Thursday, November 22, 2012

An Affirmation.

af·fir·ma·tion  (fr-mshn)
n.
1. The act of affirming or the state of being affirmed; assertion.
2. Something declared to be true; a positive statement or judgment.
3. Law A solemn declaration given in place of a sworn statement by a person who conscientiously objects to taking an oath.
This morning, as the kids were entering the school and I had already given kisses and hugs and wished my son a good day, I thought I'd better say to him what I say nearly every day "Have fun and don't get sent to the Principal's office!" He probably didn't hear me, but a parent standing next to me did. She turned to me with a slight smile and said, something about maybe trying to not say anything negative. She doesn't know me well, so she doesn't realize that this has been the running joke between my son and I since he started preschool.  
I turned to her and I said "I don't worry, he is possibly the best student in his classroom, and has never been sent to the principals office". She smiled and said "I didn't think he was the type". 
As we turned and continued to our respective vehicles she continued the conversation with "I talked to him on the play ground one day you know".
Me: "oh, really?"
She:. "Yes, he is an very beautiful child, he is so aware and in tune with the world around him."
She them grabbed my arm just for a seconds, but looked me in the eye, and said "You must be doing something right with him".
My heart skipped a beat and I said "I don't think it is just me, he was born that way, and I just nurture some of those traits he came with, but from the day I brought him home from the hospital, he has been highly aware".
"He is a very special boy, maybe even an indigo child, he will do something amazing, he will change the world" She said. I looked at her once more and replied "We need that don't we, specially now".
I think that has been one of the most profound and maybe prophetic conversations I have had with anyone about my son. I knew he was special from the minute I knew I was pregnant (7 days after conception?), and something inside me said guard this baby with your life. I don't know what his future holds, or why he was born from me, but I do know that I am not the only one who sees the potential. That makes me smile.
Peace and love,
Viviana

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Pin up Girls

Just sharing some of my favourites, I have hundreds in my collection, but these I like the best.
Enjoy.
Viviana





My sky....


Wednesday, October 10, 2012

A Letter from Justin Trudeau, for all Canadians

Friend --
It has been a week already since I was in Papineau, surrounded by family, friends and supporters, to announce my candidacy to become the next leader of the Liberal Party of Canada.
In the days that followed, I travelled to Calgary, then to Richmond, Mississauga, Dieppe and home to Sophie and the kids for Thanksgiving as a family.
I want to let you know what I saw over the course of this extraordinary week-- and why I'm in this race.
It is inspiring to look out across a crowd of Canadians who care deeply about our country.
You feel an incredible energy and optimism, a powerful mix of promise and possibility. You see it in Canadians from every walk of life, from every corner of our country and the world. You hear it from people who have been volunteering on election campaigns since their school days, and from those who have never set foot in a political meeting before in their lives.
Young and old, French and English, urban and rural, and from coast to coast to coast, we share the same, simple belief that built this magnificent country: that together we can create a better life for one another, and a better Canada for our kids.
I'm running because I hope to share that vision with a new generation of leaders. I want to lead the Liberal Party of Canada because I believe that citizenship demands service -- and there is no higher form than awakening in others a passion to serve.
And so if there is one thing that I hope to accomplish, between now and next April, it is this: to bring young Canadians back into our politics, so that we give the "leaders of tomorrow" the chance to be what they have always been -- the leaders of today.
That's how we'll ensure that the priorities of our government reflect the demands of our future. We can meet our greatest challenges -- creating jobs and prosperity, protecting our environment, making education accessible and opportunity equal -- but only if we harness the full potential of our people.
That's the Canada we can build together -- where no one's talents are left to languish, and no Canadian gets pushed to the margins or left out in the cold.
The positive message we're bringing, that middle class success means Canada's success, is being welcomed by Liberals across the country.
This campaign is not about passing the torch, but about kindling a new flame; not about renewing what was, but about building anew. It's about being part of the change.
We need the courage to discard old dogma and the pretensions of the past. It won't be easy. Real change never is. But with new energy, new ideas, and new boldness, we'll succeed -- and, above all, we'll succeed together.
I hope you'll encourage your friends and family to join the conversation about our country's future.
Visit Justin.ca for information on how to sign up to become a supporter, receive updates, donate and volunteer.
We have an incredible opportunity in the next six months to bring new ideas and new people into our party and our public life.
We are just getting started. Join us.

