Working from Home

I commute an hour each way to work.  Which I'm pretty used to, but during the winter it sometimes really sucks.  So I was lucky enough to recently be provided with a laptop so that if needed I could work from home.  

The view from my car on a winter day

Well this winter just won't let up and I woke up to a very windy and snowy day yesterday.  I decided that I was better to be safe than sorry and would work from home.  And I've got to say that I loved it!

Because I got up at my normal time to go to work, I basically ate some breakfast and got into some lulu pants and got straight to work.  So instead of starting work at 8:00, I started at 6:30.  I saved 2 hours of driving, still took a lunch and by 4:00 had put in a 9 hour day!  (Typically my days are 7.5 hours, but this time of year we work a bit of overtime.)

So at 4:00 I got to shut everything down, feeling like I really accomplished a lot during the day and instead of a 1 hour drive I had a 10 second walk out of my office.

I don't know that I would want to do it all the time.  I think that I would feel cut off from my co-workers and might go a bit stir crazy.  But once in awhile it's really nice to be able to stay home, eat lunch with my husband and get a lot of work done with very few distractions.  

The Haircut Itch

I'm not sure if this is just me, but when I decide I want to get my hair cut, I want it cut yesterday.  But I go a ridiculous amount of time between cuts.  I haven't had a haircut since mid August, and then about last Wednesday I decided it had to be done and now I'm going crazy.  

Then the two days before I get it cut, I will have awesome hair days and will question it.

Anyways, I have been trying to decide how short I want to go and I have a few options.

I love the way that Heidi's hair is layered.

My hairdresser loves when I get my hair cut like Kate's because I come in with pictures of every angle!  I'm really loving her new cut.

This cut is a bit longer.  

I'm not sure if I want to go this short, but I have had this cut before and actually loved it.

A new haircut just makes you feel so fresh!  My appointment isn't until February 14th.  So long to wait...

All images taken from my Pinterest boards. 

Thank you Canada

I'm worried about what other people are thinking about my country these days.  

First we have this winner, who continues to get publicity.

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The other night he got into one of his drunken stupors again.  Apparently as he wasn't working at the time, it's ok.  Well in my opinion as the mayor of one of the biggest cities in the world, your drunken stupors should be few and far between.  And since when is being in a drunken stupor an excuse for doing whatever you want, including smoking crack?  

I would like to add a disclaimer that he's not my mayor.  

Then we have this gem.

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Born and raised about an hour from where I live.  How proud we are.  In case you didn't know, the other night Justin got an impaired charge in Miami.  He's not even old enough to drink in the states!  I don't understand celebrities and impaired charges.  You are rich!  You probably own your own limo!

What happened Justin?  Oh right, too much money, too quickly, too young.  The best thing that he could do right now is take a break and come home to Stratford.  But he won't.  He will wait until his life is completely destroyed first.  We've seen it before and we will see it again.

But please people, don't judge Canada on those two winners alone.  Lots of amazing people come from this country of mine!  So please people, when you are judging Canada judge us on this:

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Yes that's much better.

Literary Junkies

 

It's time for the Literary Junkies link up again.  So let's not waste any time and get right to it!

What are you reading right now? Tell us about it.
I just finished Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn on Sunday and next on my list is The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks.

Sharp Objects was a slightly disturbing book.  A reporter goes back to her home town as there have been two murders of young girls.  The reporter drinks, dabbles in drugs and recently got out of a psych hospital as she was a cutter.  A fairly extreme cutter.  And then there's her family, they all have their own issues.  Despite all of this, and how disturbing I found the main character, I couldn't put this book down.  And it really was well written.


She looks so normal, but she writes some messed up books {via}

Out of the 16 books that will be turned into a movie adaptation, which one are you most looking forward to seeing this year? (Article Link)
Some of these I didn't even know were going to be movies!  I'm most excited for Divergent and already have a movie date with my cousin for that one!  But I'm also excited for Gone Girl (another Gillian Flynn book).


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The Giver is a book that I read as a kid and have read multiple times since.  I'm pretty excited that it's going to be a movie.  And I also have had Unbroken on my to read list for awhile, so maybe this will push me to actually read it.

What was the worst book you've ever read?
I hated To Kill a Mockingbird and we had to read it for school.  I wonder if I read it now if I would still hate it?  I just found it to be such an American book and I found it strange that it was required reading in our Canadian schools.  It was Grade 9 so I really don't even remember it, but I think it was the first book that I had really ever struggled with.

I was also so disappointed with The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling.  I had such high expectations!  And although I made it through and it got better at the end it was a really difficult read for me and I definitely wouldn't recommend it to anyone else.

