Life As We Know It

Another Day, Another Picture

2011-03-27T00:57:00.000-07:00

We're behind with our weekly round-up but here's a peek into last week (apologies for the unintentional rhyming).

March 14th
A random purple house we walked by out at UBC.

March 15th
We loved the shape of this bowl we found at the Salvation Army.
The colour? Not so much. Time for some spray paint!

March 16th
Some signs of Spring we saw on a walk around the neighbourhood.

March 18th
Sara's parents were in town and we visited Cupcakes. Yum!

March 19th
While on Salt Spring Island, we attempted to capture pictures of the Super-Sized moon.
The clouds had other ideas.

March 20th
More Salt Spring Island sneak peeks (we'll make a full post sometime soon).
We visited the Goat Cheese Factory. Delicious!

They're Back!

2011-03-18T21:25:00.000-07:00

We went for a walk around our neighbourhood, and we were greeted by pink. Lots and lots of pink. The cherry trees are blooming again! So far the blooms are small, but within a matter of weeks they will be filling the streets with their sweet scent as they open into full blown flowers. After that they will die and fall to the streets where the cars and rain will combine them into a pinkish pulp that will get on everyone's shoes. But for right now they are pretty!

Interestingly, these cherry trees will not actually produce cherries for the most part. They are flowering trees of the variety cultivated in Japan for their looks. Their presence in Vancouver goes back to the 1930s, when the mayors of Kobe and Yokohama gave Vancouver a bunch of cherry trees. Then we bombed their cities to ashes. But the trees have been popular since then and there is even a Vancouver Cherry Tree Festival.

Anyway, for the past 80 years, these trees have survived fire, earthquake, flood, a world war, construction, insane real estate prices, the anti-hello-kitty sentiment of the late-1990's, a fringe movement in the US called "Following Washington's Footsteps" dedicated to, among other things, chopping down cherry trees and then admitting to it later, insects, climate change, and Vancouver residents' tendency to roll up any plant like material they can get their hands on and smoke it. Yet each spring they welcome us with their nice pink flowers.

Our Name in Print

2011-03-17T00:01:00.000-07:00

Check out our latest DYI art:

We'd been looking for something to fill the some of the vertical space on our shelving unit (see below) that's necessitated by our TV. We wanted to do something that also wouldn't cost a lot of money and then we realized the frame fit perfectly. We just needed something to fill it...

We love that it captures our monogram but in a fun way. We basically designed it so it would look like it was cut out of a magazine (which was our original plan but we couldn't find anything we liked that started with a M!). So, Eric typed it up on our computer and then Sara ran it over to Kinkos to get blown up (for just $2!). We used a frame we already had and then bought a cheapo mat from Micheal's to add some polish.

As mentioned, Eric just made up random words to go along with it which is why if you look closely you realize it could sound like it came out of one of his physics papers!

Here are some wider looks at the shelving it helps fill out:

Here's to personalized art that costs less than $15!

Some Mid-Week Inspiration

2011-03-16T05:00:00.000-07:00

I love the turquoise/teal/blue colours found in these rooms (all found at the online magazine Lonny- a new obsession). Definitely some inspiration for future decorating. The difficult thing about our aparment is it's small size, one colour palate is all it can take. Some day...

And onward we go...

2011-03-15T15:56:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our weekly week in pictures.

March 7th
Grocery day. Yummy food.
And check out the cute black and white kleenex box we found courtesy of PC (on the far right).
What can we say, it's the little things that excite us.
And we believe everything should have great design.

March 8th
Eric's never ending work.

March 9th
The Ash Wednesday service at our church.

March 10th
Eric went to see the new Johnny Depp movie Rango with some friends.

March 11th
We've been wanting new pillow cases for our Euro pillows but couldn't find any we liked at a decent price so Eric decided to sew some. Sara is mucho impressed as all her sewing attempts end badly. Very badly.

March 12th
Our AFI movie of the month.

March 13th
Mmm Cupcakes cupcakes.

March 13th
Two pictures in one day!
Our Sunday nights are better thanks to The Amazing Race.
Especially when it includes Yaks.

We love this!

2011-03-14T15:47:00.000-07:00

How cool is this staircase made of books? It would finally solve our book storage problem too!

Headboard Confessional

2011-03-10T22:45:00.000-08:00

Look what we did! (The headboard, not the circa 2002 music reference). We're kind of in love. And while our bedroom still has lots of stuff we'd like to change (painting the nightstands for one) it's certainly a big change.

