shadesofbliss

Shades of Bliss has moved to WordPress

2009-11-14T15:14:00.000-08:00

I've finally decided to make the switch to WordPress for this blog and won't be updating Blogger anymore.

To visit Shades of Bliss in its new "home", continue on to www.sobliss.wordpress.com.

Thanks! See you there...

Beth

A Year of New - #18: Olympic Torch Relay

2009-11-01T14:02:00.000-08:00

Many of you around the world already know that Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada is the host of the 2010 Olympics. Well, the Olympic flame arrived here in Victoria (the provincial capital of BC) from Olympia, Greece the other day and kicked off its cross-country run on Friday. It's now on its way to the Games which will be happening on the mainland in February.

Chelsea and I took in the festivities of going to see the torch run with some friends, who we accidentally met up with along the way. We got our flags, our position on the sidewalk, and waited for the torch to appear.

As luck would have it, the "runner" on our section of the route was actually walking instead of running, so the whole thing felt a bit anticlimactic. Still, it was neat to see the Olympic torch in action - it's perhaps the only time I'll ever get to see an Olympic torch up close.

A Year of New - #17: Reality TV Show Voting

2009-10-31T15:00:00.000-07:00

Although I enjoyed watching almost every episode of this season's So You Think You Can Dance Canada, I hadn't bothered to vote for any of the candidates until the finale came around. I had never phone-voted for a reality TV show contestant before and part of me thought it was a bit silly. I suppose in the past I just couldn't be bothered, or didn't really care that much who won.

This time, though, I decided I would give it a whirl because Tara-Jean was a favourite of mine right from the start. She is a wonderful dancer but also just seems like a very genuine and real person. I knew I had to pick up the phone this time and give her my support.

She won! (Perhaps thanks to my vote, which catapulted her to the top?)

Good luck in the future Tara-Jean, and have fun spending that $100,000!

One didn't make it

2009-10-30T21:46:00.000-07:00

Head on over to my fellow Victoria blogger Miso Crafty's site and check out the amazing pumpkins her husband Brett carved this year for Hallowe'en.

And then check out what is currently sitting on my front porch, along with four of its brethren:
It's a bit like night and day.

This pumpkin didn't make it as it's currently imploding on itself and rotting out more and more each day, but I don't know what to do with it until the pumpkin smash event which I assume starts on Sunday. Luckily, we bought four pumpkins in total this year and the others are looking whole - but sadly, still uncarved.

We might be the Hallowe'en equivalent of the Grinch this year...

Good question

2009-10-25T14:26:00.000-07:00

A Year of New - #16: Psychic

2009-10-23T13:25:00.000-07:00

On Monday this week I happened to notice that a psychic fair was going on at our downtown mall and on Thursday when I was in the area again it was still there. Taking it for a sign, I went to check out who the psychics were and finally decided this would be a good time to try a session with one.

I had never visited any sort of a psychic/tarot card/palm reader before but all of these women were there for the choosing. I decided to visit someone that bills herself as a psychic intuitive because I do feel that I am an intuitive/empathic type of person and thought that I might connect well with someone with this particular gift. Also I tend to believe more in someone that appears to be born with a certain type of talent rather than someone who has just picked it up along the way, such as a tarot card reader. (However, as I've never been to a tarot card reader either I am open to the possibilities that they are also quite skilled, but it just isn't something I am interested in at this time.)

When it came time for my appointment, I sat down at a small table in the middle of a cordoned off area in the mall's centre with the psychic. We chatted briefly about the necklace that I was wearing that she had admired and then she told me that she was going to tape our session in order to time herself (I had booked 15 minutes) but also so that I could take the tape away with me when we were done to remember what she said. Laura (not her real name) then told me that she was going to take my hands for a few minutes to read my aura/chakras and then she would start telling me what she sensed.

I have to admit that I was a bit nervous, as I suppose people normally are when you open yourselves up to let others "see" you. But Laura made me feel at ease right away and the whole process felt completely natural. Soon, she released one of my hands and asked me something like, 'Can I get right to it?', which I took to mean she wanted to be completely frank with me. I said yes.

The first couple of things Laura said to me were so dead on accurate about a couple of my vulnerable character traits that I almost immediately started to cry. It flashed through my brain that I actually was going to burst into tears right there in the middle of the mall! Luckily, the moment passed and I was able to really concentrate on what she was saying. It's hard for me to divulge what she said here as yes, it's quite private, but I will say that it was incredible how well she seemed to know me. I had told her in the beginning that I wanted to learn about my career, and she told me many things about myself and my nature that I really connected with.

Laura told me that I am not the kind of person who just goes to work each day for 8 hours, follows orders, and comes home and does it all again the next day; the word she used was 'drone'. She said 70% of the population are people like this, and I am definitely not one of them. That absolutely is the case, I would die in that type of position. Laura also told me that eventually I will make a lot of money working for very few hours a day, which was amazing! I have to say that this is something I have always thought was in my future, but at this time I only have a very little idea of how I will get to that position. Laura advised that it may be difficult for me to seek out this type of situation, but that eventually it will 'find me' - essentially she said that opportunities will fall in my lap. And they already are.

