by design

no coincidences

2011-02-13T01:43:00.000-08:00

the last few weeks i've been pretty bummed out. i've been trying to figure out what was missing in my life. my man friend suggested painting, then writing, then a website about herbal remedies based on scientific research. none of these things really made me feel complete.

it's winter so i'm not working, even though there is no snow on the ground here, and i've just been feeling lost. then two days ago, in a response to something entirely different, an old highschool friend of mine mentions a website called Ravelry. i'd never heard of it so i check it out. talk about by Design!!! it's a site for knitters and crocheters. i spent 4 hours looking at patterns and pics of what other people have made and it inspired me to pull the needles out of the closet and really get going.

oddly, three weeks ago i went to visit my best friend on the island and she had been given some really funky yarn and two bamboo needles. she made a scarf but didn't know how to finish it off so i showed her how to cast off. which inspired me to finish the mittens i had started last year for my son.

so it is all coming together. my brain is happy to be learning something, my fingers are happy to be busy, and my boy is gonna have lots of stuff to keep him warm next winter :)

so universe, you want me to make mittens and scarves, OK.

p.s. i'm still dancing, i'm still gardening, i still sing, and life is still good.

OTTAWA CSTS

2009-05-24T20:38:00.000-07:00

Myspace (http://myspace.com/ottawabrowncoats) won't let me post a Paypal link so we are going the round-about way.

3rd Annual Can't Stop the Serenity

Sunday June 21, 2009, 3:30 pm

Mayfair Theatre

1074 Bank Street, Ottawa, On, Canada

To purchase you ticket for the Ottawa Browncoats screening of Serenity 10.50$:

To donate because you can't make the show but still want to help out (any amount welcome):

The Ottawa browncoats thank you, Equality Now thanks you and women all over the globe thank you.

wow it's been a while

2008-12-05T18:53:00.000-08:00

so since the last time i posted something we made just over 1000$ at the first screening of SERENITY and we made 1230$ and the second one a year later. I've moved twice and bought a house and drove across the country. i've been in love, i've been heart broken and i've survived it. it's been a long year and a half, but now i'm not sure where it all went!
i'm making baby quilts and bibs, i'm gardening, i'm raising my son, i'm writing everyday, i'm dancing, i'm singing, i'm making new friends. things are good.

help spread the word

2007-06-05T19:14:00.000-07:00

Can you please publicize this coming event to your people. It is right
up your galaxy, I think.
_*
_*Serenity, the movie, will be shown on Saturday June 23rd 2007 at the Mayfair Theatre, 1074 Bank St., Ottawa, doors open 1:30, screening of the film at 2:00 pm. **__We have raffle and auction items and more, for our ticket holders!

This is a grassroots charitable benefit event that has spread in two
years to over 50 cities in 9 country and we who are organizing it hope
to raise well over $100,000 worldwide for Equality Now, an international
charity which supports and promotes freedom, health, education and
rights for women around the globe.

Joss Whedon, the Director, is best known for Buffy, the Vampire Slayer
and Angel, both extremely popular TV series. Firefly, his best series
yet, was canceled after only half a season, but the movie, Serenity,
has become a cult favorite.

The Ottawa movement, the annual revival (like Rocky Horror, only for a
good cause - Equality Now), the 'Shindig' to follow at the Georgetown
Pub are all organized by Fans/volunteers known as the Ottawa Browncoats (see link below)

The president of the Ottawa Browncoats is Sylvie Royer and she can be
reached for more information at sroyer@rogers.com. She is also available for
interviews about this project.

We would appreciate any publicity we can get for this, the _*First
Annual screening of Serenity, the movie*_, in Ottawa. Here are the
relevant web links:
Can't stop the Serenity (the global movement)
http://www.cantstoptheserenity.com/
Equality Now http://www.equalitynow.org/english/index.html

Ottawa Browncoats http://www.myspace.com/ottawabrowncoats Tickets are
available on line through paypal and make donations! It's all on the website! and at a number of shops in town for $10:
Ottawa Folklore Centre, 1111 Bank street,
both Wizards Tower locations (Barhaven and Kanata),
and at Therien Jiu-jitsu Dojo on Welington. At the door, you'll pay $12.

