Lifestyle – Avenue 23

Welcome Back

June 25, 2018June 25, 2018 by Avenue 23, posted in Lifestyle, Travel

After a 3 month hiatus, I am officially back!

So, where was I for the past 3 months? I was working. I overwhelmed myself with too many shifts in order to pay for my trip to Europe and had no time for anything except for eating and sleeping. It was a painful couple of months!

Then I went to Europe! I was gone for 6 weeks and if you remember my previous post, then you would see that we went everywhere and did everything! I had the most amazing time and came back with a lot of things crossed off my bucket list. However now, I’ve added even more things to my list!

I have so many things to tell you! So many tips and tricks, and places to visit! I’m so excited to share everything with you! If you follow me on Instagram, thanks for keeping up to date with all my stories and pictures from my trip! (If you don’t you, you can check some of the pictures out at Avenue23blog). I also have some more personal and lifestyle posts lined up as well!

Thanks for standing by, it feels good to be back!

Graduated

February 26, 2018March 8, 2018 by Avenue 23, posted in Lifestyle

Hey Everyone!

Hope you are all doing well! I have been working like crazy lately to be able to afford my latest trip to Europe (which I will talk about more in future posts!)! So I am trying to take as many shifts as possible! So far so good on the savings front!

I wanted to talk a bit about my degree! I get questioned a lot about it, and people are always so confused if I graduated or not, because I currently don’t work a job that has to do with my degree!

Yes- I did graduate last summer! It was an amazing feeling! After 4- 5 years of feeling stressed out and overwhelmed, I have finally graduated and realized that it was all worth the stress! I have an arts degree with a major in anthropology and a minor in psychology. I didn’t love my minor, I just had a lot of credits in that field already, so I went that route.

My whole university career was a mess of confusion and me trying to decide what I wanted. Originally, I was in school to be a teacher, and I had a great fear of speaking in public. People told me all the time “You’ll get over it eventually”, but I dropped out of the program anyways. I could’ve gotten over that fear, but I didn’t want to deal with the process of getting over it because the end result was not something I really wanted in the end! So, I was stumped. I was Iike what do I do now? I thought I had everything figured out, but in the end I didn’t, so I was confused and anxious trying to decide. I finally went to the school councillor and her biggest piece of advice was to just finish my degree. I left and was like what the f*ck lady! Why can’t you just tell me what I want to do?!

Finally, I chose a bunch of classes at random being like, everyone else is taking these classes maybe I should too. So, I picked out some that fit into my degree, and picked out some science ones because people in school try to make it seem like an arts degree is absolutely useless. It’s like they pressure you with their judgement, and honestly, I believed they were right! It was my brother who finally told me to take a class, he had loved. That class turned into biological anthropology and was the best class i had ever taken. I fell in love with anthropology right there. I decided right there that my major would be anthropology, and my minor psychology. I actually really did not like Psych at all. Everyone will tell you it’s their favourite course and they all graduate with that major, but before you take it, test out some other classes! In my experience, psychology wasn’t what I thought it would be and was super boring. It stayed as my minor because I had take enough classes that I had enough credits to graduate with it as a minor.

Even though I loved anthropology so much, I still was trying to decide on an “actual degree”. Meaning- I was looking for a degree with a guaranteed job at the end. I actually clung onto the idea of nursing being the one I needed to get into. I tried many times to get in, and just couldn’t. I decided on an after degree in it instead and worked on the rest of my art degree. If we’re being honest, I wanted to be a nurse, because everyone was doing it. I just wanted to graduate and have a job and money and never have to worry ever. So, I got a job at the hospital thinking that it would give me the experience I needed to get a job at the end. Here’s what happened: I got the job, went into work, and realized nursing is a disgusting job and super hard career choice! I mean I should have known- my mom is a nurse! Wow, the workload, the amount of butts you have to clean, the people you deal with, how they’re treated by doctors, how nurses treat each other- just wow. A lot of people take nursing today without working in a hospital previously, and making the same decisions I did, and realize the SAME thing! They end up quitting or being stuck in a job they hate. This does not have to be you- you’re not stuck and it’s ok to quit if you don’t like it no matter what it is you’re taking. (Also nothing against nurses at all, you guys are amazing for what you do! I just found that it wasn’t for me!) Also, I recommend getting experience before hand, in the end it’ll benefit you if you do love it and are trying to get a job! For teaching, I volunteered at a school and realized I hated it, for nursing I picked up a hospital job. Anyways, I was still like, it’s ok I’ll eventually get onto a GOOD unit and that’ll change EVERYTHING. Ya Erin, ok.

And then I went to Italy. I had been debating on being in biological anthropology for a while and possibly getting a masters in osteology (the study of human remains). To do this, would mean that I would have to live elsewhere. Canada is just to new of a country to have the archaeology I wanted to do. Just as a side note: Anthropology is the study of humans. Plain and simple! It then starts splitting off into different areas: cultural anthropology is the study and recording of present day cultures and that can go into some cool fields. There’s Linguistics the study of languages, also very cool! Some people in this field end up recording dying languages before they run out of speakers! There’s many directions to get into in this field. There’s archaeology- which focuses more on prehistory and cultural change over time (aka Indiana Jones). Finally, there’s biological anthropology- my favourite- which studies more evolution and variation. As you can see, there is no mention of dinosaurs. Yup, that is palaeontology. I’s hard for people to wrap their brains around this. They see digging for both and think they are connected, but they are not.

