Stuff We Like

Pantless and Fancy Free

2008-12-20T09:38:00.000-08:00

I don't just like Christmas, I love it.

And I love every Christmas movie of all time, pretty much. Included on the list would be everything from "It's a Wonderful Life" to "Die Hard" (the original, and only the original), "Miracle on 34th Street", "Bad Santa" and 97 hundred others.

I love the end of the semester - I plan not to put real pants on all weekend, or go anywhere, or really even leave the couch except to get more coffee, wine, water or chocolate. The grades are in, sort of mostly, but at the very least they're out of my hands, so there is nothing to do but lounge and laze and graze. I'm not habitually a sloth, and in the summer I'd be starting work about a week ago, so the winter semester gap is the most relaxed time of the year. This one is extra special, because it's the very last one of my undergrad. I'm going to savour it, by not wearing real pants.

2008-11-09T14:42:00.000-08:00

I like bad crime TV!
And long weekends!
And multiple birthday cards!

2008-08-21T14:42:00.000-07:00

I liked Journey to the Centre of the Earth. It's in 3D! It's a ridiculous fun stupid family movie that feels good. Take your parents, they will have adorable childhood associations with 3D glasses and everyone will be happy.

Don't go see Vicky Christina Barcelona. It was awful. Seriously awful. I think it was the result of a bet someone made Woody Allen, about how little work he could do on a movie while still managing to get it released in theatres. He mostly couldn't even be bothered to write dialogue. I'd say it's worth it as softcore porn, but no one takes their clothes off. It would only be satisfying if you were the creepy middle aged guy who got off on watching the sort of sexy scenes you convinced good looking women to do because you were in charge. And even then, probably you could come up with something better to watch. Penelope Cruz was pretty good in it I guess. Maybe rent it to watch while vacuuming and then turn the vacuum off during the parts she's in.

2008-07-04T17:02:00.000-07:00

I would like to point out that I was way ahead of Sarah on the Cobs bread. My family has been enjoying their baked offerings for a year now. Take that! Also, the best is totally their tomato and cheese "twisted delight" which is basically delicious braided bread laced with tomato sauce goodness and cheese. a close runner up is found in their cinnamon scones. and the cinnamon buns. oh the cinnamon buns...

also, I like hot tubs that have been converted into cold tubs by clever younger siblings such that there is a tiny pool in the back yard. I like these lots in 30+ weather.

and ice cream. I forgot how great ice cream is in the summer on a hot day.

2008-07-04T16:32:00.000-07:00

Cobs bread, and more specifically, Cobs' chocolate croissants.

Also, I chewed up my feet pretty badly with a bunch of new shoes/borrowed shoes/generally having ugly and chronically blistery feet, so I would like to give a shout out to band aids and polysporin. Not quite a pedicure, but it'll do for now...

2008-06-18T12:23:00.000-07:00

Every woman knows the frustration of bra shopping. It sucks. No one teaches us how bras should fit and sizing is incredibly complicated. You've got band width and cup size, but neither are constants; cup size depends on band width, hence the cup size on a 34 B would be the same as a 32 C and equivalent to a 36 A. The actual measurements, fit and shaping vary depending on brand. It is little wonder some women give up and stick with sports bras.

I puzzled over bra sizing for some time. I went with 36 A for a long time, then was advised to try a 34 B. I stuck with this for a while, coping with the annoyance of bands riding up my back and strap slippage. Just over a year ago a friend convinced me to invest in a bra fitting and, after much convincing, I relented.

If you live in Edmonton and have breasts, please, at some point, take time out of your busy life to visit Dawn's Bra-tique. Sure, I agree, she could have gone with a better name, but don't let that dissuade you. My first fitting yielded a multitude of bra fitting secrets: most women are wearing a cup size that is too small. The cup size, while it does relate to the actual projection or girth of the breast is most importantly about the width of the breast. A relatively flat woman might still require a C cup if she is broadchested. The shoulder straps should do almost no work. What holds you in place is the band. Buy a bra that fits on the loosest hooks and, as it stretches, as the shoulder straps start to slip, move inward clasp by clasp. And alterations, alterations, alterations.

Unfortunately, in addition to being effing complicated, bras cost a lot of money. This, of course, depends on how large your breasts are (the larger the pricier) and how "normal" you are, according to industry standards. Being big-ish and not so normal, I am hard-pressed to find a bra under 75 dollars. If you're the bra-wearing type, it's a necessary and a worthwhile investment, but, when broke, one has little choice but to go braless or buy cheap, ill-fitted bras... or this is what I thought until a few days ago when a friend suggested I check out eBay. I basically missed the eBay craze. I had never, before yesterday, ventured into the cyber marketplace, but I figured it was worth a peak. I was right. I found two of my current favourite bras both of which I purchased on auction for a total cost (with taxes and shipping in Canadian dollars) of just over 40 dollars. I'll need to have them altered separately, but still. Wow.