things and stuff

2007-05-06T13:56:00.000-07:00

well, things are good work wise. i have expanded into the dark domain that is lawn care. i bought a mower last week (i think I'm in love :) it's fantastic!!) and i have started mowing lawns. i think this is a good step forward for the business but i hate mowing lawns. it's so boring. But, if i get a few more jobs then i will have enough to hire someone next year, even if only part time. that would be the best thing. then i can actually make some money. i might have to set up a new bank account for work. that's not a bad idea, then i can pay myself a salary. that would be kinda cool. help me do my taxes that for sure. ARRRG taxes. i still haven't done them. last year i didn't file until October i think. this year my goal is better organization.

i finished the design from the last post and i got two more design jobs!! that's were the money is, but it's not where the playing in the dirt is. what a hard decision. well the more i design the easier it gets, so that's good. it will give me something to do over the winter and maybe stop me from having to borrow money in march :/

personally things are annoying, but for me that is normal. since "he" moved out things have been a little lonely but the most trouble has been with the boy. he is having trouble at school in the weeks where we see "him" on the weekends. i wanted to stay friends but i think it is too hard on the boy. at least we don't fight anymore. it would be nice to have someone to share my good days (like last Friday) with, but that's what friends on the phone are for.
never underestimate friends. they can be SO understanding. "adult conversation please!!!!!"

march 1st

2007-03-01T16:33:00.000-08:00

well i went to the tournament last Saturday, but i didn't compete. i didn't feel ready. actually i didn't even want to go , but my mom kicked me out of the house. she said that since i had made the arrangement for her to bbsit three weeks in advance she wasn't going to let me mope around the house. she took Alec skating. he was happy. there is another tournament in April sometime, but i don't know if i will go. i would love to have someone to fight with.

i signed up on one of those dating sites, but the whole instant family thing isn't very appealing to most men. it's kind of depressing. i was sooo blue last week i spent four days without leaving the house except to take Alec to and from the bus. i was so worried about Alec adjusting to not having Dede around that i didn't' bother thinking how i would feel. i feel much better now though. i decided that i wasn't going to let the winter get me so down. if i was blue in the summer - which happens from time to time - i would go out. So i took a nice long shower (after Alec went to school), i put on a little make-up and i went to get a cafe and a manicure at the mall. after that i went to get my mom Adan we went to the gym. that was last Thursday. since then i have been out skating the canal - 7.6 Km, recorded some songs for a CD, spent 5 more hours at the gym, and finished one of my designs. i feel good. the designs were really starting to bug me.

tomorrow I'm going to my mom's with my ipod to finish the second design. with any luck i will be working on installing these designs in TWO months. the back of winter was broken on Monday night. Tuesday morning was glorious. we will get a few more storms but then mother nature will win over father winter and the flowers will start. YEAH!!!

oh aparently at school today alec drew a picture of his family going bowling. we did that two weekends ago. he LOVED it. i love. we will be fine.

alone

2007-01-26T12:28:00.000-08:00

ok so i'm not really alone but i still don't go onto the main floor after the lights are out. i stopped watching SVU and other such shows. they mess me up at night. i'm so used to having another adult in the house. it's very weird. alec cries once and a while about how he wants dede to come live with us. he tells people that his dad had to move out so he could learn how to cook his own supers and breakfasts. it's close enough.
on a completely seperate note - there is a friendship tournament at the end of february and i am REALLY excited about going. i'm not very fast and i'm not very strong, but this will be a great excuse to get in more practice time. shadow boxing is good excercise but it doesn't help me to fight someone else. i have a training partner, but so far we havnt' actually had the chance to fight. this morning we waited 45 minutes to see if the dojo would open - no one came. we talked a bit tho. i think he has that weekend off, so he is goign to try to come to the tournament also. should be fun. i don't really know anyone else but the instructors.
that's it for the moment.

the big change

2006-11-19T12:46:00.000-08:00

well this should be interesting. MAG is moving out. he bought a condo and is taking possesion on the first of Dec. it will be weird. i imagine he will be here a lot anyway. he doesn't know how to cook yet. on the other hand, he will have all hours of the day for his computer stuff (some work some play) he won't have to stop to say goodnight to anyone, or do the dishes, or "spend quality time" with anyone. it's a little scary for me to be living alone with alec, but at least i won't have to worry about money yet. that is the scariest part.

my trip

2006-10-23T06:17:00.000-07:00

so i drove to quakertown pennsylvania this weekend. 6 hours each way. 2 days to travel. it was a really long drive alone. i had my ipod for the first half (4 hours). mag didn't want to come with me. only he didn't tell me so until 9:45 on saturday morning. i was a little hurt. no. i was a lot hurt. oh well. i have asked him to move into the basement. he is paid through to november. i guess we will see if he wants to really work on things or if he wants to move out entirely in november.

