I'm just....so normal

21 weeks

2009-09-23T15:50:00.002-04:00

I'm 21 weeks pregnant now. I have to admit, it's been harder than I thought it would. I'm pretty convinced that although some women having absolutely glowing and symptom-free pregnancies, the majority of women must have a post-birth amnesia where they forget everything to do it all again. Or women just lie to each other.

I've definitely had great days, but overall, it's been hard.
From week 5-20, I dealt with pretty strong nausea and morning sickness. I lost 11 lbs in the first trimester and am only now back at my pre-pregnancy weight. I used more sick days than I've used combined in the past 5-7 years! Sleeping through the night is a distant memory. Between the discomfort of being locked in 1 or 2 positions without waking up in pain or with numb arms and hands to peeing 3-4 times per night, I don't think I'll get a full night's sleep until this baby grows up and moves out. I'm also dealing with crazy hormones where I cry at commercials or spilling milk or screwing up the pancakes. I feel like there's an alien in my belly and I know I haven't felt anything yet!

But then there's the flip side. We found out we're expecting a little boy. Hearing his little heart beat fills me with warmth. And although he feels like an alien taking over my body, feeling and seeing him move is just unbelievable!

I'm starting to freak about how to handle a newborn and if I'll have maternal instinct kick in. I know things will be fine, but I'm now starting to face the reality we're going to completely turn our lives upside down in a few short months.

I'm sick with a cold and tired, so I think I'll go take another nap. I'll keep you updated. And maybe even post a belly pic soon.

Grown Up Things

2009-08-13T16:49:00.002-04:00

So we got married...and we are pregnant too!

We actually were pregnant before we got married. We were never going to wait and it just happened much sooner. It was definitely a hard time trying to put final touches on the wedding plans while throwing up on a regular basis. Morning sickness was not just for the morning. All day nausea was more like it. I lost 11 lbs in the first trimester, which likely made it easier to fit into my dress. haha! I'm still not back up to my pre-pregnancy weight, but I'm healthy, eating better, not as sick and growing a little baby!

While absolutely thrilled, I never predicted the feelings I'd have about the first few months. I never predicted feeling like my body wasn't mine anymore. Everything I eat and do has to have the baby at the forefront of my mind. And on top of that, the hormones have taken over so even if I wasn't actively thinking about the baby, my body certainly is reminded....constantly.

It's only the past few days where my belly is popping out a bit and I can feel my uterus above my pelvic bone. I listen to the heartbeat almost daily, thanks to a rental doppler. You know, even with all the feelings of being taken over by something the size of an orange, as soon as I hear that little heart beating, I melt. I can't even believe it!

I admit, I'm scared out of my mind. I love my sleep and have no idea how I'm going to adjust to middle of the night feedings, except I know I will just adjust. I am scared of holding a baby that new! I'm scared I don't know what to do right away and can only hope I have some sort of maternal instinct that will help me along. What I'm not scared of is how Steve and I will be as parents. Thankfully, raising his daughter with him has helped us immensely with communication skills, coparenting and learning to compromise. We are the one part of all this I'm not scared of.

We did it!

2009-07-25T15:32:00.002-04:00

So...I'm a married lady now! :)

The day was wonderful! I'm so glad we picked the date we did and did it how we wanted. I'm also glad we sprung a bit more for great food instead of bland wedding chicken. haha. Lots of wonderful compliments on the planning and how much fun people had. It was really a truly wonderful day.

Now to settle in and sort through all the shower and wedding gifts, put them away, send thank yous and unpack. For now, I'm going to keep lazing on the couch.

Overwhelmed

2009-05-05T21:11:00.003-04:00

I feel like my head is spinning. Work, life, money, work, life, wedding, family, tired, work, life, work life. Sigh. I can't wait until the long weekend when work will calm down and I won't feel so stretched. I mean, overall, things are going well in all of those areas. I just feel like things are so busy right now and they're only going to get busier.

We're having a Mother's Day bbq at our house on Saturday with my mom and Steve's mom and dad. I like playing the hostess so it'll be nice to have everyone over.

...I miss my dad though. I don't say it out loud, but I think it so many times in the day. From the little things I want to call and chat with him about to the big conversations. Actually, just knowing I COULD talk to him would suffice. I can't beleive it's almost been 4 months. The closer we get to the wedding, the more anxiety I get about not having him there. My mom will be walking me down the aisle. We're making a donation in his memory in lieu of favours. We're ditching the parent/child dance. I always wanted 2 things when I dreamed of my wedding: a great man to marry me and my dad to walk me down the aisle. Okay...now I'm welling up. This wasn't meant to be a sad post.

On a good note, my dress is in, I've had my first fitting and it fits like a glove! I'm working on some DIY wedding stuff like the photo card box, my veil, and a flip flop basket. I'll post pics when I'm done, for those of you interested in DIY (Jooms) ;)

Alrighty, better get a few things done. Be back soon!

98 days to go!

