Happy Moments: Starbucks Secret Menu Items and Perfect Song Timing

It was so freaking hot yesterday and it is going to be just as hot today. Here is my happy moment from yesterday and a shout out to two amazing ladies in my life. One is not only my co-worker by day; she is also a fabulous barista by night. She has created an amazing "secret menu" low-carb Nutella flavored frap for me at Starbucks and every time she makes me one it gets even better! Props to Jenny Fines for knowing how to chill a homie out!

The second shout-out for my happy moment of the day yesterday going to my MacIsaac Hall roommate for providing the perfect tunes to enjoy that low-carb Nutella frap with. As you can see my car and I agreed that it was hot as hell outside so it hooked me up with the perfect summer song on my car USB key to enjoy that frappuccino with, Rusted Root's "Send Me On My Way". 

I will be honest with you; I am one of the only people that hate "Send Me On My Way". It is one of those songs that seems to get people going and yesterday I finally had that feeling. After years of resenting Sarah Thorsen for downloading it on my university Macbook and it always coming up on shuffle, I finally tolerated it. I pulled all of my music from my old lappy onto a USB stick for emergency tune situations a couple of months ago and I have been dodging Sarah's two additions "Send Me On My Way" and Michael Jackson's "Will You Be There" every time I use it. Yes, it is pretty lazy of me to have never deleted them from my computer, but it seems to be a little easier to skip them when they come on. Don't pretend you don't have songs on your iTunes that you don't like!  

Regardless, I am so happy it was "Will You Be There" and not the Free Willy song that came on while I drove home and enjoyed my frap. It reminded me of two amazing ladies to be thankful for and put a big smile on my face. Had it have been the MJ song I would have totally skipped it... I really do hate that song. 

Sarah seemed to have a thing for movies from our childhood and the songs from their soundtracks. While I was more of a Disney girl she was a big fan of the film Matilda and "Send Me On My Way" was used in that flick, so here it is with a wonderful Matilda montage just for your enjoyment. 

Things I Am Just To Lazy To Accomplish

My boyfriend has been away for nearly a week now and I started my adventure in living in the Kootenays alone strong.

I packed my lunches. I made supper. I did the dishes after eating. I even continued washing my hair regularly and did not sport pony tails.

All that impressive up keep has now vanished. I have a growing pile of dishes. I ate $2.00 worth of penny candies as part of my lunch today. And, I powdered my greasy hair this morning.

My life has turned into a BuzzFeed article once again. This time it is titled, ’24 Basic Life Activities You’re Too Lazy To Accomplish”.

Key points on this list (for me anyways) are:

6. Even calling somewhere to get food delivered. I’ve had breakfast for 9/10 meals since the BF left.

9. Walking the two extra blocks to your bank instead of paying a grey box $3. This is a problem regardless of the boyfriend situation.

13. Going grocery shopping at an actual grocery store.

I live way too close to a 7-11… okay; I live even closer to Ferraro Foods.

17. Or even doing laundry at all, when you can just buy a new pack of underwear. If only we had a Victoria Secret in these parts I would be so guilty of this one…

23. Fully spelling words. I am a lazy texter, consider yourself lucky that I get past, “Hello”.

But, this one is the one I am most guilty of:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/alexnaidus/basic-life-activities-youre-too-lazy-to-accomplish

Kate Bruce, Lunchhour Refundable Queen

I am new to BC; I have lived here for about a month and a half now and some things are pretty different than my east coast home. In Nova Scotia my family is all about recycling, especially when it comes to refundables. Living with my boyfriend’s parents in Alberta it was pretty simple, everything went curbside and was sorted there. We never took the time to take them back ourselves. This kind of bothered me, every time I saw the wine bottles and drink cans go into the blue bin I thought of the small increment of change we could be saving for something… anything.

