Zombead...

Greetings and salutations...I hope this blog finds you well :)
I'm just checking in to let you know that I am officially off the blog for another day or so. I know, I know, I'm only a week in and it appears that I am already slacking, but I assure you that this is not the case. I promise there is a lot of funky business going on around here as I put "Humpty Dumpty back together again".
What do I mean by this you ask? Well, if you know me, you know that means I'm cleaning up the crazy mess that has been building up around me over the past few months...It was long overdue...let's just leave it at that for today...The mess topic is a blog on it's own...Coming soon ;)

Today I will show you an inspiringly neat and tidy design board...





and yet again...Zen....(more later...)





So...2010...How's it going for you?
Me? No complaints here, so far so good!
We've kept to our menu plan and are keeping on track...Yay!
On the work front, by the end of this week, I'll have a totally Zen revamped office, a tidy space, a clean computer and a fresh new attitude! I'm really looking forward to a whole new year of "Something Funky".
But first, a little "beady" rest for me...I am starting to feel like a "Zombead"!

Thank you all for reading...You know who you are ;) xoxox

I look forward to sharing more with you upon my return...
In the meantime...I-M-M.I.A.


and here she is...
M.I.A.-Paper Planes

Oh, the irony...

My previously written blog was entitled "technical difficulties"...Yes, I said, the previous one...Ohhhh, the irony.


It took me over two hours, I prepared a really cute one, and as I clicked to check the link to my website I somehow erased everything I had written. I'm offically exhausted due to a major lack of sleep and was supposed to be preparing to reformat my computer for tomorrow so that being said, this one is short and sweet ;) Please excuse me as I disappear for a day or two-We are experiencing technical difficulties-



Currently I am feeling like the blip below...Do not adjust your set..There is nothing wrong with your computer...lol.
Just listen and take a ride into "windows" like you've never heard it before ;) Enjoy and bon weekend :)




Windowdipper-Jib Kidder

Girls on film....

I did it! I finally got my camera and I couldn't possibly be more excited and relieved! After much research, debate, discussion and several months of waiting, I have chosen a DSLR styled digital point and shoot camera, the Canon SX20, with the craziest macro lens I've ever seen :) It's everything I wanted and more.

I was sure I needed to go as pro as I could go and spend big bucks to get the best shots of my crafty stuff and the kids at work. It turns out I got what I wanted without having to pay the price. With it's dual functionality, HD video capabilities and stereo sound recording, it will serve me well and eliminate the purchase of a video camera later on if I should decide to "vlog" or "vidcast"...One day at a time.

Though it is alot larger and heavier than I had anticipated, I am excited to get the feel of taking professional photographs with a user friendly interface designed for amateurs as well. I bet I’ll feel intimidated when I bring it with me to classes and parties, with kids being so active around me, but I’ll get over it. It's all good, I need to take more photos and these ones will be great!

Here is the full review...the pics are from photographyblog.com, Go check it out!

www.photographyblog.com


And here she is...tee hee...









I think I will call her Candy :)
Yes, Candy Canon is her name. She is bea-u-tiful and I can't wait to learn more about her. As we work and play together (taking beautiful pictures along the way) I think we are going to become very close:) We have so much potential, Candy and I....this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship...lol.
Please welcome her to my blog :)

This blog has me thinking about several blips, however, I am only going to share two of them with you today and bank the other ones for another time. They are pretty perfect I think ***See below.
They came to me while I was standing at the check out tonight..Enjoy!

Girls on Film-Duran Duran>
**Remember? How classic was that super risqué x-rated music video that got banned from t.v back in the 80's???
The one I blipped is not that one...lol
This is a pg rated blog at the least ;)

Kodachrome-Paul Simon>
This is just classic, period :)

Food glorious food....