2009-04-10T20:37:00.006-04:00

I can't believe we're in the double digits now. My days are consumed with work and my nights have been sprinkled with wedding planning. The good thing is that I'm not consumed by it, I feel really great about where things are and the big things are done. I've made my "to do" list and now I feel like the fun stuff is happening. I like the little things. And now we're into the little things. Yay! Here are a couple pics of the invites my sister and I made and our flower girl (future hubby's daughter) in her flower girl dress. She'd like to accessorize with shoes with flowers and sparkles and hair clips with flowers and sparkles. Ladies and gentlemen, the kid's got princess fever.

Enjoy!

115 days!

2009-03-24T15:54:00.005-04:00

We're 115 days away from the wedding date. Yowzers! I can't believe how quickly time is flying by. As I waited for a meeting today, I did up a to-do list and it's long and double sided. There's a lot to do. And we're not even going all out! Thank goodness. I can't imagine dropping that much coin on one day.

Anyhoo....we've booked the venue, officiant, photographer, honeymoon condo. We've got the wedding bands, a DJ, ordered my dress and my sister's dress, invites will be going out in April, florist reserved. We've got a few meetings coming up next month for menu tasting and the reception details. It's crazy. haha Thankfully I'm an event planner at work and this stuff isn't overwhelming.

I'd post pics of the dress, but my future hubby can't be trusted. Here are a couple other images for your perusal!

Dancing Shoes ;)

Flower Girl Dress

Night in...alone...

2009-02-03T21:35:00.002-05:00

I haven't had a night alone in a long time! I'm sitting here, vegging on the couch, watching bad tv, and surfing on the laptop. Boorrrrring. But so relaxing. I don't have to share the tv :) Niiiice.

Here's hoping when he comes home, he's coming with good news (that we have a best man!) *fingers crossed*

Back to bad tv, lounging and surfing.

Adios January

2009-01-29T19:56:00.002-05:00

Thanks for the supportive comments. :)
I've been okay. Took a couple days off this week. Ups and downs. I'm okay right now. I think my mental state switched a bit to "get things done. you have 5.5 months until the wedding and everything to do"
It's nice to have something nice to focus on. I don't know how many people have come up to me with the sympathy look and saying it's too bad my dad won't see my wedding. If anything upsets me right now, it's really thinking about that. So I'm trying not to.

I don't know about walking down the aisle. Who should do it if anyone. Steve and I talked. I may walk half way and he picks me up and takes me the rest. I don't know.

We're getting out of dodge for the day tomorrow. It'll be nice to have date day just the two of us. Then a hockey game tomorrow night. Distraction. Such a good thing right now.

In a flash..

2009-01-26T15:34:00.002-05:00

In a flash, life changed.
In a flash, happy turned sad.
In a flash, my family was altered.

I replay the knock on the door and my mom and sister standing there with tears in their eyes. I reeled back into the house and all I remember was crying no, no, no over and over. I knew why they were there. I knew my dad was gone. I'll never understand why he was taken so soon and why we won't have a longer life with him, but I will always be thankful we didn't lose him 10 years ago when he had his massive heart attack and bypass surgeries. I'll also be thankful that when he had his 2 strokes almost 3 years ago, that he survived those too.

I have to take comfort that he didn't go painfully.
I have to take comfort that he got to see my sister and I reach life milestones I know he wanted to see.
I have to take comfort that I have years and years of happy, wonderful memories.
I have to take comfort that he'll always be with me.

I'm sad right now, but I know time will heal me.

2008 - A year in review

2009-01-07T20:37:00.002-05:00

01. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?
Get engaged!

02. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I didn’t make any last year.

03. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Shannon had a baby boy. My friend and coworker gave birth in the summer.

04. Did anyone close to you die?
No, knock on wood.

05. What countries did you visit?
I stayed in Canada.

06. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
Some peace and quiet from some baggage.

07. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
January 18th – My 30th birthday
November 23rd, the day S proposed.

08. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Settling into family life and being able to balance my career with it.

09. What was your biggest failure?
Letting stress get to me too easily.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I caught every bug E brought home from the day care.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
My laptop!

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
Not sure. S maybe. I watched him grow into being a wonderful father.

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
S’ ex-wife.

14.Where did most of your money go?
bills and debt.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Getting married in 2009!

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?
I’m Yours: Jason Mraz.
No one: Alicia Keyes
Odette: Matthew Good.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
happier or sadder?
Happier.
thinner or fatter?
Thinner
richer or poorer?
Poorer.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Work out.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Stressing out about things out of my control.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
With S and E, my parents and sister and his parents. So great!

21. Did you fall in love in 2008?
I sure did…every day, more and more.

22. What was your favourite TV program?
Nothing stands out.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Nope.

24. What was the best book you read?
I didn’t read much last year. Bad Nicole!

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
No one new this year.

26. What did you want and get?
Laptop.

27. What did you want and not get?
Nothing!

28. What was your favourite film of this year?
Not sure. Nothing stands out.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I went for a few dinners. I turned 30.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Less stress.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
Business casual and at home, comfy.