So, as you can see, I was seriously debating my options. Nursing meant living near family, biological anthropology meant moving. Kathleen and I decided to go to Italy to see if we liked any field of anthropology. We ended up not even doing biological anthropology at all, and ended up doing lab work in an archaeological field. Italian archaeologists, had dug up pottery from one of the bath houses in Pompeii, and the job we signed up to do was to clean, and organize pottery! I’ll talk more about this in future posts because I could talk for years about this! My main point is, is I went to Italy and archaeology won out instantly. The idea of nursing seemed ridiculous and I couldn’t believe I was going to try to make a job I didn’t like work for me.

Last summer, I finished my anthropology degree and I am so thrilled to have done it. Now I love my degree more than anything. I still have one problem. It’s so hard to use this degree in Canada in this field. Now that I have a degree, there are tons of jobs I can get, especially government positions, but none of those appeal to me. I was stuck again. What can I do in Canada? Moving to Europe is too much for me right now, but what could I do here! So, my mom bought me a plane ticket to Vancouver to visit my cousin right after I graduated. I worked with her making props for theatre productions, movies, and TV shows, and fell in love again with another job.

I’m happy to say that I plan on moving to Calgary in September to go to school for theatre production, and then to Banff after that. It’s been a long road to find what I love, but I want to thank everyone along the way for the advice, for letting me volunteer and help out, giving me opportunities to help me find what I love to do. I may never make any money from doing this, but to me, finding something challenging and that I love doing is far more important in all respects. And if I fail, I still have an awesome degree to help me out!

So, you can expect me to be challenging myself and doing prop work, and when I’m not doing that, I’ll be doing some archaeological work around the world! Two jobs that I’m so passionate about, can do anywhere ( I would like to live in London someday, just no one to move with yet), and will love doing for the rest of my life.

My take home message is this: volunteer when you can to learn about the job you want! What are your interests? Start networking with people and learn the pros and cons of the job. There will be cons with every job, but are they worth it to you? If you can get through them, that job is for you! And don’t be afraid to put yourself out there! Just do it. People will tell you all “ You won’t make any money, You don’t have benefits, you’ll never get a job with an arts degree.” Here’s the reality. It’s going to be hard, but it’s going to be worth it. Money isn’t everything, do what you love and work hard at it. An arts degree can get you to a lot of places. You can get government positions for just having a degree. No matter what degree you have, school is worth it and the fact that you accomplished getting a degree is amazing!!! Good for you! I have been trying to convince myself out of going to school again all year. But I’m finally realizing that I can’t listen to others, I have to do what makes me happy, so that’s what I’m going to do!

25

February 8, 2018February 8, 2018 by Avenue 23, posted in Lifestyle

Hey Guys!

I just wanted to say a quick thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday today! 🎂

I’m officially 25 today! Yikes, I’m halfway to 50! Scary thought, and a good reminder that life is short! That being said, I did have some anxiety today thinking that! It’s like you blink and it’s already 2018 and you’re 25! It’s a crazy feeling that’s for sure.

Today, I was feeling anxious because I’m 25 and feel very behind from where a lot of people my age are at! It seems like everyone my age is in a serious relationship/ engaged/ married with their futures already planned out, and that is just not where I’m at! But, now that I’ve had time to think about it, I realize I’ve been anxious for no reason. There is no age where it says you have to be at a certain place, and you definitely cannot compare yourself to others. Everyone’s different and you don’t know their whole story. You’re only seeing the parts of their lives that make you feel bad or anxious. You are putting pressure on yourself because maybe that’s the part of your life where you aren’t confident in.

For me, I had to self reflect and take a step back and recognize how far I’ve come, where I’m at and what I want. Remind yourself of the positives in your life and if you need to, recite it as obsessively as Aria with her kill list in Game of Thrones- two very different lists mind you. Today, I think back to my degree and the work I put in to get it. I think about the places I’ve travelled to, and different goals I’ve achieved when I thought that I never would! I also think about the failures, but not as negatively now. I realize that my failed relationships, didn’t work out for a reason and they helped to teach me what kind of a person I’m looking for. With each failure, I’ve grown and learned a valuable lesson that have impacted and shaped my opinions and views about my life! Today, I thought about my life and where I’m currently at. I may dislike my job and my current relationship situation- but I’m healthy, happy, and ready to set some future goals! At 25, I can say I know what I want and this is the year of me putting myself out there and taking action!

Everyone is different. Some people knew way before me what they wanted, and some are like me- just awakening. I should not feel bad for it, and I don’t now. I stayed single to figure out who I am and where I want to go without the influence of someone else. At least now I know if I meet a guy, I will have the same goals and won’t change myself to appease a guy (I find, I change myself for a guy to make it work). It was just something I needed to do. It’s why I also took a year off to work, so I could figure out my next path.

So, I could panic about my age and getting older, but instead I think it’s more important to celebrate my life right now, and I’m excited for my future! I’ve done so much and come so far, and at the end of the day, age doesn’t matter unless you’re 17 ( in Alberta), 18, or 21 and cannot wait to come of age to go to the bar

BarkBox

January 15, 2018January 15, 2018 by Avenue 23, posted in Lifestyle

Hello Everyone!

Today we have a very special post, brought to you by BarkBox. BarkBox kindly sent over a sample box for Erin and I (more like Maggie and Jake) to review!