Pork?

2006-10-11T10:01:00.000-07:00

when i used to eat pork i don't think i could tell the difference from beef becasue i didin't care. last week we went to the little corner restaurant adn i ordered canalonni. it was definitly pork. it tasted the way garbage smells. it was yukky. i couldn't finish it. i wonder if it always tasted gross but i didn't notice. funny the way our taste buds get accustomed to the foods we eat. oh well, i won't make that mistake again. it was the first time in 5 years i have eaten pork. that's a looong time. oh well such is life.

feeling blue

2006-07-30T15:00:00.000-07:00

well, i'm feeling blue. nothing really is wrong, but there it is. sometimes you just feel blue. the kids who are here learning english are leaving on saturday next, work is not bad but not great, i still don't have enough to hire someone. kinda in a rut i guess. oh well, dont' even know what to write. if this were stream of consienceness writting it would get very repetitive. i was away last week to a conference and now all i want to do is go back. there are just some people in this world that can't live unless things are always up in the air, always changing. i think i am one of those people. maybe there is gypsy in my blood and being tied down goes against my nature. the more things get stable, the more i want out. oh well, i'm sure this feeling will go away soon.

part time at a bakery in ottawa

2006-07-01T22:17:00.000-07:00

so about once a week i go to a little jewish bakery downtown. i used to work there before i became "maman" and i really like the food. turns out they have just opened the cafeteria in the local JCC and they might need some people for the winter time. now that i'm done school, i don't have anything to do in the winter. i know the owner and i could have worked downtown last winter, but the classes conflicted with the hours. maybe they will hire me back to work at the jcc spot. that would be nice because it's closer to home, but only if i drive. we will only have one car in the winter. my spousal equivalent bought himself a datsun 280Z which, of course, can't be driven in ottawa winters. oh well, i guess we will see when we get there. i really liked working at the bakery. it was fun. i think also that taking the bus would be good for me. more walking less driving... makes the legs look good :)

my diploma

2006-06-25T10:00:00.000-07:00

i got my diploma. it's hanging in my front hall !!!!!! my dad framed it and brought it over for the house warming :) he even framed it in brown so it matches the colours of the living room :) yeah. maybe i can get an apprentice next year. i love to teach. now i just have to find something to do in the winter time. hmm, gardening in the snow... don't think that will work.

Malcolm Reynolds

2006-05-23T15:52:00.000-07:00

that's the name of my very expensive free kitten. someone found him alright. and they took him to the humane society where i had to pay to get him back.. not just the stray fees for keeping him. i had to get Kiki's shots updated before i was alowed to bring Mal home. that was 70$ ish, then the adoption fees where 140$ ish. man, at least he got a microchip out of the deal. and he is licensed, and he has his shots. it's great they even cut his nails!!! ok gettings his nails cut isn't worth 220$, but whatever. there has to be a bright side.

in other news. HOLY crap i'm glad the long weekend was when it was. i was burning out. we have had ten straight days of cool wet weather. now that's nothing if you live in Vancouver, say. but if you live in ottawa it's unheard of. we are actually getting a spring. normally it is so fast you don't even realize it happened. well as a gardener, it's been nuts. the gardens are beautiful and the weeds are soooooo happy. man, i realized i could live in vancouver. although, it hasn't been raining during the day....

maybe vancouver can wait a little bit longer. they do have an awesome program at Capilano and at Kwantlan. learn some new perennials....

I passed all my classes

2006-05-12T10:48:00.000-07:00

don't know what to do now, but i have graduated. i want to go to the ceremony and get the picture with the hat thing, but i don't even know when that is. it will be nice to graduate something. i never went to prom or anything like that. we had a party at the end of grade eight, but that's not the same.

on the sad side, my new kitten got out yesterday at some point and now we can't find him anywhere. he is only 9 months old. we had a big wind storm last night and heavy rain all day today so i am worried that my baby didn't get somewhere safe. i hope he is ok.

