The Great Abyss

That time of the Year again

2012-03-04T20:25:00.001-05:00

So like the title says, it’s that time of the year again when work gets insanely busy and so does my personal life. The time of the year in which I realize I am getting old. The time in the year when I want to get so much accomplished and yet have no time to do anything.
Don’t get me wrong, March is one of my favourite months (not only because it is my birthday month), but right now I am just feeling a little overburdened and really want this month to be over so maybe, just maybe I will have time to myself.

One Minute Writer #58

2012-02-04T13:11:00.000-05:00

Complete this thought: I usually forget...

a) anything I am trying to remember
Like a lot of people, I will leave a room with the clear intention of something specific. It may be going to pick something up, starting a new task, or looking into something I need an answer about. I will get to moving and halfway there I will forget what I was going to do or get. Sometimes I will have the clear intention of getting something from upstairs, decide along the way that I should go to the washroom and then forget to get or do the thing that made me go upstairs in the first place. It is very annoying.

b) my iPod before I head to bed
Almost every night, I listen to my iPod to fall asleep. This happens to be the same iPod I take to work with me on occasion and the one that goes with me to the gym to help me workout. 9 times out of 10, I will forget to take it upstairs with me and will get settled in bed only to have to get up and go back downstairs to get it from my purse or gym bag. Also very annoying.

OPI Spotlight#1 (and #2)

2012-02-01T09:56:00.000-05:00

So I didn’t forget about this and instead have a one-two-punch as my first OPI nail polish spotlight.

The photo shows Kyoto Pearl with Red Shatter on top. This combo makes me think of candy canes, though having done this shortly after Christmas, the season might have had some influence on that opinion.
To be honest, when I bought Kyoto Pearl and tried it on its own, I wasn’t entirely happy with it as you could see the brush lines even after two coats. It covered well, but I really didn’t like those brush lines. That being said, it is the perfect undercoat for shatters!!
Shatters in general are really neat but as you have little to no control on how the shatter splits up, the overall look can go many ways. For example, I loved how this looked on my thumb (pictured above) but wasn’t entirely happy how it shattered on a few of my other fingers.
One downside to shatters, for me at least, is that the shatter results in a 3D effect on your nails. This sounds cool and was neat, but it left me with lots of little bits I could pick away at on my nails and as trying to not pick at my nails is one of the main reasons I use nail polish, this kind of defeated the purpose.

The Day the Honey Ran Out

2012-01-29T10:33:00.001-05:00

Dave and I recently celebrated our 8-year anniversary. For the occasion I decided to make an extremely delicious strawberry shortcake dessert. To try to make things fit into our new lifestyle a little better, I decided to sweeten it with honey rather than white sugar. I managed to get enough honey for the dessert, but I had to decapitate my honey bear in order to get the very last bits of honey from the jar.

Dessert was delicious though (recipe will be posted later this week on Road to a Better Me).

A Colourful Addiction Part II

2012-01-24T10:00:00.000-05:00

So Christmas has come and gone and my OPI addiction has been fed for the time being. An updated list is below of the colours I now own. Italics denotes a new colour.

OPI Name	General Description
Top Coat	N/A
Natural Nail Base Coat	N/A
Natural Nail Strengthener	N/A
Kyoto Pearl	a Sheen-like White
Give Me the Moon	Iridescent Light Purple
A Grape Fit	Medium Purple
Honk if you Love OPI	Dark Purple
Suzi Says Feng Shui	Medium Blue
Yoga-ta Get this Blue	Dark Sparkly Blue
Jade is the New Black	Medium Green
Steady as she Rose	Light Rose/Pink
Suzi & the Lifeguard	Medium-light Sparkly Pink
My Address is ‘Hollywood’	Medium Sparkly Pink
Bogata Blackberry	Dark Sparkly Burgundy
Malaga Wine	Dark Burgundy
Teenage Dreams	Glitter Pink
Black Shatter	N/A
Red Shatter	N/A
My Private Jet	sparkly black/bronze
Funny Bunny	plain white
Black Onyx	black
Over the Taupe	taupe
Otherwise Engaged	sheer pink
I Vant to be a Lone-Star	light sparkly blue
Stranger Tides	pale dusty green

As I now have so many, I am thinking of doing some photos and/or descriptive reviews of them now and then. Who knows though, there is a lot going on right now and I very well may forget about this.

I am looking forward to the release of OPI’s Spring collection called Holland. It has some sparkly colours, pale colours and more intense colours. A nice range of colours that I want to own.

2011 in Review

2012-01-22T13:47:00.001-05:00

This year-in-review post is a little late as we are nearing the end of January now, but better late than never right? Let’s see, 2011 was a pretty big year for me and my family. I think the biggest things that happened are pretty obvious but let’s try to go through things chronologically shall we.

January 2011
Dave and I announced our engagement. Since Dave proposed on the 30th of December in 2010, we did most of the announcing early in 2011. Our families and closest were informed that day after he proposed, but the world found out through Facebook and this blog in January.

February 2011
This was a big month for me. Not only did I learn that my brother would be having a boy (and I would therefore be getting a nephew), but on February 28, 2011 I officially started Stephanie Beach Photography as a small business. I got a domain name, website host and design and got an official business number from the Province of Ontario. It was an exciting and somewhat scary time for me, but I am very glad I did it.

March 2011
My birthday happens every year, but this year, as I turned 27, I think I might have moved from mid- to late-20s. It is a scary thought, but I think I am getting old!

This was also about the time when I got my own office. An office at work with a four real walls and an actual door. It is still pretty awesome. My own office came with a larger workload and much larger jobs to manage. Though I had shadow managed jobs before, I started working on even larger jobs as a shadow project manager around this time as well.

April 2011
April was the month where Dave and I searched for and purchased our first home. We wouldn’t get possession of it and move in until later, but the exciting purchasing process definitely happened here.

April was also the month where Dave and I joined Goodlife Fitness and signed up for personal trainers. It was (and still is) expensive, but we have been going ever since and I am glad we started and stuck with it.

May 2011
Though it may not seem like much, May 2011 was when I learnt that my 2009 accident had come full circle. An advance green light was installed at the intersection where I was t-boned. It left me with a weird, but satisfied feeling.

May 10, 2011 was the day my baby was brought to me…my Nikon D3s arrived in the mail! It was a wonderful evening and the next few months allowed me the time to really learn the amazing abilities that my full-frame camera has to offer.

June 2011
Dave and I got our house! It was purchased 6 weeks prior to us moving in on June 15, 2011. At the same time, my brother purchased his house (literally we put offers down on the same weekend and ended up closing on the same day). We have been here for over 7 months now and I still love my house! We have done some work on it, mostly painting, organizing and decorating but we are planning more significant updates later on.
July 2011
Jackson Robert was born on July 19, 2011. He was (and still is) adorably perfect and I love him to bits. My only wish is that I had more free time and could go visit him more, perhaps I will plan a trip to go see him in the next couple of weeks.

July was also a big month for my photography business as I shot my first wedding as the sole wedding photographer.

August 2011

As Dave and I had combined our bank accounts when we purchased our house, I had been spending the months following that event making sure all of my automatic payments, etc. had ceased or been transferred from my old account. August was the last of my ‘student plan’ capabilities at BMO and I therefore closed my very first bank account. My mom and I opened my BMO account when I was 12 or so as I had gotten a paper route. I remember going to South Keys or Meadowlands with Chris to get to a BMO ATM when we were in school and getting a PLoC for when Dave and I bought the Honda Fit (though we didn’t end up using it then). Good memories, but the account wasn’t worth the bank fees. Seriously, why would I pay bank fees?