Here's what the headboard looked like before (seen here in our original Vancouver apartment). We got the headboard from Ikea when we still lived in Ontario, and we were kind of sick of it. So it seemed like a perfect DIY upgrade after reading this article on the website Young House Love.

First off, a trip to Dressew, a Downtown Eastside store that happens to have every kind of fabric you can imagine (despite its sketchy location). We feel in love with this one that was neutral colours but still fun.

As in most of our DIY projects, Sara designs and Eric uses the tools.

We used some batting to add some softness, using our $15 staple gun find (thanks Home Hardware!) to attach it.

We did the same with the fabric, making sure to pull it tight.

The final product! Because we used an actual headboard as the base, Eric was able to screw it into the bed after attaching a 2 by 4 to the bottom. We think that you could also use an art canvas frame and just attach it to the wall though if you don't already have a headboard to use as the base.

March...In Like a Lion

2011-03-06T22:06:00.000-08:00

We did better with having a picture for everyday this week but we can't say we took them all ourselves... Oh well, baby steps!

March 1st
Every Tuesday I volunteer at the BC Children's Hospital.
It's such a wonderful place and I have lots of fun running a Rock Band night and visiting with the kids.

March 2nd
BC's coast got hit with a big wind storm.
Sadly, it was nowhere near this exciting near our place!

March 3rd
Nando's Chicken take-out for dinner.
Yummy!

March 4th
Eric went to Physic's Pub Night at Mahony's at UBC.

March 5th
Making our fun DIY headboard.
Pictures to come!

March 6th
Eric made French Onion Soup for dinner.
His was more cheese than onion!

February

2011-03-06T21:25:00.000-08:00

February was a really bad month for us with pictures so the whole month is getting one post.

February
Most of Sara's month was taken up with these fun capsules. The headaches have been terrible which has led to a quiet month. Here's hoping for things to improve now that Spring is coming!

February 1st
At the beginning of the month I started watching Brothers and Sisters. It was pretty soap opera-y by the end of the season but it kept me entertained.

February 6th
We had mini Super Bowl party, no pictures but lots of fun.

February 15th
The ornament wreath Sara made for Christmas. Still hanging up because we can't figure out where to store it.
You can also see the side of our picture gallery.

February
Eric went skiing at both Mount Seymour and Cypress Mountain this month.

February
Eric got a hand gripper to fidget with instead of silly putty.
Now he is expert at opening stiff jars.

February 27th
We also had a mini Oscar party that included Oscar-themed fun foods like Mark Zuker-burgers, Black Swan Wings, The Third Layer Dream Dip, Winter's Chili Bone and The King's Quiche.

February 28th
We FINALLY saw the King's Speech. It was so good, definitely recommended!

Here's to staying on track with more regular picture taking in March!

Goodbye January

2011-03-06T20:47:00.000-08:00

The last of our January adventures (or lack there of)...

January 24th
I need a pedicure.

January 25th
Eric likes to fidget with silly putty while we watch TV.

January 27th
Eric made a yummy apple crisp for our home group.

January 29th
We decided to watch one movie from the AFI's 100 top movie list each month.
The Graduate was January's movie.

January 30th
We saw an old truck with a DHARMA sticker on it (from the TV show Lost).
Love it!

January 30th
Skype chat with the fam in Ontario. Happy Birthday Ian and Dad!

January's Third Week

2011-03-06T19:48:00.000-08:00

Week three of our project and we're already slacking (not as much as we did with posting these pictures though!).

January 17th
An evening walk.
The view of downtown from Kits Point.

January 18th
An other evening adventure.
We noticed this cool door halfway between our house and Granville Island.

January 20th
Our Church is doing the Experiencing God Study.
We went to the kickoff tonight.
The book is scary looking.

January 22nd
Snowshoeing at Cypress Mountain.

January 23rd
A lazy Sunday full of laundry.

A Week in Review

2011-03-06T18:32:00.000-08:00

The 2nd week of January...

Walking in the rain

Sara watched Gilmore Girls and Eric coded.

Yummy dinner!

Pretty flowers

Not too far from our house, they inserted a pre-fab apartment. It was quite the scene.

