Keira-anne.com

This afternoon, the Ottawa girl over at The Quack Attack posted answers to five questions posed to her in an effort to let us all get to know her better. Agreeing that it would be a neat-o idea, I zipped an e-mail off to her and received five original questions asked of me.

These are my answers.

1. When you were a little girl, what did you want to be when you grow up?

I had so many career ideas as a little girl (including pursuing a law degree – yikes!), but the earliest two memories I can recall were either a figure skater or a cheerleader. Oddly enough, I never learned to do either.

Photo: Duane Storey on Flickr

2. What is the one task you procrastinate on more than any other?

The older I get, the less I find I tend to procrastinate. I’m more of the “do it now and get it over and done with” type. This even includes laundry and cleaning toilets. The same could not be said of my homework in grade school.

3. Name one thing you love about living in Vancouver and why.

I know I have a tendency to rag on this city more often than not, but one thing I know for sure that I absolutely love is the little ways in which Vancouver constantly surprises me. Though I’m a diehard homebody, there’s also a spontaneous streak somewhere inside. Meeting friends for beer and cheap wings at the last minute, sunset trips to the beach to watch the waves roll in or random bowl-a-thons are always some of my most treasured memories of this place.

Photo: Duane Storey on Flickr

4. If you could go back in time and change one decision you made, what would it be?

This is an answer I tend to search for quite a bit for my own reasons, but as cliché as it may be to say so, I don’t think there’s anything I regret so much that I’d change, given the chance. I’ve made a lot of bad decisions, inexperienced choices and the like in my lifetime, but there’s nothing I’ve experienced that I haven’t ultimately learned something from. I could try to put a certain value on those lessons, but the truth is that it isn’t possible.

5. Totally for fun: if you found yourself in the same place as Javier Bardem, would you be brave enough to approach him? Got an opening line?

Five years ago I probably wouldn’t have had the courage to approach him, but knowing what I know of myself now, I don’t think that it would be a problem for me. I have the confidence to do so, though I don’t know for sure what I would say in that instant. But, um, let’s be honest… would I really need a stellar opening line?

I jest.

(Sorta)

Want to get in on the fun? You can be a part of it by following a few simple steps…

Send me an e-mail with the subject line “Interview Me”

I’ll respond within 12-ish hours with 5 questions directed to you (I promise to try and be unique)

Answer the questions on your blog (or Facebook or MySpace) and link back to this original post

Invite others to participate by re-posting these steps

Earlier I was speaking with a friend in an attempt to find a topic to blog about. After politely declining the subject of the Middle Eastern conflict (you can read about that elsewhere), he suggested “the fleeting nature of women’s fashion and how it breeds unnecessary consumerism.” Seemed to me that was a bit of a sore spot so I probed further…

As it turns out, his wife was petitioning to him for a new pair of boots, justifying said boots because they were on sale from $350 down to $250. It seemed reasonable to me. His argument, however, was that she already has a number of perfectly good boots. And further, she wanted these new boots simply based on the fact that “the toes are more blunt on these ones.” And with that, I sided with him instantly.

Photo: HBO on Fashion Nation

I can readily admit that it took me a long, long time to finally understand the concept of shoes beyond basic function. I could appreciate how essential it is to own a pair of sneakers, a pair of heels, maybe some galoshes for the winter and, most definitely, snowboard boots for obvious purposes. But it wasn’t until I finally hit my mid-20s and decided to buck fashion trends for what I wanted to wear that I was able to recognize just how crucially footwear is correlated to fashion.

They say that shoes make an outfit, and it’s true. Imagine a dreamy, creamy summer dress paired with black, square-heeled pumps instead of ballet flats or espadrilles. Or a sleek and tailored pantsuit with a pair of Doc Martens. Ridiculous, I know. But does this mean that it’s necessary to hit the shoe shops for countless pairs to match with each and every outfit? I think not.

Why did I disagree with my friend’s wife’s attempt at rationalization as mentioned above? To purchase a pair of boots simply for a different toe style is completely unnecessary. Flip open any Vogue magazine. While the pages are plastered with couture, cruise wear and the unconventional, a running theme is fashion that exudes class, style and tradition. I’m of the opinion that it’s okay to spend several hundred on a pair of boots – bearing in mind that they should be both functional and timeless in their design.

