School's ow-ow-out!

(Off-track again, I promise this will be the last time this year...)

Hmm hmm.... there was something I wanted to say... it was something really important... hmm... oh I know...

SCHOOLS OUT FOR THE... YE-EAR!

Yay! 

Three and a bit months of CreComm are done; only 3 semesters left 'till graduation. Don't get me wrong, CreComm has been a blast -- I have the best CreComm family, awesome instructors, and I've learned so much without even noticing it -- but given the choice of doing homework and studying my tush off or sitting here on the couch, watching Glee reruns, cruising Pinterest, and searching the web for my New Year's outfit... I don't know, would I be crazy to pick the latter? Don't think so! Yeah, yeah it'll get boring, I know, but not today. Today (or at least until 3:30 when I leave work) this is the BEST THING EVER!  

Anywhoo... This is probably going to be my last blog of year so happy holidays everyone and happy, happy New Year.

See yous in 2013 :)

M

Brand me.

This week's (off topic) blog: my branding assignment!

Another busy week (aren't they all in this program?). 5 assignments due this week, 1 assignment (so far, I hope that's it) and 3 exams next week. My, my! BUT I'm not complaining, it's just busy. There are other, less important things that just logically won't get done until next weekend when I'm less busy, less stressed, and just riding on that schools-done-for-the-year-Christmas-is-close-yippee bliss. :)

Anyway, here's the branding assignment... I worked hard, I hope you like it!

M

'Funnies'

Small post today, I don't have that much to say as everything's been so busy lately.

We have 5 assignments due next week! Thank God for the weekend, right?

Anyway, I thought I would just post a couple funny things I saw on Pinterest lately so we can all have a little laugh. I don't know about you, but I definitely need one.

Pinterest

Pinterest

Pinterest

Pinteret

Pinterest

Pinterest

My favourite! Lake Bell reminds me of my sister so much. I laugh every single time!

Pinterest

Happy pinning!
 M

It's so Kardashian!

Cruising Pinterest the other day I came across a plethora of these....

Erin Fitzpatrick's Pinterest

Kardashian pictures as far as the eye could possibly see.

Now ok, I'm a huge Keeping up with the Kardashian's addict, I love watching dumb people talk, but secretly I can't stand them. How do people with no talent end up in their amazing situation when people with real talent are left in the dust? It makes no sense. I know lots of people ask that question and that I'm mindlessly helping them along their path to world conquering every time I watch their narcissistic faces on TV, but I just can't stop.

My sister and I watch it pretty much every time it's on. We just sit there and make fun of every word they say. One episode we saw Kim call Khloe a "troll" and we died laughing. How incredibly rude and b*tchy can one person get? Just ask Kim Kardashian. We started talking about how no normal family acts the way they do and still gets along in the end. Let's be serious here, if my sister pulled a quarter of the stunts the Kardashian sisters do to each other, I would make sure we only saw each other on family gatherings and even then I'd probably throw turkey in her hair or dump some wine on her lap. It's just unreal.

What's worse than the sisters is their mother. Any problem I've ever had with my mom is peanuts compared to the crap Kris Jenner puts her kids through. I couldn't imagine having a mother who's so controlling, manipulative and self-centered as that woman... Grow up, Kris Jenner. Rumour is Bruce Jenner is in works to divorce her and I don't blame him at all. I mean in what world is it ok for you to sneak around to see your ex... the ex you cheated on your first husband for? It's not, the woman's mental.

Of course it's just a show and (I'm hoping) some of the plot is made up, but even so. Those people are "cray, cray."

The Kardashians will eventually fade out to be nothing more than 75% plastic Hollywood has-beens  and no one will care about them (as was so eloquently put to Kim by ex-husband of 72 days, Kris Humphries). But until then I'll be laughing at them on my couch and they'll be laughing all the way to the bank.

Anyway, that's my rant du jour. Watch the show to see exactly what I'm talking about. Maybe you'll 'love' it too.

