Hair Karma

Three months ago, I decided to take the plunge and switch hair salons. I had been going to the same person for over 5 years, and I really liked her, as she was a colour specialist and she did AMAZING highlights.

The problem at the time was that she was located in downtown Ottawa, near my old office, and she was rather out the way for me, in addition to being pricey (yet totally worth every penny). I had been saying to myself that I wanted to try someone that was local, and easier to access for me, and I figured that the best thing to do was just book an appointment in town and do it.

So that's exactly what I did, I called the local salon, and took the plunge. The best thing I got out of the whole experience was some extra cash in my pocket because it was a heck of a lot cheaper than the my regular person, but what I saved price wise, I sacrificed in quality and overall satisfaction.

At the time, I convinced myself I was happy with the price and the outcome, even though the highlight process was done in a compete and utterly different fashion that I had ever experienced before. However, two weeks after my colour and style, I was very disappointed. The colour faded, I could see my old highlights coming through. My hair felt like it needed to be trimmed again, or cleaned up in certain spots. It was and still is a mess.

I regretted ever leaving my original hair salon, and told myself I would never stray from the plan EVER. AGAIN.

So today, being three months later, I called up my old salon and asked to schedule an appointment my colour specialist.

The conversation went like this:

Me: Hi, I liked to make an appointment for highlights with Christine.
Salon: Christine?

Me: Yes, Christine.
Salon: Unfortunately Christine has taken an early maternity leave, and won't be back for at least another year, but we would be happy to book you with Carolyn, who is taking over her clients.

Me: Pardon? (It was like I stopped listening after she said 'Christine' and 'leave' in the same sentence)
Salon: Christine is having a baby, and she had to take an early mat. leave as per her doctor's orders, so Carolyn has your colour file, and would be happy to do your colour.

Me: Ummm, ah, well, I, I, I, guess so.

I am complete shock, and can only think one thing: Ka, ka, ka, ka-arma.

Honestly, it's like this was meant to happen. I bail on my faithful colour specialist of 5 years ONE TIME, one time people, and she goes off and gets pregnant in that 6 month window and has the nerve to take an early maternity leave.

Now what the hell am I suppose to do? I have an appointment booked with Carolyn - but I don't even want to go to it. Its not really the salon I enjoyed, it was Christine, and only Christine.

I am contemplating going back to the place that was cheap and local and trying a different stylist, giving the salon a second chance, but I don't want to disappointed a second time and feel exactly like I do now.

In addition to this colour, I would really like to get a decent cut, sort of different, a little refreshing, and now if I go back to the same place I went to before, I am not at all confident they can master a new style for me let alone a decent round of highlights.

Help... ! Any good recommendations for salons and stylists in Ottawa and the surrounding area?
Please feel free to market your favourite stylist or salon in the comment section.

Winter weather!

Last week during the first snowfall, I was definitely excited... I am not sure if its the small town, northern girl coming out in me, or if I just enjoy a change of pace during a rather stressful and disenchanting month.

The first snowfall put a twinkle in my eye... but after a week of driving in various snow squalls/storms, the twinkle is long gone, and my disgust for winter driving is now at the forefront.

Road conditions in the winter are never predictable, and although the weather men and women of this country do a good job trying to predict what the roads will be like, Jack Frost and his buddies up above, obviously have a mind of their own.

Take for instances this morning.... I exit my house to greet the chilly temperature of -9 degrees. The sky was grey, yet the roads were clear and ready for a quick and speedy trip to the office.

3 minutes into the drive, on my back road venture, snow starts falling at a rather rapid rate, the flakes are thick, and covering the ground instantly. As I merge onto the 417, traffic is backed up, and travelling at 20 km/h. The roads quickly become snow packed, and the ploughs are arriving to clear the way. 15 minutes into the drive, its practically white out. I am nervously gripping the wheel as I come to a 4-way stop just off the exit. As I turn the corner, snow turns to freezing rain, and I am gliding to the next 4-way stop, along with neighbouring commuters. Finally we all managed to come to a stop with absolutely no control of our vehicles, but nonetheless stopped.