September 2011
This was the second quiet month for The Great Abyss (and my other blogs too). I was struggling to keep my head above water. To be honest, I still haven’t figured it all out and have been getting more and more comments from friends, family and even clients about how I manage to do everything that is currently sitting on my heaping plate. I could be doing much better if I focused on one job rather than the two official ones I have. I could be organizing my wedding in a much more timely fashion if I so chose. But I have chosen to try and do a great deal right now and I am doing okay at it (in my opinion).

October 2011
October was primarily spent trying to get things straightened out. It was the first time in my life that I knowingly carried a balance on a credit card and ended up having to take money from my personal line of credit to deal with it. This didn’t last long as before the year was done, any debt Dave and I had was taken care of, but it was an uneasy and uncomfortable time for me.

November 2011

Dave and I put chose our venue and put down the deposit, making our wedding date officially September 29, 2012.

November was also the month in which I finished my first conceptual photography series. I am very pleased with how 99 Luftballoons turned out and have received many great comments/reviews from friends, family, classmates and followers on the internet (aka strangers). The final product and the responses from everyone have inspired me to think of more conceptual ideas and work towards getting them completed. You can view the images on Flickr (link above) and there will be a series of posts on my Photography Blog shortly.

December 2011

After a long search (I may have been looking for all of 2011), Dave and I selected our wedding photographer. We put down the deposit and are very happy with our choice.

December was also the month in which I finished my last course of the Algonquin College Digital Photography program. Though I got my grade in January, the last class was in December. I am very happy to be done with the program and have learnt so much. More to come on this later on my Photography Blog.

And of course, Dec. 30, 2011 marked one year since Dave and I got engaged.

So that was pretty much 2011. Some of the items above are a little forced to be able to get something in each month (you may have noticed). The big ones are obvious as I said before. Announcement of our engagement, birth of my nephew, purchase of our first home and starting my business officially. I started working towards my photographic dreams by starting as a wedding photographer and a conceptual photographer. I also started taking on much larger jobs at work as a project manager and shadow managing on even larger jobs earning myself my own office.

My goals for 2012 are pretty simple. I want to have a great wedding that everyone enjoys; continue advancing my photography business; continue working on my conceptual photography ideas; get closer to achieving my health goals; start my travel goals; and continue to make our home truly our own. I am also looking forward to watching Jackson grow up and really get his own personality.

One Year Later

2011-12-30T22:31:00.001-05:00

A year ago today (at roughly this time) Dave and I got engaged. We have been happily engaged and planning our wedding since. There have been a few snags in our wedding plans as of late, but things are moving along nonetheless.
We are going to be getting married on September 29, 2012 at the Southway Hotel and Conference Centre (aka the Southway Inn) in Ottawa. We have found made a great deal of the remaining decisions, or at least started the process of doing so and are meeting with our planner at the hotel in the new year.
Of course, I have quite a large spreadsheet for the plans and today I started printing out things and compiling a hardcopy binder (softcopy just wasn’t cutting it anymore due to the large number of contracts, pamphlets and business cards).

Our engagement announcement went into my hometown paper quite some time ago. It was difficult finding a recent photo of the two of us, but I eventually found one on which we both agreed.

Christmas 2011 Wish List

2011-12-10T17:38:00.001-05:00

I have been getting a lot of questions from people as to what to get me and/or Dave for Christmas. So like last year, I decided the best thing to do is to make a wish list.

Dave’s Wish List:
The Book of Cain
Diablo Archive
Archer TV series (Season 1, 2 and/or 3)
Bob’s Burgers TV Series
Movies: Bon Cop bad Cop, Hanna
Sin War Trilogy eBooks (Google eBooks; #1, #2, #3)
Gift Cards: Google eBooks, EB Games, Future Shop, Amazon, etc.

Steph’s Wish List:
Once again, I have broken it down into Camera and non-Camera related items.

Camera Wish List:
4’ wide white paper background;
8’ wide white, black or grey paper backgrounds
~4’x6’ piece of high quality black velour fabric
Bowen's softboxes
Radio trigger system (compatible with Bowen's 400 lights & Nikon D3s camera)
Bowen's battery pack
AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II Lens
AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 G ED Lens
AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED Lens
AF Fisheye-Nikkor 16mm f/2.8D Lens
Photo paper (Epson Premium Photo Paper [4+ stars], 8 1/2"x11")
Computer ink (for the Epson Artisan 800 all-in-one printer - code 98)
small white/gold reflector (maximum 10" or so but folds smaller - example).
Photo Books (Adobe Photoshop CS5 for Photographers: The Ultimate Workshop, HDR Photography Photo Workshop, Adobe Photoshop CS5 for Photographers; A Professional image editor’s guide to the creative use of Photoshop for the Macintosh and PC, Photo Recipes Live: Behind the Scenes: Your Guide to Today’s Most Popular Lighting Techniques)
Variable Neutral Density Filter, 77mm
Lens Cap Strap Holder, 77mm
Handy-Dandy Camera Strap

Everything Else Wishlist:
gift cards (Ricki's, Henry's, thecamerastore.com, Amazon, Lululemon, Photojojo)
picture frames (8x10 or larger, compilation frames);
Movies (Gnomeo and Juliet, Winnie-the-Pooh Movie, The Little Mermaid, Life After People, Sandra Bullock/Hugh Grant/Julia Roberts/Drew Barrymore movies)
TV Series (Being Erica, Powerpuff Girls, Beverly Hills 90210, Charmed)
National Geographic Magazine Slipcases for Years 2008 onwards
Nikon Lens Mug
Time Lapse Camera
OPI Nail Polish (you can find a list of colours I already have here. There aren’t many specific colours I want, but I would like the Natural Nail Strengthener, Any colour of Shatter, A bright orange colour, pastel pink, traditional bright red, pastel green, a plain white, a light grey colour, a taupe like colour, a true black colour, anything from the Femme de Cirque Line)
OPI nail polish case like the one below:

For any of the books, movies or TV series listed in my list above, you can find them in my Amazon Wish List.

My list seems (and is) much longer than Dave’s but once you widdle out the thing that people are not going to buy me (like the very expensive camera lenses and lighting equipment), it isn’t that big.

A Colourful Addiction

2011-12-10T16:37:00.001-05:00

I love OPI nail polish!! I have a hard time going to any of the stores that sell it here in Ottawa and not buying multiple colours. But since ‘I’ decided that I have a lot of OPI nail polish, I figured I should put a hold on buying it for myself. So to be able to still get some kind of a fix for the stuff, I decided to blog about it. Originally I wanted to take some studio shots of my nail polish to go with this blog post, but those will have to wait as right now I just don’t have the time.

Painting my nails is one of the few ‘girly’ things I do. I think it is fun and it also helps me from biting/picking my nails – which is pretty awesome for the times I want to grow them out.

The below table outlines the name and general description of the OPI polishes I have to date (and yes, there is a spreadsheet that this was copied from).

