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Jul 31, 2009

Facts for Friday

Canada is a major producer and consumer of cheese. In 1997, Canadians produced 350,000 tons of at least 32 varieties of cheese and ate an average of 23.4 pounds per person, with cheddar being the most popular. (Source)

The first recorded “nose job” is found in ancient Indian Sanskrit texts (600 B.C.). Physicians would reconstruct noses by cutting skin from either the cheek or forehead, twisting the skin side out over a leaf of the appropriate size, and sewing the skin into place. Two polished wooden tubes would be inserted into the nostrils to keep the air passage open during healing. (Source)

Tigers have striped skin not just striped fur. (Source)

The largest ice cream sundae weighed 54,914 pounds. It was made by Palm Daries Ltd. in Alberta, Canada in 1988. (Source)

Identical twins represent about a third of all twins. (Source)

A wild yak doesn’t reach full size until 6 to 8 years of age. (Source)

Germany became world’s first country to adopt Daylight Saving Time (DST), in the year 1916. (Source)

During pregnancy, a woman's blood volume increases up to 50%. (Source)

Many quail chicks are precocial, which means relatively mature and mobile from the moment of hatching, so can leave the nest with their parents. (Source)

Compared with other metals, gold is much softer. It can even be hammered so very thin that the light of the sun can shine through it. (Source)

Toothbrush bristles were originally made from the hair of cows.(Source)

Almost 15 billion jelly beans are sold during the Easter season. (Source)

The slowest mammal on earth is the tree sloth. It only moves at a speed of 6 feet (1.83 meters) per minute. (Source)

The black bulldog ant from Australia is the most dangerous ant in the world. It stings and bites at the same time and has killed humans. (Source)

Jul 30, 2009

Shoes!


These are the shoes I recently bought. As I've mentioned before, they're for my brother's wedding, in which I am a bridesmaid. Yes, I picked them out myself, and yes, there just might be something wrong with my head. See, I don't wear a lot of heels. I used to, when I was younger. In fact, I wore pretty much nothing but heels for long enough that people thought I was actually tall. (ha!) But those were chunky heels, platforms and wedges. Nothing like this. I'm actually not doing that bad in them. I've been practicing! In fact, I'm wearing them right now. Yesterday, I wore them for more then an hour around the house while I did things like empty the dishwasher, sweep the floors and fix a snack. I even took a trip up and down the basement stairs. I know practice is going to be the key to mastering them (Also, I've read good things about Dr. Scholl's for her high heel inserts so I might try to get my hands on some of those!), and I've got just over a month to do it.

Other then "Practice, practice, practice!", Anyone have any tips for walking in very high heels/stilettos?

Things I Love Thursday



Coffee, ice cream on hot days, AIR CONDITIONING, new shoes, mascara, magazines, veggies & dip, headbands, learning, sunglasses, daydreaming about futures - both possible and impossible, The Sims 3, getting caught up on photo editing, idea generation and creative inspiration, Bowling for Soup, Ham, sales, beer.

Meow.

Jul 29, 2009

Bouquet de Tomates-Cerises


What a beautiful way to display this adorable Cheery Tomato-Mozzarella-Basil Appetizer!

Click Here for image source (Page is in French)


found via Tastespotting

Jul 28, 2009

Three Things

Three Things I'm working on:

  • My Fitness level - This is not going as well as I'd like. I need to step it up a notch...or three.
  • Walking in my New Heels - They're mega tall and I'm just not used to wearing heels that tall. They're to wear as a bridesmaid at my brother's wedding at the end of August, so I've got about a month to master them.
  • Bettering my Photography Skills

Three Things in my fridge right now:

  • Cauliflower
  • Leftover ham
  • A bottle of (awesome AND cheep!) honey dijon mustard

Three photos of Memo:

Jul 26, 2009

Review: KitKat Senses


I was at the dollar store, and I spotted these KitKat Senses in the junk food isle. It was 65¢ so I grabbed one. I'd seen them in stores before and had been curious to try them. The package describes them as "Real milk chocolate, crispy wafer and and creamy hazelnut filling." Sounds pretty awesome, right?

It smells like a KitKat, with a slightly hazelnutty-ness. So far, so good.



It tastes...like a KitKat, but with less flavor. The chocolate was really creamy, but pretty bland. The hazelnut flavor was very very faint, and almost undetectable.

