SHE MADE THE CUT!!

My daughter got the official confirmation today! She made the cut! For one of the hardest programs to get into in the Univercity of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM).....Only 20 students chosen each year to be part of a 3 year bachelors program in arts...precisely Scenographie (Design for Theatre in english)....

It's pretty cool to say the least! She has worked very hard to get this far. In this province, one must do 2 yrs of college before going to Univercity...she has done very well in the arts program in college..

Each year, there is an intercollege competition...each college in Quebec chooses 5 of their best projects..to then take part in a province wide art exhibit, among all the diff colleges...Cleo was one of the 5 chosen in her college among aprox 100 art students...Her college has a very strong art department....This very weekend, all the chosen go to the city in Quebec that will be hosting the exhibit..3 full days of workshops and activities, meals and hotel is payed for ...the overall winner is chosen for the whole province.
To be among the artists chosen is pretty cool indeed..she leaves for the 3 days, tomorrow afternoon...for a very cool experience no doubt! We are very proud of her!
As for UQAM, she had her interview with her portfolio over a week ago...they had many interviews scheduled before and after her, but the proffessor that looked at her work and talked to her for aprox 30 mins, said he was very impressed with all her work...and that she was "IN "FOR SURE!... She was on a cloud when she got through the whole day in there!

And as much as I was thrilled for her, I as a parent thought, I hope he was serious, and wouldn't say that unless it was really true, given how difficult it was to get in that program. So I held my breath for over a week untill the official paper arrived to confirm everything lol...It is also why I waited to post anything about it lol....Don't get me wrong, I had faith in my daughter, but as a parent I think we are wary of others and also learn that untill it's in writting......yada yada...
Needless to say, I am a very proud mom...and know my daughter will create more wonderfull things, but mostly, knowing she is going into something she will love is priceless....Bravo my belle Cleo, je suis fiere de toi! 0x0x

Urban Dog Photog by Brigitte Bouvier

This short piece was done by my sister Brigitte Bouvier. A photo journalist. About her friend Sue Bird who is also a photo journalist with a site called Urban Dog Photog. If you love animals, you will absolutely love this!! Enjoy!

The person you see is not my sister, as some think lol. My sister created and produced this documentary, so she was behind the camers, not infront of it lol.

The border collie you see at the beginning and the end is however my sister's dog Kiezer.

Please share this video! It will be awesome for both Brigitte and Sue in terms of visability! THANKS

ONE LUCKY BIRD!!!, Could have been Crispy Wings!

Today I heard slight scratching in the chimney...then stopped...later it happened again...stopped. Few hours later..Chris was home, so he heard it too, so I knew I wasn't going crazy lol.

Keep in mind, it's still cool enough most days to merit a nice fire in the fireplace, so what turned out to be a black bird, was very lucky indeed!

He opened the flu, it would fall down hopefully and we could "help" it out. So below is a photo and the video story of how this bird was very lucky lol.

Alls well that ends well! No living thing was harmed in the making of this post! PS...my oven mits are in the laundry lol.

I HAVE AN AWESOME PAIR OF.......ARMPITS

YES! I said armpits! ARGHHHHH
I have been working out since Jan 1st, and haven't really lost any weight. Now ..I do realize, and repeat to myself constantly, that building muscle is what needs to be done in order to then have that muscle burn the excess...and I mean EXCESS of fat that seems to cling to my body for dear life!
That said, I also realize that muscle is much heavier then said fat! Which explains why initally, I did gain a few lbs the first month I started my torture...I mean exercising schedule.
I have been pretty consistant in doing a mixture of cardio and resistance training with lots of crunches & core exercises on a floor mat to have a well rounded routine that takes me about an hour in all. Usually 4 or 5 times a week.
I have heard so many ppl that start working out say once they got into it, they LOVE it and NEED it...hate to miss it.
I am still waiting for this epiphany of need TO HIT ME! Seriously I personally think they are all full of bovine waste product! but hey, if saying that helps them to just DO IT, good for them!