Luckily, there are no fender benders on our part, yet the traffic report reveals there are dozens throughout the rest of the city. The freezing rain then becomes just rain, and turns into a downpour. I pull into the office 15 minutes late due to the extra-slow moving traffic, and the rain has stopped, while the sun is trying to peak out from behind the clouds.

This is Canada in November folks, welcome to the nation's capital!

The Updated Living Room

Finally... I have gotten around to posting some pictures of our newly updated living room. Since the basement is now three-quarters finished, I've moved the old furniture downstairs, and purchased some more grown-up, conversational-type furniture for the upstairs.

I have to admit we haven't sat it on it all that much. My parents were down a few weekends ago and we got to use it a bit, and last night we had some people over for a potluck so it got a little more use then. However, when we have used it, we've really like it - so this is a good thing!

I am hoping to get my Christmas tree up soon, so I will update you then with new pictures of the furniture among the more seasonal decor! Until then, enjoy photos of our current living room!

Winter has arrived!

The last few days have been filled with flurries... so many flurries that we've accumulated enough snow to make it feel like the middle of February.

On Thursday morning, I left home late due to some work commitments. I have to travel a few back roads to get the main highway into Ottawa each morning. Upon my back road travels I came across a lady who had just slid into the ditch in her car. She was waving her arms as I came around the corner, so I pulled to the side to help her.

I had a similar experience a few years back in a winter storm on the 417 towards Ottawa, you just tap your breaks and the next thing you know you are in slow motion spinning around facing traffic and then panicking while waiting for the car to come to a stop (hoping the entire time that you don't roll or don't hit anything or anyone).

The same thing had happened to this lady so I asked her if she want to use my cell phone or if I could give her a ride to somewhere where she could wait for a tow truck. It turns out, she is a teacher in Vars just across the 417. I wasn't going that way, but since it wasn't too far out of my way, I offered to drive her to the school and she would arrange for a tow truck to come at later time.

She was very nice, and very thankful, as she said to me 'This is your Good Samaritan action for the day'!! I know how she was feeling, pretty much in complete shock and not sure what to do first or who to call first. I was just glad I could help her out.

It was quite the trip into Ottawa after dropping her off - cars in the ditch in many spots, one completely turned over on its roof. I was thankful just to get into my office and stay put for the day. The ride home was better, although the snow on that day alone accumulated to much of what we have in our front and backyard (see photos below).

Since the snow is here - I hope its here to stay, we don't need global warming coming in melting it all away - and besides Christmas is only a month away - it has to stick around for that!

All of this snow also has me feeling better about the holiday season. I actually won't mind hearing a few Christmas carols today! Tonight I am having a pre-Christmas potluck with some friends and former colleagues who I have been promising for a while I would have them over. So I am looking forward to seeing them all and of course eating all of their tasty potluck creations!

Hope your first winter weekend (for those of you have snow) is fantastic.

Welcome Winter and Safe Driving to All!

Shuffle shuffle... 52 pick-up!

There have been a lot of talks lately about burnout in the Public Service. Specifically an article in the Ottawa Citizen caught my eye this week, as I am practically living this situation at work.

The article entitled 'Too much' reshuffling in PS ranks, expert says' states that 40% of public servants started and ended the last fiscal year in a different job.

Hello? This is me, and many of my friends/colleagues in government communications. We've jumped aboard the party bus when it comes to communication positions in the public service. I have to wonder if my recent move to a different department is the start of some kind of personal bender career wise.

Is this the start of a pub crawl... ? Lord, I hope not, those never ended very well for me in University!

Am I at the department that I will stay with forever? Probably not, and that's not slating the department, I just think, as the Citizen's article states:

"For years, public servants were told to get as much experience in as many departments as possible, especially at the central agencies. As a result, central agencies like Treasury Board are becoming a revolving door of people who are itching to get in to get it on their record and then itching to get out. There's no corporate memory, so it's like a ping-pong policy game. We'll try this and go back and try that because no one remembers why it didn't work before," said Linda Duxbury, a management expert at Carleton University's Sprott School of Business.

