It’s a little bit disgusting how I have not had a single entry this month! I hope you’re not too upset! I’m sure you have other things to procrastinate with online!

Anyhow – the reason for my lack of posts is that i’ve been travelling around a bit and sadly, I really have not had the time – or the access to a decent internet connection – to post anything

But I will be writing more bits and pieces in the next week or so.

How many of you have been watching the olympics? I wish I had a pair of those Canada mittens with the Maple leaf on the palm! They’re SO cute!!!!!

Oh!!! I started reading Twilight! I decided that it was time to see what all the fuss was about. I must admit that I really enjoyed the first book! I’m several chapters into the second one and I wish that I could read it all day! I can certainly see why all the girls love them. But saying that, they are quite suggestive – and I’m not sure that I’d be too happy with my hypothetical tweenage daughter reading them.

And finally, I’m going to a Chinese doctor on Monday. I’m always a bit skeptical about Chinese doctors because I did have a bit of a bad experience with a dodgy one.. To make a long story short, he burnt me with his chinese herbal cigar and started to massage my tummy where he had left a needle – thankfully I managed to stop him before he pressed down onto it. Anyway, we’ll see what kind of weird and wonderful things this lady will give me to eat..

I have been hounding my boyfriend for about 4 months to set me up an email address that links to this – since I am technologically challenged, I’m not even going to attempt to do it myself. So, in the meantime, if you have any comments or bits and pieces you’d like to send, feel free to send them to: vickyc.me@hotmail.com

Thankfully I can set up my own hotmail account without getting confused and breaking my laptop!!

Ok, that’s all for now. Happy weekend!

VickyC xoxo

Here’s a picture of my Kitten when he was a baby!

I don’t know why it bothers me when famous people come out with perfumes… or fragrances… or scents… I’m going to go with fragrance…

The latest celeb to release a fragrance is Beyonce, and it is named Beyonce Heat. Nice.

The big hitters in the fragrance game are of course J-Lo who seems to have a new fragrance out every season, and Britney, whose fragrances either have the word “curious” or “fantasy”… very creative… ?! And of course we mustn’t forget the Beckhams with their His & Hers fragrances and Celine Dion.

I’m sure they smell nice.. but really?! I can’t really understand the appeal of celeb fragrances.. And the names – they’re great! It’s like they just throw words together – in the hope that you will buy their ridiculously priced scented water… Take Jessica Simpson’s Fancy Love.. What does that even mean?!

And perfume ads.. you can always tell when there’s one on.. you have to have semi naked people with far-away looks on their faces, either draped over a chair or rolling around on a bed or in a field and the voice over person saying things like “beauty… remember… seduction… imagination… love…. (insert name of expensive fragranced water) by (name of some expensive company)”. yuck.

I mean, I love my perfumes.. I just think the advertising is a little ridiculous.. and famous people should stop with the “fragrance making” and silly names.

Here’s a list of what I think are the most ridiculous perfume names:

Intimately Beckham by David Beckham – I don’t really want to smell Beckham’s intimate areas thank you….
Insolence by Guerlain – Maybe smelling like rude works for some people… lol
Lady Sexy by Paris Hilton – I beleive Miss Hilton thought of that one all by herself…
Unforgivable Woman by Sean John – I don’t even know what to do with this lol
Cumming by Alan Cumming – imagine asking for this in a store?? smart-ass remarks below please!!
Taste by Jessica Simpson – Yuck by VickyC
Ladyboy by B Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful – can’t imagine asking for this in a store either…
Breath of God by B Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful – A little presumptuous, but hell, I’m sure God’s breath smells fabulous!!

I could keep going, but I won’t. And don’t get me wrong, I love my Dior. But the names, the ads, the famous people.. It’s funny, but a little annoying. When even 50 cent has his own fragrance, you know something is wrong!

What would you call your perfume if you had one? What fragrances do you think have the most absurd names? Let me know in the comments!

I was trying to tweet my girlfriend when it crashed and the window title became “This Site Has been hacked by the Iranian Cyber Army”

Anyone have the same problem??? Was Twitter Hacked?

