Survivorman, just survivin'

Survivorman is a great Canadian television show about a guy (Les Stroud) who gets dumped into the middle of the wilderness with limited to no food, water, shelter and tools. He also doesn't have a camera crew - he films everything himself. So that usually means 10s of pounds of camera equipment for him to lug around. Locations he visits are secluded and usually pretty harsh (although I would argue the one on a deserted island was pretty sweet). Locations range from an Alaskan tundra to a New Orleans swamp to a Costa Rican rainforest.

I enjoy watching what these different places around the world are like. You really get to feel the temperature, humidity and textures of the land through Les. Learning Survival techniques on the other hand...

Don't get me wrong, I would NEVER do anything this. In fact, I don't even camp because I get "grossed" out by bugs. (The show in Costa Rica really freaked me out!) But Les does little more than stay alive for the 6 nights he's out there. He always starts out very optimistic with all his animal traps and fishing nets but rarely does he eat anything but a few bugs and berries. It seems he literally "survives" until the crew comes to pick him up. Just once I'd like to see him take down something bigger than a two-bite brownie.

www.survivorman.ca
P.S. No matter how much I complain, I'm still a fan. :)

To Pill or not to Pill

My husband and I have been getting baby fever lately. It's probably just Canadian winter boredom but we have baby on the brain. I've been asking all the moms I know what to do in preparation and they've recommended a couple books and vitamins. I'm currently reading my sister's pick, "The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy".

Last week we anxiously decided that I would stop taking birth control pills after the current pack was finished. Well, the time has come and we've totally chickened out. The funny part is we did the exact same thing last month. This time the excuse is that we want to get the ball rolling on moving to Los Angeles first before we make any life-altering decisions. The weather there is fantastic and... well that's about it. The weather. We're done with the cold.

Anyway, I want to have kids but the thought of actually DOING it, freaks me right out. I don't want to grow up. I want to stay young and sexy. I would rather be seen as a chick than a "mom". I want to stay free and well-rested with my husband and not have to get up at all hours of the night and spend all day disciplining a wild child. Yes, I think I'll stay on birth control for a little while longer.

I'll keep you posted.

What not to say... ever.

Here's a useful note to all men with girlfriends or wives on what NOT to say to your lovely lady...

My husband and I walked to the mall this weekend. We walked into the Bay and were heading to the elevators when my husband looked at me and said, "is it humid out?"
I suspiciously reply, "what do you mean?"
"I don't know, is it humid outside today?"
"Why??"
"Because your hair is acting as if it's humid."

Nice, huh?

aluminum starch octenylsuccinate?!?!?!

I ran out of my usual Body Shop moisturizer so I went searching through my closet in a drawer where I keep cosmetic odds and ends. I figured that not having my usual product would force me to use up some older stuff before they get so raunchy that they grow legs and crawls away. I found a small sample tube of Olay body lotion that looked like it would do the trick. It's called "quench therapy". For some reason I looked at the back and noticed the ingredients list was incredibly long. I also noticed there were only about 3 words I could recognize as English. Then the word, "aluminum" caught my eye and that's when I decided NOT to use this product or even give it away for someone else to use. I looked the ingredient up called "aluminum starch octenylsuccinate" and found what I expected... bad news.

http://www.ewg.org/chemindex/chemicals/24922

I can't believe Olay would make something containing something even remotely harmful that women, including pregnant ones, rub into their skin and absorb. I'm thoroughly disturbed by my discovery but also grateful. This experience has made me a bit more thoughtful. I will definitely be on the lookout for something a little more natural for my next purchase.

Winter

Today is officially the first day of Winter. Not according to any calendar, just according to me. It started to snow lightly last evening when Husband and I left the office. This morning when we looked out at the city, everything was covered in a beautiful fluffy white sheet. Winter for the most part seriously sucks but there are a few moments that are sincerely beautiful. Moments that I would miss if we moved to L.A. A fresh snowfall is one of these moments. Another such moment is the night after a fresh snowfall when the streetlights are on, the light bounces off the white snow and creates a beautiful glow.

The time between these moments are gray and wet and slippery and freezing. Pretty much awful.

