Trying to make peace with winter...

Ok, so, first of all I'd like to apologize for my last post.  Really, my life isn't all that bad.  It's quite good, in fact, all things considered.  Those of you who know me well are aware that each year around this time, I descend into misery because, despite being born and raised in Canada, I simply cannot deal with cold weather.  The closest word that would describe my body's reaction to winter is allergic.  They just don't mix.

Anyway, I know there a lot of you out there who do like winter.  Like this lovely group of families I had the privilege of spending some time with today out on Sydenham Lake.  They were genuinely enjoying two staples of Canadian life I have never personally been able to get behind (i.e., hockey and winter).  Even I had to admit it was downright beautiful - like a Tim Hortons commercial, but without all the cheesy dialogue!

Here are a few of the highlights...

Winter Blues

Warning:  This post is really, really depressing.

I've gotta tell you people.  I've had it up to here with the winter.  January has gone by so slowly for me, and it really hasn't been the best of months.  Honestly, how can it still be January?  I hate January.  And February.  Oh god it's a leap year isn't it?  A whole extra, unwanted day of February.  I really need to move somewhere where it's warmer and brighter.  Or at least warmer, and less dry.  My skin just can't take it.  My hands are all cracked and bloody from the dryness.  Then again, sunlight is important too.  I'm pretty sure I'm still vitamin D deficient, despite the supplements I've been taking.  Vitamin D, B12, iron - lately also vitamin C and echinacea while I try to fight off this godawful cold that, after 2 weeks, is still not entirely gone.  

Every time I look in the mirror I see a sick person - bags under my eyes, deathly pale skin.  My body is shrinking, but in the worst possible way - shriveling up, instead of firming and tightening.  I know I need to be more active, but my bones feel like lead most of the time, inhibiting any sort of movement.  I don't know why because I really do make an effort to be healthy.  Lots of vegetables, whole grains, fruits.  I've even been sleeping well about 90% of the time for the past year.  Aren't those things supposed to keep you healthy?

The sun is out today, but it's cold and dry and the snow is blowing everywhere because it's the consistency of dust - the way it gets when it's extra cold out.

I wish I lived in a place where I could have a rooftop party.  With champagne, warm breezes, pretty table settings, and twinkle lights.

Photo from abless' photostream.

PS - Sorry about being such a downer today - on the plus side, this little rant has been somewhat therapeutic, and I feel a bit better.

A Note of Fashion

A month or so ago, I was walking around Yorkville in Toronto, and saw a young, well-dressed woman wearing nylons similar to those on the right hand side of this picture. She passed by a homeless man who burst out laughing at the sight of her and (very loudly) asked if they were pantyhose or tattoos. The look on the girl's face was priceless. I don't think I've ever seen anyone so blatantly appalled in my life. Apparently, these things are all the rage. I enjoy looking at them, but am not sure how good they would look on my stumpy little legs...

Photo via Design is Mine.

Review: The Young Victoria

On Saturday, I finally got to see The Young Victoria, which of course did not make it to Kingston until The Screening Room picked it up last week. I get a kick out of historical biopics such as this one; throw in some romance, some beautiful period costumes, and at least one devastatingly handsome man, and I have fuel for a whole week's supply of happy thoughts. My god is Rupert Friend gorgeous! Keira Knightley is one lucky woman. Isn't it lovely when beautiful people unite to make a doubly beautiful couple? This brand of shameless superficiality has the notorious effect of cheering me up when I'm down - which is pretty much all the time at this time of year.

On to the film itself, which is actually extremely well done. Emily Blunt is fantastic as Victoria, although it's kind of weird to see the queen portrayed by such an attractive woman. (Usually when I think of Victoria, I picture a large, homely old hag.) That said, it did have the effect of making me let go of such assumptions, and open my mind up to learning new things about the queen. I never knew, for instance, what a troubled childhood Victoria had, and what a complicated relationship she had with her mother. 