If you are unfamiliar with Bark Box, it is a monthly subscription service built for your dog’s enjoyment! Monthly subscriptions start at $20 and each box is valued at over $40! Each month has different a “theme” (some examples include; Chewrassic Bark, The Good, The Bad, and the Pugly, and New York City). Also, it has free shipping! YAY!!

When you sign up for BarkBox, you can choose the size of your dog! I love this feature, because sometimes the small toys are way too small for my larger dog, and I worry about him swallowing them. Vice versa for the small pups. Sometimes the toys are too large and she can’t even get her mouth around them! So, being able to select a size option for your dog is perfect!

But enough background lets get into the review!

Our box contained two toys and three different types of treats. Maggie and Jake were excited from the beginning and couldn’t wait to dig in and give their paw of approval.

Toys:

Pug-kin Spice Latte:

This toy was a hit with both Maggie and Jake, Jake went right for the whip cream. This toy contains a squeaker and got their attention immediately. Also, it was adorable! Now, they have the same addiction too pumpkin spice lattes that we have!

Basket of Apples:

Erin knew this toy would be a hit with both Maggie and Jake because they love toys that you can take apart. The “basket” of this toy crinkles, and contains two adorable apples (that squeak, obviously). The pup in question has to dig into the basket to get the apples out. The apples also have little faces on them and it’s FREAKING adorable!

Treats: (worth noting, they are all natural products that are reviewed by BarkBox before sending out!)

Dried Lamb ears:

Maggie and Jake normally eat dried Pig Ears, so they were stoked to have something different. Definitely the messiest treat of the bunch (as well as the smelliest), it wasn’t our favourite item of the box. However the puppies loved them and ate them in minutes! Also, BarkBox has AMAZING customer service! If you message them in the little chat box at the top, they will message you back instantly! If your dog has an allergy or doesn’t like a certain product, they will switch out the product with something else, or send you a new product for free!

Bonfire Bites :

These were the first treats Maggie and Jake had, they liked them, but there were other treats they liked better. The dog treats were long and chewy which was awesome for my larger dog, so he didn’t gobble them up in an instant! He had to take his time and enjoy it.

Duck Cranberry Pies:

Out of the box these treats were the STAR. Both pups loved the flavor of these treats. In fact they were the second item we opened, and it was hard to keep their attention off these treats throughout the rest of the unboxing. They were so cute! They’re just little pies, and if we would have let them, the pups would have demolished them instantly!

BarkBox also comes with a recipe! You can try to make some healthy treats for your dogs if you’re interested! In future posts, we’ll attempt to make the recipe we were given!

Overall Review: BarkBox is a great idea for new dog owners, or dogs who needs some new and exciting toys and treats. They’re full of 3 toys and 3 treats that are sent to you every month. This may seem like a lot, however, it’s really not! I have 2 puppies, so this allows me to be able to have enough things for both dogs! For one, my dogs destroy toys very fast, *cough* Jake! This box allows me to get them more toys and try out some new ones that I think will hold up better than others! I love that they have “thinker” toys that allow my dogs to do more than just destroy them! They’re still trying to figure out how to take apart the apples in the basket! Also, for treats, the box is great for trying out some new, natural products! I find I use them up fast, because my dogs always get a treat whenever I leave the house! I always feel too guilty! In addition, one of the treats will always be a chewable treat! These are awesome for when it’s -40 out and the dogs can’t go outside for very long. Sometimes, they get very bored, so this keeps them distracted and also gives them something else to do.

Another fun thing about BarkBox is that you can send them as gifts!! Um yup!! Look out friends, you are all getting gifts for your dogs now! This would be great for someone who recently became a dog owner and you wanted to get something for their new puppy! Also, I know my friends would love to get something for their dogs instead of me getting something for them. Dog owners, am I right?!

Last thing we wanted to mention before closing here! If you feel like getting monthly boxes is just not doable at the present time, or you LOVE a specific product and want more, you can shop for each thing individually at BarkShop! This is awesome, because you can shop for your dog and know that each item is healthy and recommended by dog lovers! I saw a dog walking bundle on their, I definitely want! Also, the themes and toys are adorable! Getting a box with a theme is so much fun!

Thanks you Bark Box for the opportunity to review your box! Make sure to check them out at https://barkbox.com/ or at https://barkshop.com/

Kathleen and Erin (and Maggie and Jake) xo

New Years Resolutions

January 6, 2018January 6, 2018 by Avenue 23, posted in Lifestyle

Hey Everyone!

Hope you all had a great New Years celebration and week! I didn’t do too much, because it was – 40 degrees Celsius, so it’s safe to say it was way too cold to do anything, but hang out at home. All of our community activities were cancelled. Boo you weather!

So, I wanted to talk about some of my New Years Resolutions. It’s always good to have goals to work towards. I’ve never really committed to any before, so I’m excited to actually try to have some and hopefully commit to them!