Justin

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Come Visit me at Prepper Archive

This is a whole new project which I am delighted to be part of! Please come visit, and leave a comment. It is called Prepper Archive, and it is a blog of all things to prepare us for anything in the future!

Cheers,
Viviana

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Fun Photography

Has it really been a month since I last blogged?? I suppose there is just too much going on some days and by the end of the day, the last thing I want to do it is think clearly enough to write a note. As much as I love to share so many of my projects, lately, I just have enough time to make things in time to give them away, I tend to forget to take a picture and thus I have nothing to share.
Well, this is a photography project so I have something to share. Basically, I wanted to do some fun pictures with my son, something unique and interesting...I wanted us both in the photos, and I also wanted self portraits, so we went down to the Ed Worthy Park near our home and took some really cool pictures. I used a new filter for my DSLR and we just had fun. I used the free Picasa program from Google to edit and adjust and do some simple retouching. The updated Picasa program is awesome and it gives you some effects reminiscent of the 1960's and 70's photography popular now with the instagram app for mobile devices. You can get playing around for hours and printed, these pictures look beautiful. Picasa is free and you can load it onto any computer. So much fun, enjoy the pics. I will try to post more later in the week.








Cheers,
Viviana

Sunday, March 25, 2012

The Cake That Broke My Arms (true story)

This is it, and I realized that I am not cut out for rolling out fondant, but I do make a wonderful cake. The cake itself was two lemon cakes with lime curd in the middle, melted marshmallow frosting, topped with fondant. Now, I am not an expert in these matters, but really??!! I never knew that not matter how soft fondant gets, it will break your arms to roll it out big enough to make a small round cake! At least I felt like they needed to be lopped off before bed, they throbbed and ached and I am still feeling like I may have tendonitis at the elbow joint. The cake was a smash hit with the kids, specially those that love sweets. you see the thick stars? That's cause at this point, my arms had no energy for pressure left, so I rolled the fondant about 1/3 inch thick and tried my best to make them stick to the sides.
I think it turned out pretty cute!!
Cheers,
Viviana

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

5 Beautiful Things About Me

A friend of mine posted this on her journal, (Diegirl73) I felt the need to share because it made me think of how much society plays a part in how I feel about myself. I do love a lot about me, even if I have some huge insecurities about certain things, there are parts of my body I absolutely love.

1. I love my face, it is mine, it is unique and it is beautiful, it has freckles and blemishes, but it is what makes me.
2. I love my age, being 40 is wonderful. I have experience but health enough to enjoy the next 20 years.
3. I love my laughter, I like to hear myself laugh and I laugh a lot, it means I am happy, I am amused, I am alive. It also happens to be a great way of showing off my pearly whites and big gorgeous lips, which  I have been told quite recently that they are extremely kissable.
4. I love my hair, it is full, it has lots of grey, it is crazy, it is unruly, it is big, and it is perfect for my large personality.
5. I love my legs, even when I am in the worst of shape and weight, my legs always look toned and sexy and they look great in a dress!!


Thanks Diegirl, for reminding us to love ourselves always.

Cheers,
Viviana

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Where's my Mojo At?!

