13 Books I Love Looking at Again and Again...

1. How to Be an Explorer of the World (Keri Smith)
2. Messy Thrilling Life: The Art of Figuring Out How to Live (Sabrina Ward Harrison)
3. Wreck This Journal (Keri Smith)
4. The 1000 Journals Project (Kevin Kelly and Someguy)
5. Spilling Open: The Art of Becoming Yourself (Sabrina Ward Harrison)
6. The Five Senses (Hervé Tullet)
7. I Love... (Minne / Natali Fortier)
8. Brave on the Rocks: If You Don't Go, You Dont See (Sabrina Ward Harrison)
9. All the Postsecrets books(Frank Warren)
10. Peace: 100 Ideas (Joshua C. Chen & David Krieger)
11. Seasonal Home (Kristin Perers)
12. Country Living Shoestring Chic: Extraordinary Style for Less (The Editors Of Country Living)
13. Garden House: Bringing the Outdoors In (Bonnie Dahan)

Little man

I babysat a fantastic little man yesterday.
6 months old.
An unbelievable smile.
Come back anytime, Mateo.
The smiley cup will be there, waiting for you!

13 Random Facts at Ariane Moffat's Show Last Night

1. Ariane is brilliant, handles the public well, sings divinely and is clearly having lots of fun on stage.
2. Good chemistry between her and her musicians was obvious.
3. Inspiring lighting.
4. Graphic animations very appropriate and contributed to a comfy ambiance.
5. Her adaptations to her songs are always great, we do not miss the original versions (which is not the case usually)
6. Her public loves her, warm atmosphere (if you forget the 2-3 year-old screaming in the theatre... Can someone explain this to me, I don't understand. Ariane reacted well to the situation, good for her!)
7. The room was not organized for dancing, but Ariane made us stand up and we danced through one song.
8. Sound, wow... We could easily hear the lyrics and all the musical subtleties. Grrrrrreat.
9. Marie-Pierre Fournier as a «first part» (3 songs), beautiful voice, funny on stage, remember her name.
10. Even the songs I like a little less were fantastic.
11. The musical chair game (each musician changing instrument for a song), fun and friendly.
12. Go to a show in my hometown and barely knowing anyone, weird. Luckily I was with a good friend of mine.
13. I thought of my daughters a lot during the show, the tickets were my birthday gift (hugs and kisses darlings, thanks a lot!).

I'm An Explorer.

•Bought another of Keri Smith's book (how can we resist, she is so great).

•Realizing how much I've been an explorer, a person who needs to collect for as long as I can remember.

•Observing more than ever, using my 5 senses.

•Feeling the need to analyze what I observe.

•Not asking myself why I needed to slow down at work anymore.

•Enjoying my moments of freedom so much.

•Taking pleasure in little things and being eager to spend the entire month of December to do so.

•Listening ot my internal clock telling me to sleep a little later and go to bed a little later as well.

•Loving more (my husband, my daughters, my friends, my work, my hobbies, my projects, life).

•Taking good care of myself (for a change!)...
Found this while walking at lunch time, probably a piece of a princess costume. It's cute: pink, shiny, looks like a precious stone. I think I get the message: my daily walks (4km each time) are precious, they give me a healthier complexion and keep me «enlightened» :-) We can find small doses of encouragement everywhere in the nature, just keep your 5 sens alert.

And you, what have you discovered today?

13 Things I Smelled While Fastwalking

1. rain
2. crisp fresh autumn air
3. French fries from la Cantine Chez Jos
4. pine trees (which reminds me of camping when I was a child)
5. cedar (I live in cedar hedge wonderland, so...)
6. freshly mowed lawn (less frequent since a couple of weeks!)
7. tar (and that really stinks!)
8. old men's aftershave when I pass them (in the morning only)
9. pollution (trucks, cars)
10. kitchen smells (and that smells good!)
11. compost or garbage when I decide to fastwalk on Tuesday or Thursday morning
12. apples (and a few weeks later, when apples are rotting on the ground, some sour smell, almost like vinegar)
13. and worst of all... stinky skunks (panic button, I keep my eyes wide open, ready to escape, yes, I'm afraid of skunks. Very. Really. Totally. Scared. That's it.)

13 Things To Do, One Day...

1. Film one of my neighbor when he does crazy stuff (I have opportunities everyday)
2. Pretend to know someone in the subway, talk to her without letting her say she doesn't know me and leave as if we'd meet again
3. Travel to a quiet place, a small village, rent a house, preferably off season
4. Read non-stop, for a full day
5. When the phone rings and someone asks to talk to Raymond, say something more interesting than «You've got a wrong number», ideas anyone? )
6. Give the mailman a scare when he delivers my mail (he is never nice, even if I am, I say hi and he doesn't even respond, what a jerk...)
7. Organize un party with my girlfriends who love to dance. I'd put all the music I adore, we'd dance for hours and the day after I couldn't even walk, party!!!
8. Send surprize gifts (cards, flowers and others) without telling they're from me, with only a nice note.
9. Have my own craft place, a room just for me, with lots of natural light, a TV, a bed/couch to think, find ideas (and to take naps as well...), good speakers (loud music inspires me), lots of closets and drawers and a huge table.
10. Sing in public (Karaoke? With the Bend Your Knees Band?) one more time.
11. Talk to my parents (we'll see...)
12. Try drinking tea (I can't believe I wrote that, I NEVER drink anything hot...)
13. When I'll be REALLY mad, throw my printer through the window (I dream about it). To see it in pieces... :-D Oh, this list has potential!