I’m sure they’ll fix it soon.. because the site is definitely down right now… no more funny black window…

But did anyone else see this? or was I hallucinating? Let me know in the comments!

Thanks,

VickyC xoxo

** Update **

So, I copied the screen from Twitter.com… from pressing back a few times…

What do you think? legit? fake? why twitter? Why not hack CNN if you’re trying to make a point… ??? Who are the Iranian Cyber Army…??

If you cant read the text, it says: USA think they controlling and managing internet by their access, but they don’t, we control and manage internet by our power, so do not try to stimulation Iranian peoples to…….
Now which country in embargo list? USA?
We push them in embargo list
Take Care.

I didn’t doctor that picture in any way – except a bit of cropping. It’s screenshot from my desk top. note the time and the title of the window (whatever that part of the window is called) and the address bar… And yes, the pictures didn’t open.. Probably because Windows sucks… But that’s a completely different rant…

Weird… ok, so comments below people! Twitter is still down nearly 45 mins later…

** FINAL UPDATE **

Twitter is back up and running… happy tweeting people!

Wow, so I didn’t post that much this week, but the stuff I did post is pretty intense!

There is Nokia’s Morph Concept cell phone. Pretty crazy technology.. Are you into it? Would you want one? Is technology going a bit too far? What do you think? Check out the video here.

You can go after your cheating spouse’s lover by claiming Alienation of Affection. Works best if the extra-marital person is loaded…

Obviously the most logical article to follow that would be one on Tiger Woods and his extra-marital activities. Do you think the media coverage is fair? What’s your view on the Tiger Woods situation? For those of you who are interested, Tiger Woods has issued an apology on his website. Check out the story here with his apology.

Christmas is right around the corner. Guys, do you want to be on her ‘nice’ list this year?? Here are some stellar gift ideas for the special girl in your life!

Finally, Michelle Dugger (from TLC’s 18 Kids and Counting) has given birth to her 19th child – a little girl named Josie Brooklyn. Do you think they will have more babies? And how many violins do you see in the picture!?

Alrighty, so I hope you all have a great weekend! Those of you in eastern Canada, enjoy the snow!

Lots of love,

VickyC

So today is VickyC.me’s 1 month birthday!!!

Thanks to all of you lovely people, I’ve had more than 1000 page views and over 600 visitors!

Which is AWESOME!!!!!!

I really appreciate all your views.. It really does make me happy!

As I said in a previous post, I’ve joined Twitter.. So follow me!! Tweet Tweet!! x

Thanks again for all your support!!!

Be sure to check VickyC.me every day for new posts.

Also, we will giving away prizes soon – so stay tuned!

With that being said, I’m going to have a celebratory drink.

In this new weekly segment, I’m going to do a little round up of what I’ve found to be the most interesting bits of news for the last week. For some reason, this week has felt really long, there has been a LOT of stuff going on – there have been lots of conspiracy stories, lots of leaked info..

Firstly, Twilight hit theaters last weekend. Twilight is truly a money making franchise! Find out how much money it made here!

In TV news, Jon & Kate Plus 8 is now done. The series finale was this week and the couple will now move on in their separ8 directions – hopefully with their beautiful childrens’ best interests at heart. What did you think of the finale?

Biometrics – more and more countries are pooling their biometric data: fingerprints, retina scans, facial mapping. Is anything private anymore?!?!?!? I don’t think so!

New criticism about the cover of W Magazine. Is it Demi Moore’s head on model Anja Rubik’s body? or is it 100% Demi? You decide!

9/11 messages posted on Wikileaks. Is it wrong? Unethical? Necessary to uncover the truth? What do you think?

Mininova has taken most of its content offline in a bid to prevent copyright infringement because of some lawsuit. Read the full story here!

Finally, I have joined Twitter.. Tweet Tweet!! Follow me! I JUST set it up, so not everything is on there.. Bear with me!!!

http://twitter.com/VickyC_me

This little roundup will be a weekly thing. So if you don’t want to visit every day, then at least check in before the weekend!

Alrighty, I hope you all have a fantastic weekend.. To those of you in the USA, Happy Thanksgiving!

