Best in Show

The 2007 Marketing awards were last night- and our team won the top prize "Beat in Show" for "Evolution". If you haven't seen this video yet- check it out at www.campaignforrealbeauty.ca. It's amazing!! Since I managed the project I went up on stage with the whole team to accept the award- which was kind of cool. And my picture might make it into marketing magazine- which would be very cool. I'll see next week.

To celebrate - our team went to the Gladstone to do some karaokee! (Well just Hayley- she rocked out). We found this completely random karaokee van to take us there- a van with a screen, mikes and a disco ball. Funny how easy it is to sing after a couple of glasses of wine!!

We then went on to the Drake for the after party, and then home by 2:30am. Not too bad considering I had to get up this morning at 6:30am for a Hellmann's photoshoot. It's not all glamorous! It's been a long day...

Sweet Home Alabama

I heard the craziest thing the other day. My cousin Ross has moved to Alabama and fallen in love. He is getting married (he's 24). No- that's not the crazy part... His fiancee went to the doctor the other day for a pre-natal exam. (still not the crazy part). and the doctor had a series of questions he needed to ask her as part of her family history. One of these questions was... (drumroll and get ready for the crazy)... "Is the Father kin?"

Spring is sprung

I was finally in the city this weekend- although part of it was spent in Hamilton. I went to Hamilton Friday night to see my cousin Samantha play basketball (they WON both games!! woohoo!!!). It was great to see my uncle Ross and Sam again- I haven't seen them since Christmas. I can't believe how tall Sam is... I just wish I'd remembered to take my camera.

Then Saturday night I went to Kirsti's belated 30th birthday and finally saw Jen and her's apartment. I love it. I'm so sad i'm going to be moving away from it. The party was a 70s theme- which I forgot, but Jen lent me her pucci scarf for the soiree. I rocked it.

Then on Sunday, Robyn and I left the "city" and went to High Park. Seriously- Toronto is so huge, and i get caught up in my little quadrant... don't head north of Bloor, East of Parliament or West of Bathurst- and I'm missing out on an entire CITY! We went for a walk in High Park, then to Bloor West Village to walk around. We couldn't even SEE the city from where we were- imagine! It was great. wicked cold out- if it weren't so cold I would have insisted we go check out the animals- Robyn doesn't believe me when I tell her that there is a whole zoo in the park. At least I think there is...

Surprises to brighten my day

Wow. I have been having a pretty stressful time at work lately and I think I may have been complaining too loudly and too often! Way out in Calgary, my second Dad Cliff heard me- and sent me a surprise. (well it was supposed to arrive Monday- but DHL is not known for their superior domestic shipping.)

What was this surprise? It arrived in a little blue box. From Birks. YAY!!! My ears are now adorned with beautiful diamond earrings. I was going to take a picture and post it- but that seemed a bit OTT.
Thanks Cliff- I love them! : )

When its good to be bad at math

I completely forgot that I contribute money to a different RSP fund- $50/month. It's not much- but it all adds up and it means that I added up my RSP contributions incorrectly. Turns out I don't owe money to "the man", but actually get a refund. Not much but it's better than owing. Yay for RSPs!!!!

The tax man cometh

Every year I hear all of these stories about people who get back huge sums of money in their tax return. "I get $2800". "I only got $3400 this year." (sob sob) "My girlfriend is getting back $8500." Well this year I OWE $275. WTF?! How is it that I NEVER get great tax returns, and end up OWING money?! Seriously?! What's the trick?! I give to RSPs (a decent amount, though I know I could give more), I claim my rent (which is huge and exhorbinant)... I have a professional doing my taxes (my uncle)... I just don't get it. Why does the government hate me? big sad sigh.

I'm adding a picture of Theo (my Goddaughter) and Kaleb, her brother, from Christmas. They have nothing to do with taxes but they are cute!!!

Deep Deep Breaths

words of wisdom: I must remember to take deep breaths. I think have to start running again too because my stress levels are getting out of control. Run and breath. Two keys to happiness. Or to at the very least, not pulling out all of your hair.

oh and I have to share a fun little answering machine message I heard today. It was a colleague of mine's daughter who is on the cusp of being a teenager, but still young enough to be fun and sweet. (read not "too cool" for everything). The message was just a song about cheese. Just cheese. and asking one to leave their message. It made me smile. : )

Babies Babies Babies

One of the best things about visiting home is that I get to reconnect with old friends. (Although this time I didn't get a chance to see everyone- the hazards of running in and out in two days!). I've very glad to have spent even a little bit of time with the friends I did see. Everyone is doing so great- with nearly finishing school (yay yay yay!), changing jobs (so happy about that one), raising their families- and going on blind dates (which I totally relate to!). sigh- I miss my friends.


Also very fun are the babies- who I got to see on Saturday night. (Sorry again Char for being late). The first picture is Brendan and Meghan- who are destined to be together. Brendan is older (by 5 weeks) but already you can see Meghan is pretty much running the show in their relationship. She's got to keep a tight rein on that boy. I can't wait til they start talking... what will they be like then?!

Best Damn Burgers in Calgary

Last night I went to "Tommy Burger" for dinner with my parents. My brother Stefan is the GM there (that's him working behind the bar). They just opened the joint 4 weeks ago- to critical aclaim and wonder. John Gilchrist- noted food critic (is he just in Calgary or Canada?) said "it's about time". They were on a segment on the Breakfast Television show - Stefan was telling everyone about their Ceasar drink. You were great Stefan! Fun fact: The Caesar was created in Calgary. It's known as "Canada's cocktail". If Calgary is known for anything... ginger beef and clamato & vodka.

