Campaign for Beauty Bullshit

Wow, I just realized that Dove and Axe are owned by the same company, Unilever. Am I the last one to figure this out? I'm not necessarily a fan of Dove products because I prefer more natural, locally produced beauty care products, etc. but their Campaign for Real Beauty made them seem like a kinder, gentler, beauty product corporation. Great, they claim that they want to raise young girls' self-esteem by making them aware of photoshopping and the fact that the images we see in advertising are fake. They have one such ad where they show a young girl viewing numerous beauty product billboards and then watching T.V. In both cases she is bombarded with images of photoshopped, overly-sexualized models. The ad ends by stating that young girls are under more pressure than ever today and that by supporting the Campaign for Real Beauty you are doing something to help change that. Now, what if they had the young girl watching an Axe ad in which various skinny, overly-sexualized, photoshopped models are chasing after some random loser dude because he happened to apply Axe deoderant or spray? Yes, the Axe ads are meant to be campy, but think of the way that they portray women. They are a far cry from improving the status of women and building self-esteem. It's the same company! While I don't use their beauty products, Unilever is a huge corporation that owns many other brands that I do use. Not anymore. Dove may be gentle on the skin, but the hypocrisy of Unilever is far too irritating. If you don't believe me, check out their website: Unilever

Bonsoir mes amis,

Oui, ça fait longtemps! Je vis en français maintenant mais je ne l’écris pas assez souvent. Je suis en train de préparer mon cours pour ce jeudi et j’ai pensé à toutes les raisons que je suis contente. Voici une petite liste qui est loin d’être complète :
-les activités de plein air ici
-mes emplois
-tous mes amis
-la nuit d’hiver quand on a marché dans la forêt et le sentier était allumé uniquement par la lune. On a fait un feu, mangé le souper et bu du vin dans le neige, la tranquillité et la solitude
-mon équipe de triathlon
-yoga
-ma vie en français
-mes étudiants
-la littérature québécoise
-mes entraineurs
Je peux continuer toute la soirée. On approche la fin d’une autre année et je vous jure que c’est une des meilleures années de ma vie. Je commence voir mes rêves deviennent la réalité.

Bonne nuit mes amis! Je vous souhaite mes meilleurs vœux!
xx

Vegetarianism: More than Tofu!

After having to endure a certain conversation today let me offer a few words about vegetarianism: As a vegetarian I don't simply make a recipe but replace the meat with tofu. I don't eat garden salads all the time. (I rarely eat lettuce.) No, I do not eat chicken or fish. Yes, right now I sometimes will eat an egg or some cheese though I prefer not to. Work occasionally requires me to attend lunch meetings and the vegetarian options in the restaurants here are extremely limited (basically omelettes, nachos or salad). This makes me an ovo-lacto vegetarian.

You can be vegetarian and have very exciting food options. It's a hell of a lot more than a slab of tofu with veggies and potatoes. Tofu makes up a small part of my diet. I eat various types of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, etc. I experiment with recipes and spices. I think outside the "North American" ideals of how we should eat. I love trying dishes from different cultures and find that India is an especially great source for vegetarian friendly fare. Best of all, nothing has to die.

You want to know what I eat? Ask me! Don't assume!

For supper I made an amazing fusilli in a white wine and tomato sauce with kalmata olives and artichoke hearts mixed in. My diet is anything but boring.

Have a great evening!

Explore Quebec!!

Looking back over my past few entries I see a theme that is really not representative of what is going on in my life right now! It has been nearly four months since I moved away from Montreal and ironically, that is when the adventures began! I won't try to make up for the four months that I neglected this blog but here is a recap of what I've been up to.

Here are some of the best trips I've taken:
-St-Felicien to do the Tree-to-tree activity where you do an obstacle course high in the trees and swing on zip lines etc.
-Lebel-sur-Quevillon, Matagami, Camp 381 on the James Bay highway, Radisson, Chisasibi, the real James Bay!
-Drove to Montreal to spend the weekend, spent several days in St-Alexis-des-monts, back to Chibougamau
-St-Felicien to go to the zoo
-Jonquiere for the Bernard Adamus concert (awesome!) and the triathlon. Returned to Chibou by the Northern part of the lake (got lost in Dolbeau-Mistassini), Normandin, etc.
and so on...

Quebec has so many amazing places to explore and people to meet. It's a shame that so many people never get far from Montreal. It's a shame I didn't see more sooner!

Yesterday we climbed a mountain and picked wild blueberries. They taste amazing! today I plan to bike out to Lake Chibougamau. :)

Happy Sunday everyone!!

I Loved you Once

Here is the most perfect love poem. I just had to share it. My Russian is pretty basic, but the audio version touches my soul nonetheless.

Marriage

Do you know a married couple that hate each other but refuse to get divorced? Does this married couple still insist on marking the occasion of their anniversary each year? Have they made the occasion into an opportunity to further provoke one another? Ex: He buys her a bathroom scale (hint, hint honey) and she buys him a tow rope with ample length to tie a noose?

Despite the dysfunction, do you still feel obligated to acknowledge their anniversary as well? Alas, in this case I'm referring to my parents. Yes, I have them. In a couple of weeks they will be 'celebrating' 33 years served in a life sentence. Each year I try to at least send a card but Hallmark just doesn't seem to make ones that fit the occasion. All the cards say something along the lines of "You are so perfect together,"and "Here's to many more blissful years" or "To the most loving couple I know." I few years ago I gave up on the anniversary card section all together. My solution? Sympathy cards! I find that my sentiments are best captured with a card along the lines of: "Just letting you know that my thoughts are with you during this painful time." After I sent the first one, I expected to be off the hook for life. Alas, my mother called me to say she had a good laugh. I guess it's good to suffer with a sense of humour and at least I know where to shop for cards each year.

My friends, you may think of this story if ever you are pondering why I'm a single pig!

Kisses darlings!
xx

Life and Not-Quite-Love

Life lesson 234983249873259872347:

Don't take dates to your favourite restaurant because you know that when it's over that person will somehow manage to show up there when you are eating...A city of 3 million people and somehow it happens.

And for your enjoyment ladies and gentlemen, here is a picture of me riding a rooster!

Kisses darlings!
xx