Happy New Year!

I'm back!

I appologize to everyone for falling off the face of the earth for a bit, but I was on vacation!

I know that's the worst tradition ever and I'm not sure why it happens, but for some reason, since 2000 when I got severe mono on Christmas Eve, I get sick every year at Christmas. The whole fever, sniffly, sickly thing.

Since I almost always go home to Winnipeg for Christmas, I thought the weather and 8 family gatherings in 3 days were to blame. This year I swore not to get sick on Christmas and we packed up and drove down to North Carolina for a week to visit my Sister and her family. I thought avoiding the insanity and visiting a warmer climate would ensure my health this Christmas.

Well I was wrong. I woke up Christmas morning with a tickle in my throat and by nightfall I was achy, sniffly and sick. I felt worse on the 26th and even worse on the 27th. My dear sister pumped me full of cold medication and I did my best to stay positive and even headed out for a day of sight seeing.

Geeze, I look retarded here. Click on it for a closer look!

My sister took this picture. Generally I destroy this kind of evidence but we both look like such jerks here I had to leave it. It's just too funny.

We had a fantastic time and really enjoyed the vacation from our computers. I got my case replaced while I was gone so I no longer have a dirty little apple.

Now to nail down those pesky New Years resolutions.
Everyone, have a great time tonight! Happy New Year!

Laughed so hard I cried.

I had to pass on this blog post because it is just so hilarious. It involves babies in a bathtub. I'll say no more as you must read it for yourself!

Merry Christmas!

I hope you are all enjoying your holidays and that you've stuffed yourselves silly on all sorts of deliciously fattening food. We decided to do something different this year and drove down South to visit my niece and nephews.

I am currently surrounded by shreds of wrapping paper, ribbons, half opened toys and bits of pre-chewed food mashed into the carpet that were rejected by my two year old nephew with a loud, "Yuuuucky!"

We haven't seen much of the city yet but managed to squeeze in a little shopping. We're both impressed with how friendly everyone here is. We Canadians like to pride ourselves on our friendliness, but these N.C'give some serious competition. They are some of the nicest people we've ever met. You can cut them off in traffic (accidentally of course since we missed that last turn), ask silly questions at the cash register about your purchases with a mile long line up behind you and not one complaint. In Toronto we eat people alive for those kinds of offenses. Since this is my second visit here I know it's not just holiday cheer.

The only negative experience we had was one not so bright store clerk (S.B), who tried to tell us that a digital camera had to be at least 7 megapixels in order to be able to edit pictures.

S.B (southern belle): "Oh, Ah wouldn't ba anything less than 7 megapixels or it won't let you edit your pictures"

Me: "Um, yes you can. Whether it has 4 megapixels or 10, The editing is done on the computer not on the camera so, unless you plan on making giant posters that require that kind of resolution, a 5 mega pixel camera will be just fine."

S.B tittered patronizingly at me for a moment with a look on her face that said, wow you're stupid. Then said impatiently, "Ahm tellin' you if it's less than 7 megapixels you're hardly gonna be able to do anythin' at awl."

Right. Ok then. Alex led me out before I had a chance to educate her.

We're definitely enjoying our visit and plan on doing as little work as possible. Enjoy your time with your families and friends!

Ali + Alex

My First Attempt at Pole Dancing...

I finally got on the pole.

I make a habit of checking out the deals we offer on ChickAdvisor for, um, quality control purposes. I felt it was my moral obligation to test out pole dancing (how can I promote it if I haven't tried it?). So, I brought 3 ChickAdvisor members to Flirty Girl Fitness to test out the free class they're offering on our deals page. Everyone loved it! They had us doing all sorts of cool spins on the pole and we even learned a choreographed routine.

What surprised me the most was what a great workout it was. We were all sweating and sore later on.

Definitely the most fun workout I've ever done and I love the gym. The staff and other members were all really friendly too, which helped because we were all nervous about trying this.

Now how to convince Alex to install a pole in the living room...

An African Christmas

I just experienced the coolest corporate Christmas party I've ever been to. Alex works for a luxury travel company whose trips and parties are always unforgettable. Every year there is a new party theme and everyone comes out in full costume. Alex and I are always sadly under dressed because we don't have the same costume making skills his coworkers have, or frankly, the time. We were supposed to be Texan tourists but we failed badly...