On an unrelated note, we watched Hotel Rawanda last night. It was great. The only problem was the intense guilt afterward knowing that this movie was not based on fiction. Man, the world is a f$%#ing nasty place. Great movie. Also loved The Last King of Scotland. James McElroy is so H.O.T.

Movie Review: Constant Gardner

The Constant Gardner constantly sucked.

The election is DONE.

I'm totally speechless about the whole thing. When CNN announced it, I couldn't stop myself from crying. It's incredible how emotional this win was. I didn't feel like such a wus after I saw Colin Powell, Steven Cobert and several other grown men tear up on T.V.

These are the pictures I took at home to capture the moment...

On our way to New York

Well, I'm on my way to New York today. We booked our trip with Porter airlines which is a 5 minute taxi to the Toronto Island Airport from where we live instead of 40 minutes to Pearson. So far it has been such a pleasure. There are no line ups, you don't have to walk 4 football fields to get from A to B, and the people are friendly. To be fair, we're traveling on a Saturday which is generally a calm day. I don't think we'll travel the same way ever again. Our lives have been altered forever. Sorry for being so dramatic but there are free gourmet lattes and cookies. I have to say, it's very nice to walk up to a fully stocked fridge without a lock and take out anything your heart desires.

Tonight is my sister's Halloween party which is what prompted us to book this trip. My husband can't wait to mingle with interesting upper east side republicans. He really gets off on talking politics and hearing what people think. On Tuesday I'm going to be a guest on The 404, a CNET podcast. Remember the first time my phone message got on the air? I've left a few more messages and have become a bit of a regular. They suggested that they wanted to call me on the air and I asked if I could just come to the studio in person next time I visit my sister in NYC. So, I'm booked and very excited. I've been thinking up things to talk about and making sure that I'm up to date on pop culture and tech news so I will have something to contribute. I would hate to get so nervous that I blank out and giggle for 40 minutes. On Tuesday night we have reservations for my favorite restaurant, "Sushi of Gari". OMG I can't wait for that. On Wednesday night we're going to The Moth. Then, we leave on Thursday. All the times between plans will be spent walking around, eating pizza and S.H.O.P.P.I.N.G.

Ok, what else here is free that I can eat?

Innocent Car, Assaulted

Yesterday we went down to our parking lot to find that one of our car windows had been smashed in. The strange part is that it wasn't one of the front-side windows or even backseat window... it was the little tiny window at what I like to call the "backy-back". This person must have seen something they wanted and decided that instead of breaking the driver side window to unlock the doors (like a thinking, rational person NOT on drugs), he/she would break the little window and just be able to snatch something from the top of the pile. The pile of stuff in the back of the car is a combination of stuff we purged from our apartment to give to charity plus we're moving our office so there's a bunch of Staples and Home Depot bags back there. Nothing of any value. In fact, we can't even figure out if they took anything! They would have done us a favor to take more. I'm not upset that the window is broken. I'm just disappointed that someone would do it. It also robs me of a bit of security I felt in our own building. Maybe I shouldn't venture down to the car at night? Maybe I shouldn't play with the cat in the hall when my husband's not home? Ah, this is the price we pay to live in downtown Toronto. ...and it's totally worth it. ;)

Soft Chocolate Cookies recipe

I have another incredible recipe I have to share. The only problem with these cookies is that they are highly addictive and could result in eating the entire batch. Um... that's what a friend told me of course. They are soft and chewy and are very brownie-like but they're a light cookie. And, as always, they are incredibly easy.


Soft Chocolate Cookies

1 cup butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tbsp flour
1/2 cup cocoa
2 cups white or chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350.
Mix butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla extract for 1 minute.
Add cocoa and salt. Add flour until just blended (never over-mix flour when baking).
Stir in chocolate chips if you want them. My opinion is they are perfect without them.
Drop small spoonfuls onto cookie sheets. Bake for 10 minutes.

I told you it was easy. It's well worth it.