OPI Name	General Description
Top Coat	N/A
Natural Nail Base Coat	N/A
Kyoto Pearl	a Sheen-like White
Give Me the Moon	Iridescent Light Purple
A Grape Fit	Medium Purple
Honk if you Love OPI	Dark Purple
Suzi Says Feng Shui	Medium Blue
Yoga-ta Get this Blue	Dark Sparkly Blue
Jade is the New Black	Medium Green
Steady as she Rose	Light Rose/Pink
Suzi & the Lifeguard	Medium-light Sparkly Pink
My Address is ‘Hollywood’	Medium Sparkly Pink
Bogata Blackberry	Dark Sparkly Burgundy
Malaga Wine	Dark Burgundy
Teenage Dreams	Glitter Pink

Playing Catch-up

2011-11-19T21:15:00.001-05:00

The time has come, again, for me to write another post about how busy I have been and how poorly I have been doing in keeping my blogs up to date. That all being said, I am working on some more posts for the rest of November and into December. Hopefully I will be able to get some more regular posts going until Christmas when I should have some downtime – maybe.

Lately Dave and I have been busy with not only work and the gym, but making the last few decisions on where our wedding will be. Once we have worked out a few more things, I will post about all the details (so far).

I have also been working diligently on my final photography course assignment and am pretty happy with how it is turning out so far. I have been learning all sorts of new tricks and am going to start posting some tips and tricks on my photography blog – so stay tuned for that.

For now though, bear with me once more as I try to sort through the craziness that is life.

Quotable Thursday #63

2011-10-27T09:24:00.000-04:00

A morning-glory at my window satisfies me more than the metaphysics of books. – Walt Whitman.

Quotable Thursday #62

2011-10-20T15:23:00.000-04:00

Fatherhood is pretending the present you love most is soap-on-a-rope. – Bill Cosby.

Exotic Animal Tragedy

2011-10-20T08:50:00.000-04:00

"A total of 49 wild animals were gunned down by police with pistols and high-powered rifles after escaping from a private preserve in Zanesville, Ohio Tuesday. The animals were moving into nearby neighborhoods, forcing residents of the town of 25,000 to stay indoors." - ABC news.

They didn't really escape, the man who ran the private zoo released them then took his own life. I feel sick from this story and felt the need to tell others about it. There is no blame to be put on the officers who shot the animals, they had no other options. The majority of the 56 animals released from the zoo were very dangerous --- literally lions, tigers and bears. The blame is to be put on the government that has some of the most lax laws in the country regarding exotic animals. I do not believe it should be legal for a private person or organization to own exotic animals. Sometimes I even have issues with small to medium sizezd zoos where the exhibits do not seem large, interesting or authentic enough.

Below is the ABC news clip that I watched as soon as I got to the internet this morning (I heard about this story on The Bear on my drive into work).

video platformvideomanagementvideosolutionsvideoplayer

Dad’s bDay

2011-10-20T08:12:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday to my wonderful Dad!! Just wanted to send my love to him on his birthday.

Below is a photo of Dad (I assume taken by my Mom) and his first grandson (and my nephew) Jackson. Aren't they cute in their matching hockey Jerseys?!

New Stuff Part II

2011-10-18T09:07:00.000-04:00

A couple months back Dave and I went on a shopping spree. Below is the car packed full of our purchases for the day:

I got a new bike, we both got new shows and other sporting goods and we spent some money at Future Shop/Best Buy and of course, we stopped by Henry’s as well. Dropped a great deal of money, but on useful things that did not go unused in the months since then.

This shopping spree reminded me of an earlier post that discussed my love of getting new things. It is one of my more materialistic tendencies that I don’t really mind to be honest.

A Grand Meeting

2011-10-14T20:01:00.000-04:00

If I ever find a need for a meeting table this is the look I want.

It just looks so awesome…

Quotable Thursday #61

2011-10-13T17:19:00.000-04:00

Men talk of killing time, while time quietly kills them. – Dion Boucicault.

A Day In the Life as…

2011-10-12T11:54:00.000-04:00

…an Indoor Air Quality Technician.

I often do site work for my Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Assessments and usually they are large scope assessments for entire buildings. These buildings are normally government buildings in and around Ottawa and some portion of them is normally unoccupied. A little while back I did and IAQ assessment for a building that have a few floors unoccupied and below shows what a portion of my day was like:

It is dark and pretty creepy but I ate my lunch here anyway as I could be on my own and still keep monitoring different locations around this unoccupied floor. I do however, love my little IAQ cart – it is so handy and makes work so much easier on these days.

My Mom’s Birthday

2011-10-11T16:48:00.000-04:00

Today is my Mom’s Birthday and I hope she has a great one.

Above is a photo of Mom and I spending time with Jackson shortly after he was born.

Today also happens to be my parents’ anniversary – Happy Anniversary!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-10-10T16:45:00.000-04:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!! Hope everyone has a great weekend spending time with friends and family and eating some delicious food!!

Ice Breakers

2011-10-07T12:44:00.000-04:00

It is coming up on that time of the year again when little puddles of water start freezing over. The time of the year when you can walk over the newly formed ice and break it. I get a weird sense of satisfaction from breaking little pockets of ice like this. Unfortunately this time period is followed up by the freaking freezing Ottawa winter wherein everything gets covered by a metre of snow and all the drivers become idiots incapable of sensible driving. But let’s focus on the ice pockets that we get to break soon instead of all that nastiness.

Quotable Thursday #60

2011-10-06T10:17:00.000-04:00

All men who have achieved great things have been great dreamers. – Orison Sweet Marden.

French-Style For Chris

2011-10-04T09:36:00.000-04:00

I saw these in the grocery store quite some time ago and instantly thought of Chris. She loves french-style cut green beans and often requests them as Christmas presents during the holiday season. This is the first time however, that I had ever seen them in a frozen style – before this I had only ever heard of/seen them in the canned fashion.

Blog of Note: October

2011-10-03T08:24:00.000-04:00

This blog doesn’t need me to help it get viewers or anything like that, but it is definitely one that I visit on a fairly regular basis: Cute Overload. Such adorable photos and videos with usually adorable and/or clever remarks about them. I have heard/read that it takes quite a lot of persistence to get a photo posted on Cute Overload, so what goes on there should be the best, right?

Good ol’ TImes

2011-10-02T16:41:00.001-04:00

This weekend we had Justin over to the house for the first time in quite a while. Because of our work schedules or his, we just hadn’t gotten a chance to hang out as much as we would have liked to. It was really great having him over because it really felt like the good ol’ times. The boys played video games and I played on my computer. I baked everyone some cookies and did the normal chores like laundry, etc but it never seems as bad when it is mixed in with video game goodness. We did eat healthier than normal as I was making us food that fit into all of our trainer’s restrictions as much as possible (with the obvious exception of the cookies – though I think it should be noted that I made a tiny batch and it lasted the entire weekend). It was a lot of fun and makes me hopeful for lower stress levels when Justin moves back in with us in February.

It’s Been A while

2011-10-02T16:06:00.001-04:00

So it has been a while since I last posted…quite a while actually. I think this may have been the longest break from blogging ever (well since I started blogging that is). The reason for this is simply that life has been crazy busy lately – in fact it has been kicking my butt. Figuring out how to be a good and attentive Aunt while keeping on top of my busy workload, classes and my own business all while planning a wedding and attempting to stay on top of my weight loss has just been wearing me down lately. I used to say that I was treading water and managing to keep my head above water but in the last few weeks I have started to feel my head drifting below the water level and at times I felt like I was drowning. There was (and still is) so much stress lately that I don’t really know what to do with it all. I haven’t figured it out, not in the least actually, and am still stressed and have so much to do that I can’t ever see not being stressed to the max, but I need to figure out how to live my life with all of these things in it as it is appearing to be a normal state of life for me.