Here’s my list:

I’d like to get back in shape! Basically, just eat better and make time for exercise!
Get my sleeping schedule back under control! So on average, try to get 8-9 hours of sleep. I am ashamed to say that I get 5 hours, and then get so tired I sleep like 11 (that’s an exaggeration, but not that far off!)
Drink more water! AND Eat 3 meals a day (I eat 1 good meal a day- I have terrible lifestyle habits apparently)
Cut back on my spending- I need to save more and want to increase money going into my savings account, instead of spending an unnecessary amount of money on myself!
Quit a bad habit- Chewing my nails and hangnails!
Schedule actual days off for myself so I’m not overworking myself to death! I work everyday and sometimes 3 times a day
Stretch more and rehab my knee. When I was playing soccer, I tore my ACL in my knee and it’s never been the same. I’m noticing I stand funny, because my knee was never rehabbed properly.
Organize all my pictures into photo albums- this is an overwhelming job.
Finish my stack of books I bought- and stop borrowing from the library so I can do this lol
Learn to cook, start a recipe book
Explore my city more
Apply for school
Do 5 things that terrify me
Put myself out into the world more
Travel to Europe.

I know, there’s a lot, and you’re probably like Erin what the hell, you’ll never do this, but I will try! Some of them are easy and others are harder! If they don’t get done this year, some will be passed on to next year, no worries! I will keep you up to date on things are going and what not! I have to say, I have an AWESOME feeling about this year- have you guys ever had that feeling before? Usually I’m indifferent, but this year feels great!

What are your goals this year?!

Merry Christmas!

December 25, 2017December 25, 2017 by Avenue 23, posted in Lifestyle

Hey Everyone!

MERRY CHRISTMAS! Christmas came very fast this year, and I wanted to talk a bit about my Christmas traditions!

Every Christmas Eve, my family gets together and goes to a movie at the theater! This tradition started when Polar Express came out and has continued ever since! We used to try to hit Christmas movies, but that rarely happens! It’s only so often a good Christmas movie comes out to theaters! So, we started going to movies like The Hobbit- we saw all of them, every year. Then it switched to Star Wars! Finally, Christmas movies like Disney’s Christmas Carol came out and we saw those as well! This year we went to Jumanji- we all had seen the new Star Wars. It was HILARIOUS! That movie could have gone south, fast and been lame- especially because the first one is so good! However, it was cast perfectly. The Rock and Kevin Hart banter was amazing, Nick Jonas was very dreamy to look at, Karen Gillan was the perfect amount of teenage awkward, and Jack Black stole the show!!! He was hilarious as always. His character was absolutely perfect! We had a great time at the show this year! A great choice by my brother!

So after the movie, we went home and ate a ton of appetizers! My dad made some extremely delicious appetizers that I think I will share in future posts! He tried a bunch of new things this year! We had home made pizza, chicken wings- spicy and maple, a couple of different wrap rolls that had different taco seasonings, sausage rolls, and then just chips for snacks! My mom had made a flapper pie as well, which is always amazing (Basically, it’s just a vanilla meringue pie!- maybe future posts as well). There was a ton of Christmas baking too. Different sugar cookies, ginger bread cookies, tarts, peanut butter cookies- so good! Also, we had a ton of Eggnog and good drinks!

Usually after that we play board games or cards games and my sister and I rage quit or my brother and I die laughing when were losing horribly! We watch some Christmas movies, and that is our Christmas Eve! Just a relaxing evening of hanging out and being together! My brother’s girlfriend and I LOVE puzzles, so we’ll build those! Tonight, I almost completed a 1000 piece puzzle- I’ll sit there for hours working hard at it! Love it!

SO For Christmas Day, we open gifts early! I love this time, because we’re all so thrilled about the gifts! It’s more about being excited about giving the gifts then receiving! Sometimes we’ll stop to watch someone unwrap a gift from us to see their faces! I love giving gifts and finding that meaningful and perfect gift for someone they weren’t expecting! I’ve received many thoughtful gifts too! I LOVED getting my record player with a brand new record! So amazing and I completely forgot I asked for it! I had briefly mentioned it and then my parents remembered and bought one for Christmas! Another favorite- my brother got me the Elder wand! I was so surprised! I didn’t expect that one at all! Last one I’ll mention, is last year my brother’s girlfriend got me Disney postcards to practice drawing! This year my sister got me a bracelet where the money is donated to an animal sanctuary! Each bead represents a meal given to a dog and the dogs are sent to live on a farm instead of being put down. They’re beautiful and it was unexpected! Any gift I receive is beautiful and every gift I give I’m thrilled about giving!

Usually after this we drive out to my Grandma’s house for a Christmas lunch. We’ve always had our dinners early so we can all sleep after and be extremely full! My grandma makes the best meals! There’s turkey, stuffing, and ham! Then 2-3 different kinds of homemade perogies- regular, cheese ones, and one year my grandma made fruit ones as well! We also have cabbage rolls, and then some sort of veg! My grandma makes a lemon meringue pie and a carrot pie! So the carrot pie, I’ll talk about in future posts too I think, but basically it looks and tastes the same as pumpkin pie, but it’s just healthier! So good!