I put in a decent 5 years with one organization, and I was convinced I needed to see how the rest of the world lives when it comes to other government departments. I am now working at my second department, and in 5 short months in I have already decided this will not be my final resting place. I will do it for a few years, to gain the experience in a different communication's environment, but I can already see the pros and cons to this department compared to my previous one.

What I find so interesting in the Ottawa Citizen article is that Linda Duxbury states:

"This is a culture that values movement over stability and breadth over depth. It creates stress, burns people out, wipes out corporate memory and there's no accountability. People move with all kinds of kudos and adulation long before the results of their decisions, which could turn out to be dysfunctional, materialize two or three years later."

Since my arrival at my current department, I have been to four good-bye parties, while meeting at least a dozen new employees. Apparently I was only one of a several new hires this year. New people coming on board at the same time can mean good things for a department, but when good corporate knowledge leaves practically the same day you arrive - this can make the job extra difficult.

In communication's its like a game of 52-pick up between departments. Advisors are like cards in a deck being continuously shuffled, every once and a while someone drops the entire deck, and yells '52-Pick Up' while managers across the public service scramble to pick up as many cards/advisors as possible - hoping their won't be another round of the same game for a very long time.

This happens every few years... and I can imagine from a management standpoint, it's got to be beyond frustrating to spend the majority of your time trying to staff your team.

I still believe I am considered to be 'young' in the public service, and as a young public servant, I want to have a good mentor in the business; however, the majority of good mentors in the business really don't have the time for mentoring duties given the other pressures that are put on them in their management role.

I would take depth of experience, over rapid movement up the food chain any day. I would stay at the same salary for years, if it meant the promise of decent guidance from someone who will stick around long enough to transfer the knowledge of the department and make me a better civil servant because of that committment.

Yes.. I know, this one is a bit of a rant. But its definitely an issue as of late in my workplace. I realize the majority of my readers may not be in the public service, but in general, in your workplace, what is the current situation like: is turnover an issue, how does your organization deal with the shuffling of staff and the threat of people burning out?

There are no accidents.

Honestly... how many more times do I have to see the WSIB ad where the young aspiring chef slips on grease and spills a pot of boiling water on her face.

I get the message loud and clear - there are no accidents.

I get it, I've been to their interactive web site www.prevent-it.ca - I've read up on it.

I. Get. It.

In the last hour I have seen the same commercial 3 times. It doesn't get any easier to watch or listen to the third time in. I have heard through the grapevine, WSIB had to tone down the screams in the editing of the chef accident ad because they were too 'upsetting'.

I think the campaign achieves its goals - if the goals include: raising awareness about workplace safety and the extreme accidents that can happen due to unsafe working environments; the idea that every individual, every worker, management included, needs to take responsibility for the safety of their workplace.

I know the campaign is getting mixed reviews, but from a communication's standpoint, I think the campaign is a success. As much as the ad bugs me, it gets to me, and that is what social marketing is all about.

What do you think, have you seen the ads... do you like/dislike them?

Enough with the carols...

I think I mentioned yesterday that I was looking forward to the holiday season in DECEMBER. It really bugs me that all the stores have their Christmas carols pumping like there is less than 24 hours left until the big event.


I mean... no wonder why there are so many ba-hum-bugs in this world. I can't walk into a store these days without the Fa-la-la-la's being shoved down my throat and it's only the 19th of November (though, it's been going on since the 1st). We have 5 more weeks 'til people rip open their gifts, so I don't exactly think we need to hear Jingle Bells, Silent Night, and Winter Wonderland every time we decide to open our wallets this time of year! Heck, I am still buying stuff for myself right now- I don't need the damn Christmas music reminding me that the season for giving to others is just around the corner!


This probably tends to be a bit of a problem for me because I don't do any Christmas shopping in advance. I like to wait it out... and wait it out and wait. it. out. I am not a 24th of December shopper, but I am definitely your Dec. 12th to 18th type shopper. You know, I need time to see all the sales go around once, get some ideas, and then when I think I've seen about every idea there is, I make my final decisions, and rush out to get everything in one foul swoop!