All of this being said, I have found/made some time this weekend to work on my blogs. I am hoping that seeing regular posts go up for the next little while will inspire me to continue to find/make time for blogging as I really do enjoy it.

Perfection

2011-07-24T17:37:00.001-04:00

Jackson Robert Beach

July 19, 2011
8lbs. 1oz.

Happy Birthday Jack!

2011-07-19T21:19:00.001-04:00

Today my nephew Jackson was born. He was born at 11:35am in Ottawa. He weighed 8lbs 10z and was healthy and amazing. The new Mom, Dad and Jack are all doing well, though they are all very tired.

He is the cutest, most perfect and innocent creature in the world and I love him with all my heart and soul.

I will be posting photos of him once I get the go ahead from my brother and sister-in-law, aka the new parents. I don’t want to post anything until they have said it is okay – don’t want to steal their moments, blah blah blah. I will post more when I have a bit more time to sit down and tell what I know of his story so far, but I couldn’t let this monumental day go un-blogged.

Seriously --- so cute --- so loved.

An Exhausted Update

2011-06-21T21:44:00.001-04:00

I am completely exhausted. With the help of our parents, Dave and I moved into our first home over the last few days. The schedule was as follows:

Wednesday: Planned to leave work early, ended up leaving late. Drove to the lawyer’s office and picked up our keys! Took a few before shots of the rooms (empty) and then ate Pizza Hut at the new house and then drove back to the rental to pack the night away.

Thursday: Got up bright and early to pack, pack, pack. Dave picked up the paint for our bedrooms and a few other items. We then drove to the house (with the first car load) and met his parents after eating our lunch. His parents started working on painting the bedrooms and we went back to packing. Packing of cars and the Koning’s trailer ensued – one trailer load and two car loads (one Camry, one Fit). Got the guest bed moved over to the new house and set up in the living room (bed doesn’t fit downstairs and painting made it impossible to sleep upstairs). Got an Edible Arrangement from Chris that was delicious (and needed). Went swimming in our pool – it was cold but wonderful. Oh, we also went for our personal trainer sessions before dinner.

Friday: Continued packing and taking car loads (both Fit and Camry/Trailer) to the house. Got a few of the medium to large sized items over including the couch and loveseat.

Saturday: Continued packing and moving using both cars and the trailer. Dave’s parents finished the painting of the rooms and it looked so good! Somehow I had managed to not only pick colours that went well together but also matched the carpet near-perfectly! Several other large items made their way to the new house.

Sunday: My parents came up early morning and the 6 of us got a ton of stuff moved before Dave’s parents headed back home. My parents and us finished off moving (mostly) and then went shopping for pool supplies. After my parents left, Dave and I set up our bedroom (mostly) and fell asleep in our new home for the first time. Below is a photo of our bedroom (half of it at least). The lighting isn’t the greatest as it was taken with my Blackberry right before bedtime, but you get the point.

We still have a lot to do and very little energy to do it, but we are very happy and eager to get the house set up for our friends and family to see. I am not sure when I will have time, but I plan on posting the before and afters of each room as we finish them. I do love my house very much – it was worth the wait.

Incoming House

2011-06-13T12:11:00.001-04:00

You may have noticed a lapse inposts again...though I had time to sit down last month and put together the scheduled regular features, I have not had that luxury this month. We get possession of our house on Wednesday and are scrambling to get everything ready. Please bear with me once again as I attempt to get my blogs organized amidst all of this chaos!!

Quotable Thursday #59

2011-06-02T09:48:00.000-04:00

“Nothing in life is more remarkable than the unnecessary anxiety which we endure, and generally create ourselves.” – Benjamin Disraeli.

Quotable Thursday #58

2011-05-26T12:49:00.000-04:00

“The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.” – Bertrand Russell.

Happy Birthday

2011-05-26T09:02:00.000-04:00

Happy 26th birthday to my amazing fiancé. I love you so much and I hope you have a wonderful day…perhaps I will make you something delicious for dinner.

Way Back Whenesday: Care Bears

2011-05-25T08:19:00.000-04:00

I remember watching the Care Bears battle Wizard No Heart his assistant Beastly and niece Shreeky. The ten original Care Bears consisted of Bedtime Bear, Birthday Bear, Cheer Bear, Friend Bear, Funshine Bear, Good Luck Bear, Grumpy Bear, Love-a-lot Bear, Tenderheart Bear, and Wish Bear. Later on, additional bears joined them, as well as the Cousins. I had Care Bears bed sheets when I as younger and I think the pillow case followed me to university for a little while as a novelty thing (also because I didn’t want to buy a new pillow case). Though I don’t know if I could sit through an entire Care Bear episode and know I would never make it through one of their movies, I do enjoy seeing Care Bear items (shirt, etc) for sale in stores.

Happy Birthday!

2011-05-24T09:53:00.000-04:00

I may have forgotten to post about my birthday, but I will not forget about hers. Happy 27th birthday to the best friend anyone could ever ask for --- or since you are an English major and all, the best friend for which anyone could ever ask.

Quotable Thursday #57

2011-05-19T06:48:00.000-04:00

“We cannot do everything at once, but we can do something at once.” – Calvin Coolidge.

2 Years Later it Comes Full Circle

2011-05-16T11:47:00.000-04:00

Last week, just over two years after getting T-boned on my way to work, Dave and I drove through and advanced green turn signal at Conroy and Thurston here in Ottawa. It was pretty amazing, so much so that we both clapped. The next day I took this photo to prove to others that the turn signal we had all wanted for so long actually existed. Don’t worry, Dave was driving the car when I took the photo from the passenger seat.
I like to think that through my accident I helped make this happen. There have been at least 4 other accidents in the intersection since mine however, and those are just the ones that I have noticed (and can remember).

SPARKLES!!

2011-05-14T10:37:00.000-04:00

Seriously these are the most awesome sparkly heels I have seen in real life. I would have bought them but really couldn’t think of a place to wear them or a reason to even own them. If one comes to me in the next few weeks I will go and get them from the Shoe Company.

My birthday?

2011-05-13T10:06:00.000-04:00

So this year we pretty much just skipped over my birthday. Because we are trying to save money, there weren’t really any gifts and because it was super busy at work there wasn’t a party or a celebration of any kind really. My boss did get me a cheesecake which was delicious.

I am hoping that I can get myself a present that I have been considering for some time now and would likely consider it a belated present to myself…but I don’t know if that is actually going to happen considering everything going on in Japan (everything being much more serious than me getting Nikon equipment).

Way Back Whenesday: Classic Mortal Kombat

2011-05-11T13:10:00.000-04:00

My brother and I used to play Mortal Kombat. No, he played Mortal Kombat with his friends and I would mash buttons against the computer when he would let me use his systems.
The Mortal Kombat movie is one of my guilty pleasure movies and I love the theme song, especially the techno version that is at the end of the movie.

I am mentioning this now because Dave just recently bought the new Mortal Kombat video game for PS3 for Justin’s birthday (it was an early present) and the two of them have been playing it in their spare time ever since.

