Moving - Must GO

Briggs & Stratton Lawn Mower - JUST ADDED

House I'm moving to is taken care of for yard work. Thus the reason for selling. Only a couple of years old. Bought new. 

Works great! Usually needs a new spark plug or spark plug cleaning each spring. Gas powered.

$40. Will have to be picked up by Monday, Aug 5th.

To Give Away - Computer Desk

Lightweight computer desk. Easy to move, easy to clean. Good for a laptop or PC. Might be a great kids desk. 

Can pick up this weekend.  

Free to a good home!

Desk only. Does not include anything else pictured.




DVD/VHS Player - SOLD!

Samsung DVD/VHS combo

Has maybe been used 20 times. VHS never used :)

$20 and it's yours.

Can pick up this weekend.




Shop Vac  SOLD!

Shop Vac - wet and dry

Bought new last year. Works great.

$25

Can pick up this weekend.

Any questions, feel free to drop me a line below or on Facebook :)

Tia

Still Plugging Away at Paleo

I often get asked "how's the Paleo diet going?" This great adventure was my New Year's resolution to travel a path of better eating habits. For those who aren't familiar with Paleo, it's a meats, vegetables, fruits and nuts based low carb diet. Grains, dairy, refined sugars and alcohol are not included in your scope of food choices. It's basically a diet driven to remove all the processed garbage out of your fridge and cupboards.

Have I managed to stick to my resolution? I'm proud to say that yes, after 3 months, I'm still living a Paleo lifestyle. I go through Pistachios like you wouldn't believe and have mastered a Paleo banana bread/muffin recipe that's become a weekend ritual - completely sugar free and made with coconut flour. Having said that, I'm not a pure Paleo eater. I'd call myself 90% Paleo. Being committed to a diet such as this requires a lot of will-power and determination, and it's not to say that I don't have either of those. I just believe in rewarding myself with treats on the weekend for a job "well-done" for sticking to meat and salad during the work-week with broccoli and cauliflower rotated in here and there. Coffee has also remained a part of my daily ritual.

If you've ever thought about converting to a Paleo lifestyle, I would heed some warnings to consider into your decision to try it or not. First of all, this type of diet requires a lot of meal planning I've found. I prepare a supper each night that needs to be large enough that I can take left-overs for lunch the next day. If you don't have lunch, it's very difficult to just go someplace and buy a Paleo meal and it's not like you can just have a sandwich, given that you can't eat bread. Salads, as much as they are a large part of my weekly diet, don't have enough calories to contribute to the daily requirement so you shouldn't become dependant on just eating them as a meal alone. Also take into consideration who you share your household with. Not everyone is going to buy into your Paleo diet as being something that's fit for them. Thus you may find yourself also having to prepare meals that encompass everyone's needs, not just your own stripped down feast. Cost will also be a huge factor to consider as well. I'll be quite blunt about it - it's not cheap to eat as much meat, vegetables and fruits as I consume on a weekly basis. Not to mention that Paleo substitutes such as coconut flour, coconut oil and almond butter are quite costly.

There have been some definite positives to eating as well as I have for the last three months. The first thing I noticed was how much better I fall asleep at night. Prior to this, I would often take an  hour before being able to actually fall asleep. Now, it's pretty much as soon as my head hits the pillow. Another advantage has been in my physical appearance. Before turning to Paleo, I would often break out on my chin with acne that was under the skin that would linger for the longest time. Now, I experience very few break-outs. I do notice though, that if I get a little too crazy with my weekend treats, it doesn't take long for the white-heads to start appearing, so treats in "moderation" has become my theme. The other big change has been a nice weight-loss. I should mention that by no means did I start on this diet to lose weight and truthfully I don't even know how much I've lost as I didn't really set a starting point. But all my pants are getting quite loose and my shirts are much less snug, so it's been a slow, gradual loss. Was I fluffier than I would have liked prior to this diet? Yes. Now I just feel more comfortable with where my weight is for a 40-year old woman who's metabolism has slowed down quite a bit in the last few years. I'm eager for spring and summer to get here so I can start incorporating more exercise into this lifestyle to see the benefits, but also be challenged by what adjustments to my diet I may have to make.

