ideas may be too late for this year but you could always try them out next year.

Toodles,

S.

My belated Gift and birthday celebration

Hello,

My sister gave me a coupon for cute rain boots at Christmas time as I've been looking for a pair for cute ones for a long time. It was getting to the point that I was going to have to order them from the States but then I would have to pay duty, exchange etc. which would be a pain.
Then about a week ago someone told me they had found some I might like. Last Thursday I got to the store and found many different styles and decided I wanted these ones but they were sold out in my size so they are on order. I can't wait until they come in and then I can splash around in the puddles like a kid.
Too bad I didn't have these when we had the torrential downpour awhile back. Instead I wore these black ones above which work well but don't have the same impact as a colourful pair too. Have you ever watched kids splash around in puddles with such glee and have grins on their faces with thick mud on their boots. It's like they could care less about the mess or the cleanup instead it's all about the moment. Two years ago when I worked with a special needs girl I used to do lunch duty at our school 4 days a week. I remember the younger kids (Grades 1-3) used to love it when it rained as they would play in this big puddle (where there is normally a mound). It was so funny to watch them having so much fun doing something so simple and they didn't care if their tights got soaked or their coats got dirty. Of course I was the one nagging at them to get out of the puddles as they would bring mud into the school and wet the hallways. I'm sure their teachers just loved seeing them like this and dealing with all the mess.

Yesterday a family member had a birthday and we made a lovely fresh treat as they were craving fruit for their special day. So I captured a shot of the colourful treat. It was also fun

shopping for gifts for this occasion. All I had to do was go downtown and think about things on their list but really just by knowing them I didn't really need a list at all. I had a blast picking things out.

Au Revoir for now,

S.

A Trip Down Memory Lane

It seems like awhile since I've blogged so here goes. Clutter, clutter that is all I see around me sometimes, so last week we had a donation organization come and pick up a bunch of stuff we didn't need. Every since our leak in the basement (well long before that but the leak hastened the sudden springing to action) we realized we have way too much stuff. Believe it or not I had all my binders with every single course I took at university and boy there were a lot, also had papers from my first degree in California, plus high school papers (okay I kept some of those and some special university ones). So my sister sat with me going through this all when the leak happened on January 1st so it got put off. She called to have these people come by and pick up our stuff at the end of the month.

Needless to say I've been going down memory lane quite a bit lately. I like to keep things and so it is hard for me to part with anything that I think I may want someday. The thing is I keep watching all these organizational shows and there is this gnawing that I have to pair down what I have and become clutter free. I'm not there yet but I'm closer. There were a few bridesmaid dresses I had and also the dress from my high school prom and several from Junior/Senior banquets (that was big at our univesity). So here are some photos for you to look at, okay don't laugh now, some are dated and keep in mind they came out of a bag so are very creased but you get the idea.Now this dress I wore as a bridesmaid for one of my best friends in California. We were roommates at the time and it was three weeks after university ended for the year. The seamstress took measurements but I was so bored not doing a lot waiting for the wedding that I kept eating and had to go on Slim Fast to get into this number for the wedding. As you can see we all had matching shoes. This dress and the shoes got donated so this is my memory of it. Plus I have it all on tape (the wedding that is and me in the dress).
The red dress was for another wedding I was in for a best friend. I was a bridesmaid in this one also and it was in Kentucky. We all flew to her hometown and helped her sew on pearls on the top bodice of her wedding outfit (it was made for her by a friend), we literally were gluing them on and some fell off the day of the wedding. This one also had matching shoes and got donated. The black and white one was for a junior/senior banquet I went to and it is a Gunne Sax. It has a crinoline under it and is so cute but sad to say it had a rust stain on it so it is no longer with us. At least I have this photo of it and some others somewhere.