The rest of the day is us just hanging out and watching Christmas movies! My top ten favorite Christmas movies are:

Chevy Chase Christmas Vacation- AMAZING! SO FUNNY, We have been watching that since I was very young!
Charlie Brown’s Christmas- Love this, but so sad Charlie Brown is bullied!
It’s A Wonderful Life- ” You want me to lasso the moon Mary, I’ll lasso the moon for you!”
A Christmas Story- Again, another family favorite, and I have been watching it for years!
Elf! Who doesn’t love Elf! So hilarious!
Polar Express- Kind of a slower movie, but I love the whole feel of this movie! Love Tom Hanks! I have to watch every year!
Mickey Mouse’s Christmas Carol- A CLASSIC! I love this movie! It’s only half an hour! I wish it was longer
Scrooged- love me some Bill Murray
A Disney’s Christmas Carol- Love this Jim Carey one! But seriously, there’s a theme going on here
The Grinch who stole Christmas- Cartoon and regular! SO great! “Maybe Christmas is a little bit more”
I’ll be home for Christmas- yup I added another 😁

Also, here is some of my families decorations- these pictures are from a few years ago, it’s changed even more now! My parents LOVE Christmas, especially my dad. They are constantly buying decorations. Also, it’s worth it to note that my mom hand stitched all our stockings! They’re beautiful and all individualized for us! Another thing too, that Christmas village is VERY small here! It has expanded like crazy, as in it takes up three tables! It’s amazing! We have workshops, houses, ski hills, skating rinks, mobile homes, and so much more!

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this is my list, and these are my traditions! I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas, and if you don't celebrate, Happy Holidays whatever your religion may be!

Thank you all so much for being here with me, reading, commenting, liking posts! Let me know in the comments what your traditions or favorite Christmas movies are!

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RRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!

Maggie & Jake

December 13, 2017December 14, 2017 by Avenue 23, posted in Lifestyle

Hey Guys!

Today is a fun post! Not that they aren’t all fun, but this one I’m very excited to do! I want to talk about my dogs, and actually my other really great pets!

Maggie & Jake. If you know me, than you know that my dogs are my life. We do almost everything together, and if I could take them to work with me or to hang out with friends, I would. Sometimes, they dictate what I do or whether I even leave the house, because I never want to leave them! I bought a shirt that says ” I just want to hang with my dog”- this is accurate! If I leave the house and no one is home, I have to throw treats at them and run out to make me feel less guilty and because they deserve all the treats! Fellow pet owners, I know you feel me! The more I see them, the happier I am. Dogs are seriously one of the most amazing things to happen to this earth- we don’t deserve dogs. They’re too great!

My dogs are both schnauzers- ones a miniature, ones a standard size. Before Maggie and Jake, we had another miniature standard (Although debatable, because he was way larger than the average miniature). His name was Rebel and he was one of my greatest loves. He had an amazing personality- always sassy, but also very loving. He always wanted to hold hands (He loved his paws being scratched) and when I asked him if he loved me, he’d bark at me. He was an amazing dog.

Rebel was my first actual dog. We had one before, but he was so protective of us kids, that my parents worried he’s bite someone. They moved him to a home with a couple of adults and he was way happier and less stressed. He was never like that with them- perfect home. We picked up Smudge from an apartment, where he was way too young to leave his mom, so we were very suspicious from the beginning. In the end, he went to a better home. Anyways, when we got Rebel, my parents had researched the breeder and done their homework. The breeder was amazing and we brought our first puppy home. I was in grade 1- I think? We grew up with him, and I taught him all the tricks in the book! Rollover was a hard one for him, he used to growl and sass me whenever he had to do that trick! He hated that one, but other than that, he knew a lot of tricks! We used to hide his toys and watch him sniff them out and jump on them when he found them. When people came over, he would bark at them until they gave him attention. It was never vicious or aggressive, it was more like a “Hey! Why are you paying attention to her! Give me pets!” He’d stop whenever they pet him, and if they stopped he would start up again! When we had picked out Rebel, he had cried every time we moved him away from his mom- the breeder knew he’d be dramatic and he was. If he ever stepped on something or had a branch in his fur, he would fake a limp for attention and cry. So, I’d sit down and massage his paw like I always did, and tell him he was a good puppy. Then he’d switch paws and to get that one massaged, and he’d walk away all fine, no problem. As he got older, and we got more and more attached ( I used to snuggle him like a baby and he would enjoy every minute of it), my parents grew worried about how we would react when he passed. They knew we would be devastated, and the idea of not having a dog at all killed them. They ended up deciding to get another puppy by the time I was in Grade 12. So we got Maggie!

We got Maggie from the same breeder as Rebel, but she had a different parents. Rebel’s parents had passed away by this point, and the breeder had gotten new dogs by this point. OH, it’s also worth noting 2 things here: 1- All of our dogs were/are pure bred schnauzers with lineages traced back to France; 2- We got schnauzers because they are hypoallergenic dogs and my dad and brother had had an allergy to dogs at one point (we’re not sure if they still have allergies now). These dogs have a different type of hair from most dogs- and this is why we never rescued from the local SPCA. Someday, I will rescue dogs.

Anyways, we went to pick out Maggie before taking her home, and there were only female dogs left. We also didn’t want Rebel to feel threatened about a new male dog, so we went with a female to make it easier for him. He had been an only dog for years. The puppies were freaking adorable, but we picked out Maggie, because she kept sitting on our feet and was so calm for a puppy. She still does this. If I’m sitting on the couch or at the kitchen table, she’ll sit on my feet. Maggie is the sweetest girl in the world. She is very cuddly and affectionate. She always has to be sitting next to you and touching you in some way. Like, she’ll lay as close to me as possible when I’m sitting on the floor, or she’ll sit on me. She was an amazing puppy. When we got her, we took her to my Grandma’s house (it was just my mom and I, we decided to take her so Rebel could get a break as he wasn’t quite used to her yet). My grandma’s house is 8 hours away, and she slept almost the whole time, and was so calm! We made frequent stops to let her pee and stretch her legs, and she would do what she had to do, and then sleep again once we got in the car. At my Grandma’s she was an angel, she went outside and never in the house; played lots, but never too long that she was too hyper. Only chewed her toys, and slept in my bed with me no problem. Rebel loved/hated her. He was more so annoyed that she would follow him around and sleep as close to him as possible, but I knew he loved her too. He was great with her still, especially for being an only dog who was also very spoiled!