I guess I long to be one those people who makes their shopping list year round, and picks little things up here and there throughout the year. I personally would love not to have to step foot in a store in December, but I know I will NEVER EVER be that person. I am more likely to be the person who curses those people for being so damn organized when it comes to Christmas - if you are one of those people, I truly envy you!


What about you... what's your take on Christmas?


Should the stores really be so Christmas-happy in middle of November?


When do you get in the Christmas mood?


When do you do your shopping?

Weekend Report

This weekend was a bit of a mixed bag, but one I enjoyed.

Friday night, after a very rough week at work, PC and I had dinner with some good friends via spur of the moment plans - I absolutely love those few times in a month when you do something that wasn't planned, but you are thrilled you did. This was only dinner at the red stick (Baton Rouge), but given that we haven't been there for a while, and haven't gotten together with this couple for a while, it turned out to be a good evening that wasn't planned.

Saturday morning, I headed into Ottawa to meet a friend for breakfast, before stopping to get another friend for our scheduled afternoon outing. The three of us jumped in the Escape and headed off to Supperworks in Orléans.

If your not familiar with Supperworks, its a pretty basic concept that seems to be pretty popular. You book a session by yourself or with friends, and you basically select 6 meals (or more) from their monthly menu. You make your selections ahead of time, show up emty handed and within an hour you have 6 meals that feed 4 to 6 people, ready to take home and put in your freezer.

It was fantastic... PC and I cooked up the herbed shrimp pasta immediately, and we both loved it. In the freezer, I put some greek market stew, jerk-flavoured chicken bake, moroccan chicken, ratatouille provencal, and seared salmon with balsamic glaze. All I do now is select which meal I want to have when, open my freezer, unthaw the meals, read the cooking instructions on the outside and I have myself a gourmet meal.

The menu changes monthly... next month looks awesome! I really love the concept, the prices are fairly reasonable given that they purchase all of the ingredients, meat, spices, vegetables, pasta, rice, etc. - and the fact that it saves you A LOT of time. I think I will be making a return trip after Christmas!

Today, was spent working at around home, and then doing actual work-work (boo!). Right now, I am enjoying the American Music Awards, while waiting on my laundry to finish drying. Tomorrow will be the start of another crazy work week, but as we approach the end of November, I am looking forward to the holiday season!

I had a post... in my head!

For four days now I have been trying to come up with enough time to write a coherent post, but it hasn't happened. I have had various posts well thought out in my head, but I haven't even had time to log onto my blog and actually get my thoughts down on paper (virtual paper - that is!!).

Work has me strung out a little bit - I can't find enough hours in the day to do my day-to-day tasks, let alone write a blog post on a break. I am not complaining (yet), but I do miss firing off a post over the lunch hour! I have a feeling those days are long gone for me with the recent departure of a colleague, and a few other curve balls in world of government communications.

I think you deserve better than some sloppy post, with no real flow to it - so I've decided to spare you the disappointment of a less than mediocre post, until I came really come up with something decent.

So please... bare with me as I struggle to finish out this week, and next week I promise to better at this, or at least a little more consistent with the posting.

In the meantime, if you've got any good ideas for blogging, please do share - I would love to follow up on them... next week!

Finally... a basement update!

Well... you've been patiently awaiting this update, I know. I got email upon email, asking for a visual of the basement. You've left enough hints and comments that I am starting to feel bad... so let's get started!

I believe we left off somewhere around here....

We were still living in a lot of drywall dust, but the idea of a finished basement wasn't too far off.

Drywall was being mudded... and I was patiently awaiting for the okay to paint the place. So... without further ado.... here is how the paint turned out, before the carpet:

Then, the following week we got the carpet put down.... it felt so great on the feet, and it was nice not to have to put shoes on to go down to the basement anymore. My bare feet were loving the new addition.

Slowly we started moving down the furniture from our living room upstairs. We are still awaiting to put in the doors, the trim, and the ceiling, but its starting to feel more homey with each little addition. I will have to get my decorating cap on soon, and add the final touches, but for now this is where we are at...

PC has really done an amazing job on everything -- given that he's put 90% of his free time into this project since May 24 -- many hours on his own, down there sweating and cursing to himself, I can't possibly say enough about his efforts! Thanks PC!