Our House is a very, very, very fine House

2011-05-09T09:58:00.000-04:00

I'll light the fire
You put the flowers in the vase
That you bought today
Staring at the fire
For hours and hours
While I listen to you
Play your love songs
All night long for me
Only for me
Come to me now
And rest your head for just five minutes
Everything is good
Such a cosy room
The windows are illuminated
By the sunshine through them
Fiery gems for you
Only for you
Our house is a very, very, very fine house
With two cats in the yard
Life used to be so hard
Now everything is easy
'Cause of you
And our la,la,la, la,la, la, la, la, la, la, la.....
Our house is a very, very, very fine house
With two cats in the yard
Life used to be so hard
Now everything is easy
'Cause of you
And Our
I'll light the fire
And you place the flowers in the jar
That you bought today

"”Our House” – Crosby, Still, Nash & Young, 1970.

The story of how Dave and I found our house is pretty short really (relatively speaking). We decided last fall that we wanted a house and were going to try and get one Spring 2011. Around Christmas 2010 however, we learnt that the bank didn’t want to give us a big enough mortgage for us to get a house here in Ottawa. We got very depressed about the subject and put the whole idea on the backburner.
In March, a co-worker informed us that he had just bought a house. We though to ourselves, we make approximately the same amount of money, how could we not get a big enough mortgage. We went to the mortgage broker he recommended and learnt that the bank was wrong. We could afford a very high mortgage and had impeccable credit ratings.
We informed our real estate agent and started looking at house mid April. For two weeks we looked at about 15 or so different houses and found one that we thought we really liked. We also found one that I absolutely loved. We scheduled second visits for both these houses while Dave’s parents were down so they could give us a less-biased opinion. Upon visiting the fist house the second time, we noticed everything that was wrong with it and no longer liked it at all. Then we went to the second home, the one that I had absolutely loved. It was pretty much perfect for us and Dave’s parents agreed. We stared the process of putting in an offer that very afternoon. By 1:00pm the next day we had conditionally bought the house for $10,000 less than the asking price. It was a very good day.

On April 29, the conditions came off the house and now we just have to wait until we get possession of our new home on the 15th of June. I sit around our rental waiting for the day wishing it would come faster but then thinking of how much is left to be done before we can actually move – we own a lot of things that need to be sorted and packed or sold or given away. We plan on doing quite a large purge when leaving this house as there are quite a few things that are still packed from when we moved here nearly three years ago.

In case you are wondering, the description of our home according to their real estate agent is as follows:

“3 Bedrooms,3 Bathrooms. Hardwood & porcelain flooring on main level. Main floor family room w/wood fireplace. Gourmet kitchen w/central isle & granite. Eating area opens to the fenced & private yard w/patio & above ground Pool.Main floor laundry. Master bedroom w/3pc en-suite & walk-in closet. Basement is near complete w/Recroom, Bedroom & ample storage. C/Air, C/Vac.”

Ottawa Tulip Festival 2011

2011-05-08T19:26:00.000-04:00

Ah the Tulip Festival. You all know how much I love it (and I know how much a certain one of you hates it). It is my favourite Ottawa Festival and it is finally here. The above image was taken earlier today at the Dows Lake Pavilion location. Dave and I toured the tulip beds for a couple of hours, had some yummy food and then went home. The tulips are a little late this year (as are the ones in my backyard) so there were a great deal of un-bloomed flowers around and empty looking flower beds, but all in all it was still very pretty and i enjoyed the nice walk and photography-filled afternoon.

I’m Back!!!

2011-05-08T14:29:00.001-04:00

I know it has been a while, but I am back now. I am spending most of the rest of this afternoon sitting by an open window, enjoying the fresh air, my backyard garden and the sunlight while I blog away. In other words, there should be regular posts for the next month or so despite how busy I will likely be.

What have I been busy with you ask? Well for those of you who don’t already know, Dave and I have been advancing our lives a fair bit lately. We are obviously planning our wedding which is very time consuming despite the fact that we are planning a wedding that is well over a year away. We have also signed up at Goodlife gym and gotten ourselves personal trainers (to learn more about this, check out my health blog, The Road to a Better Me – it too is getting updated today). We also made one of the biggest purchases we will ever make…we bought a house. I will create more specific posts about each of these things later, but for now I think this is enough to understand just how busy our personal lives have been lately. Oh, and I am also planning a baby shower for my sister-in-law with my mom which has taken a little bit of work as well (invitations, ideas, gift shopping, etc), though to be honest, this one wasn’t as much work as the others. In fact it was quite fun to send out invitations and look at baby things.

Big Stuff

2011-04-23T21:11:00.000-04:00

I know it has been a while and I know I posted in March saying I would be back shortly...but Dave and I are working on some big stuff in our lives right now that is taking most of our time and energy. I will be back though.

A Lapse in Posts

2011-03-06T20:02:00.001-05:00

You might have noticed a lapse in regular posts here lately. It has to do with the workload. March used to be the time of studying for end of the year exams and stressing about my grades, etc. Now that I am out of school you would think that was done, but instead I worry about work. I think I have mentioned before that I work in the private industry in the Capitol of Canada, which means we have a lot of government contracts. As the Federal Fiscal Year End is March 31, March is now the crunch time for the vast majority of projects on the books right now which means it is SUPER busy at work. Constant last minute site visits and sample collection and analysis. Lots of reports to be written and reviewed and a ton of management and coordination to be done as well. It is very time consuming and energy depleting. To be frank, by the time I get home all I want to do is relax and go to bed. I really don’t feel like writing or setting up posts. I will do my best to get something on here every once in a while for the next month, but I can’t promise anything even remotely close to regular. Sorry guys, hope you understand.

It’s a Boy

2011-02-25T07:01:00.000-05:00

Lynn and Tyler were told today that Baby Beach is a BOY!! I am going to have a nephew and I am super excited!

Apparently the ultrasound technician said she was 99.9% sure that the baby was a boy. Thankfully Tyler and Lynn included me in the phone calls that followed their appointment.

Seriously, I am one happy Aunt who is about to buy a great deal of blue things including baby photography props!!

Quotable Thursday #55

2011-02-24T09:39:00.000-05:00

“There ain’t no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them.” – Mark Twain.

Stephanie Beach Photography

2011-02-21T15:29:00.001-05:00

I finally launched my own website: http://www.stephaniebeachphotography.com/ and to say the least I am pretty excited about it! I am still working on some of the finishing touches, but it is pretty much ready to go so everyone should head over to the new site and spend some time checking it out. Then come back and let me know what you think, I really would appreciate any comments or suggestions you may have. Thanks everyone!!

Quotable Thursday #54

2011-02-17T08:33:00.000-05:00

“A leader is a dealer in hope.” – Napoleon Bonapart

Way Back Whenesday: THe Fro

2011-02-16T10:28:00.000-05:00

When we were in first year Dave didn’t really get his hair cut – as matter of fact I don’t know if he got it cut even once throughout that year. We all named it the Fro. At one point we even gave him a fro pick.

Happy Valentine’s Day

2011-02-14T10:17:00.000-05:00

Green Ideas: Heating #1

2011-01-28T10:44:00.000-05:00

Planning a party? Turn the thermostats down. Each guest is the equivalent of a 175-watt heater, and a large group will warm up the place without the furnace or the heating units in operation.

Quotable Thursday #53

2011-01-27T09:20:00.001-05:00

“Those who spend too fast never grow rich.” – Honore de Balzac

Quotable Thursday #52

2011-01-20T09:18:00.001-05:00

“We are chameleons, and our partialities and prejudices change place with an easy and blessed facility."” - Mark Twain.

