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Training week!

I’ve been power walking all week and wow am I feeling the muscle burn…but in a good way. I’ve lost so much muscle mass from winter hibernating, but I feel great!

I noticed some scarring on Judge’s (my rescue Doberman), chin, feet and joints. I noticed some bent bars on the cage they gave us and I was so sad. He’s a very large dog and I think the previous owners used to keep him caged all day. It makes me feel sad when I see signs of neglect. He’s so gentle and obedient he takes food from my little 1 year old so carefully.

On a great note, he’s everything I need right now, screw the gym, I’ll just walk my dog! lol

I’m preparing for my trip to Texas and I will be flying into Houston. I’m still searching for hotels and sometimes looking at the beautiful hotel rooms distracts me…like eye candy!…And YES it seems everything is big in Texas! Can’t wait to see my friends there and get my de-stress on! There will be a birthday every month from now until November so this will be such a sweet escape! Details on my trip coming soon! 🙂

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Something new and unexpected

I’ve been showing my Lhasa Apso for over 6 years earning his Canadian Championship while he was still a young puppy. The show ring was such a great experience and I am still an active member of the Lhasa Apso Association of Canada. Aside from the pretty groomed hair of my Lhasa he is very much a hardy lil guy, however, I’ve always been partial to the working dog breeds. I started doing research, several years ago, on different breeds and am looking to do some training in the Service Dog sector. I would like to eventually get into schutzhund training.

I found a 3yr old Doberman Pinscher that needed to be rehomed and I decided he was at the right age, skipping the puppy stage and getting right into his training. The original owners were a very sweet growing family so I understood what they were going through. They gave me his crate, his leash and dog bowls, which I wasn’t expecting. My boys already adore him and he has been really gentle and extremely obedient.

He’s my new huge cuddle toy! 🙂

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Adventure day tomorrow!

Tomorrow will be a BIG day for me. I will be up early (yuck), for a road trip to look at my potential service dog. I’m praying that we will be a good fit. I did some dog supply shopping and picked up some active wear. I want to get back into shape and get back into the show ring, but this time, for dog obedience training. I haven’t told the children yet, but I know they will be more than ecstatic when they meet him. I have been taking some video to document my dog training journey and I will be uploading it and some pictures soon.

Now that Spring is here I decided to get prepared for an upcoming charity walk. I’ll go more into details about that at a later time as it is one of my projects I’ve been working on lately, but by adding a companion to my exercise routine will be something to look forward to and something I love to do. Going to get to bed early tonight…shocking..I know, but it’s worth it.

I couldn’t ask for a better day! 🙂

Will update soon!

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Gadget Review: Canon PowerShot N and Canon Vixia mini X

Canon VIXIA mini X

 

 

Now, the reasons I’ve been on the hunt for a camera is for my current and future projects. I will be traveling to many destinations, meeting new people, trying new food, etc., so I had hoped to document my journeys from before, during and after my trips. I have been into electronics since my Dad taught me at a very young age, so it has now become a very addictive hobby. So let’s get to it!

Canon PowerShot N
-comes in black or white
-touchscreen moves up to 90 degrees
-unique shutter button is on the lens
-picture and video capabilities
-compact size
-WiFi file transfer abilities
-multi-picture Creative Shot option
-playback with sound
-uses micro-SD memory card

After using the Canon PowerShot N for a little under 3 months, the pictures were still stunning but the video playback had a clicking noise. After returning it to Canon, under its warranty, for repairs they claim that they found nothing wrong although the salesman and I agreed the clicking was still there.
I love the design of the PowerShot N, it’s unique with a 90 degree angled touchpad making it feel like the old cameras from the early days. The Creative multi-shot option provides 6 different filters and angles which is great for giving a more artistic flair to the photo. Cute concept but I believe that the clicking noise during the video option may be related to the fact that the shutter button is on the actual lens itself and the microphone may be too close to the actual mechanics of the lens. When the camera is charging, all the functionality is locked until it is unplugged from the charger, this can make things inconvenient unless you buy an extra battery.

Canon VIXIA mini X
-touch screen moves 90 degrees but can flip and move to the front and back of lens
-video and picture capabilities
-light weight
-HD extra wide view “Fish Eye”
-easily accessible playback and record buttons
-sound/mic volume scroll button
-sound filtration options
-microphone and headphone plug-ins
-WiFi file transfer abilities
-uses standard SD Card

The Canon VIXIA mini X is very easy to use, it is light yet feels like it’s built for on-the-go wear and tear. The lens cover slides over simultaneously with the on-off button and the record and playback buttons are easy to use and find. The “Fish Eye” lens takes some getting used to as I’ve never seen anything like it before, but I love it! It makes the videos look very professional. Another great feature is that you can adjust the sound filtration to match your video environment, for example, if it’s windy out you can choose a preset sound filtration that allows you to cancel out background noises. When plugged in, the camera resumes all its functionality. Although this camera takes still shots as well, I haven’t found anything resembling the Creative multi-shot that the PowerShot N had, but the quality of the pictures is superb! I’m still trying the different features out, but so far it’s turning out to be an excellent camera.