I made this recipe last week with a twist... After making the dough, I put it into a piping bag with a 1cm opening and squeezed out an arrow shape and then two dollops at the bottom of the arrow. Did you guess what those were? Hint: they were for a bachelorette party. Hint 2: I sprinkled chocolate sprinkles on the "dollops". The last thing I'll say is that my friend is marrying a black gentleman. The cookies were hilarious and they were a huge hit. The funniest part is that my dad came over this week and ate the leftovers. My husband wouldn't eat one.

bad day @ work

I'm having a really bad day. Last night I had some screw-ups at work. I thought I had sorted it all out by the time I went to bed and the plan for today was to forget about the problems from last night and plow ahead. Unfortunately, this was not the case. It turns out that all the work I did last night has to be thrown into the trash. As soon as I came to this realization, I wanted to slip out of my chair onto the carpet, roll into the fetal position, close my eyes and dream that I was out of this stuffy, loud production office and rollarblading to the beach with the sun in my face. It's hard when these things happen because working for myself means that messing up translates into lost time and $MONEY$ both of which I HATE to lose.

I'm in such a terrible mood right now. I think I'll go take a shower and wash my hair. When I’m feeling like this I have to stop myself from hating my customers for making me work so hard. It’s easy to get resentful. That just goes to show how irrational that thought is since it is my beloved customers who make my dream business a reality.

Now, if this next production run goes to shit, I’m really going to scream.

P.S. When you’re having a bad day, you’re really having a bad day. After I finished writing the above blog post, I clicked to publish it and when I went to view the blog my heart stopped and I broke out into a sweat (not an exaggeration). Why? The blog I posted to was my WORK blog. And of all postings, it’s one that’s complaining about work. I frantically clicked around looking for the delete button and immediately after I successfully deleted it, I felt a pang of sadness. I liked that post and I wanted it. Worst of all, I realized that I wasted MORE time since I got nothing out of the time I spent to write it. Kill me now. I vented to my husband and then sat down and wrote it again. That wasn’t so bad. This writing thing really makes me feel better. I don't particularly enjoy writing the same thing twice but it's better than curling up in the fetal position. I’m ready for that shower now…

Nu? Where's the baby?

It has officially started. Last night my grandmother took me aside when we were leaving her house, put both my hands in her hands and said "I hope to be alive to see you have a baby". My husband and I have been married for just 3 months. To be fair, we were together for about 3 years before that. Ok, bubbie has the right. Bubbie has the right to say and do anything as far as I'm concerned. She earned the right by being so cute and old.
Gotta go get ready for a bbq....
bye!

Best Banana Bread

Earlier this month was my husband's birthday. We don't really celebrate birthdays (that's a story for a whole other blog post) but I wanted to make him a cake. He requested banana bread since he's not such a sweet tooth like me. I'm such a sweet tooth that I have a rare condition where every single one of my teeth are sweet, even the molars. Back to the cake... I found a recipe online on a website that both my husband and I frequent for most of our recipes called AllRecipes.com. The funniest part of this website are the reviews. Very often, someone will say, "this is a great chili recipe! The only thing I changed is instead of using Kidney beans, I used Romano beans and I also used half the brown sugar and added a 1/2 cup of dark beer, 1 teaspoon of cinnomon and instead of beef I used brussel sprouts."
So, after you read the recipe posted on the site, it's a good idea to glance at the reviews to see if there's a popular suggestion regarding a better cooking time/temperature or if most people thought it could use a bit less flour/sugar. The following recipe for the very best banana bread is my revised version so it's just perfect. Best of all, if you have ripe bananas that you're about to throw out you can pretty much find the rest of the ingredients in your cupboard. It couldn't be easier - just the kind of baking I like.

The Very Best Banana Bread

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla
  
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups ripe mashed banana
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour one 9x5 inch pan.
2. Cream butter and sugars until smooth. Add cinnamon and vanilla. Beat in eggs, then bananas. Add flour and soda, stirring just until combined.
3. Pour into prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 1 hour (or till toothpick comes out clean).

My husband couldn't stop raving about this bread. He would put walnuts in it next time. I would put chocolate chips.
Enjoy!!

