While the rest of the world is fighting through crowds and standing in long lines in the wee hours of Friday morning, consider sitting in front of your computer, cup of coffee, fuzzy slippers and all….

WHY?  Well, to do shopping research, of course!  Get ready for Cyber Monday!

Yes, the online stores start their sales on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day; however, they tout the REAL deals on the Monday following the weekend.

So, make your list, check it twice and then go hunt for online coupons to make the deals even sweeter….

Wolkia’s favorite site for online coupon codes:  Retailmenot.com

And, of course, our pal Albert at Cheapcheapcheap.com is always keeping us updated with the crazy cheap deals he finds all over the web!  Albert also has a new function on the site which will alert you when they find a deal on a specific product you are searching for!

It’s cold. It’s wet. It’s dark. November in Vancouver can be a challenging month to get outside and Mondays are even tougher, but there is a carrot dangling if you can set that one foot on the path. Monday Night Quiz at the Cascade Room hosted by the dazzling Karen Nicolay.

Karen Nicolay hard at work

I first discovered Quiz through my ex-pat friend Laura and was immediately hooked!
This popular pastime in pubs throughout the commonwealth has found a home, and a slight twist, through Karen.
“In the UK teams play for the pot – but there’s too much negative competition”. Karen’s solution, each team nominates a charity and the money collected is donated to one of the charities (either the winning teams or drawn from the hat – she likes to mix it up). This year, Quiz has donated approximately $8500.00 to local charities. Amazing! Some of the frequently nominated charities include Covenant House, Downtown Eastside Women’s Shelter, and the SPCA.
Quiz has been running for about 18 months. Cost is $2.00 per person to play.  Four players per team or lose 3 points for each player over the limit.  Each week it consists of three rounds of questions ranging from Geography, History, Current Events, Entertainment news and Sports. Karen spends 7 to 8 hours each week building and researching the quiz.  I-phones and Blackberries are not permitted and the  Quiz Mistress is always right.

Our quiz with Geography questions - oh man did that fuel some debate!

There is lots of time for some serious debate and good-natured team rivalry. My favourite question last night, and one that caused a great deal of discussion, ‘If you are being sized with a Brannock device, what are you being sized for’.
Karen is very passionate about Quiz and has a lot of loyal regulars, ‘There was this one team, ‘Can You Hear Me Now’, they tried so hard to win. It came down to a tie game but they ended up winning on a technicality because the other team had one too many players. They were so happy, they kissed their beer!’
The room has a great vibe, with a mostly 30-something crowd of smart people.  My team had two Bachelor degrees and two Master’s degrees.  I wondered if Quiz had sparked any romances? “No romance that I know of, but maybe a little Bromance!  ‘Wow – you have such an awesome brain.  We should be team mates’.'” Probably the best place to spark something would be the washroom line up between rounds!

I asked my friends why they liked coming to Quiz and the most common response, ‘I always learn some interesting  – a new tidbit to share with my partner/husband/wife/co-worker.  Oh and the food!  Polenta fries are a big favourite at our table.  Cascade Room has a good variety of small plates and full dinners, local drafts and a classic cocktail list. We had veggie burgers, (made on the premises with chickpeas, lentils and edamame) with crisp salad and generous portions of fries (polenta or regular).  The draft pours well with a perfect creamy top on my Storm Scottish Ale while some of my table mates enjoyed a Kettle Valley Pinot Noir.  Laura almost always starts with a champagne cocktail – gets the brain limbered up!

Two teams hard at work

Last night’s winning team ‘Do you like my tight sweater’, achieved a score of 47/50 and received a gift certificate for Habit restaurant. (Yes there are even prizes!)

You’ve got one last chance to quiz this year.  Monday Nov 30th is the last quiz until January 11th.  Quiz starts promptly at 7:00 PM but you should plan to come at least 30 minutes early to guarantee a table. Next week’s charity, the Vancouver Food Bank.