Both the cameras range from $299-$399CAD.

My advice, if you are a fellow camera lover, is to find a reputable store specializing in cameras. Think of what you want to do with your future camera, be it artistic photography to making movies, do your research and be aware of all your options. I was lucky enough to find a great camera store that offers trade-ins and upgrades to newer equipment and camera models as well as extended warranties.

I hope this helps my fellow gadget lovers! 🙂

SS

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Great day for pampering and chatting

Despite the gloomy day, things seemed to work out smoothly. My new video camera came in so now it’s time to get down to the fun stuff. My last stop is fixing up my studio, adding some shelves and storage for supplies, I’ll also have to move some furniture around. I was expecting my camera next week, but it came in yesterday. Ever since I picked it up, I’ve been taking great videos of the kids, my pedicure appointment and my radio show. Haha I know, I’m a big kid…but it’s fun!

I know I’ve caught a cold and I struggled through my radio show. I think I’m going to have to check my equipment because there were lots of times where I couldn’t hear what my cohost was saying and it would cut out, but it’s always great going live and we just never know what could happen. Great conversation of just random thoughts and ideas.

My pedicure was relaxing and I felt the Spring fever coming on…along with the need to Spring clean. Yikes!

I will be having some video and audio projects very soon! Hope you all have a stress free weekend! 🙂

Much love!

SS

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Live show tonight!

Tonight I will being doing a live show at 9:30pm Central Time with my beautiful cohost @PrincessStepfrd.
I always look forward to talking to my “twin” we always laugh and have a great time! Checkout my home page menu for the direct link. All details will be updated throughout the day on my Twitter account. Call in at (646) 716-4200 and join us for some wild card discussions and give a cheers to this Saturday night! We’d love to hear from you!

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Shopping and great finds!

Today was a great shopping day! I finally found a leather tote to replace the wrecked one I had to urgently purchase from Walmart and this awesome Steve Madden purse for half the price at Winners, I found this Lux Beauty wet/dry brush I want to try out.

Shopping at Winners

I also found these cute clothes for my tiny pterodactyl, some track suits a hoodie and some Polo onesies. I can’t wait to put him in these clothes.

Babygear

I spent the rest of the time trying to find specific clothing requests for the older boys and a spring jacket, but didn’t find anything so I guess that’s going to be added to tomorrow’s To Do List. I had hoped I could bring my camera home all repaired, but nope…Canon claimed nothing was wrong but the salesman and I tried recording video tests and it still had that stupid clicking noise. I decided to upgrade my camera to another model, but that won’t be received until Tuesday, so that will give me more time to prepare some of my video projects. Damn this camera store is going to love taking my money, but what’s a Gadget Gal without new gadgets…right?

Tomorrow…Costco…

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From gloom to BOOM!

I’ve finally gotten things figured out so it looks like the end of April I will be united with my beautiful radio cohost! This has been a very anticipated trip and with the weather being so ridiculous, I figured I’d travel during the Spring instead of fighting with all these layers of winter wear. When I woke up today, I thought this gloomy weather had doomed me to another day of warm woolie socks, a tea and a bunch of girly movies…BUT it was surprising.

I received my Sephora order, I decided to replace my Naked 2 eyeshadow palette that I lost during my Chicago trip. I was agonizing about it for weeks! Yes, it was worth the wait! I feel like my makeup desk is complete…again! THEN, I was given a huge bag of free energy saving lightbulbs (long story, lol)…oh wait it got even better… when I got a nice cheque in the mail, too!

I like these little surprises! Bring it on universe, I still have tons on my list!

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In the mood for some travel…

Although I’ve been spending most of my days sleeping while I recover, I decided to add some more destinations to my travel plans this year. From Texas to Las Vegas..I’m thinking of adding some East coast travels. I’m not sure where yet but with the kids going back to school tomorrow, I should have more time to research all the places I want to see. I definitely want to visit the East Coast of Canada and I’m not so familiar with the site seeing on that side of the U.S. so, this should make for a new goal for this week. I hope to have 3 months of travel planned and booked by the end of this week. Being on bed rest, well, there’s not much else to do, right? 🙂

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2:40am blues…and limitations…

It’s official, my day was a complete bust, from a clogged toilet, to ruined plans, to let downs…

I know I can’t control everything that happens in my life, but it just really sucks when I can’t prevent things. I’ve been almost bedridden for 4 days and hardly slept. Staring at the walls is starting to get boring, but watching the thick snow come down somehow dashed my hopes for Spring being “just around the corner”.

Just when I thought I’d mentally delete this day, someone randomly comes along and appreciates me. Some people would say “they’re only saying things you want to hear, they have an agenda…blah blah blah…” but my real question is: Is feeling better because they said those things really a bad thing? I think we all share a common thread, everyone wants to feel appreciated, respected, loved and happy. I’m a strong believer in if you send out love and support, you receive it 100 fold.

Gotta keep my eyes on my goals…it’s the only way to go from here.