Snapshots of a Canadian life

A high maintenance lifestyle – or is this normal

Lilian — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:32:14 +0000

I’m starting to wonder if I’m becoming high maintenance. Have I gradually turned into a diva over the last number of years without knowing it? It used to be pretty easy for me to keep on top of myself and my life. But as I was entering appointments into my new online calendar, I noticed there [...]

Changing a decades-old habit

Lilian — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:59:06 +0000

I’ve been driving for almost 20 years. Wow, I feel old just writing that, but shockingly, it’s true. Anyway, when I was growing up, my parents always owned standard transmission vehicles, so when it came time for me to learn how to drive, that’s what I learned on. At the time, I was pretty annoyed [...]

Fighting the fear of flying

Lilian — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 17:22:19 +0000

Every time I get onto an airplane, I experience the same sensations. I feel butterflies in my stomach. My hands get clammy. My face gets red. My heart starts to pound and my pulse starts to race. And it gets progressively worse until the plane is in the air and the captain turns off the [...]

The great hand incident of ‘09

Lilian — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 23:32:52 +0000

Warning: some of the photos here are a tiny bit graphic, so don’t go on if you’re squeamish! It started with a text message. One I didn’t even take seriously. At first. I was driving home from Montreal where I had just spent a lovely girls’ weekend with two friends when I got a text. Now I [...]

A heatwave in a most unexpected place

Lilian — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:17:18 +0000

It’s the very last thing I expected when I stepped off the Eurostar at St. Pancras station yesterday. The UK has a certain reputation where the weather is concerned, so imagine my surprise when I found out that I’ve unknowingly walked into Britain’s first heat wave in three years. Now granted, after just spending the [...]

To quit or not to quit

Lilian — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 10:59:47 +0000

To quit or not to quit – that is the question. Now it may seem like I am talking about smoking or something like that here, but I’m actually not. What my dilemma is really centered around is what to do about my personal training sessions. For the last 14 months or so, I’ve been regularly working [...]

Trying to resist the lure of “comfort snacks”

Lilian — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 02:44:22 +0000

As long as I can remember, I’ve gotten stressed in the winter. Could it be the heavier workload, the lack of sunlight or the crappy weather? Likely all of the above! And when I get winter-stressed, I start my annual quest for the perfect comfort snack that will take the troubles away and make life good [...]

Parking lot pandemonium

Lilian — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 11:56:27 +0000

I knew it was coming. It happens twice every year – January and September – and yet I still wasn’t totally prepared for the madness that greeted me yesterday. What I’m talking about is the Happy New Year-induced chaos and craziness at the gym. We all know January is the month of new beginnings, the time [...]

All in a day’s jewellery work

Lilian — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 21:34:08 +0000

I took advantage of the fact that today is a holiday and sat down to make some jewellery. It seems like forever since I’ve made anything…in fact, other than a bracelet for my mum’s Christmas present, the last time I made anything was craft night at Kelly’s back in May. It felt good to pick up [...]

Trapped in the CN Tower elevator!?!

Lilian — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 19:12:42 +0000

As someone who is terrified of heights, this story spoke to me more than most in today’s Toronto Star. Seems an elevator in the CN Tower stalled during the windstorm that swept through Ontario last Sunday – trapping the unfortunate people inside for several hours just meters from the top. Yipe, yipe, yipe!!! Check out the article here: http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/559990