Roz Savage and the Pacific

The last post regarding podcasts makes me want to mention Roz Savage (www.rozsavage.com). Roz is a woman that is literally rowing across the Pacific right now... I mean, RIGHT NOW. Think about it. A woman in a row boat with no land in sight between the California coast and Hawaii. Roz writes in a blog almost every day and I have been keeping up with her since she left the Golden Gate bridge. I also listen to her podcast updates on "Roz Rows the Pacific". I find out whether the gale force winds on the ocean have died down enough for her to get back out on the deck to row. I look at her progress going south west to see whether she has actually been drifting backwards. I check to see whether her water-maker has started to work again after the electronic components were flooded with sea water. The amazing thing is that it feels like she's been out there for so long yet she still has more than 2 months more to go. I really admire her discipline, determination and drive. To me, her trip across the ocean in a row boat would be a very effective form of torture. It would be a matter of survival rather than adventure. I don't know if I would be more scared of the dark deep ocean tossing me around like a rubber ducky or being completely alone for that many hours, days and nights. Or, maybe I just can't handle the thought of not having icecream for such a long stretch of time.
Go Roz!

I'm FAMOUS!!! ...and other podcasts

I listen to hours and hours of podcasts every day while I'm working on my online business. There are a few topics that I gravitate towards... Natural Sciences, Skepticism and Tech News . Currently, I subscribe to 44 podcasts. That's right... 44. A little while back when I was just at 20 podcasts, I had a terrifying moment when I ran out of things to listen to, so I scrambled around the iTunes store to beef up my inventory... and that's how I ended up like this. I NEVER have to listen to myself think again.

Anyway, there are naturally a select few podcasts that I really look forward to. I will tell you one from each category...
Science: I absolutely LOVE Quirks & Quarks from CBC Radio (go Canada!). I know there's no practical reason to know how an alligators' lungs work or how a Neaderthal would have said "e" but it keeps me glued to my computer speakers anyway.
Skepticism: Another favorite (LOVE LOVE LOVE) is The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe. I would be happy just listening to that all day long. It has made me more aware of my own skeptical thinking (which I do naturally but more is better) and, well, it makes me feel smart.
Tech News: I probably have the most podcasts in this category but one in particular stands out... not because it is the most educational but because it is the most entertaining for me. It is called "The 404" from CNET. You see, most of my tech podcasts are made in California where they think they're in the centre of the tech universe (because they are). The 404 is created in New York which is a location close to Toronto but more importantly, close to my heart. (In fact, I just got back on Tuesday from a 5 day visit.) I feel like I can relate to these guys and best of all, they crack me up.

So, what does all this have to do with my blog title? After listening to the 404 last Tuesday, I decided I would call them up and leave them a voice message. There is a certain format to follow: "hi, this is ___ calling from ____ and you're listening to the 404, where ____". I wanted to say something that would let them know I'm a regular listener by referring to a previous podcast, a.k.a. an inside joke. It accidentally came out a bit provocative which I totally didn't mean to do. I guess I shouldn't have used my sexy bedroom voice. The next day I was going about my regular routine of working and listening to the latest 404 episode and then, after the commercial break I hear a familiar voice... MY OWN! How exciting! So, my big break happens on the 404, episode #118 at 12 minutes and 46 seconds. By the way, I'll kick Stephanie Kim's ass any day of the week, whoever she is.

My first blog entry

Hi. My name is Debbie. I've been thinking of starting a blog for the last week or so. The idea came to me when I was telling my mom about my new favorite mascara and I thought about how much I love to tell people when I like a product. After all, I love hearing about products other people like. I also want an outlet to talk about my opinions and express my views on various miscelanious STUFF. I can't wait to start.

I may as well start by writing about what I just did between this paragraph and the previous one. We're having a big, loud, warm thunder storm tonight and my Husband just grabbed his flip flops and ran out onto the balcony to enjoy sights and sounds. I grabbed my Crocs (eww, Crocs) and joined him. The thunder shook and scared me but I just grabbed my Husband tighter and we looked out at the CN Tower to catch the lightening bolts. We're back on our awesome couch (our first major purchase together) watching CNN again. The storm is still in full force. I love it!

Talk to you again soon!
Debbie in Toronto