the beginning of a new era...

in our attempt to live a little healthier and exercise more (ok exercise, period) adrienne and i decided to get off our butts and go play some 'tennis'. and by 'tennis' i mean running around a tennis court with our racquets trying to hit the ball. anyway, it was great fun and we were able to get in some good playing time for about 40 minutes before the lightning started and the rain fell. all in all it was good times, so we've decided to (try to) make it a weekly thing. i'm excited - yay for tennis thursdays! :)

p.s. i bought a new tennis racquet a few years ago because my hands were too small for the other one and i must say, the smaller/thinner handle makes such a huge difference: the racquet feels great and my wrist isn't in pain this time around. sweet.

book nook: little women

little women
louisa may alcott

i recently worked as an accompanist for a small theatrical production company during the auditions and callbacks for their upcoming production of little women, the musical. after listening to lines being read, songs being sung, and conversations about the characters themselves, i was intrigued.

by the time i got home from the first day of auditions, i had already decided i was going to read the book. someone gave it to me way back as a present, but i never got around to reading it and forgot all about it as it got pushed farther and farther back into the labyrinth that is the back of my closet. (i'm so glad i was able to find it.) actually, the version that i have includes both little women and good wives, the original sequel to little women, making it an even sweeter discovery. :)

the book is set in america with the american civil war serving as its chronological backdrop. centred around a family of four daughters, the book is about the lives of the sisters, their hopes, dreams, and loves. all in all it's a heartwarming book written in a way where it's impossible not to love the characters (or at least most of them) and become submersed in their world for a little while.

full of many heart-tugging moments, and zero trashiness, this book is one that made me laugh, cry, smile, and feel warm and fuzzy inside. i recommend it to those who are interested in reading it, but haven't had the chance to yet.

brad doggett and jeremy "passion" manongdo

youtube is home to a lot of stuff. some of it is great, some is not so great, some is really awesome, and some is just plain crap. on the music front, these two guys are definitely part of the really awesome category.


this guy, brad doggett, does covers of a lot of songs from different genres; from britney to wyclef jean to oasis, this guy does it all and does it well. he may not be the greatest musically, but his videos and music have an authenticity to them, a 'grass roots' and feel if you will, that really appeals to me. it's just him being himself and his guitar. that, plus the fact that he has one of the nicest voices i've ever heard, makes him my favourite musician on youtube right now.


this guy, passion, is just plain solid. his guitar playing is solid, his voice is solid, and his music is solid. so good. he seems to do a lot of talking in many of his videos, so i'll just leave my description of him at that. haha.

...and now i must go and practice guitar, bye!

things that go kaboom in the sky

^ sadly i can't take credit for this picture. image from chromasia.

i went with justin and some friends to see the fireworks at the unionville festival yesterday. as per usual, the fireworks were big, bright, and beautiful - and worth all the mosquito bites. there was just something so heartening about the scene as a whole, standing there beside my favourite person in front of toogood pond watching explosions of light illuminate the sky while hearing the sound of laughter, oohs, and ahhs escape from the crowd around me.

it's all about enjoying the small moments in life. :)

so slothy

so far, today has been one of those days - lazy, unproductive, and slothy. i've been trying to get working on my case study, but i've had such a hard time focusing. motivation is at an all-time low, which is unfortunate seeing as i really need to get this bloody accreditation file done so i can move on to bigger and better things in life. sid the sloth may be cute (in a really ugly and demented sort of way), but slothiness is nothing but fugly to its core. must get past this hurdle and out of this hole.

ronald weasley and the youtube video about the vortex

so randomly funny i just had to share it. :)

william fitzsimmons

i'm going to the brooke fraser concert in july and this guy, william fitzsimmons, is gonna be opening for her. i don't really know him, but i like him already. he puts my weak and sucky guitar skills to complete shame. (note to self: must get better. and soon.) like i needed another reason to be excited for this concert, but i got one anyway. can't wait!

book nook: tuesdays with morrie

tuesdays with morrie
mitch albom

i've been wanting to read this book for a while now so when i saw it hiding on a shelf at my local library, i snatched it up right away. i'm so glad i found it.

this book is a memoir outlining the journey/relationship between a professor and his former student as the professor's health declines. through the professor's philosophical tidbits and outlook on life despite his failing condition, the student is reminded of what is really important in life and what is truly needed to live.

i appreciate the fact that albom's writing made the heavy content in this book digestible and the fact that he threw in snippets of the past to put things into context. i literally soaked this book up in a couple of hours and couldn't put it down until i was finished. even though the book itself is small and thin, don't let it fool you - there's a lot of depth and wisdom in its pages.

all in all it was great book which i thoroughly enjoyed and definitely recommend. just be sure to have some tissue around.

book nook: in my mother's house

in my mother's house
margaret mcmullan

so in my attempt to get back into reading books other harry potter or artemis fowl, i've decided to write a little blurb on the books i read whenever i finish them and get around to doing so. i'm fully aware that i am no book critic and for all i know everything i write might be complete crap, but at least i try. haha. keep in mind these are my own personal thoughts so read them with a grain of salt if you need or want to. ok, here we go.

this book was actually the first non-harry potter book i've picked up and finished in...well let's just say it's been a long time. :P unfortunately although i didn't dislike it i didn't necessarily like it much either - actually, the only reason why i ended up finishing it at all was because i was determined to see it to the end. while the subject matter was touching and concept of the book was interesting, it didn't really capture or keep my attention long enough to make me want to keep reading.

i personally didn't feel like i really connected with any of the characters which probably made the book seem longer than it actually was. i also found it a little confusing to follow at times since it switched between the perspectives of the mother and the daughter every chapter and there were quite a few jumps in time. then again, maybe i just didn't get it.

i did end up finishing this book in less than a week so the writing itself must have been ok, but that kind of sums up my thoughts on this book: it's an ok read. not great (despite multiple 5-star ratings over at amazon.com), just ok.

sometimes you just need to rant

dear mr. neighbour,

kindly tell your kids to stay off our property (which means no more flying kites, running around or playing catch in our yard), please stay off our property yourself (which means no more playing catch in our yard for you either), stop using our water supply and hose to clean out your own eavestrough, and stop being the biggest jerk to ever live beside us.

thanks ever so much,
sharon