1. Rats
2. A plane falling on my house
3. Being killed by the Tooth Fairy from the movie Red Dragon
4. Pigeons
5. Outer Space
6. When someone says ‘Candyman’
7. Latin
8. Flying
9. 3AM
10. When my iPhone battery gets the 20% warning
11. Getting caught in a subway/train/bus door
12. Merging onto Deerfoot Trail
13. Getting my head cut off on Space Mountain
14. Keifer Sutherland’s voice
15. Looking in the mirror in the dark and thinking the words Bloody Mary
16. Rabbits
17. The phone
18. Drinking the last Coke Zero
19. Chiropractors
20. Alligators and crocodiles
21. Falling
22. Watching people ride bikes
23. The girl from The Ring coming out of my tv
24. Someone behind me as I walk up the basement stairs
25. Amy Poehler and Will Arnett breaking up

I have completely been afraid of my blog lately. I have sessions, ideas that I want to share, yet every day that goes by I get more and more adverse to coming here and writing. So I’ve decided to do away with the guilt, and go from here. I really like blogging, I like writing and I want to do (haha!) more of it.

I counted the things on my to-do list, and there was a total of 61 items on it. For a Monday! No wonder I’m so overwhelmed. I have no idea why I do that to myself, other than the fact that I write down every little thing I want or need to do or I will forget it.
I also find NO shame in writing something that I just did on my list, just so I can cross it off.

Today’s post is a good way to introduce my favourite to-do list app and software. Called? TeuxDeux. Oh so French and fancy.
I actually use two to-do list programs. The other is Things for Mac, which is much more robust and can do a number of things. (haha, get it?) That list has 79 items on it. Plus my bucket list, my blogging ideas list, etc.

For my everyday list, however, I use TeuxDeux. Mostly from a design standpoint. It’s just so clean and pretty. It makes me happy to add items, and even more happy to cross them off. It’s super easy to use, and you can use it online or as an app on your phone. Or both, since they sync up nicely. Oh, and it’s free to use on your computer. Which is pretty great, ’cause Things is CRAZY spendy at $49.99 for your desktop and then another $9.99 for the app. I mean, what the funk? Did I really spend $50 on a to-do list? It must have been cheaper at some point, or I must have been drinking. Anyway, the TeuxDeux app is only $2.99.

I actually really like both programs, but I think TeuxDeux is the less-heard of program, and it really is very, very pretty.
Add pretty plus organized and you have some good girl porn right there.

Check out TeuxDeux at www.teuxdeux.com
And Things here: www.culturedcode.com/things

And just so you won’t judge me too harshly for not posting in forever, here’s a screencap of my phone. Yes, that’s 1003 emails. Meep.

As for this post, it’s just a little fun that Charlotte and I had this week. It’s great to do some photography that is just about having an idea and taking some photos. Not worrying about anything but how they are looking to ME.
I got a new backdrop from drop it MODERN and wanted to play around with it. Lot’s of black and whites too, which is out of the ordinary for me!
I got the inspiration for the shoot from a quote I saw on Pinterest: ‘Time to drink champagne and dance on the table’ which I think is a pretty great motto.

I used to say that the only way that you could find me running was if someone was chasing me. Two years ago, I inexplicably decided to start. I was probably trying to impress someone. I had heard a lot of great things about the Couch to 5K program, and I was definitely starting on the couch. Or the floor. Or bed. Whichever is the laziest.

I spent 8 weeks doing the program, and by the end I was running for 30 minutes straight, with no stopping. It’s such a great program, it helps you build up your endurance slowly, alternating between walking and running. It’s especially helpful for girls, because we can’t run for long periods right off the bat like men can.

Unfortunately, I put my neck out shortly thereafter, and quit running altogether. Life happened, and I decided it wasn’t a priority anymore, that it took up too much time. Even though it made me feel great after, it was always a struggle to get to the gym, and running outside in Calgary can be tricky.

I’ve picked it up a few times since then, but never with much enthusiasm or intensity. So, I’m trying again. It’s NOT a New Year’s Resolution because I started a few days before 2012, lol. The program is called Ease Into 5K now, and you can download a handy app for your iPhone. I also use Nike+, a little sensor for my shoe that downloads my runs onto the Nike+ website. I need this kind of stuff to stay accountable. I bought a treadmill so I now really have no excuse not to run.

I also feel like a good playlist is important for running. It makes it tons more fun, and half the time I think I’m more looking forward to having alone time to listen to music than the actual exercise. I like stuff with a good beat, but what really helps me run is angry music. I’m a total weirdo, because the angrier I feel, the easier it is for me to run. I’m sure I’m a sight to behold. I sweat terribly when I’m NOT exercising, so imagine a sweaty, pigtailed girl in short shorts and tube socks, running on her treadmill in the basement, glaring at the wall. That’s me!

I’m on week three of the program and it’s going well. Not super easy but not super hard, so hopefully I can keep up with it.
I would love to hear recommendations for running music or any running tips you may have, leave me a comment to tell me your faves!

Here are the links to:

My Running Playlist

Ease Into 5K

Nike+ App

Here’s another cutie from our Baker Park sessions, I feel so privileged to watch him grow up.

I just finished reading Mindy Kaling’s book ‘Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?’ and she mentioned in there loving Joni Mitchell’s cd ‘Blue’. Well, she didn’t exactly say she loved it, she actually said it makes her cry whenever she listens to it. But what normal woman doesn’t try to make herself sad once in awhile? There’s a reason why Nicholas Sparks’ movies are still being made.

So I downloaded the album from iTunes (sorry Mom, you know that I always need a second opinion) and gave it a listen while having a bubble bath. Once in, I was suddenly angry at myself for forgetting to light candles. Can’t I even do tired cliches right?

Once I stopped berating myself, I noticed was that I couldn’t understand a darn thing that was being sung. I worried that my iPod stereo was acting up. Then, no word of a lie, I wondered if maybe she wasn’t singing in English. I could catch a random word here or there, but maybe they didn’t have that word in whatever language she was singing?

Then I realized it could be like reading Jane Austen or Shakespeare. That you had to get your brain used to the way it sounds before retention could actually happen. So I listened to the whole thing again. I liked the sound of the music, the melodies. But again, I didn’t have a clue what she was saying. A singer in a bar? There’s one song that she said Canada and I got that. My ears even perked up thinking I might really relate, being Canadian and all. Nope, ’cause I lost what she said after that.
I can honestly understand Bob Dylan better, and I really think that’s saying something.

I’ve never claimed to be a sophisticated musicado. In fact, I don’t even think that’s a word. I might have just made it up. I recently told a friend that I need lyrics that plainly state what the person is doing and feeling. Rebecca Black’s ‘Friday’ really spoke to me.

I promise to keep giving Joni a try, because I might get a lot of mean blog comments if I don’t but mostly because Adele’s cd is getting old and doesn’t make me cry anymore and I need something to go with my ice cream in bed. Take that, tired cliche. I am your master!