Today I feel...

Source: CREO zine

Wedding Hiatus

I've been on a little hiatus lately. This weekend was my sister's wedding. She was the perfect picture of a bride. She looked like she just walked straight off the pages of Martha Weddings. In fact, the entire day would've been Martha approved. It went so smoothly and in very Jenn-fashion, every detail added a little more character and charm. The weather was amazing, the scenery beautiful, guests happy, speeches heartfelt... I wish I could rewind time and do it all over again. Congratulations to my new brother-in-law and his beautiful (inside and out) bride.

3

My boyfriend's mom Annette is the successful franchise owner of a skincare and cosmetics company. Without a university degree, she's climbed her way from beauty consultant to franchise president and will be the first to attribute her success to having a vision and fully believing in what she does..

Recently she was talking about the power of 3. She believes that 3 is a powerful, symbolic number. Every day she writes her list for the day, things she wants to accomplish in the day, and she's also one to write out affirmations about who she is and who she wants to be.

She's asked me to try to come up with my lists -3 values that guide my life; 3 goals; and 3 things I'd like to master... This sounds easy, but it's actually kind of hard. I'm going to close my eyes and try to think about it for a minute...

...okay, I'm back.

3 Guiding Values:

1. Love - to love and be loved. This value could also be called
"Relationships".

2. Laughter - to find pleasure and humour in every day.

3. Honesty - live life fulfilled, being completely honest to yourself and others.

I just looked at the clock. It's already Tuesday morning. Arg. I don't have the brain power to continue tonight. I'll do my best to prioritize my top 3 goals and 3 skills I'd like to master after I get some shuteye. Goal #1. Remember to establish remaining goals...

In Ottawa - West Fest

This weekend my bff Olga is coming to visit. She couldn't have picked a better weekend to make the trek from Toronto.

Not only do I say that because she's going to help me bake the cake for my sister's wedding on June 19, but after the flour, sugar, and cocoa has been put back in the cupboard, we're going to head out to WestFest in Ottawa's Westboro village.

WESTFEST 2009

I've never been to WestFest, so I'm especially looking forward to it. We'll see Canadian and local multi-disciplinary artists, including music, performance arts, visual art, dance, photography, etc. Sloan is headlining on Saturday. I've never seen them before, nor have I ever been compelled to, but we'll check it out.

Amy is coming over on Saturday too. She'll help us with the cake, and is also bringing another craft. She's renting a button maker. So many ideas floating through my head. I can't wait for the creative weekend. I'll post pictures with my new Canon. :)

June: Dream

Today I feel...

Memory Lane

I was up until about 1:00am last night, working on the speech for Jenn's wedding I'm co-writing with my fellow MOH and other sister, Kate. I'm not going to post any snippits because I don't want to give anything away in the chance Jenn reads this, but I do want to say that I feel like in the past 12 hours, I've traveled back in time and relived some of my fondest memories, playing in the Vivian forest behind our childhood home, spending so much time outside that we'd inevitably smell like the fresh outdoors when we returned. I distinctly remember how my eyes would have to readjust to indoor lighting when we'd come back in after playing until sundown. And I remember the feeling of crusty dry leaves that would always somehow get under my shirt, in my hair, and in my socks.

Jenn, Kate, baby Sarah, 1986

What a fantastical childhood we shared. Our epic imaginary games were such real adventures. I wonder when the last time we played our favourite game, "Magic Kids", was. My sisters were magical sisters, named "Mickey" and "Nickey", and probably because I wasn't old enough to speak when we started playing this game, I was their magical cat, appropriately named "Little Cat" because I was about an inch in height. I was fluffy, white, and could make myself invisible, among many of our other magical abilities. Kate describes our adventures well. "We would instantly and magically “ding” ourselves to various locations around the world. We would also “ding” ourselves any food, clothing, horses and treasures we desired. To communicate in winter, all we had to do was blow frosty visible breath into the air; into this cloud the face of whomever we wanted to talk to would appear. This is often how our boss would assign us new missions." Move over Harry Potter.

Kate, Jenn, Sarah, 1990

Oh they say when you marry in June

My sister Jenn is getting married in about 2 weeks. When we were kids, my grandma Anne introduced us to "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers", a 1950s musical we'd watch over and over. I just can't stop humming this tune....

On / Off Switch

Admittedly, I've been up and down lately. One day I'm filled with ambition and the next I'm feeling sorry for myself for not being where I want to be right NOW. Ryan tells me I'm overly pensive. I have to agree. I think about things so much that I can make my situation 100 times more dramatic in my head. I have so many great things going on right now - I have a fantastic relationship, great friends, a wonderful family, a great apartment, security, health... so much more than so many people out there. I'm so fortunate. Poor Ryan - he gets the brunt of my colourful emotional rants. Here you go babe, just for you:

via Lolita

That being said, I don't think it's inappropriate to want to find your shtick (tangent: I just had to find where that word comes from, "shtick". Thanks wiki.).

ps. Just picked up my new Canon Rebel XS. Eeeeeeeeek! :)

Sweet Jane's Jacket

I've always loved the name Jane. It's sweet and simple. It's my mother's name and I'm proud to carry it on as my middle name. Sarah Jane just sounds nice. Sure, it's got a bit of country twang to it, but I think that suits. I really think I need this jacket (via auburn & ivory).

Happy Birthday to Me!

For my birthday, I'm buying a new DSLR camera. I'm leaning towards Canon, just because I trust the name, but moreso because I like the idea of being a "rebel". Can't wait to get this beauty in my hands.

Some disappointing news: I called OCAD (Ontario College of Art and Design) today to see about the earliest possible time I could start. I've learned it's not until September 2011. On the bright side, I have all the time in the world to build a solid portfolio and do more soul searching.

Today I feel...

via Audrey Hepburn Complex

Food Fight

I just finished watching the film "Food Inc." If you haven't seen it, you should. It'll give you some "food for thought" about the American food industry. I'd like to think where I live, our food system isn't completely controlled by industry giants, but with our close ties to the States, it makes me second guess that. (Click on the image to preview the Food Inc Trailer).



I've challenged myself this summer - buy all my fruit and vegetables from the local Byward Market farmers. Every summer they have booth after booth of fresh garden goodness. We picked up bags of crisp green beans, 4 sweet bell peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, wild garlic, onions, and zucchini for $15! And we got a lot, I mean, three grocery bags full! Ryan made me an amazing vegetable casserole on my birthday, and we have leftovers to last us a month! My friend Megan gave me Smith & MacKinnon's "The 100-Mile Diet". Buying my fruit and veggies at the market is a small, achievable goal. We'll see if after reading this book, I'll be willing to take it to the next level...