First. Link-up/Award. Ever.

Since LaDawn from The Daybreak Bird awarded the Sunshine Award to "any one out there" ... I decided to play along...  

This is my very first Link-up... not too sure how this works... hope that I get it right!! 

Rules

1. Include the Award Logo in your blog.  Big problem... don't know how to do it.... :(
2. Link to the person that sort of nominated you - LaDawn (okay... that was easy!)
3. Answer 10 questions about yourself! - Love to talk about moi... so that will be easy!
4. Nominate 10 bloggers to receive this award (No can't do here... since I have no followers.. so I will not be able to nominate even one person!)

What is the meaning behind your blog name?

My name is Christine but everyone calls me Chris. When I met my husband, he found that Chris was a very masculine name and felt funny calling his new gfriend Chris. So with some consideration and time… he came up with the name Kouisse (pronounced koo-EESS).  So basically, Kouisse’s Korner… is my small corner of the internet.

If money did not matter, what would you do for a living?
I would be a stay at home Mom.  But there is only one problem… I have NO children.

What kind of music do you listen to?

All kinds but I especially like French Canadian music.

What is your least favorite holiday?

Note that when I first read this question… I was thinking more vacation than holiday (for some reason I mix up those 2 words) 

Punta Canada March 2012. - My Dad had never travelled south of the United States for a holiday/vacation, I decided to take a trip with him to an all-inclusive resort for a week. Not even 24 hours into my vacation, I started getting nauseated then came some cramping.  And not long after… the non-stop vomiting… and the major diarrhea.  My dad felt so bad for me until HIS diarrhea started.  Needless to say… we were both stuck in our rooms all week.  What a disastrous holiday!! 

Would you rather live without tv or music?

Music

What was your favourite subject in school?

I didn’t really have a favorite subject since I was really NOT a dedicate student and did not like school.

How many pets do you have?

At this moment, none!  I lost my 15 year old baby girl Camille last November.  Back then I swore that I would never get another dog but I must admit lately that I am hitching for another dog!

What kitchen gadget do you use the most?

Soup is my all-time go-to food for the Fall.  So the gadget I’ve been using the most lately is my Soup-Blender-All-In-One-Maker that my hubby purchased for my birthday a couple of years ago.  I love this small appliance.

What reality show do you most want to be on?

Definitely not Survivor... 

Are you shy or outgoing?

Definitely outgoing!  The following is a true fact… the number one reason why I work 37.5 hours a week is to socialize and plus a pay check is deposited into my bank account every other week!

Wednesday's Love

Loving the new design for my blog!  I saw the first draft and wow!  I can't wait to show it off... and finally become a real blogger!

Loving the book Just One Day by Gayle Forman but hating that I must wait until October 10th for the sequel - Just one Year.

Loving the suspense in the movie I saw last night with my Dad - Prisoners.  A must see movie!

Loving that my favourite French Canadian author Suzanne Aubry published today book 6 of her Fanette series.  I am running to the bookstore later on to pick it up!

Loving that I won tickets for Friday's hockey game at the Canadian Tire Centre.

What are you loving this week?

And the winner of BB15 is ....

ANDY

aka Coco Head (that is what my 12 yr old nephew nicknamed him)

Probably all of North America knows who the winner of Big Brother is by now but since CBS decided to air the Big Brother finale from 9:30 to 11:00 last night (don't they know that it's way past my bedtime!), I literally just finished watching it on the internet.  I still cannot believe that I was able to avoid social media all day.

I honestly wanted GM to win since in my opinion she played a good honest game and 

nice honest people should win Big Brother.

So long BB... it was a great summer (once again!!)... 

....until next summer!!!!

Are you happy that Andy won BB15???

Wednesday's Loves

Loving that I went out to an all-you-can eat sushi place last night with 2 high school friends. 

The only picture I took was one of my Corona that I had before my meal.  We were way to hungry and I didn't realize that I did not take a picture of all of the sushi we ate!  They were good!!

Loving the new pen I bought last night at Chapter's.

  I paid way too much for it but love the heaviness of the pen and that it writes beautifully.

Bonus that it matches my Lily Pulitzer agenda.

Loving and obsessing with my new Electrolux cordless vacuum.

Perfect vacuum for the the mid-week clean up.

Loving that there was no partners at work today...

and that I was able to catch up on some homework.

Loving that I was able to prepare a great supper tonight for Bidou and I in the matter of 15 minutes...

and it was delicious!

What are you loving today??

Yesterday was back to work!!

Yesterday morning, I really had to get my butt into gear since I was due to report back to work at 

8:30 am after being off for 7 weeks.

Yes folks... I've been off for 7 weeks.  And what a treat it was!!!

The first 6 weeks were vacation time then the last week, I was recovering (and still recovering) from Laser Eye Surgery.

I had already purchased my "Back to Work" outfit while shopping at the Premium Outlets in Dawsonville, GA during the summer and was excited to wear it. My husband compared me to a
11 year old on her first day of Middle School.