As expected the burgers were delish. Tommy Burger is located on Macleod Tr S- right next to Shanks. If you have a chance - go go go !! And I recommend : sharing the milkshake- it's huge, and getting the California burger- with sprouts and guac.

Also in my adventures in Calgary yesterday: I got my hair done (I still don't have a hairstylist in Toronto) and its way too dark underneath (a look that is "played out", as my youthful colleague would say) and a pedicure. While the dark hair is not so great (though I still rock it!!), the pedi was fab- it took two hours but I didn't even notice the time go by. And now I have a new friend on facebook!

Serendipitous encounter

So I'm sitting in the Denver airport, doing some work, when a woman sits down next to me and starts to chat. She surmises that I'm Canadian because I'm reading perezhilton.com (taking a mini break from email) and no American she knows outside of LA and NY would be interested in something so 'vulgar' or entertaining. This led to a discussion on the 'limits' of American thinking, the Dove campaign for real beauty- and our current "pro-age" campaign. I told her about a group in the US who is boycotting Dove products because they believe the pro-age campaign is inappropriate (it features naked older women in discreet tasteful poses). She turned out to be a journalist who LOVES the campaign, and was outraged that there would be any kind of negative response. Long story short, we exchanged cards, and there could be a good PR story there.

Check out the new campaign at www.dove.ca/home/

Tales of the yaya beachhood pt 3

I went for a walk along the beach this morning- the shore was littered with dead jellyfish- bloated out and blue. the sand was full of broken shells beneath my feet- so it hurt but it was a pleasant kind of pain. And the water was so blue blue blue. Two different shades. Light blue at the start, deepening to a dark blue further out. All of it crystal like- with the sun winking off the waves.
Another full day on set- we had to wait a few hours for the sun to set- it took so long. Funny enough- yesterday we were racing to finish a scene before we lost the sun. Today has been more relaxed- we jumped on the trampoline and I did a status update from a hammock. This has been a good week.

South Beach pt 2

On Monday I sat by the pool at the Shore Club and did work. I wanted to show visual proof of me actually working while I'm here!! Of course the view is nicer than my office.

Today was day 1 of the shoot- busy... but a beautiful day. A mother duck and her ducklings joined us for breakfast (that's Wendy reading the paper), and we spent the afternoon sitting out by the pool in the ginormous backyard. Sigh- what do these people do that they live in these types of houses?! And how can i meet one?

Tomorrow is another full day of shooting, though we start later and go later. I'm hoping to get to the beach in the morning- and at least dip my toes into the ocean. I haven't done nearly as much (or any) running as I wanted to- but c'est la vie.

I'm too portly, poor and pale for this town. pt 1

I have to admit that I didn't know what to expect when I came to Miami- I never watched Miami Vice- and my exposure has been limited to pictures of Lindsay & Paris partying in South Beach. We are staying at the Shore Club, which is super pretentious and glitzy and flashy- kind of like the pictures of Lindsay & Paris partying in South Beach (it IS SB afterall). But great people watching. The first night we went walking along Lincoln Ave where they have great shopping and tons of restaurants. We went for Tapas- which should have been great, but unfortunately was mostly deep fried. Yesterday we did some work and then went to the beach to work some more. Then Wendy (my client) and Jane (my copywriter) went back to Lincoln to do some buying. We were pretty good until we got to Anthropologie and then we all went a little crazy- Jane and I bought some matching shoes. I love that store- but it's sooo expensive!

Last night went to the restaurant "Nobu"- very very good sushi. We saw Hulk Hogan. That's the sales guy Scott, from Radke, and my copywriter Jane, who are posing with him. I didn't want to get into the picture because he's so cheesy. I now think I should've embraced the cheesiness- he's likely to be only my brush with celebrity. Then we went to the Delano for drinks- it's exactly like the C Lounge in toronto- with cabanas and a pool in the middle of it. very beautiful setting but the people were ugly.

Today we went to the Everglades and I held an alligator. (first picture) Funny enough- this is the second time I've done that (the first time being on a tour I took in a bayou in New Orleans). This one was a little bit bigger and squishier. Yesterday we also went to the beach and did some 'work' on our chaise lounges. Sigh...its tough. : ). Will update more tomorrow.

I heart Air Canada

I arrive at the airport this morning at 8am- for a 9:35 flight. I think I have enough time. There is a line-up 500 people long for the 'express' check in (USE WEB CHECK IN - it's sooo much faster- for right now), and then another 400 people line up for customs. Security wasn't so bad. However I wasn't anxious about missing my flight- because it was THREE HOURS delayed!!!!! I have a meeting at 4 which I will now miss. In fact- they've just now said that they don't know when my flight will be ready... sigh. Gotta go mail my colleagues before my computer dies (Dell batteries last for about 20 minutes FYI).

White out

I was in a meeting yesterday on the 12th floor with wall to wall windows. In the middle of the meeting we were interrupted by thunder and lightening- in the middle of the SNOW STORM. It was a complete white out- so crazy!!!! I'm so happy to be going to Miami tomorrow!!

Christmas 2006- so late I know

Finally I'm also uploading pictures from Christmas 2006. This year was really great as BOTH of my brothers stayed at my parents house for the holiday- as well as Tanya (David's girlfriend) and Wilbur (the dog) - so it was a full house. We hadn't all been together like that for years! I was also home for a longer time and feel like I got to catch up with friends for more than just one quick visit. There are pictures of Theo & Kaleb, David & Tanya at the zoo on boxing day (I didnt' go shopping for a change!), Stefan, David & Tanya in our living room, my Grandma celebrating her 82 birthday, Meghan and her parents (sort of old friends!), me Abs & Lori, and finally me and Scott- who I hadn't seen in years.