I think I've mentioned it a couple of times already. My main squeeze is a chef. To say the very least, he's amazing at what he does and I am soooo lucky that he enjoys doing it too! Truth be told, I much prefer to eat than cook...;)
Here are some samples of his delectable treats:





Now I'll have to be honest, as much as I enjoy his cooking and rarely having to cook myself, we don't eat home cooked meals as often as you might think. It's shameful really. Everyone gasps when they hear what he does and automatically assume that we eat gourmet food 7 days a week, but this is not true. We do take-out, delivery and drive-thru sometimes, and more often than I want to admit ;) Something we are working on in 2010 for so many reasons :)

I notice that not scheduling time for eating or preparing meals is a bad habit amongst entrepreneurs and chefs. When hunger strikes, we make rash decisions and instead of putting a salad together we'll pick up the phone or pull over, it seems like the easier thing to do after working a 20 hour day. My first meal will often be at 9:00pm, by that time I am usually grumpy and starving which genrally leads to making not so healthy and misguided choices. I know it's a problem and I'm (we're) working on it.



On New Years Eve day we decided that a night in was the way to go this year. We opted instead to spend the day doing groceries, cooking and getting ready for a nice long weekend and a brand new year. We also set up an excel spreadsheet which would help us to plan our weekly menus and meal preperation schdule. We both agreed we need to get control of what we're doing to our bodies and our pockets. We are so lucky to have such abundance in our lives but it is sometimes too easy to take advantage. We resolved to make this a weekly ritual and develop healthier habits.

By the end of the weekend, we had a fridge and freezer full of deliciously prepared fresh and healthy food which we have been enjoying since New Year's Eve. Later that night, after a nice dinner, some sparkling wine and some cheesy movies, we put an impromptu choco.fruit/"sauvagine"cheese/croustini and paté plate together. It was the prefect way to end a lovely and inspiring day and great way to ring in the New Year :)



Sorry about all this foodie talk...I probably made you hungry...
We'll get back to the beads again soon, I promise ;)

Need I say more?

Fat bottomed girls-Queen

Do not feed the bead lady!

As I am the bead lady, I get to animate jewelry making parties and workshops for kids and ladies. I come with all my "sparkly funky stuff" and keep people ages 2-102 busy for an hour or so doing beading and craft activities that I have designed for them. I do this with hundreds of women and children each week. I’ve been doing this for many years.












I love doing these kinds of events and I am so lucky to always be so well received. And thank you to all of you who have helped me by making me feel so welcome in your homes and schools. I Thank you-thank you-thank you with all my heart!



My job as I see it, is basically to be the "life of the party" during my stay, and bring "Something Funky" so everyone can play...and I sure do “bring it” ;)
It's both a joy and pleasure to be invited to help celebrate the good times in people’s lives and I am so fortunate that being a part of these moments is part of my work. Who could ask for anything more? Not me  I am so lucky to do what I love!




The thing is, I'm always so very welcome, and I surely do appreciate that I am considered to be part of the family during my visits, thus offered lots of treats....
However, what begins as a bite or a taste of a cookie or a cake quickly adds up to a supersize amount of food by the end of the month….And then "OH" shocker Surprise! 10 lbs at the end of the year! Imagine, 10 events a month, if I eat a peice of cake at each..."Just one", it adds up to 120 peices of cake a year minimum. That's an awful lot of cake and cake is not the only food I am offered..lol…Home baked pizza, home made spanakopita, pogos, french fries, coleslaw…cupcakes, cheeses…I mean the list goes on and on. As much as I enjoy the offers, I sometimes have to put up a bit of a fight when saying no thank you, while plates are being pushed at me with piles of food I know I won’t be able to consume in one sitting. They don’t know I’ve been in proximity of twenty birthdays during the course of the week and that I’ve already had a spoonful of cake at five of them, or that I’ve just had lunch on the way, or that I teach 2 cooking classes a week, or that I’ve got tons of food allergies such as dairy, citrus and eggplant or that I live with a chef and am constantly tasting…lol….and it’s hard not to insult when saying no thank you.
I am sure also that in some cultures it is regarded as extremely poor manners to reject an offering of this kind, but I’m at the point where I just have to say no! Point final. Or I’m going to explode…in size I mean….So I am going continue to make silly self deprecating jokes such as “I know I’m looking underfed but... no thank you...lol" and I'll try to be as gracious as I can but it's for the good of my health..lol... I thank you again and again but…. Please, don’t feed the bead lady ;)
Maybe I’ll get it printed on some t-shirts so the message is clear.