So today I like eBay. If you are of the female persuasion, I think you should consider sending some love eBay's way. If you include a bit of money, they'll send you awesome bras in exchange!

2008-05-15T11:33:00.000-07:00

Lately I don't like much. Or the things I do like are... little and temporary and generally unhealthy. So. A slightly depressing turn from a slightly depressed blogger. I do /not/ like:

1) mass denial and irresponsible parenting. Seriously. Aren't you supposed to be a little less stupid and a tiny bit less selfish by the time you hit 50 and have five children?

2) Insecurity. Mine, yours, his, hers, theirs.

3) Mean people. There are a surprisingly large number of mean people, and I'm starting to worry that I'm one of them. I think it's mostly accidental. I'm distracted and tired and depressed and so I don't pay attention to much and then I realize, once it's too late, that I've been inexcusably rude to someone, often a total stranger, and I mostly want to run after him or her and apologize and explain, but then I realize that doing so would make me mean /and/ weird /and/ creepy.

4) Arrogance and condescension. Especially the kind cloaked in disingenuous helpfulness.

5) Almost everything I read lately. I seem to have lost the ability to be inspired, or even stirred, by writing. I think I'm really hoping to stumble across the person who is having all the sapient thoughts I think /I/ should be having, except that no one appears to be doing so... or the answer is always "it's more complicated than that" and so I'm always disappointed and impatient. Basically, I'm whiny and disillusioned and tired of reading things that aren't quite convincing.

5) Sarah leaving the province for over a month. This just sucks. Seriously.

But there are some things I like. Few and far between, but they're there. I'm kind of addicted to Queer as Folk. Rent it, if only to drool over Brian.

I quite like spring. It's sunny and walks are once again possible and so is swinging.

I'm a fan of my little brother being home again.

I was pretty jazzed to read Sarah's last post. Yes to all of it (although I honestly haven't tried the antiperspirant and, given that I don't have this perspiration problem, I probably won't)

Mostly I think I need to learn to take care of myself. You would think I'd have this covered by now, at 23, but I totally don't. I need to feed myself properly and establish routines and sleep regular hours and do things that make me feel like I'm worthwhile all on my lonesome. I need to learn to do just that /well/ and then maybe...

And in commemoration of our final days together for six weeks...

We are both baffled by this store. It's on Jasper around 105St. Do women with careers have particular bridal dress needs unnecessary for the rest of us commonfolk? Do the dresses come with built in power suits underneath? Sarah, feel free to hypothesize further...

Again, both baffled. What sort of parties are the catholic elementary students having? What kind of party does spring suggest? I really hope there are raves going on in the gymnasium.

Also, while walking yesterday we passed graffiti that read "ballz the fuck deep". ??? It was scrawled on a "one way" sign that was high enough that the writing of this particular message would have been a significant challenge requiring planning and some sort of elevating device. We took this to indicate that the message must have had some deep significance to the author. We are still attempting to discern what this might be. Feel free to brainstorm with us...

2008-05-11T19:32:00.000-07:00

Some of you who know me (too) well will know that I have a grandfather who died of Alzheimers, and am also a sort of rabid hypochondriac, and the combination of the two have led me to avoid aluminum whenever possible, since it's been linked to an increased risk of the disease.

You will also know that I sweat rather much for a girl, by which I do not mean I get a little flush during exersize, but that I produce the fluid in quantities which would embarrass a professional football team.

Those of you who are into that kind of thing will know that all working deodorant on the market contains aluminum as an active ingredient, and that rubbing it near your lymph nodes daily concerns me, and should probably concern you, but also that those freaking crystal health food replacements are about as effective as crystal reading would be in preventing perspiration.

So, you will understand how delighted I was to discover Adidas has a new line of aluminum free anti-perspirant! So delighted I actually squealed a little in that aisle of the drug store. You should all go get some. It also smells delicious and is neat looking.

And, I started my day with a 5K fundraiser walk with my mum, which was an excellent way to spend Mother's Day - we didn't race really, it was just early morning chat times, a good view and a chance to see my mum be really proud of something she did.

Once upon a time when things were really hard, Laura came at me with the reminder that I don't need to think so far ahead - I only need to do what it takes to survive this second, really. That's all I have to worry about. Anything more is overwhelming and unnecessary - I can handle one more second though, no matter how bad things are.