Café Zira

I went to the restaurant tonight with my dear Alizée and her iPhone, the iPhone almost being human with all its gadgets!

So, night out in a place I particularly like: Café Zira in Saint-Hyacinthe. The food is simple AND original (my favorite thing is the Créole sandwich...), a cosy, nice place to eat. Even if it took me 20 minutes to find a parking space (no joke, downtown was full packed!), it was nothing, really.

It's also the place where Alizée had one of her dreams come true: eat chips with a fork: she found nachos soaking in the salsa, all soft and ready for «ze» fork. Of course, a picture was taken (yes, of course, with the iPhone previously mentioned) to capture this very emotional momen .:-) Alizée has extraordinary life goals like that (there are so many other crazy ones, she's really a funny young adult). It's inspiring me for my Friday list of «13»...

13 Things I'd Like in a Future Home (That I don't Have Right Now)

1. No close neighbours (so, no dog barking at butterflies, no «Barry» who likes his music too loud, no lawnmower while eating supper)
2. Large rooms
3. Good size closet space
4. Close to the bus, the train...
5. ... but in the country!
6. A room that would suit better my working needs
7. An «up-to-date» kitchen
8. A quiet street (veeeeeeery quiet)
9. A porch with a swing
10. A mud room
11. A particular style, a particular charm (a house with a little something unusual...)
12. A nice place to walk/jog/run nearby
13. A long clothesline! (Some day I'll tell you about my passion for clotheslines...)

And You, What Have You Made?

Our dear Hula talked about it not too long ago. I keep thinking about it. And I told my colleague Hélène I'd show her these two videos. Touching, inspiring, those things can give you wings.


I'm seriously thinking about doing something similar.
Soon.
Stay tuned...

13 Songs I Listen to When I Walk/Jog/Run

1. Drive My Soul / Lights
2. Disturbia / Rhianna
3. Gimme Some Lovin' / Steve Winwood w/Spencer Davis
4. Young Folks / Peter, Bjorn & John
5. Viva La Vida / Cold Play
6. A Sort of Homecoming / U2
7. Shadow of the Day / Linkin Park
8. Praan / Garry Schyman
9. Please Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood / Santa Esmeralda
10. Fall at Your Feet / Crowded House
11. Echo Beach / Martha and the Muffins
12. Come on Eileen / Dexy's Midnight Runners
13. The Boy with the Arab Strap / Belle and Sebastian

What We Ate the Last Two Weeks (Homemade!)

1. Veggie soup
2. Chicken pie
3. BBQ pork chops
4. Chicken lasagna
5. Stuffed rolls (usually eaten around Xmas time!)
6. Spaghetti sauce
7. Delicious meatloaf (really!)
8. Greek salad
9. Chicken fajitas
10. Apple pie
11. Summer cake
12. Carot cake
13. Pasta salad (with pesto & Feta)

Walking

Yes, I've started walking two weeks ago, everyday (almost). I power-walk and at times, I even find myself jogging. Am I getting in shape or what? Oh yeah! So I'm breating fresh air, it helps me concentrate when I work and I kind of feel I have muscles. Got one here. Another there, and some more here (they're easy to locate, they're the ones that hurt!)...

13 Little Pleasures...

1. Work flexible hours
2. Power-walking, with my iPod (I'm careful, don't worry...)
3. Eat fresh tomatoes and cucumbers (bought at the farmer's market)
4. Use the clothesline
5. Sun, sun, sun!
6. Cook (yes, yes, it's the truth, this week I did all the cooking and enjoyed it!)
7. Talk with Alizée when she comes back from cegep or work
8. Talk with Miranda when she comes back from school
9. Talk about our days with Claude when he comes back from work
10. Take public transit when I have to work in Montreal
11. Read... Even if I can't wait to finish this book I'm reading, it's a little «insipid»
12. Knowing there will be new episodes of my favorite TV shows soon
13. I'm almost done stripping my piano, a crazy job, but it's gonna be so nice!

Lunch With Sylvie

Working from home is fantastic but to avoid feeling isolated, going out once in a while is a must. So today I had lunch with my friend Sylvie wo also works from home. Lots of talking and laughing, delicious eclectic food, we will do it again soon. It was almost perfect, except maybe for the noise but the Brûlerie Mondor is located on a busy corner...

Fonts and Movies

To test your knowledge of movies through their fonts. Identify them by using one letter! Some are easy, others are... Well...

GOOD MORNING VIETNAM!

Can't sleep late anymore...

Matt Likes to Dance

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

A very simple idea, a cute result, touching even... Notice the weather when Matt dances in Montreal :-)

Cat Story

What a way to start the day... After 3 good hours of reading a book I didn't think I'd enjoyed (the last part got me though), I turn my computer on, visit the blogs I've included in my Google reader (couldn't live without that tool anymore) and find this:

Nothing better than a good laugh!

via Raspberry

Bored?

Got a couple of minutes to lose?
Enjoy :-)

Creacamp, Fall 2008 Edition

Note to self and friends: the next Creacamp is coming up soon...

You must now register on-line (minimal registration fee). It's worth the trip, to meet great women, to discuss about our creative projets and listen to those of others, to enrich your network and spend a fantastic afternoon with interesting people!