Oh...and I am so going there....lol...guess what song fits here???? ;)

Mika-Big girls you are beautiful

Slow and low....that is the tempo!

I'm on holiday so things are pretty slow at the moment. Today was slightly uneventful, but enjoyable just the same. First delicious dim sum in China town at Kam Fung, a visit from my bestest oldest friend and then a quiet relaxing home cooked meal was served to us by a professional chef, who just happens to be my boyfriend ;) I am really very lucky, though I am expanding by the day...Moderation is a word we don't use often in our household.

That being said, let's talk about dim sum for a second. Though it is uber delicious in oh so many ways, I don't always feel very well after eating it. Once the msg kicks in I go into this weird sort of trance like state and get stuck in a lethargic trip for the remainder of the day thus lazily attempting to accomplish various tasks around the house to no avail. Later, on the days of such indulgences, I can be found on the couch with a stomach ache thinking guiltily of all I have to do. As much as I adore it, I notice that it’s really only on dim sum days that I just can't seem to catch up with myself. I feel that perhaps today’s lack of activity shall remind me of that which I am already aware. This ritual may be a habit worth breaking. Sniff sniff…sigh…A moment on the lips-a lifetime on my hips-and the rest of the day on the couch…Is it worth it? I can remain a glutton for punishment but I think that this is where I say goodbye to such treats as my luscious textured deep fried seafood, beancurd, mushroom rolls and sticky lotus rice for a while….like until spring ;)
Honestly, it really doesn’t hurt to eat it once in a while and it truly is a total culinary/cultural experience in and of itself so don’t knock it completely, it's fun and delicious in moderation. If you would like to try it, see the link to kam fung montreal. In our experience it's the best dim sum in town.
Enjoy it...!
La Maison Kam fung

This is how I felt today:
Jib kidder Aga Aga
Now, back to the real funky business tomorrow...

It's my party...

Uch...Bright pink,deep purple and gritty green text on a black background??!!
What was I thinking??!!
I'll tell you exactly what I was thinking, to have fun and play while I am still in the "growing pain" stages of bloggerdom.
Between blip, blogger and the new overly sophisticated camera I need to learn how to use properly, I am feeling slightly overwhelmed with all that I have taken on. I think I am only now starting to realize how much work I have ahead of me. We're only 24 hours into the new year and i am already overwhelming myself...lol. I know I can hack it though, and I find it exciting too ;) That being said, I have a pretty solid collection of blogs I've been saving over the last few days, months and even years to refer to if I should fall behind in my daily scheduled tasks.
I'm not going to sweat the small stuff anymore. Something as menial as how my blog looked would have kept me from ever putting it up all together in the past. It's just not the way to go anymore. So, my blog, for now, is pretty plain and I'm not going to take it too seriously...(I take a deep breath and bite my tongue)...I'll get to it eventually, it's not a priority.
(I exhale and sigh as I try to move past it..lol )
In the meantime, I'll just concern myself with getting my thoughts into blogger, posting some photos here and there and making sure to blip a song daily. That I can commit to and the aesthetics will have to wait til later :) Please excuse me while I am under constrcution......;)
But really...It's my blog and I'll do what I want to... :P

And here's the song I thought of while I blogged.
Did you hear that one coming?

It's my party-Lesley Gore(1963)

The soundtrack of my life...

