Author Archives: Rachel

Canadian Thanksgiving: It’s As Easy As 1, 2, 3, (4, 5)

Posted in Family by

Canada-Flag-TurkeyCanadian Thanksgiving sneaks up on you about the second week in October. In Canada, we’re big believers in the long weekend. From May to October, you can count on a long weekend to get you through each month. Really, the only months that don’t have long weekends are March and November. If you’re a student, it’s really just November, but I digress. A month after Labour Day, you start to wish for another long weekend, and BAM, it’s Canadian Thanksgiving.

I can’t speak for all Canadians, but having celebrated my fair share of (Canadian) Thanksgivings, I feel that I am more than qualified to speak on the subject. This is for those who have never celebrated Thanksgiving, or have only celebrated it the American way. This is how my family celebrates Thanksgiving. It’s the way Thanksgiving should be celebrated. Yes, all other ways are wrong.

A Traditional (Canadian) Thanksgiving in 5 Easy Steps

Step 1: Food

Thanksgiving with my family starts out like most do. Everyone gets together at my grandparents for a traditional Thanksgiving spread: Turkey, Grandma’s famous mashed potatoes, rolls (fresh out of the oven), (glistening) vegetables, and the rest. Thanksgiving really isn’t the same without carbs. After we’ve polished off the main course, it’s time to move on to desserts. Yes, desserts. My favourite dessert is pumpkin pie surprise. You’re handed a plate that looks like a giant pile of whipped cream. You start to dig your fork in and SURPRISE, there’s a sliver of pumpkin pie underneath.

Step 2: Rabble-Rousing

This is the part of the day where my brothers pretend that they’re 12 (they’re far from 12) by playing with our younger cousin’s toys. It starts off with one of my brothers daring the other brother to do some crazy trick while the other one films it. Something generally gets broken. Sometimes it’s a skateboard. Sometimes it’s a physical injury that reminds them of their true age. This year, my younger brother tried to prove that he could jump a flight of stairs with a  child’s scooter. As you can imagine, it did not go quite as planned.

Step 3: Photo Op

Next is picture time. No, this is not where we all hang out in the yard and take selfies while jumping in the leaves. It’s quite the opposite. After we’ve eaten more than a small African village and changed into our stretchy pants, it’s time for the annual family photo. This is where we gather in the front yard and forget how to stand like normal people. Everyone get agitated standing for what seems like hours while the lighting is perfected. My dad will set the timer on the camera and sprint to his pose. This is repeated about 10 times until the photo’s just right. After all, this is the cover of our family calendar. And yes, everyone gets one in their Christmas stocking.

Step 4: Sleep

Find a comfortable couch and let the turkey comma set in. But don’t get too comfortable because before you know it, it’s time for another family fun activity.

Step 5: More Food

Yes, it’s time to eat again. Like my dad says, “Pack and stretch.” Why wait until the next day to enjoy Thanksgiving leftovers. Let no dish go uneaten. That’s sort of our family motto… well, my grandma’s motto. That and you can never have/ cook with enough butter. The more butter, the merrier?

Staying Skinny Beyond Swimsuit Season

Posted in Healthy Living by

Everyone talks about gearing up for swimsuit season. As summer approaches, it feels like everywhere you look, you see another ad or another article about “achieving that bikini bod”. So what do you do if, by some miracle, you do achieve that coveted bikini bod? What do you do when swimsuit season is over? As you pull out your box of chunky sweaters, you start to wonder if anyone would notice if your flat abs went away. Maybe no one would notice, except you.

Once the leaves start to change colour and sweater season is in full swing, it becomes harder and harder not to forget everything you worked so hard for and dive head first into a big ‘ole pumpkin scone. You start telling yourself that carbs are worth it. You start to think that eating whatever you want will make you happy. Don’t do it! Sure, you look fabulous in tights and a chunky knit. Don’t you want to look good in everything? Don’t you want to hold onto those jealous glances?

Think about everything you sacrificed to look as good as you do. Do you really want to go through that again next year? More importantly, do you really want to put your family through that again? I think they’ve suffered enough of your, ‘I need sugar! Where’s all the sugar?!’ rampages (see previous post).

Now, put down that brownie and hit the gym!

