She is the Queen of the Castle

I recently did a "bed makeover", just picked up some new bedding to freshen things up. My wonderful friend sent me the quilt set from Quilts, Etc in the Cherry Lane Shopping Centre in Kelowna. I had found the accent pillows at Winners when I was last in the South and was saving them until I found the perfect bedding to go with. The white pillow is from Ikea, white velor fabric stuffed with down fill and the blue and chocolate pillows are from Winners, they were a fantastic price with silk exterior and down fill. I was very excited to finally have everything (king sized pillows for the shams included) so I could put this emsemble together.

Later on in the day I came to found my bed looking frazzeled and Miss Olivia plunked down in the middle of it all.
You're welcolme Liv, I like it too.

It's a Northern Thing

I can definitely say I have never saw these signs anywhere else that I have lived. I wish we could have saw an actual dog team crossing the road!

Checking out the sights

This year I didn't get to see the inside of the infamous YK Snow King Castle built on the frozen ice of YK Bay. Here is what it looks like on the outside at least.


As the Mummy of a five and ten pound chihuahua, the thought of chaining my dogs to a stick in the middle of an ice road in YK was slightly unlikely! Olivia is glaring at me as I type this sentence.

After checking out the Snow Castle, hubby drove us out to N'Dilo, a small community just past Old Town in YK. As we were driving into town, I saw what appeared to be a dog curled up into a ball in the middle of the snow covered road. (Keep in mind, Malcolm and Olivia were comfortably snuggled up on my lap, Olivia wearing a rhinestone encrusted pink velor hoodie, and Malcolm in his manly gray soccer hoodie)

Like the Southerner I am, I saw this dog and said, "Oh my GOD, HUBBY, what is that? Is that a DEAD DOG?! Oh my god, why is there a dog balled up in the middle of the road! Stop the car... STOP THE CAR! Go see if he is OK!"

Hubby responded by telling me this dog is very much alive and that it is in fact normal to see dogs roaming or even sleeping in the streets in various areas around here. Yes, even when it is freezing outside. Then as we drove by he said, "See Nat? He's lickin' his crotch."

Oh. OK.

Why the heck is it called a "Meme"?

I found this little gem on Mongoose's website, and felt the overwhelming urge to complete it myself. Thanks Mongoose!

1. Name a movie that you have seen more than ten times.
Definitely Disney’s Little Mermaid. I have watched that film countless times and still throw it on when I need some cheering up. The Maritimer in me clearly has a soft spot for dancing and singing flounders and lobsters and catchy tunes.

2. Name a movie that you've seen multiple times in the theater.
Twilight. Judge me all you want, but Rpatz is truly a handsome devil. Tee hee!

3. Name an actor or actress who would make you more inclined to see a movie.
Robert Pattinson! That man is on fire.

4. Name an actor or actress who would make you less inclined to see a movie.
Steve-O? Who would consider him an actor?

5. Name a movie that you can quote from.
I almost can do Little Mermaid verbatim.

6. Name a movie musical that you know all the lyrics to all the songs.
You name it, I can probably sing all the songs, Sound of Music, any Disney animated film, Phantom of the Opera...

7. Name a movie that you have been known to sing along with.
Mama Mia! How could you not, come on.

8. Name a movie that you would recommend everyone see.
Kill Bill Vol 1 and 2

9. Name a movie that you own.
Sex and the City, I miss that show so much.

10. Name an actor or actress who launched his/her entertainment career in another medium but has surprised you with his/her acting chops.
Paris Hilton. HAHA! I kid, I kid.

11. Have you ever seen a movie in a drive-in? If so, what?
Never, it is on my list of things to do before I die.

12. Name a movie that you keep meaning to see but just haven't yet gotten around to it.
I am so out of touch with movies these days, I don’t even have one.

13. Ever walked out of a movie?
I have never, ever walked out of a movie. I like to see them through to the end in theater. If it’s a rental, it’s a whole different story. I remember Erica, Sister & I attempting to watch “Being John Malkovitch”, that maybe lasted five minutes.

