Why I Won't Be Joining Your Women's Group

Over the years I have had several opportunities to join various women's groups and these opportunities have usually been through church. I found myself tensing at the thought of this and actively avoiding those who I knew were looking to invite me.

And it's not because I don't know what I'm missing either. When I was younger, I did in fact join a women's bible study because I thought it was the right thing to do to have fellowship with other women in my church. And although I was already friends with several of the women in the group, I just found the meetings excruiatingly boring.  It just wasn't - and isn't - me.

So why did/do I feel that way?

Well, for one thing, I've never been one to hang out exclusively with other women. Growing up, I had always been a bit of a tom-boy and have always had both male and female friends. As a young adult, I began practicing martial arts - a sport that is still practiced by mostly men. (In fact, I trained for over a year as the only woman in the class and absolutely loved the attention that position gave me!)

Another reason may be that I just don't feel like I have much in common with a lot of other women. I am child-free, reserved in expressing my emotions, athletic and don't like to eat a lot of sweets. And my experience and impression of many women's groups is that they like to talk about their kids, cry and hug each other, sit on their butts and eat brownies - there - I said it.

This isn't to say, that I've never gone "out with the girls". But guys were never deliberately excluded. I remember on many occasions having one or two guys tagging along with a bunch of girls at the mall or to a movie.

When it comes down to it I really think that sex (and age and other simple demographics) are the least important reason to spend time with other people. Take my martial arts club for example - we have both men and women, we range in age from teenagers to seniors, we encompass a wide variety of professions - and we really enjoy each other's company because of a shared interest.

So should we get together? Absolutely! But let's do so for reasons other than simple demographics. And let's leave the "No Boys Allowed" sign off the clubhouse door.

Style is the Mayne Thing

An interesting thing happened at my office today. In exchange for letting our facilities be used for a photo shoot, we received a gorgeous planter from a London based company called Mayne.

In a rather random-seeming but enjoyable encounter, Rachelle and Paulette from de-light photography, visited our meeting centre and asked if they could take some product photos for a job they were doing for Mayne.

Being summer - and therefore not very busy - we said that of course they were welcome to come in a take a few photos - and our office reception area is now blessed with this beautiful sight!

Better than what we had before eh?

The photographers also left behind a product catalogue from Mayne, and my co-workers and I were all rather impressed with their products which included, planters, mailbox posts, and storage containers to name a few. I was particularly impressed by the rain catcher (it can't rightly be called a rain-barrel - it's too stylish for that!)

Next time, I'm in the market for this type of product, I will definitely be on the look-out for Mayne (I hear they're at Home Depot). It's always nice to support a local business when you can - especially when the products look as good as this.

Great food and atmosphere at Pinecroft

You don’t have to go far to experience the many great attractions and hidden gems that are right here in our own backyard. And my husband and I make it a priority to discover new (to us) places each year that we can enjoy together and recommend to our friends and family.

And sometimes our friends recommend places to us too. This was case when some friends from Toronto came to visit us this summer and told us about a great little place to eat in Aylmer called “The Green Frog Tea Room”.

The Green Frog is part of the “Pinecroft” which is a business that includes the tea room, a pottery studio and gift shop, a stage that features musical guests each weekend during the summer as well as a gorgeous pond and grounds for guests to explore. It is a place that is dripping with romance.

The food at The Green Frog is outstanding! Everything is fresh and many of their dishes are served in the stoneware pottery that is made on the property.

It was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. My husband and a delicious lunch of chicken and dumplings and then spent a couple of hours browsing the gift store and exploring the grounds. The pottery studio was open so we were able to spend some time speaking with the potter and learning more about her craft.

This is definitely a place that we will be visiting again and recommending to others!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Borage growing in my garden

This is my first year growing borage - I grew it from seed and at first I wasn't sure if anything would grow at all because many of the seeds appeared to be crushed. But two plants are doing quite well now. And in case you don't know what borage is (I didn't before I received the seeds) it's this beautiful
flower which is edible and tastes like cucumber! Image all the fun I can garnishing salads, desserts and fancy drinks!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Londonlicious at Delta Armouries

The following is an article that I previously published on July 17th 2012 after being chosen to be the "Ultimate Taste Tester" for the Delta London Armouries for their Londonlicious menu:

Yesterday evening I had the priviledge of being the "Ultimate Taste Tester" for the Delta London Armouries for their Londonlicious menu. I went with my husband Werner and we each ordered completely different items so that we could sample as many different things as possible.
As always, the staff was amazing and the Delta always provides such a romantic atmosphere.
I started with the watermelon and feta salad which was delcious and refreshing - I loved the lime dressing. Werner got the scallops. (I'm not a scallop fan myself so I didn't try them, but Werner said they were cooked perfectly and possibly the nicest he's ever had!)

For our mains I ordered the lobster stuffed chicken and Werner had the maple glazed salmon.
The skin on the chicken had a beautiful crispness to it and I the sauce was delicious. The potatos and vegetables were very nice and fresh.
Werner said the salmon was delicous as well.
And for dessert I had the vanilla berry mousse which was nice and light and Werner had the chocolate heaven. I actually tried to eat them both, but Werner wouldn't let me! ;)
As far as I'm concerned, I have always had a great experience when I've eaten at the Delta and I would definately recommend making them one of your choices for Londonlicious.

Welcome to my world

Traditional blogging wisdom suggests that you should decide upon a one or a select few topics on which to write about. That can be a problem for someone like myself who has TON of interests. So I've decided for now to write about everything and anything that interests be - I may become more focused in my blogging as time goes on - but it's not likely...

Anyway, a bit about me. I live in London Ontario Canada which is a mediumish sized city. My day job is working for a non profit organization in the communications/pr field including social media.

I am interested in topics related to health and fitness, travel, martial arts (I have a second degree black belt in taekwondo), food, wine, gardening and living on a budget. I am a left-handed introvert.

And why do I call my blog Quiet Winner - well being an introvert, I do tend to be quiet - but the winner part comes from the fact that I am an avid contester. In the past 3 years I have won over $25k in prizes from various contests and sweepstakes. Some but not all of my blogs will be dedicated to sharing how others can do the same.

My plan is to write about things that are of interest to me and hopefully to find some followers who share some of the same interests.

My husband and I will be going on staycation next week so when I come back, I will be sharing about some of the hidden gems in and around southwest Ontario.

that's it for now... but stay tuned.