Way Back Whenesday: Pocket Organizer

2011-01-19T10:11:00.000-05:00

I remember when I was younger and loved the idea of electronic gizmos and the assumed importance of people who had them (and even more so of people who actually needed them). I got a little pocket diary and I loved it. I used it as an address book and calculator and of course diary as that was its original purpose. I used to make up stories and pretend to chat with people online (this was before this was a common thing for children to do). It was a great source of entertainment for me. Every so often the little watch battery that ran it would die and I would have to start all over again. Sometimes I would lose it and by the time I found it, it was dead and needed a restart. Eventually it lost its appeal as chatting because an everyday thing and as I really didn’t have a need for the other features, I stopped using it. I haven’t seen it in a very long time, though I suspect that it it sitting in a Rubbermaid container in my parents’ shed back home.

(photo from http://www.canstockphoto.com/)

Happy Birthday Big Brother!

2011-01-16T10:15:00.000-05:00

My brother turns 30 today and 30 is looking to be a good year for him. All the best Tyler, Happy Birthday!!

7 Wonderful Years

2011-01-14T08:38:00.000-05:00

Happy Anniversary Sweety. I love you more than I could ever put into words.

Quotable Thursday #51

2011-01-13T09:14:00.000-05:00

“There is no wealth but life.” – John Ruskin

My Family’s Big News

2011-01-10T09:01:00.000-05:00

On top of my and Dave’s engagement, my brother and sister-in-law had their own big news to share with our family this past holiday season. They are going to be parents. They shared this with my parents and I through Christmas cards for Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt. I absolutely loved it and am so incredibly excited for my niece or nephew (they will be finding out if the baby is a boy or a girl when the 5 month marker comes around). I can’t wait to spoil the baby with toys and clothes and shower it with love and of course take lots of photos.

Mission Goal 2011

2011-01-07T08:34:00.000-05:00

In 2010 I defined my mission goal as being “I want to be happy, healthy and comfortable in 2010”. I wanted to do these things by losing weight, saving money, traveling and getting a puppy. I did not lose weight. I did save money, in fact Dave and I are well on our way to getting enough for a down payment on a house. We did not get a puppy. We did travel – we went to Florida, Quebec City and Toronto as vacations and of course the cottage on Lake Erie. So all in all, could have done better, but could have done much worse as well.
My mission goal for 2011 is unchanged: I want to be happy, healthy and comfortable in 2011. These things are likely to happen this year if I lose weight, buy a house, travel and work on my wedding plans (including the process of saving money for the wedding).

Quotable Thursday #50

2011-01-06T08:16:00.000-05:00

“The man who will not execute his resolutions when they are fresh upon him can have no hope from them afterwards; they will be dissipated, lost and perish in the hurry and scurry of the world, or sunk in the slough of indolence” - Marie Edgeworth.

Way Back Whenesday: The Munsters

2011-01-05T09:29:00.000-05:00

For Christmas we got my dad the complete series of The Munsters.

Similarly to the Adams Family, The Munsters was a sitcom about a monster family. There was the Frankenstein dad (Herman), the bride of Frankenstein wife (Lily), a vampire Grandpa, a werewolf son (Eddie) and a human neice (Marilyn). They of course didn’t see themselves as different but rather worried that their normal neice Marilyn would never find a man. Great show that I remember watching with my Dad.

My Big News

2011-01-04T20:11:00.001-05:00

As some of you already know, I have some big news to share with you. Over the holidays, Dave proposed to me. It was perfect and amazing and I of course said yes. The story, since I have been asked so many times, goes like this:

On Thursday, December 30, 2010 Dave and I went to Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg to take night photos of the Alight at Night Festival. During our 2-3 hours there we walked around and took many photos of the night lights and even had fresh gingerbread, so yummy. We then got back to our car where Dave brought out the hot chocolate he had made for us and snuck in our thermos. We then drove back to Ottawa listening to the Glee soundtrack that he had so nicely downloaded and put on his new Google phone. When we got back to town he drove us towards downtown and I thought he was driving us to Parliament Hill as I had also wanted to take photos of the lights on the Parliament buildings. Instead he turned onto Sussex and parked overlooking the Ottawa River. He had music playing on his phone and had packed blankets and pillows for sitting in the back of the car - it was very nice. The evening was great and because it was so cold (it is Winter in Ottawa), the ring actually fit me.
It is now at the jewellery store being resized as even though Dave took his iron ring as a reference, it was still too small (only be about one size though). His iron ring fits my right hand but not my left unfortunately.
I am very happy and looking forward to all the planning and organization that is involved in getting a wedding set up. But first things first, Dave and I are still planning on getting a house this Spring.

Ambrose Bierce

2011-01-04T10:07:00.000-05:00

A little while ago I used a quote from Ambrose Bierce for my Quotable Thursday feature. I usually try to link the quoted person to their wikipedia page so that you can go and learn more about them if you so please. In the process of doing that this time however, I saw that this person had an interesting story – he disappeared.
Ambrose Bierce was an American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist and satirist. He was born in 1842 and earned himself the nickname “Bitter Bierce” primarily because of his motto ‘nothing matters’.
In 1913 the then elderly writer traveled to Mexico to gain a firsthand perspective of the country’s ongoing revolution. According to Wikipedia:

“In October 1913 Bierce, then in his seventies, departed Washington, D.C., for a tour of his old Civil War battlefields. By December he had proceeded through Louisiana and Texas, crossing by way of El Paso into Mexico, which was in the throes of revolution. In Ciudad Juárez he joined Pancho Villa's army as an observer, and in that role he witnessed the Battle of Tierra Blanca.

Bierce is known to have accompanied Villa's army as far as the city of Chihuahua. His last known communication with the world was a letter he wrote there to Blanche Partington, a close friend, dated December 26, 1913. After closing this letter by saying, "As to me, I leave here tomorrow for an unknown destination," he vanished without a trace, becoming one of the most famous disappearances in American literary history.

Oral tradition in Sierra Mojada, Coahuila, documented by the priest James Lienert, states that Bierce was executed by a firing squad in the town cemetery there. However, all investigations into his fate have proven fruitless, and despite an abundance of theories his end remains shrouded in mystery.”

I don’t know much more than what is in the Wikipedia link, but thought it was rather interesting and wanted to share it with you.

Blog of Note: January

2011-01-03T21:24:00.001-05:00

The Graphite Art of Clive Meredith is a blog similar to my photography blog in that it displays the works of an artist. Clive Meredith is an extremely talented artist who draws amazing portraits in graphite. Check it out.

Green Ideas: Electricity #3

2010-12-31T08:58:00.001-05:00

Modern computers, televisions and other electronics continue to use power even when you turn them off. Plug anything that can be powered by a remote control or that has a power cube transformer (little black box) into a power-bar, and turn it off, and/or unplug it, when not in use.

Quotable Thursday #49

2010-12-30T08:54:00.000-05:00

“Day, n. A period of twenty-four hours, mostly misspent.” – Ambrose Bierce

Quotable Thursday #48

2010-12-23T09:51:00.000-05:00

“A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water.” – Carl Reiner.

Way Back Whenesday: Ice Ice baby

2010-12-22T07:55:00.000-05:00

Vanilla Ice–Ice Ice Baby

You know you know the words and you know this song will be stuck in your head for the rest of the day. I actually seem to remember having a Vanilla Ice nightgown – is that the same as having Justin Beiber pajamas today?!