Anyway, yesterday Alex comes home with 30 minutes to spare for the two of us to get ready. I asked him how we should dress. He said that some people were going as animals. Animals?? He wasn't kidding. There was an ape, a giraffe, a diamond miner (who slipped me a few "diamonds") and a dude wrapped in saran wrap. Can you guess what he was supposed to be? We were thinking maybe he was a condom but later he explained he was a mirage. Yep, that's the kind of creative characters Alex works with.

There were African dancers and the hotel ballroom was decked out magnificently. The owner came as a sheik and lounged on the pillows by the bar. It was a really fun night!

When Alex and I were about to leave, one of his coworkers sauntered over and attempted to prevent Alex from leaving.

"You know what I told my wife?" he slurred at both of us.

"I said. If yure gunna make me leave early from thissparty. I'm going by myshelf."

He stumbled back onto the dance floor. We got in the cab.

Introducing meebo!

We've just partnered with chat site meebo.com so you can connect with your friends and other ChickAdvisor members while you surf! It's really easy to set up and you can hook it up to your existing accounts such as msn, yahoo, googletalk and aim.

To set it up, go to meebo.com and create a meebo account. Then go to their widgets section, get their code snippet and embed it in your ChickAdvisor profile under Widgets.

Enjoy!

Farty Cows

Oooh, like this one too! How cow farts are bad for the environment.

Matt Damon Does Mathew McConaughey

Ahh... one hunk imitating another. Perfect.

Holiday Tipping in NYC

I found a great article on NYmag.com about holiday tipping that I just had to share. The following is based on a survey nymag did with 60 workers in New York's service sector to find out the average holiday tip. Here's the low down from nymag:

The Doorman
Average Holiday Tip: $98
Median Holiday Tip: $50
Average Forecast for 2006 Tips: $5,100
Percent of Clients Who Tip: 89%
Most Generous Tip or Gift: “$2,000 from one person.”

What They Really Think: “One resident gave me a stack of envelopes and asked me to divvy them up, but there wasn’t one for me. It was probably just an oversight.” “I’ve only declined a tip once, because it was $5 and I think they were trying to embarrass me.” “Renters tip less than owners.” “I don’t want wine or chocolate, just cash, only cash.” “We all know what the others get.” “And we like to lie about it and say we got more.”


The Garage Attendant
Average Holiday Tip: $48
Median Holiday Tip: $47.50
Average Forecast for 2006 Tips: $2,800
Percent of Clients Who Tip: 73%
Most Generous Tip or Gift: “$400 from one person.”

What They Really Think: “The more rich you are, the less you give.” “I have a guy with a Porsche. Last year, he gave $100 and I told him I deserved more. Right away he gave me $400.” “I use my tip money to go to my country, the Dominican Republic.” “I want to go to Las Vegas with mine.” “I’ll give people a car wash to get more.” “If I get too much, I have to tell the company.” “The tips are better on the Upper West Side than on the East Side.”


The Colorist and Hairdresser
Average Holiday Tip: $79
Median Holiday Tip: $77.50
Average Forecast for 2006 Tips: $7,000
Percent of Clients Who Tip: 80%
Most Generous Tip or Gift: “A plane ticket to London for New Year’s Eve.”

What They Really Think: “I call my clients on their birthdays. By the time the holiday comes around, they remember me.” “The ones that you are much more friendly with are the bigger tippers. It makes me wonder, Should I be tipping my therapist?” “I was tipped better when I cut hair uptown.” “One time, a really good client tipped me a check and it bounced. She was going through a divorce, and it was a joint account.” “Europeans don’t tip as well.”

The Dog Walker
Average Holiday Tip: $41
Median Holiday Tip: $37.50
Average Forecast for 2006 Tips: $255
Percent of Clients Who Tip: 63%
Most Generous Tip or Gift: “$300 plus a gourmet food basket.”