Snowstorm! (Vancouver's version)

Our January reads

Our First Week

2011-01-08T22:01:00.000-08:00

This week's a little short on pictures because we just decided to do this today. Here are some pictures of our first week of 2011.

January 1st- We celebrated New Years with friends and sparklers!

January 2nd- It was a beautiful Sunday and we took a long walk around the Seawall. This picture is off the Burrard Bridge near our home.

January 8th- Eric is teaching Sara how to play chess. Sara learned how the pieces move, and Eric learns that not everyone needs to know how en passant works.

Our Year in Pictures

2011-01-08T21:52:00.000-08:00

We decided to resurrect this blog to start a new project. A New Years Resolution if you will.

We want to make a journal of our year in pictures. We'll be trying to take a picture each day that represents some aspect of something we did that day, an activity, a meal or an outing.

We're already a little bit behind with starting but it's only the 8th!

The Big 5k

2009-07-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

So, I did it! I ran my 5k. And I've actually been running since (though not as often). It might actually stick...maybe...

It was totally weird to run with that many people though. I may have walked a hill or two but I'm just glad I finished. Thanks for all your support!

Football and Food: Crave

2009-07-05T22:59:00.000-07:00

Update to our Vancouver food adventures. We love Crave! It's a tiny restaurant in the Soma district (which is near Sara's work) and they have the best brunch (and the best hidden patio)! We went there last weekend after the big 5k.

The eggs bennys are perfection (totally the new favourite way to have eggs)...

They serve the tea in a this great french presses...

The patio is cute and relaxing. What more could you want for brunch?

Just Beachy

2009-06-18T15:56:00.000-07:00

So, what have we been up to lately? Heading to the beach of course.

It's such a great way to relax after work, especially when we get there in just 10 minutes!

Plus, what could be better than the water, the mountains and the city skyline all put together?

Jewelry Making Inspiration

2009-05-24T22:52:00.000-07:00

When we were in California Eric's grandma gave me some brooches she had from the antique shop she used to own. I'm not a big brooch person but I was inspired to make them into necklaces or something....
I think these pieces would look great on the end of a long chain, similar to this necklace I made previously. However, I've also had suggestions to attach them to a shorter pearl necklace or make them into a belt or headband. Any other suggestions for these lovelies?

MexiCali's

2009-05-11T23:17:00.000-07:00

Whenever we feel like a decent meal we don't have to cook, without spending a ton of money on it, we head down the street to MexiCali's, a little Mexican restaurant about two blocks from our apartment. It's not a large place, and the colourful wall murals could also be described as ranging from kitsch to tacky-ish, but that just adds to the charm of the place. More important than the walls, though, is that the food is delicious, and possibly cheaper than what you would spend to make it at home yourself. Here's me eating a combo with a beef enchilada and a chile rellano, which is fantastic. I'm also a huge fan of the refried beans they have.

The nachos are excellent as well, heightened by the salsa they make at the restaurant, which you can buy on it's own or just with unadorned corn chips.

And, speaking of kitsch...

The signature MexiCali's drink is the slushy limonada, which comes with any of the daily specials

Delicious and cheap -- we'll be back there soon.

Jewelry Making

2009-05-11T23:09:00.000-07:00

I was feeling in need of a low-key creative outlet so I decided to check out the local beading store and make some new necklaces. Here's what I came up with.

I love how the purple brightens it up.
This one feels very girly to me and I love how delicate the pale pink is.

I love how one afternoon's work can leave you with such a satisfying (and pretty) result!

When we were in California last weekend, Eric's grandma gave me some brooches she had from her antique shop that I think I am going to make into necklaces. I'll be sure to share my results!

Cherry Blossom Beauty

2009-04-27T21:29:00.000-07:00

The Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival is on and the city is covered in pink and white blooms and I am struck by the beauty everywhere I go.

Happy Spring!

Colours of the Rainbow

2009-03-24T13:28:00.000-07:00

Lately, I've really gotten back to painting my nails bright colours, something I haven't done much since about the ninth grade. These are a few of the colours I've been loving lately.

Something about the bright colours makes all that typing I have to do a lot easier. It also just seems so spring appropriate.

Happy Friday!

Spring has Sprung

2009-03-23T22:30:00.000-07:00

It rained all last but week here but suddenly cleared up Friday afternoon after a sudden thunderstorm. As I drove home Friday I was struck by the beautiful sunshine and how it felt like Spring had arrived. I decided to walk to the produce market instead of drive and took my camera along to capture the moment.