While my sturdy pair of Frye boots may run upwards of $350, will I still be wearing these a decade from now? The chances are quite likely. The same can’t be said of footwear (or any fashion, for that matter) that is trendy or fad-ariffic. Style du jour will fade with each season and disappear like a tumbleweed. And other items, such as the perfect pair of jeans, a stunning little black dress or delicate heels are comparable to a Chanel suit – iconic fashion statements that transcend the passing of time. Those pieces are what are worth the extra dollars.

Something For The Men

On a final note, what is it with men and boots? My friend also confirmed to me that almost every man finds a woman in boots irresistible. Perhaps I’m just a little naïve (or maybe my brain doesn’t function as imaginatively), but what goes through a man’s head when he sees a woman in boots? And further, do you men prefer a woman in boots or a woman in a sexy pair of shoes?

I’m exhausted. Completely, positively, entirely exhausted – mentally, physically, emotionally. Oddly, however, not spiritually.

As the sun started to set over the late afternoon in Vancouver and a damp cold crept back into the air, I arrived back in the city. The last nine days have been spent on Vancouver Island, in my home, with my family. The majority of those days I spent in pajamas and hoodies while playing Dr. Mario and cuddling with Charley.

It was a respite I so desperately needed, even if that’s only apparent to me after the fact.

I’m a girl. Sometimes I’m a tough girl; sometimes I’m a fragile girl. Some days I can skip through with a sweet smile and let the test of tenacity roll off my back. Other days, I feel like my get-up-and-go has finally got up and went.

Life is hard.

The only person who told us otherwise was Walt Disney.

Sometimes I find myself wishing to get up and walk away from everything. Sometimes I feel like circumstances, feelings, situations and every day life are more than I care to deal with. Fresh starts offer fresh hope. However, what I’m reminded of are those that have been there before and those that will go there after me.

In May of 2003, an experienced hiker found himself in the midst of the impossible. Aron Ralston was enjoying a solo hike near Moab, Utah and in the blink of an eye, his arm became lodged between a rock wall and a large boulder. After days without food, water or human contact, his options were unthinkable: die or amputate. Ralston chose the latter and removed his lower arm with a crude pocket knife and crawled his way to help and safety.

In a book summarizing his entire experience, Ralston recalled questioning “will I be able to think through this as I do it and will I be able to make good decisions when I’m halfway through it?”

Perhaps the same can be applied to life, generally. Believing in one’s self and knowing that we do have options and choices is what makes all the difference. We’ll never hit the target every time, we’ll fail at other times, but as long as we try and believe that we are able to make good decisions as we move down the paths cut out for us, we have the hope of success.

Right now, I choose to be where I am. It’s my choice, and knowing that is sufficient for today.

To read more about Aron Ralston and his story, visit the Wikipedia page.

The fire’s still burning, South Park is playing in the background and everyone is in bed but me. Technically it’s Boxing Day, and I couldn’t be more glad that Christmas is over. Normally, it’s one of my most favourite times and days of the year. This Christmas was the exception and I feel far less merry than I normally would.

All was not lost though…

I woke up at 8:00 a.m. to find Charley eagerly licking my face. I think she must know when it’s Christmas and feel the excitement.

After I set the table on Christmas Eve and laid gifts under the tree, Charley marched back and forth, sniffed the presents and laid next to them as if to guard them all. On top of that, she was so eager and full of beans all day today.

My mom created a gorgeous centrepiece for our Christmas meal.

For some reason, “Santa” still spoils me rotten on Christmas this many years later. Among other lovelies, I got a fistful of gift cards, amazing cookbooks and an 8G iPod Nano.

After baking breakfast buns and hopping into a quick shower, I slipped into couture and headed for the kitchen. Taking over the turkey dinner reigns from my mom was something I welcomed with open arms a few years back.

On the menu? Three-day buns, turkey, stuffing, applesauce, buttermilk mashed potatoes, brussels sprouts, yams, red cabbage, carrots and sweet gherkin pickles.

I was fortunate enough to have my longtime friend Rebecca join us for Christmas dinner this year. Her and her bottle of red wine were a welcome sight at my front door this evening.

After packing in a full meal, we all still managed to find some room for sweet goodies and tempting treats. My peanut butter cup cookies were the first to go!

Sending love and holiday wishes from Dawson Creek, Trevor and Laura (and baby Mellis – 6 months!) modeled their new Christmas threads for us.

Despite what could have been, there were still shimmery glimmers of goodness throughout my day, and everyone at my dinner table was someone that I love.