32. What kept you sane?
Talking about things.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
None

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
Watching our tax dollars fly out of our pockets for more elections.

35. Who did you miss?
My parents. I don’t see them as much as I used to.

36. Who was the best new person you met?
Ummmm…not sure.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008
Talk about things that bother me.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
“Hey Midnight. Turn on your lights and roll out your stars.”
Odette, Matthew Good. Great lyrics!

Happy 2009

2009-01-02T14:21:00.002-05:00

If what you do on New Years is any indication of what the year will hold, I think I'm going to have a pretty relaxing year. Haha!
I spent the entire day in pjs yesterday. Total bliss.

It's almost time to get back to the grind. I have to admit, I'm glad I booked a couple more days off and won't return until the 8th. I could use a couple more days of relaxing and taking it easy. It's going to be a busy few months. I have a lot of work ahead of me work-wise, the wedding to plan with S and anything else that may crop up.

How are you internet readers? :) I've missed this a little....

End of 2008

2008-12-29T20:03:00.003-05:00

Well, in true slacker form, I'm posting about 4 months after the last post. I'm pretty sure tumbleweeds blow by my little space on the net.

For what 2008 was for my friends and loved ones (not a good year), I have to admit that it has ended beautifully for me. For those of you who don't know, I am getting married in 2009!! S proposed at the end of November and we've taken a big leap into wedding planning, as we prepare for our July wedding. I'm so happy and excited and loved.

I hope for all the downs you may have had in 2008, your ups were higher. And I wish you the best for 2009!

Almost a year (in two days)

2008-08-17T14:38:00.002-04:00

So...it's been a long while since I updated this thing. I'm pretty sure no one has been checking.

A year ago, my life changed forever from the smile of the man I was meant to spend the rest of my life with. In 2 days, we'll celebrate a year together. A lot has happened in this past year. A lot of growth, rebuilding, and most of all, a lot of love.

I remember thinking (longing painfully) for the ability to share my love with someone. The opportunity to grow a family and care deeply for someone who cares just as deeply back. As time went by, I started to accept that that day may never come. That I had to learn to accept and love being a single woman with a great career, supportive family and wonderful friends. I think when I stopped really caring (or focussing on it) about settling for life with just me, Steve walked into my life.

I've never felt more comfortable with someone who I am excited about partnering with for life. He's already a father so watching him be a parent was better than hoping he'd be a great dad. I cannot wait to raise our children together.

Of course relationships have their ups and downs and the baggage he came with and the emotional baggage I brought to the relationship can sometimes be trying, but the easiest part about our relationship is talking about everything. We work everything out. He is strong where I'm not. And I'm strong where he's not. Couple that with the way we are the same and I'm blown away every day that there was someone this 'right' for me.

While it's not official (we do talk about), I'm going to marry my best friend and I feel like the luckiest woman in the world. I don't know what I did right to be lucky enough to find him, but I'm glad I did it.

In Vancouver

2007-10-28T12:15:00.000-04:00

I'm sitting here in my hotel room on this gray, overcast day in Vancouver. The great thing about this trip is that it's not nearly as long as last year's was and I've experienced more days of sunshine. I have work to do today so being inside isn't such a bad thing. And I'm sick. I have caught a cold of some sort from some germy bugger somewhere. I'm feeling a bit miserable today and definitely looking forward to going home.

I did pamper myself yesterday. I went to this salon that only does wash, dry and styling and it was a fun start to the day. I've included a pic here. I like it.

busy and happy!

2007-10-09T19:44:00.000-04:00

Hi there strangers! I feel like I'm finally lifting my head to breathe in some fresh air. I can't believe how busy things got over the past few months. Shall we recap in bullets (as per usual?)

Went to Ottawa on a 'girls' weekend with my mom in June with the $500 via rail gift certificate I received. It was perfect timing as she was going through some health issues and we hadn't ever really had a weekend away together just the two of us. We had a great time shopping in the market, staying at a nice hotel and dining out.
In June my sister went through her very first break up and things were stressful and hectic around my apartment as she spent time getting over it. Thankfully, she did.
In that time (at the heartbreak hotel as we fondly called my apartment), I discovered culinary wizardry and perfected crepes with warm, fresh berry sauce. Seriously, talking about it now makes me crave some.
Took 3 weeks off in July for vacation and it was much needed. Spent days puttering around, day trips, even a trip to the beach. It was such a great time off.
August hit and those of you who know me and my job know that August kicks off the busy-ness until December.
Training of my team was going well until we hit a snag. I won't go into the details, but it was a frustrating time. Thankfully, I had planned ahead of time and everything worked out for the best.
Travel has started and I'm into the 4th week. It's been going well, but I feel like I'm starting to feel too old for it - not the connection with the kids, but how tired I am. This is my last week in Ontario until I head off to the other provinces. Next week I'll be in Montreal, then 2.5 weeks in BC, a 1/2 week in Winnipeg and then I head back out to BC for 3 more weeks. As much as BC sounds great, I know it'll be raining every day and I'm not looking forward to big hair and feeling damp. hah!
On a personal note, I started dating a really amazing guy back in August. He makes me incredibly happy and on the weekend, I met his parents. We cooked Thanksgiving dinner. It was great and I look forward to where this could go!
Bought myself a new laptop and I'm absolutely loving it! And it doesn't belong to work, which makes it even better! I'm almost done the process of moving all my files over (music was first of course) and then I'll be all set!