Here are some of the Kardashian's finest moments as brought to you by Pinterest:

Emme Zastempowski's Pinterest

Really? 

Y.V.'s Pinterest

I'd wake up with gum in my hair and an eyebrow shaved off.

Yuri Katsonis' Pinterest

Nice. 

Bottom line: comedic, but stupid. 

Happy pinning!

 M

Remember.

I decided that today I'm going to once again step away from Pinterest and talking about something really important. Remembrance Day.

I was on the bus home the other day and I overheard a young girl talking with her mother. They were talking about this coming Monday and how they both have it off work and school. The little girl asked her mother why she didn't have school and her mother said, "It's Remembrance Day, we just get it off." It made me think...

When I was in elementary, middle school I never really understood what it meant. It was a day off. I could sleep in, watch TV, and eat KD and that was great! It never really registered to me why we were getting the day off until later on.

I realized its importance in high school when my French teacher told us we should never just treat it as a day off. "Have some respect," he said, and from then on I did. We wouldn't even have the luxury of another long weekend had those brave men and women not fought for our country and our rights, so we owe them a huge thank you.

Just last week I interviewed an old friend for my Remembrance Day journalism assignment. There again, I got a huge eye opener. He went to Afghanistan for nine months and served in a critical care patrol. He told me he saw things over there that no one should see. Children, men, women, old, and young all hurt and trying to get on with their lives. "War," he said, "it has no boundaries. It affects people even if they don't notice it."

That's a huge thought to process, and a sad one at that. I guess what I'm trying to say is: this remembrance day, pause to think about the real reasons behind having the day off. It's more than an extra day in the weekend, more than a day to sleep in, more than a freebie. This Remembrance Day remember all the people who fought for you and made the life you have today, possible.

Remembrance Day, lest we forget.

M

Scatter-brained.

Happy Movember!

This post is going to be a little off topic and random because there's a couple things I want to get out today (I've had a bit too much caffeine this morning, but it's all good)!

First of all, I hope everybody had a nice Halloween. I had about 60 kids come to my place and I almost ran out of candy. Last year we only had 30 or so, so we didn't buy the masses of candy that we did before. But it all worked out.

I made cookies for my class on Halloween and thought I'd show them off here... I wasn't all that impressed with their aesthetic presentation, but they sure did taste good. I got the idea from somewhere other than Pinterest (say whaaaa?!), but looked to Pinterest as a guide when I was decorating them.

Photo cred. Karen Griffiths' Pinterest

They look easy enough right? Here's mine... 

Not quite as realistic... I couldn't get the sugar cookies to keep their rounded shape, but oh well. I think people liked them (I know my sister did) and that's all that matters!

Moving on... 

As it's November (or Movember) it's time for everyone to support a Movember participant. Don't let anyone grow their moustaches out for fun (please don't let it be just for fun) support someone today. It's such a good cause, and fun to watch people who don't normally have facial hair try to or succeed in growing funny moustaches - fun for everyone!

Moving on again... 

I'm embarrassed to say that last night I stuck in the Christmas album. Normally, I'm really good about not listening to Christmas music until the first or second week in December, but driving home from work last night I lost all control and stuck in "A Very Special Christmas." I was driving down the road blasting Stevie Nicks' Silent Night and singing along; it felt so good. 

If anyone's looking for an amazing Christmas album, pick up "A Very Special Christmas." With music by stars like Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, Stevie Nicks, and U2 (among others) and proceeds going towards the Special Olympics, you can't go wrong. There are multiple series' of the album too which date back to 1987. My family and I listen to it every year when we're setting up the Christmas tree and we all love it. 

I thought I'd leave you with Stevie Nicks' Silent Night just to get you headed in the right direction. Enjoy!

YouTube

Happy pinning!

 M

Happy Halloween!