What They Really Think: “Sometimes people tip a very small amount; I’d rather get nothing.” “I’ll leave the dogs little gifts, pick up an extra bag of treats, put a ribbon on it for bigger tips.” “The wife will usually give me more than the husband.” “I’ll be a little extra-friendly to get bigger tips.” “My best tippers are not the wealthiest.”

The Personal Trainer
Average Holiday Tip: $188
Median Holiday Tip: $100
Average Forecast for 2006 Tips: $1,688
Percent of Clients Who Tip: 65%
Most Generous Tip or Gift: “$5,000 and a round-trip ticket for two to anywhere I wanted.”

What They Really Think: “Usually they give me the amount I charge for a session.” “There have been unsatisfying nonmoney gifts. Someone gave me a basket of candy. It was just silly.” “For me, it’s usually a handshake or a hug. Definitely eye contact to show appreciation.” “I’ve been known to give the next session for free as a thank-you.” “I give them jump ropes and free triathlon training.”


The Nanny
Average Holiday Tip: $349
Median Holiday Tip: $300
Average Forecast for 2006 Tips: $417
Percent of Clients Who Tip: 90%
Most Generous Tip or Gift: “A trip to the Bahamas.”

What They Really Think: “Any tip is a good tip.” “If I’m working on an actual holiday, I expect to be paid generously.” “Two weeks’ pay is typical, but $350 shows she doesn’t appreciate my work. I deserve $2,000.” “I get more money if the kids are difficult.” “I don’t really acknowledge a tip unless it’s unusually generous. Then I just say thank you.” “I definitely know rich people that stiff their nannies.”




Yikes! And we thought Christmas shopping for the family was expensive enough!
But as a friend of mine told me who used to live in New York, service industry workers in New York take their professions very seriously. They go the extra mile for you because it's a matter of pride. You tip them because they deserve it and worked hard for it.

Italy's Anorexia Summit

It's called The National Manifesto of Self-Regulation, and it is a plan devised by the Italian state and luxury industry authorities to respond to growing concerns about eating disorders rampant with young models.

According to Fashion Wire Daily, the goal is to, "create a manifesto governing models' size that will be signed by designers, big brands, model agencies, photographers and make up artists " before the next season which begins January 14th. The Manifesto states that models must have a body mass index or BMI of at least 18. So for example, models who are 5 feet 9 inches tall must weigh a minimum of about 123 pounds or 56 kilos.

This comes on the heels of the deaths of models Ana Carolina Reston, 21 of Brazil and Luisel Ramos, 22 of Uroguay whose diets consisted of apples and tomatoes (Reston), and lettuce leaves and diet coke (Ramos). Reston died of liver failure and Ramos of a heart attack during Fashion Week in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Source

Kelly Video: Shoes

This is so ridiculous I had to share it.

MissChickie Attempts to "Vlog"

I sometimes find writing hard because it's not my #1 strength. So, in keeping with the new video reviews on the website I decided to do a video blog or "vlog" for those of you who do this on a regular basis.

Watch as I embarrass myself!

Get On The Pole. You Know You Want To.

Well at least I certainly wanted to after going to Flirty Girl Fitness to meet with Co-Founder, Krista Knee and make this video. It's an amazing workout and I can't wait to try it though I envision myself garnering at least one bloody nose.

Who's coming with me?
Flirty Girl is offering 1 FREE first time class exclusively for ChickAdvisor members valued at $20. Print off the offer from our Deals section to redeem. (Should be up shortly)

More Stuff Coming Soon!!

Where'd You Get That? Is Alive!

Here's our first attempt at street fashion with Where'd You Get That? We stop total strangers on the street and find out where they bought their clothes. Weee!

This particular episode was shot in November on campus at Ryerson University and is just a snippet of some of the cool stuff we found. We'd like to show more stylin' people in the future but for now we're just getting our feet wet and decided to keep it short and sweet.

We also went to private Toronto boutique Poa Studio and interviewed hip and fabulous owner Catherine Pacak on what's hot this spring.

We shot another episode of Where'd You Get That? in October at the Toronto Eaton Centre which I'm still trying to salvage but there were some technical difficulties so it may just resurface one day as a spoof episode where everything went wrong. We'll see...

Anyway, love it? hate it? I'm open to your feedback.