As Roughing It As It Gets (For Me)

Posted in Family, Thoughts About Life by

IMG_0464Roughing-it really brings out your true self. Me, I’m not much of a camper. Don’t get me wrong, I have camped before. I did the whole sleeping in a tent, living like the wild thing. I even portaged. Mind you, I also managed to tip the canoe, knocking everyone’s stuff in the water. I think they learned a valuable lesson in survival.

I’m more of a cottager. In the summer, my family spends most of our weekends up at the cottage. Although many people envision a cottage as a luxurious summer home on the lake, ours is not quite like that. It’s a little more rustic than most. We do have indoor plumbing, but it’s not clean water. And with the laughable water pressure in the shower, you’re better off washing your hair in the lake.

As a kid, my siblings, my cousins, and I would play in the water all day, inventing creative ways to jump/ fall into the water. We’d play hide and seek, which is quite the challenge when you’re on an island. Now a days, our cottaging experience is a little different. We still play board games, but most of the time, we’re on our phones. When it rains, it thunders. When it thunders, it’s only a matter of time before your all sitting in a dark room. During the brink of every power outage, the first words out of anyone’s mouth are, “Charge your phones!” That, and, “Eat all the ice cream!” Seriously, you can’t have ice cream go to waste. If that’s not roughing it, I don’t know what is.

Good thing we still have the lake water to keep us grounded.

Jump Down The Corporate Ladder

Posted in Thoughts About Life by

Maya Angelou QuoteWith the help of a friend, I recently had an epiphany. Many of us are told to seek the unconventional path we were meant to follow. For some, that might include seeking out their dream career and climbing the corporate ladder of their choosing. For me, it’s sort of the opposite.

I’ve always known that my path in life would be the one less travelled by. I thought I might be a dancer or an actress. I even thought I might work in a big ad agency. The more I tried each new career option, the more I learned about myself. I learned that my unconventional path wasn’t going to center around my career, but rather the opposite. The more I attempted to climb the corporate ladder, the more I wondered why I was doing it. Those around me told me to keep climbing, but all I wanted to do was jump off.

It’s said that if you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life. However, that’s not the only way to be happy. If you have  a job you enjoy, but it doesn’t take over your life, you’ll have time to actually live your life as well.

My dream doesn’t involve a dream career. It’s living a dream life. How about you?

Distressed Fashion: A List of Grievances

Posted in People Watching by

Muppets_Sam-The-Eagle copyLately, I’ve noticed that society has become more and more ridiculous, especially in terms of “fashion”. I choose to believe that my growing older has allowed me to see the error in society’s ways and I have decided to list my top fashion grievances for your reading pleasure. Enjoy.

Grievance #1: Holy Shirts

I walked into a store the other day (a store that shall remain nameless because, full disclosure, I still really like to shop there) and I found a shirt for sale that was full of holes.  I’ve seen stray sparklers creating a very similar effect. It’s a whole lot cheaper. Plus, you get the added bonus of not knowing whether the whole shirt is going to go up in flames. I remember when I got rid of my clothes once they started falling apart. Now, people are paying extra and calling it “distressed”. Man, I should’ve hung onto those old, ratty jeans. I could’ve made a killing. Probably.

Grievance #2: Sleeveless Shirts

I remember when cutting the sleeves off your t-shirts was the cool thing to do to. I’m not sure if it was  to better display your muscles or just to make them look bigger. Now, people are willing to pay extra for stores to do it for them. Where’s the rebellion in that? Also, how does half a shirt cost more than a whole shirt? Do they really have to create a whole shirt just to cut the sleeves off? How hard is it to make a shirt without sleeves? Instead of making sleeves, you just don’t.

Grievance #3: Extremely Distressed Denim

I was willing to put the other grievances aside until I came across an article about how designers are throwing perfectly good jeans to lions and tigers in order to attain the perfect “distressed” look. Feel free to read all about it here. When I saw this, I thought to myself, “Really? Are people really willing to risk their lives for a, ‘Hey, cute top,’?” For those of you who read this article and thought this was a brilliant idea, I hope you realize that you’re pro training lions to hunger for human apparel in the name of fashion. Think about that.

Now, I’m all about the carefree, boho-chic style, but you have to draw the line somewhere. I’ve decided that this is it.