Not too long ago, I visited my sis in the States.
It was my first time seeing her new apartment.

Turns out - it’s like the fanciest place ever.

For example, you walk into the lobby, and look to the left and you see a fireplace, comfy couches, and a large neat & tidy bookshelf which holds a bunch of fancy coffee table books.
When you look to the right you see ANOTHER fireplace, comfy couches and bookcase!
And here I was thinking that ONE fireplace was extravagant!

So I used to think that the look and feel of an apartment building isn’t really important, as long as the inside of the actual units are nice. But after seeing my sis’ place, I’ve realized that apartment buildings can play a big role how an apartment “feels”.

But more on that later.

Now it’s picture time!

The entrance:

big art canvas (sans frame).

The living room:

a white leather couch. Sculptures. Flat panel tv. Super-low coffee table.

This is the sculpture up close:

I’m a fan. Not 100% sure where it’s from…

The kitchen table:

Sturdy wood table. Bold chairs. Odd-shaped vases.

Et perhaps my favourite piece:

Purple Armchair!!

(Do you see what I see? … click here for more pics of “Catherine’s corner”!!)

Super fancy apartment, eh?

I’m impressed.

So they say the standard amount of water that people should drink is 8 glasses a day, right?
My doctor told me I should have about 12 glasses of liquid per day (crazy!) so, I’ve decided to make this one of my New Year’s Resolutions.

The plan is: drink 6 glasses of water, and 6 glasses of other stuff.

It’s too bad the glasses have to spread out throughout the day. It’d be much simpler if I could just chug a bunch of water at once.
It’d be fun actually - like a morning ritual or something! I could time myself to see how fast I could drink it!

So usually when I want to start doing something new, my first step is to go out and buy something. (I wouldn’t really recommend this. It leads to a fair amount of unnecessary and un-used purchases.)
Right now, I’m on the lookout for a cool water bottle.

These aluminum bottles are fun:

but, I have a little ’stipulation’ about any drinking containers that I own: I must be able to put my entire hand in them. (For cleaning purposes.)
Shopping for thermoses/glasses/cups/mugs is fun for me. I stand in the store and try not to look like an insane person as I stick my hand in all the containers. hah!

So those aluminum bottles are out. I do like these KOR ONE bottles though:

they’re so futuristic-looking!

But they still have too small of an opening. bummer.
the search continues!

In the meantime, I enjoy drinking water when I’m at home.

Manz gave me this glass for Christmas:

and I love it! (Thanks Manz!!)

#1 It’s orange
#2 It makes my water look like it’s yellow/orange!

#3. And….

yay!!

I’m starting a new exercise routine!
I chose the month of February a while ago (when it seemed far away), so I won’t be postponing this…. unless I break my leg or something.
That said though, I might start on the 28th of February, instead of this week. I figure though, if I start thinking about it now, I might make a decision by mid-month.

So here are some of my thoughts:

Boot Camp:
A friend suggested this to me. My response: laughter.
But, just for the sake of checking it out… there’s a bootcamp in Toronto called ‘Fit Chicks‘. This is their logo:

cute.

Yoga:
not interested.
…I’m also not convinced that yoga is exercise. But perhaps that’s because I’ve never done it.

Next up, Pilates:
I’m a fan of pilates. …mostly because of the bouncy ball.
A while ago I bought an ‘intro to pilates’ set. I’m very very bad at it though.
I currently use the bouncy ball as extra seating. Or as a an ottoman.

…have I mentioned that I don’t like classes? So whatever I choose will be a not-at-the-gym arrangement. Maybe a DVD set that I can use at home or something.

Speaking of DVDs….
Cardioke:
Karaoke + Cardio = Cardioke
I LOVE this idea!!
I mean, who doesn’t want to move when listening to certain songs. I’m thinking “Ain’t too proud to beg” by The Temptations or “Hey Ya” by Outkast or “Pachua Sunrise” by Minus the Bear
Those aren’t any of the songs on the DVD… but if if you could make your own mix, I would include those songs.
From the website: “This unique fitness program combines breathing techniques, cardio-dance and body sculpting - plus karaoke!”

That’s Billy Blank’s son. hehe.
Available for $150 at Amazon.com (hah! I don’t think that’s a typo!) or for $16 on Exercise TV- they’re currently out of stock, and only ship to the States.
so… looks like I’m not getting this any time soon!

Someone at work recommended that I use Wii Fit:

I kinda like this idea just because it involves technology. But I haven’t really looked into it, so I’m not sure what the exercises actually are. Looks a lot like yoga to me…

That’s all I’ve thought of so far!

Hello from Sudbury!!

I’m a fan of the hotel that I’m staying at - The Ambassador Hotel. It’s not super fancy, but it feels “homey”. Dark wood furniture, super friendly staff people, green carpet…
(okay, so the green carpet probably doesn’t add to the ‘homey’ feel, but I needed to mention three things in that sentence, and the green carpet is the first thing I noticed when I looked around. )

Another thing I like is that the rooms have a door to the outside. (Kinda like the setup of those sketchy motels on tv.) So when I went on a shopping adventure I didn’t have to pass through the front desk area.

Across the street is an outdoor big box store mall of sorts. So I spent an hour or so wandering around and tromping through hills of snow. I bought some clothes that don’t really fit me, some yarn, and a $0.97 shirt.
($0.97!! CRAZY!)

And at this moment, I’m eating some fruit that a staff person gave me for free! yay!

I went hat shopping this evening. Didn’t find any… but I did discover the coat company “Soia & Kyo”

From the website: “Soia & Kyo is best known for its fabulous fit, intricate detailing and unique styling such as its oversized buttons, asymmetrically structured collars, wide belts and contrasting trimmings. “

I love.

One of my resolutions from 2009 was to make more of my meals. And I’m happy to say that I’ve met that goal with flying colours! (well, I only started in October, but still, 3 solid months is still a success!)

Now I’ve decided to build on top of this ‘achievement’ and start making better meals. Over the course of the year, I’ll probably change the definition of the word “better”, but for the time being, “better” means more varied.
I’ve noticed that I tend to get stuck in a ‘rut’ with food.
When I find something that is easy to cook, and won’t make me gag, I tend to make it in large quantities and eat it at least 5 days a week. In university it was chili. Currently it’s stir fry chicken & green/red/yellow/orange peppers.

So I spent a good portion of today sitting in a coffee shop and reading through a recipe book, highlighting recipes that I’m going to try out.

Then I went to the grocery store and bought a bunch of foods that I usually stay away from. (psst - why aren’t navy beans navy?)

Then for dinner, I made myself some….

LATKES!!! [img]

how exciting!
AND, they didn’t taste horrible!! (bonus!)

Who knew cauliflower could taste like potatoes?
…did I mention that they were cauliflower latkes? I actually don’t like cauliflower, so I was pretty surprised that these were good. Next time, I think I’ll eat it with some sour cream or something.
mmm latkes…

I’ve finally finalized my list of resolutions for 2010!!
I feel like this is a BIG year. BIG = Better, Impressive, and Gripping.
(I just made that up!)

One of my resolutions is to wear more hats! I like hats. …well, the concept of hats at least.
I used to use my short hair as an excuse not to wear them (”I’ll look like a boy!”), but now with longer hair, I really don’t have an excuse…

I’m currently making a winter hat (it’s not going very well!), and I did buy a beret from H&M a few weeks ago.
I’ve always wanted to wear those slouchy “Rastafarian” type hats, or something like this Chunky Wool Hat:

or I wonder if I can pull off a headwrap…?

[img]
My time frame for this “resolution” is before March 31, 2010.