Pascua Lama
I received an email from Christine today about an ongoing situation in Chile, and I've already passed it along. Just wanted to give you all the option to do the same.
Basically, a giant corporation - Barrick Gold - is looking to make a few dollars (more like lots and lots of dollars) off a 'discovery' of large gold deposits they've made in the Chilean mountains. The benefit to the people of Chile? Absolutely nothing. And even worse, the excavation will destroy their source of clean glacier water and pollute their rivers. All so that big fat corporate folks (including George Bush Sr.) can get even bigger and fatter. The oldest story in the world... But only because no one cares enough to stop it from happening.
Here's the Snopes site that verifies the email I received and provides background. They also have some articles from news media in South America - and it contains instructions for how to let more people know, and how to add your voice to this protest.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/pascualama.asp
There's a related petition you can sign with one measly click of your mouse: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/946839131?ltl=1149098416
L
Here's a peek at the region in question:
Give this lady a prize...
Egad! The worst baking disaster in history happened in my kitchen on Monday night... I made two amazing batches of cookies, and then decided to quickly whip up some banana muffins.
I have NEVER screwed up baking like this before. In fact, I make fun of people who have things like this happen to them (sorry, Emily). I knew the batter looked funny - odd consistency - but I didn't think it would be a big deal. I've made the muffins a hundred times, all successful. Well, now 99% successful.
And one attempt that looked like this... I have never laughed so hard in my life.
L
Weekend Update (no Tina Fey, sorry)
Crazy weekend! It all began, of course, with Girls Night on Friday where I was somehow peer pressured into having my toes painted pink with white polka-dots. They're growing on me... I still don't think I'm really fun enough to really pull off this look.
I'm reminded of a 'Friends' episode where Monica is trying to convince everyone that she's fun, and Chandler agrees that she's very fun... at organized indoor activities. Which proves two things:
1. That my friends are right, and I am in fact some bizarre cross-breed of Monica and Rachel.
2. That there is in fact a 'Seinfeld' or a 'Friends' episode to illustrate every possible life event or moment.
On Saturday, I accompanied my mom to Falk Nurseries where we picked out some gorgeous flowers (and said hi to Emily). Then we went to hear Jessica, Mandy, and Jon at a concert in Niverville - they sounded amazing! I was so ridiculously proud of my family and their musical abilities. They clean up pretty nicely too :)
Yesterday morning was one of the most memorable church services I can recall... About five minutes before we were scheduled to begin, the hydro went out. After ten minutes of running around and making sure everyone was safe, we decided to go ahead with church and my band led worship, unplugged. It was incredible. It was so cool to sing and to be able to hear everyone's voices from the congregation like that, singing from memory, and for us to be singing in the dark - knowing that you're surrounded by people but worshipping so privately. The power came back on just in time for the team that just returned from a volunteer project in Guatemala to share and show their pictures. It was perfect.
And then last night, we had our Young Adults wind-up BBQ. Everyone came out to my parents' place and we had a totally informal evening, just hanging out. Unbelievably, the weather cooperated and it turned out to be a beautiful evening.
L
Some pics from our BBQ...
Marie-Eve, Alicia, and Kathy chillin' by the fire
Hungry people
Jessica looking very focused on her food, and Jenni-Lynn looking... pensive
My dad supervises as Rebecca learns how to cut firewood with power tools - um, whose idea was this???!
Girls Night
Last night was sooo relaxing... Darcie came and did pedicures for a bunch of us girls, and we sat around talking and eating (chocolate fondue!).
I'm not very wild and crazy, so I was going to pick my usual red for my toes. Somehow, I ended up doing them bright pink with white polka dots. I suppose they'll grow on me... In any case, it's amazing how something as simple as a pedicure can make you feel fabulous :)
L
Drama Queen
Okay, so last night wasn't that bad after all.