It's easy to get swept up in the young Queen's struggle to learn the ropes in the turbulent early years of her rule; the best part of the movie by far, however, is the portrayal of her desire for Albert - who is, obviously, utterly irresistible. Their relationship is what ties The Young Victoria together; without it the film would definitely have seemed a bit disjointed. If anything, I could have used more Rupert Friend and less political drama - but that's probably just me!

Extraordinary Film Review!

I'm probably not as ashamed as I should be to say that the arts and style sections of the NYT are by far my favourites.  And by that I mean, all I really ever read.  I guess that makes me shallow, but hey, it's what I enjoy.

This morning was pretty rough, mostly as a result of the insomnia I experienced last night (see previous post), and the sore throat I woke up to - which of course inevitably means the onset of a cold I simply do not have the time to suffer through.  Please go away, cold.  

Anyhoo, back to the point.  Sitting in my inbox was my daily email from the NYT that shows the main headlines from each section.  As usual, I automatically scrolled down to Arts, and clicked on the A.O. Scott review for the new movie Harrison Ford/Brendan Fraser movie, Extraordinary Measures.  I must have been giddy with fatigue, because I just about died laughing at some of the over-the-top language used in this review.  I'd like to share a few priceless lines with you, but before I do I'd like to point out that I have a great deal of respect for A.O. Scott.  He has great taste in movies, and is also a very good writer.  I hope he continues to write in this fashion, as it makes me extremely happy.

1) Mr. Fraser, his eternal boyishness comfortably expanding in a pudgy 40-something frame, plays John Crowley.

2) His inquiries lead him to Robert Stonehill, a University of Nebraska professor played with sublime cantankerousness by Harrison Ford.

3) And the temperamental contrast between Stonehill and Crowley is also handled without too much exaggeration, though of course there are the requisite scenes of seething and shouting and storming in and out of offices. 

4) The desperate father’s impatience is often at odds with the scientist’s detachment, but “Extraordinary Measures” is ultimately about how feeling and objectivity can work together.  (Really, A.O.?  Now I have not seen this yet, but really?  That's what Extraordinary Measures is about?).

The worst thing is, I can't tell if it's me or Mr. Scott who has gone crazy.  Maybe both.  Maybe neither.  Maybe I should just stop now...

Lazy Night

Tonight was incredibly uneventful, but my camera was glued to my hands anyway.  Now I'm sitting here, unable to sleep, watching the 2nd last episode of Conan ever (sob!).  Anyway, here's my evening in photos.

Vegan pizza and salad for dinner...who needs cheese? (Ok, me sometimes...)

I like to sip Munro slowly.  I have literally been reading this book for months - story by story, whenever I need it most.   Tonight, like all winter nights, was dark, cold and gloomy.  Yet for some reason I was craving catharsis instead of plain old comfort, so I reached for Too Much Happiness.  

I'm learning how to play this beautiful instrument - and have been driving Steve nuts with all my practicing!  It's really quite a bit different from the guitar - I don't know why I was expecting them to be similar.  Managing the bow and getting it to glide properly across the strings is hard, but I think I'm getting the hang of it.

Oh, look what happened: part two

I know it's a little late for this, but like I said in my last post I entirely missed the Golden Globes!!!  Sadly, I had to experience all the red carpet elegance second hand, by way of gossip columns.  From what I can tell, the red carpet kind of resembled a grave-side interment on a rainy day - isn't LA supposed to be sunny and cheerful?  Anyway, here's my take on some of the fashion.

1) I love Penelope Cruz, and this dress.  She is so beautiful, and has an impeccable sense of fashion and what works for her!!

2) I understand that Marion Cotillard's dress was a little controversial, but I think she is extremely beautiful and totally pulls this off.  I'm a huge fan of the colour, and the lingerie touches.  That said, one may just need to be French to truly make the look work.  (And I mean that in a good way...hell, I wish I was a native Parisian!)