This is another Gunne Sax dress that I still love and kept this one for the future. If memory serves correct I wore this one my Freshman year to a Junior/Senior banquet and I was asked by a Junior so it was pretty exciting to say the least. It doesn't fit now but may someday and it was in good condition still so why not keep it?
This is another fancy dress I wore to a banquet or party (can't remember exactly). It's the only strapless dress I have ever worn and I kept this one too. It has a big crinoline under it as well and I felt like a princess when I wore it.
This is a really bad picture and it really looks great on. It's an off the shoulder dress that I made while in university. I remember staying with my friend in Arizona and her mom was a seamstress (my mom couldn't help although she sews as I was far away from home) and was helping me out here and there. The inside doesn't look professional but I was so proud wearing it to a fancy event. What I remember from that night is I was crazy about this guy and didn't get to go with him (can't remember why to be honest, probably because he didn't ask or some other reason). Anywho I went with this other guy who ignored me all night and I kept wishing I was with said someone. This one I kept as it has special meaning for me and I made it.
Last but not least is my high school graduation dress that I wore. I helped my mom sew it but she helped me a lot. It too has a crinoline but isn't in the photo. I kept this dress as well. I remember this night so vividly as I was getting ready to move to Hawaii a few days later to be a missionary along with my family and was emotional about leaving all my friends. I bid everyone farewell for now.

S. out

The Sugar Blues and my new do

This is too funny. It caught my eye on Yahoo and I had to watch it and of course put it on here. The ending is a little surprising too. I now present:
COOKIE SINGS THE BLUES



Enjoy this sad song (poor little guy). Today I went downtown to run a few errands and it started to rain quite a bit. I was glad I had a hood on my coat to keep me dry, except when I went into stores I'm sure I looked like a little veclempt (that word goes back to an SNL skit years ago with Mike Myers).

Well Monday night I got my haircut. I met this parent two years ago when I worked with a special needs girl and she told me about this woman who cuts her hair. I've been going to her ever since and this is a photo in thermal special effects. Picture is taken using Photo Booth (they have a different effects) which I find addicting.

Toodles,

S. says Peace Out to all those in blogger land

PC Computer Spells Disaster...

My page has a new look and I've been experimenting with backgrounds. I'm sure it will change again in the future.

New free computer equals lots of problems. So my sister brings home this PC computer from her work (it's old, a Panasonic PanasSync SL70i, photo above except ours is beige) since she got a new one. I thought I would plug it in and then add an ethernet cable to my router and it would all work fine. Not the case, my sister and I sit and try to configure it all different ways and get tired. I call our local service provider and I'm on the phone with the guy for about 20 minutes. He isn't sure what is wrong by recommends we unplug and plug back in the router and the DSL/Cable modem (well I had done that but not in the order my router states). I do that and also go through all the steps my router recommends by plugging cords in a certain order. I do this not once but several times, reboot the PC and still no internet. Exasperated I call the internet guy again and hope he can help me out. After what seems like an eternity (think it was an hour or more) he thinks it's a router problem and the PC isn't recognizing the router, (well the router has been repaired so I'm praying that isn't the case). I explain this was a government computer and that it is LAN configured and then was configured for the university she works at. My idea is we configure the IP and Subnet Mask etc., but he isn't sure. Finally he comes to the conclusion it is the network card (this is something I could not have figured out myself). So he takes me through the steps of deleting it all and then mentions that if this doesn't work I may have to install the driver. He asks if I have a PC card disk thingy. I sound clueless and he says it is a disk the size my thumb and if I don't have one I will have to get the driver from my iMac online and then burn it on my Mac and then install on the PC (well I'm wondering where I even look for this thing online but figure I'll grill him with more questions if it comes to that).

I reboot the PC after what seems like the millionth time and guess what the internet finally works. Yippee Yi Yo Cotton Eyed Joe. So that was my adventure for today. Now I am PCized. Now we just have to figure out how to configure out e-mail with this computer. Hopefully that will be easier to figure out.

S. is out

Excitement on our street and new covered couch...