And tonight was great - Em came over and watched the Alias series finale with me. Can I just say for the record that I LOVE happy endings. Plus I got Emily to say 'sneaky weasel' out loud, so it was pretty much a good day all around :)
I know it was uber-cheesy that they brought Michael Vartan back to life for the last couple of episodes, but it made me ridiculously happy - that kind of happy where you know that it's totally and completely disproportionate to the actual thing that you're happy about. Can't help it... He's dreamy in a totally attainable, boy-you-had-a-crush-on-in-high school kind of way.
Or maybe it was just the whole bad-guy-killing secret agent thing that was making it work for me. I must admit that as soon as we realized that his 'real' name was Andre and that he had some dark little secrets of his own... Mmm. A man with some edge who's more take-home-to-mom-friendly than Colin Farell. And he speaks foreign languages and plays hockey. Um, where do I sign up?
L
Oh, the humanity...
I'm working on working up the nerve to go to bed... It is HOT in my room. And (unfortunately) not in THAT way. It's so warm and muggy outside that you could probably choke on the air, and the situation indoors is not really much better.
Whenever I'm just icky and hot like this, I am tempted to exclaim dramatically: "The heat... My god, the heat!" What's an uncomfortable life situation without a well-placed Seinfeld reference? Especially a reference from the best episode of all time. Plus, the quiz said I was a drama queen :)
Anyway. My fan's been running for a while now, so maybe I'll go try to sleep. Or maybe I'll be a princess and go sleep on the couch downstairs where it's cool. Wow, Lindsay. It's only MAY. You are going to lose on this whole survival of the fittest thing before August.
Unless you crazy wilderness-worshipping people have been wrong all along - maybe it's the WEAK who survive. Huh? Huh?! Betcha didn't think about THAT!
L
It's Kenemy's Fault
Fine. I don't really know how I can creatively blame this on Kris... But it's habit. And I felt bad for blaming Heather.
Here goes...
I AM: Not really sure why I'm doing this. I sense it might take more than two minutes (the average time I spend on a blog post). But I'm needing a break from crazy clients this afternoon. And if Heather can do it, then so can I. And then I'll post it to my own blog and force it upon others! Mwaahahaha...
I WANT: To experience that feeling of contentment with life every single day. Not even for the whole day - just for a moment each day. I think that would be so cool.
I WISH: I was one of those girls who could jump out of the shower, throw on some clothes, and go - and look totally stunning with no make-up and air-dried hair.
I HATE: People who are sneaky, judgmental, or lack compassion. Ooh, that's funny. I was just totally lacking compassion when I said I hated people. And I'm totally judging them by calling them sneaky or judgmental or lacking compassion. Oh, the irony. Whatever. You know what I mean. At least I wasn't sneaky.
I MISS: Playing outdoor soccer with Lindie and Jolene. And that crazyfun summer when all of my girl friends were single at the same time.
I FEAR: Giving birth to an ugly child. Seriously. Well, think about it... It would be horrible to know that your child is ugly. And it would also be horrible to NOT know that your ugly child is ugly - and push pics on unsuspecting friends and family.
I WONDER: What my life will be like when I'm 35. I wonder where I'll live, where I'll work, who I'll live with, what will fill my days. I wonder if I'll be aging gracefully. I wonder if I'll finally give up on George Clooney and settle on Plan B.
I REGRET: Not learning to stick up for myself until I was in my 20s. Once you learn what you need/want/love and how to take care of yourself (and once you realize that taking care of yourself is your own responsibility), life becomes so much happier.
I AM NOT: As confident as everyone probably thinks I am.
I DANCE: When I drive in my car. And when I'm cleaning my house.
I SING: Constantly, but quietly. Unless I'm in my car and listening to something that just demands to be sung at full volume... Like every single early 90s power ballad.
I CRY: Lots. I tear up during commercials and when I read the news and when I'm singing in church. I cry on my way home from Young Adults, when I'm praying for all the things the girls have just shared. I bawl during the Olympics and when someone close to me makes me proud of them. I am completely incapacitated when I see Joints in Motion promos on Global.