Overall, it was pretty disappointing. I'd rather have a regular KitKat. Or better yet, a KitKat Chunky, which I have no idea why it's better then a regular KitKat, it just is.

Jul 24, 2009

Facts for Friday

Male lions can reach a length of 10 feet and weigh between 300 to 500 pounds or more. Female lions are slightly smaller. (Source)

A lion's roar can be heard up to 5 miles away. (Source

A dog’s shoulder blades are unattached to the rest of the skeleton to allow greater flexibility for running. (Source)

The border between Canada and the United States is officially known as the International Boundary. At 5,525 miles, including 1,538 miles between Canada and Alaska, it is the world's longest border between two nations. (Source)

Rome’s first university, La Sapienza (est. A.D. 1303), is the largest in Europe and the second largest in the world. (Source)

A group of Kangaroos is called a mob. (Source)

Kids aged 2-12 and adults over 45 eat the most ice cream. (Source

Birth rates for identical twins are consistent across populations; it is the same regardless of race, geography or maternal age. (Source

Vampire legends date as far back as ancient Egypt and Sumeria. (Source)

In winter a wild yak can survive temperatures as low as - 40 degrees (F). (Source)

The tallest church in the world, Ulm Cathedral, is in Germany. It is 161.53 meters (530 feet) high. (Source)

One zucchini has just 25 calories. (Source)

Dollar stores pay an average of 32 cents for every item they sell. (Source)

Cats receive more Valentine gifts than dogs. (Source)

Wind energy is the fastest growing segment of all renewable energy sources. (Source)

California Quail live in coveys and enjoy community dust baths. (Source)

Teeth in humans start to form before they are born. (Source)

Jul 23, 2009

Things I Love Thursday

1. ♥ Coffee and oreo, 2. Lily, 3. Free Punk Girl with Lollipop Strawberry Fields Forever Creative Commons, 4. Blue Hawaiian

coffee, fruit salad, salad in general, playing with new make-up, walks, planning, anticipating packages (bridesmaid shoes! luggage!), pay week w/ extra $$ for working canada day, deep breaths, working on becoming the best me possible (as cheesy as that is), purple, sunshine, six feet under, The Offspring, tanktops, photography, ninjas, Eureka, flowers in my garden, lilies, chipmunks and their chubby sunflower seed filed cheeks, Burn Notice, Blazers, pinstripes, dark blue nails (With Sparkles!), blueberry muffins, clearance sales at the liquor store (cheep fruity wine, $4-something a bottle!), clearance sales in general, tiny green tomatoes waiting to turn red, necklaces.


Jul 17, 2009

Jay


Jay, originally uploaded by deedoucette.

Police Reports

I love reading the police report. Sure, a lot of it is what you'd expect: stolen property, traffic collisions, public drunkenness and the like. Every once and again, though, you get to read something that is incredibly entertaining, and often gloriously absurd.

My favorite excerpts from a recent local report:

  • "A patient going to a New Minas clinic failed to leave her car in gear. It was reported stolen, but was located nearby, slightly damaged after having rolled away. "
  • "A North Kentville resident phoned police about the smell of a load of manure."
  • "At 4:15 p.m., police were informed of a possible impaired driver on Main St. The driver was simply avoiding potholes while delivering a wedding cake to the Blomidon Inn."
And, my absolute favorite:
  • "Another man called to complain his car keys had been taken because he had consumed too much alcohol."

What's the funniest things that you've ever read in a police report?

Facts for Friday

Canadians have made many important inventions, including Kerosene, the electron microscope, the electronic organ, insulin, the IMAX film system, the snowmobile, and the electric cooking range. (Source)

The Moosehead Brewery in Saint John, New Brunswick, turns out 1,642 bottles of beer per minute.(Source)

Sometimes gladiator blood was recommended by Roman physicians as an aid to fertility.(Source)

Today, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo products are sold in every country in the world, except North Korea. (Source)
Burger King’s Double Whopper with cheese contains 923 calories. A man would need to walk for about nine miles to burn it off. Adding french fries and a large cola brings the total calories to an amazing 1,500 calories (2/3 of an adult man’s recommended caloric intake) (Source)

In Ventura County, California, cats and dogs are not allowed to have sex without a permit. (Source)

Dog nose prints are as unique as human finger prints and can be used to identify them. (Source)

White lions were found to exist in the late 20th century. The pale color of their coats is due to a recessive gene. (Source)

Yogurt that contains both calcium and vitamin D is a good combination to fight against osteoporosis. (Source)


Ramses the Great had 8 official wives and nearly 100 concubines. He was over 90 years old when he died in 1212 BC. (Source)

The “hog-nosed bat” has a body that is only one-inch long. The length of each wing is about three inches. (Source)

Jul 15, 2009

Creepy, Crawly, Slimy

I'm not really a huge fan of creepy/crawly/slithery/slimy things, but I don't, generally, think they're a big deal. Spiders, snakes...whatever. I'm not going to freak out about them (although I'd rather not touch them if at all possible). There are a few creatures out there, however, that just thinking about them makes my skin crawl.

