Can almost smell that new car smell

Frenchie and I have known we need to buy an SUV sometime in the next 8 months. The lease on my our car is up next June. Since we'll be getting married around that time we need to buy the new vehicle before hand. (Not to mention how handy an SUV will be around the time we're running around for wedding stuff.) We've also noticed that my km are getting pretty close to the point where we will be over if we don't start limiting the amount we drive our car.

We've done two days of test driving after doing a lot of research and narrowing the field down. We're looking for a mid-sized SUV that we can haul (not all at once): luggage, our dog, hockey equipment and maybe someday, some kids. (I want to use the word teacup-humans from True Blood because I miss the show already)



 We narrowed the search down to:

Mitsubishi Outlander

Ford Edge

Hyundai Santa Fe



After test driving all 3 of those vehicles, as well as a Mazda CX-7, we've decided to go with a Hyundai Santa Fe. We can get an awesome deal on a 2010 model with low kilometres well within our price range.

Still unsure when we will be purchasing, but it's nice to know we've made a decision!!

Frenchie is very much a "find the best deal" kind of guy, so we'll be hunting around the city for a month or so to find the best deal.



Hyundai Santa Fe



Photo courtesy of: autoworld.wordpress.com

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!!!

To all my Canadian readers:



I hope you eat a lot of turkey, fall into a turkey nap and have leftovers for the next week. At least that's what I'm planning this weekend.
We are travelling the 6 hours to my future-in-laws to celebrate Thanksgiving. My future-mother-in-law is an AMAZING cook. I always eat way too much and have way too much wine. It's hard not to!
Enjoy the long weekend!!!

I hope everyone has something to be thankful for this year.
Here is my list:
- new opportunities
- friends and family
- my wonderful fiancé
- the lessons I've learned this year

September Book Recap

I almost forgot to do this until I saw a few pop up in my google reader.

My reading has really fell by the wayside. I replaced my commute reading time while being off work with sleep. I value my sleep over reading in the mornings. Sad but true.
Now that I'm in my new job, I figured I'd get my commute time back. Sadly this is partly not happening. I am commuting the same time every day, but I'm on the train at a different time. This means the train is packed like sardines. There's very little room to bring out a book (especially if it's hard cover) and not hit someone standing next to you. There's a better chance on the way home, so that's good at least.

Here's what I read in September
The De-Stress Divas Guide to Life: 77 Ways to Recharge, Refocus, and Organize Your Life
Mockingjay (Hunger Games, #3)
2 books of my Fall Challenge List!

Fade (Dream Catcher, #2)
Gone (Dream Catcher, #3)

Here's what's up next
Hex Hall (Hex Hall, #1)
10 Minute Guide to Project Management (10 Minute Guides)
Hush, Hush (Hush, Hush, #1)
(yes I realize that none of these are on my Fall Challenge list. But, they are from the library and when the library says you have a book in, you darn well better go and get it)

October is looking pretty side so far. I've barely started Hex Hall. I'm hoping with the long weeknd coming up I can get a good amount of reading done.

Wedding Wednesday: Makeup Trial

Last Friday I had my makeup trial done. I realize it's very early, but the artist wanted to get in and meet with me right aways.
My sister snapped some pictures while I was there. Don't be alarmed that I look a little off. The artist saved some time and effort and did one eye one way, and one eye another way. The profile pictures give you a better idea of how they look.

Option 1

Option 2

Eyes Closed: Option 1 and Option 2 (respectively)

Eyes Open: Option 1 and Option 2 (respectively)

My choice would be to have the Option 2. I like the way it accents my eyebrows. It's got some pizazz to it, but compliments my colors nicely.

What do you think readers? Help me choose!

New Beginnings

If you're a new reader, read this post for some background.

After being off work for August and September, I'm happy to say I found a new job. It is going to be all new for me in terms of what I'll be doing. I'm very excited to be doing something new and out of my comfort zone. In terms of my future, this job will most likely give me the experience and growth I need.

Today was my first day and I can tell you it was fabulous. The people I'm working with are great, my manager is awesome and I think this is just the place for me to be. I'm back downtown, so the commute isn't new. (insert happy dance here for my reading time to come back) The office is fairly close to my old job as well, so I don't have to learn where all the good food places are. And I'm closer to a few places that were too far before (happy dance for Thai Express). My official role is a project analyst. I'll be working in the IT department on a project making sure it's running smoothly, doing the communications and things like that. Exactly what I was looking for.

I have a new outlook, and now having lost a job once, I know some things I didn't before about myself and about how life works. The biggest lesson I learned while job searching is keeping a network. Writing down who you talked to about what and when it happened. I realized I had a bigger network than I thought and it paid off.  Self reflection and evaluation aren't things I did before, but you can bet that I'll be doing one every few months now. It was hard to start from scratch and see what skills you have and what you value. You don't tend to think about those things just because you use them every day. You take advantage of these skills and don't really take stock of what you can do.