Do you pictures characters as popular film or tv actors? Or do you create a whole new person in your head?
I think that I generally create a person in my head, unless of course the movie has already been made.  It's always interesting to see if who they have cast is what you pictured!  I don't know if I had actually pictured them, but I remember when I found out the casting for Something Borrowed I thought they had done an amazing job and were spot on for every single character!

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Out of all the authors you've read books by, who's brain would you want to pick the most?
Obviously JK Rowling.  (Or is that not obvious?)  Her books have absolutely had the biggest impact on my life and I would love to be able to sit down and have a conversation with her.

What have you read lately?  Anything you would recommend?

Winter - I'm Really Not a Fan

Sometimes I have to remind myself that I really love my country, because this whole winter thing, it's kind of ridiculous.  If I didn't love Canada so much I would probably move to Florida in a second.

This weekend we went up to the cottage.  It was actually really nice and relaxing.  It's so nice to just get away from home sometimes where you can sit around and do nothing and not feel guilty about it.  Unfortunately, while we were gone my house didn't clean itself.

And then I made myself go outside.  Because why go to the cottage in the winter if you aren't even going to enjoy the great outdoors.  I realized when we were outside for a rather short walk, that this was the first time this winter that I had been outside beyond just walking to and from my car.  Sad?  Maybe.  But I would probably be sadder if I had to be out in the snow all the time.

Our outdoor time was short lived.  About 15 minutes in the snow is enough for me.  You would think after almost 27 years I would be used to Canadian winters.  I'm not sure it's ever something that I will get used to.  

Luckily we had wine to come back to after our walk.  I should have known that blog pictures would be taken and that I maybe should have actually put some make-up on.  But I was at the cottage, who does that?

Guilty Pleasures

Guilty Pleasures.  Typically for me these are anything that involve the Real Housewives of a random city in the US (or Vancouver, if available).  And although he might deny it, Ryan doesn't mind Kyle Richards or Gretchen Rossi on the TV screen either.

But I never thought I would say that some of my guilty pleasures are shows by the name of "Gold Rush", "Life Below Zero", "Buying Alaska" or "Ultimate Survival Alaska". 

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Yes, something that all of those shows have in common is Alaska.  I think that we watch them because Ryan wants to move there, and I refuse to move there but am fascinated by the fact that people actually live in that state.

Brrrrrr

I probably shouldn't let Ryan watch them anymore, because it scares me that he doesn't mind the idea of living in the middle of nowhere, hunting for your food, not having electricity and getting water from a lake that has had a pack of wolves living on it all winter.  I would not consider myself to be high maintenance, but electricity and running water are two items that I really value in my life. 

The only thing that might change my mind is if he knows how to actually strike it rich by mining for gold in Alaska.  But after a few seasons of watching that show, I highly doubt that's going to happen as I haven't seen any of those guys turn into millionaires yet.

So just keep dreaming the dream Ryan! 

Depresso

  

Our typical Saturday morning routine is that Ryan gets up ridiculously early and makes coffee. Once the coffee is brewing, I might consider getting out of bed.

But this past Saturday, Ryan came into the bedroom and said "Bad news.  The coffee maker is broken." 

It can't be true, I thought!  This can't be happening to me.  What's the point in getting out of bed?  I refuse to believe it!

Unfortunately it was true.  Our coffee maker has gone to coffee heaven.  And that makes me Depresso, which is the feeling you get when you have no coffee.  

So our only option was instant coffee.  I don't hate it, but it's not the same.  It works in a pinch.  

Luckily on Sunday we headed out to good old Canadian Tire to purchase a new coffee maker.  It says in the instructions that you are supposed to clean them once a month.  Clearly once every two years didn't work for us last time...

Look Who Can Sew! This girl!

I had a full day off today for an unexpected snow day and I thought this would be a great time to come up with some fantastic blog posts.  And now its 5:00 an I've got no snow day awesomeness.  So I will share this as I completely forgot to write about this 30 before 30 accomplishment!  I sewed something to use in my house.

First of all, it's kind of embarrassing because my mom gave me a sewing machine as a wedding shower gift and this was the first time I used it.  She also gave me the material for these curtains for my birthday in March and I didn't finish them until December.  

So we have this window in our bathroom.  On the other side of it is the sun room, and although the glass is frosted, some guests have felt uncomfortable because they feel like people can watch them doing their business.  So I wanted to make some half curtains, so that there is still some natural light, but people don't feel like they are being watched.  

 I know that curtains like this are simple, but it was my first attempt at sewing anything, and I think that they turned out pretty well!  Look at me, all domestic and such!

2014

It's 2014, in case you hadn't noticed!

For some of us it's just another day.  For some people it's a new beginning or the end of what may have been a difficult year.  For some it's the hope that the next year is as good as the last.  Maybe you have goals, new things you want to accomplish in the upcoming year or some resolutions.  Regardless of what this day means to you, I wish you all a Happy New Year and the best in 2014!

{via Pinterest}