Another very busy week... Four assignments due on one day! As the Kardashian's would say, it was "cray cray." So needless to say, I did not have time to make any personalized Pinterest creations, again. Instead I decided to write about Halloween...

It's five days away, so close!

I was browsing Pinterest the other day and I saw a bunch of really cute pictures... I'll show you.

Pinterest

Pinterest

Pinterest

Adorable, right?

So after I saw these I went out and was on the hunt for an adorable Halloween costume for my Rusty-roo. This is what I found...

He's a pumpkin! I was pretty proud and amazed. I found the costume at Walmart (of all places)! And even better than that he didn't mind wearing it. Last year he was a pirate... he did not like me for a couple days after that, but he was so darn cute. 

See just a little hat, but it made so much difference (don't mind my face...).

Anyway, Halloween is just so much fun. I'm not one to dress up myself, but I love the little kid's costumes and puppy costumes (but not the mean ones). 

The unfortunate part about Halloween is that some older individuals dress up like they're 20 again. It never used to bother me, but now when I see a 30-something dressed up the way my girlfriends dress it makes me mad. It's inappropriate and you chasing your youth or trying to hold on to whatever youth you have left is pathetic (you know who you are...). Word to wise, act your age. Like now would be nice.

Not trying to be mean (even though it is coming off that way), but it's the truth.

Happy Halloween and as ever, happy Pinning. 

 M

Pets, pets, pets, pets!

Hi all!

I'm feeling inspired this week so I decided to take a break recreating Pinterest stuff and will instead talk about pets (I'm also a little busy this week and have not had the time to recreate anything so, you know... it all works out)!

Yesterday us CreCommers had a lovely treat in our seminar. Two awesome ladies (and CreComm grads) from the Winnipeg Humane Society came to talk to us about their jobs as Communications Coordinator and Community Outreach Coordinator. It was fascinating - dream job realized! I can't imagine a better way to spend a career. Think about it, you've dedicated yourself to animals for your whole career. Wow!

Anyway, they were amazing and I'm so impressed with the jobs that they both have. I really hope that when I'm ready to find a job, in whatever field I choose, that I can find something that will make as much difference as what they do... nonprofit has got to be the best way to go.

That's what I love about this program. Every day there's something new and exciting that changes your mind about everything!

Relating this all back to Pinterest... here's some pictures of some cute animals that I found on Pinterest. Everyone should think of adopting a dog, cat, ferret, whatever your taste is, today!

Photo Cred Terra Lavin's Pinterest

Photo Cred Shelly Serra's Pinterest

Photo cred Kellie Johnson's Pinterest

Photo cred Michelle Boland's Pinterest

Photo Cred Leslie Wood's Pinterest

Happy Pinning!

 M

Shirt Scarfing

Happy Thanksgiving all!

I hope everyone's full and sleepy from their delicious turkey dinners and are enjoying time with family and friends. My weekend was lovely, but somehow still too short. I had two Thanksgiving dinners this weekend, so my family and I are watching a movie, waiting for the lasagna to finish baking. I thought I'd write my latest Pinterest find/creation in the mean-time.

This week, the shirt-scarf.

Take a look...

Photo cred. Janet Gompf's Pinterest

Yes, it's a t-shirt made into a scarf. The things these Pinterest geniuses think of!

Well, I saw this (and pinned it) a few weeks ago, but it took me a while to get to it, it always does! 

My boyfriend just happened to have a bunch of old t-shirts that he was about to throw out (holy armpits, batman!) so I took them instead. I picked out the pretty colours - blues, greens, and greys - and started ripping them apart into as many thin strands as a could. It was an excellent stress reliever, if you're looking for that sort of thing instead of a craft. 

Anyway, I braided about 3/4s of the strand lengths and fastened a tie around the end. Then I sewed the loose ends together and fastened a ties around the sewed part to cover the not-so-attractive part. It turned out alright. Take a look...

Don't mind me and my clashing fashion choice. 