14. Name a movie that made you cry in the theater.
Titanic, I sobbed through the last end and continued sobbing for a few hours after. Clearly I was a hormonal teenager.

15. Popcorn?
Never with the butter/oil crap they offer, but ALWAYS with dill pickle seasoning when available. Oh yeah I love it.

16. How often do you go to the movies?
I used to go obsessively when I was younger, now I almost never go, maybe once every 2 months?

17. What's the last movie you saw in the theater?
Slumdog Millionaire and I loved it.

18. What's your favourite genre of movie?
I adore chick flicks, comedies, animated films... documentaries, essentially anything that isn’t horror or terribly gut wrenchingly sad. I could never watch the “Lassie” films... or even that horrible show “Littlest Hobo”, I despise that show with a sweet, sweet passion.

19. What's the first movie you remember seeing in the theater?
Bambi! And I remember very clearly crying my eyes out when his Dad is murdered by the hunter. Yes, I am a true Disney generation type gal.

20. What movie do you wish you had never seen?
Anything has a horrible ending, I hate that!! I have had enough sadness in my life, when I watch a movie, it is to zone out and go to nwtnatalie’s happy place.

21. What is the weirdest movie you enjoyed?
I am a huge fan of Wes Anderson films, from the music to the acting to the story lines, I love them all. Many a person that I know cannot stand them, however my idea of a great movie night would definitely include; the Royal Tennenbaums, Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and the Darjeeling Limited. Love them all.

22. What is the scariest movie you've seen?
Since I don’t do scary movies, I will have to say Amnityville Horror (remake). Hubby dragged me to see it years ago. I ALMOST had to leave the theater, it was too much for me.

23. What is the funniest movie you've seen?
I would definitely answer this question differently depending on the different stages of my life... some movies that I LOVED and thought was simply the funniest thing ever, I now have re watched and been mystified as to what I thought was so darn funny in the first place. Example: Superstar. I remember scream laugh crying when Will Ferrel descends into Molly Shannon’s bedroom dressed as Jesus. When I re watched it I thought, OK, funny, but I am not scream cry laughing. I am a die hard SNL fan, Robert Goulet’s starring contest is simply the best. Especially now. That's all I'm saying!

Keepin' It Real

With my six month anniversary of living in the glorious metropolis of YK coming quickly up, I thought I would reflect upon this experience of living in the most isolated community of my life. The happy surprise that I like it here and think the next 1642.5 days should pass along just fine. Not that I am counting. One of the reasons I started blogging about my views on living here is for people who do not live here and are considering the move, “An Outsider’s Views on the North”. And to keep in touch with family and friends.

Here it goes. I have always lived in largely populated areas, or urban centres. Being from Nova Scotia, I am very used to having the ability to hop into my car, drive for say, half an hour to arrive in the next community. It was a HUGE shock to my system to be plunked down in the middle of this huge, sparsely populated landmass. Read ALL you want about the North, but until one actually gets up and moves here, one cannot imagine what it is like to be so isolated, at least I for sure as hell could not. It’s true; my Southern Brain just couldn’t handle such a concept. Hum. After six months here, the overwhelming claustrophobia I first felt has subsided! This is as shocking for me as it is for those who know me well.

To clarify in case there is any confusion, I am city girl, hear me roar. To further clarify, I did not choose to move here... I AGREED to move here for the love of my life. Cause I lurve my hubby who is the one who WANTED to move here. There it is the cold hard truth of the matter. Sometimes is this crazy ol’ thing called life we have to make hard decisions and then live with them.

I have said it before, I will say it again. YK contains all the major amenities of the South. I despise the terms “the South” and “Southerners”, they make my skin crawl. I don’t really know why. For the sake of clarity, I use them under slight to moderate distress. If you are in the position I was a mere few months ago, sitting in front of your computer in the South and browsing various NWT websites and blogs, wondering and questioning if you in fact could make it in the North, let me reassure you, if you are headed to YK, you can do it. In YK, there are grocery stores, Wal-Mart, a Staples store, the Crappiest Tire of them all and a cute, teeny weenie mall. We also have amazing boutiques, they are great. There are a few nice restaurants and a couple good pubs.

