Wednesday, January 29, 2014

In The Beginning There Was ... Excitement (Not Rap)

Hi my friends,
I apologize for such a long hiatus but it was definitely hard to keep up with blogging while I was travelling Europe and by the time I came home from a busy day of walking and sightseeing my creative juices were all dried up.  All my good ideas came to me while we were out and about or at 3am when I was trying to get back to sleep.
I have decided to do a retro blog, meaning I am going to start from the beginning of my trip in order to make sure you all get the most out of my travels and the interesting things I have learned along the way, there may be some repeats but I will try my best to keep it exciting and new. 
I have also decided to change the direction of my blog a little, don’t you worry I will still be a television guru because I just love it, but I also just want to share my life and experiences as move into a new chapter in my life.
Here we go…………………………………………………………………………………………….

Okay, so it all started in July, I was talking to my mom about going away, maybe taking some time off work to travel a little, go to Berlin to visit my best friend and maybe a few other places.  And from there the idea took off, Kristina (best friend) came to Vancouver for a visit, where she announced her engagement to Konrad and I dropped a little bomb on her as well.  “Sooooo, I said, I was thinking… maybe I would come out for a visit this fall!”  The excitement in her voice was none I had ever heard before and then came the kickers; “ Well I was thinking I would come for 2 months and we could travel around Europe together?”  “But before you say anything, please be sure to talk to Konrad about it in private and see what he thinks”.  And we started to discuss plans.  Seriously this was a one day decision for me and an even lesser decision for Kristina.  So with that conversation, it was set and I was going to head to Berlin for a few months in the fall. 

Next task, asking my boss for a leave of absence and hope he approves it, knowing that if he did not I would have to make the decision to stay or go.  I had been a loyal employee for over 5 years and had a very hard year with my dad passing so I thought, of course it would be approved, it wasn't.  Shock ran through my body and before I knew it the words Okay, my last day will be October 11th came out of my mouth and I had no control.  I had prepared myself for this but it was still shocking.  Very unsure of my decision and on the verge of tears I left work early and talked to my parents about it, my biggest support system, who reaffirmed I was making the right decision.  So I leapt in with two feet and continued to plan, pack and book my trip and as my last days of work loomed I was sad to leave my colleagues I had grown to love but excited to start an amazing new chapter in my life.  Never having been way from home for more than two weeks I was nervous but I pushed those feelings down, waaaaaay down into the depths of my stomach and continued on with this last minute two month European adventure I was about to embark on. 

October 21st my plane left and I was on my way!


I splurged on my trip (more than once as you will find out) and upgraded my seat and it was definitely worth it!  I was in the plane for a 9 hour jaunt, no big deal, over to Amsterdam and the extra leg room and slightly wider seat made all the difference!  I flew with KLM and was impressed with their friendliness and perks that came complimentary with my flight.  I sat down to a pillow and blanket on my seat, a hot towel when the flight commenced, a drink and dinner (all alcoholic beverages are free), free new released movies, lights off, a hot towel before breakfast, and a hot breakfast!  I would recommend KLM for any long distance flights.
My layover was in Amsterdam which is where I bought my first two Starbucks mugs of the trip (collection to come later).  The Amsterdam airport was a very easy airport to navigate as Amsterdam is an English friendly city.  From here I hopped on the KLM city hopper plane, which is a little older and smaller but all you need for the 1 hour flight to Berlin.  Before I left Canada I downloaded some movies and tv shows to my ipad, just in case there were any technical issues with my television on my flight, thankfully that was not the case. But definitely recommended as you can never be too prepared.

In Europe and most international destinations, you collect your luggage before you are greeted by your party, so be sure to snag a cart if you aren't travelling light.  Which you can guess I didn't, I  packed a suitcase within a suitcase, a suitcase full for Kristina and two carry-ons!

TIP #1:  Pack everything you want to take, I was trying to pack lightly so I axed a lot of heavier items I thought I could find in Europe.  I was wrong.  My lotion and soap were no where to be found, so we had to order them off of Amazon.de for quadruple the price.  LESSON LEARNED: Don't pack light, unless you are backpacking or taking short trips,  I wish I brought everything I wanted but I didn't realize how hard it would be to find certain items in a foreign country.

The first experience I had of Berlin was trying to get a taxi, Kristina yelled (later known as the Yeller) at the driver as he wouldn't take us to her house because it wasn't far enough.  She was yelling at everyone the driver, passer by-ers, other taxi drivers, while I kept saying its okay its okay as I am not very good with confrontation.  She yelled and made a scene until we got a taxi and this is why I love her, always standing up for herself and for me.

TIP #2:  Don't tell the taxi driver where you are going until you sit in the vehicle and everything is loaded in, he won't kick you out because he won't want to unload the vehicle.

After we lugged the luggage up six flights, catching my breathe and catching up with my best friend and denying my jet lag, I took a nap lol.  I slept for a good 3 hours in the most comfortable bed I have ever slept in and woke to dinner and Konrad home from work!  Konrad, Kristina and I always have so much fun together and they both welcomed me with open arms, literally, and this kicked off the trip of a lifetime.

