Finals, Facebook and Fringe

I finished my final exam yesterday, and now don't have another class until January! I am so close to being done with university and my Art History degree! Now, I can focus on enjoying the last bit of nice weather, working on items for my shop and on this blog.

I created a Facebook page for this blog where you can connect with me on all kinds of things - please 'like' my page and add your blog URL or facebook page link so I can follow you back!


I've been checking out some new-to-me sci-fi and fantasy shows the past few weeks. So far, I've enjoyed watching Fringe the most! I started watching it last year but stopped after a few episodes. Now, it's one of my favourite sci-fi shows. It's so much fun watching shows filmed in this city! Other shows I tried to watch but stopped:
-Rubicon
-Sanctuary
-Pillars of the Earth
and some others, but can't remember. . .
I also started watching Covert Affairs, mainly because of Piper Perabo. I don't know why I'm watching it, really. A show about the C.I.A.?!  I just started watching Stargate Atlantis, which I enjoy so far. I really love Stargate Universe, and look forward to seeing more next month.

Any shows you think that I should check out? I'm into trying new shows these days, before the regular ones I watch return in September.

Modes of Transportation - Favourite Things Project

How do you most like to get from point A to point B? 

This week's topic/theme is all about modes of transportation - what are your favourite?

I suppose it's no secret that I long to have a sailboat someday:

2 Tiny Bears Against the World by studioahimsa

And, if you've been reading about my love of trains, like on this post, or this post,

this picture should come as no surprise: 

Grain Train by studioahimsa

Of course, I do love the occasional road-trip, but to say that cars are my favourite mode of transportation would be a huge stretch! I also LOVE walking most of all, but that just can't take you everywhere.

Welcome Greg - New Regular Contributor

I would like to welcome my best friend Greg to Being Tazim! Greg will occasionally be writing here on different topics, including travel, cooking (which is very creative!), obsessing over cookware, and art.

His series 'Under Pressure' is up right now and will last for 4 days. Be sure to check it out here.
 Greg has a background in Art History, Anthropology, and Graphic Design. He is an avid cook/baker, enjoys travelling (we travel together), reading, writing, hiking, and playing video games.

You can contact Greg by email, or leaving him comments here!

Upcoming Twitter and Blog Blast Party

Blogmania bloggers are all about building relationships - between our blogs, our cherished readers, the online community and business owners. We value each other's opinion as we all are endeavoring to make the best choices for our home life. So it seemed natural to partner up with The Lane Real Estate Team and Breebee's blog to bring you our first ever twitter and blog blast party.

The Lane Real Estate Team is all about building relationships through communities - specializing in Kennewick Homes for Sale. And Bree is a blogger - and a mom - trying to think outside of the box and help build community ties in NW Columbus OH via her Kid event website! Our other twitter party sponsors also offer items to help strengthen and maintain relationships - from stationary to hand stamped sentiments.

The Party Theme: "Building toward Blogmania with The Lane Real Estate Team" 

Info on the Blog Blast:

If you post on your blog(s) our announcement between now and the twitter party you will be entered to win $100 cash. If we reach 500 blogs there will be two additional $50 drawings, totaling 3 winners! You can email: breejanderson@gmail.com or blogmaniapr@gmail.com for the HTML code for blog(s) links and some posting specific OR ask me for info and I will send you the HTML code.

Please return with your specific blog post links on Bree's Blog, under her Twitter Party PAGE tab.


Info on the Twitter Party:
9:30-10:30pm, Sunday, EST we will party!

There is a custom tweet grid and a linky for early RSVP. RSVP'ing early also enters you into special drawings. You do not have to RSVP to tweet and win but the 'extra' will not be available.
You can win both the blog blast and at the twitter party!

RSVP at BreeBee's blog.

Modes of Communication - Favourite Things Project

Click image to get code for button

For the second week of this project I am focusing on my favourite 

Modes of Communication

 

photo via enfield26's civil war collection.

I love to write letters. I have had penpals from age 10 or so until now. I have met many of them in person and have known a few of them for over 15 years! 

photo via limonchung

And what beats talking to someone in person? I really don't like talking on the phone or texting or any of that. I much prefer to see how the person reacts and preferably speak to someone over some coffee or desserts!

What about you?

If you would like to participate in this project, all the information is here. Feel free to join in any time or to suggest a topic! Next week's is: things to drink.

Please leave a comment as well as leaving your link!! :)

Post-Birthday

I turned 30 a week ago today and haven't yet reported on how my birthday went!

Due to circumstances beyond my control, I am no longer taking a french course this summer, and therefore had my birthday off from school. I normally would have my Hindi Film (Bollywood) class the next day, a Thursday, but because of the Canada Day holiday, I got it off...and had a nice, 6 day weekend!