Quotable Thursday #47

2010-12-16T08:49:00.000-05:00

“Christmas is the time when kids tell Santa what they want and adults pay for it. Deficits are when adults tell government what they want and their kids pay for it.” – Richard Lamm

How-To Tuesday: Colour Calibration

2010-12-14T11:50:00.000-05:00

This month’s How-To Tuesday is on Calibrating your computer monitor. First things first, if you are running on a newer Mac System, you won’t need this as it more or less does it itself.
I am going to show you two ways that I am able to colour calibrate my monitor, however, both methods requiring either specific software or hardware.
The first way is through Adobe Photoshop. If you have Photoshop CS3 or older then there will be a program called Adobe Gamma that does a subjective colour calibration for you. Adobe Gamma is a little hidden in CS3 so here is a YouTube video that really nicely shows you how to find and use the program:

Using Adobe Gamma in CS3

The other way I calibrate my monitor is through a piece of hardware called Spyder3Pro. Essentially you place this device on your monitor and run the program. It senses the lighting in the room and by displaying certain colours on your monitor can set a calibration to get the truest colours possible. It is made by Datacolor and is a little on the expensive side, mind you it is still cheaper than Photoshop.
You may be asking yourself, why does colour calibration even matter? Well, if you are into photo editing or photo manipulation, then you will want to ensure that the colours you are seeing on your monitor will be what others see and more importantly what will come out of the printer once you want a hardcopy – colour calibration can do this for you. I have found that my calibrating my monitor, I have to do a lot less work when I want to print.

Quotable Thursday #46

2010-12-09T07:47:00.000-05:00

“All things are difficult before they are easy.” – Thomas Fuller

Christmas 2010 Add-On

2010-12-08T11:34:00.004-05:00

Yep so I posted a Christmas List for 2010 and have since found something that I REALLY want: Moleskine: Passions Recipe Journal!! I have been thinking of a way to organize my recipes for some time - since my recipe book got a little ruined during a dishwasher or sink (I forget which) overflowing situation. If I don't get one for Christmas I will end up buying myself one, but I am going to be as patient as I can and wait ... but I don't want to.

Way Back Whenesday: Tetris

2010-12-08T08:36:00.000-05:00

Now I realize Tetris is still around, but the Tetris I am talking about is the one for the original Nintendo game system (NES).

I remember the system being hooked up to the television in my parents room (the television that was in a wooden case) and my dad playing for several hours. Come to think of it, it was one of the only games my dad really played. Later on, we got Tetris for the Nintendo Gameboy and I played it a great deal on that system. I do believe the Gameboy and Tetris are sitting upstairs right now…perhaps I will go play some classic Nintendo.

(photo found through Google)

Blog of Note: December

2010-12-06T10:30:00.000-05:00

As pretty much everyone knows, I love photos. I really love old photos. Forgotten Old Photos is a blog dedicated to posting old photos found in antique shops garage sales, etc. They have had several successful reunions with the old photos by returning them with the families of the subjects.

Overwhelmed

2010-12-03T09:42:00.000-05:00

My life the past month has been more than a little overwhelming. Work has been very hectic, leaving me tired and burnt out by the time the weekend comes. Laundry, groceries and housework all seem to get put off as long as possible – and those are the things that I actually need to do to keep running on a day to day basis. I feel like I don’t even have time to refuel before Monday comes. I very badly need some time off, at least a week if not more is needed, but I really don’t know if it is at all possible.
My photography is rather active as well. I have had a few clients this year and am trying to wrap up a few things for them before the end of the year. My most recent photography class has been awesome to say the least, but it also needs a lot of time and commitment on my part to ensure everything gets done and done to my standards.
I am quickly running out of time for Christmas. Normally by now I would have almost all of my gifts purchased and the few I still had left I knew of, just needed to arrange or finalize. I haven’t really even started this year – the ones I do know about need a great deal more work and the ones I don’t --- well I really don’t know about them.
As you readers can probably tell, I have been running on fumes in terms of my blog. I set up the features a month in advance and pretty much let the blogs take care of themselves. All I can say about that is thank goodness for scheduled posts or else all my blogs might have been completely barren for the past month or so.
I am getting December’s feature posts ready over the next couple of days and hopefully will be able to find the energy and topics to do some non-feature posts as well. *fingers crossed*

Christmas 2010

2010-12-03T06:25:00.001-05:00

This Christmas should, in theory, be 'easier' than the last couple as we only have one family get together to attend. That being said, I am very unprepared for Christmas. Very few presents have been purchased and I have even fewer ideas for the ones that are remaining. While I stew over what to get my friends and family, here is a list of gift ideas for me - for convenience I split it into completely camera related stuff and then everything else, and yes I realize the camera list is much longer and more specific and no I don't expect anyone to get me the expensive gear.

Camera Wish List:

16GB+ SDHC memory cards (preferably Class 10);
4' wide white paper background;
8' wide white, black and grey paper backgrounds;
~4'x6' piece of high quality black velor fabric;
Bowen's softboxes;
Radio trigger system (compatible with Bowen's 400 lights and Nikon DX/FX cameras);
Bowen's battery pack;
Nikkor 70-200mm AF-S VR f/2.8 lens;
Nikkor 105mm AF-S f/2.8 Micro lens;
Nikon SB-900 flash;
Nikon SC-29 off camera flash cord;
Photo paper (Epson Premium Photo Paper [4+ stars], 8 1/2"x11" and/or 8"x10");
Computer ink (for the Epson Artisan 800 all-in-one printer - codes 98 and 99 I do believe); and,
small white/gold reflector (maximum 10" or so but folds smaller - example).

Everything Else Wishlist:

gift cards (Ricki's, Henry's, thecamerastore.com, Canada Computers, amazon);
picture frames (8x10 or larger, compilation frames);
OPI nail polish (Jade is the new Black, Parlez-Vous OPI?);
Movies (Toy Story 3 [special edition], Despicable Me [special edition], How to Tame your Dragon [special edition], Life After People, Sandra Bullock/Hugh Grant/Julia Roberts/Drew Barrymore movies); and,
TV series (Being Erica, Glee, Castle, Powerpuff Girls, Beverly Hills 90210 [original series, seasons 4 and onwards]).

For the movies and TV series, I think this will take you to my Amazon wishlist - it has most of the movies, etc I currently want on it (above mentioned ones included).

Quotable Thursday #45

2010-12-02T21:18:00.001-05:00

“Anger and intolerance are the enemies of correct understanding.” – Mohandas Ghandi

Yan Day

2010-11-28T20:54:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Yan!!

Green Ideas: Water #1

2010-11-26T11:19:00.000-05:00

Switch to cold water when doing you laundry and save and estimated 80 percent on energy used for laundry and an estimated $60 a year. There is also less risk of shrinking your clothes.

Quotable Thursday #44

2010-11-25T11:08:00.001-05:00

"Cats are intended to teach us that not everything in nature has a function." - Unknown.

Way Back Whenesday: Bewitched

2010-11-24T11:00:00.000-05:00

I know this was on when I was younger, but I really didn’t start watching Bewtiched until I was in high school – about the time we got satellite television. I came home from school and popped out TVLand and there it was along with some other great classics (to be used at a later date).
Essentially the show was about an adult witch you married a mortal. Later on they have a child, Tabitha, who also have witchy-powers. I loved it (still do actually).

Bewitched Intro

Quotable Thursday #43

2010-11-18T06:16:00.000-05:00

“Hope is a waking dream.” – Aristotle.

Wookie Puppy

2010-11-14T20:42:00.001-05:00

Found this guy on Cute Overload the other day and thought it was so adorably nerdy – I had to share it.