Haben Sie einen großen Tag meine Freunde
(Have a great day my friends)

Retro blogging continues Sunday after the Superbowl

Saturday, January 11, 2014

New Year, New Me, New You, New Blog


Well my friends,

2013 is now but a memory and we are well on our way into 2014, with this New Year comes new goals and fresh new ideas.  There will be a few changes to my blog, now don't worry, I am still your TV guru as I will always LOVE television but have decided to expand my blog to reach and relate to more people.

I will start this year off with retro blogging, a detailed series of my trip to Europe this past fall.  I didn’t have enough time to write about every experience each day and I want to share it all with you.  I will have some must see features, the highs and lows, and some great travelling tips that will be useful for future travels!

I will also be incorporating some DIY’s with none other than Little MissMama and look forward to some vlogs as her and I are going to be trying some of those this year.

It’s a new exciting year, full of hopes, dreams and new blogs!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Now let’s get to it… here is a rundown of the winter premieres of our favourite shows:

Friday, January 10th
Bones 8pm on Fox

Sunday, January 12th
THE GOLDEN GLOBES, 8pm on NBC
Shameless, Season 3, 9pm on Showtime
True Detective, *New Series*, 9pm on HBO and HBO Canada
Girls, 10pm on HBO and HBO Canada
House of Lives, 10pm on Bravo and Showtime
Episodes, Season 3 10:30pm pm Bravo and Showtime

Monday, January 13th
How I Met Your Mother, 8pm on CBS
Sleepy Hollow, 9pm on Fox
The Blacklist, 10pm on NBC
Archer, *New Series* 10pm pm on FX and FX Canada

Tuesday, January 14th
Supernatural, 9pm on The CW

Wednesday, January 15th
American Idol, 8pm on FOX
Arrow, 8pm on The CW
Suburgatory, 8:30pm on ABC
Criminal Minds, 9pm on CBS
The Tomorrow People, 9pm on The CW
CSI, 10pm on CBS
Nashville, 10pm on ABC

Saturday, January 18th
Saturday Night Live, 11:30pm on NBC

Sunday, January 19th
The Following, After NFC on Fox
Looking, *New Series* 10:30pm on HBO and HBO Canada

Thursday, January 23rd
The Vampire Diaries, 8pm on The CW
Rake *New Series*, 9pm on Fox
Reign, 9pm on The CW

Sunday, February 9th
The Walking Dead, 9pm on AMC

Friday February 14th
House of Cards, Season 2 on Netflix

Monday, February 24th
The Voice, 8pm on NBC
Dallas, 9pm on Bravo

Tuesday, February 25th
Glee, 8pm pm Fox

Wednesday, February 26th
The Americans, Season 2 10pm on FX and FX Canada

Thursday, February 27th
Grey's Anatomy, 8pm on ABC

Thursday, March 6th
Suits, 9pm on Bravo

Happy Watching!

@ohsolindsay

Friday, January 3, 2014

New Year, New Lips

Happy New Year my friends,

Don't worry I am not talking about the duck lips botox look!  I am talking about the DIY lip scrubs Little Miss Mama and I decided to do on a rainy day in Vancouver.



As you can see I am quite amazing at scrubbing my lips lol.  None the less, it worked and my lips felt amazing after.  I must admit I have always felt all these DIY projects very daunting 1. because I am not creative and 2. because they usually have 15 steps and you end up with a fail or at least I do, because I am not creatively inclined at all.  But when this duo gets together something good is always produced and lets be honest, it's always Little Miss Mama's creations.

Results: Sugar is better than coffee. Why?
The sugar granuals were smaller and proved to be better to scrub your lips with and a smoother result, whereas the coffee grinds were a little too big to be effective but I think if you ground them up smaller they would be more effective.

What I liked: It was quick, simple and effective.
It takes 3 (only, I know!) ingredients, 2 minutes to mix , 1 min to scrub and BAM you're done!  You walk away with your lips feeling smooth, soft and refreshed!  A great way to start the day and new year off.

Give it a try and have a great day!

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Happy New Years My Friends!


Happy New Years My Friends!

It's that time of year again when resolutions are made and broken, lets me honest and we all have a fresh positive outlook for the year ahead.  When it came to deciding my new resolutions I decided I wanted to be realistic since losing 50 pounds in 2 months is impossible.  So here are my resolutions for this year, all which I think are attainable:

1. Becoming more active, meaning going to the gym, taking a spin class or going for a walk with a friend or on my own.  Taking the dogs for a walk, stop go, stop go, will not count.  And with this goal I am sure eating healthier and losing weight will follow but I will be focusing on becoming more active and healthier.

2. No texting and driving, period.  It took me 15 minutes to get home tonight and I was having withdrawals.  Will this be harder than quitting smoking? Only time will tell.

3. No aspartame.  It is not good for you and therefore it is being cut from my life.  I know I will not be able to avoid it entirely but it will no longer be apart of my life.

That's it my friends.  Nothing too big and nothing out of reach.  Simple.

I would love to hear what your resolutions are!

I wish you all the best in 2014 and check back here Friday as my first retro blog will be up!

Happy New Years to all and to all a good night!