As an aside, it has been interesting to me these last few weeks that when I said to 'the universe' (ie. a few people) that I needed a little extra work to do on the side, that I could possibly do from home or on my own time, opportunities just started to appear. So far, three things have come up that are possibilities in this regard for me, and it has amazed me how right the phrase has become for me that, "When you leap, the net will appear." What Laura said in my oh-so-short session with her confirmed that I am on the right track, and that great opportunities will arise in the future for me. I just have to be patient to have them all realize themselves in my path.

Overall, I was really pleased with the leap I made to take in this type of session with a psychic intuitive. It's not something that I think I will do over and over again, but doing it once was enlightening and exciting and it certainly gave me hope and inspiration for the future that I will live.

Shades of Victoria: Fall

2009-10-19T21:47:00.000-07:00

Strolled under this lovely view while out for a walk with Chelsea yesterday. Yep, it's definitely fall here now.

Thanksgiving 3BT

2009-10-17T14:21:00.000-07:00

Canadian Thanksgiving was a week ago and the picture I took above signifies two 'beautiful things' that happened around this holiday.

The first beautiful thing was that I had a Tupperware party a few weeks before Thanksgiving and got over $140 dollars in free Tupperware for being the host - that was pretty cool. The second was that I used my new Tupperware to hold some yummy stuffing that was leftover from our Thanksgiving dinner.

Now for me storage stuff is pretty cool in general, because I'm a great organizer, but when I added delicious Thanksgiving stuffing into the storage container it just became a thing of beauty. Nothing's better than pulling out some leftover stuffing a few weeks after Thanksgiving and having your fill again of delicious breaded delight. Mmm, good.

The third beautiful thing? Our lovely neighbours invited us over for another Thanksgiving dinner at their house, and we had a great time. Chelsea didn't want to try the turkey or the potatoes or the yams or the stuffing (but the cranberry sauce was OK), and ended up running around their house like a girl with a mission but no mishaps occurred and the scene was generally contained chaos. Nice.

Happy belated Thanksgiving everyone!

Oil and water

2009-10-12T20:19:00.000-07:00

The 8K race at the Royal Victoria Marathon and I are turning out to be like oil and water. Two years ago I signed up months in advance but when the time came I didn't run the race. I was newly pregnant and had seen a physio for my knee which was giving me problems. I gave up running for a little while then.

This year I got back into it and completed the Times Colonist 10K in April just like I did two years ago. I got my momentum back and soon after that race was done I signed up for the Royal Victoria Marathon's 8K again, knowing that this time I would actually do it. (I wasn't planning on getting pregnant again this year!)

But this past Saturday afternoon I was having trouble swallowing and woke up Sunday morning with a lump in my throat too big to run with. It hurt to even talk so I decided to bail on running the 8K yet again. Oh I know, I could have gone and suffered through it, but truth be told I had been slacking on my runs (big time slacking) and knew that I was already going to pay for running it, and wasn't looking forward to being further in pain in my throat. So I didn't go. Again.

Sheesh.

Third time's a charm for 2010? Here's hoping!

Duck, duck...chicken?

2009-10-11T14:43:00.000-07:00

The other day Chelsea and I were hanging out (as we sometimes do!) and decided to go up to Haliburton Community Organic Farm on Haliburton Road to check out their farm stand produce. It had been recommended to us that we visit the ducks and chickens while we were there and I am so glad we did. I've mentioned before that I'm very conscious of the fact that we don't live on a farm or in the country but I still want Chelsea to have outdoor "country-like" experiences while she's growing up. Call me a small town girl at heart, but it concerns me that some kids don't even know what vegetables look like when they're growing in the ground, or have the opportunity to see real live animals in a natural setting. So, to see the ducks and chickens we went.

Of course, at 19 months, Chelsea is a real fan of ducks and chickens. I also love the cluck clucking and honking sounds they make, and they way they cluster together 'like birds of a feather' going about their natural routines, foraging for food around the farm. Haliburton Farm is a nice little slice of countryside in the Cordova Bay area of Saanich, and they now have a lovely permanent farm stand that is open (now that it is fall again) on Wednesdays and Saturdays. I bought some yummy red chard while I was there, along with a peppery salad greens mix (which included edible flowers) and some tomatillos. Check out their website to find out about their upcoming Hallowe'en event for kids, and check it out again soon when they post their Christmas sale. I attended it last year and saw many lovely things on offer.

Having the chance to go to places like Haliburton Farm is just another reason why I love living in Victoria. Visit it soon if you have a chance and know that you are supporting local farms and local fresh food while you are there. They might even let you see the ducks and chickens.