I am now cooking more than ever and am constantly trying new recipes and baking new things. In my other life it was so easy to just go out to a restaurant or order takeout. Here, that gets real boring real quick. I have even taken up a few new hobbies, which before I would never had bothered to do.

If you have a shopping addiction like me (yes Dad, I admit this), losing your ability to buy whatever you need/want, whenever you want will be tough. Random example: King sized pillows. Clearly a necessity when you first purchase a king sized bed. CLEARLY. Sweet Lord, I checked all the stores and shops in town, but I couldn’t find them. The happy news is costco dot ca is a lifesaver, I have ordered my pillows and much, much more off that blessed website. Do it. You won’t regret it. Unless you do end up regretting it and then I will not be held responsible. I personally have saved a crap load of cold hard cash living here. That’s a good thing. You also pay much for certain things. And I came from the Okanagan, an incredibly expensive area and I still get the odd jolt of sticker shock. I’m just saying.

Online shopping is great, I find my impulse buying has been slashed to zero. Bath and Bodyworks now ships to Canada, this is groundbreaking news for my fellow Shopaholics. I just received my first shipment and holy moly macaroni it was almost a surreal experience opening up a box of Bath & Bodyworks goodies from the mail! Even though some stuff was frozen. It thawed and everything works fine.

You will get used to or “acclimate*” to the cold climate. It’s still kinda shocking, but I am used to my nostrils freezing shut on me in the cold, so it is all good! When one has not grown up in -30C, -40C, -50C winter weather, one certainly will not be used to this weather therefore you may in fact find such coldness shocking. No one in the North wants to hear it. Just acclimate in silence because people up here get edgy when you start talking about the cold. When I moved to the Okanagan from Nouvelle-Écosse, I found the Okanagan incredibly, unbearably warm. Oh yeah, there was sweat in places I didn’t know could sweat. Now swallow the vomit back down your throat and I will continue. Swallow. I did it too. I needed to acclimate and I did. Oh yeah baby, this chick moved from 20C summers to frigging 40C summers and sometimes warmer. So when this chicken moved from the warm, dry, arid Okanagan to the bitterly cold, dry Arctic... I was MOTHER FU*%#ING FREEZING MY BLESSED ASS OFF. How do you safeguard yourself from the cold? You buy a warm parka. Canada Goose is one company that makes warm parkas, one plus one equals two. Volià! C’est simple comme bonjour!

I am so very proud of myself at this moment. Momma will be proud; my five years of post secondary education are FINALLY paying off.

Yeah, so that’s my review of the past six months of my life. Review turned rant. Tee hee! Any Urbanite will have some culture shock moving here, that is for sure. If you are from a small town, maybe you will think YK is a town just like any other. I cannot speak for you people and today is all about Keepin’ It Real. Nwtnatalie offers her two cents. When I first got up here, I was stunned even by all the fur wearing folks around town. You just don’t see that in the South. But, the North is for the most part a warm and welcoming place, I am happy to have already made some pretty great friends. Attitude also goes a long way, you gotta stay positive. It is so easy to fall into a slump here and develop negative thinking, especially when you barely see Mr. Golden Sun. Damn you Seasonal Affective Disorder! I found that pretty tough, going from one of the sunniest year round places in Canada to a dark Northern winter. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be here, and with some vitamin D supplements, we made out just fine.

Woo hoo! I finally wrote an edgy blog posting, this is a big day in the life of nwtnatalie. And I didn’t once mention the evilness that is the EF grocery store. Until now. I can now get back to blogging about sushi, cute chihuahuas and babies and such, the important things in life.

*to adapt to a new temperature, altitude, climate, environment, or situation (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/acclimate)

Sigh

Some days, living 6820 kilometers away from home are harder than others.
This past week has been an eventful one in the Motherland of my beloved Nova Scotia.