As for moi? I HATE every *!^~%#!$@$*! Second of it! Seriously! I hate hate hate it...but..I can safely say I LOVE when I finished that god forsaken hour of HELL..that seems like it took a freakin half day of my life!
After over 3 months of this torture, I have FINALLY started to see a few results...some mild measurement reductions....let me mention that my little sewers tape measure mortifyingly couldn't reach around my waist...yes folks I am VERY VALUPTUOUS in stature (this being the most diplomatic of discriptions I could think of ). So using the big construction measuring tape from the garage has proved to be imbarrasing if anything but the Wheeeee & SLAP sound it makes when it's auto retreat mechanism brings it back to its casing is Disconcerting at best.
I don't think I have a number of lbs to lose goal anymore, I think it will be using a sewers measuring tape goal instead lol! Once I get to that pinnacle of achievement I will do naked backward cartwheels (in my mind).
So anyway, I digress!...As I was saying earlier...things have started to change, very subtly...of this I am very gratefull but still impatient..it's so true what they say, the older we get the harder and longer it takes to lose weight and see changes.
As I was putting my nighty on last night, I was facing the mirror and stopped in amazement...while my arms were up in the air! My ARMPITS have lost weight!!! OMG I started laughing, called Chris over...Look! My armpits are hollower! It's so noticeable it's funny! Why couldn't it be my waist for the love of Pete! NOOO I have to have deeper armpits! YAY working out has helped the one area that NO ONE else will ever notice LMAO!!
Unless ofcourse I start walking around and randomly lift my arms and point...LOOK..see....eh, obvious isn't it??? My pits rock!

Ok, so I have had my little vent...but let me reiterate that I am going to continue to do my body good by exercising...ofcourse I want to melt and look the way I did at 20 but I know that's NOT GONNA HAPPEN .......EVER!!.....lol..I do want to be healthier however and those days I just don't feel like it (basically everyday) I have to repeat to myself JUST DO IT!! and I usually do, and proud of myself for it.

I have come a very long way....For those who did not know, a few yrs ago I was a very sick person...I had full blown type 2 diabetis.. with a very slow thyroid , so weight got way out of hand, morbidly obese , high bp, cholesterol , swelling, reflux...u name it, I had perscriptions for it! I was taking meds for diabetis and so many other things, it wasn't funny! I was way too young to be so sick...with my kidneys showing bad results it got really scary when my doctor said, if things didn't change I was on the road to dialosis..soon!...NO WAY!
By that time, I was already on a waiting list for Gastric Bypass.. It was the best way for me to get the ball rolling healthwise and go from there...but let me tell you, anyone who thinks it's a quick fix that is easy are SO WRONG!...It's not easy by any means and it certainly does not eliminate the problems caused to need it in the first place! I lost 80lbs within a few months of surgery, that enables my body to better deal with diabetis without the meds..and slowly most all the meds I had been taking, were eliminated one by one !! I got alot healthier! That said...even if you can't eat alot at once, u can still eat often and you can still gain weight...it started to creep back slowly..but I refuse to go back where I was...so over the last 2 yrs I have struggled with food and exercise like many ...on and off the wagon so to speak...and I will struggle with it all my life...I have made alot of good food long term habit changes that will stay with me always..but I refuse to DIET.. Diets are what make ppl fat..they do not work! The key is moderation and logic..we can have anything we want, just not tons of it lol..its that simple..The moment we deprive ourselves of things, we want them more and go crazy till we want to eat a tub full of it at once lol...u get the picture...Anyway....
I still weigh over 200lbs...yes I actually just wrote that for everyone to see...but that's ok...I have come a very long way, to being a much healthier person, striving to become even better every day...kicking and screaming with each step I take! LOL....I have every reason to want to live longer and be healthy doing it with the fabulous husband I have who supports me no matter what I do, who loves me no matter how much I weigh and who is often working out right next to me sweating on the days he isn't at work...During the last 8 yrs we have been together no matter my size (and there has been quite a few lol) he has ALWAYS made me feel like I was the most beautiful and sexy woman in the world to him! How lucky am I?
So I will finish this by saying:

HURRAY FOR HOLLOWER ARMPITS!!
I can only strive for more hollows to follow! One day at a time!