Make sure you check VickyC.me everyday for new posts!

They said that his kitty moob is fat, which is common with cats that have been fixed. Vets sometimes call this an “apron”. My cat actaully got lost for a few days, and when we finally found him, his moob had nearly gone. We took him to the vet straight away, and she said that he’d converted his fat to energy and that it would grow back. And grow back it did! He likes to sit up on his back legs like a prarie dog, and now he looks like a penguin warming it’s egg!

Just remember not to call your cat fat, it might hurt it’s feelings!

Kitten after his first hair cut

As all you cat owners will no doubt have noticed, your cats have this dangly bit of skin on their bellies. I call this my cat’s “moob” – because he is a male cat, and his fat is in his boob area… male boob….. Anyway….!

I got Kitten (yes, very imaginative name I know, but it stuck) when he was very young, and as he has always been extremely fluffy. Because of this, I never noticed his moob – that is, until I got him shaved. I remember when I went to pick him up from the vet after his haircut, I was in shock.. “Oh my god, my cat is fat!” I said to the vet tech, laughing. And he wasn’t even 1 year old yet! I had always figured that he was big because of his poufy fur.

Kitten, to put it nicely, is a beast. His feet are huge, he weighs around 13 lbs. Each time I take him to the vet, I ask if they think he’s overweight. And every time, the reassure me that he is not.

They said that his kitty moob is fat, which is common with cats that have been fixed. Vets sometimes call this an “apron”. My cat actually got lost for a few days, and when we finally found him, his moob had nearly gone. We took him to the vet straight away, and she said that he’d converted his fat to energy and that it would grow back. And grow back it did! He likes to sit up on his back legs like a prairie dog, and now he looks like a penguin warming it’s egg!

Kitten in the Flowers

According to all of the vets that Kitten has been to see, these fat pads are perfectly normal. Also, the fact that they may sway when he walks is also not uncommon. Please note that this extra fat is not necessarily because your cat is over weight. Even a skinny cat can have this extra pouch on its belly. So don’t put your cat on a crash diet – as this will probably encourage them to eat even more!

If your cat’s tummy fat starts to feel different, or if you feel a lump or something else abnormal, take your kitty to the vet – just to get them checked out to make sure everything is ok.

Also, for girl cats, if they have had babies, they will have looser skin – which again, is normal. It seems that for both sexes of cat, being fixed is the main reason for this dangly skin in the abdominal area.

Just remember not to call your cat fat, it might hurt its feelings!

With Halloween upon us, I’m sure most of you are busy decorating your homes, going out to buy some last minute candy or dressing up to go to a costume party. If not, maybe you are getting ready to disconnect your doorbell, so you won’t hear the trick-or-treating children coming to your home.

When you stop to think about the origins of this holiday, it’s difficult to believe that is has turned into such a consumer driven event. This halloween, take a moment to think back 2000 plus years, to what this holiday really meant to those who celebrated it.

Traditional Druid Halloween Ceremony

1. All Hallows Eve (or Halloween) dates back to the Celtic Druid religion in Ireland. It is one of the oldest celebrations as it dates back to around 200 BC. They believed that October 31 was the only night of the year where the spirit world and the living world could intermingle.

2. The Druid religion worshipped The Lord of Darkness – Samhain. Samhain reigned over the long, cold, dark winter months. His influence grew as the days got shorter, as he could only wander the earth in the hours of darkness. He would roam the earth looking for souls to take back to the world of darkness.

3. Pumpkin carving began as an Irish tradition. But instead of pumpkins, they would use turnips, potatoes, beets – basically anything that could be carved! Candles were placed inside the carved out vegetables to ward off evil spirits. When Irish immigrants arrived in America in the 1800′s, they discovered that pumpkins were easier to carve and also a lot bigger. Since then, pumpkins have been carved on Hallow’s eve.

4. People would light candles on All Hallows Eve to ward off the evil spirits that were roaming the earth. But the lights would also serve as a beacon to guide the spirits of loved ones back home.

5. Orange and black became the Halloween colours because orange is traditionally the colour of harvest and the fall (think carrot and pumpkin harvesting and golden leaves), and black is the colour of death.