Perhaps I feel anticlimactic, perhaps I’m just getting older or perhaps life has jaded me somewhat. The one day I feel is always filled with magic instead seemed empty, void and not unlike an unfinished painting. I’d like to say “here’s to a better Christmas in 2009,” but instead here’s hoping for an entirely different Christmas…

Between Twitter and Flickr, my need of diary blogging on this site has seemingly become obsolete. While I haven’t felt much inspired to get deep lately, that’s no excuse to neglect you, o’ my readers.

Here’s a little of what I’ve been up to since arriving on Vancouver Island on Friday afternoon…

The mercury dropped as quickly as the snowflakes, so naturally Charley and I had to make use of our pending white Christmas. That little girl loves the snow, and if you don’t believe me, you should probably check out the video I posted.

With Christmas celebrations comes Christmas dinner, and with Christmas dinner comes Christmas dessert. My mom and I spent time on Sunday and Monday in the kitchen: she made her famous whipped shortbread; I made gingerbread shapes and Auntie Amy’s peanut butter cup cookies. And yes, they’re as good as they look!

A few weeks ago, I decided that it would be my Winter project to take up knitting. Mostly I want to be able to make a baby blanket for my soon-to-be-born niece (yes, they’re having a baby girl!), but I also thought it’d be fun to whip up some scarves for friends and for charity next Christmas.

Okay, so my tension sucks, but I’ve picked up the theory of the knit pretty quickly, and my mom’s BFF is bringing some perfectly-sized needles and fun royal purple wool for me on Christmas Day. The woman knits, weaves, cross-stitches, sews, quilts and who knows what else. She’ll have me knitting like a pro in no time!

After three days of cabin fever, my friend Rebecca came to my rescue in her boyfriend’s 4×4 and whisked me into downtown Courtenay.

London fogs, Christmas card shopping and finding some manicure implements were on our to-do list.

After our “date,” I met up with my mom for some McDonald’s for dinner. Tasty, I know.

Ugh, I gotta give myself a very, very thorough manicure tomorrow. After copious hand-washing while baking, my hands are in some serious need of TLC.

The snow is starting to come down again something fierce, so there’s nothing better to do than curl up with Charley and my fleece blanket and kick my mom’s ass at Dr. Mario. Yup, old school Nintendo. I might even bust out Rad Racer later.

Being that in only a few short hours, I’ll be on the Island with my family and lovable baby girl Charley, today’s post is dedicated solely to her cuteness. My mom’s been snappin’ shots like crazy lately, particularly with all the snow that’s been falling on Vancouver Island. Charley is one dog who can’t get enough of the fluffy white stuff…

Photo: tempest_kat on Flickr

Photo: tempest_kat on Flickr

Photo: tempest_kat on Flickr

Photo: tempest_kat on Flickr

Photo: tempest_kat on Flickr

Photo: tempest_kat on Flickr

Those pictures pretty much make my heart burst and I can’t wait to get out and run around in the snow with my little pumpkin.

P.S. In case you were wondering, Mount Washington opens today (the lifts start running in 10 minutes!) and from what I can tell on the snowcam, things are really, really ridiculously good-looking on the slopes. In celebration of the mountain’s 30th anniversary, passes are only $30 bucks today!

Wham bam, it’s Christmas, ma’am. Sure there’s still a lot to get done, especially considering that there’s only one week plus a day until Christmas Eve. I am, however, enjoying every little bit of it as best as I can.

Photo: Gus Greeper on Flickr (Used With Permission)

After dinner last night, I rolled up my sleeves and baked six dozen sugar cookies – the only sound being Eli’s pitter-pattering paws as the snow started to silently fall. Snowflakes have been falling ever since, turning Greater Vancouver into a true Winter Wonderland. In all my 28 years, I have yet to experience snow on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, so I am keeping my fingers crossed inside my mittens.

With work, packing, laundry, Wings with friends, cards, shopping, gifts and so much more to get done before ‘The Big Day,’ who knows how much time I’ll really have to blog between now and Christmas. So, that being said…

I haven’t blogged in a few days. You missed me, I missed you, so here we go.

Finally I’ve received word that Mount Washington will be hitting the ‘on’ switch on their lifts this Friday, December 19. Being that it’s the mountain’s 30th anniversary, all adult alpine lift tickets are only $30, so strap on and get up there.

You asked questions. I answered.

Life’s been busy lately – really busy – and I am quite sure there are more commitments than there is “available Keira-Anne.” Cookies aren’t getting baked, my Christmas cards are sitting in a sealed stack waiting to be stamped and mailed, my Christmas shopping list is far from finished and there are only three more sleeps until I leave for holidays on the Island. Am I the only one running around with too much to do and too little time? I doubt it…

Oh but I got something else and it’s awesome.