I love how alive the colour looks with all the brown and grey.

I also stopped by Butter, our local sweets bakery and got a delicious love of chocolate chip banana bread.

And oh was it good!

These pink tulips that I picked up were the perfect thing to bring the spring into our home and will help keep us going now that rain is back (again).

Blazer

2009-03-19T10:00:00.000-07:00

We spent some time shopping Robson Street this weekend (in the rain) as I wanted to find a blazer. It's something I've never worn before but felt like I should have as part of that "work wordrobe". Plus, I've seen girls wearing them in some awesome ways over dresses and with jeans and it inspired me to give it a try.

photo from iamstyle-ish.com

photo from Glamour.com

So the hunt was on. After checking nearly every store (and randomly running into an old friend) I finally settled on one of the first ones I tried on (how typical me). It was from Aritzia, a Canadian chain that started right here in Vancouver, gotta love that. Check it out below.

Food Love

2009-03-17T10:00:00.000-07:00

We went out for dinner for the first time in ages this weekend. We've decided to try a new Vancouver restaurant every month and have been combing books, magazines and websites for ideas. I think we currently have 80-something places on our list which may be a tad too many but we are over-achievers so why fight it. :)

Our March restaurant was Fuel. It's a tiny restaurant in Kits, a beach neighbourhood that we would love to live in, that focuses on regional foods. You might not think anything of interest grows in Vancouver-area this time of year but they had some amazing options especially thanks to Vancouver's wonderful seafood.

For an appetizer, Eric had "Ultra Rare Albacore Tunacippolini onions, frisee sherry vinegar", which was basically tuna with onions done four ways. It sounds a bit bland when I say it that way but trust me it was delicious. Each one was just a little bit different, either richer or tarter and each a new level of yummy. I had a beetroot salad which while quite good did not quite measure up to the tuna. Beets are one of those funny things that I love when someone else makes but hate when I do.

I had salmon for my main "Roasted Wild BC Salmon salsify, creme fraiche, kushi oyster sorre" according to the menu but basically it was just delicious. It wasn't overcooked and the other ingredients really let the salmon shine. Eric had "Fraser Valley Free Run Lambglazed shoulder, sunchokes, green olive caramelized yogurt agnolotti" which while good, I felt wasn't as good as my salmon. Eric felt the same in reverse. So, at least we were both satisfied. :)

My favourite part of the meal though was something they brought out to use in between courses. I'm not really sure to describe it but it was chicken, goat cheese and roasted apple all in one tasty two bite morsel and it was heavenly.

The had creme brule on the menu so I of course ordered that for dessert (I really can't resist it). Eric had some delicious donut dessert thing that I am not sure how to describe but it was sweet and good.

One of the my favourite parts of the restaurant was the chandelier they had in the centre of the room, which you can kind of see in this picture.

There is a better picture of it on the Fuel website that I couldn't access but you can check it out here. It's an amazing piece that looks like tree branches with light radiating out from it.

The service was also good, I always like it when all the staff are helpful, even if you aren't specifically assigned to them. Fuel's staff was friendly and knowledgeable and not at all pushy or rushy (is rushy a word?).

Where will next month take us? We're not sure yet but both French and Indian restaurants we've read about are tantalizing my taste buds. We'll be sure to share it all with you, hopefully with some better pictures next time.

Shoe Crush

2009-03-15T17:47:00.000-07:00

I was a total lover of Barbie as a child and I guess I still am. In honour of her 50th birthday, Town Shoes created these awesome pink shoes that are totally like the ones my Barbie wore. I am totally wanting a pair, much to Eric's dismay. There's also more such as these black ones with pretty pink soles.

Yes, Barbie may have an unrealistic body shape but I still love those shoes!

Of Seawalls and Sweetness

2009-02-22T15:07:00.000-08:00

It's back to being rainy and cold in Vancouver but this last week and a half has been absolutely beautiful with sunshine and warm temperatures warming our bodies and souls. Last Sunday we spent the afternoon in Stanley Park walking the seawall and forest trails. It's an absolutely beautiful park and it seemed like most of Vancouver had the same idea we did as the seawall was packed but with the beautiful views of the city, moutains and water, who wouldn't want to be there.

We also went into the middle of the park which can feel instantly like you are miles away from the city.

We ended our day with a stop at our favourite bakery, Cupcakes, for some melt-in-your-mouth deliciousness.