With that being said, I wish you all an enjoyable Halloween! I’m off to watch Hocus Pocus and eat a ridiculous amount of candy!

!! HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE !!

Spanish Sky Line

Moving to  different city or even country can be a very daunting experience. About two months ago, my boyfriend and I were considering where to move to. We had come to Europe from Canada and were planning our next step. Finally we decided it would be either Hong Kong and Barcelona.

Since we are both European citizens and already in Europe, we decided that Barcelona would be the best choice and began to look for apartments in the city. Having never visited Barcelona before, and having a limited amount of time to move, the whole process was a bit of a nightmare. During our initial apartment hunt, we lost count of how many e-mails we received back from sites like Craigslist and Loquo (Spanish Craigslist) that were fraudulent. With the popularity of websites like these, it is not at all surprising that there are so many people posting fraudulent links for apartments that sometimes are not even their own. Included in every email was a giant form to be filled out with all of your personal information and a request for you to transfer money to them. The format and tone of the e-mails were all exactly the same: a family of Christian missionaries going to Africa, a family of Christian missionaries going to Africa while the wife was in the USA having a neurological procedure performed, a Christian family moving to Africa to work for BP. In several instances the signatures on the e-mails were the same – despite the senders’ email address being different and it being for a different apartment. Also, all of the advertisements they posted had very low prices. When it comes to looking for an apartment, more often than not, if something looks too good to be true, then it probably is! Look out for pictures that you may have already seen, and prices that are too low for the area. You really have to do your research, since sometimes you cannot physically be in the place where you are trying to find an apartment.

Due to my complete lack of faith in mankind after looking for an apartment on these websites, we decided to go with a rental agency. Of course this was a more costly way to go, but it made our apartment search a lot less stressful. Depending on the agent, you will be required to pay an agency fee (this can be anywhere between 1-3 months of rent), plus the deposit (which is 1-2 months rent) in addition to the first month of rent. So be prepared to fork out a fair amount of money in your first month in your new apartment! Make sure all of these things are made COMPLETELY clear to you before signing the lease.

The apartment that we chose and are currently living in is intended for short-term accommodation, so everything is provided for and included in the rental price. The agent did advise that if we found that a “necessity” was missing, we would be reimbursed for that item should we go out and buy it. Subsequently we went out and got ourselves a small juicer. Our agent’s generosity did not extend to an upgrade of the 1980’s TV to a nice LCD TV – we did ask!

Also, it is important to find out who is responsible for repairs within the apartment. Does the agent find someone to come to the apartment to fix it? Do you contact the landlord directly? Do you call someone to come to fix the problem yourself? Make sure you get after-hours numbers for whoever is responsible for repairs – you don’t want to be stuck at 3 am with a leaky ceiling or a funny smell of undetermined origins and have no-one answering your calls.

Finally, get to know the area and it’s facilities. For example, if your future apartment is unfurnished and there are no laundry facilities in the building, find out where the nearest laundromat is – you don’t want to be lugging piles of laundry for 10 blocks. Other useful things to have nearby would be grocery stores, markets, subway stations and bus stops. We looked at several apartments that overlooked Plazas, and during the day they are very beautiful, quiet and seemingly idyllic places to live, but during the night – and not only on the weekends – stages will be erected, bands will play their music, stands will line the streets and lights will flash – and you won’t get any sleep.

One thing that really helped us was to go onto forums. Ex-pat forums are often very helpful in letting you know about certain areas from the point of view of people who have lived there for a period of time. For a big city like Barcelona this was great because each district has it’s own characteristics and attracts different types of people. As with any tourist city, there is a lot of crime: pick-pocketing and purse grabbing are very common. Our apartment is very close to the Arc du Triomf, and  unfortunately this area seems to be purse-grabbing central. But thankfully, we won’t be living in this apartment for too long, and are now trying to decide which district would be the best, or if we should pick another country!

I think the main thing to remember is to do your homework, you can never do enough research. And don’t be too trusting. If you have a vibe that something is not as it should be, then you’re probably right!