Overall, life is busy, but really great. As tired as I am, I can't help but feel I can't get rid of the perma smile on my face! I hope all of you are doing well too!

Slacker

2007-07-16T00:44:00.001-04:00

I feel like I start every blog entry with "it's been a while..."

Why should this one be any different?! It has been a while. The unfortunate news for you is that there isn't really anything earth shattering and new to report. I have been keeping pretty busy with work and life, but haven't been experiencing anything above and beyond. I'm pretty boring.

I think the last entry was in March. Work kept me really busy from that point until the end of June. I made one resolution this year and that was to work on work-life balance. That was okay for January, but it all went out the window at the end of the first month. At least I didn't resolve to lose 10 pounds and then disappoint myself with a bag of cookies or something. What I have done is keep trying to balance life and work. I realized that without work, my life is just an empty shell and my effort this year was to fill it. So I'm working on it.

At the beginning of June, I took my mom to Ottawa for a first class weekend. Last summer, at a conference, I won a $500 voucher from viarail. I wanted to give her a break and we rode first class to Ottawa. We stayed at a nice hotel on travel points and spent the weekend being tourists. It was a lot of fun and a great time for us to bond. We haven't spent time like that together in ages.

Today marks day 1 of the 2nd of 3 weeks I'm off for holidays. I decided since I didn't have time earlier in the year to take any vacation, I would force myself to take 3 weeks off this summer. The other great thing is that I decided that I wouldn't do anything major. So I haven't. It hasn't been complete relaxation though. My sister spent a good part of the first week at my apartment as she's been going through her first breakup. It has been an emotional ride for me as the big sister and some of my feelings caught me off guard. I didn't realize the 'mama bear' complex would shine as brightly as it did. I'm definitely excited to still have 2 weeks off!!

been a while

2007-03-17T20:56:00.000-04:00

I haven't posted since the end of January! February and the first half of March were incredibly busy. So much so that I've felt overwhelmed and exhausted. I'm happy to report that all of the projects and events went extremely well and I'm very proud of the hard work I put in and the hard work of my team.

The rest of the month is dedicated to a new focus on me. As selfish as it sounds, it's part of my unofficial resolution from the new year. This year, I had been forcing myself to remember work/life balance. It's no secret to those of you who know me that when asked what's new, my reports are usually only based in work and not in social activities. A terrible balance I was quite aware of last year and had vowed to change for this year. I think I started off well and the past month and a half was necessary because of issues at work. Now that it's over, I know I can go back to my work/life challenge :)

I started today by enjoying a 'me' day and forcing myself to not feel guilty about doing absolutely nothing. Tomorrow will be a cleaning/homework day, but I'll feel more motivated to do that having done nothing but grocery shopping today.

I feel good.

seriously?!

2007-01-25T20:36:00.000-05:00

You know that saying "if you want something done, you should do it yourself"?

Tonight I think it.

I make an honest attempt to trust in other people that they can follow through. Tonight, there is no quick fix as I'm 4579.2 kilometres away.

I can't turn back time. I'm just a little pissed. I'll be over it by tomorrow. ugh.

ahhh!

2007-01-13T22:28:00.000-05:00

I just got in from a great birthday dinner out with the fam tonight. I can't believe my 29th birthday is this Thursday. Aaaagggghhhhhh. :(

nothingness

2007-01-07T15:09:00.000-05:00

I took this pic last night.

1. my hair is getting quite long!
2. I just got my favourite sweater back from the dry cleaners.
3. that is all :)

Out with the old....in with the new

2007-01-02T14:37:00.000-05:00

I bit the bullet. It was time.

In 2004, my dad called me up and said a friend was selling their car and did I want to buy it. It was a good car at a great price at the right time. I jumped on it. In May 2004, Hal (Jalepeno) became my first car!

A month after I got him, he started costing me money. I slightly regretted giving up my bus pass, but we got to know each other and he stopped digging into my wallet :) This past year, though, he was up to his initial tricks and began breaking down. These weren't inexpensive fixes either. I was forking out several hundreds of dollars at a time. I knew I'd be looking into a new car in Spring 2007, and I was hoping Hal would hold out. Slowly but surely, he was falling apart and I admit I was afraid to drive him long distances.

