September's Goal

We spent SO MUCH money last month (August). It is hard to figure out how; the weddings we attended were in July, the only trip we took was camping which was paid in advance, there was no expensive item purchases either. It was also a very flush month; with the way the weeks worked out, Jason got three pay cheques instead of two and I got paid from my new (higher paying) job as well. Basically it breaks down to food. I don't think we went grocery shopping once in August - which meant a lot of eating out, ordering in, or grabbing fast food. We weren't packing lunches so it meant buying things to eat at work too. It is worse than my cab addiction.

So, for September we are going to stop buying food that way. The only time we will eat out will be with friends and we will only buy food at work if there is a social event that requires it. No ordering in, no grabbing take out, and no fast food on the road.

Smelling Like Dad

Sunday Mornin' Coming Down - A post about my Dad each Sunday, named after a song that he loved.

As I mentioned, we are at The Cottage for the long weekend. I found out yesterday that I forgot my deodorant!

I don't think I have ever mentioned this on Always Standing, but I am obsessed with deodorant/antiperspirant. I wear tons, often reapply, usually wear it to bed, and need to put it on as soon as I wake up or get out of the bath. I use Dove Ultimate Visibly Smooth Antiperspirant, Nature Fresh scent. It is supposed to work at making hair less noticeable while at the same time be a strong deodorant. I am true-to-brand and don't even like getting the other scent available. Wearing a different deodorant feels very strange.

The Cottage has two bathrooms, but since I was sleeping on the main floor I was mainly using the one that contains the shower, laundry room, cat litter, and a dresser with my dad's old toilette items. My mom keeps all of her stuff in the upstairs bathroom that is beside the master bedroom and has the bathtub. Feeling lazy the first day I decided to search around in the main floor bathroom for any women's deodorant. There wasn't any.

I was still feeling lazy so decided to use the men's stick I had found. It was by Adidas, called Pure Game, which I think was supposed to be the scent or maybe the type. I put it on and it instantly smelt like my dad! I can't imagine him being a true-to-brand person, since he would probably buy something like deodorant by price. I also remember him using Speed Stick when I was younger - it was kept in the bathroom medicine cabinet above our toothbrushes. Maybe he always was drawn to a consistent scent or maybe my scent memory of him is connected to recent events when he was using this Adidas stick, but it was lovely to be reminded of him through smell. I miss him so much - everything about him.

A Bit Bored By Rasta

I am up at The Cottage this weekend; Mum is in Edmonton visiting Mike and Aimee, so we are looking after Rasta. He is much less of a kitten and is lower energy now that he is older (and neutered.) He still plays with his toys much more than Two, but he seems, in general, more cat-like and less cuddly.

Introduced

The following is posted on the Forrec internal website, to introduce me to the 120 plus team:

I am not a huge fan of the photo, but it is nice that the company does this to help smooth the transition for new employees. There has since been two other new people start after me so my profile is not alone, and it may get bumped soon. I know that I have mentioned not really liking the word 'gregarious' before, but at the time I was filling out the questions it seemed like a good choice.

T&G Engagement Shots

I figured that I would start out Wedding Wednesdays way back in October 2013 when Steph published her Feature Set of Engagement Photos that she did with Teri and Greg at the Toronto waterfront. I know that I briefly mentioned that they were getting them done at the time, but only provide the link to the Sneak Peek. It turns out that I am terrible about remembering to share my friends engagement photos on Always Standing.

This is one of the many great shots:

Harbour's Breeze: A Toronto Love Story

Photo by Stephanie Beach Photography

Copyright 2013

My favorite pictures are the two different ones where they are sitting. (Also the kissing one with the CN Tower in it, this is mainly because I love the CN Tower and its iconic representation of downtown Toronto.) The photo above is actually K's favorite; she loves it so much that she has mentioned multiple times thinking that it looks like it could be in a magazine. I agree, it definitely looks like a sexy clothing ad - for Guess maybe.

See the full Feature Set on the STEPHANIE BEACH PHOTOGRAPHY BLOG.

Spinning!

Tessa and I have signed up for an unlimited mouth of spinning (indoor cycling.) I am pretty sure that it is the most intense workout that I have ever had. We are going to Cykl, which is close to my work and Tessa's apartment. There are lots of different styles of spinning, or so I have read, that include combining it with yoga or super-computerized bikes that let you digitally race others. Cykl uses a special kind of bike that moves (side to side), so during classes there are turns and such. What is interesting about how hard of a workout it is, is that it is not regulated - the intensity/resistance is very personal, though guided by the instructor. Basically it is like going for a bike ride without a computer, which I don't do since I like to know how fast I am going. I didn't think I would push myself without some type of statistical feedback, even with a basic outdoor run, I can review my distance and measure my time. However, the instructors have been awesome at Cykl and the workout is amazing.

THE Science North

In my experience, few things stand the test of aging. What I loved as a child is often not nearly as thrilling now that I am 30. For example:
- I still enjoy The Neverending Story but could never watch it on repeat, multiple times a day.
- I like the board game Labyrinth but it isn't as suspenseful and challenging now that I am older.
- I no longer like many of the annoying repetitive songs that I did as a kid, like This is the Song that Never Ends.

However, some things do maintain their enjoyment as I age. (There is a difference between the test of time and the test of age, something can stand the test of time but still only be amusing to a certain demographic.) I love a lot of things that I did as a child. For example:
- I can still dive repeatedly in a swimming pool for items thrown in that sink to the bottom. This is like a human swimming equivalent of fetch and I could still do it for hours.
- I love candy and can eat piles of it.
And new to the list:
- No matter my age, a day is still not long enough at Science North!

On our recent camping trip, Jason and his family had to deal with a lot of rain. By the time I showed up, it wasn't raining as badly, but it was still gloomy weather. To take a break from Killbear - Jason and I took a road trip on Friday. We drove the 2 hours or so north to Sudbury and went to my favorite childhood cultural centre - Science North. I have always said it is the best science centre that I have ever been to and I have visit them all over the world, however, I hadn't actually been in over 15 years. We used to go often as a family because my uncles lived in Sudbury and then later my grandparents had a cottage near by.

Jason and I were at Science North for over 4 hours but I could have gone longer. I don't feel like we got to see everything I wanted to see, play with enough things, see enough shows, do enough. The enter place is so much fun. I love to learn and I like things to be interactive.

Side note: Jason's favourite part was when we got to pet the porcupine. He was very cute, sleeping in awkward positions and doing little excited dances when getting fed. We got to stroke his back, which felt like matted hair, they also smell really gross.

A Week Off To Go Camping

I know I only just came back to blogging regularly after taking a break last month, but I am going to take a break this week as well. I was supposed to be gone all week, up camping at Killbear Provincial Park with Jason and his family. His family includes his parents, his sister and her husband, as well as, his three nephews aged 5, 3, and 1.5. However, I only have limited vacation days with my new job so didn't want to spend 5 right away. I am leaving Wednesday evening and will be camping for Thursday and Friday. Stay tuned, I will be writing again before you know it, and Wedding Wednesdays will start next week.