Things aren't quite as hard, now, I hope, for either of us - we're out of that level of triage, maybe, at least a little. And today I came across the phrase "Just do the next right thing". It seems like a good bit to graduate onto. There's a lot I can't control right now, there's a lot I should not try to control - there are a lot of things I hope for, ache for, wish for, doubt, fear and wonder about. There are a lot of places that seem impossible to get to, a lot of stuff I don't think I will ever know, a lot of things I am not certain about and do not know how to decide. I can't make any of this happen, wholesale. I can't, if I'm honest, really make any of it happen at all. I can only do the next right thing. And that sounds like something I can handle.

(Also, I found a bag of mini-eggs in my brother's room today, looking for a memory card for my digital camera that he bought me before he left. I like mini-eggs, and I like my camera and I like that I'm going to be using it in Quebec soon, and I like that I'm a little scared by that, but mostly I like my family, adopted and not, quite a lot.)

2008-04-23T15:50:00.000-07:00

Yeah, whatever; I totally win. I'm not even sure what the competition /is/ anymore, but I'm totally a winner. My Mom told me so. Then again, she also said I was a princess and sometimes called me her little pumpkin and I'm fairly certain I'm neither of those things. Whatever; I still win.

Today I really like Sarah Harmer. I can't find the one that's been on repeat all day, but this one's pretty good too. Also, enjoy the random pictures provided by... someone on youtube.

But if you can, go find Tether. It's my favourite.

I also like sushi. I will be having sushi tonight. Sushi in the company of a good friend who swears and drinks like a fish, and regularly self-medicates, and is depressed, and messed up, and has sex, and is fully accepting of the notion that he will never, ever live up to the religious ideals he values and strives to attain, and is brutally honest about his failings. In other words, a real person, a good person. I really like these. Really, really.

2008-04-22T13:44:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty sure that all competitions are decided by the people who finish first, and so since I posted first I win. All competitions.

Speaking of which, I like that I'm going to be in Quebec at the same time as maybe the Habs are in the playoffs still. So, I'm asking you to like the Habs, and cheer your faces off so that I get to be surrounded by some crazy excited Francophones.

Plus, wheat crunch - how awesome is wheat crunch? Grade 5 lunchbox awesome, that's how awesome.

And, as the worst vegan ever, I am excited about marshmallows in hot chocolate for this dreary quiet snowed-in weather. I didn't buy them, and they'd get thrown out if I didn't eat them. So I think, in fact, it is my moral duty to eat marshmallows until I am so sick and sugar high my stomach hurts.

And yes, delicious tofu dinner parties here we come.

2008-04-20T19:53:00.001-07:00

Oooo, oooo! I forgot. I also really like fancy dinner parties involving a huge variety of tofu dishes. Sarah and I are planning such a party sometime this summer. You are probably invited so long as you own a tuxedo or a fabulous gown. These will be required.

2008-04-20T19:14:00.000-07:00

I like competition and so I am catching up.

First I will clear the air with some things I don't like. I really don't like sociology textbooks. They're just... bad. And boring and mostly a massive waste of time. I have now read 330 pages of "Social Problems in a Diverse Society" and I kind of want to bore out my eyes with this pencil. Listen up kids: please, please, please take your 100 level requirements in your first year. Do not forget about them and be forced to care about this crap in your final semester of your last year. Trust me; it doesn't work out well.

I am also not much a fan of stupid boys with peter pan syndrome. Grow up folks. Seriously. Stop making the people I love sad.

I also disapprove of winter in spring. I am not a big winter person. I hate trudging through snow and I don't deal well with cold. I have no trouble with winter as long as I can stay indoors throughout, but this is rarely possible. Today however was acceptable as I spent the whole time snuggled inside, drinking coconut tea in my giant fuzzy sweats.

That out of the way, on to things I like. Things I like are plenty. I really like licorice. I haven't had licorice in ages, but I purchased some a few days ago on a whim and now I can't stop eating it. I was also excited to discover that it now comes in lots of flavours: grape, watermelon, lemon, green apple. Of course, classic strawberry will always have my heart.

I also really like volunteering. In addition to providing that fabulous warm and fuzzy feeling in my mushy gushy parts, I am lucky enough to volunteer with absolutely fascinating and totally hilarious seniors who are phenomenally entertaining. Little Esther just got back from a Caribbean cruise and so we were all regaled with stories of her poolside adventures. Mostly all she talked about is how fat people are and how amazed she is that they would ever wear bathing suits willingly. "Don't they ever look in a mirror before they leave their rooms? Honestly, do they think that's attractive?" And then there's Maria who is in her late 80s and can sleep anywhere. She likes to come to classes but doesn't actually participate in the art herself. We try to get her involved, but whenever we suggest she give it a shot she scrunches up her face and says in her very heavy accent (which none of us have managed to successfully identify) "Nnnnoooo. You do it!" And then there is Clarence. He's also in his late 80s and hilariously self-deprecating about everything he does, while at the same time producing amazing work. He announced this weekend that he will be away for two weeks in the summer on a canoe trip in the Yukon. He's almost 90!