To make a long story short, my dad started researching some cars for me, got prices and we went to the dealership just before Christmas. We took a car for a drive and then all of a sudden, I'm filling out papers and becoming the 'owner' of a new car (I'm leasing). I picked up Berry on the 27th and traded my little Hal in. I didn't really believe I was getting a new car until I handed over Hal's keys and got a pair of fancy ones for Berry! I've been making up excuses to go out and run errands just to drive it. It's cute and I love it! Without further delay, here's my new car!

(I need to take a better pic of him. I felt a little embarassed in the lot.)
p.s. Berry's next to a lighter blue version of himself!

New Years Quiz

2007-01-01T12:54:00.000-05:00

1. What did you do in 2006 that you’d never done before?
New job at work, went to Winnipeg, leased a brand new car!

2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I didn't make resolutions last year.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
yes.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Yes :(

5. What countries did you visit?
Stayed in Canada, but went to various provinces.

6. What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006?
To feel like I've finally got everything together.

7. What date from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
I'd have to look up the exact dates, but mid-March to early-April are etched in my memory as very trying times - when dad had his 2 strokes and brain surgeries.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Starting to get my shit together! Career, school, life, finances.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Letting lack of confidence hold me back.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Just the usual cold.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
I revamped my wardrobe a bit this year. New car!!

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
My family. We really pulled together over dad's strokes.

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed/disappointed?
Nothing appalled or depressed me. I was a bit disappointed in a few friends this year.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Rent, paying off loans, clothing.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Coming back home after a very long trip out west (torrential rain, 2 week boil water advisory, snow storm...)

16. What song will always remind you of 2006?
I can't say one song will remind me of the entire year. Different songs will remind me of parts of the year.
City and Colour cd - spring, dad's stroke time, purchase of iPod.
Shakira "hips don't lie"/nelly furtado "promiscuous girl" - summer
Tomi Swick - trip out west

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
thinner or fatter? Fatter!
richer or poorer? Richer!

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Saving money, exercising, said yes to more social engagements.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Pondering instead of doing. (good answer Jooms! I'll agree!)

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
I spent Christmas with family. Due to everyone's conflicting schedules, we opened gifts on Christmas Eve this year, then spent the day relaxing and playing with presents. Christmas Day was dinner with extended family in TO.

21. Did you fall in love in 2006?
No.

22. How many one-night stands?
None.

23. What was your favorite TV program?
Grey's Anatomy.

24. Do you dislike anyone now that you didn’t dislike this time last year?
I don't think so.

25. What was the best book you read?
I'm still reading it - Blindness by Jose Saramago.

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
City and Colour, Tomi Swick.

27. What did you want and get?
new printer, new car, to not lose my dad.

28. What did you want and not get?
A boyfriend! haha.

29. What was your favourite film of this year?
I'm terrible at watching movies when they come out. I can't think of what my fave film would be.

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
My 28th birthday was a quiet one. I worked during the day and went for dinner with my sister (whose bday is a few days before mine). The dinner ended up being crappy, but we had fun!

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
I think my year was quite satisfying. The only thing that would have made it even better would have been having more self-confidence.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006?
Comfortable business casual.

33. What kept you sane?
Keeping busy, taking time for myself.

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
None.

35. What political issue stirred you the most?
Here's where my apathy bites me in the ass a bit. I honestly don't feel anything 'stirred' me. Perhaps I need to become an active participant in 2007.

36. Who did you miss?
The braver me from 2003.

37. Who was the best new person you met?
Alicia.

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2006?
Family is of utmost importance.

why my sister cracks me up

2006-12-12T20:58:00.000-05:00

We both were watching Degrassi but in our own apartments. This girl had skanky photos online and ended up with a stalker. Here is our conversation.

*Studying Lady* says:
I would never be that cool of a little sister if you had pics online like that.

*Studying Lady* says:
I'd be like SERIOUSLY nicole I had to call 911.. WTF?

Nicole says:
you wouldn't just put your head on my shoulder and tell me i just got turned around

*Studying Lady* says:
God will make it all okay.

Hustle bustle

2006-12-11T19:56:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it's December. I actually can't believe there are only 2 weeks until the holidays!

I did end up arriving back in Ontario safely. I left to catch my plane super early the Tuesday morning only to find out I didn't have a seat. With the cancelled/delayed flights that weekend, they didn't have the aircrafts they planned to have which meant my flight was down-sized. There were 60 of us without seats! At the gate, I got rerouted on a flight through Calgary. As I was on the tarmack, I looked two gates down and hoped my luggage would arrive safely on my original flight! haha!
I ended up arriving in TO about an hour and a half later than originally planned, but I was so happy to be home!

I took the rest of that week off to hang with the fam, do laundry, settle back into my apartment, go to office celebrations. It was nice! The time back in the office has been busy. Between work and evening plans, I've definitely jumped back in!

I started and finished my Christmas shopping yesterday and today. Now I just have to wrap it all! Holidays in about 2 weeks! I can't wait!!

I wonder what 2007's theme will be? hmmm....give it some thought peeps!