I AM NOT ALWAYS: Good at keeping in touch with people who don't use email.
I MAKE WITH MY HANDS: Really yummy lasagna. The best chocolate chip cookies in the world. And paintings I never show anyone.
I WRITE: So much at work that I have somehow lost the art of journalling and the ambition to write my novel. I'm working on changing both of those things...
I CONFUSE: What I want with what I think others expect of me. Especially when it comes to boys. I feel sometimes like I should be married by now - not because I want to be, but because I feel like other people think I should be. Deep breath, folks... I'm still ridiculously young, I'm a superfox, and it will happen when it happens.
I NEED: A list of goals and the feeling of accomplishing them. Which is why I have a Master List of things to accomplish before I die. And it's funny - the stupid little random things feel every bit as good to cross off the list as the epic, life-defining accomplishments.
I SHOULD: Spend more time with Jessica (my real little sister) and Chynna (my 'adopted' one).
I START: Every project with a ridiculous amount of enthusiasm and a big, crazy idea of how fabulous it could be when it's finished. I absolutely love the organizing and planning part of a new project. I get the same feeling I had every September when even my outdoor shoes were shiny white, my notebooks were pristine, and my pencil crayons were sharpened to a perfect point and arranged by colour. Wow. I should maybe go back to therapy.
I FINISH: With a feeling of mixed accomplishment and disappointment. I'm always a little bit sad that it's over, and I always see the ten things I could have done better. But I'm always starting to get excited about what might be coming up next...
I TAG: The slow, fat kid with the wooden leg.
L
Happy Sigh
All is right with the world again... My hair is fixed, compliments of the salon's senior colourist. The boy apologized for being MIA on Friday night. My dad is home from Guatemala and my brother is home from Calgary.
Now, if I can only manage to find two hours to watch the Alias finale Bethany taped for me on the weekend...
L
Hair Update
I know that there are starving children in Africa, yadda, yadda, yadda... But this little hair crisis of mine has been all-consuming today. I'm totally hideous. Even eternally polite Christine thinks so :)
I called the salon this morning and they wanted to book me another appointment with The Girl Who Wrecked My Hair - and told me I'd need to pay to see anyone else. HELLO. Yeah, one quick chat with the manager corrected that little suggestion. I'm seeing one of their 'senior stylists' after work today, but I still haven't decided if I'm going to let them touch it. I'm so scared of over-processing and having icky straw hair.
A perfect solution for me right now would be a colour fix and a discount on Saturday's disaster.
I'll let you know how it all turns out...
L
Why women don't need men, and other things that contributed to my somewhat adventurous long weekend.
First things first... I'd hoped to begin my long weekend by meeting a new guy to watch the hockey game. Granted, I was pretty non-committal when we discussed these potential plans on Thursday. But I came home from work on Friday evening and I was ready to go, just waiting for him to contact me to set up a time - like we'd talked about. No contact. I ended up hanging out with Bethany (who was also stood up) and attempting to assemble my new barbeque. I'd call that evidence of women not needing men, but we haven't actually used it to barbeque yet... I'll wait for it to not explode before I declare victory.
And then we had girls weekend at the lake, where we managed to survive in the wild all on our own. Granted, it was 24 hours. And less than 90 minutes from the outskirts of Winnipeg. And a campground with full service where our camper was already set up. But we cooked over the fire, man! That's gotta be worth something.
On a mostly unrelated note, I was assaulted on Saturday morning. If a lawsuit was an option, I'd be pursuing it right now. I saw a new hairdresser for a colour and she maimed me. I have red hair, people. Kind of auburn, but reallyreally red in the sun. It is a different colour on top than it is on the bottom, and it is NOT - by any stretch of the imagination - a 'dark ash blonde' as requested. I'm going to complain after work tonight...
L
Stuff on my Cat
I honestly wish this wasn't so funny to me, but IT IS. I'm not even an animal person. I just appreciate the creativity and effort that went into some of these pictures.
Check out www.stuffonmycat.com. Seriously. And then giggle like I did.
