To Resolve or Not....

New Year's is upon us very soon and once again it is time to think about New Year's Resolutions. Every year I make the same resolutions and never seem to keep them for more than a month or two. First one I always make and break is my promise to myself to work out everyday and keep to a very healthy lifestyle. That usually goes along with the resolution to lose 30 pounds which never happens! I did manage to lose 16 pounds this year but that was only after gaining 20 during a very stressful period so really I was still up 4 pounds :(
The second resolution I tend to break is my goal to save more money. I really used to be good with saving money and never had less than $3000 in my savings account at one time but now that I am older and life throws more hard balls my way- like car repairs, the need for new household appliances and getting fatter thus needing new clothes- my bank account has dwindled to the point that when I look at the balance I get severe nausea. I am scared what I'm going to do when kids come and we have a lot more expenses...take a deep breath and stop stressing... ANYWAY I am really going to try to keep this resolution this year. I used to always think about a purchase LONG AND HARD before making it and usually decided not to waste the money. I am really going to try very hard to go back to that mentality. I was never one to buy things frivilously and can't believe I let materialism get to me so much that I started wasting money on things I don't really need. AND I have a second job for a reason- perhaps working there a little more often to save the cash would be a good idea...time to let them know I'm available weekends again!
The third and last resolution I always make and break is to keep my house spotless clean. I really hate hate hate clutter and can't stand when the house is messy. I think maybe if it were just me living in the house and there were no husband in the equation my home might be less cluttered and messy. It is really hard to keep on top of things when a small house is storing the lives of two grown adults who both seem to keep everything. Perhaps this year I will be able to stay on top of things and declutter and keep it neat and tidy...i'll cross my fingers and try really hard to keep this one this year. We are no longer having a cleaning lady come twice a month (got to save the $$) to clean so it's really important to maintain a schedule and stay on top of the cleaning.
Now for some new resolutions to think of...how can i improve myself, be a better person, and maintain a healthy relationship with G-d. I think that I will try to talk to G-d daily, refrain from negative thoughts (which really can be a challenge as we talking about stopping a lifetime habit) and look on the bright side of life. Are these things realistic and can I actually keep these promises to myself? I guess only time will tell but with a little help from G-d and my family and friends hopefully I will see a noticeable improvement in myself and my attitude towards life...wish me luck!!

Wedding Crashers

December 28, 2005
Interesting, Predictable, Obnoxious: "Wedding Crashers" Inspires Wedding Crashers
By Debbie Schlussel
Today's Wall Street Journal Marketplace section has a very interesting article about a rude behavior you could have predicted would result from the hit movie, "Wedding Crashers": wedding crashing. (We wish we could link to this, but alas, you must subscribe to the WSJ to access it.)
The movie has inspired so much wedding crashing that it's become very costly to non-celebrity brides and grooms who must shell out big bucks for decidedly celebrity accoutrements, including guards/extra security and the extra money the caterer charges for extra plates (food served to the crashers who are not caught). It also now includes the tacky, but necessary: Wedding parties must now resort to sending tickets for admission in the wedding invitation. Enjoy seeing total strangers in your wedding photos? Those pics cost money, too.
It was funny in the movie--which was hilarious, if very raunchy--but come on . . . in real life, this behavior is just plain obnoxious. And, oh, the effort it takes. One set of wedding crashers accessed the groom's on-line resume to bluff their way through conversations with relatives at the wedding. Another couple crashed a wedding, then invited the bride and groom to crash theirs. How cute . . . NOT.
Too bad the movie has emboldened this behavior, but didn't you kind of expect that? This latest decline in manners and common courtesy is yet more evidence of the dumbing down of American society. Like this movie, we liked "Animal House," "Back to School" (which is now 20 YEARS OLD!--circa 1986--and, unfortunately, being remade with Cedric the Entertainer, in Spanish; 'Nuff said) etc. But that doesn't mean we want all of America to emulate these movies. "Wedding Crashers" is a movie, not an instruction manual on how to behave in real-life.
Posted by Debbie at 12:14 PM

My thoughts:
I found this blog entry by Debbie very interesting. The thought that people would have the chutzpa to actually go to some elses wedding, eat a full meal, drink from the bar all at the cost of the bride and groom is beyond me!! While I found this movie hilarious and had a really good laugh while watching it I assumed it was all fiction. The reality that some people actually crash weddings is unbelievable...guess I'm just a little naive!!

Maybe it's just me....

I have been on a quest in the last few months. I am determined to find the perfect eyeshadow. None of the brands or colors I have purchased seem to do anything for me at all. The first one I purchased was a brand called ARISSA. This was about $3.99 at Walmart. The colors looked so pretty in the package I was sure they would be gorgeous on. Boy was I wrong. My first attempt to use this duo called Star Dust was a total disaster. I applied it using the applicator in the case and made a total mess of my eyes-and I was at work so I had no way of removing this chalky gross mess off my face (yes the shadow ran all over my cheeks and into my eyebrows-YUCK) ...I tried it again later using a brush but the color was so faint it was a little to au natural for my liking.