I can’t think of a better way to spend a Monday night with friends!  Great room, workout for your brain, yummy food, prizes, and you get to raise money for charity!  It doesn’t get much better than that!

A big THANK YOU to Karen and all the staff at Cascade room for the Charity and the good times.

http://thecascade.ca/about.htm

Packing shmacking.

Quick print screen of what has quite possibly made my month!!

THIS is the weather forecast (I mean really?? Thursday? Partly cloudy… c’mon.) for my annual, exquisite, Californian dream vacation with my bestest best friend in the whole wide world, Ben. Yes, he’s a boy. Total disconnect that I despise the gender yet rely on my bestest at crucial life moments? Probably, but don’t care, and welcome to my blog.

Ben lives in SF, not because he’s a hipster, but because he’s brillz. His mind… far surpasses mine. I dominate wordsmithing… he dominates everything else and more.

This vacation, while long overdue, will be the first time I return to California since my grand exodus in January 09. I left a ton of fond memories and beautiful moments behind. I’m semi-panicked that upon my return I shall stay forever. I’d ship Scout out. See? Perfect.

A more substantive worry than never utilizing the return ticket? Monday.

Off to the West Coast for some R&R ladies and gents… gobble, gobble.

K

I realize it’s Tuesday. But I’ll have you know that yesterday was Monday, which for most people is an inherently no bueno day. Not my favorite that’s for sure. A few things happened… I won’t get into them because who wants to read some Debby Downer post about a lame Monday. I can tell you that I for one am not interested in such nonsense. I will, however, tell you how my friend Lindsey decided to cheer me up. I’ll give you one guess? Do you have it? You think you’ve totally got it, don’t you? Well, you’re wrong.

Unless your guess was “order me a 60 oz. margarita while I was in the bathroom” you are wrong. Don’t believe me? Whatever. It was 60 effing ounces. 60. That’s huge. After drinking it, not only was I a little fuzzy on the details but I felt like a beached whale. FULL OF STRAWBERRY MARGARITA. I also had a rough looking character cheering me on at the bar. I somehow managed to remember that he had had only 3 beers while I was downing the 60 oz. Some call me observant, others call me competitive. I’ll take it either way. I won. Here is my drink.

And here is Lindsey looking less than thrilled with my progress.

Lots of Dancing  (2 hours worth) over on ABC…read my Dancing with the Stars commentary for all the glittery details!

CSI Miami-

One of the best deaths (can I say that without sounding macabre?) I’ve seen on a CSI. Death by venomous Jelly fish. Its bad enough that the poor man is dangling from the third floor of a glassed atria, but to fall to his death into a tank of deadly jellyfish… you offically cannot complain about anything today. The new CSI (the dark-dimpled one) tried to lend a hand…literally, by sticking his arm into the tank (smart? heroic? brave? I think none of the above…) and get stung – tried to cure the wound with balsamic vinegar (whateer happened to peeing on a jellyfish sting?).

At any rate, the episode focused on the bourgeoise vs pauper relationship in America and how some companies actually take out life insurance policies on their own employees without them knowing— making money off of any employee death (capitalism is an ugly thing America…) I actually have read that as recently as 10 years ago, Walmart practiced this money-making scheme on its employees…which explains why they hire 100 year olds to be the ‘front-line’ of their business…shameful. Michael Moore exposed this in his recent film Capitalism: A Love Story…making big businesses  blush across America!

Moving on, this was one of the better CSI:Miami’s I’ve seen in a while, lots of red-herring style deduction, lots of witty commentary…and in interesting hook. Did you watch last night? Did you have nightmares about falling three floors and unfortunatley landing in a pool of death? If given the choice, I’d rather just hit the floor…

Leafs vs Islanders-

Result: Leafs 3 vs Islanders 4 (OT)

The Good:

• Kessel scores again, and had close to 10 shots on the night…not surprising seeing—
• …Leafs take an astonishing 61 shots on Roloson….not since 1976 has this been seen from the Leafs…61 shots… (reminds me of playing against New Jersey in the playoffs eons ago when we had no defense and CuJo was in net doing everything but scoring)
• Hagman scores a very pretty goal to tie things up at 3 in the third giving us a chance at winning
• Gustavsson comes in and stands tall to also give us a chance at winning.
• Roloson…had the game of his career (we bring the best out of goalies…how nice of us.)
• Matt Moulson’s pre-game interview was adorable, AND he scores in his dream-venue as a North York boy.