I was pretty happy with the way the scarf turned out, but I couldn't help but wonder where the Pinterest scarf model got her t-shirt from. My scarf, or necklace, is so short compared to hers. Maybe I need a fatter boyfriend? Maybe it's false advertising and she used a dress instead of a shirt? I don't know what they used, but mine sure turned out differently than I thought it would!

I would definitely recommend trying this one out. It was a lot of fun and looks so pretty, but I may be biased. I do own over 50 scarves. Yep, I sure do love those things!

Anyway, dinner's ready and smells delicious!

Happy pinning! 

 M 

Have a cuppa...

Happy October!

This is the best month of the year. Leaves are (still) falling, the weather's getting cooler, the boots are coming out, and suddenly it's appropriate to just lay around drinking tea (this is always appropriate in my books, but some people don't think so... humph!).

So, this week I decided that since I'm going to be drinking a lot of tea in the near future, I need a good, solid cup to drink it with. Enter, what? Pinterest, of course.

I saw a set of really cute cups a few months ago and pinned them to my "Love DIY stuff" board on Pinterest... take a look...

Photo cred: Gillian St John's Pinterest

Cute, right?

Well, I loved them! So I was thinking of ways to personalize them because I'd feel awkward making myself a cup that says "beautiful" and decided to use nicknames. 

OK, now don't laugh. My boyfriend and I have really silly nicknames for each other. I call him Bubbi - from singing baaaaby, baaaaby, baaaby oh! (a la Justin Bieber) to him, but it didn't suit, so Bubbi it is - and he calls me Schmoopsie - again, my fault. I changed my name in his phone to be funny. Unfortunately, he thought it was cute and it's stuck ever since.

So anyway, I decided to use our nicknames, keep the "good morning" idea, and give it a little more of a personalized kick and do our M & M thing (Megan and Mike - M&Ms - so cute) on the back.

Behold...

Yes, I dotted the 'i's with hearts and I'm not at all embarrassed about it.

They turned out pretty cute, right? I had no idea it would be so hard to write on a cup with a permanent marker... it was so hard. I had to write and rewrite 5 times before they stuck. Brutal!

If you want to make some cups yourself, here's the how-to:

You will need:

- A cup (or two)

- A permanent marker

- A stove

Wash the cup(s) well and dry. Set the oven to 400 degrees celsius. Write whatever message you would like on the cups. Place cups on a cookie sheet in the oven and let cook for 20 minutes. Turn the stove off, leave the cups overnight. 

The heat should help the permanent marker soak into the cups for good. That's it!

So easy, so fun. Make some tea - Pumpkin Spice from Tim Hortons in my current favourite - and you're set!

Happy pinning!

 M

Bon-tasties

This weekend I decided to have a bonfire. Bonfire season is almost closed and I realized that I have only held a handful of them so far this year. Tragic. I was not impressed with myself at all.

So, naturally I looked to Pinterest to give me healthy, fun ideas on how to make my bonfire the best one yet.

As you might have expected, I was bombarded with all the brilliant bonfire ideas. Lucky for me I was entertaining a youngin' that night and was specifically looking for kid-friendly ideas. What did I find? Behold...

Photo cred: Ieva Gruzina's Pinterest

Banana S'mores!! Yes, s'mores made with bananas. Is this not pure brilliance?! I was blown away. 

So, I grabbed my friend Dee and told her the plan. She was almost as excited as I was. We chatted about how it's not cheating our diets because we're substituting out something "bad" for something good, and must be cutting at least 50 calories by swapping out the delicious graham crackers for some fruit. Now, of course this would have been the case had we not made up our own concoctions and added our personal favourite, crispy crunch sprinkles, to each banana s'more. Not to mention we swapped out the chocolate chips on one s'more for peanut butter chocolate chips -- OK, I'll admit we got a little carried away.

Anyway, they turned out amazing. Take a look for yourself...

YUMMY

The outer ones have chocolate chips and crispy crunch sprinkles, the middle one is the peanut butter. 

