Best social media ever

So, Contigo coffee mugs are awesome. Want to know why I think that?

Well, it all started one day when I was sad that my Starbucks to-go mug wasn't doing its job. I start work at 8:30am at by 9:15am my coffee cold…

So, with me being such a big Twitter lover, I decided to ask my lovely followers what they thought would be the best to-go mug. Guess what? Contigo was the overall winner.  So, I knew that a Costco trip would be in my future as that's the only place you can get it I've seen it. With that, I thought it would be funny to tweet @GoContigo and say that they should send me one since everyone recommended it.  Now, I never expect companies to pay attention when I jokingly tweet that they should send me free stuff. Yet, last week Contigo tweeted me back asking for my address wanting to send me one of their travel mugs! I am truly impressed with their social media. I'm just an average girl from Canada suggesting they should send me a to-go mug and they did!

So, 4 days later, they sent me a green one.  How did they know that was one of my favourite colours?

Anyway, props to Contigo for having awesome social media people and policies. Because they went out of their way to send me a mug via twitter, I will forever be a supporter. So, thank you for being awesome, Contigo. 

PS. Used the to-go mug for the first time yesterday, was still sipping my coffee at 11:30am and it was still warm. YES!

My favourite photo

I'll be the first to say I'm not a professional photographer by any means.  As much as I love trying to capture the perfect moment, my skill and creative instint just isn't there.  But, I figured I'd show you my favourite photo to date.

I love this image for its angle, its intensity and its dominance. To me, it projects exactly what New York is and all that it involves. 

This photo was taken by me, sitting on a double decker tour bus with a good friend of mine. We took a short trip to New York and were determined to see all the typical tourist sites.  New York is one of those places that can't be described in words. It has to be seen and felt.  The amount of excitement, emotion and history in that city is something that must be experienced by all.  It's an incredible place, and I'd love to go back one day.  Here's hoping it's soon!

I don't feel like writing

It's 6:19pm and I have my laptop ready to go, a big fuzzy comforter, a nice glass of red wine and calming music playing.  That's my usual set up when I've decided I want to write.  Now, normally I can pound out words like nobody business, however, today motivation hasn't graced me with its presence.  I can't figure out a topic, my opening sentence is boring and I'm sleepy.  But with all that, I'm still going to write.  I have always remembered a quote that my Grade 6 teacher once told us:

"If you can't think of anything to write, don't quit.  Just put words on paper and they will always come together." 

Unfortunately, I can't remember my teachers name. I'm sure I could dig it up, but that's not the point. That quote has always stuck with me.  As you might know, I have always loved writing. It's been an escape when I've needed it, it's been a way to me to express feelings that I can't quite say and it's been a way for me to grow and learn.  

In the end, even though I have been quite distracted tonight with other things around my apartment, like: Baking cookies, staring at my dirty dishes, trying to find a place for my broken microwave and trying to figure out where I should put my avocado plant (which I grew myself, heck yes!).  I have still managed to write and I'm darn proud of that.  However, it's now 6:49pm. Definitely not doing well in the word count/minute category, but whatever!

Hope you enjoyed your hump day! :)

I love winter and I'm not afraid to admit it

Why does everyone around me despise winter so much?! Over the last 48 hours we went from above zero temperatures to below zero and 20cm. It's funny because Edmonton is known for tons of snow and cold temperatures, so why the swearing and sad faces? I love summer as well, but I just don't do well in heat, so bring on the snow Mother Nature!

When I woke up this morning, I did a little happy dance while lying in bed. I started day dreaming of hot chocolate, fuzzy boots, fires, and snowboarding! SNOWBOARDING! I can't tell you how excited I am to get out there and shred fall down a mountain! That another reason why I love Edmonton as well. We are only a few hours away from lots mountain ranges and can take advantage of their awesomeness pretty easily.

I look like quite the pro don't I?

Ohhhh wait. Even standing on a snowboard is harder than it looks… haha

Okay, so I'm not the greatest snowboarder out there, but that doesn't mean I don't have fun. At the end of the day, there is nothing better than living in a place with 4 seasons we can enjoy. I embrace winter as much as I can, because we really do live in a beautiful city.

So to all you grumpy pants out there hating life right now, go out at have a snowball fight! I promise you will be smiling after :) Having a grass fight in the summer just isn't quite the same… haha