One night I went for a walk to get some groceries and the snow had fallen that day and I decided to snap a shot of our house. I managed to get the moon by accident but it looks cool, you can't really see the house that well. It was a tad chilly out too.
Over a week ago we had Rooter Router come and clean our drains out. That whole saga still continues as they were able to clean 3 out of 5 drains. They have to come back in the Spring along with the waterproof guy to do the rest of the work on the drains and to get the crack fixed and jackhammer the sidewalk in front of our house. So until then we are on watch whenever it rains really bad (like torrential).
The big excitement this past week in our neighbourhood is the neighbour two doors down from us has to have their pavement dug out. The city had to bring their trucks and there was these huge floodlights on our street since it was at night. This picture is a tad blurry but you can see the two men there and their huge truck along with the floodlight. One of our neighbours thought a movie was being made on our street (oh if only). It was loud and noisy but we kept checking out the window to see what was going on. The next day I saw they dug around the drainpipe. The drainpipe was all clogged with roots and the city came since that drain belonged to the city.
Now onto the good stuff. So we had two of these couches and had been wanting to re-upholster them but had never done it before. My sister's friend told her it wasn't that hard and she was convinced it wouldn't be that hard. It helps my mom sews really well too. So any who we decided to get new foam and fabric and make these cute couches look great. We have two of them to do but this is a picture of the first one before it was done. It partially has material pulled off as we started ripping it off.

This is the after photo 2 weeks later. It was a detailed process of gingerly pulling away the fabric as the pattern had to be re-traced for the new one and then the cushions had to be made with a zipper in each and then it all go re-covered. What a big job it was and there is still another one to be done.

Well that's all for now folks. I think Porky Pig says that line at the end of their cartoon. It sticks in my brain.

Toodles,

S.

The big water leak of 2007!

(pictures are of the corner where it all began, the board that was pulled away, the room where it all took place, the big crack in the wall, the second spot with only the hole visible here,big plastic boards we used to try and shield the rain, foam cushions to mop up the water that was pooling infront of the house, tarps that were put up to deflect the rain outwards, I missed photos of me scooping up the water into buckets and dumping it further away from the house (the neighbours had fun watching me though), rugs cut up in bags, and that sums it up)

























































In my earlier post I talk about my lovely birthday. Well there were other things going on that week as well so here is the saga of it all...Well it all started on January 1st (New Years Day)...after watching all my organizational shows and talking with our neighbour who was cleaning our her things (okay her house is so beautiful, she is a talented lady who does all kinds of amazing thing with furniture and paint, her style is modern country) I decided to purge some of my things that I'd be hanging onto for far too long. So I go downstairs and my sister and I are cleaning our junk and my mom is on the elliptical machine. We are so into cleaning stuff out and my sister has her tea cup nearby with hot tea. All of the suddent she notices a circle of wetness below her and mom and I assume she dropped her tea. She says no her tea has not spilled and I just tell her to forget about it and move on. She bends down and feels it is wet and then takes an exacto knife and cuts into the rug (okay we panicked and the carpet is one we don't like that much and was here when we bought the house). Well folks there is water underneath and as she tears away more and more of the rug it is wet all over.

We call our neighbour Mike over to help us out and he isolates the leak to a corner that is near the outside wall and pulls back the wall (it's panelling so easy to pull away) and then there is a part where the pink insulation stops and you see just the cement of the outside wall. Lo and behold there is big crack that goes down to the ground. Meanwhile my sister is moving stuff out of the room at the speed of sound and I can hardly keep up and we don't want the leak to get to anything. So like half the room is cleared out and overflowing all over the place and it's all my stuff.

Last week-end (well January 4,5,6th to be exact) was harrowing with rain coming in buckets. Friday night we were up until 10p.m. mopping constantly. It rained all afternoon really heavy and we had to keep mopping constantly. You cannot let up or it will start to flood the room. The rain was supposed to go until midnight which we were ready for. Caron and mom put up tarps but they did nothing. Think I told you I had to keep bailing buckets of water trying to delay it coming into the basement. We had some repsite Saturday during the day I think (it is all a blur) and then the news said it would rain again but no time. We all pulled an all nighter and it started at midnight and went straight until 8a.m (it was very heavy from 2-8) and we had to mop constantly to keep the water at bay. It seeps in through the crack and then we found another crack next to it and that was leaking only slightly. My sister had to keep going outside as the rain was about 2 inches high and she kept sweeping it with a broom away from the house to avoid me mopping so much inside. It did help somewhat but I had to keep an eye on it. She made a shield out of plastic to brush a lot of water away. Friday night and Saturday night I was very frightened that the whole downstairs would flood and so tired. I've never prayed so much in my life. Our neighbours did check on us the ones that found our leak.