They were a hit! The little one loved them -- go figure -- and us older folk liked the change. Once again Pinterest came to the rescue offering up another delectable and fun dish.

Just in case you're wondering how to make them...

You will need:

- Banana(s)

- Mini-marshmellows

- Chocolate chips (or another sort of chip... peanut butter, white chocolate...)

- Aluminum foil

- Some sort of heater -- we used the BBQ because we don't have a grill rack over the fire pit

Start with a banana, slice length-wise down the middle, but not all the way through (keep attached). Stick in mini-marshmellows and chocolate chips. Try not to rip the banana apart... it just gets so messy! Wrap the banana s'more in the aluminum foil and put over the heat (BBQ, fire grill, etc.). Leave it on the heat for about 10 minutes or so, but keep an eye on it just in case. Enjoy! Nice and easy.

Happy pinning,

 M

PS The leg warmers and mittens are still to come... I underestimated the skill it takes to work a needle and thread. Stay tuned...

Winter, Spring, Summer, Pumpkin Spice Latte

Well, Pumpkin Spice Latte season, formerly known as Fall, is among us.

I look forward to this time of year from January to September, and when school starts up my internal pumpkin spice count down turns on.

I went to Starbucks late last week and ordered my first delectable drink of the season. The order simply rolled off my tongue: "One Grande Pumpkin Spice with soy, please." Ahhh... it felt so good saying it.  It tasted amazing, even better than I remembered. I savoured each sip until it was cold and even then it was delicious.

Pumpkin Spice Lattes are so good, they've been popping up all over my social media sites - not literally, of course. Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest alike have all been bombarded with posts, pictures, and updates on every Pumpkin Spice lover kicking off Fall by purchasing the drink-treat.

I found this picture on Pinterest last week and literally laughed out loud...

Photo cred Erin Thorne's Pinterest

I instantly repined this it to my 'word' board and uploaded it to Facebook because this is my exact mentality. I know my favourite season has started when I get my first PSL. 

Pinterest also showed me an instructional site (Sand and Sisal, if you're interested in making it as well) to make my own PSL... dangerous! I'm not so sure how this will go, but I plan to attempt it this weekend. Stay tuned for what I'm sure will be an interesting story. 

I'm hoping it will taste as good as their picture looks...

Delicious Photo Cred Sand and Sisal

PS - If you haven't gone to Starbucks for your first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season, GO! Run there right now! If you haven't ever had a PSL.... don't ever tell me. I will cry for you. 

M

Hubba hubba

Impromptu blogging today!

Photo Jill Reese's Pinterest

I'm currently getting my next Pinterest inspired craft together -- leg warmers and mittens, made out of an old ugly-but-not-so-ugly" Christmas sweater -- but for today, I'll have to write about something a little less crafty and a little more... umm... boy crazy?

I'll take this opportunity to talk about the celebrity man of my dreams, Gerard Butler. I don't know what it is about him, but every time I see his beautiful face I can't help but smile (and occasionally giggle like a school girl). It must be his grey-green eyes, boyish face, and sexy smile... or maybe it's his Scottish accents, I'm a sucker for a hot accent. Either the way, the man can do no wrong by me. Heck, even the sight of him in a skirt (I know, it's a kilt) doesn't make me doubt his manly, brutish, yummy-ness.







Photo credit Lori Matters' Pinterest

Only a real man could pull off this look, I mean, really!











Now, what does this have to do with Pinterest? Well, on my account (meggiebd -- I'm surprised I haven't mentioned it before) I have a 'board' titled "I love your face." Lots of people on Pinterest have some sort of celebrity page where they repin pictures of their favourite singers, actors, and so on. In my "I love your face" board you'll find pictures of Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Adele -- all my celebrity favourites -- and, of course, Gerard Butler. He takes up most of the space in that board and I'm always adding new pictures or him.