I really like old pictures. Yesterday my Father, sisters and I went through the old photos my Dad brought back from my Grandmother's home after she died. Boxes of pictures of my father and our uncles ranging from his newborn pictures to fabulous shots of him in awesome 70s plaid trousers, and giant glasses, with bad hair. It was amazing and sad. I like pictures.

I also like my cat. It occurred to me that I have been her adoptive mom for two years now. She spent most of the afternoon snuggled on my lap, leaving when necessary to grab food and water, then returning to the nook of my arm. And purring and purring and purring...

And, fortuitously, I also quite like Sarah. And I love bad crime novels when in combination with Sarah. And so this summer will involve lots of Susan Evanovich and Kinsey Milhone adventures and likely a fair bit of penny candy and lots of mutual girlfriend support.

2008-04-20T18:55:00.001-07:00

It is nearly the summer, and I am prepared to say with a fair degree of certainty that I do not like metaphysics. I'm pretty sure I won't like symbolic logic either.

But, I don't like lots of stuff, and this blog is fun because I get to remember (though apparently with very poor frequency) stuff I really do like, and remembering stuff I'm excited about has been happening a fair bit lately.

I know it's a little shocking outside, what with the 3 feet of freshly fallen snow and the horrifying car accidents, but I like the weather. If you forget that it's April and think of snowy weather, this is pretty much perfect. You couldn't ask for better snowy weather. It's mild out, the snow packs perfectly, it makes everything hushed and pristine. It's certainly better than the dismal, dusty scene that greeted us last week. The dry bits of spring before things grow always make every city look like the worst kind of decayed urban wasteland. I like the snow. If I have my way, this will melt straight into green and flowers, keeping the dust as fertile mud until something pops out.

Also, I like adventures. And soon I'll be having one.

I like writing, and I'll be doing a bunch of that this summer. May is national novel writing month, and while I doubt I'll finish a novel, I do intend to get the first part of a lifelong-conversation-piece-perpetual-labour finished, so I can talk about it at parties when I turn out to be a nurse or something. "I deliver babies, but what I really want is more time to work on my novel."

I like running. I went back yesterday, and have decided this is the week to bite the bullet of recent inactivity, and start again. It's a pain in the ass to go back, having been stronger and faster than ever before, now slower and wheezy, but I'm doin it. Cause a week of that and it'll feel like awesome again.

I like the piano, and there is one in my house.

I like trains, and I think I get to go on one.

I like Laura, too, and I will be seeing an awful lot of her this summer, so she can pacify me, and we can finish some kind of awesome bad crime series.

2008-02-04T14:31:00.000-08:00

The winter in Edmonton is very cold and very dry. While I fully appreciate the magic of the sparkling of snow in the morning sun and the unique satisfaction that comes with sliding along a patch of ice or placing the first crunching footprint in a newly fallen snowbank, these wonders do not negate the fact that it is bloody freezing, my lips are chapped and my hair spends most of its time sticking straight up due to the static. Thankfully, winter's faults are manageable with the help of

1) Magic Bags. fabulous wheat/rice/I'm not entirely certain what-filled bags that come in various shapes and sizes and can be heated in the microwave and placed in key locations (such as around the neck or across the tummy) to speed the rewarming process after a hike out in the cold.

2) Polysporin Lip Treatment. There are a few varieties, not all of which I have tried, but this gunk is freaking magic! Cracked lips are healed after one application. What is polysporin not good for? honestly!

3) Pantene Pro-V silk transformation creme. According to the container this stuff is supposed to increase softness and shine, but mostly it just works really well at forcing my hair to obey the laws of gravity and stop sticking to my face while at the same time not making me appear greasy or encouraging terrible break-outs.

Also, I spent this weekend with my little sister avoiding school work and watching reruns of Bones. I really like Bones. You should rent it.

In summary, stuff that was liked this week: magic bags, polysporin, pantene pro-V hair gunk, my little sister, and television's bastardized version of forensic anthropology. What will the next week bring?

2008-01-27T20:00:00.000-08:00

For a large number of reasons, I've made the decision to eliminate as much animal product-based food from my diet as is possible. This is mostly fine, but there are a few things I really miss. These things include: cheese, ice cream, cheese, sour cream, cream for coffee and cheese.

One of these cravings has been taken care of though, because Saturday night I had the awesomefuntime that was trying Tofutti sour cream. I think it has a better name than that (the cream cheese - which I trudged through the snow to buy today and will tell you all about sometime when I get around to defrosting a bagel to put it on - is called "better than cream cheese"). It was like real sour cream, except it won't cause global warming, or clog your arteries. I would also suggest roasting garlic to mash into it, that was very tasty too.