My parents finally purchased a brother for Mick the chihuahua. Max is the newest addition to our family and a biological brother to Miss Olivia. Here he is in all his puppy cuteness:


He is such a doll! He resembles my Olivia so very much, it isn't hard to tell they are brother and sister.

One of my bestest friends on this planet Earth has just become a Mummy for the first time. Keegan arrived on St. Patty's day. He is one of the cutest babies I have ever laid my old peepers on.


With all the goings on in the Motherland, I really wish I was there.
Sigh.

This makes me laugh...

You all know I love my dogs. If you didn't... well I love my dogs.

Before I had them I thought that people who were obsessed with their dogs were kind of creepers. Hello, dogs are DOGS... not children. Weirdos.

Now I refer to my dogs as "the kids" or "my children". Yeah.

I also thought people who dressed dogs up in clothes were nuts, I mean, that is sick, they are dogs! They don't wear clothes for a reason. Then I saw how cold Liv would get, and well one thing lead to another and now each one has their own, personalized wardrobe. Snowsuits, NHL jerseys... name it, they have it.

They also have a stroller. See previous posts... I can't help it. It is like a drug.

I feel better now that I have all that off my chest. Just so y'all understand me. So here's some photos of my little boy Malcolm in one of his favourite hang out spots. These are NOT staged... it is just how my Mally Boy rolls.

Forget Where's Waldo, I have my own Where's Malcolm?

And a close up!

In black and white, such a silly boy.

Snuggling with his big, pink snake. (Ah, sorry, that sounds kinda sick.)

And just so Livvie doesn't feel left out, here she is before Malcolm took over the Princess Bed!

Sigh, I love my dogs..

A Must When in YK

Sushi North!

After living in B.C., I became addicted to the sush. I simply love the flavours, the texture of this wonderful cuisine and I especially LOVE wasabi. It's my favourite thing ever.

Sushi North is the only sushi restaurant in YK. Apparently it opened a few years ago seasonally to accommodate the influx of Japanese tourists and due to the popularity amongst the locals, they now are opened year round.

I had once tried take out from there and just recently dined in at the restaurant. It is simply and modernly decorated and very bright and cheerful with large, bright local art featured on the walls. All prices include tax, which is something that always appeals to me and the prices are on par with what you would pay in B.C. They only accept cash for now, so if you are like me and never carry cash, stop by the bank machine before going. (There are banks located very close to SN.) Their California Roll is priced at $6.00 as is their Dynamite and Veg Roll, with the other single items ranging from $5.00 to $15.00. They offer box specials that are priced at $11.00, $15.00, and $32.00.

The menu is relatively small in comparison to other sushi restaurants I have tried in other provinces and states, everything that I and my dining companions have tried has been tasty and fresh.

Pictured above is their Veg Roll, California Roll and Ebi Nigri Sush. Notice how nice and green the avacado is!
Sushi North is located on 50th Ave next to Sutherland's Drugs and is closed on Sundays. Try it out the next time you find yourself in YK!

The Arctic Chihuahua

Miss Olivia practicing "Blue Steel":



As Goldilocks:

Just goofin' around:



Malcolm in his cave:


Visiting Nanny and Grampy's and enjoying the beautiful sun:

Three Months?

Well, all I can say is that times flies when you are having fun in the Arctic! The winter has really sped past and thank heavens for that! I am getting sick of the freeeeeeeeeeezing cold and snow, however this winter has not at all been as hard as I had expected. Hubby & I continue to enjoy the newness of the North and everyday we seem to have some new discovery or adventure which keep us entertained.

Here are some recent photos from our various adventures.

Aww, my adorable Fur Babies!:


The "classic" Ice Road photo, taken on the ice road from Yellowknife to Dettah (Hubby's feet, not mine!!):Yellowknife from the air:


Very cool experience, flying from Yellowknife to Ft. Smith and back on an eight-seater plane!:

Good old Arctic Tundra: