lies we tell

i lie to myself CONSTANTLY. it could be my strong determination and truest intention to do things that only make my life better... or, it could just be that i am of weak character and i trust myself and my lies A LOT.
nevertheless, when i found these daily lies on miss moss' blog, i needed more. i needed to know someone else falsified their own perception of their daily routine.
i need to know i'm not the only one!
looks like i'm not. looks like lauren is admitting her lies via her project daily dishonesty. thank you lauren - thank you for dispelling myths about this serious topic. and blowing the lid off of those people who tell themselves they're not lying.
my favourite - aka. lies i've told myself at least 67 times each.
you can bask in the hilarity via your own print here. you can also follow the site on twitter for updates. and, just because it's amazing - and proves to you that NO, you can NOT do it yourself - a step by step of how every hand lettered creation is made - here.

my (holiday long) weekend in summary

this weekend had a lot of driving, and left my back a wrangled mess, but sometimes... it's all just worth it (just don't tell my dr).
craft beer lineup; snacks, twin peaks, and a wood fire; snow shoeing in winter heaven (photo from here); two men and a baby - sitcom, coming your way soon; responsibility is hard (don't worry - she's just an aunt); the baby of the hour; gifts on a monday morning. cry worthy. 
friday: after an unexpected client presentation on friday morning (what was supposed to be a day off), i sped home, and packed, and then jeff and i headed out to ellicottville. after almost 5 hours in the car (compared to a normal 2.5 hour drive), we were ready to just lounge. had some dinner, some drinks, and relaxed. pretty early to bed - we're really exciting and hip.
saturday: woke up early (ish), and made a huge breakfast. then, after some relaxing, got bundled up, and went for a long snow shoe up the ski hill. for my first adventure in activity since hurting my back, it went not bad..... no, who am i kidding. it was awful. but, not debilitating  after being completely and utterly exhausted, we went back to the house, and had some lunch, and then spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing, watching tv, catching up on correspondence (while jeff snowboarded), and then watching 'in bruges' while catching up on some beading work i had to get done for a friend. lots of craft beer, and good food (LOTS of food) sprinkled in there. early to bed... apparently fresh air makes me exhausted after all this time!
sunday: woke up late, and made a huge breakfast (again) for jeff's parent's arrival. then, as they headed out for a ski, we went out for another snow shoe, but with a far more precarious drive to get to the mountain top first (think snow as high as the door on jeff's 4x4 vehicle). once we were finally finished with the wind biting our cheeks, we headed back home for lunch. prepared vegan pulled pork for the first time (success! i highly recommend), and had some lunch. packed up, and then headed back to canada - sweet, sweet canada. drove the long drive to arrive at nate and bri's place, for a nice visit with the baby, as well as costain (visiting from out west), and the rest of the gang. think: candy, dance parties, video game sports, and champagne for LOTS of reasons. perfect long weekend fun. headed out late, as i needed a sleep in my own bed.
monday: woke up after a sleep in, and after a big breakfast (sensing a trend?), jeff and i headed out for some toronto adventuring. some blundstone trying on, some lululemon lusting, some wandering to see if the MEC website was lying about being closed. as the sun started to set (and downtown got freezing), we ventured back to my neighbourhood, and had vietnamese, and a good solid twin peaks watching before loading jeff's car up. i spent the rest of the night beading, watching jenna marbles videos (don't judge me), and cleaning.
wahhhhh crazy weekend! hope everyone had a good one - and happy almost mid week!

how long will you be waiting?

friday. thank you friday for coming to me. though i just went on vacation, there is something about returning to the day to day that makes it seem more exhausting than before (though it could be the absence of daily vacation naps). it's been a long week - filled with twists and turns. scary things, and relieving things. sometimes all in one. let's just say, i'm ready to start new on monday.
therefore, ontario was extremely kind in deciding to grant me a long weekend this weekend, in the way of 'family day' weekend. monday is a vacation day, so i'm going away, and going to sleep, stay warm, and snow shoe the weekend away.
in and unrelated, but particularly relevant way, this quote is something i've printed out and am staring at daily.