Snowcouver

2006-11-26T16:25:00.000-05:00

...just doesn't have the same ring as Snowlowna did last year.

It's snowing in Vancouver. I guess all my complaints about missing Ontario weather have finally turned around to bite me in the ass. It seems I'm now getting Ontario weather and all of you in Ontario have been enjoying a balmy end of November. Bah! I'm sure when I return on Tuesday, things will cool down and the snow will start.

As I write this, my mommy's 19 minutes into her first plane flight EVER! She's on her way to Dallas for a business conference and I'm so proud of her for travelling alone. We were texting during her wait in the terminal and she was excited/nervous. I can only imagine how nervous she was boarding the plane and then it taking off. I'm tracking the flight online and it's pretty cool to see where she's flying.

2 more sleeps for me before I get to depart the west coast and head back home. I'm really looking forward to it. Between all the rain, the boil water advisory, the mini blizzard, the very long month in hotels and the same boring wardrobe, I'm ready to head back. I miss my family and friends, my apartment, my cat, my Ontario.

Not fit to be paparazzo

2006-11-20T19:27:00.000-05:00

On my recent trip to find peppermint hot chocolate (seriously, my love of mint and chocolate is unreal) I happened across yet another film crew shooting a movie scene. I almost walked right by it again, not paying it much attention. Then I noticed the film trucks, pulled out my camera (which I had on me this time) and snapped 1 photo. I was so afraid they'd yell at me from across the street that I just got the one in. You can't see a whole lot and I think they were shooting in the lobby/entrance, but here it is!

don't drink the water....

2006-11-17T23:51:00.000-05:00

I've been singing that Dave Matthews song in my head over this boil water advisory. I didn't even know the word 'turbidity' existed until this week. We're not supposed to drink the tap water (which is a gross yellow/brown colour and not at all appealing) without boiling it. Thankfully, I already had a case of water in my room for the week and the hotel's been very generous in supplying us with bottles of water. Certainly puts my tea addiction at bay.

Between the rain, the pulled back muscle and this, I wish I was at home. Tomorrow I plan to go site seeing and do a little shopping to lift spirits. Just 11 days to go!

cosmo girl

2006-11-16T17:29:00.000-05:00

There's something about Starbucks that makes me feel so ~~ripped off~~ cosmopolitan. Especially when I buy it in Vancouver. Although I wasn't wearing skinny jeans and Uggs, a furry hat and a big scarf, I still felt like a city girl strutting down the busy downtown streets with my peppermint hot chocolate and super cute umbrella.

I literally walked through a crew filming a movie scene this afternoon. As I walked by the library, I thought it was a group of protestors and thought "that's pretty weird....wonder what's up at the library." Then I saw the film crew and the hollywood police swat team. Of course this would be the trip out that I didn't bring my camera. Dammit! And you can bet every other time I have my camera on me now, there will be nothing to see. booo

football madness

2006-11-12T14:43:00.000-05:00

Today is this and my hotel is directly across from the dome. There have been bull horns, cheers, music, and people filling the street since 10am this morning for the 1pm game. The hotel has been filling up all weekend with crazy men and women prepping for the big game. The room across the hall from mine is filled with middle-aged men, dressed in ridiculous outfits of orange and black. They are feeling the effects of their alcohol (I'm sure) and they just had a kick off in the hallway. Haha! They're now chanting "Argos suck." Reports on the news this morning say that they've sold just under 50,000 tickets for this even. Crazy! If the Lions win, I imagine the parties will be going until the evening.

Thank goodness tomorrow's a stat holiday and I don't have to work!

hotel pet peeves

2006-11-11T14:30:00.000-05:00

A few things about hotel life that bother me....

no do not disturb sign for the door....the housekeeper woke me up this morning
attack shower curtains.
shower curtains that do not shut all the way and allow for water to leak on the floor
what's up with the hallway decorations? Seriously....flowered carpets, striped walls
drunken neighbours/thin walls

This isn't all in my current hotel (thankfully since I have 17 more days to go). Just a list I've been keeping since my hotel stays started.

date update

2006-11-11T01:16:00.000-05:00

I forgot to mention how the date went in my last post.

It got postponed twice due to his, then my schedule. We finally met for drinks the Monday before I left. I set a time limit on it of an hour and a half with flexible enough plans after that if we were hitting it off, I could have easily stayed.

I'm glad I set the limit.

We met at the fountain downtown and as he said hi, I could barely hear him. No smiling. He shook my hand. lol. So formal and already I knew he was quite nervous. I tried to keep the energy and conversation up, hoping he'd loosen up a bit and relax.

We went to a pub and ordered a pint each. He was shaking he was so nervous so I knew I couldn't be the shy one. I really had to be my chatty self (which doesn't always come out right away). I asked questions, I went into detail when he asked me questions. His pint was going down faster than mine. He didn't smile until half way through the date! So awkward. And his eye contact was more like staring me down. I tried not to show how uncomfortable I was and just kept 'having fun'. haha!