Have

2006-05-05T18:04:00.000-07:00

Have - finished classes (waiting for grade posting)
have - mostly finished moving, just a few more things to get sorted out
have - started working full time, starting regular maintenance next week
have - a new kitten to piss of Miss Kitty and give the boy a sense of responsability
have - made enought to pay my credit card
have - to unpack all the damn boxes

still don't know if i have passed all my classes and can graduate this june, but that's ok. i have a little bit more painting to do but we are settle in. now i have to finish unpacking, and get the living room in order. maybe start working on the basement. man, i never thoguht i would turn into a work-o-holic.

gotta keep busy !!!!!!

almost

2006-04-18T06:23:00.000-07:00

almost - done school
almost - graduated
almost - moved into new house
almost - started working
almost - able to pay for all this stuff

well i know its a lot of almosts, but that what stage i'm in right now. next week will be "have" so this is the hard part. waiting. amassing boxes. lots of boxes.

2006-04-11T12:15:00.000-07:00

w00t! i think i might be done. just gonna ask my mom to give it a read and see if there is anything really important missing. phew! since it's due tomorrow i'm glad i finished it. man, i feel like a huge weight has ben lifted. i'm supposed to graduate - that is if i don't screw anything up. all this and repainting the house. i can't wait to move. i really don't want to live here anymore. everytime i open the front door i get this blast of moldy air in my face. most people can't smell it, but i'm sensitive to smells. it's my best sense. well maybe it is tied with touch. my skin is supper sensitive. wow talk about going on a tangent.
i have an hour of nothing until alec comes home so we can go to the new house and finish painting my bedroom. ok, he isn't goign to paint, he is going to try to touch the wet walls and get the red all over the house. yes that's right. red walls. they are beautifull. if i knew how to post pictures i would. it is going to be sooooooooo gorgeous. i'm doing an asian motif in the bedroom so the walls are dark red and all the furniture is going to have dark wood in/on it. i like themes.
the living room is going to be africa. sand coloured and floor pillows and makonde art. i dream about travelling to far away places. some day i'll get there.
maybe in a few years when the boy is older i can go and teach english in far away places. that'd be so much fun. i could learn new languages. meet new people. ok, maybe i should concentrate on finishing school first :P

two week extention

2006-03-30T09:37:00.000-08:00

well, good news for me they cancelled the second lab and are extending by one week and i will still be done school by the third week of april. YE-HAAAAAA!!!! there is a two week extention on the soils project and that is great.
one of the bonsai died, but that was bound to happen anyway. the poor thing was just taking a really long time to die is all. no way to avoid it.
on the bright side, i made a little pre-bonsai out of a maple tree last year and it survived the winter. :) that makes me double plus happy.
i didn't sing with the band last night, but it was due to some miscommunications. we needed more practice but gerg forgot to mention that. it's ok, they are going to play again in two weeks.
i'm supposed to go to smithfalls tomorrow with the class, but the boy has a pd day. it's parent teacher interviews. oops. guess i can't go to see the greenhouse i saw last year. maybe i can write it from memeory. we'll see...

schools back

2006-03-27T06:29:00.000-08:00

well, that was an interesting march break - like the ENTIRE MONTH!! gorramit, a forced break. the worst part is the project that was due on the 29 (in two days) is probably still due even if asking the teacher for help during the "break" was impossible. if you don't understand something and it's illegal for the teacher to answer your questions should you get an extension? i hope so. i wonder if the tuitions will go down because of this, or were the teachers just using the students wellbeing as an excuss?? i guess we won't know. well, one thing i do know is it will mess up my work schedule something fierce. i have already booked half of last years clients. when my schedule is full... maybe i won't graduate after all. GO-SE!!!!!!

well, better get over to the greenhouse before someone tries to kill my plants.