We found out Rebel had cancer in December 2012. He had a tumor on his stomach that stopped him from eating. One day, I had noticed he wasn’t eating his meal- which was odd, he loved food too much. It crushed me. The vet told us, we didn’t have long, but we tried to keep him alive as long as possible. When we found out things changed. He started sleeping in my bed more, we fed him ANYTHING he would eat. One day, he was so hungry we fed him a whole piece of pizza. We made him comfortable, and he made it through Christmas. I made ornaments to remember him, and would document everything he did. Just little special personality traits, and reasons why I loved him. He died in January, 2013. The feeling of losing a dog is insane. I’ve never been so sad or felt such loss. I cried for a month, and actually am still crying as I write about it. It never goes away, but it gets easier.

Maggie was a blessing. She was everything we needed to help us get through it. She is extremely affectionate, so she would come over and give me kisses until I would stop crying. It was also nice to come home and have a dog run and greet you. The house would’ve felt empty without her. After Rebel, she came everywhere with me. I would take her on car rides all the time to run errands (my car would be running on hot or cold days just FYI, and always a short trip). We’d hang out in the sun, play, sleep in the same bed, she’d “study” with me- the whole works. Maggie’s personality is hilarious. She’s super sweet and affectionate on one hand, but is very mischievous on the other! When she wants you to keep petting her, she’ll take her paw and scoop at your hand pulling it towards her tummy, because she loves belly rubs, if that doesn’t work she will lick you to death! Like I said, Maggie is very mischievous. She constantly tries to get Jake into trouble! She will bark outside until he barks, then run inside quick so we yell at him. If she doesn’t want him around, she’ll ask to go outside (he loves outside), wait for him to go out and then get back in. Sometimes, she’ll distract him, so she can go eat his food too. She’s a foodie. At one point she was fat from eating Rebel’s food when we got sick, and so she’s on a weight loss diet, but is all back to her perfect size now! She’s my Maggie May.

Jake. There are not enough words in the world to describe Jake. We got him November of 2013. Our family was almost not ready for Jake. We were still grieving, but my dad was determined to get another male dog. We got Jake from Seattle, because our regular breeder had stopped breeding schnauzers and was breeding different dogs now. I don’t recommend flying a puppy to you. The whole process was crazy, and I feel like Jake has anxiety issues from it now. His flight kept detouring and changing and that is too much for a puppy. Poor guy. He was the last puppy left from the litter. Jake was a FREAKING cute puppy! But he was SUPER hyper! I have never had a dog like that. He was crazy! I actually don’t remember most of his puppy- hood I was so tired! It was hard, because I was still getting over Rebel and now I was training a new puppy that was high maintenance. Maggie was miserable, and Jake would be up at 4am everyday, while I still had to hit 8am classes at the university! It was CRAZY! I would take him for a 10km walk and I would be exhausted and he’d still be playing! When he was very little, we would have to wrap him in a towel and force him to calm down by snuggling him. But I got through it. I honestly don’t know what I would do without Jake in my life now. When I bonded with him a month after we got him, it was amazing. He is the colour in our world. Crazy, hyper, and hilarious. He can jump 7ft high, and has caught 2 squirrels- which is not ok for me, but crazy that he’s done that! He’s not the most affectionate guy, but when he gives you kisses and snuggles, it is so meaningful. At night, he lays on my feet- his way of snuggling. Also, if I have the tv on too loud in my room, or I move him, or we disturb him in any way, he will groan super loud to let you know he’s trying to sleep! He’s also the biggest chicken out there! He is literally scared of everything! Laundry being folded, my unicorn speaker, knives chopping too loudly, scary parts in movies that make loud noises- loud noises in general actually. He doesn’t like it when we talk to loudly! He will get up and leave the room- especially if it’s a hockey game and we’re cheering! But he also follows my mom and I around the house. He gets so close to you, his nose is on your leg when you’re walking! Jake loves playing, and running outside. He will just do straight up laps around the yard. He’ll also grab anything he can- like a bone and shake his head at you and tap you with his paw so you’ll play with him! Sometimes, he’ll just throw the ball at me! He LOVES hip scratches! He will put his body between your legs, so you have to scratch his hips! He’s a crazy man, but he’s calmed down MAJORLY! He knows when it’s time to play and when it’s time to calm down and sleep. He’s a very good dog, and buddy! I love him so much.

So, those are my dogs! The only other pet I have is a gecko! My brother and I bought her from a gecko breeder we found on kijiji. She was only $5 and she is beautiful! She’s a crested gecko named Tiberia. We’ve had her for 3ish years now and she’s still growing! We had to get her a new tank soon actually! She’s brown, but turns bright red when she sun baths! She’s so cool!

That’s it! Those are my pets! I love them all, and without them, I don’t know where I’d be! I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this post as much as I’ve loved writing it!

Nap Game Strong!

December 6, 2017December 7, 2017 by Avenue 23, posted in Lifestyle

Hey Guys!