In summary, Paleo definitely isn't for everyone. It takes a lot of commitment to hold yourself true to the path and honestly some days, I just want a grilled cheese sandwich like nobody's business! I'm not yet convinced that you should live a life without any grains in your diet, and at some point, I may start gradually working some non-Paleo foods back into my diet. The one thing I know for sure? I could NEVER go back to eating the way I was before the start of this year. It's pretty amazing to start reading food labels, learning about ingredients, and realize what exactly is in some of the stuff you may be putting on your plate for the sake of convenience. I may not always be Paleo, but I do believe I will always have a healthier diet thanks to trying it.

Tia

P!nk Du Soleil

P!nk Du Soleil
P!nk reminds me a lot of Angelina Jolie. That wild child pushing the envelope screaming for attention all the while waiting for the accolade that comes with being a rebel. Then they became mothers and that all changed. It's been almost two years since P!nk brought daughter Willow into this world, and although still pushing the envelope a tad, the singer seems at peace with herself and the world around her and dare we say, softer, mellower and sweeter. And that's not a bad thing!

The Truth About Love Tour opened up at Toronto's sold-out Air Canada Centre with the buzz of energy in the air as she came out to the anthem 'Raise Your Glass' with the petite singer strapped to bungee chords thrusting her into the air and down again throughout the opening of the song. That set the stage for what was a very physical, performance driven show that included the pride of Philly often spinning and twirling above the stage and over the audience in what had Cirque Du Soleil aspects throughout the 2 hour show. And not once during any of these 'acrobatic stunts' persay, did she ever lip sync any of it! She didn't disappoint on her recent hit 'Try' by giving the same performance she had fans raving about after the American Music Awards, even bringing that same male dancer out on tour with her. Voice-wise, there were some early instances of her vocals being a little drowned out by her rocking tunes and band, but that was quickly rectified and she made it very clear she can sing till the cows come home. In fact, some of the best moments of the show were when it was her voice simply accompanied by one other instrument that made it worth the price of the ticket alone. At one point, she came out with just her piano player and did 'Family Portrait', which she has always said is a very dear, personal song to her and the edge and hurt in her voice when she sang it sent shivers down your spine. From there she took to a stool at the front of the stage with her guitar player for a stripped down version of 'Who Knew'. Although not expecting her to throwback to her first album days, she surprised fans with a montage of 'Most Girls', 'There You Go' and 'You Make me Sick', busting out the moves to go with it. And she left fans standing on their feet by closing out the show with 'Blow Me One Last Kiss' before quickly moving into her encore of 'So What' and 'Glitter in the Air'.

P!nk has often said that Madonna and Janis Joplin are two of her biggest influences, and the showmanship of this concert definitely had both. Fans perhaps were expecting her to cover Joplin's 'Me and Bobby McGee' but the only cover, and a great one at that, came when she did an amazing take on Chris Isaac's 'Wicked Game'. Other surprises NOT on the set list were hits like 'Get the Party Started', 'Stupid Girls' and 'Funhouse'.

All-in-all, the concert was almost perfect, with the lone disappointment for myself being the opening act. The Hives, although exhibiting lots of energy and spunk that you like as an opener, just didn't seem to fit as an opening act for a pop-rock superstar. Their music sounded all the same unfortunately and there were no familiar hits to keep the audience into it. Not to mention the ratio of women to men was about 9 to 1, so having a 'rock' group open up was an oversight on someone's part. But aside from that, on a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give the show a 9.75. Moral of the story is, if you ever get a chance to see P!nk live, do it! Even if it means flying half way across the country like I did :)

- Tia Daniels

My Niagara Wine Experience

Wine With Your Cheese?
On this trip to Toronto, my friend Krista suggested we take a trip to Niagara Falls and along the way, stop into some of the wineries that the Niagara Region is infamous for. So that's exactly what we found ourselves doing on Sunday.

Krista is a wine fanatic, and if you are as well, you should follow her blog 'Upkeep' for her latest wine adventures, and there are many! She really started getting into wines about a year ago, and since then, not only visits wineries on a frequent basis and blogs about her experiences, but is also taking a course in wines at George Brown College. I'm sure there's a big fancy technical name for it, but I'm a wine dummy, so I couldn't tell you exactly what it is.

