Friday Shoot-Out "Doors and Windows"

Welcome to "Doors and Windows" - My first topic selection for the Friday Shoot-Out. I picked this topic because it is something I take note of everyday in my 'Town'. I can't wait to see what everyone has come up with.

Doors and Windows form part of the building skin and they can influence the identity or feel of a project. Here are few different window and door styles on recent construction projects that I have been watching.

The first is from a condo project. It is great to see some use of colour in the windows.

Here is a new hotel project going up. The windows right in the corner of the building are my favorite part.

Here is the new City Waterworks Department Head Office Building. The front of the building is all windows, or curtain wall.

Here is a new window inserted into a very old building. And who doesn't love a sale??

I'm left to my imagination as to what the windows will look like on this building.

Friday Shoot-Out "Incongruous"

This week's theme as selected by Mary is "Incongruous" -meaning: out of place, ridiculous, inconsistent, contradictory.

I've been so swamped lately I only have one picture but I think looking out for pedestrians on a highway with a speed limit of 110 km/h meets all of the above definitions and it is also a late entry for last week's theme of signs.

I'm so excited to see all the door and windows next week.

Friday Shoot-Out "Relaxation"

Lena of Spirit of Lena suggested this week's Shoot-Out topic "Relaxation".

"My idea for relaxation was anything or place that fill people with a sense of calmness or relaxation, like a favorite garden, sitting on the porch, or park, etc. Anyplace that fills them with a sense of happiness and calm."

For some, relaxation comes in the form of yoga or meditation. Unless I'm 'meditating' with a strawberry daiquiri on a patio, I just can't find relaxation in these activities. For me I'd rather strap on my running shoes and head over to Fish Creek Provincial Park.

Fish Creek Park is filled with an amazing trail system that is so vast you rarely see other runners or cyclists for very long. You can truly feel like you are on your own.

It is important to keep an eye on my running time, pace, distance, and heart rate - all available on my trusty GPS running watch.

It is relaxing to have the illusion that you have left the city and are surrounded by natural vegetation.

I couldn't take a picture of myself running, so my shadow was the best I could do. (Plus, it makes me look really tall).

Friday Shoot-Out "Power"

Today's Friday Shoot-Out Theme as selected by J9 is “Power - where do you get your power? Is it electric, hydroelectric, solar, wind, natural gas? The things that power our towns or it could be things that empower you personally, or places to go to regroup, regenerate your own personal power.”

The first shot is where my power gets metered so that the utility company can make sure to send me a big bill every month.

Last night I went shopping to buy a new hockey stick, which gives my slap shot power. The store had an interesting stick sculpture on the roof.

The boat at the lake is powered by a Tracker 90. Good for tubing, but it could use an upgrade for more serious water sports.

The lake BBQ is powered by a trusty propane tank. Perfect for hamburgers and hotdogs.

And finally, who doesn't thrive on good old fashioned sugar power?

Do You Have a Messy Desk?

Tomorrow is the Thursday before a long weekend in Canada. At my office, this means we get an email from Administration asking us to clean our desks before we run screaming out the door. I had recently heard on the radio that a study was done to show that women who have messy desks are more successful, more creative, and best of all - get paid more. I decided to share this top secret insider information with Administration and kindly note that I would therefore not be cleaning my desk tomorrow, which has been noted by said adminstration as being very messy.

My desk is currently covered with file folders, binders, business cards, sticky notes on my computer monitor, large rolls of drawings, rolls of trace paper, empty pop and water bottles waiting to be recycled, empty Tupperware containers waiting to be taken home, and pens, pencils and highlighters of every color you can imagine.

Yet, my outwardly looking disaster desk does not really match my work personality. I'm very ordered. I make to-do lists in my black Moleskine notebook every morning and I check off tasks as they are completed. I keep a record of phone calls through out the day including jotting down key points of the conversation. I happily minute all my meetings. I electronically file my emails diligently into the project folders. My paper file folders are colored based on the stage of the project. I put together project binders with endless tabs to separate product information from each and every consultant and client. I think you get the idea here.

I did a quick search messy desks, and here is an interesting article on "What Does Your Desk Say About You?" I now have a name for my desk - The Organised Chaos Desk.

Which category are you? Do you prefer a clean or messy desk and how does this gel with your work personality?

Friday Shoot-Out "Reflections"

This week's Friday Shoot-Out "Reflections" was chosen by Audrey at Stage 3! Who, Me?

I had some good ideas for this shoot but they just didn't materialize or they didn't turn out. Instead here are a few shots on the journey home from work.

The first shot shows a building under construction reflected in a second building under construction just down from my office.

I stopped to grab a bite to eat and drink on my favorite patio.

And here is the traffic on Deerfoot Trail, the major commuter road in Calgary.

What's in YOUR Fridge?

Natalie at Curly Wurly Gurly is hosting the July Blog Challenge: What's in YOUR Fridge? Here’s the deal: Take a photograph of the inside of your refrigerator. NO DOCTORING the photos by taking out the junk food or running to the farm market tomorrow morning to stock the larder with fresh veggies. I’m looking for honesty…and I want to make sure that my fridge isn’t the worst offender out there.

I'm breaking one of the rules right off the bat. This is a picture of the outside of my fridge. You will note the dry erase calendar. My boyfriend works shift work and I have many extra-curricular activities, so we thought this would be a great idea to keep track of each other - front and center on the fridge - a place we both visit often. We bought it in September 2008 ......

OK - Here is the inside of my fridge. Looks pretty full despite the fact I always complain there is nothing too eat.

Here is the inside of the freezer compartment. Stuffed with Lean Cuisines, frozen strawberries, frosty mugs, skinny cow 100 calorie bars. You will notice the strategic placement right beside the English Bay Cookie Batter.

At least once every couple months, I convince myself I'm going to experiment with Tofu. You can see how well that is working out with the expiry date of June 03, 2009.

About the same time as the Tofu is bought, my nutritionist usually tries to convince me to survive a one week cleanse. I have a cleanse isle on the side of the fridge.

I somehow always end up with bottles of wine that I never drink. They sit in my fridge until I can pawn them off on my wine drinking friends. (Note: Before you go calling me a pansy, my vodka stash is not kept in the fridge)

My produce is looking a little sad - the celery is starting to go brown and there are mold spots on the cherries - the $10/bag cherries.

And last but not least, my Philly stash. For some reason, every time I go grocery shopping I think I'm out of Philly - but I never am. I swear it is those stupid Angel and Albert commercials that get stuck in my head.