Now that we (my boyfriend and I) are out on our own, spreading our wings in the Kootenays I have once again become an avid recycling Queen. Why? Well, because every penny saved adds up (just ask Gail Vaz-Oxlade, her book coming up in Week 6 of my reading challenge is pushing me to be as financially responsible as possible). Also, the staff at Castlegar’s Return-It depot are avid Mountain FM listeners and I love going out and seeing the people who make it possible for me to pay my bills doing what I love.

I visited the Return-It depot on Columbia Ave. today on my lunch hour, right after my show at around 2:15pm. In heals and a dress, I was totally ignorant to the fact that here in BC you sort your own refundables. I stood looking at the sign for the longest time, dodging wasps and figuring it out for myself. I will admit, it would have been a pretty funny YouTube video; I looked totally clueless. After a while I figured it out, my sorting started to speed up and I moved the trays over to the counting counter (not sure how to describe that any better).

The best part came next, after the lovely lady working at the Depot counted my five trays of refundables she handed me a crisp $5.00 bill and two quarters. Not bad for something that takes just a minute of my time daily and a few minutes on my lunch break once a month. Straight into my Disney World fund it goes! Working my first real-world job I live on a pretty tight budget so I am constantly trying to find ways to get more out of my money.

I know you are thinking, lamest blog post ever Kate, everyone knows about returning bottles for cash. I know you know that I know that. Some people totally take this for granted, not only did I make a little bonus cash I helped out the environment. I learned a quick, easy and a little dirty lesson in plastics and materials and got to see support the people who make it possible to work at a job I love. Plus, plus, (a little dirty minus), plus and plus.

Seriously, if you don’t want your refundables you know where to find me between 10am-2pm everyday… but you would have to be pretty lazy to give that easy money!

Sharknado: The Worst Movie I Have EVER Seen

Sharknado (2013) is officially the worst movie I have ever seen and I have seen some pretty horrible movies. I usually love cheesy, made for TV movies but the SyFy network totally took advantage of my weakness; exploiting it with Sharknado. 

I had to check Sharknado out, it was all everyone was talking about online. I thought it would be a fun summer thriller, instead it was pretty much comedy. Even though the story kept me asking, "what is going to happen?" I never forgot I was watching a D-list TV movie that even Netflix would call bad. I honestly think none of the actors in Sharknado will never get jobs again, even Tara Reid. 

The movie focuses on a storm system bringing a tornado full of sharks to parts of California, which is all you really need to know. 

I know I need to chill out a little bit about how much I disliked Sharknado, it is supposed to be a silly summer movie; but I honestly think Downton Abbey is more thrilling than this piece of turd of a movie. The worst part of all of it is that Sharknado's second airing brought in 38% more viewers than the premiere. And, it will be hitting select theaters in a limited release because there has been SO much buzz about it.

I am really sorry if you loved Sharknado, we can still be friends. Here's a tip if you are a Sharknado fan, get ready SyFy will be releasing their next shark themed gem on August 22. Ghost Shark is another shark movie with a title that explains exactly what the movie is about perfectly, I hope you enjoy it!

The Best Thursday Night Surprise EVER!

I love animals.

Last night I was so excited when I got home, a dog was just hanging out in the kitchen of the house I am renting a room in. For a while I wondered, where did this dog come from? Did a miracle happen? Was the dog I had been dreaming of? Or, maybe life had gone in a ‘Lone Ranger’ direction; could this be my spirit dog? The answer to all of these questions (of course) was no, my roommate had run out quickly without mentioning that he was watching his family’s dog.

Golden retrievers are my favorite breed of dog so I was super excited when Teva showed up, unfortunately she pays way more attention to my boyfriend than to me. We played house with her all evening, we let her trick us into feeding her (we did not know she had already been fed) and she joined us while we watched TV and played Yahtzee. I even got to experience the best feeling ever, when a large dog leans into you and stakes their claim on your attention until your body goes numb.

Having Teva around was the best surprise ever. I love animals, I grew up on a farm and we always had at least one dog. We rescued our current dog Levi, an energetic boarder collie, one summer while I was home from university and I miss him everyday. But, if growing up on a farm has taught me anything is that they are a commitment not to be taken lightly. Growing up we never got to go on vacations (or any other trips) because of the dedication needed to live with a bunch of animals.