The second one I tried was from Cover Girl. It was not super cheap. I paid about $6.99 on sale at Shoppers Drug Mart for a 4-kit shadow in the Urban Basics color combo. The colors are fairly neutral so I knew I would not get dramatic results but I thought perhaps the color would show up a little. The matte streetlight color doesn't show up at all. I try to use it under my brow as I have always thought the lighter color should go but I swear all it does is aggrivate me. The two sparkley colors are nice but not really appropriate for day time use. I have used them for an evening out and they look fine. The last color, the pearl dusk color is really nice but for some reason it tends to get a oily film on it which I have to scrape off with my finger nail or else there is no point to trying to use it. VERY ANNOYING!!

My latest attempt at finding the perfect eyeshadow was just yesterday. I bought a L'Oreal quad in the Autumn Leaves combo. So far after two failed attempts to use this shadow I really wish I could return it for a refund as at $11.99 it was really not cheap! Firstly the applicators provided are pretty much useless. They don't help the shadow go on nicely at all. The colors are supposed to complement each other but when I put them on I just didn't get it. The dark colors were too dark and the light ones too light... They seemed to smear all over the place and I found myself washing the shadow off and reapplying with a q-tip (which worked a bit better but not much)

I have come to the conclusion that perhaps some people just aren't meant to wear eyeshadow or maybe I have never really learned the right application methods but I am stopping this quest to find the perfect shadow as I really don't want to broke myself ...gonna stick to mascara and lipstick for now on!!

An Evening With Friends

It's always nice to get together with friends. Last night we had our first Chanukah party. I had planned on making latkes but was just too tired and really wanted to do other things instead of slave over a hot frying pan cooking in the afternoon.
We had about 14 people over and I'm glad to say it seemed as if everyone was getting along well. That is always a worry of mine-that people won't get along or will have absolutely nothing in common thus having nothing to talk about...besides the fact that the usual "all about our kids talk" prevailed for what seemed a better part of the evening things were rather enjoyable.
People ate, drank (well pop at least) and were generally merry.

The only thing that didn't really happen which I kind of hoped would was people drinking a little more-and relaxing so they could stay later than they did- but no biggie as we did have 4 people stay past 11 pm (woohoo)
The turn out was decent. Only my single friends seemed to decline. Funny how that works. If I were still single I probably would have declined an invite like that as well. Who would want to spend an evening with all married people listen to talk about kids!! I'll have to make a concerted effort to get together on other occassions with single girlfriends.
Anyway we had one super yummy mummy who took the time to put on her party clothes and do hair nicely (as always) then we had the usual jeans and sweater crowd who come au natural sans make-up or hair spray... but glad they were able to make it none-the-less.

Happy Holidays vs Merry XMAS

This time of year brings with it good cheer and wonderful spirit BUT on the other hand it also brings a lot of frustration and aggrevation. Yes going to the mall and looking for parking during December can be slightly hellish but these aren't the annoyances that cause me the most stress.
What really peeves me during this time of year is the general assumption that everyone celebrates Christmas and that there is a lack of sensitivity to those who celebrate other religous festivals. How many times am I forced to smile politely when a client says Merry Xmas or a co-worker asks me if I've done all my shopping..I understand they are just trying to be polite or show interest but with all the "mutli-culturalism" in our society these days one would think it would be easier to understand the need to recognize that not everyone celebrates Christmas.
I am not trying to be a grinch nor am I saying that we should now call a Christmas tree a Holiday tree but on the other hand it would be nice if all facets of our society here in Canada were recognized during this time of year or always for that matter.
It is quite frustrating when I am laughed at at work because of a request to call our "christmas" lunch a holiday celebration due to the fact that that there are so many people of various cultures in our office. When will people learn that some people are different and we would appriciate a little recognition or just know that an effort is being made to understand OUR holidays and tradionts.

Sleepless nights

What a scare I got this past week. I received my CREDIT CARD BILL in the mail and boy was I shocked by the balance...I have always been extremely cautious with my spending and always make sure that I have enough cash in my chequing account to cover any credit card purchases I make. I HATE being in debt(with the exception of my mortgage) and could never live with myself if I had to pay those crazy credit card interest rates...that's why when I opened the envelope and was slapped in the face with a larger than I could have imagined balance I had a little panic attack...what was I going to do??? There was no way I could pay that off in full without borrowing money from a savings account or G-d forbid asking my husband for a small loan...well after hemming and hawing and stressing myself out totally I meekly aproached my husband and told him I couldn't pay my bill this month...I was SOOO embarassed but he didn't even bat an eyelash and gave me a cheque for my bill ....I have definitely learned my lesson and will start thinking, twice, three times and perhaps just leave the cards at home before making my next unnessecary purchase!