Man's search for meaning

This book has two parts but I've decided to only read part one. 

Part one is true accounts of a psychiatrists experiences in four Nazi death camps including Auschwitz. It's really hard to put this book down once you get going even though it's account is just as horrifying as many of the other accounts of life in a Nazi camp. He speaks not only of himself but of the many people that shared the same experiences with him. He not only labors like most of the others but he's also 'employed' to counsel typhoid patients throughout his time at the camp. His book is unlike the others because he analyzes his experience at a psychological level. "Frankl argues that we cannot avoid suffering but we can choose how to cope with it, find meaning in it, and move forward with renewed purpose." I believe this is what allowed him to survive the camps. He shows how powerful the mind is and that it is possible to overcome almost any situation. 

Part two is about Frankl's therory- known as logotherapy. I've decided to not read that section of the book. I feel like I've gotten a lot out of the book and I'm just not in the right head space to read in depth about his theory. 

It's a great read very eerie, powerful, and really quite inspiring.

Bard and Banker

Hubby and I along with my bestie and her man decided to check out Bard and Banker for dins tonight. We chose to go there because they are participating in:

It's such a great deal!

They have a $20 menu that you choose from it includes 2-3 options of Appies, Entrees, and Desserts. The portions were good and the food was stunning! I actually couldn't handle how good the food was. Wow. I chose a mixed greens salad topped with goat cheese and nuts to start. Then I had rosemary lamb sausages with white cheddar mashed potatoes and gravy that still has my mouth watering! To finish I chose a flourless chocolate cake topped with orange ice cream! Yum yum yum. I will most definately be returning to dine there in future. I'm jazzed to try one of the other 49 restaurants participating in Dine around :) Just on a side note I really loved the atmosphere in Bard and Banker we were watching the Oscars while we were having dinner and it felt like we were in someones cozy living room. It's really inviting. Mmm don't you just love a good restaurant experience!?

Swan Lake

The trail not the ballet :)

 

Hubby and I decided to go out for a walk on the weekend as the weather was divine!

This walk in beautiful Victoria takes about 45mins to complete. It's a bit muddy at the moment but it has some really beautiful sights along the way. Hubby and I like to take the circle around the lake but it seems like there are some other options you could take if you like. At one point it gives you the option to branch off towards the "Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary" we haven't been but I think I'd like to check it out sometime this summer. There's also a nature house nestled at the mid-point of the trail. Not sure what that's about. We went for a gander but it was closed. The trail is walking distance from our house which is great so I think we'll probably end up taking a walk there often. We want to bring a bottle of wine and the guitar down to that spot pictured up above :) I wonder if ducks like to be serenaded . . . .

Server Dream/Nightmare

Most people in the service industry will be able to relate to this.

There is a difference between a server dream and a server nightmare. The nightmare looks like that picture up above. I've heard my server pals describe nightmares where they are the only server in a packed restaurant, or perhaps all night they can't do anything right, I've also heard of a nightmare where someone had to cook, buss, bar tend, and serve everyone at the same time! Needless to say the server nightmare is really quite awful. The next day at work whoever had it is definitely talking about it because it means they didn't have a very nice sleep.

I never have the nightmares described above. I do have what I call the server dream though. I suppose I'm blogging about it because it happened last night and it was really quite irritating! In my dream I serve tables just like usual, nothing goes wrong it's just that I work all night long. This usually occurs after I've actually worked a full shift before going to bed. That means I'm putting in some serious over time my friends! At six am. I kinda woke up and realized I had a chance to get out of the dream. Usually I can just roll onto my stomach and 'poof' just like that the dream is gone. Last night my tactic didn't work. I had to force myself awake, give the cat a scratch, and think of anything but serving for an hour before I could go back to sleep. I should start clocking my sleep work hours! Can you imagine haha. I've got a long shift ahead of me tonight hopefully it doesn't happen again!

I've been baking!

It was my job to make cookies for a meeting at work the other day. I pulled out a recipe book and was all jazzed to make cookies from a recipe I hadn't used before. I went to the store to find the ingredients I needed but low and behold they didn't have chocolate chunks! I looked in the baking section and the bulk section. I couldn't find chocolate chunks anywhere. There I stood staring at the chocolate chip bags trying to will a bag of chunks to appear, when hubby comes round the aisle and is rather perturbed by the look on my face. 