3)  Hmmm.  I've spent the past month admiring January Jones and the gorgeous dresses she wears on Mad Men.  Maybe that's why this dress kind of disappointed me.  Or maybe it's just that she's far too young to be wearing something like this.  Something about the thick ribbony neckline just screams middle age.

4) I love Mariah for loving her curves.  But this dress makes me nervous.  Very nervous.

5) Oh Tina, you are a comedic genius.  But honestly, what were you thinking?

Oh, look what happened!!!

Eeek!  How in the world did it get to be January 19th?

Amongst the chaos of illness, family issues, a LOT of work, and trying to deal with my anxiety issues on my own at the worst possible time, I managed to entirely miss the Golden Globes and the beginning of the Australian open.  Apparently, I also forgot that I have a blog.  I know, I don't recognize me either.

Luckily, I was reminded of the Australian Open last night, when a random session of what was meant to be pre-bedtime channel surfing brought me to a riveting game between my favourite player of all time, Roger Federer, and some guy called Igor Andreev. The 4-6; 6-2; 7-6; 6-0 match was FAR too close for first round comfort.  Please, Fed, no more of that...at least until the finals!!!  In what I'm sure will be the first of many late night tennis marathons, yours truly stayed up until 1:30 to make sure he won.  Thankfully, he did, so all is right with the world.

Team Conan!

I try not to use this blog as a platform to weigh in on "hot topics", so to speak...but have you read Conan O'Brien's statement?  What a classy, intelligent guy!  I have been a fan of Conan for many years, and was thrilled when I heard he was taking over The Tonight Show.  Jay's bland, play-it-safe style of comedy may have been fine for the '90's and early 2000's, but a lot of people I talk to these days are looking for something with a little more bite to it - like Conan or even Letterman.  I know, I know: ratings.  But I don't think anyone can argue that Conan was given a fair chance.  Plus, if I'm not mistaken (and I'm pretty sure I'm not) Conan's 11:35 ratings are a whole lot better than Jay's at 10:00.

If Jay goes along with this, I for one will not be tuning into his show.  Talk about being unfair to Conan!  How hypocritical of him to continually make jokes about the incompetence of the NBC executives, and then go along with their bullshit out of pure self interest!!  Kudos to Conan for refusing to infringe upon Jimmy Fallon's new show.

I say go Conan!  Thank you for taking a stand, and refusing to be a slave to a bunch of bungling suits, who clearly have no balls - let alone taste for comedy!

Where have all the seals gone?

A couple years ago, Steve and I went to San Francisco and came across the strangest thing: hundreds of seals basking in the sun on Pier 39 at Fisherman's Wharf!  Apparently, they showed up one day in 1989, and have been meeting there ever since - until now.  For no apparent reason, the seals have abandoned their favourite hang out.  Sure they're noisy and smelly, and I'd probably be extremely annoyed if something of the sort showed up at Confederation Basin, but the abruptness of it all seems a little sad and way too random for comfort.

Read more about the seals here.

Mad Men

I know it's been on for a few years, but I've JUST discovered Mad Men!  I get a little excited when I discover a TV show I really, genuinely like, as it is truly a rare and wonderful occurrence.  I gave the first season to Steve for Christmas, and we've spent the past couple weeks watching it, and the second season that we went out and rented about an hour after finishing the first. 

I love everything about this show - the characters, the historical context (early sixties - what an awesome time!) and most of all, the fashion!!!  My mom accuses me of having no eye "work appropriate clothes" but I think I may have found my niche in sexy, curve hugging skirts and pretty sweaters with flattering necklines.

Now we're done with the first two seasons and I'm feeling a little depressed because the third doesn't come out until March 23rd.  Oh well, at least there's the Australian Open and the Oscars...

Somewhere far away from here...

It's no secret that I dislike winter.  It's so easy at this time of year to fall into a rut and start feeling lazy and down all the time.  I don't believe that a picture is worth a thousand words, but this one sure comes close.  It cheers me upon this cold, snowy winter night...

Photo from ffffound.