I am moving into my own apartment next week and I have been fighting the urge to visit the SPCA everyday, I would love to adopt an older dog. But, I know I am at a point in my life where I want to travel (and I work 9-5) so having a dog in my little apartment would be cruel.

But, on a happy note, there is a 100% chance of playing with a dog in my immediate future; which is way better than the 0% chance of dog time every other night. 

Update, the next night another dog was there too!

He was not nearly as fun though...

Rant: How Do You Keep Your Glasses Clean?

I live with the curse (as I am sure many of you do) of wearing glasses. 

There is nothing I despise more than my second set of eyes. I hate that I would be a better athlete if I wore them, I dislike needing them to drive anytime/anywhere and I wish I could just pick any pair of crappy sunglasses to sport for a summer without prescription lenses. 

I was sentenced to needing glasses in April 2005, I was 16 years old and going to get my license when it was determined that I was in need of visual aide. Both my younger brother and sister were prescribed glasses five years earlier, my mother had forgotten to take back to the optometrist (as he requested) to check-in the next year... which snowballed into five appointment-free years.

Why am I telling you this? I am hoping you can help me out a little bit. What do you do to keep your glasses clean? Mine always seem to be dusty or dirty, regardless of care of cleaning patterns. I am a learned, I have learned to manage living with glasses better as I have aged. I used to sit on them, lose them, run over them and a few pairs have just fallen apart. My current favourite pair of Raybans have been retired for home use only because my brother tackled me for a loonie a couple of months ago, they ended up bending in the process. 

Someday I will be able to afford surgically correcting my eyes; until then I need your help easing the frustration brought on my fingerprints, dust and splatter. 

End rant. 

Though you can find me wearing my glasses 90% of my active day, you will not find me wearing glasses on my Facebook page... the closest it comes is in the photo below.

Street Eats at the Element Club Bar and Grill

Photos do not do this food justice... not even close. 

            If you have listened to my radio show on Mountain FM you know I love food*. After missing out on Calgary (my previous home) I thought I should check out Castlegar’s own “tribute to street food”, at Element Club Bar and Grill. I grabbed my bite to eat this afternoon, ordering my own personal gourmet shrine to street food… and was I ever impressed.  

the vast array of food trucks in

            You could serve me this food out of a dumpster and I would still eat it. Seriously, if you have leftovers from you visit bring them to me at the studio, I work 9-5. I settled (after a painstaking elimination process) on the ‘Notorious P.I.G’ (almost as fun to say as it is to eat) and the ‘Pulled Pork Yam Poutine’ for a starter.

            The ‘Pulled Pork Yam Poutine’ was perfect for sharing. My boyfriend and I tore the plate apart, fighting for every last bite of it. The house made gravy boosts the sweet flavour of the yam fried out of this world! The pulled pork adds to the party.

            And the ‘Notorious P.I.G.’; how can you go wrong with crisp pork belly, bacon, a fried egg, garnished with bacon jam and baconnaise on a bun? I would graciously accept a lesson in making bacon jam any day of the week, it is incredible.  I don’t eat bread, but I ate the brioche bun just to ensure I got as much of the bacon jam and baconnaise as possible.

            Just a note, I am not trying to get free food by blogging about the Elements slam-dunk take on street food; they are more than welcome to take my money.  Here is the rest of the slammin’ ‘Street Eats’ menu:

-The Fried Chicken & Waffle Club Sandwich

-Vietnamese Banh Mi

-Bavarian Smokie Reuben

-Rickard’s Red Cheese Burger

-Souvlaki Pita

-Crunchy Fish Tacos

-Bacon Jalapeno Cheddar Mac

-Pad Thai

            Next time I visit I will be trying the lobster tempura tacos for sure. Picking out your next meal before you leave, that’s the mark of a great restaurant right?

*If you don’t listen to my radio show on Mountain Fm, get with it! It runs daily from 10am until 2pm PST.