After an hour in, I was ready to call it a night. He had ordered a second pint, though, so I kept up the chatting. Thankfully this wasn't as awkward a date as the last one I talked about, but it was still not an 'out of the ball part, fireworks, can't wait to see him again' date.

When we left, he said we should get together when I'm back from my travels and I said sure. I worry I'm too picky, but really I don't think I am. I knew he was nervous and I really tried to keep the conversation up and when he actually said, 'I'm really nervous' I said don't be! We're just hanging out chatting and getting to know each other. I was really trying to make sure he was comfortable. Maybe I wasn't so nervous because he was? Or because I didn't really feel that 'chemistry' between us. I don't know. I think we'd make good friends, but I'm not so sure about a romantic connection.

So...that's the update on that. Aren't you glad you waited for it?? LOL!

18 days to go!

2006-11-10T14:05:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm out here in Vancouver. It's a gray, rainy day as per my last visit lol. Last week I was in Winnipeg and it was snowy, cold and icy. I much prefer the warmer weather and the rain. This week I was in Victoria and it is really a very lovely city. I think of all the places I visit, that's my favourite. Maybe it's because it reminds me of home...it has a great atmosphere and the scenery is beautiful. My schedule was packed though so I didn't get to do a lot of site seeing.

As I mentioned, I'm now in Vancouver and will be here until the 28th. It's a long haul for sure! My sister asked if I liked my hotel room. I told her I'm going to learn to love it by the time I leave. No, in all seriousness, it's a nice hotel. The bed is comfy. I wish I had a little fridge that I could store snacks in, but I'm going to pick up some fruit and snacks tonight. I'm starting to get tired of eating at restaurants so I'm going to move over to grocery meals this weekend.

This weekend is a long weekend so I plan to take advantage of the extra time to do a little site seeing. I'm thinking of hitting the Granville Market and perhaps the Art Gallery. I need to get some homework done so the rainy weather will help that out a bit. Hope everyone's doing well in your part of the country!

Update again soon!

home sweet home

2006-10-20T19:21:00.000-04:00

I'm back! Montreal was great, but I was definitely looking forward to coming home. The hotel bed was ok, but it wasn't MY bed. I'm back for one week of 'local' travel and then out west. I realize after this week that I might have to break down and pack a second suitcase. I really wanted to try to go with one and my carry-on, but a month away, I will need a bit more - especially non-work clothes. Hmpf.

I'm dead tired. I was up this morning at 4:30 to catch my early flight. I had to have a nap this afternoon just to make it through tonight. Getting up, my body feels like jello.

Got myself a little date tomorrow afternoon....I'll keep you posted on how it turns out. heh...hopefully better than the last one I reported....or equally humorous for me to experience and share to all of you :)

updates!

2006-10-14T18:47:00.000-04:00

Here we go......

travel season has started. I've been to Ottawa (sorry I didn't get a chance to meet with you girls while I was there), TO and the KW region. Almost half way there!
I depart for Montreal tomorrow evening where I'll be for a week. I'm excited to go back. I'm already planning my Wednesday night shopping spree :)
I had my wisdom teeth removed on Wednesday. The swelling is going down, but Thursday and Friday had me sporting the Cabbage Patch Kid look. It was so very attractive. I've been on a liquid/soft diet. I feel a bit like I'm an old lady.
I've lost 6 lbs as a result of above diet
November 1st I head out west where I'll be gone until the 28th. Definitely a long stint to be away from home, living out of a suitcase and wearing the same outfits. I'm looking forward ot the trip though.
Went on a date a couple of weekends ago with a guy I knew in high school. I realize now that the reason I had a big crush on him was because we never actually had a conversation. He was a cucumber (term for guys who just sit there and don't talk). It was like pulling teeth. He must have thought I was a total chatterbox, but the silence was incredibly uncomfortable. Ah well. It's a question answered. lol This story is told much better in person because there's the straw/camel part that is best acted out by me.
I hope to blog a bit more while I'm away since I won't be busy with life things here...I can enjoy my evenings.

Keep you all posted!

back to school germs

2006-09-20T19:10:00.000-04:00

gah....I think I'm getting sick. Damn back to school germs. I've pumped in the vitamin c and plan to head to bed early. Hopefully this will pass.

fork in the road?

2006-09-10T22:49:00.000-04:00

it's coming to a head and I might have to make a decision. I don't know which way to go.

Look-alikes....doubtful!

2006-08-29T22:43:00.000-04:00

This is funny...but I don't see it.

Udpate...been a while

2006-08-12T12:36:00.000-04:00

I can't believe it's almost mid-August! Where has the year gone??
Here's an update in points so you can catch up in one little entry!