The Bad:

• Leafs go down by 3…and it shocks no one, we are totally used it at this point.
• Toskala bails…no word on why.
• Islanders score 3 quick goals…and sit back to watch the rest of the game. (thank you…)
• In 61 shots…only 3 went in, and Leafs only manage 1 point out of the effort.

Next try: vs Lightning, Wed. 7pm TSN

Yesterday, I had a terrible, diagnosable case of the Mondays.  I was all sorts of a raging lunatic fit with crying, foot stomping, fit throwing and candy eating {yuuuuum!  twizzlerssssss!!!}.

source

The great thing about my case of the Mondays, being diagnosable, is that they are fleeting.  Literally, by the end of day, when I snuggled up next to my husband, I am fine.  In between then and when my feet had hit the floor 18 hour prior is when my no good terrible miserable self rages all over WDC and NOVA, leaving nothing but destruction. 

One of the worst attributes of my cases are that I tend to vocally {bloggigly, facebookily, twitterly} broadcast my bad mood every which way.  At the time it seems super therapeutic bu honestly, it just makes me feel ridiculous.  My friends reach out with such heartfelt internet warm fuzzies and it’s then that I realize, “Wow, I’m being such a brat”.

So, thank you, dear readers, internet friendies and Msheed and MB for putting up with my most recent case of the Mondays.  I promise {seriouslyforreal} that I feel good today, am adequately hydrated and will try my hardest not to let next Monday be so glum!

Do you get cases of the Mondays?  What causes them and how do you deal?

Megan Robinson Today, I: Got bailed on by my first client last minute, made my friend cry when I cut her hair, cut the fuck out of my finger while doing it, and lost my debit card.

Sam Banks and the terrible horrible no good very bad day.

Tyler Stevermer It sounds like everyone, including myself, is barely making it through this Monday…

Lily Boo Nickelson going off that deep end

Okay so I must admit this was my first attempt at making my own recipe..from scratch. I did a little research but obviously not the right kind because it was a fail. I suppose not a complete failure since it was edible and not too bad tasting..but it didn’t quite turn out. This was my attempt at making a healthier chicken pot pie..

Yep that’s what it should like after you eat it, and see it coming back the other way. Gross. I was trying to use yogurt and it coagulated. I think I would need to heat it up slowly? Any thoughts?

I added a little smart balance and flour and it thickened up. I was getting a little flustered trying to figure all of this out..but I pressed on. Imagine those people who have already lost the game but keep playing to hang on to their dignity…that was me. Good thing this is a healthy living blog and not just a food blog. This is why I am more of a baker!

Lessons learned:

Practice makes perfect, and I need to do more research!

Done and done. I will not give up.

Snacked on some of the baked dough. Yum pastry dough..

At least it looked pretty good! It didn’t taste too bad.

I munched on this waiting for Adam to get home.

I had made a pot of half-caf coffee earlier and drank half of the hot mug, and used the rest to make an iced coffee.

I ate one small scoop of the failed pot pie and it filled me up. I had one sip of this..

..before realizing I would rather run then finish it. We headed to the gym and I ran for 40 minutes, mostly an easy pace but I ran 3.02 miles! I barely made a dent in this glass at all. Sad..but true!

I had dessert afterwards, some yummy coconut cookie dough ice cream!

Looks like a large bowl, yes?

Nope, that probably equaled a scoop and a half! I’m a huge fan of using smaller plates and bowls! It’ll be one of my tricks for not overdoing it on Thanksgiving.