Photo: Shu Uemura

Just this morning, I was saying to myself how bent out of shape my Clinique eyelash curler is. Lo’ and behold, this morning I received yet another Christmas gifts from one of the lawyers I work for. She gave me one of Shu Uemura’s 24K Gold Limited Edition Eyelash Curlers – one of only 100 in Canada, apparently. It’s pretty.

After a tough, teary week of work for Jen and a potential “Mexicoma” lurking in my future, Jenny and I decided that a day dedicated solely to making ourselves feel good was absolutely key. Kicking off the day with peppermint mochas and cranberry bliss bars from Starbucks was non-negotiable.

Mission No. 1: SPCA‘s Toy Drive for the Animals at the Vancouver shelter. Particularly at Christmas, every charity under the sun is in exceptional need of help. While all charities are worthwhile and important, it should be known that the SPCA receives zero funding from any level of government, including municipal. Local shelters are 100% reliant on the generosity of you and me. Jenny and I Skytrain’d it out to Superstore in an attempt to stretch our dollars.

We walked away with four boxes of milk bones, dog toys, cat toys, cat treats, bunny food, rodent food, hamster food, gerbil fluff and a few other items that our shelter desperately needs.

After leaving our donation with administration, I took Jenny to the kennel area for a quick tour. There, I met and fell in love with Buddy. His family moved and couldn’t take him with them, and it was apparent by his instant liking to me that he craved attention and affection.

We also met Max, a black lab who got the boot when baby no. 1 came along. Pardon my self-righteous rant, but when you have a dog, he or she is family and that’s not up for debate. When the going gets tough, the tough don’t get rid of their dog. Dogs are a lifelong commitment, and one that should not be taken lightly.

Of course we couldn’t leave without having our photo taken with Santa. He was a pervy Santa. “So have you girls been good this year or naughty?” After trying endlessly to convince us to sit on his lap, he threw in a “Wow…I can’t decide which of you girls smells better” for good measure.

We ran into John and Rebecca at the Broadway Skytrain station.

Following our SPCA adventure, we may have found ourselves at Holt Renfrew. Also, we may have taken advantage of their 40% off designer sale. That said, we may have walked away with some new Marc Jacobs goods. And a sale like that calls for celebratory manicures.

I opted for OPI’s “Siberian Nights.”

Jenny said “You Make Me Vroom.” I think she was talking to Mick Dundee.

Pretty nails!

The end to a fabulous day calls for delicious pinot noir. My red wine of choice? Firesteed from Oregon. Yum.

Oh and we also had Indian food. It was pretty much the worst frickin’ butter chicken I’ve had in my life. I hope to rectify that disappointment next weekend.

That’s it for now, folks. And now, back to Crocodile Dundee 2.

P.S. I just received an e-mail from the SPCA’s Vancouver shelter and found out that over $10,000 in cash and item donations was received this afternoon. I want to send out a huge thank you to all who helped out and contributed to this worthwhile cause. Buddy and all his friends are grateful!

Tonight was the Best of 604 awards reception gala at The Cellar in Vancouver. Rebecca did a phenomenal job in pulling together such a stellar event with fantastic sponsors and the expertise assistance of her husband John. I know I can speak on behalf of many in saying that the night was fun-filled and exciting. I’m not normally one to partake in the social media scene’s events, but this was most certainly an enjoyable evening.

I tagged along with Jenny, Amy and Lindsay for the night and we managed to get into some gin and tonic-induced shenanigans. Rather than just tell you what the night was like, allow me to show you.

The girls came over after work for some pre-gala chardonnay.

Our bartender was like Jeremy Sisto meets Javier Bardem. That’d be hot if he wasn’t a BARTENDER!

Once all was said and done and the awards were handed out (check Miss604‘s website tomorrow for a complete list of winners), the four of us packed it in and headed up Granville Street to the arcade for some, ahem, adult entertainment at the price of 25 cents per minute. It was a first for Lindsay and Jenny.

Our bellies empty, we decided we needed chicken wings. En route, some random stopped Lindsay, handed her a Red Bull from the flat of them he was carrying and told her it was “just because you’re beautiful.” And she is.

We got side-tracked on the way to Wings by Dare To Wear. It’s trouble!

We finally made it to Wings. $3.99 paralyzers. Phewf.

The girls got naughty on Davie Street on the way home. Paralyzers, beer and hard liquor will do that to you. So glad I have to work in the morning.