Being the wine dummy that I am, it was a really interesting visit to our first stop - Di Profio Wines in the Jordan Station area of the Niagara Region. It's owned by Carollynn and Joe (pictured above). The two were actually nicely enjoying retirement (Carollynn had been a school teacher) when Joe's son started to pester them about buying a winery. The two were reluctant at first, but finally gave in and were lucky to buy one that already had existing growing vines. My understanding is that starting a winery with new plants from the ground up could possibly take 3-4 years before the grape plants are ready to produce the type of crop needed for the winemaking process. They've put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into their new baby, which exists beside their Bed and Breakfast nicely nestled within the vineyard called 'Among the Vines'. They're one of the smaller wineries where they hand pick the grapes and sort for the highest quality and produce small batches at a time using a gravity fed process.

While there, Carollynn and Joe treated us to a wine tasting of their Cabernet Sauvignon, Gamay Noir, Gamay Rose (which looks much like Cream Soda), the Riesling and their Vidal Ice Wine. I rarely drink wine, and I should mention this was at 11 in the morning, but it was a neat experience, the wine was fabulous, and Carollynn and Joe are just the nicest people. If you're ever in the area, I'd strongly suggest stopping by their winery and experiencing Di Profio Wines.

Eat Like A Caveman

As we get closer to 2013, you may be like the millions of other people starting to think about what goals and resolutions you may plan for yourself for the New Year. I've also thought a lot about it, now it's just a matter of committing to it.

I've never been one to eat healthy. As an adult, I've never been a breakfast person, as my tummy generally doesn't like accepting visitors until about 10:30 in the morning, otherwise it gets a little cranky. For my many years working the mid-day shift in radio, I also often skipped lunch, which was difficult to enjoy while you're on air. By the time I got off air at 2, it seemed too late to eat when there was only a few hours to go until supper, so lunch most times got ditched as well. Then when I finally got to that one meal of the day that was a sure thing, it has often been less than ideal when it comes to the essential 4 food groups that it should likely be.

In the last 6 months, I have gotten much better. I often make a decent supper and ensure that I have enough left-overs for the next day so that I'm always taking a lunch to work and not going out to eat. It's often a meat of some sort, rice, a granola bar and an apple sauce or fruit of some type. Pretty boring, but it hits the spot.

My resolution however is to take the next step and make it better, but also work on better physical health. Over the summer I biked pretty much every day or would go for a walk. Biking obviously isn't a great option for a Saskatchewan winter, and by the time I get home from work, it's too dark now for a safe walk through the park, or cross-country skiing which I'd like to take up. The thought of going to a gym makes me whine a little, and I find it hard to get motivated to work out at home. There is however a lighted outdoor rink a block from my place, so I may dig out the skates and start doing laps at night. It's funny, but it's something right?

When it comes to eating, you're hearing of more and more people trying to remove all things "processed" from their diet. I was talking to a friend from Toronto the other day who I admire for her resolve to stick to what she sets out to do when it comes to her food choices. In the whole time I've known her, she's never been big on sugar or foods that are deep-friend. But now she's onto something new called the Paleo diet. The premise of it is a return to the caveman days just as the name suggests and focus your diet around the hunt and gather theory. Diets consist mainly of fish, grass-fed pasture raised meats, vegetables, roots and nuts. Foods that are no-no's are grains, legumes, dairy products, refined salts, refined sugars and processed oils. The main beverages of choice in the diet are tea or water, and alcohol or fermented drinks are also on the naughty list.

It was an interesting read to say the least, and when you think about it, when have you ever seen a picture of a fat caveman or cavewoman? It certainly might be worth a try and I can't say I'm opposed to any diet that encourages meat. The challenge will be avoiding the refined sugars, salts and restricting the amount of alcohol consumed. But again, when have you ever seen a drunk caveman? Don't answer that if you've seen the Caveman movie with Ringo Starr and Shelley Long. If you have, go ahead, say "caca" and giggle a little. It's ok.

Tia

The Story of Neena

After 5 days hanging out in Toronto, I'm writing this from Terminal 3 at Pearson reflecting on many things from this trip. It was full of fun, laughs, drinks and good friends. But it was also tinged with sadness for our fellow human beings.

I travel to the Big Smoke usually every 3 to 4 months, so I have a pretty good sense of what the city is about. But I don't think in all the times I've been there before, have I seen such an abundance of homeless people. I often see the usuals every trip - the guy who plays the bagpipes at the corner of Queen and University or the big guy with his guitar and amp on Queen Street just up from Nathan Phillips Square. There were many new faces this time. One of them was Neena.