The neighbours to the left of us 2 doors down had it really bad. Their whole basement flooded with water and our neighbours went over with shop vacs to pick it all up. They are a couple that are 85. We were stunned to see their lights out Saturday night when we pulled the all nighter and found out they went to sleep. Well you can't sleep when you have a leak of any sort. The problem is their drains don't work so it pours in the back. They should have stayed up to contain the water. Everyone thinks we are fine but that is only because 3 of us are at it constantly mopping or brushing it away from the house. Finally at 8am Sunday morning it died down. Normal rain we can handle but not went it comes down in sheets that's when the problem starts. Caron and I took a nap early Sunday morning while my mom stayed up. I've never felt so helpless before and worried. It was supposed to be constant rain from Saturday straight until Tuesday and I didn't know how we would all stay up that long. We had planned to do shifts for sleep. It is these times I wish we had a man in the house. Thankfully it did not rain Sunday night so we could all sleep but I can hear it if it gets bad as I sleep right by the window where it pours in sheets. My sister is away from the room where it gets loud if it pours. It is supposed to rain January 7th and 8th but didn't.

This past Wednesday the waterproof guy came to check it out. He was referred by a friend of ours who owns a few places in Victoria and is from our old church. He was also on the news last night. He will come and use a jack hammer to go beneath the payment infront of our house and will waterproof it so we never need to worry. Wednesday morning we had someone come clean our drains. Thank the Lord we called last week as they are so booked up and we got a cancelation. They are supposed to be done every 5 years and we didn't know so they haven't been done in the 11 years we have been here. No one on this street has gotten it done so we didn't know. We think the problem is our eaves troughs are broken, the weeping tiles aren't holding, the drain is possibly clogged, and we have two foundational cracks in our foundation (yep we found another one when we were mopping our heads off last Saturday night).

The neighbour two to the right of us also had flooding bad and they had their drains snaked on Friday night and thought they were fine. They went to sleep Saturday night and got up to a flood (we were the only smart ones to stay awake) so our neighbours have been helping them rip up carpets. We saw our neighbours with buckets bailing the people two to the left of us. The street opposite us all seem to be fine. Our neighbour to our left said it happened to him 10 years ago and he got it repaired. The ones to the left of us with the flood brought us Chinese food which was so nice. My mom went over to hug the woman (Verna, they are the ones in their 80's) and said we were all there for her. The neighbours have been so wonderful. We knew where our leak was so were able to control it. Last Sunday morning we all woke up drained (since we pulled the all nighter the night before). So many people have been over to check out the leak and also we had friends drop by yesterday and we were so tired.

Last Saturday night my sister kept checking the back drain and didn't tell us at the time but it was up to the top and she was worried. I would have been if I had known. My sister went to work this past Monday and heard horror stories about people all over. Downtown got hit bad and everyone is traumatized. It is exhausting experience. I just kept thinking of Katrina and what they must have gone through with losing their homes.

So the latest news is we had 5 drains and all were clogged but now 3 are clear. The drain cleaners will come back in a month of so and clean the other two which involves more digging I think. The waterproof guy comes Monday to seal the inside and then comes in a couple months to do the outside since it involves digging as well. After the inside wall gets fixed Monday we are thinking we will paint the concrete in our rec room (that makes it warmer our friend told us) and then we may do linoleum or just leave it painted with a middle area rug as we have gym equipment in there. It's been fun times for the last few weeks (okay sarcasm there) but it could of been worse and nothing got damaged except the old rug in that room. When the drain people came to clean the drains they said we had an inch and a half clearance in the back drain and then it would have flooded the downstairs completely. God is good and our praying definitely worked. That freaked me out when I heard that.

S. is finally out :)