Seriously, this place is amazing. Their cupcakes are the the perfect sweetness, never overdone, and the icing is amazing buttercream. We love it and go every chance we get.

If you come visit us in Vancouver we promise we'll take you for a visit...

Cupcakes

2009-02-18T22:15:00.001-08:00

We're really behind in posting these but I wanted to share our Valentine's cupcakes. We had a great time baking them (even if it was a mix, mmm cherry chip) and icing and decorating them. Here are our creations:

Shoes in Seattle

2009-02-18T18:45:00.000-08:00

We took a wonderful day trip to Seattle for Valentine's Day. It was a city we'd never visited before and we had a great time exploring the tourist sites, the architecture and the food. After a two hour(!) wait at the border we hit the Seattle Public Library. The metal and glass structure dominates the street

Inside the non-fiction stack is in a spiral up the building with the Dewey Decimal numbers on the floor.

It also has beautiful views of the city through the glass and steel structure.

We headed next to the Pike Place Market, which was overwhelming in both masses of crowds and masses of smells.

We grabbed some lunch as we watched the crowds press by, eating fresh Pacific salmon from a booth in the middle of the market.

It was a beautiful day and we were just in time for the sunset we headed over to Olympic Sculpture Park. There were beautiful views of the water and stunning sculpture.

I always bring a pair of flat shoes when we are walking around to save my feet.

From there we walked a couple of blocks up to the Space Needle. The views from the top were stunning as we caught the last rays of the sun over Puget Sound. We even saw a surprise proposal at the top of the needle.

From there it was a quick trip on the mono-rail back to the where we parked, and then onto a restaraunt in one of the neighbourhoods just out of downtown. Harvest Vine was recommended to us by Tiffany at I am Style-ish, a blog Sara hearts, and we can whole-heartedly pass that recommendation on to anyone visiting Seattle. It's a Spanish Basque tapas place and the food, a special Valentine's Day menu, was fabulous. We sat in the beautiful wine cellar that you can see in this picture. It was a delicious meal from start to finish and the service was wonderful.

I made Eric take a picture of me in my outfit. I felt like wearing a dress but this was a bit fancy so I added a wide belt and black tights and my purple shoes.

All in all, it was a wonderful Valentine's and we look forward to visiting the beautiful city again soon.

Sunsets

2009-02-08T16:13:00.000-08:00

I saw a beautiful sunset coming out of work the other day and it totally lifted my mood. I wished I had a camera there to capture it. It was the first I’d seen in Vancouver in a long time and it seemed full of the promise of spring. Sunsets to me, always seem to symbolize hope. I’m not sure why, but there is something so spectacularly beautiful about that you can’t help be filled with awe and wonder. It caused me to dig through our photos and I found this beautiful one from this fall.

It’s from Stanley Park here in Vancouver and was taken in our first few weeks in Vancouver during the beautiful days we began to call the city home. It’s reminding me of the promise we felt as we started the adventure of building a life here. So much has already changed in these few short months. This picture also reminds me that sunshine will come again to Vancouver! We’ve had some short bursts of sunshine this week and we can’t wait for Spring (and the sun) to come and stay!

Haircut

2009-01-10T18:56:00.000-08:00

While we were home for the holidays I went back to my old hair dresser in Guelph and did the big cut. I had about 10 inches cut that I will be donating through Pantene Beautiful Lengths. They provide wigs to women who have lost their hair to cancer treatment. My friend Sarah went with me and held my hand. Here are the before and after shots:

I had to include this picture because it shows my new boots that I love. I've been looking for boots for a while and finally found these when I was shopping with my friend Jen over the holidays. They're from Spring and I was excited to find them in the 50% sale, you have to love Boxing Day shopping!

Overall I like it but I still get pangs when I touch my hair and it stops before my shoulders! Thanks to Gracie at Acqua in Guelph for doing such a great job and to Sarah for keeping me calm!

