Wednesday, August 11, 2010

10 Signs to Keep Him? Not convinced on this one....

(love Will and Jada!)

Just saw this list here of 10 Signs He's a Keeper, but dang, it's rough to work with!


Here's my take on the list (which, by the way, reflects a different set of aspirations than mine for a partner), and here's why:
  1. He's responsible - Does he remember to do things that a grown, adult person should be doing (paying bills, maintaining the home, etc.)? Are life's responsibilities distributed equally between the two of you? And if he doesn't remember, does he react well when you remind him?
  2. He's reliable - Contrary to the list, I don't believe you can run to a guy with all of your problems. Isn't that what friends, family, colleagues, and therapists are for? My take is....does he respond well to the problems that he's supposed to solve?
  3. He respects you - duh. This is a non-negotiable - it's not a sign that I should keep him! Pleeeeeeassse.
Finish the list here. 

Fashion Intervention 101

Over the weekend, us gals got together (we've humbly dubbed ourselves the PPC - Purple Power Center...sort of our she-woman alter egos.....) and had the first of what will likely be seasonal fashion wardrobe interventions. 

Our gal Ezzie (also my spunky funky roommate) is tremendously gifted with a diverse selection of garb - very colorful, feminine, with a bit of artsy hipster flare.  Unfortunately, she's suffers from what most women go through each morning....what to wear?!?!!?!?!?!?!?!? 

So we set aside some time on Sunday to have a Fashion Intervention.......

First, brunch!  Jamie and Becky came over to a wonderfully healthy brunch of bagels, smoked salmon, and scrambled eggs.....delish!

Then the intervention began. 
  1. Ez and I had laid out her entire wardrobe in the living room.  Dressy tops hanging on a clothing rack, casual tops folded and laid out store-style according to color, skirts and pants laid out on the couch (solids arranged separte from patterns), 10-15 pairs of dress shoes in the corner, and an accessories station set up on a nearby table. 

  2. The girls had 20 minutes to piece together as many ensembles as possible, keeping Ez's objectives in mind (dress like she's an architect from Paris, encompassing a sexy and rock n' roll feel, and incorporating brilliant color and pattern combinations).




  3. Next, we had the pleasure of watching our gal strut her stuff in 40+ ensembles that we had assembled. It was GREAT!



Talk about an awesome way to spend a Sunday....
with friends, fashion, and lots of FUN!

Take a look at more photos here

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Bringin' my own bottle!



And have a perfect glass everytime - for sure!  During one of the most awesome weekends, ever, the Polar Bear took me to an amazing BYOB restaurant in Montreal (best mussels, by the way!), and he came equipped with my FAVORITE Barolo and a backup to keep us sipping during our extra long and lovely date. 

I just found a really cool website listing all the BYOB restaurants in Ottawa, along with a few tips on their FAQ page: 

Don't bring homemade wine - the government only allows people to bring commercial wines to restaurants.


Know how much the restaurant charges - some places will charge you a higher corkage fee to discourage you from bringing your own wine. Don't hold that against them because maybe they have invested a lot of money in an amazing wine cellar.

Know if they charge by the bottle or by the size of the bottle - some restaurants will charge you $10 a bottle no matter what size; some places will charge you more money for larger bottles. (ie: a 750ml would be $10, 1.5L would be $20, and no, unfortunately, they won't charge $5 for 375ml)

Remember, no PST is charged on corkage fees - at least there is only one tax, which helps you save a couple more bucks.

Offer your server a taste - not all restaurants are going to allow their servers to have a taste, but if they do your server will love it! Tip: If you don't like the wine you might want to let your server know before you offer them a taste.

Don't bring fortified wine - fortified wines (ports, sherries, etc) are not allowed as part of BYOW.

Ask for "bring a bottle buy a bottle" - while this is very rare it is great to find! Some restaurants will wave their corkage fee if you also buy a bottle from their list. Makes for a win-win situation, you get to bring a wine you love, the restaurant sells a bottle from their wine cellar.

2010 Goals - An Objective Check-In

Making life good GREAT is one of life’s daily adventures, and I’m super ja-crazy (my good friend Jamie’s term for being super enthusiastic about some thing, some one, or some idea….) about lists – they tend to keep me in line.

Earlier this year, I figured out 10 things that I wanted to do in 2010 that would bring me joy, happiness, and satisfaction and I made a list (check it out – to the left). I’m not the best at goal setting and keeping, so I thought I’d do a check-in…..



1. Read more books than I did in 2009 - Score on this one!!!

2. Spend more time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6. – Ummmmmmm…….not so much, but I may get to teach a children’s dance class in the fall. This will keep me above water on this one!

3. Relearn flute playing – Nope. This one didn’t pan out.

4. Visit 5 new Canadian cities – Not too bad….I can add Kingston, Minton, and Mississauga to my list!

5. Meet more bloggers – SCORE! I reached out to 2 bloggers in Ottawa and may be able to set up a blogger meet up in the city. Plus, I’m guest posting on a fellow blogger’s wonderland. What fun!

6. Watch the Godfather series – I’ll have to wait till a long autumn evening on this one.

7. Finish Chinese 102 successfully – Another zero.

8. Master flossing daily – SCORE! I’m up to twice a day on this one!!!

9. Start a women's investment group in Ottawa – Well, I really tried on this one, but I think I may have an alternative….I’m part of a fitness challenge, and for the next challenge, we’re going to build in “Financial Health” as part of the challenge. We’ll see how this develops.

10. Save $4000 USD for a social sabbatical – I promise I’ll do better on this one - but I AM saving better, and smarter...let's call this one a tie :)

Monday, August 9, 2010

Perks at Work


I'm soooooooooooooooooooo excited.  Work, as I realize from time to time, is the bomb!!!!  I'm in my 2nd year at a great organization that works to promote and strengthen community philanthropy around the world.  It's an awesome org with cool colleagues, and I'm really fortunate that they picked me outta lil' old South Carolina to be involved in this fabulous work.

I've done bunches of presentations, and for those of us in the non-profit sector hustling to get our research recognized, it's really awesome to be asked to present formally - especially within a forum that encompasses more than philanthropy!!!!!  It's great for the field (recognition outside of the community of our work), the organization (glad that the World Assembly is in Canada - home to the org that I work for) and especially me (great chance to network, learn about what's going on in the world, and enjoy Montreal)!!!! 

Do let me know if you're in town!

ciao for now!
a

Search This Blog