"Whats wrong?"

"Nothing. . . I just can't find a bag of chunks anywhere" :( 

"Just grab a bag of chips and lets go!"

"Buuuuut the recipe calls for chunks, not chips!" 

He turned and walked down the aisle at this point. 

"I'm going to grab eggs, just choose one by the time I get back"

I frowned and continued to stare blankly at the chocolate chips. 

:(

Hubby came back, grabbed a bag of chocolate chips and pulled me along towards the register. Call me OCD and well I'd have to agree but I felt like the recipe would be all wrong without the chunks. 

I ended up making the recipe on the back of the bag, which I hate doing by the way. I mean sure they came out alright but it's not the same as using a better recipe out of a book. There was mostly boys at the meeting, let me tell you when their eyes gazed upon the cookies it only took a matter of seconds before they were devoured. I take it they enjoyed them. haha.

Meditation

I typically start off a yoga session with meditation. It enables you to close off your mind from everyday tasks, irritations, and it focuses you on the practice ahead.

It sounds easy but more often then not those pesky thoughts just keep jumping around in my head. I practice yogic breath techniques to hear only the sound of my breath and not my thoughts but just when I think that's all I can hear suddenly I realize I'm contemplating what posture to begin with, or what I should have for lunch.

Thankfully I know that meditation is a long journey, not one to be obtained over night. I'm eager to keep on trying until finally I reach silent bliss :)

In one of the text books I'm pre-reading for the yoga teacher training I'm taking in April the yogi speaks about meditation techniques. One of the techniques that I tried this morning and enjoyed was lighting a candle and focusing only on the light. You'll find your eyes will half close and blur over. And soon there is only the light of the candle and the sound of your breath. It's really helpful! I still have quiet music playing in the background because I find I get distracted by cars driving by, or the cat chasing a bit of kibble. Hopefully this helps. If private personal practice of meditation isn't your thing you should try going to a Yoga Nidra class. It's guided group meditation. I've made a lot of progress in a Nidra class. Well happy meditating!

Namaste

Living in a Non-Aircared City

I don't understand why Victoria doesn't have "Air Care" in place. Isn't this supposed to be one of the greenest places to live? The reason is most likely because we don't have enough people living in the city to make it mandatory but let me tell you it would do us a world of good! I understand that some would find it an inconvenience ie. the cost, time it takes to get it done, and the fact that if you don't pass you have to make big changes to your vehicle before your allowed to put it back on the road. 

If we just put these minor inconveniences off to the side we could see the benefits. 

1. Less old smoggy cars on the road
2. Reduction of harmful emissions 
3. Insured air-quality 

These reasons alone have me wondering why we don't have this system in place. I really enjoying walking to work but believe me when a rusty old junker car passes me and emits a black cloud of smog I nearly want to pass out in disgust!

Swans

I'd be hard-pressed to find a Victoria-ite out there that hasn't been to Swans, but if you are that rare-breed and you haven't been please do us a favour and check it out! Husband and I ventured there last night for some good ol' live rock and roll for Kate my besties birthday bash. We had gotten there late and were hungry, but luckily they have a fantastic late-night menu. I had delicious candied salmon skewers with organic greens that were topped with their tasty homemade dressing! Oh my! Hubby had a Cordon Bleu burger and well I assume that at the rate he ate it, it must have been yummy :) One thing is that you can't make reservations on the weekend so if your there for a special event make sure you head out early before the band shows up to grab a table. I love the variety of people that go to Swans, there we were shaking our tail feathers on the dance floor, I took a look around and saw ages ranging from 19-60+ all having a great time dancing and bumping into eachother. 

I had never seen the dance floor so crowded before! Hubby and I like to dance all wild but it seemed that every other couple had the same idea. The band was really great. Ah well we can't steal the lime light everytime we go right? I Almost forgot to mention that Swans is a brew pub! Just when you thought it couldn't get any better :p We had a tasty Brown Ale last night, if you can't decide from their many varieties you can purchase a sampler. I've been meaning to buy one it looks adorable. Ah well i'll have to save it for next time! 

