If Bob Blumer Can Do It, So Can We. Taking Up the Glutton for Punishment Onion Peeling Challenge.

Thanks to Brie Mason, I’ve recently discovered a rather delectable piece of kitchen candy, Bob Blumer.  Curious … does anyone know if he’s single?  All over a man that knows his way around the kitchen.  mmm…mmm…mmm

Photo Courtesy of Roland Tanglao

At any rate, Brie’s and my new Monday night tradition is curling up to the Food Network Canada to watch Bob battle it out on Glutton for Punishment for yet another Foodie World Record.  Now, neither of us have really ever been couch potatoes.  We like to be a little more engaged, and as such, we decided to take Bob on at his own game and see how we’d fair at the competition for this Monday’s episode – the Onion Peeling World Record.  We’re both pretty decent cooks, so really how hard could this possibly be.

We’ll we found out just that on Friday night, as we reverted to high school (…umm … I mean university) with rum and cokes (in Brie’s soap opera glasses) and a series of tricks up our sleeves.  You see, we were set to compete with each other in peeling onions, and unlike Bob, WE didn’t need 3-minutes, 1-minute would do.  Now I say ‘tricks’ to be polite, as in reality, Brie is a CHEAT. She snuck a few onions in the freezer as apparently that makes peeling them easier and bites back on the tears.  I on the other hand, did not cheat, but rather did a little research being a conscientious student and all. What I learned was that soaking onions in water is suppose to make peeling them easier.

Maybe I should have listened to that onion peeling video a little closer – those tips were for pearl onions and garlic, not walla wallas.  Have no clue how Bob is possibly going to peel 50 pounds of onions in less than 3 1/2-minutes.  I guess we’ll have to tune in on Monday.  Glutton for Punishment is on the Food Network Canada at 7:30 pm EST and at 4:30 pm and 11:30 pm PST.

Special thanks to our pro video team – Young Master Mason ( aged 10 ) on camera and Little Miss Mason ( aged 8 ) on the timer.

Kisses,

Emme xoxo

On the Richard Yearwood Beat With Hummingbird604 and CBC Vancouver at CBC Live

Yes, I know we were suppose to be reporting on InSecurity Star Richard Yearwood incognito, but you know how Raul Pacheco is … before I knew it, we were anchoring the CBC Vancouver News.

So Raul … what were you saying about George Stroumboulopoulos?  Dish my dear hummingbird604!  I’m waiting!

Pre-Game World Cup KickOff Show From My Deck

So that the neighborhood slugs and plants didn’t feel left out, I did perform a pre-game show for them (performed to fellow Canadian, K’naan’s Wavin’ Flag), on top of the half game show for the crows and cats:

Alas I learnt a few things from the slugs and plants, like interactivity is not always a good thing.  I am happy to state that no plants were harmed in any of the stunt roles they played.  I am mourning the loss of one slug, however (and I am still trying to remove all slug goo from between the toes).  I’d appreciate everyone taking a moment of silence in honour of the role the slug played.

Kisses,

Emme xoxo

World Cup Final Half Time Show on My Deck

I like to keep things interesting for the local crows and neighbourhood cats, especially since they didn’t have any screens set-up outside in my neighborhood for them to watch the match on, so I decided to give them their own half time show to Shakira’s Waka Waka. Enjoy!

Finding My Way Home

Occasionally we all get a little lost. I’ve been lost for the past few months. I’ve been overwhelmed and for some reason I felt the need to reinvent myself, my look, my stories….

Photo by Lola May

I ‘ve felt like I was in a bit of a holding pattern, in which I’d been told we were being watched, in which people told me they had big expectations for me and some started telling me what they thought I should stand for, how they thought I should look.  Generally, I’ve always gone with my gut and listened to my heart, but after a bad break up swept the carpet out from under my feet, I was left feeling totally lost.  Not really sure who I was or who I wanted to be. Horrified at myself for having let myself fall into what clearly was an unhealthy and emotionally abusive relationship.  How could I let myself do that again? Was there something wrong with me?  Was there something I needed to fix about myself? Should I really trust myself and my own instincts? And admittedly, my writing poised a huge factor in our break up, so I started making it less of my personal story and more about the events whirling around me.  And with that I started getting a little fluffy in my writing and occasionally a little tartish in my attire.  In my mind, my writing has become a little flat and artificial and I’ve felt more than a little flat and artificial.

There are moments when I might get a little carried away

I get asked all the time, how I am going to make money with my writing?  Where is my funding model?  Well, I started writing for fun, to process my thoughts, and to grow as a person.  When I moved it online, it was for inspiration and drive to finish my first novel.  It was not to become a marketing tool or an advertisement, and while no one is paying me to write about this product or that, I do fear that that is what I am becoming.

Feeling especially like this with the Olympics, as Brie and Mario and I decided to let as many people as possible know about the fun and free of the Olympics.  So we’ve been trying to collect as much content as possible and firing it up as quickly as possible.  I’ve gotten tired and the story has really suffered.  Has it been a complete waste?  No.  It has been a good training ground for Mario and an extremely good reminder to Brie and I on what it is that we are doing. So I think we are going to regroup tonight on our 3 am team building trip to Grouse Mountain and remind ourselves of what this is really about.  Having some fun and telling the story of the people we meet that help us to process our own stories in this wacky world.  While yes, we may still mention the odd event at the Olympics, I don’t that our guide will be quite so full.  Now the Olympic language guide on the other hand ….

Moon Cherub & Emme

And a huge thank you to my wonderful family and friends that are not afraid to tell me when they think I’ve lost my path (or, in the case of my family, are concerned that I have started to have dressing like a tramp).

Kisses,

Emme xoxo