My Creatively Random Life

I did something insane this morning.  I know, what makes this different from any other morning.  However, now that I have done it I am having that crazy what have I done feeling.  I have signed myself up for the A-Z Challenge I once I saw it I rather felt I had to, I mean it starts on my birthday how could I refuse that challenge?  Still this is the first blog hop I have participated in and I am very nervous.  Plus posting everyday... eek!  Lucky for my I am off today and can at least get an idea for some posts.  Anyone else feel like singing C is for Cookie?   I just want to say that I blame all of this on  Creepy Query Girl as I found out about this from her blog and then I was all that sounds awesome.  <claps hands>  This should be fun!

Since the first time I tried them, a party at my best friend's house back in the days before children and responsibility and all those things that I have now that I muddle my way through and am occasionally good at, I have been in love with Jello Shots.  They are defiantly a  staple at every party and get together I throw and over years of research and trial and error I have concocted my own fool proof method of making them the way I like them. Now I know people who like to experiment and make fancy flavor concoctions Martha Stewart style but I am partial to plain old jello and vodka.  I am rather old fashioned I guess. Ingredients: Jello Vodka Hot water Tools: Bowl Measuring Cup Whisk Ladle Candy Cups Whenever I am using hot water I like to use a glass measuring cup. I am just partial to metal mixing bowls, love them. I find some flavors of Jello work better than others Cherry and Orange are always good, Lemon not so much. The first steps...

On Saturday my friend Mike and I headed out of town for an afternoon of wine, food and beer in Hamilton.  Which worked out well as a) life has been less than pleasant lately and b) the weather was crappy.  We met up at Yonge and Queen in Toronto and after listening to me voice my opinion about dealing with stupid people and shuttle buses before I had coffee in the morning we grabbed the street car and headed over to Jarvis, where we walked a block (possibly half a block) south to a delightful coffee shop (the name of which I cannot remember) that was full of delicious smells and great coffee. We wondered over to St Laurence Market and grabbed peameal bacon sandwiches for the trip to Hamilton before heading over to Union Station.  Now, the original plan was to take the GO train out to Hamilton but our timing worked out that the bus was leaving sooner (and when you have coffee and great company what's the difference) so we switched plans. View from the bus before we ...

Sometimes move through life so fast that we take the people close to us for granted.  They pass through our minds and we think that we should call them, maybe set up a time to see them and often as fast as we think it, it is gone again.  Lost in the hustle and bustle of everyday life.  It's often not until something tragic happens that we are reminded of what is truly important in life. I like to take a great deal of pride in being one of those people who takes pleasure in the small things in life.  A well made cup of coffee, the joy of jumping in a puddle, snuggling with my kids in the morning, a purring cat.  However, it was driven home very sharply for me over the last few weeks that I sometimes miss the most important thing of all, my family.  A week ago, my cousin passed away.  I was explaining it to Ace and he summed it up in a way that I thought really fit.  He said "Mom, sometimes life sucks."  It occurs to me that ...

One of my favorite vegetables is butternut squash so when Chatelaine  posted this yummy looking recipe  for mac and cheese brimming with squash I immediately pinned it to make at a later time.  Now, before Pinterest  I am willing to admit, recipes got saved in my e-mail, but they never got made.  They just got lost in the shuffle; now they get neatly organized and displayed where I can go through them on a regular basis.  More importantly than that I can try them.   This recipe worked out well for me, I thought the cheese and squash tasted great together, the kids however did not agree.  They like their squash on the side, where they can control how much they ingest.  Next time I will definitely use less breadcrumbs though. 

When I was going through my ribbon stash for Cat this morning I came across this awareness ribbon and it reminded me that I need to get my butt in gear and do some fundraising for my walk in September.  With that it mind I whipped this up.

Today we were going to a party and once Cat got dressed I thought she could use a belt to go with her jumper.  Since she was wearing black and red she picked out the cherry bows to wear.  I thought vaguely that I had some of that ribbon left somewhere so I went digging through my ribbon stash. Sure enough after about twenty minutes I found it, (if any one would like to come organize my ribbon stash I will pay you in cookies er bows) I also located some belt hardware which was a definite plus. The outfit in question Materials: 7/8's ribbon (3" more than waist measurement) 1.5" webbing (4" more than waist measurement) 2 2" D Rings 1 1.5" belt tip liquid stitch needle and thread that matches your ribbon pliers to close belt tip Measure your ribbon and webbing, since Cat's waist measures 21" I used 24" of ribbon and 25" of webbing. Apply Liquid Stitch to the back of your ribbon from edge to edge along the entire ...

I was messing around on Pinterest while I was baking cookies, that funny enough I found on Pinterest (I love that site) when I stumble on this proclaimed Rory Gilmore reading list.   As I haven't had the best day I armed myself with my freshly baked espresso-chocolate cookies ( recipe ) and a vodka cocktail to read over this list.  Which I snagged from here .   Now, the first thing I discovered upon reading this list is that I have read a good number of these books.  Which was kind of inevitable, I read a lot.  The second thing was that I want to read a lot that I haven't.  Hence the challenge.  I would personally like to see how far I can get in reading through this list by this time next year. 1984 by George Orwell - read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain - read Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll - read   The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon An American Tragedy by Th...

I hate inconsiderate people.  Especially on public transit, buses get crowded, people get cranky.  Nothing bothers me more than some jacka** that won't get up for an elderly person, or a pregnant woman.  Or a small child.  Or some idiot who has their backpack on a crowded bus and refuses to take it off.  Argh!!  Except this!!   I know the picture is sideways (still haven't mastered my cell camera) but this twit has got her stroller taking up most of the bus aisle.  Now, I have a toddler, I use a stroller on public transit all the time but out of courtesy for my fellow riders I take her out of it and fold it up whenever possible.  Failing that I keep her tucked out of the way.  IT'S NOT HARD PEOPLE!!!! It's like moving to the back of the bus, just do it, it's polite and guess what...usually there's seats back there cause there is a bunch of useless idiots standing at the front. That's my rant for today.  Back to your regula...

Sunday morning I got up against my better judgement (as I was feeling horrible after sleeping for almost 11 hours) and went over to Yorkdale to participate in a WEWC training event.  If you stick with reading my blog you will soon discover that I support my share of charities, most of them local.  Sick Kids, Heart and Stroke, War Amps etc.  But this is my big one, where my time and energy goes...not just my money.  In March of 2009 I lost a dear friend and co-worker to breast cancer.  She was one of the most inspirational, full of life women I have ever had the pleasure of meeting and I am a better person for having known her.  In 2010 I walked the weekend for the first time, partially in her memory but also for the other women I know who have been through this.  Patients, friends, loved ones, family.  I also walk because I never want my daughter or anyone else to lose their life to something so senseless.  Crabtree and Evel...

A couple of weeks ago my friend Mike and I were out for dinner and I was very excited about some new ribbon I had ordered (not that I need any more) and I was telling him about it while he ate.  Even though he had been there when I ordered it.  I was debating between ordering premade bottle caps to match it or just getting the images and making my own. For some reason this intrigued him and he wanted to know what exactly one did with bottle caps and ribbon.  Not having any photos of my own handy I did a search of the Etsy app on my phone a came up with a quick example of some bottle cap bows, they were cute but not show stopping. Now, my friend is a real lover of beer and I don't mean your regular run of the mill beers.  Since I started hanging out with Mike he has introduced me to the wonderful world of craft beer (by introduced I mean talked me into trying as I usually don't like beer but I was uneducated as to how good beer can be) so I probably should ha...