My life in France

I finally finished it!
I absolutely loved this book, maybe it was because husband and I spent sometime in France during our honeymoon. I'm not sure. All I know is that when I opened this book and started reading I was suddenly transported to a Paris bakery where the smell of fresh croissants and baguettes filled the air!

This book is an autobiography of the mature part of Julia's life. She writes of how she met her Husband Paul and how life as a CSIS family mean't they travelled a lot. One of the places they set up shop was Paris. Oooh la la! Quite a different world then the home she grew up in California. Julia describes the challenges of not knowing a single word of French and having to start from scratch in a new city. She takes it all in stride and practices her French in the first restaurant her and Paul go to! Luckily Paul had lived in France for many years previous. That first meal is what spurred on Julia's love of food, she just had to figure out how to make something that delicious!

After becoming settled in their quarky apartment Julia enrolls in the "Cordon Bleu Paris" learns how to cook with the 'Men' (Julia being the only Woman in class) from there she meets many people in love with food too. Particularily a couple of Women that she collaborates with in teaching a cooking class to American Women. Soon after they decide to write a book together. Julia describes the many many challenges this presents, meanwhile her and Paul keep getting sent all over Europe because of Pauls job. It takes many years but they finally finish the book! "Mastering French Cooking"

I loved reading about the different recipes and what it took to put together the book. Julia and Paul finally were able to move back to the USA and with publicity from the book was asked to start her own cooking show! How many of you remember the show? Julia and Paul love and miss France so much they end up building a summer home on their good friends property. "Ah le belle France" as Julia often says in her book. What a Woman. I'm very proud to have read about that part of her life. I found her incredibly inspiring. Her writing style was so engaging and entertaining. If you like/love cooking you should read this book!

Love Lost - The Temper Trap

Lumosity

So I was creeping hyperbole and a half's blog and noticed that she has favourite websites on her blog. I'm gonna check them out one by one, but one I checked out, and am sort of addicted to now is www.lumosity.com. It's a brain training website. When you sign up they have you answer questions and take a survey, its so that they can focus your training where you need it most. The games are really fun and well I need to improve my math skills, and I think it's working! The whole time I'm playing the games though I'm shouting at the computer. . is that wrong? Lol.

Let me know what you think of the site :)

Super Mom

Three days out of the week or so I walk to work. It's about a half hour, its really enjoyable and by the time I get to work I'm revved up and ready to go. I've noticed that during the weekdays when I'm walking I'll get to this certain spot on my walk and I'll hear the sound of a bicycle, or two behind me. I step to the side and these two younger kids go flying by on their bikes, soon after I hear footsteps and their Mom jogs past shouting a 'thank you.' How cute! She's in wicked shape, full of life, and rather inspiring to me. I wish I had a picture of them to show but that would be rather creeper of me. What a great opportunity for her to get out for a jog. I wonder when they started this picking up from school trend. I bet the kids love it too!

I love seeing parents out and about with their kids. I mostly mean in a recreational sense, it motivates the kids and helps them to make better choices in the future. We sure don't need a child obesity problem like the USA has :( Video games are fun but the world is our playground. Go out and play!

8-Year-Old Guitar Prodigy Stuns Audiences

Tastiest of Tasties

One of my all time favourite baking treats is Banana Bread!! It's my hubby's fav too, he always requests that I make it :) Usually I use my mama's recipe, but it calls for buttermilk, and I didn't have any. By random chance I was cruisin other blogs, and someone else was making banana bread so I used her recipe, and it turned out great! You can find the recipe here:
http://mecogirl89.blogspot.com/2010/07/banana-bread-recipe.html



Here it is all mixed up, and ready to go into the oven! I tried out the new loaf pan my Mom got me for Christmas <3 Worked great! Just popped out of the pan when it was finished. I didn't get a chance to take a pic of it completely whole, and out of the oven, but the cat and I had a photo shoot with the piece I had for breakfast this morning haha.

Listening bliss

I've been wanting to find a great online radio station to listen to, and during the holidays when all I wanted to listen to was Christmas music I found the very best!

It has almost every genre of music you could possible be looking for! It streams 24 hours a day, and very rarely, and briefly stops just to promote it's self. I'm currently listening to music from Coachella. I've determined that I need to go to that festival now :)