World's Healthiest Lasagna

On new year's eve, Steve and I decided we'd had enough heavy, saturated fat filled holiday food, but still wanted to try cooking something special in honour of the evening.  We settled on vegetable lasagna with herbed tofu ricotta, from the Candle Cafe Cookbook, and, wow, was this ever a great choice!  I love traditional lasagna with real ricotta and mozzarella as much as the next person, but sometimes the body does need a little break.  And why not do it with something that tastes equally good?  We also thought it would be a great idea to kick off 2010 by upholding our commitment to eating vegan when at home (which we basically already do anyway, but there's nothing wrong with renewing your vows every now and then).

I'm not going to post the recipe here because it's really long and complicated, but send me a little note if you're interested and I'll pass it on.  Hopefully soon Steve and I will be starting a food blog about cooking (Steve) and baking (me).  Now that I have my camera that takes great pictures even on non-natural light, there's really no excuse anymore!!!  In that light, here's my pictorial record of the process!

Grilling up some eggplant and zucchini...

Mushrooms and onions...

Layer it up...

Bake 45 minutes until done...

Beautiful!

Review: Up in the Air

Phew!  

I'm back from a whirl wind holiday season that involved A LOT of socializing in various Ontario cities from Niagara to Ottawa.  Somehow, I even managed to squeeze a bit of work in.  As you might expect, I have quite a bit to write about, and seeing as I don't have a whole lot to do today, I plan on keeping myself occupied by posting about a few of the blog-worthy experiences I had over the past week or so.  First of all, I'd like to talk about one of the movies I saw during the holidays, Up in the Air.

The movie centres around Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) - one of those unpleasant types who fire people for a living so their cowardly bosses don't have to.  As part of the job, he is required to do quite a bit of traveling, and is therefore on the road for the vast majority of the year.  Ryan relishes this lifestyle, and makes a game out of seeing how many airline/hotel/rental car points he can collect, and how successful he can be at avoiding any sort of "meaningful" human relationship.  When his treasured lifestyle is compromised by the 21st century online ideology of a hot young co-worker, Natalie (Anna Kendrick), he decides to take her with him on his journeys, and enlighten her on what his job is really like.  In the mean time, he begins to discover the benefits of real relationships, and falls in love with an on-the-road booty call, Alex Groan (Vera Farmiga).

A lot of people I've talked to did not like this movie because they found it slow.  Personally, I'd call it more subtle than slow, and I quite enjoy subtle.  The well developed characters and the situations they get themselves into make the plot no less than fascinating for someone like me.  Up in the Air is also very well acted, which plays a huge role in the effect of the film.  The part of Ryan seems like it made for George to play, and he really is at his very best here.

There's also a whole "living the fantasy" layer of the movie, which I don't want to get into too much for fear of giving away elements of the plot....

Anyway, if you're like me and enjoy semi-pretentious character based movies, you'll probably love Up in the Air. 

Ring in the New

Today brings not only a new year, but an entirely new decade.  I can't believe it was ten whole years ago I was a sixteen year old donning those classic Y2K glasses.  (I half-heartedly looked for the picture I know exists but it was not to be found).

This morning I woke up far too early for my own good to a headache brought on by expensive French champagne.  In a couple hours, I'll likely chose to do further damage to my body by mixing up some mimosas - using cheap German sparkling wine - to accompany the french toast I plan on making for brunch.  (Because it's not new year's day without mimosas!)

That's why I've always found the whole resolution thing a bit foolish.  I don't know how many times I've resolved to eat better, drink less, or do yoga/exercise every day, only to throw it all away on the first day.  The bottom line is, I'm constantly trying to accomplish all these things all the time. January 1st is really just another day.  One thing I would like to do, however, is write more - more fiction, specifically.  Last year, I set out to write more in general, and I'd say I was fairly successful with that one.  So lets see how this pans out.  I'd also like to try and blog more than I have been these past few months.  Maybe not every day, but most...