Another note, I realize I have been eating pretty heavy things. It’s important to remember balance this time of year. I plan on eating lighter the days before and after Thanksgiving to balance out the calorie overload that will be inevitable Thursday. I am just writing down this goal since writing it(especially on the blog) really helps me to follow through!

I’m off to sip my nighttime tea, and read Julie & Julia in bed. Night friends!

Love, love, love (:

Katy H.

The glow of the Mirror-ball was omni-present as the remaining 3 dancers performed their final routines…it all comes down to this!

Here are the Highlights of the Night for each dancer:

Kelly Osbourne:

Tango- she definitly showed how far she’s come, and she looked like the princess of darkness (appropriate). Not enough to WOW the judges…

Freestyle- A fun, very sequened number. Kelly did her best impression of the mirrorball trophy with her outfit. She was able to let everything loose, and you could tell she was having fun…her constant giggling, face-wide smile and personality outshone the minor mistakes throughout the number… not a bad score from the judges ( nines across the board) but probably still not enough to outscore Mya…we shall see!

Quote of the Night:
“No $%&#-ing way. I will look like an upside down whale” — as Louis is showing her a new move in practice

Prediction: In think Kellys talent can only get her so far, and her personality and likeability has gotten her THIS far, I predict a third place finish for Kelly…but she always makes me smile (which is a turn around, I always remember her being a mopey little brat with pink hair…) I’m glad she worked on her image before the show, because with Aaron Carter in the competition, I could not have handled another slightly less famous, yet completly self important member of a famous family.

Mya

Paso Doble- She looked hot, she wore a fierce cape and she danced with precision. But this was NOT the most memorable dance of the evening…but alas, it scored her perfect tens.

Freestyle- She made a point in the video piece pre-dance to mention that SHE was not totally on board with Dimitris decision to do a broadway-esque number. She wanted something edgier, more creative and more “her” (funny, beacuse I find her the least edgy, creative and least personable…) So when the judges gave her an astonishly low score (nines across the board) her mood went very sour…I predict a serious ”I Told You So-Diva Moment” behind the scenes….eek!

Quote of the Night:

“I have sacrificed my personal life to be here”– in a post-dance interview
(coincidental, I TOO have sacrificed my personal life to watch you…)

Prediction: I’ve said it before, if she had an ounce of Kellys edge or Donnys personality…she’d be a shoo-in to win (almost like a MelB of a few seasons back…) but she is never a stand out to me, I forget her dances the minute a commercial break comes on…and dispite her obvious talent and accuracy…I predict a second place finish for Mya. I could be wrong, she could have a TON of fans—I even remembered her name this week.

Donny Osmond

Cha Cha- Donny also displays his knack for dressing as a doppelganger of the mirrorball trophy. In this dance, Donny Osmond found out he had…hips (Bruno has the incredible propensity to reveal hidden sex-appeal in dancers…) and he used ‘em in this routine. With Marie and her gaggle of ‘famous friends’ looking on, Donny managed to eke out some pretty solid scores.

Freestyle- Donny decided to dance a Broadway routine (you’d think he’d do something more natural for him…) and he poured every last shred of personality, showmanship and Osmond dramatic flair into it! I saw him in the Toronto production of Joseph a decade ago, and he was shirtless and buff then…He is just as in shape and energetic as ever…it’s incredible (perhaps it’s because he still has the face of a 14 year old…so it all evens out!) A perfect score for the dance.

Quote of the Night:

“If you had a sister like Marie, who could bug you the way she can the rest of your life…you’d want to win this too” (please people, vote for the poor man!)

Prediction: Donny not only endears himself to the crowd/voting public, He also dances very well…and he had the show-stopper tonight (sorry Mya). A couple weeks ago I said he had the star-quality, big name and talent to be number one…and my prediction after this week is that he will indeed take home the trophy to match his smile (and wardrobe).

