HIPPIE BANNER GIVEAWAY

Even though you see the snow, it was nice and warm outside today.

Win this funky hand made hippie banner by entering below.

I was bored one night, and so I descended to the basement, and this is what I created. A banner in the shape of an owl, with owl eyes and letters that spell out HIPPIE. It's very eclectic and may not be something everyone would want, but it surely is unique, and so if you would hang this in your home and smile whenever you passed by it, then my work was for not, and my soul will smile with you.

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Vegan swap box mania!

WOW....what a great week for vegan swap boxes.....I received two of them this week, as my October partner wasn't able to get her's out in that time, which was totally fine with me and I totally understood why.
So, then my November partner shipped her's this past week, thus TWO awesome boxes arriving in the same week, making it feel like Christmas.
Thank you so much ladies....I had such a fantastic time opening my goodies!!

This was my October box, one thing missing from this pic is a bag of dark choc covered berries which are in my locker at work for those snackish times. THANK YOU!

This was my November box.

Opened it up and to a AWESOME letter, to which I was given instruction on how and what to open up first....this swap partner was a RIOT....so much so, when I go to Vancouver next, we are hookin up for a kick ass vegan meal and some great conversation, but this is due to all the similarities she has with my daughter which means she's pretty much as fantastic as her, but not quite....OH COME ON...no one will ever be better then my kid....settle down lol.

So this is how it started.....

and then the next one....and so one with all the packages telling me which one to open up first, with a tutorial on each package I opened up in the letter.

All the packages lined up and ready to open.

Finally, all the yummy loot lined up and ready to be devoured! Thank you so much for the funnest package EVER!

Alisha

The beautiful girl in this picture needs you. Her name is Alisha, and she is currently fighting for her life in a hospital back east. Today she lays in a hospital bed with burns to 70% of her body and she is not conscious. She was taken out of her burning basement suite and now needs you to whisper her name to the universe and beg that this world still needs her.
I met this amazing soul at Shambhala this past summer, and was blessed to have camped with her in my group for five days. I had many days where I was able to sit with her for hours and have amazing conversations, the kind that just move your soul. She is an amazing human with an amazing out look on life for being so young. If you pray, please pray, if you meditate, please meditate, if all you do is speak, then speak her name as someone will hear her name and know she is still wanted here on this earth.
Alisha....thank you for showing up in my life and teaching me something in our short visit together, you have blessed my life. FIGHT.....FIGHT HARD!

Cage fighting

When I think of UFC...or MMA...or cage fighting.....this is the man I immediately think of. George St.Pierre....and he is delicious! I have been watching him now for about 10 years...and when he gets on the big screen I turn into a different person....I am not sure who or where this person inside me comes from, but I turn into a complete lunatic....not that I'm not crazy prior to this, but it's a different kinda crazy....one that makes me scream "punch him in the effing face, get em get em get em", but I scream this at the t.v like a mental ward patient lol.
My brother went to a pub with me once a long time ago to watch a fight and he too couldn't believe his eyes lol.....who is this and what happened to my sister lol.
Well for some reason, I freakin love watching UFC. I can't even remember when it started or why or where I was, but I love it.
I'm pretty sure that George here had something to do with it...I mean, seriously....look at him....I can tell you one thing...I'd have no saliva left when I was done with him! lol
However, last night in his defending fight, he got his ass kicked and he looked like this:

That's okay though....everyone needs a good beat down in the cage once in a while. Should he have lost? Maybe, but he didn't, and there was something that the judges thought gave them enough reason to give him the win. His opponent afterwards said he gave 70%, and how he really could have kicked his ass and the title should be his.....well....I say this to that...you coulda woulda shoulda buddy, but you didn't....don't brag after the fact of what you coulda done.....you didn't and now your sitting there pouting about it and making excuses....you want the title, then fight everything you have, leave no doubts in yours and everyone else's minds that you did the best you could. George admitted he gave it his all, but his contender didn't....so for that, I have no respect for him...and all for my Georgey.
Best fight I have seen in a while though....phew, totally worth the pay per view price!