One of my gifts was a 'treasure chest' filled, in part, with a gift card for the Sony store to use towards some e-books for my Sony e-book reader, and a card listing the activities we will be enjoying during our mini-break in September! I will talk about budget and planning for that trip on one or some of my Travel Thursday posts. Basically, we will be using up some expiring-soon and other travel points to stay in hotels for free and taking an over-night cruise from Vancouver to Seattle (only 29$ or so!), for a trip to Seattle and down to Portland for a few days. I am so excited, as I had been wanting to go down to Portland for a long time, and I love Seattle.

Since the weather for the entire (mostly) month of June was wretched (muggy and grey), I didn't do much for my birthday outside, like I had wanted to.This picture is from last year, when we went to Victoria, on Vancouver Island (the provincial capital of B.C.) for 2 days.

And I had a picture of the Tardis cake that Greg made me but he made me take it down.

It was a (vegan) Tardis cake made with buttercream frosting, lemon cake and chocolate cake layers. It was delicious! If you don't know, I am a huge Doctor Who (new series, starting in 2005 onwards) fan! No pictures of my birthday party, because I didn't have one. G and I spent the time together and I was served delicious food all weekend!

Iconic Things - Favourite Things Project

Welcome to the first week of the Favourite (or favorite) Things Project! If this is the first time you are hearing about this new 52 week project, go here to find out all the info! You can join in any time this week and link up to this post at the bottom, or join in on the project any time this year!

I have put together this button, which you can add to your blog or post, if you like. There is also a larger version in the right hand column on this blog.

<a href="http://beingtazim.blogspot.com/p/things-i-love-project.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Being Tazim" src="http://www.minimumharm.com/beingtazim/sml.jpg" /></a>

In honour of 2 national holidays this week (Canada Day, yesterday) and Independence Day (4th of July) in North America, the first topic/theme for the project has to do with:

Iconic Things About My Country

This is a Maple Syrup candle! The great thing about this candle is that this maple syrup actually exists in this can - so it looks completely authentic. It also smells authentic - makes me crave waffles or pancakes, all the time - even when it isn't light! Maple syrup always makes me think of Road to Avonlea, the episode where Felicity is making and selling maple sugar using an old Quebec recipe. Ah, so Canadian. 

Because maple syrup is really an Eastern Canada thing, I thought I'd pick a Eastern Canadian icon as my 2nd picture. This is a stuffed bear named (by me) Grizz. This Haida Bear was created by the famous NWC Haida artist Bill Reid (you may know his Raven and the First Men work from the Canadian $20 bill). It is a replica of sorts based on the giant wooden bear that stands in the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia (one of my favourite museums, at the university I go to). 

So, what about you? What are your favourite iconic things from your country/city? 

Leave your links in this linky below, and you may be selected to be featured next week! All the links for these posts (my Friday posts) will be on the main project page so that you can go back if you'd like to link up later. 

Please leave a comment after you link up! 

Inspirational Interview With Eliza from Silver and Grace

What does a 47 year old think of turning 30, milestones, and aging? That is exactly what I wanted to find out when I interviewed Eliza, who writes the blog Silver and Grace: Guiding Graceful Women into Beautiful Aging. 

Even though Eliza's blog is primarily geared towards women who are over 40 years of age, there are many articles that people who are younger will find helpful, too. While there are articles specifically geared towards her target audience, like "Stylish Dressing After Age 40" her most recent post is "20 Ways in 7 Days to be a Super Woman" a guest post by Danna Flannery, offers advice for women of any age. 

1. How do you feel about people hiding their age?

 I don’t get it. I didn’t understand it when I was younger, and I still don’t understand it now that I am older. “Eliza, how old are you?” “Forty-seven.” See, that wasn’t hard at all. Actually, “Forty-seven, and proud of it. Can’t wait to be forty-eight, forty-nine, fifty, fifty-one…”

 I have met a few men who keep their age to themselves, but it is mainly women who feel the need to be vague. “Twenty-nine and holding.” Uh-huh. I like to think that being coy about your age is antiquated, but I am continually shocked by the number of women who refuse to state their age. I can only think it suggests a fear associated with aging. A fear of mortality? A fear of no longer being considered sexy? A fear of no longer being useful to society?

 It really bothers me when I hear a woman hide her age. I want to wrap her in a hug then give her a little shake, and shout “You deserve your age! Own it!”

 2. How did you celebrate your 30th birthday?

 Okay, you are asking me to cast my mind back seventeen years. Did I have a blow out Turning Thirty birthday? No, because I have never put milestones to age. Turning thirty was like turning three or thirteen or twenty-three. I think it is safe to say it was a quiet and small family dinner with my children, my partner at the time, and his parents.

 3. Did you have goals for yourself  - things you wanted to accomplish by the age of 30?

 Hard core feminists are going to shudder at this response, but I had one answer and one answer only to the question “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I was going to be a mom. I never even envisioned my wedding or what married life would be like. I simply wanted to be a mom.