Love this outfit.

I bought the blouse and pencil skirt at the Ann Taylor Factory.  And I love my new Aerosoles brown fall boots.  A feeling that I will be wearing them a lot this season.

Here is a closer look of my new brown fall boots.

Notice the double zippers for the bigger calves :)

I love making and packing healthy lunches.  I always bring my lunch to work from Monday to Thursday.  Then, I do take-out with the girls on Friday's.

My lunch MUST always contain all sorts of different stuff! I honestly have a cupboard where I keep all of my different lunch containers.  I love small containers.  In the past, I had way too much Tupperware and with time, I have been trying to get away from it and buying more glass containers!

Homemade bean salad, mini-babybel, Hummus and a couple of pocket pitas, a banana, 2 cut up apples, a greek yogourt with some granola and a Larabar for my mi-afternoon snack!

Besides being in bed at 8:45 pm last night....  I had a great first day back to work!

To much eating out

What do you blog about when your entire Saturday was mostly about eating?

Breakfast Saturday morning - I could indulge on smoked salmon on a bagel with cream cheese every morning if it wasn't way too many calories!

Supper Saturday evening where I had way too many egg rolls, chicken balls and chicken fried rice at a local Chinese restaurant!  They plum sauce is to die for.

Hope you all had a great weekend!!

It's been a looonnnng week...

I've been out of service all week and it's driving me crazy!

Last Monday, I had laser eye surgery on my right eye.  All week, my vision has been very blurry.  Bright light or any light made my eyes water and BURN! And I thought this was going to be an easy peasy surgery... sorta like a vacation.  Go figure!!

Before going into surgery, I had a long list of things I wanted to accomplish while recovering and being off of work all week.

The following was on my list of thing to do:

• Read a couple of books.
• Work on this blog.
• Catch up on some Netflix.
• Download all of my existing CDs on my i-Mac.
• Organize the pantry and the lining closet.
• Get a lot of studying done.

And guess what??? I did NOTHING... the only think I did was COMPLAIN that I was not able to enjoy my vacation! :)

Hope your week has been better than mine???

My love for pedis!

I do NOT consider myself high maintenance but I do love spoiling myself by going often to the spa for facials, pedis, for some waxing and massages. However, as for my hair routine, it is a necessity to get my roots done every 4 weeks... I NEVER leave the salon without having my next hair appointment scheduled.  It is a must... Oh the joys of being forty!!

My go-to spa is Studio 157.  They are a well reputated spa in the Ottawa-Gatineau area and I LOVE going there.  The beauticians are all so friendly and I swear that their mission is to cater to your every need.  An arm/hand massage while getting a facial or a hot towel around your feet after a pedi. I say why not!! If you are in the Ottawa/Gatineau area... please check them out Studio 157... you will not be disappointed!

I love getting pedis.  I love to look down and see my beautiful pedicured painted red nails sticking out from my flip-flops. For some reason my hand nails can look like sh*t but during the summer months my toe nails must be immaculate. If I could afford it, I would get a pedi every other week all year long but since I live in a 4 season climate, my toes are usually covered with warm socks 8 months a year. 

Last Sunday was my last pedi of the summer...

So long beautiful feet.... will see you sometime next May!  

9\11 - I remember...

I remember being at work that Tuesday morning and receiving an e-mail from my friend saying that a plane had just hit the World Trade Centre.  At first I was confused since there is Word Exchange Plaza in the city where I worked and I thought she was referring to it.  She then clarified that it was the WTC in NYC.  My boss had a television in his office so I turned it on.... and minutes later the second plane hit the second tower.

Do you remember where you were when the planes crashed into the WTC?

Going Live!!

I have been simmering at the idea of starting a blog for some time now but been trying to establish the “perfect date” to go live.

January 1^st is four months away so that “perfect date” would not be too feasible in this instance.

So how about September??  In many ways the month of September is like a January 1^st… and here are my reasons why I think so…

·      You can find many agendas that start in September like my new Lily Pulitzer agenda that I just purchased and love!

·      People tend to start a new exercise or a diet regime in September.

·      New resolutions are always made in September… I know I do!

·      September is the official Back to School month. I am always eager to find new on-line courses and I have an obsession to always purchase a new pencil case and a new lunch box when September approaches… my husband think I am strange!

I know that I want my first post to be on a Monday because I once heard that the perfect weekday to start something new is on a Monday.

So with much consideration, my first post will be published on Monday, September 9^th, 2013.

I am dedicating this place as my very own corner “Kouisse’s Korner” where I will write about books that I enjoy reading, Starbucks coffee and their mugs that I like to collect, anything-everything Vera Bradley (even tough I am in minority when sporting mine) and also about my latest obsessions… and frankly I obsess with something new every week… you wait and see!!

So with further ado…. welcome to my little Korner!!