In No Particular Order:

June Bugs










June Bugs came out in May this year, and boy, did we have a lot of them at the new house. Ugh. They're big and they stick to you and they're stupid and I hate them. Jasmine likes them. She chases them around and then eats them. Crunch.

Jasmine


Eels










I don't why I don't like eels. It's pretty irrational. Especially since I think our loaches are cute, and they're very eel like. Makes no sense at all. Meh. It might have to do with the fact that they keep moving after they're dead, like Slimy Zombies.

Loach!
Leeches









They're black, slimy and they suck your blood. Oh, and they don't have faces. Do I have to say anymore?

Ticks











Ticks burrow into your skin to feast on your blood, and they carry lime disease, which doesn't sound very pleasant. Also, they BURROW into your SKIN.

Earwigs











Ew. We had an infestation of these little buggers every summer at the old apartment. Look at the pinchers! *shudder I'm pretty sure my problem with earwigs started when someone told me that they crawl into your ears and burrow into your brain to lay their eggs. I know that that's an old wives tale (Although, according to Wikipedia, they like warm. humid crevices, so they may crawl into your ear canal. Lovely.), but that knowledge doesn't make me any less creeped out by them.

How about
you? What creatures make your skin crawl or hairs stand on end?

Image Credits: jakevol2, augustusoz, Dave ®, John Carleton, WesDigital and me!

Jul 14, 2009

Review: SunChips Peppercorn Ranch

I was looking something snack like at work, so I made a stop at the break room vending machine. After considering my options, I decided on SunChip's Peppercorn Ranch Flavor. I opened the bag and took a sniff. I was kind of disappointed that they smelled like nothing, but hey, at least they didn't smell bad, right? On first taste they had very little flavor. Anyone who has ever had SunChips knows that they have a distinct flavor that I would describe as "Whole Grainy-ness", which makes sence, since they're a multi-grain chip. That's pretty much all it tasted like. There was a slight ranch flavor, but it was really faint. A few more chips in, the ranch flavor got stronger, but not so strong that it over powered the Whole Grainy-ness.

Overall, I found them quite enjoyable. I'd get them again.

Jul 11, 2009

Dead and Alive


Dead and Alive, originally uploaded by deedoucette.

Jul 10, 2009

Facts for Friday

Egyptian’s believed that the earth was flat and round (like a pancake) and that the Nile flowed through the center of it. (Source)

More movies are produced each year in Bollywood then in Hollywood. In fact, it's nearly double the amount. (Source)

Worldwide, 20,000 brands of beer are brewed in 180 styles, from ales, lagers, pilsner and stouts to bitters, cream ales and iced beers. (Source)

Cows don't have upper front teeth. (Source)

Over 90% of all fish caught are caught in the northern hemisphere. (Source)

Lions do not like competition and frequently attack and kill fellow predators like leopards, hyenas and cheetahs.(Source)

The amount American Airlines saved in 1987 by eliminating one olive from each salad served in first class: $40,000. (Source)

In the 40's, the Bich pen was changed to Bic for fear that Americans would pronounce it 'Bitch.' (Source)

Yogurt and other cultured dairy products are made by adding specific cultures to fluid dairy products in order to convert some lactose (milk sugar) into lactic acid. (Source)

There are 938,310 people living in Nova Scotia as of 2008 (Source)

The world’s biggest ever portion of fish and chips was cooked in Hull during Seafood Week, October 2002. The fillet, which measured 34 in long and 14 in wide, weighed 28 pounds and 1 ounce, beating the previous world record by two pounds. (Source)

Mother bats have one baby in their litter. The baby bats are called “pups.” When a pup is born, it usually has no hair and its eyes are closed. It clings to the mother bat and drinks milk from her. When the pup is about four months old, it learns to fly. (Source)

Police offers in Palding, Ohio, are by law allowed to bite a dog to quiet it.(Source)