Honestly, Pinterest is the best and worst thing that has ever cyber-happened to me. It really brings out the celebrity-enthusiast-craft-loving-pin-pin-pin side of me.

Anyway, I'll leave you with some GB facts and pictures.

Photo cred Allyson Whitmire's Pinterest

Gerard was born in Paisley, Scotland, UK

Goes by Gerry -- just like his character in P.S. I Love You -- because he feels non-UK people have a hard time pronouncing his name

He graduate from Glasgow University with a... wait for it... law degree -- smart and sexy!

Photo credit Max M's Pinterest

He was in a Scottish rock band called Speed before becoming an actor.

He was the Phantom in the movie version of Sir Andrew Lloyd Weber's musical The Phantom of the Opera -- and was amazing in it!

Gerard has a reputation of being one of the nicest actors in the Hollywood scene.

(facts credit IMDb)




All in all, I love him. That's really all there is to say about that, and with a face like his, how could you not?

M

Not for the Impatient...

I'm fighting off a cold and sinus infection this weekend, so I'm a little lazy and very sleepy. Being sick is never fun, but it does give you a lot of time to sit around and do nothing... and that's just what I did. I put on a movie, started going through Pinterest, and found an excellent idea for nail art.

Now I'm not much for painting my nails -- nudes, pinks and clears are my normal choices -- but at the urging of my nail fanatic sister I decided to take a risk and try this new fad called the "Scotch Tape" nail. They look like this...

http://pinterest.com/

Neat, right? So I picked my own colours and went to town getting everything ready and painted columns on my nails. Then, I go and get the tape and, go figure, we have none. So I had to do some tweaking and decided to use decorative duct tape instead (I don't recommend that switch). Anyway, here's the process...

Obviously, start with picking your colours (I chose purple, pink and orange - my favs!). Then paint columns -- you could paint rows if you'd rather as well. Try to keep them even in both width and thickness -- something I did not get the hang of unfortunately.

When you're done painting wait for your nails to dry. They must be completely dry or you'll pull up the paint with the tape. When everything's dry, put the tape -- cut in skinny lines or use thin roll scotch -- across the nail.

Paint over the nail and tape. Do as many layers as you need until the first layer of paint is completely covered. Let it dry completely. 

Voilà!

They didn't turn out quite as nicely as I hoped, but I'll take it. 

I would suggest making sure that your nails are completely dry before taping because it makes a huge difference in the end. I'd also suggest not being sick and getting the proper tape. You would definitely be able to do more things -- designs and such -- if you had the proper tape. And finally, I think this sort of nail art requires a very patient artiste (LOL). It took about an hour and a half to paint, dry, paint, and dry again, so having a lot of time and patience is a must!

All in all, it was fun though not a complete success. Good luck if you're replicating!

 M

Blogging...

I have to be honest, when I first heard about blogging my initial thoughts weren't "yay!" thoughts. Between Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Foursquare, etc., I really didn't understand why anyone needed another place to talk about themselves (in full sentences and with proper grammar to boot). But after reading through a few well written blogs I realized that they're more than just a place to write about yourself. The range of topics you can base one on is astounding. It really is a whole new world!

Then, as only Social Media can, blogging expanded; the world was introduced to Pinterest - a picture blog. Everything from baking to the newest styles to the best vacation spots were all in one place, with directions and websites to guide the way. Wow! Suddenly I found myself searching for all sorts of things I didn't know I wanted to learn about in the first place. I found recipes, new styles, DIY ideas, everything! Then slowly, but surely my bedroom got a makeover, my living room too, I styled my hair in a bunch of different ways and I was making scarves out of old t-shirts. Pinterest really opened my eyes to just how many wonderful creative outlets there are, and I vowed to make and create as many of them as humanly possible - adding my own personal touch, of course.

So, that's where this blog comes in - it's like a creation tracker. Pinterest inspired me to make as many things "my own" as I can, and that's what I'm going to do!

Stay tuned...
 M