Karl Popper would want the Patriots to be in the playoffs

2008-12-30T08:00:00.000-08:00

I just finished reading "The Open Society and It's Enemies" by Karl Popper, and he defines an important transition in the history of civilization as a point where people start to see the difference between natural laws and human laws; before this point people see all laws in the same light: inviolate, unchanging taboos that one attempts to break at one's peril. After this point, though, people begin to see that, while natural laws are unchanging and inviolate, human laws are maintained by convention and can be changed if they are unjust. Popper examines the repercussions of this shift in ancient Greece.
I have concluded that a number of football writers have yet to reach this point in their thinking. I say this because of the articles I have read in the past few days in which the fact that the Patriots, at 11-5, did not make the playoffs, while the Chargers, at 8-8, the Cardinals, at 9-7, the Eagles, at 9-6-1, and the Vikings, at 10-6, all did, is presented as the result of some kind of natural law, at which we can all shake our heads and say, "too bad", but about which nothing can be done. This is, of course, ridiculous. If the current way of selecting and seeding teams for the playoffs results in teams with worse records being given a higher ranking than teams with better records, then the system can simply be changed, and this is what should happen.
The point of having only some teams make the playoffs is (a) to limit the playoffs to only those teams that have a shot at winning the super-bowl, as well as (b) to make the regular season games more meaningful than just seeding. By letting in an 8-8 team while sending a 11-5 team home, the NFL is failing at (a); since the adoption of a 16 game schedule, 6 different teams at 11-5 or 10-6 have gone on to win the Superbowl, while no team below 10-6 ever has. Of course the last statement has a lot to do with the fact that 8-8 teams rarely make the playoffs, and in light of championships by New York and Pittsburgh in recent years from the wild-card, one could make an argument that the league should be expanding the playoff bracket to include more teams, which might someday result in an 8-8 team winning. But the point remains, that if an 8-8 team does deserve to be in the playoffs, an 11-5 team deserves it all the more. It would be a simple fix: just let the teams with the 12 best records in the league into a seeded tournament. Keep the divisions for scheduling, and even keep divisional record as a tie-breaking procedure, but then seed the best 12 teams into the current playoff format. Then travesties such as that which just occurred could be avoided in the future.
I should point out here that Gregg Easterbrook, in the Tuesday Morning Quarterback column on ESPN, has been promoting this solution for several years now, so I can hardly claim credit for the original idea. It has, though, been given more impetus this season, as the Patriots are the first 11-5 team since the divisions were reorganized to miss the playoffs.
Finally, for those out there wondering if I would be posting something like this if the Patriots were in and, say, the Dolphins were at 11-5 and out, the answer is probably not. But then this is a blog so I get to be biased.

Loving Etsy

2008-12-06T22:09:00.001-08:00

I am loving Etsy right now. It's a great site where anyone can post handmade or vintage items. Check it out at I recently found this great vintage Coach bag from Arrogant loves Orginal that Eric got me as an early Christmas present.

I also found this beautiful necklace from The Clasp of Isis

And I am in love with these skirts that Issarocks makes.

They also have a great feature where you can search for local items. I searched Vancouver and found this great "shop" that sells greeting cards Mon Ami Greetings that includes the great set below:

Etsy is a great place to find unique gift ideas that I will definately be using this Christmas.

Check it out at http://www.etsy.com/.

Hairstyles

2008-12-06T20:10:00.001-08:00

So, I am trying to pick a new hairstyle as I prepare for the chopping of my hair. I still need to find a hairdresser but I'm thinking about the style. I've posted some pictures I made on taaz.com, a site that lets you upload a picture and then try different hairstyles. I'm thinking that while my hair is short I will be straightening it a lot. I'm posting the top five and I need opinions please!!

Not quite sure if I can make my hair do this with the waves.

I'm kinda liking the bangs though I think the last time I had them I was about 8.

The Santa Debate

2008-11-30T22:44:00.001-08:00

As there was nothing worth writing about today in the world of football, I did some original research into the current issues facing Canadian parliament, and came up with the following.