Now here's something I am very passionate about!
Music!!!!
If you click on my blog title above you will immediately go to my radio station on www.blip.fm.com. To say I love this website is an understatement!!! A big thanks to Ashton Kutcher, not that he'll ever know how thankful I am, for turning me on to it during his twitter-off with CNN! I "followed", he won, as did I, when I discovered yet another way to express myself and share that which is most inspiring to me... Music!
It truly does soothe the savage beast indeed ;)
I bring my ipod to school sometimes when I teach my jewelry workshops. The kids love it when I do, and they behave a bit better too ;) I make age appropriate playlists for each of my classes. Stuff like the Jonas Brothers for the tweens, Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana for the younger kids and some "pop" mixes for the older ones. I make sure there's something for me in there too as the above aforementioned is not really what I am in to.

This is what I used to use to play my iPod at work...or by the pool in the summer ;) It's awesome and has pretty decent sound!



I later killed that one and replaced it with this one under my extended warrantee. It's tiny and I liked the old one better, but it's still good!



Ahhhh the sweet sound of music, it's the thing that always calms me down, perks me up and stays faithful to me throughout the day as it helps to keep me focused and entertained while I work and play. Words can't fully explain how truly essential this form of art is to me, it's like oxygen, I need it to survive! (How melodramatic does that sound???!!)
Basically, I'm just so happy that I can add the element of music to my blog so I can share it with you, and then you can enjoy it too! If you want to hear what I am listening to, you can simply click on the song titles listed below each blog, they're linked to my blip.fm account for you. If you would rather not leave blogger to go to blip (assuming that it goes that way for you too) then you can open up another window and youtube the song titles as well if you prefer....Whatever works for you...This is an interactive blog to a certain degree so be prepared to play a little ;)

If you chose to join, shortly after signing up on blip.fm, you are a Dj with your own internet radio station. Once this first step is complete you will be in touch with an online database of millions of tracks and videos which you select and then stream on Blip.fm or through other social networking sites.
Please click the title of this post to visit my "LadyFunk" station and be sure to try your own, it's awesome :)

I totally have full intention of blipping in my blogs daily.
Due to the fact that I am a bit of a stickler for detail, I feel you'll get a better idea of who I am and what I am saying if you can hear what I'm listening to or feel the mood I was in. It's an exciting feature to my blog that I know both you and I will enjoy experimenting with:) (if you're into that sort of thing)
Welcome to the soundtrack of my life...or my blog anyway :)

Sometimes, I don't know quite where to begin with my writing, crafting, work or even cooking...Truth be told, getting started is the hardest part for me. It's a brand new year full of exciting and endless possibilities and I think that Blip.fm on my blog is as good a place as any for me to begin.

This song says it all in the title...I hear it in my head as I often pace all over the place trying to figure out where to begin.
"I just don't know what to do with myself....!"
Just hit play next to lady funk in the bubble when you get there ;) If you'd like to hear the original version by Dusty Springfield circa 1966, you can enter the title in the search bar from there...and even see the t.v. footage of her performing it live if you so choose :) It'll play from youtube.
Happy listening...and I highly recommend wearing your best headphones while you visit my blog to get the full desired effect ;)


These are the ones I have:


Bose triport headphones

Disclaimer: Funky business blog and it's associates will not be responsible for any hearing loss or damage which may occur during visitation to this blog and it's links. Reader/listeners beware!

Check out the blinged bose...my goodness...now THAT is DIVA!


Buy blinged Bose







I just don't know what to do with myself - The White Stripes

Let's give em something to blog about....

Here I am!
I'm finally here, after years of deliberation within myself, my very own official blog!
What makes it so offical you may ask????
The fact that I am sharing with you my day to day life is about as official as it's gonna get for me!

For me it's a really big day!
Wait and see what's coming your way :)
(I assure you it won't be only cheesey amateur poetry....or maybe just a little every now and again....;))

365 days=365 blogs
Can i do it?
I know i can!
Is it my new year's resolution you ask?
No, it's more than a resolution, it's the beginning of a new chapter in my life. I hope you'll stick around to share it with me :)

I welcome a brand new year with an open mind and heart...I know it's gonna be the best one yet..I can feel it!
Peace out and happy new year to you all!
(Whoever you may be....besides me...lol)

Suddenly I see-Kt Tunstall