mei-mei

2006-03-20T09:08:00.000-08:00

i'm the best little sister ever. i got my brother THE FLU for his birthday. :) tee hee hee. well, actually i think it was my boy that gave it to him. i was already done being infectious when i saw him, but alec wasn't. had a good time in BC despite the flu. had an alergic reaction - that never happens. but i got to go to blodel conservatory. wow it's pretty in there. they have cockatoos (sp?) and gorgeous flower arrangments. nothing algonquin couldn't do, but they have tropical plants that are 15m tall. :O it was beautiful.
go tto go to the science centre too. that was interesting. small, but interesting. alec loved it. i think they needed to explain the science a little more. they had this really cool shadow room, but there was no explanation as to how it works. that would have been nice on all the displays. kinda reminded me of the childrens section at the musee des civilizations. lots of activities.
well i'm home now and trying really hard to get some studying done, but it's really hard when you have no idea when you are going to be in class next. the strike is still on. i never thought it would happen. last year and the year before they threatened to strike and it never happened. well, i guess i have to stop procrastinating. i wish i had a teacher to ask questions of, though.

Your Ultimate Sci-Fi Profile II: which sci-fi crew would you best fit in?

2006-03-16T16:58:00.000-08:00

You scored as Serenity (Firefly).

cuz i'm a Big Damn Hero!

You like to live your own way and don’t enjoy when anyone but a friend tries to tell you should do different. Now if only the Reavers would quit trying to skin you.

Serenity (Firefly) 100%

Deep Space Nine (Star Trek) 94%
Babylon 5 (Babylon 5) 81%
Millennium Falcon (Star Wars) 81%
Moya (Farscape) 69%
SG-1 (Stargate) 69%
Nebuchadnezzar (The Matrix) 63%
Andromeda Ascendant (Andromeda) 63%
Bebop (Cowboy Bebop) 50%
Enterprise D (Star Trek) 50%
Galactica (Battlestar: Galactica) 50%
FBI's X-Files Division (The X-Files) 44%

Blogger is Broken

2006-02-19T17:20:00.000-08:00

i can't get my posts to show up on my main page. this SUX!!!

i'm gonna be there soon

2006-02-19T16:42:00.000-08:00

i'm comming to vancouver. i'm comming to vancouver. there are crocuses in vancouver. there are three inches of ice on everything in ottawa. i'm comming to vancouver. i'm so excited. this time next week i will be in the rainiest city canada, but you don't have to shovel rain. i hope it doesn't rain all next week. that would be dark and miserable. i wonder if i have to bring food on the plane. PEANUT BUTTER SANDWICHES!!!! i am more excited about comming to vancouver then that i just bought a house. i can't wait. ahhhhhh i'm going crazy with the waiting. i missed you and now i'm going to see you. and the plants, all starting to come out now. it will be so depressing to come back to snow and ice, but i have the greenhouses to hang around in. maybe they will let me grow lavender in the greenhouses. that would be nice. i have joined the bonsai society and i am going to try to make really delicate bonsai, then i can sell them. if i lived in vancouver i could make really beautifull trees out of strange things that don't need winterizing. i hate winter. i'm comming to vancouver. yeeeeeeeeeehaw.

le destin

2006-02-08T17:15:00.000-08:00

Bon, je sais que j'ai dit que tout ira comme il est supposer, mais sa c'est ridicule. On a pris une deuxieme entretien pour Alec au Lycee Claudel, je voulais tellement qu'il y aie, mais il n'a pas reussi ENCORE. Je ne sais pas ce qu'il faut faire pour y passer, mais evidament il ne l'as pas fait. Entoutcas, on vient juste d'avoir une inspection pour la maison qu'on achete!!! tout vas bien au moment. Il y a l'affair avec les etudiants qui vivent la maintenant, mais je pense qu'on a resu ce problem aussi. mon coeur a brisser quand j'ai recu la lettre dissant que alec n'etait pas accepter, mais ca me laisse plus d'argent pour des renovations dans notre nouvelle maison. ce n'est pas finale encore, mais j'attend juste la banque. je suis tellement hate :)

excuse l'ortographe, on a une ordi anglophone.

2006-02-01T19:11:00.000-08:00

The Planet Song:
Well the Sun's a hot star,
Mercury's hot, too.
Venus is the brightest planet,
Earth's home to me and you.
Mars is the red one,
And Jupiter's most wide.
Saturn's got those icy rings,
And Uranus spins on its side.
Neptune's really windy,
And Pluto's really small.

Well we wanted to name the planets,
And now we've named them all.