Neena (the name I've given her) was this tiny little asian woman. She maybe stood 5'3 and was about 40 if I had to guess. I saw her the first day I was there as she approached a woman sitting down from me and asked her for a smoke. She was a little chatter bug, and the happiest and most cheerful homeless person I've ever seen. A little spitfire who walked around in her little happy go lucky world, always in sock feet with no shoes on. The second day I was there I saw her again - twice! The second time was coming back from drinks with a friend on Queen Street. We crossed by each other at a walk light, and as she went by I could hear her repeating to herself, "my karma must be underneath the ground somewhere." I saw her every day after that as well.

On my final day today, I walked over to Nathan Phillips Square which has become a home for many of the city's homeless, particularly at night. I had walked through it on Thursday night, where in the shadows of Toronto's down time, I could see every second bench covered with a body who was bundled up for some sleep before the sun came up and they had to find elsewhere to go. Today as I walked through, I looked over and saw Neena once again. For the first time she was wearing shoes! They were these stylish high heeled shoes and she also had a new fancy purse. She walked awkwardly in the shoes as she clearly was not used to wearing them, but she was proud as spit and walked around waving hi to everyone who came across her path.

I wanted to go over and sit with her and ask her what her story was and what she meant when she said "her karma must be underneath the ground somewhere" but I didn't have the courage. Instead, I watched her from a distance admiring how happy she was despite her circumstances, but felt sad for her at the same time. The one thing obvious about her and many of the homeless, is that they are battling many mental issues that likely will contribute to them never becoming a normal part of society again. They will always roam the streets, mumbling stories and rage to themselves, never seeking help and perhaps never being offered help because the resources to deal with the homeless just aren't there for the amount of people who now are among those stats.

Many times when I was unemployed, the thought crossed my mind: what if I just can't get back on my feet and wind up homeless. Would I be able to survive? Fortunately I don't have to answer that question now, but after seeing Neena on this trip, I'm grateful for the life I do have, even if I'm not rich. I have a roof over my head. I don't know if Neena ever will ever have that again, but I'll look for her the next time I go back to Toronto when the winter has arrived and see how she's doing. I hope she'll still be that chatty, happy, little spitfire I first encountered.

Tia

Summer Friend

Last night I sat on my front step with a rum and coke in hand, soaking up the cool breeze and just listening to the world around me for a bit. Within a few minutes of sitting there, I could hear the woman from about 5 houses down walking up the sidewalk with the little guy from next door who's only about 6 or 7. She said "see you tomorrow" and he replied "goodbye" and she waited for him to get safely in the house before making her way back home.

This little guy is always down at her house playing with her little boy. Almost every day when I come home from work and drive by their house, they're on the front lawn playing with toys or on their bikes and he waves as I go by. I usually see him Saturdays and Sundays beating a path down the sidewalk to go visit, or returning home at about supper time. The family he belongs to are affectionately called my "crazy neighbours" who don't do anything with the kids themselves. They just hole up in their house, come out to smoke, and that's about it. You never see them taking the kids for walks or going to the park with them, so it's nice to see this little guy finding someone to socialize with and that he's got a summer friend.

It makes me think back to when I was just a kid. We lived in Alberta and would go stay with my grandparents in Maple Creek for a bit of the summer. One summer at the swimming pool, I met a girl about my age named Cindy. We hit it off instantly and hung out quite a bit while I was there, as she also happened to live just down the alley from my grandparents. When I had to go back to Alberta, I was sad to have to say goodbye to my new friend, but excited for the year to go by so I could see her the next summer.

When the next summer rolled around and I returned to my grandparents, I was eager to go down to Cindy's house and see her. But for whatever reason, my grandparents would tell me I'd best not go and that she probably wasn't there. I'd go out into the back yard and play, hoping to see her ride down the back alley on her bike or just catch a glimpse of her just so I could wave or something just to let her know I was back. After a couple of days of not being allowed to go to her house, I asked if I could phone her. That's when the truth came to light. Sometime between then and the previous summer, she had committed suicide. It was a lot to get my head around at such a young age, and I felt lost knowing I'd never see her again.

To this day when I see kids at the park playing or just hanging out in the summer, I think of Cindy and wonder what could have been so horrible in her life at such a young age that she would take her own life. I still don't know why, and that'll always be something I'll likely never know the answer to. I'll just always remember her as that happy, smiley little girl she was that one summer when.

Tia