I haven't had time to take photos of our new upstairs furniture, but hope to get those done soon! I hope this update will satisfy you for a while -- but I will try to be more vigilant in my picture posting in the future!

Move over Suzie!

So... Sunday was a big day of experimenting in the kitchen.

I say this because, I made two menu items that have NEVER been made at our house before.... and they both turned out rather well, so I feel as though it's just another notch on the ol' 'wife of the year' belt.

(*Pause for a moment... while my fellow ladies pipe down from hooting and hollering*).

On Saturday while grocery shopping, I came across baby back ribs on sale. Although I have never made ribs before of any type, I do enjoy the baby back ribs from places like Baton Rouge, Montana's, etc. I decided that for $8 I could take the chance and experiment with my culinary skills - if it didn't work out, we could always order pizza or Chinese!

Sunday afternoon, I started preparing the ribs, boiling the fat off of them, and then glazing them up with a sweet n' sassy sauce... I wrapped them up in foil tightly and began cooking them ... I re-glazed them up after about 45 minutes, and continued cooking them... they smelt delicious and to my surprise, turned out great! I added a little shrimp, some salad, and steamed veggies to our plates, and we had ourselves a very. good. meal!

However... obviously the meal wasn't overly satisfying as we were both wanting something sweet about an hour after supper. To this end, I got on the hunt for a (keyword:) simple Apple Crisp recipe, and thanks to Grandma Wilson's old church cookbook we were off and running. Within 25 minutes, PC had peeled and sliced up 6 apples, I mixed up the cinnamon and sugar, and the stuff for the topping, and by 9 pm we were happily eating apple crisp and ice cream while watching some Sunday night TV in our basement!

I have seen a lot of people make apple crisp over the years, but never paid any attention to exactly 'how' it was made. The fact that, in addition to my baby back ribs success, I took the notion to 'whip up' some apple crisp has me thinking I pretty much just stole the title of Suzie Homemaker right off of Suzie's back!

Yes... this post really has no logic behind it, other than to let me brag about my culinary excellence! But c'mon you have to agree you feel pretty darn good when you try out some new recipes and they turn out fantastic... please let me wallow in my success for just a few more moments!

Has anyone made anything they are extra proud of lately...? Please do share your success stories!

Cash Card Junkie

After years of publicly commenting on the fact that Tim Horton's need some sort of debit system or cash card, the decision makers at Tim's have heard my plea and finally did what is in the best interest of their customers - they've introduced the Tim Card - a reloadable cash card that can be used to make purchases at any Tim Horton's.

All I can say is... THANK YOU, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

Although my stops at Timmy's are less frequent than in years past, I still feel this addition to the Tim Horton's payment options will go along way in pleasing Timmy's customers. We live in a society where convenience is a must... and the new Tim Card is very convenient for people like me, who never have any cash on them!

Long gone are the days when I NEED a coffee, but when I open my wallet I only have a few pennies floating around, and no cash on me. Usually, I am too stubborn to take a twenty out of an ABM just for a coffee, but I curse myself that I have left the house with no funds for java. I use to think that the above mentioned situation constituted as one 'very bad day' in the life of Sara Coleman, but now I can rest assured that the new Tim Card will indeed put an end to all future bad days in my life.

I love the fact that this new Tim Card will let me wander through day-to-day life without any money on me. The idea of looking in my wallet and not having a dime on me, yet not having to rush out to the nearest street corner in order to bag for money - this is the ideal life!

I think now that I've obtained the Tim Card, I may be joining an elite group of cash card junkies out there ... when I look in my wallet here's what I've got:

• The Tim Card
• The Subway Card
• The Starbucks Card
• The Second Cup Card

Notice that, 3 of my 4 cards are coffee cards... no I don't have a problem - I just want to ensure that I am able to purchase a coffee whenever. wherever. I. need. my. fix.

Do any of you use cash cards...? If so, which ones? Do you think you will be using the new Tim Card?

Halloween Pictures!

These were a process to upload... not sure why, but finally here are the Halloween pics from the party we attended on the weekend. Good times were had by all, PC won Creepiest costume, for his take of a One Night Stand!

Enjoy....