Cryptozoologists claim that Canada is the home of several cryptids, including Sasquatch, a giant sloth-like creature known as the beaver-eater, a cannibalistic wildman named Windigo, and a number of lake monsters, such as Ogopogo in Lake Okanagan, British Columbia. (Source)

Only two types of mammals are native to Hawaii: the hoary bat and the monk seal. (Source)

Some ancient Romans placed a phallic symbol over a door as a symbol of good luck and fertility, and miniature phalluses were often worn as lucky charms. (Source)

Jul 8, 2009

Things Jasmine Wanted to Bring Home with Us on Our Walk Today

- Two cigarette packages
- An Orange Peal
- A hunk of News Paper
- An orange Peal
- a Baby's sock
- Several Chocolate Bar Wrappers
- a work glove
and
- A Tim Horton's Cup

I didn't let her bring home any of it. Because I'm Mean.

Links!

Lets start things off with a little photographic inspiration 20 Effective Reflection Photos is incredible. Really.

How the Food Makers Captured Our Brains - Dr. David A. Kessler describes some reasons for over eating and how foods are designed to stimulate our desire for more.

Google 241543903 for photos of people with their heads in freezers. via Laughing Squid. Man, the internet is weird.

Shocking Food Network/Rachael Ray Magazine Advertising Statistics. Food Network Humor takes a look at the advertising in Food Network Magazine, Rachael Ray, Time, Us Weekly, Paula Deen, Bon Appetit, and Star.

(The Customer Is) Not Always Right: The Child May Get a Himself Complex, Dinner Without a Show is No Dinner At All, Hand Washing's Heyday is Gone, Desperate For Dessert, Where There's a Pill There's A Way, Delicious Deals, Children Should Come With a Manual...Or a Hotline, and Super Absorbent for Those Mentally Heavy Days.

Doe Deere of Lime Crime writes about running your own business.

How about trying out some Everyday Acts of Fantastic?

The Bacon Fairy - So THAT'S where bacon comes from!

This Tattoo made me laugh...and also made me crave a nice, refreshing can of Pizza.

Scientology: The Truth Rundown is part one of a three part special report on Scientology.

Who Approved That? 7 Food Promotions Gone Horribly Wrong.

Come to the Fair! (Funny Newspaper clipping)

Hot Dogs. They seem to be all over the internet right now. Which is fine with me, I like hot dogs. Would you eat these 10 Off-The-Wall Hot Dogs? I'd totally eat the ditch dogs. Mac & Cheese + Hot Dog is a great combination, but I'd never think to put it on a bun. How about these Globally Inspired Hot Dogs? A lot of them sound awesome, some strange but interesting, but I just don't know about putting banana on my hot dog a la Hawaiian Dog. Also, This is a cheese stuffed bacon wrapped hot dog. You're welcome.

Awesome Black and white photo of a Small Man with a Cat.

"I Was Looking for Panda Sauce, Thanks Fresh Direct!"

Important Skill: How to Capture a Giant Squid.

Crazy adorable Caterpillar Sushi Rolls.

There are blue koi in the ponds of Maruoka Castle. Seriously cool.

More Funny from the newspaper: What?, What?, Really?, Easy mistake to make, Serendipity, and Most Wanted Fugitive?

Gorgeous chandeliers, shaped like ships.

nytimes.com shares the stories of people who got bargains on incredible houses because they're in terrible locations. What's more important to you? Location or living space?

Fallen Princesses: Disney Just Got Real is a great set of photos that puts Disney Princesses in real world situation.

Light Breakfast - It could literally float away!

I Love Good Photo Manipulation, mostly because I suck at it. These 40 examples are indeed incredible.

Interesting Facts about Beavers.

45 photos of unusual canned foods from around the world. I have wanted to get a cheeseburger in a can for awhile. I don't want to eat it though, the reviews are terrible. I just want one. To show people.

MEASLES: A Dangerous Illness is an Article by Roald Dahl about measles, his daughter Olivia and vaccinating your children. via boing boing.

Call Now: The Infomercial Slogan Quiz

Armies Hopped up on Drugs - Apparently, history (including recent history) is full of them.

Life With a 100-lb Rodent that Sounds like a Geiger counter when it's Happy. His name is Caplin, and I think he's adorable. And I don't usually like rodents, giant or otherwise. (via boing boing, which is also where I got the link title)

I think this is my favorite cake wrecks ever. I especially like the rubber duck/lobster "12 Month anniversary" cake.