/* the freaky part is my son has remembered all the words and he hasn't heard this song in three weeks*/

The Dentist

2006-01-19T17:57:00.000-08:00

my son had his first dentist apointment ever yesterday. he was an angel. he didn't even mind when i had to get a filling. last time i went to the dentist and got a filling he freaked out. there was no one there to watch him and all he could see was that two wierd people-monsters with big masks were sticking scary machines that make mean noises into maman's mouth. that was two years ago. this year he went first. he got a cleaning and he got a flossing. he was really happy to get a new tooth brush and special floss just for him. it's pink and tastes, um, well it's flavoured. the hygenist was sooooo wonderfull at explaining everything to him. i used to go to this dentist when i was little. it's 25 minutes from my house now, but i figure if i only go once a year it's no big deal. it's not even that expensive. he played with lego and he answered all their questions.
*sniff* he is growing up so fast :(
i love watching him grow. every stage is a new and wonderfull thing. i am a little worried about him not having a teribble twos, though. everyone says there is one stage that is horrible, and so for we haven't hit it yet. bah, if he does twice the stuff i did when i was a teen i'll still know how to handle it. i hope!!!! :) we have a great realtionship. i think him not having a dad really boosted that. still i wouldn't change it for the world. he even flies better than i do. he doesn't get sore ears or anything. we have been to vancouver six times and we are flying back out there this february. i'm so excited. and i just can't hide it. i'm about to ... you get the point.

enough procrastinating - back to the books. i want to get the best marks i can this semester so i can transfer to kwantlen, maybe, and get a degree. that would be so awesome.

getting in shape

2006-01-03T19:53:00.000-08:00

wow, getting in shape is a lot harder than i thought. my brother is in town for the holidays and we have gone to the pool a few times together. he goes normally to the vancouver aquatic centre which is much bigger than our pools but it's still water. i did 700 meters today and i was exhausted. not directly after, it took about an hour and a half to set in. and now, 9 hours later, i'm just starting to feel it in my muscles. it was fun though, and i adopted a new pair of goggles. someone left them in the sauna. met a nice woman who told me about a book "total emersion". aparently it's crackalackin' ( too much madagascar this week :) it's all about technics and stuff. i might even start training to be a lifeguard. i think that would be a great thing to be in the winter. and if i move i can always work at a pool while i'm looking for gardens to work in. that would be cool. i bet there are lots of pools in vancouver. i would like to move there. it doesn't snow as much there. don't get me wrong i like the break, but what am i going to do with myself next year. i'm going to graduate this june ( i hope) and so i will be done school. we are thinking about buying a house but we can't agree on styles or location yet. i guess it will take a little longer. maybe a little dancing - one of my mom's friends is a belly dancer, or was before she retired, in vancouver. she would danse in all the greek and turkish restaurants. she made a lot of money. it's great excersize, too. so maybe between singing, gardening, swimming, and danzing i'll be able to stay fit.

*crosses fingers* here's hoping :)

x-mas time

2005-12-22T11:35:00.000-08:00

so it's christmas time. ok i don't celebrate christmas but it is hard to get away from. i mean, we have a tree and we wrap gifts, and we get together with family and everything. this year is supper screwy because the first night of hannukah is on the 25th. alec loves it, he thinks the lights and the tree and the snow all together make christmas. it is fun for me too, because i get to watch him and get a small glimps into child psychology. it's funny the things he thinks are great and the ones he just plays with from time to time. MAG got him a spiderman toy that he thought alec would love and i got him swimming goggles. guess which one he cries if you take away???? the goggles. spiderman is a superhero but with the goggles make alec the superhero. the kid would sleep with them on if i let him. it's so cute.

things just work out that way.

2005-12-01T15:02:00.000-08:00

so this year i decided that i had things under control, with work and school and everything, that i could start back with the choir i was in a few years ago. well, little did i know that i was going to get two solos, and a soli, and an offer to sing with a jazz band. on top of that an on-the-spot musician my mom hired for a night of song for her birthday party said i had a great voice for certain songs - and he named a bunch, then he stayed twenty minutes overtime (for free) so he could play and i sing. talk about weird. i thought i was suposed to be a gardener, but the cosmos is telling me something different. i guess i have my winter job cut out for me :) i was starting to wonder what i would do for the 7 months of the year that it is cold here.