so here's a pep talk. 
"I think we all need pep talk. The world needs you to stop being boring! Yeah, YOU! Boring is easy. Everybody can be boring but you're gooder than that. Life is not a game, people! Life isn't a cereal either. Well, it is a cereal. And if life is a game, aren't we on the same team? I mean, really right? I'm on your team. Be on my team. This is life, people! We got air coming through your nose. You got heartbeat.... that means you got to do something. A poem, "two roads diverged in the woods.. and I took the road less traveled.." And it hurt, man! Really bad! Rocks! Thorns! and Glass! my pants broke! waahh! Not cool, Robert Frost! But what if there really were two paths? I want to be on the one that leads to awesome. It's like that dude Journey said, "Don't stop believing… unless your dream is stupid, then you should give up your dream”. I think that's how it goes. Get a better dream to keep going. Keep going, keep going, and keep going.  What if Michael Jordan had quit? Well, he did quit. No, he retired. Yeah. Yes, he retired. But before that, in high school. What if he quit when he didn't make the team? He would have never made Space Jam… and I love Space Jam. What will be your Space Jam? What will you create to make the world awesome? Nothing if you keep sitting there! That's why I'm talking to you today. This is your time! This is my time! This is OUR time! We can make everyday better for each other. If we're all on the same team, let's start acting like it. We got work to do. We can cry about it or we can dance about it. We were made to be awesome. Let's get out there. I don't know everything. I'm just a kid but I do know this, it's everybody's duty to give the world a reason to dance - so get to it! You just been pep talked! Create something that will make the world awesome. Play ball!"

happy friday everyone!

it's the most wonderful time of the year

IT'S VALENTINE'S DAY.
everyone. listen up. did ya hear? it's the special day.
i love today. i love it. 
i know, i know. i am the antithesis of love. how can i adore a hallmark holiday? how can i sell out, and bask in the enjoyment of other's misery, to the delight of those in looooooove?
it's not that. it's not romantic love that i love.
you know what i love? giving heart pencils to my coworkers, and sending child valentines to far away friends. i love that when i was 6, our school set up a legit post office, and we could mail valentines to people in the school - post marked and everything. i love that even if people are bitter, and hate the day, it even pushes those people to spend it with their best friends in the world, just to rant about those in love.
guess what angry people - joke's on you. you spent the day with people you love TOO! take that.
so. today, i share my favourite love things. because it's my blog, and i get to do what i want. and, i know that SOMEWHERE down there, if my cold black heart was get a bit more squishy today, yours can too.
read this. justin created this stunning love letters for his girlfriend. neighbouring camps. it's all in there. perfection. hand designed address labels, beautiful calligraphy, love letters sent from place to place. i want these - not love letters, just someone to send me things that are so painstakingly designed as the detail on these envelopes!

this was a tote done by fieldguided - they don't have it anymore, but they have a 'there is thunder in our hearts' tote (heart, heart. same, same), which is equally beautiful. carrying love. plus, it's practical - as love should be - and simple, so you can use it for everything. or, go with the skull and roses bag ('mr. horticulture') from danielle at dinosaur toes. equally love related - because who doesn't love a skull full of roses!

feeling exceptionally bitter? watch one of these 10 worst valentine's films ever. i am so in love with the movie revolutionary road, it only makes sense to dedicate many valentines days to it. that's true love - i'm telling you (photo via). movies that are dripping in hate, heart wrenching agony, and the reality and truth of relationships and love. cheating, lying, heartbreak, lonliness. reality. and then, you can feel sorry for people in love, instead of being pissed off at them.

sam does these incredibly artistic valentines. and she encourages people to print them and send them! whaaaaaa?? and even if you're not going to send them, just take a look. they're beautiful. easy peasy valentines for friends and colleagues you may have forgotten about (oops).

i always spend the day listening to anti-valetines music (don't try to figure me out - this brain of mine is a real fun house of confusing proportions). you can listen to these people rant about love. alternatively, you can listen to lovey dovey music here. which only salvages itself because robbie williams is on the list.

and, in case all of those lovely things didn't help, or quell your distaste and overall hatred of this wonderful holiday, then some things to remember on valentines. (hint: CHEAP CANDY). here's my holiday tip - stock up on candy hearts, and freeze them. THEY WILL LAST ALL YEAR. yes. things i've learned from years of pining for those lovely firey hearts year round, without being able to fulfill cravings.
call someone you love today. mom, dad, sister, brother, cousin. friend, colleague, someone you lost touch with. call them. do it. and then, eat red candy that only comes once a year, and watch a horror movie. what would valentines be without a horror movie??!?!
i'm spending valentines handing out pencils and candy to friends, and then having poutine, and beer in a travel mug with jeff. it's just the way i like it.