I hope you are enjoying the new layout of the blog as much as I am! I have had so much fun rearranging the blog, and coming up with more intriguing topics. It’s amazing to me to see the growth of the blog since May! I feel like it gets more and more mature each time! Very exciting. I think it’s also worth noting that the photography for the page is all my own! I have recently found this new love for photography and I love to show you guys my work! All the pictures are from my trip to Italy and all from Rome actually!

So anyways, today I wanted to talk a bit about starting a routine! Routines have ALWAYS been hard for me. I have always worked such strange hours and on top of that, I used to have to fit homework in whenever I could. There’s so much I want to fit into my day now that I have time, but it’s still hard for me to get it all done, because I have never been used to having a good schedule. I find that because my shifts aren’t consistently on the same days, I overbook myself with shifts. I end up working WAY too much. This means that I eat whenever I have time to, sleep whenever I’m able, and skip important things like exercise because I do not have time.

So I have a new goal, and before New Years(as a side note, you don’t have to wait for New Years to start a new goal)! I am working on those healthy routines!

My biggest problem has always been Sleep. I NEVER get enough sleep! I am 100% night owl, and 0% early bird riser. This is my first change to my routine. Getting enough sleep is super important and I never get enough of it. I hate to confess to the time that I normally go to bed, but with insomnia it can range. So sometimes 12- 1am on a non- insomnia day, and on an insomnia day 2-3 am. Yuck, right. I sleep in, but still that’s not a lot of hours and regardless, leaves me A- basically no day and B-feeling fatigued throughout the day.

Alright, so here’s one of my goals for the remainder of this year and for next year: Have a healthier Lifestyle. So part of that big goal is to get 8 hours of sleep.

In order to achieve that here is my baby steps to achieve the greater goal!

Go to bed before midnight- I would like to aim for 10! I find at night I get distracted by a good book, or a Tv series! My plan for this is to get rid of watching Tv before bed, if my book is too addicting, maybe I can switch to a puzzle or something! Also, my phone has an alarm you can set, to let you know when it’s time for bed and when to wake up! If you have an Iphone go into the clock function and tap on bedtime! You can change the times you want to sleep and get up to get a good sleep! For now, I put 9 hours of sleep!
Wake up in the morning (in the single digits!)- I suck at this. I am the kind of person who sets an alarm at 7:00, 7:05, 7:10, 7:15… I think my goal for this is to go to bed early and sleep in the first couple of nights to catch up. Then from there, I’ll change my alarm to a little bit earlier every day to get the desired time (I’m thinking around 7).

So I also have some other sleep aid items that might help you as well!

Sleepy from Lush– Oh my god guys. This stuff smells beautiful and actually works! So I would say that it knocks me out in 15 mins when I use it. I will put big purple spots to intensify the smell. I’ve heard you can also get it in a bath bomb (Twilight), but for me the lotion is something I can use everyday!
Humidifier and Essential Oils- My true intention was to have a humidifier in my bedroom, because I find my skin is very dry in the winter, so I bought one that also

functions as an oil diffuser! I absolutely love it! The smells relax me- Lavendar I can use to help with sleep and peppermint is very good for colds. There are a variety in the package I bought. Both are from Amazon, and here are the links:

Humidifier: Amazon- $34.99

Essential Oils: Amazon- $25.95

Jersey Sheets– I love my Jersey Sheets! I find that if you are the kind of person that gets hot a lot, these sheets help big time! They definitely feel cooler. Here’s where I got mine!
TEA! I do drink lots of tea! My family usually has a cup a night! I usually stick with a nice, light tea before bed, which I will continue to help as a sleep aid! Here’s my favourite kinds before bed: Mighty Leaf Tea– The one I normally drink is a combination of peppermint, and dandelion root (which is good for digestion). If you’re worried about tasting dandelions, don’t worry the peppermint masks it. I’ll also drink Organic North African Mint Tea from David’s tea
Before Bed, I plan on having an hour of no screen time. As I said before, my phone will notify me when its time for bed. But here is a suggestion of activities to do before bed, especially if you’re beginning to feel anxious about the next day:

– Colouring- Disney, and Harry Potter Adult colouring book , and pencil crayons

– Sudoku Puzzles

– Harry Potter Puzzles

My Fitbit- this is perfect for tracking your sleep. It will track your heart rate and tell you if you had a restless night or not! It also tells you when to go to bed and you can set your morning alarms on the app. It will wake you up by vibrating on your wrist! I have a Fitbit Blaze– click the link for more information!

Thanks for Checking out my post today! Hopefully these suggestions help you as well! Have any recommendations or comments?! Respond below!

– Erin xo

My Nike Story

October 6, 2017December 7, 2017 by Avenue 23, posted in Lifestyle

Hey Everyone!

So I don’t know about you, but I LOVE looking good for “working out” (AKA when I DO actually exercise!). No not hair and makeup lol, but clothing! If you are like me, we wear out exercise clothing even for not exercising, which probably influences me to dress nicely even when I’m at the gym. Anyways, I buy a ton of brightly colored and unique patterned gym clothing.

I do have a funny store about my shoes I bought from Sport Chek a while ago. One day I was talking to my mom and she would not stop dropping hints about buying new work runners. Basically, I wore these shoes to Italy and everyday would involve me walking 30 minutes to work. Then at work I was working with dusty boxes of artifacts and walking around all day. After I would walk 30 mins home or sometimes it would take us an extra 10- 20 mins to go to the grocery store and longer to catch a train. You get the picture, it was A LOT of walking and my beautiful shoes were trashed. I had been putting off buying shoes when I got back, because funds were tight and I was also slightly attached. Anyways, my mom got sick of looking at them and offered to help pay. We went to Sport Chek, because one of my friends gave me a discount card, and was like buy Nikes to which I was like fine, whatever.