As parliament meets tomorrow, the one issue that threatens to bring down the current government is the one issue on the minds of all Canadians: Is there a Santa Claus or not? The views and opinions the diverse Canadian population holds on this issue are complex and varied, but, for the purpose of the house of commons, are completely described by two simple and opposing views, the pro-Santa view (Santa gives you presents) or the pro-Family view (your family gives you presents). To their opponents these are known as the will-wreck-all-of-Canada-through-wishy-washy-feel-good-idealism view and the will-destroy-your-children’s-hopes-and-dreams-and-then-throw-them-out-on-the-street view. This issue will form the basis of several confidence votes in the coming weeks, as the Conservative government steadfastly holds to the belief that it is other family members, not some “chubby elf”, who place presents under the tree the night before Christmas.
Several groups, though, have questioned whether Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s well known anti-Santa stance is truly a result of a reasoned policy discussion, suggesting that perhaps it has more to do with keeping the anti-Santa forces in power. In a press conference yesterday, CAW president Ken Lewenza accused Harper of putting politics before Canadian families, saying, “The only way any kid anywhere in Canada or anywhere else in the world will get presents from Santa this year is if Stephen Harper personally gives several billion dollars worth of presents to the struggling auto sector.”
Opposition parties have also attacked Harper’s anti-Santa position. Asked to comment on the upcoming votes, NDP leader Jack Layton said, “After careful consideration and a large amount of independent research, our party believes, in an independently formed opinion, that Harper is putting politics before Canadian families, and the only way any kid anywhere in Canada or anywhere else in the world will get presents from Santa this year is if Stephen Harper gives several billion dollars worth of presents to the struggling auto sector.” Liberal leader Stephane Dion added, “The conservatives are saying mean things about Santa. It’s not fair. They shouldn’t be allowed to say mean things about Santa. They have so much money to put out mean TV ads about Santa. That’s not fair either! Why won’t anyone listen to me? … [sniffling] … [slight crying sounds] … [sobbing] … [incoherent blubbering] …”
There has, of course, been a vast amount of scientific research done on the question of Santa, with aerospace engineers, logistics experts, and reindeer keepers writing papers, books, monographs, and gingerbread house wall decorations on the subject. Prime Minister Stephen Harper drew on this ocean of scientific findings in a speech yesterday from Ottawa, putting together a logical and well-articulated argument out of a mass of supporting facts and careful analysis. Here we quote the speech in its entirety:

“The Liberals’ belief in Santa will wreck all of Canada through wishy washy feel good idealism.”

With the Conservatives shy of a majority, whether the government stands or falls will largely depend on the votes of a number of Bloc members, who have been questioning the existence of a benevolent Santa in recent years since it was revealed that children in Quebec only get 35% more presents on Christmas morning than children in other provinces, rather than the 63% more a careful calculation has shown to be fair compensation for having to put up with the rest of Canada. Whether this disillusionment will force them into the arms of the Conservatives remains to be seen.

*An Aide to Mr. Lewenza clarified that the "auto sector" does not include any Canadian employees of Toyota, Mazda, Honda, Subaru, Hyundai, Kia, Volvo, BMW, or Volkswagen.

Cooking Yuminess

2008-11-30T18:03:00.001-08:00

I love a man who cooks. Here's a picture of the Latin inspired salmon that Eric made Saturday night. Delicious!

I also thought I'd put up the picture of Grandma's cookies that I made a couple of weeks ago. More yumminess!

Weekend Creativity

2008-11-30T17:32:00.001-08:00

We've had a busy weekend doing some things around the house. We decided to paint our desk white. We found a white with a warm undertone at the Benjamin Moore down the street that we really liked. Here's the before picture:

We have no where to do it outside so Eric covered the floor with newspaper in triple layers.

We sanded it down to get it to stick with the tiny bits of sandpaper that somehow stayed in our tool kit in the move.

Here's a pic of Eric painting, he didn't actually do all the work, I was just the one taking the pictures.

Here it is after the first coat. We're going to add the second coat later tonight so I'll post a picture of how to turned out later.

My other project for to make a wall decoration. I got the inspiration for it from a website called madebygirl.com. She does computer graphics but I got some card stock and letter stencils from Michaels and used some frames we had from IKEA.

Here it is in process:

Here's the finished project, I even nailed some of them in myself!

Once the desk is all done I'll try to post some pictures of the whole living room.

Curtain Creativity

2008-11-29T11:34:00.000-08:00

We are using an IKEA curtain as a privacy screen for our bedroom and we decided it was looking a little blah. I found some black blanket binding at a shop in South Granville and decided to use it up the look of our curtains. Here's how it turned out:

Neither of us are very good with a needle and thread (despite how much my grandma and mom tried to teach me) so we just used our handy hot glue. The wall beside it is look like it needs a little attention and I think that will be our next project.

Welcome

2008-11-29T11:09:00.000-08:00

Welcome to our blog. This is a look inside our world of shoes (clothes, creativeness, social issues) and football (science, technology, politics), and random musings on life in Vancouver. It's a way for all the people we know and love to keep up with what's going on in our lives.