25 Ugly Food Tattoos. They're pretty awesome/awful, but they're no can of pizza. Also, I kinda like the happy dancing meat tattoo. I mean, I don't want one of my own, but it's kinda cute.

Doctors are both baffled and intrigued by Brooke Greenberg, a girl who does not age.

Meme Scenery - Several internet memes, but with only the background.

Photoshot Disasters: Behind You!

An illistrated graph on tasty desserts. Price vs tasty-ness.

Found Magazine Find of the Day: Ol' Greb. Sometimes I drink Bailey's from a shoe.

Comic: The Science News Cycle. So true.

In Defence of Distraction. The Benifets of Distraction and over Stimulation.

Looking Out


Looking Out, originally uploaded by deedoucette.

Jul 7, 2009

Pupper


Pupper, originally uploaded by deedoucette.

Three Things

Three things that make me Happy

- The Boyfriend
- My Animals (Memo (Kitty) , Jasmine (puppy), my Betta fish Mason and the other fishes)
- Dessert (there is apple pie in my fridge at home. Exciting!)

Three things I've eaten in the last 24 hrs

- Homemade Fruit Salad (strawberries, kiwi, apple, pineapple, some kind of citrus fruit and some kind of melon) that my Dad made. Fresh Fruit salad? Always great.
- A burger made out of part regular hamburger, part deer burger (it also had cheese, bacon, honey dijon mustard, ketchup, lettuce and mayo and some kind of spices in the meat). ps: it was awesome.
- Whole Wheat toast with Peanut Butter. The toast was a bit overdone, but not burnt to a crisp, so the peanut butter fixed that.

Three Pictures of Nature I've taken



Jul 6, 2009

Lilac Beginings


Lilac Beginings, originally uploaded by deedoucette.

Taken May 16, 2009

Jul 3, 2009

Facts for Friday

In order to deter flies from landing on him, Pepi II of Egypt always kept several naked slaves nearby whose bodies were smeared with honey. (Source)

The first ice-cream soda was sold in 1874 in the US. (Source)

Earth is the only planet not named after a pagan God. (Source)

An adult female lion requires about 11 pounds of meat per day. An adult male requires an average of 15 pounds or more. (Source)

The first product to have a bar code scanned was Wrigley's gum. (Source)

Black olives contain on average 10 to 30% more oil than green olives. (Source)

Iceland has the highest concentration of broadband users in the world. (Source)

The pet ferret was domesticated more than 500 years before the house cat. (Source)

The record for the most portions of fish and chips sold by an independent fish and chip shop in one day is over 4,000. (Source)

Beer has been a popular beverage for a long time. Babylonian clay tablets show detailed recipes of beer making in 4300 BC. Beer was also brewed by the ancient Chinese, Assyrians and Incas. (Source)

The first Espresso machine was introduced in 1822 by the French, but it was the Italians who perfected and distributed it. (Source)

The word "tip" comes from old London coffeehouses where the waiters' brass boxes were etched with the inscription, "To Insure Promptness." (Source)

Jul 2, 2009

Things I Love Thursday



Strawberries! - On Sunday, the boyfriend and I wen to the U-Pick and picked a flat of strawberries. That's 8 boxes of strawberries, and it only cost $9. Can't beat that! So I've been snacking on strawberries and eating strawberry shortcake all week. Yum!

Holiday Pay - Yesterday was Canad day, which is a stat holiday. And I was working. Canada Day is not a bad holiday to work, since I probably wouldn't have done anything anyway. So, I got time and a half for working, plus 8 hours pay for the stat holiday, which will work out to a good hunk of extra cash on a future paycheck. Which is always a good thing.

Winning things - I just won 10 airmiles and something else from work. I don't even know what the something else is yet, and it'll probably be some crappy useless garbage, but who cares?! Winning makes you feel good.

Kennel Training the Dog - We've been having a really hard time house training Jasmine, and things were especially bad at night. One gets pretty tired of having to clean up puppy pee every single morning, ya know? We wanted to kennel train her, but dog kennels are pretty pricey. Well, my dad found us a perfect size kennel at a yard sale for $15! Great Deal. It worked like a charm. Jasmine doesn't even cry when we put her in it, she just goes to sleep. Perfect!

Other: Coffee, my big red purse, chicken burgers, laughing, walks, Bif Naked, singing, Online Banking, black pens.