L
Oi
My company (
Cocoon) launched a modular furniture concept today - it's been a total frenzy of activity in our office. It's pretty cool... Very adaptable. Environmentally low-impact. Plus it looks good (always a bonus).
It was unveiled to local media today, and the world will get to experience the wonder and majesty that is Oi at
ICFF in New York this weekend.
For those of you who are more than just politely curious, you can read about this project and how it was developed
here.
L
We Are Family
Well. Another Mother's Day successfully celebrated. I think. Actually, you'd better ask my mom.
I ended up having my mom's entire family over for dinner on Sunday, which meant a VERY full house - with very little furniture. It went well. It's always nice to see everyone, though you don't get to visit as much when you're playing hostess. I did get some cuddle time in with baby Mady, so it's all good. Except that she puked on me. But that's just kind of a risk you take.
This was my first Mother's Day EVER where I thought for a second - hey, I want to be celebrated on this day sometime. Don't get me wrong, there's no clock ticking... I just realized that I do eventually want to be a mom. I still have a looong time before Plan B (aka Operation Angelina) kicks in. It's just kinda comforting to realize that there is a slight maternal instinct buried down there, beneath my control freak tendencies and workaholism.
I'll never baby talk, though. I hate people who baby talk. I think it's insulting to infants' intelligence.
L
Off the Hook
...meaning that you an all breathe a little easier now, not that this is some kind of supafly blog post.
Both models and location have been confirmed for Monday morning's photo shoot. That means that I won't be last-second-recruiting any family or friends to call in sick and help me out.
That also means I'll be able to sneak in just a little bit of Mother's Day this weekend - which should make my mom happy. Though I think I just volunteered to host her entire family at my place on Sunday for dinner... Apparently, 'not my problem, sucka' is NOT in my vocabulary.
Also working on a Big Cocoon Announcement for Monday... Stay tuned! :)
L
I did this quiz to prove you all wrong... Umm... It didn't really work out quite the way I had imagined.
You Are a Drama Queen (or King) |
(You are more dramatic than 70% of the population.)
And the oscar goes to... you!
You're all about overreacting and just plain acting.
You see the world as your stage, and give a great performance.
And while you're friends may find you entertaining at times...
Everyone's secretly hoping that you'll just chill a little.
(But they'd never tell you - they fear your wrath!) |
Home Sweet Home
I moved this weekend. Again. But I think you'll all approve. I've nestled myself into a pretty residential area of St. Boniface, on a street where the houses are built up on a hill, surrounded by these amazing old trees. It doesn't feel like Winnipeg (and that's a comment from an unabashed Winnipeg-lover).
My house is almost 1300 square feet, spread out over six levels. I am definitely NOT going to be signing up for any step aerobics classes. I have plenty of storage space and lots of living room - which is good because I also have THREE roommates right now.
What is it that makes a place where you live feel like home? I've been asking this question while unpacking in my new place this weekend - a place that immediately felt like home.
A few options I've considered:
1. People. Though it certainly helps, it can't only be people, because I've called places 'home' when I didn't really like my roommates and I've felt decidedly not-at-home with people I've loved living with.
2. Location. Again, this isn't it - because I've felt at home in one ghetto apartment and not in two others. (Yeah, I know. It almost seems I LIKE living in the 'hood.)
3. Duration. It can't be only about the length of time you stay - because our Niverville apartment would have never, ever felt like home to me.
4. Personal Stuff. This must have something to do with it, because that same apartment in Niverville felt like home to Emily right away.
So really, in the end, it becomes less of a Math problem and more of an English discussion. (I love it when that happens). It's totally subjective. It's one of those intangible things that just can't be rationalized. My new place feels like home. And I knew it would - I knew it the moment I stepped inside at the beginning of March, just like I knew all those other places I had looked at were NOT home.
My tulips are going to bloom soon. Yes, I have tulips! I am absolutely fascinated by them. I can't wait to see what colour they are :)
L