 I married at age 21 and had my first daughter at age 22, my second daughter at age 23, and my son at age 24. By 28 I was divorced. Hardly surprising since I skipped the whole thought process about married life. But I was a mom and ultimately that’s all that mattered.

 But to answer your question if I wanted to accomplish something by the age of 30, the answer is no. Again, because I did not hold age 30 up as a milestone.

Blog Journal Project - The End!

Here it is: my last Blog Journal Project post! Thank-you goes out  to Emma at Toddler Awesome. 

30 Life-Changing Moments Part 1

I've heard that we both are and aren't (just/merely) the sum of all our experiences.  What do you think? To what extent are we defined by life experiences, both by ourselves and by others? 

Inside Memory - Part 1 - I Remember

Inspired by Timothy Findley's book Inside Memory: Pages from a Writer's Workbook, this is post #1 in a series of 4 based on memory, relating to my 30th Birthday Month.  

The above quote (on the right) is from the Timothy Findley book. The section in that book that most speaks to me is the first one: Remembrance. It is the section which I will be pulling quotes from for this series. 

In Timothy Findley's book, he discusses the work of Anton Chekhov (a Russian playwright, short-story writer and physician):

 "Chekhov discovered the dramatic value of memory  - that a woman in tears remembers happiness; that a smiling, laughing man remembers pain. This gives you two views in one: depth and contrast. But, there's more to it than that. Memory, Chekhov also discovered, is the means by which most of us retain our sanity. The act of remembrance is good for people. Cathartic. Memory is the purgative by which we rid ourselves of the present."

What's in My Bag?

Blog Journal Project: I have missed a few days, but I think it is okay. I am not really a completion-ist. Here is one of my purses/bags with some things that I often carry. I forgot to include my cell phone, which is a Samsung something or other. It isn't a smart phone. I don't use it often, as I hate talking on the phone. Anyway, here it is:

 - Purse - The purse is a vegan felt bag from Matt and Nat. G gave it to me 2 Christmases ago. 

 - Le Sportsac bag -  came with another bag I have and use. I put my "My Neighbour Totoro" wallet, mirror and coin purse (which holds coins and coupons) in it so that I can easily move it between purses

 - Sony Ebook Reader - this is a touch-screen PRS 700 which I got last year. Love it!

 - An organic, vegan granola bar  - choconut flavour 

 - Purse Hook - because putting your bag on the ground/floor is gross.

 - Pilot G Tec c4 pen in blue. My signature pen of choice.

 - Umbrella - fold up umbrella because I live in Vancouver.

 - Ecojots little notebook

 - Classic 60GB ipod

 - Earphones - Bang and Olufsen

Mini red pouch with beauty supplies: 

All Aveda stuff:

 - Caribbean Therapy body creme travel size

 - Lipstick in Sutra

 - Lipgloss in Juneberry

 - Smooth Infusion Style-Prep Smoother in travel size (for flyaway, and to protect against humidity)

 - Green Science Firming Face Cream sample size

 - Blue Oil - blue chamomile and peppermint to relieve headaches. It is a rollerball to put on temples. I use it all the time. I am one of those people who constantly has a headache! 

Missing: cell phone, keys and the 2 or 3 reusable grocery bags that I always take with me. This bag is big enough to just pop groceries or whatever else in to, but my other purses are smaller.

Check out some other purse posts on the Toddler Awesome blog! 

20 Things I Love

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Pet Peeves

Blog Journal Project

Day 17 May 28

What are  your Pet Peeves? Write them in the comments!

Link Your Blog

Link up your newest blog post or favourite blog post in the linky below! I will have this open all weekend for some blog-hopping fun! I'd appreciate a follow and I will follow in return. Just let me know in the comments!



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Bad Habits - Some of my Worst

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Where I Blog

Day 14

click picture for bigger version

You can see that I use an external monitor, keyboard and mouse. The picture in the upper right is my macbook with a 'be true to your school' type cover for UBC. My laptop is above some books and a vintage card file (this only shows half of it, there are 2 drawers). My 2 external hard drives are tucked on the right.The Norrebo shelf from IKEA is on the immediate left of my vintage mid-century modern desk, which has a lovely view. . .of my kitchen. :P I love my ScanSnap scanner and my speakers which we've had for 10 years now and they still sound amazing! I don't love or even like my keyboard. I need a new fancy apple one, this one is a bit stiff to type on. Oh, and I need a magic mouse, too. Good thing my birthday is coming up. 

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Bucket List Top 5

I also have a list of 31 things to do before turning 31 next year. 

Do you have a bucket list or 101 in 1001 or similar?

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Ideal Age to Be - Is there one?

Being a Correspondent

Blog Journal Project

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Living with Regret?

Being a Correspondent
Blog Journal Project

What do you regret? 

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