I know I haven't posted in a while, I am so sorry. I think about why and of course there are many excuses, but no real reason. I have been busy concentrating on my personal life and my creative juices have not been freely flowing, at least not as easily as I want them, plus I barely have time to answer my mail let alone post on here.
Anyhow, I am and always will be an artist, so I have been creating.... on me. I have been cutting my own hair for about two years now, nothing spectacular, but I did find a book called "How to Cut your Own or Anyone Else's Hair", so with a little practice and lets face it, hair always grows back, I have not spent a $$ on haircuts since. I've been getting more creative with it, cutting a fringe and going quite retro. I also did my son's hair in dreads, and I will post a picture of a year later, it's grown a lot and it looks great!
This was the first on, I followed the instructions for the perfect layered hair cut and didn't cut any definite fringe. This was 2 years ago and the make up was way more tame and softer.

I again did the layered cut, but cut the fringe slightly to show off the streak of white hair. I do that buy separating that part of hair before I colour the rest because I do have gray througout my whole head, it makes it looks striking.

A couple months ago, I decided to cut the fringe shorter to show off my new glasses. My eyebrows were thicker here with a cute arch, but with the new cut, I think I will be making them much thinner.

Then I decided on the Betty Page style bangs, they look super cute with my newest pair of Retro style glasses. I also realized how much younger I look with the newest fringe, not bad for 40. I did leave it in layers, so the curls look gorgeous and shiny.

Check it out, the Rosie the riveter look.

I forget how quickly the fringe grows, at least it shows longer faster than the rest of my hair, so I am going to trim it again. Still it looks great.
 I would recommend anyone who is a total DIY gal, to get this book or a similar one and try it out. If you don't mind taking chances and saving $$, then this will be a great book to have. Even for just learning to give yourself a trim in between going to the stylist. Best money I ever spent for sure. Oh, and check out the brows? I have gone from the thicker style sported for a couple of years, back to the nice thin line, a la chola style, but I only draw them in stronger to go out for an evening look. I still do nice defined lips in a hot pink/red/berry or purple, depending on my glasses too.
Here is the latest one of my son, his dreads are twice as long as they were when we did them, so cute.
I no longer have to wax his dreads, they stay in all on their own, I just crochet the strays and weave them into themselves like a reverse braid, that;s about it, and was with a LUSH shampoo bar.

Anyhow, creative does come in all forms....when I get back my crafting mojo, I will post about it for sure. Until then, happy Wednesday.
Cheers,
Viviana

Friday, January 20, 2012

My first Fondant experience....

Ever get the feeling that sometimes 'experience' is much more fun than the final result? Yeah, well, the result was more than edible and if there was any leftovers.... Anyhow, what am I rambling on about, I made a fondant cake!! Wohooo. My first. I liked it! And yes,I will make another again, soon. So I got a recipe for a peanut butter cake, yummo, yes, definitely yummo. I put chocolate ganache in the middle and covered it with a peanut butter cream cheese icing, then use marshmallow fondant for the final touch. It turned into a 2 day process, but so worth it. Well, maybe not for my waistline, but ya gotta live a little. Considering I already lost the 10 pounds I gained during the Christmas holidays, a little cake did not hurt me.
I kept it simple, being my first attempt.
I will try to be more patient next time and let the cream cheese icing set longer, before I put on the fondant, because as you can see from the bottom picture, it does have a great dent in it, but once we cut into it, nobody cared about the dent!! We used it to celebrate one of my friends Birthday's. She loved it and so did I! The cake recipe came from here, Epicurious.com, I did add 1 cup peanut butter, not 1/2. For the Fondant Recipe, I went to What's Cooking America. Though I decided to put my icing sugar in a big bowl and I dropped the melted marshmallow and folded it in carefully not to touch the marshmallow, just the icing sugar. I didn't end up greasing my hands or the bowl and it worked out just fine. The Fondant icing was easy to do once I watched a few videos, the best ones on you tube being: This one on how to place the fondant, and this other one, on how to smooth it out. Well, I hope to make many more pretty cakes, I'll keep you posted and will blog about it all when I get more adventurous with cake making. Cheers everyone, Viviana

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