Lest We Forget

2010-11-11T10:11:00.000-05:00

Quotable Thursday #42

2010-11-11T08:13:00.000-05:00

“To follow, without halt, one aim: There's the secret of success.” - Anna Pavlova (1885 - 1931)

Way Back Whenesday: The Original Five

2010-11-10T10:28:00.000-05:00

The original group – From left to right, Top row: Christine and Mark, Bottom row: Justin, Stephanie and Emily. We grew pretty quickly as the year progressed, but this is how it started.

Hot To Tuesday: Shoot Glass

2010-11-09T08:15:00.000-05:00

No, no not that kind of shooting – this month’s How-To Tuesday is all about photographing glass.

Glass can be a little complicated when photographing because it takes on the colour of your background. The easiest way to deal with this is to place reflector of the opposite colour on either side of your object.

For example, if you are shooting on a white background, place black reflectors (or pieces of paper) just outside of your frame. This will make the edges distinguishable from the actual background.

The above photo has a reflector on the left side of the image and above it as well to reduce glare from the soft boxes that are lighting the subject. Another trick that helps is to put something in the glass itself (e.g. water).

The above photo has coloured water in the glasses and black cards on either side of the image.

Quotable Thursday #41

2010-11-04T08:09:00.000-04:00

“Do not worry about your difficulties in Mathematics. I can assure you mine are still greater.” - Albert Einstein

Blog of Note: November

2010-11-01T08:06:00.000-04:00

Blog of note this month is a tasty blog entitled Love Letters in a Pan. Dave’s sister and her best friend have created a really original recipe blog in which they write letters to each other about their most recent baking and/or cooking endeavour. Check it out for some really tasty food ideas.

Green Ideas: Electricity #2

2010-10-29T09:22:00.000-04:00

Switch to a laptop instead of using a desktop computer and cut three-quarters off your electrical use. Turn off the laptop at the end of the day.

Quotable Thursday #40

2010-10-28T08:42:00.000-04:00

“Civilization is unbearable, but it is less unbearable at the top.” – Timothy Leary.

Way Back Whenesday: Goosebump Novels

2010-10-27T09:21:00.000-04:00

I know Goosebumps novels are still around today and can be seen in book stores and catalogues on a regular basis, but I remember when these novels first became popular and I especially remember sitting in front of the bookshelf at the Brockville Mall trying to pick out which Goosebumps novel I would buy next. I would save up my money and once I got the roughly 10 dollars they cost I would lay out the options and spend way too long determining which one I was going to purchase this time. R.L. Stine definitely hit the nail on the head when he started this series.

Full Yet Relaxing

2010-10-24T14:54:00.003-04:00

This weekend was a pretty good one. It started off with Dave's sister Jessica coming down on Friday evening. The three of us took some photos around town and played lots of Rock Band and Rock Band Beatles - and by lots I do mean LOTS!
We went out for a few big meals and pretty much eliminated the need for cooking by doing so which was awesome because Dave and I don't really have much food in the house right now and I wasn't in the mode to go grocery shopping.
I also got the chance to do a photo-shoot with our friend Kate, which was really fun. I am hoping to get the photos edited and to her shortly and will be sharing them everyone on Flickr and Stephanie Beach Photography after that.

Quotable Thursday #39

2010-10-21T07:40:00.000-04:00

“Born again?! No, I'm not. Excuse me for getting it right the first time.” – Denis Miller.

Happy BDay Dad!

2010-10-20T09:03:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday Dad!!
The above photo was actually taken over two years ago at Tyler and Lynn’s Rehearsal Dinner. I have several others I could have used, more recent ones as well, but he just looks so happy in this photo that I can’t seem to use any other photo. I love you Dad.

Quotable Thursday #38

2010-10-14T08:39:00.000-04:00

“Humor is just another defense against the universe.” – Mel Brooks.

Way Back Whenesday: Beverly Hills 90210

2010-10-13T08:40:00.000-04:00

I do not understand for the life of me, how I was allowed to watch this show. But to be honest, I don’t really care because I loved it – and still love it to this day.
Beverly Hills 90210 started out as a less dramatic sort of show than what it is remembered for. The first three seasons were much more after-school special-like in that Brenda and Brandon or one of their friends, would get into some sort of troubling situation. Someone would make a bad decision but it wasn’t likely to be either of the twins. The Walshes would come to rescue of whomever was in trouble and everything would be solved by the end of the episode. Later one, shortly before Shannon Doherty left the show started to get much more dramatic and much more mature.
I remember being in love with Dylan (played by Luke Perry). I had legging and a shirt with 90210 on them which I actually wore during our family trip to Disney in 1992 (that’s right, I wore the shirt and watched the show when I was in grade 2!).
The show ended in 2000 but a new version of it has since started and is similar to the later, more mature version of the show. I haven’t watched too much of the new series, not because I don’t like it but because I don’t really watch television. The ones I have seen though, give me happy memories of watching the original series.

How-To Tuesday: Make An Elf Ranger Costume

2010-10-12T12:49:00.000-04:00

Last year I blogged about Dave’s Kisame Costume and it seems to be a rather popular post, though this may just be because it is based on a character from a fairly popular anime series. Either way, Halloween is coming up and being a big fan of the holiday I decided that I would do another Costume How-To.

My costume this year is more-or-less the same as last year, an Elf Ranger. I created the cape in a similar fashion to Dave’s Kisame cape by using the Simplicity pattern 5840. I made it using a heavy green material. I purchased a gold tassle for the hood and a wooden button to hold it shut (the loop was made with gold cording). I sewed gold cording around all the edges (around the cuffs, bottom edge, front opening and around the hood) and gold ribbon around the chest for added detail.

I got elf ears from a costume shop here in Ottawa, Malabar, and after gluing them on I put cover-up/concealer over them and my ears to blend the two together a bit better. (the trick to the ears is not where to buy them or how to get them on, but rather getting them off at the end of the night. It was a true ordeal last year that was incredibly uncomfortable, but apparently not too bad as I am wearing them again this year.) I

wore black yoga pants and a black shirt. I would have liked some sort of dark brown vest with a slot for a knife, but couldn’t find anything and ran out of time to make it myself.
For a bow, I actually used Dave’s bow but brought no arrows to the party as it is an actual weapon and that mixed with alcohol could have resulted in some very bad things.
I will be wearing the same costume this year but with the addition of

fantastic brown boots I purchased from Town Show at a discounted price recently. I may even get around to finding/making the vest I wanted last year.
Perhaps this year I will actually get around to taking some photos of me in my costume…but I wouldn’t place any bets on that.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-10-11T13:25:00.004-04:00

Today is turkey day...officially. Yesterday was Turkey Day #1 for Dave and I as we headed up to Peterborough and then Newmarket to have Thanksgiving Dinner with his family. We also celebrated Christmas at that time to make things easier for everyone as with children growing up and parents moving further and further away from their siblings, it is harder for all of us to get together as often as we would all like.

We will be having my family's Thanksgiving dinner next weekend (Turkey Day #2). As per usual, the Beaches got moved as both in-law families have tighter schedules (and more people to fit into said schedules). Luckily no one really minds as this actually means we get to spend more time together than we would have if we just squeezed it into the actually Thanksgiving weekend. And as an added bonus, with Christmas being taken care of for Dave's side of the family, we will have more time to spend with my family then too! Though it will be a little weird to not see his family during the Christmas season.