Some great dances, a good cast this year…not really a CLEAR winner…tune in tomrrow night for (2 hours worth of fluffy filler) the results, ABC/CTV 8pm.

“Like the wind crying endlessly through the universe, Time carries away the names and the deeds of conquerors and commoners alike. And all that we are, all that remains, is the memories of those who cared we came this way for a brief moment.”- Harlan Ellison

Follow Me On Twitter   Browse The Blog    Yesterday’s Words

“Young people need models, not critics”-John Wooden

Follow Me On Twitter   Browse The Blog    Yesterday’s Words

I have been a smoker since I was 15 years old, I have been trying to quit since I was 25, and I am now 28; smoking is the meanest best friend I have ever had, and I have been obsessed with it since I was a child.  I am happy to say that I have not smoked since Friday night, so as of today it has been 3 days.  All I feel I can do now is pray that this time it is for real, and I am really ready to change, but as the reasons continually build up, I feel that I really am. It doesn’t seem that we actually know we are ready for change until that change has already happened, and then you say, “Oh, look, I changed!”

Well, I’m thinking that now would be the ideal time for me to start a poppin’ new blog seeing as how the world around me is topsy-turvy.   Thanksgiving Day is a two days away and then it’s all downhill to Christmastime again.  Where did my year go?  Where have my years gone?  I figure now’s a good time to stop and document what’s happening around me before it’s suddenly Christmas 2010 and I really won’t know what the hell happened to my life.  Two years closer to doomsday is also no bueno in my book.

The lovely ladies (and Tegan) located in the photograph on the upper right hand side are my friends.  Some could call them a posse, I like to think of them as my comrades.  Sometimes we meet up and have good times with a wide assortment of cheap and semi-cheap beers and other liquors.  Every other weekend I take a stand and tell myself that I’m going to stop drinking.  We’ll see when that actually happens (fingers crossed!).  I occupy my time 8 to 5, Monday through Friday sitting at a computer talking to real estate agents on the phone in Georgia.  Someday my eyes will be terrible but at least I’ll have browsed more blogs than the average man my age.  I like to think that 40% of my life is film, which is pretty much true, I just need to get busy.

That being said, this blog is here for you to read.  Time to get busy.

Another Monday bites the dust!  The best part? Tomorrow is my Friday!!!!

Today was super busy as predicted, but I enjoyed it because I knew I could get everything done AND it would go by fast!

Lunch came in no time flat!

I didn’t go to the grocery store this weekend as to have no food that would go bad over the holiday so today was another something from the freezer!

Leftover spaghetti squash pancake on top of the remaining spinach, all topped with Newman’s own black bean salsa! Ole!

Along with my cake I had some carrot sticks and a clementine.  Yum scrum and gone in about 20sec…whoops.  I tend to do that a lot with my lunches.

I still felt pretty sick for most of the morning…I thought food might help because the 4 Tums did not, but that only cured my hunger.  It was one of those belly pains that hides your hunger???  I think it ended up being a huge gas bubble (TMI?) that had accumulated from me over eating this weekend.  OK lesson learned, cinnamon rolls + high fiber lunch = huge gas bubble in one’s insides.

As the bubble chilled out I think I got hungry for my snack?  I found that walking around really helped so I did a lot of that today.

Snack Time

apricots, mixed nuts, Kashi H2H (which got kind of squishy?).  I really didn’t think my stomach wanted chocolate today when I was packing my lunch…why I thought it would like salsa is beyond me.

Today was BodyPump day…maybe today I finally figured out how to not hurt myself.  I did 30min on the elliptical to warm up and was a little late for the warm-up track.  I think I might be able to bump up my weights next week, but we will see how I feel tomorrow.

For dinner I wanted something simple and comforting.  Que the rice is nice.  When I am stick or something happens in my life, all I wanted was rice with salt and butter.  I know healthy, but I made me feel so much better!  Thanks Mom

I pulled some garlic, spinach and fontina sausage from the freezer, cut up some buttercup squash and cooked up some Arborio rice.  Nick proclaimed his his favorite rice ever!  I still need to make some risotto from it – it was the reason I bought it!