There I was looking at all of these florescent and beautifully patterned shoes- holding up the brightest pair of red shoes when this worker comes over to ask me if he could help me. So, I wold him I wanted to a size 7 and he looked at me, then back at the shoe. He grabbed it from me and looked it over then said “No you don’t want these shoes.” To which I was starring at him all weird and saying “Yes, I do?” He then looked at me scrunched up this shoe into a little ball and retorted- ” Look, no support. These are terrible shoes and expensive. Let me show you these shoes that I know you’re going to hate.”

I just looked over at my mom mouthing “What the fuck?” to her as she was trying to hold back a laugh. So I followed him over to the shoes he was looking at to amuse him, even though I knew I was going to buy those bright red shoes. I could just imagine myself showing them off to all my work friends. He picked up the UGLIEST shoe ever and tried to scrunch it up into a ball and couldn’t. “See the support on these babies?”. My mom’s response was something like on these babies?”. My mom’s response was something like ” Ya….. Great….. Those really aren’t her style,” He was like ” You know kids today don’t appreciate well supported shoes anymore. All they want are the colorful ones”

I’d like to take a second to say that I am 24 and was being lectured by a guy a year older than me- which makes this story even better! Also, I started having flashbacks to the days my dad would ship for me. Style was VERY much second to support and practicalities of staying warm in winter. One time, I got a pair of these mittens that basically went up to my elbows and were the ugliest things ever- even though they were warm.

After saying this, he decided it would be better to try to sell us pretty shoes that were half supported. I looked at them to not offend him, but my heart was dead set on these bright red shoes. I didn’t need them to exercise in, just to walk in everyday- especially at a job where I walk a lot. Support is great for exercise, but these are meant to be walking shoes- which I had of course told him. I basically looked at my mom for support, because I’m a combination of socially awkward and a person who can’t stay no.

My mom was like ” No…. Thanks… I think we are done.”

“Phew, thank god I don’t make commission!” was his last response before walking off LOL. We were laughing so hard on the way out!

To conclude this story, I would like to say that we are chickens and went back on his lunch break to buy the shoes. AND that is how I got my beautiful, bright, red Nikes!

Thanks to the worker for an awesome story!

-Erin xo

Art Life

October 6, 2017December 7, 2017 by Avenue 23, posted in Lifestyle

Hi Beloved Readers!

One of the things I love to do is create again, I don’t want to go on this crazy rant about not having time, but basically I realize it’s missing from my life and I want it back. So, it’s back now!

I can’t remember when I really started to love art, but I can remember that I’ve loved it from the start! I always loved coloring (especially when gel pens were a thing!). My mom always told me that I used to sit and sing for hours creating or coloring. I used o always watch that kids show Art Attack! Loved it! I even remember trying out the crafts with my mom.

In jr. high, I was disappointed to not get into art. I didn’t get into fashion either- annoying- but by then I had improved my sketching techniques! One time I went to my aunt’s house and she set up a light under a glass table and I sketched people (I did Beyonce- I was super excited!), and traced them. The tracing was a back up and I practiced sketching and gave me a confidence booster to eventually draw without tracing.

By high school, I finally got into an art class! (I didn’t get in before, because art was so popular and the class was full). I took all of the art classes I could get my hands on! Art 10 to AP Art 30-1 where I got to paint my own scene at a mall! My artwork and plaque is still up there! In Art 10, I had this grouchy, old man teach me art. He never showered when he was on an art roll, because he didn’t want to wash off his artistic ability. So gross. He also always picked on your artwork- although there was one girl who could do no wrong that we were all very jealous of! But without all of that criticism, I worked hard and learned some new techniques. I always felt I had to work harder than anyone else because everyone else had taken art classes and camps- and I never did! The next three classes I took, I had a new teacher because our old, smelly one retired. She was amazing! She taught me creativity and let me do whatever I wanted, but brought in even more mediums to work with. My favorite will always be chalk. I love the colors and I always use my hands. I also loved sculpting and watercolors.

After I graduated I got into Arts at MacEwan. Everyone in life will always push people to sciences. That’ s more practical and science is important. It pays well, has more jobs, more benefits, arts suck, there’s no jobs, blah, blah, blah. I hate people like this. Arts programs have writing jobs like journalism, archaeology (mine), psychology as well, and so much more. People should NEVER make you feel bad for the cancer or path you take! Music is art and it is very powerful! People travel the world for paintings, sculptings- you name it! Everyone reads, watches movies, plays video games, and TV shows- all a form of art. Science can heal you, create buildings and technology, keeps us safe at times, helps us understand nature, chemistry- whatever else the world has to offer! But art helps us feel, express emotions, understand these things science has provided. What you put into this world is important and beautiful. Arts took me to Italy and arts will give me a career. I may never make money off of it, but at least I’ll wake up everyday with a love for my job and a sense of purpose. That’s my biggest and sole fear- will my life have meaning? Can I do something that makes me happy and earn enough to live on? I hope so! And that’s the goal!

Throughout the years, after my high school art classes. I’ve ignored my art to do more “important” things. But, it’s time to get back to it!

– Erin xo