Bitter men

It has become quite apparent to me for some reason that there are a lot of bitter men out there in this world. I am not sure why I am becoming so consciously aware of this at this point in my life, but it seems that the more men I meet and speak with, the more I am becoming aware of how many men our there are hurt and still hurting from a past relationship.
This to me just seems so exhausting, and it makes me wonder....why are they still bitter? Why can't they get over it and move on and become happy healthy men again?
My ex husband HATED me.....and when I say hated....well at times I am sure he would have said that's an understatement. I would like to say I feel bad, but I can't take responsibility for how he feels and how he chooses to let thing affect him. I am happy to say now that over many years, I can sit down and talk with him and actually have a great conversation. He is happily remarried with two more kids and I couldn't be more happy for him. I am happy I can call him my favorite ex husband (well, he is my only ex husband lol) There are not a lot of people who can say that I am sure of.
My hubster now, he too has an ex that enrages him when he thinks of her...because he too was betrayed and hurt......and there are so many at my work that are this exact way....when they speak of their ex's they speak with such hate and anger.
So I asked one of them....then why do you even speak of her anymore? Why do you let her memory continue to have power like this over you? LET GO MEN AND MOVE ON.
Let go so that a GOOD woman can be let in, but please, go through the right amount of self healing before moving on to the next woman, she doesn't deserve your angry baggage.
It's just so sad to see so many men who could be happy healthy men be dragged down so far because maybe they lack to skills or knowledge of knowing how to heal or where to go to get healed.....or maybe some of them just like wallowing in their self pity and anger......GET OUT WHILE YOU CAN!

Forklift school

This is where my morning started out at 8am....at a table with a dude who told a MILLION ridiculous stories...and not very much book stuff.....not really all that shocking. I mean, how can you really teach someone about how to drive a forklift from a book. For a few of the newbies there, it was informative....for someone who has already been there done that....well...it can get a bit dry. I took to doodling in my book for quite a bit of it.
I have been on a variety of forklifts for a variety of jobs I have had in the past.....from driving a stand up forklift that's more like driving a stand up video game (that's the only way I can describe it lol...cause it has a freakin joy stick lol) to driving small/med size forklifts of different kinds. I have been VERY lucky to have had some amazing co workers along the way who have taught me and showed me tricks of the trade that have helped me build my confidence in a forklift and build my skill set.
Today the instructor just assumed cause I was a chick I would need to "go last" after the "professionals"....well once the pro's were done I went....and well.....I am proud to say he informed me that I was better then the "pro's". To which I smiled gleefully inside....once the basic forklift was done.....I was sent to one I have never seen nor set foot in....and since I did so well on the normal lift, he sent me out to the field where this big boy was and told me "your a smart girl, go figure it out"....I had a small mild heart attack internally and then told myself...."yeah...that's right....I can figure this shit out on my own!"

So I spent a while out in a big ol muddy field with pallets and cones and other machines having a BLAST....I have discovered that I just LOVE this machine called a telehandler. I was on such a high, not only cause it's totally an awesome machine...but because it has some crazy ass components to it and I totally mastered it all on my own....from crabbing the wheels and maneuvering in some awesome ways to just all out sweet techniques.
Anyways....all in all....the day was a success, I was re-certified and I am good to go for three years...and I discovered a new love of a new machine....which my new job just happens to have and you can bet yer ass I'm gonna be ALL over it come Monday morning :-)

Beautiful day off activities

So I have had four days off this weekend and it's been pretty fantastic....we were able to get lots done around the house and get stuff done in town too. Yesterday we moved our giant rabbit downstairs to a more roomy and pleasant area for her where she could roam around all day and to crazy rabbit bursts like crazy....which by the way is hilarious to watch.
Yesterday it snowed.....for the last three Sundays in a row it was snowed, but the snow is usually gone by Wednesday which is soooooooooooo nice....we are not used to this happening.....we are used to when it snows in November it stays and never goes away until nest April lol.
This morning when I woke up it was GORGEOUS.....the sun is shinning and beaming in through the windows....I just got so much energy to bake, so this morning I am baking some cinnamon buns for a couple of boys at work who are the same age as my son, and they love cinnamon buns, so what a nice treat I will be able to share with them tomorrow.
So today is also Remembrance Day.....a day of reflection of a war that was fought many moons ago....a war I cannot relate to but I am told I have to. I am very torn about this, and the feelings I have about war and everyone telling me about freedom. When our troops go and fight in foreign countries in this present day and the media tells us they are fighting for our freedom.....I tend to disagree....they are not fighting for me....they are fighting for another country, not ours and that country is having their own dispute and it has nothing to do with us...so don't tell me it's about OUR freedom....oh man.....I could REALLY go off on a tangent in this subject, but today is not the day for it. Today is a day of happiness and baking and relaxation time.
Happy Monday!

How can you wake up to this and NOT be filled with JOY!!!

Baking madness has begun!

The kitchen counter clutter has also begun lol

My giant rabbits new digs....yup, she has her own sectional couch, she might be a tad spoiled lol