My belly is full and I am happy to report I am not felling sick anymore…knock on wood.

No need for something sweet.  I had an Adora while I was cooking, and I want to honor the belly.

Ok time to go cuddle with my boy and girl.  He is leaving tomorrow for North Carolina

You slipped on the ice and I grabbed your arm, found myself falling with you. You were tiny, always you-sized, and though your heel should have acted like an ice pick, gravity always pulls us back down. The Reflecting Pool at the Christian Science Center had become a perilous tundra; it was probably about 7 degrees out—with the wind chill, somewhere negative, just like Boston Januaries often are. Still I braved the cold, like I always would for you, and we fell.

“I’m lost!” you yelled inside the bar. I could barely hear you from the couch at my apartment where I’d been waiting for you for the last 4 hours.

“Well, it sounds like you’re in a bar…” I said into that Bluetooth headset that my mother bought me for Christmas and you hated so much.

“But I don’t know where the bar is!” Yep. You were wasted. We had a date that night—we were supposed to have a date that night, anyway. We’d watch Heroes and eat Chinese, curl up, find warmth in one another, and finally spend a night together, a night just like the one we’d both dreamed of but neither could admit. You would come over after your Holiday party at work—you were only going to go for a few hours—but with all that free Champagne you were quickly whisked away. But you called, because you always call, and I swooped in to find you wandering the Back Bay streets in those pointy-toed leopard print heels that matched the silky slip you hid for me beneath your dress.

“No! I’m sorryyy I ruined our date!” you cried as I helped you get your balance again.

“No, you didn’t. It’s fine, we—”

“Yes! I did! We were supposed to—”

“I know.”

“—have a date tonight and we were gonna watch Heroes and—”

“I know.”

“—and eat Foodwall and-and then I got drunk!”

“It’s fine. Really!”

“I don’t want to be drunk anymore!” you cried and I pulled you close to me, kissed your lips with a passion I’d held in check for far too long; I didn’t know what to expect once I gave myself over to it, but a kiss like that was one that I had never had before, never have again. I wrapped my Angel coat around you as we held that moment close, and when our lips finally parted whispered, “Someone’s got to keep you warm” and discovered just how deep those auburn eyes could go. They smiled first, your eyes, and the stretch of the skin around them lifted your mouth upward into a crooked crescent moon.

“Listen,” you slurred—you start every sentence slurring, “Listen…” when you’re drunk. Something like tears welled up behind my teeth, a tidal wave of overwhelming elation, and I took my eyes off of yours for just a moment when the streetlight refracted off the ice below and made glimmer the Celtic Trinity that I bought you for Christmas (you know how I am with shiny things).

My pupils returned to settle in yours like a matching key, turning to unlock the thought you started eight heartbeats ago:

“I love you.”

Back to Work Monday, originally uploaded by Valerie Morrison.

063/365

On July 20 and every Monday thereafter, (up until November 16th) I served as a juror on a grand jury.

Today was my first Monday back in the office. Some said it was good to have me back on Mondays and others…well, the jury is still out.

The owner of this office called me goofy, I think she gets a plethora of botox injections and couldn’t get her mouth to say entertaining.

About this photo: This is totally not my office because:

1. I don’t have an office, but a cubicle.
2. It’s messy.

I told my coworker that she did not have to clean up the place for me and she said she hadn’t planned on it.

At least, she said, it looks like she has work going on, unlike my desk that looks abandoned. Hater!

I’m just day dreaming here. Slouching. Wondering why my back hurts.

Happy Monday! I am very stoked that it is a 3 day week!

I recently came across a Web site that sells shirts with this saying, and I felt compelled to share it with you -

After a GREAT game on Saturday, I can’t think of a time when I was more proud to be a Duck. Watch the highlights here.

Check out this Web site for more great Oregon shirts.