I completely cleaned my apartment. I sorted through closets, drawers, cupboards and purged. It felt so good I was on a high for a couple of weeks about it. I'm definitely a pack rat and it was to the point where I didn't have room for things and the clutter was stressing me out. I will not admit how many bags of things left my apartment to donation/garage sale/garbage, but it was a great relief to rid of them. I feel great about it now and only have a few things left to do (reshelve bookshelves and hang pictures). Here are a few pics! A few notes: my duvet cover was in the laundry, bookshelf is still a work inprogress, after I bought my couch, I realized old drapes look awful, but haven't replaced them yet, desktop is sitting on kitchen table until I figure out what to do with it, I was on my way home so a few things were ready to be taken out and are in shot, I do acknowledge that I have a lot of IKEA things. lol.

Had my 2 week vacation and I took it easy. My big goal was to clean the apartment and just relax. I didn't want to go back to work tired because I knew I was heading into the busiest time of the year for me. I was successful! Went home for a bit, had a garage sale and got rid of junk mentioned above.
The weekend before my return to work, I ended up in serious jaw/neck/head pain as my wisdom teeth were bothering me. It seems my wisdom is growing in later than everyone else's. heh heh. Booked an appointment with the dentist and they are scheduled to be removed in a couple of months. Boo.
That week was an expensive one. My car was jealous of the money I was spending on my teeth and decided to break down. 1 tow to the shop, 5 days and $558 later, he's back to normal. I had broken bushings (wiki it if you're interested) and the right motor mount was busted. Boo.
My contract staff started work this week and I think they're awesome! I'm so excited about them! I think it's going to be a great training month and I can't wait until they're on the road because I think they're going to thrive there.
My HR class wraps up at the end of the month and I have definitely neglected it. Oops. I knew I shouldn't have taken a summer course, but I did. So I've got a lot of work to get done this weekend and next.

There you go! A little of what's been going on since the last entry. I think I've procrastinated enough writing this entry that I should really do that homework I was talking about.

what rocks

2006-07-25T17:52:00.000-04:00

you know what rocks?

well, yah, me, but I'm a who not a what.

early 90s dance music rocks...well maybe not rocks technically, but rawks!
"another night another dream of love so true, like a vision of love..."

Too much

2006-07-17T14:24:00.000-04:00

I have too many clothes....that I never wear. I'm in the process of cleaning out my dresser and closet and so far I have 2 bags of clothes for donation. Purging really does feel good!

Back to it.

p.s. I'm on vacation! I have been since Friday and I don't go back until the 31st!! YAY!!

btw.....

2006-07-05T19:15:00.000-04:00

.....beverly hills 90210 is in syndication on some revamped channel and I'm obsessed with it, much like I was in junior high. Oh the days of tapered jeans and big hair.

Spring fever...I'm a late bloomer

2006-07-05T19:09:00.000-04:00

I've caught Spring Fever. Not the boy-crazy kind, but Spring CLEANING Fever. I do realize it's summer. I've been purging and ridding myself of the clutter. Maybe it'll clear my mind too.

Alright, here's an embarassing fact and why I'm sure I'll have a hard time finding someone who will want to live with me one day. I cleaned out my kitchen cupboards. Good thing. Found some products that were passed their expiry date. Bad thing. The oldest expiry date was on unopened salad dressing. 2003. Whoaaaaa. Seriously, dry goods are not my thing. I don't consume them (obviously). Now my cupboards look like they belong to a poor frat boy. But I feel so much better :) Time to restock! jokes.

I also cleaned out my fridge. I found a jar of dill pickles from I don't know when. And another jar from the days of yore. Seriously, what kind of phase was I in?!? Both were frozen because my fridge is annoying and now both are gone. I'm still in a fight with my fridge. Seriously?!! Why must you freeze EVERYTHING you damned fridge!

Yah....you clicked on my blog to read this. Silly. Carry on team!

Lazy Sunday

2006-06-04T15:11:00.000-04:00

I didn't mention that I signed up for a creative gourmet class which started last Thursday. I loved it! Well, I grew to love it. After the introduction to the chef and the huge stainless steal kitchen, we were given our recipes, divided into groups and were left to make our creations. I had an overwhelming "what the hell did I sign myself up for" thought that disappeared about half way through the class. Thursday's class was stocks and soups. Sounds easy, but wasn't. Well, the stock part was, but the soup part was definitely where you can go wrong. My group's soup was the best of the three the class made. The most tasty I think! Next week is salads. I'm looking forward to it. I don't think I'm the most creative person out there, but I'm great at completing tasks so it was neat to actually experiment with creativity and then complete and serve something we made!

Went shopping on Friday and bought an air conditioner. I caved. I just can't go through another hot spell like the one last week. I had the worst sleeps ever. Also bought some flip flops and two yoga sweaters.

Today I feel like doing nothing, but I'm trying to sort through the paper explosion in and around my desk. I'm visiting the fam next weekend and this week I'm pretty busy most nights so I want to try to tidy as much as I can today....whether I want to or not.

hotttttt

2006-05-30T18:53:00.000-04:00

yowzers! It's steamy in here. My apartment is a bit like a sauna right now. I'm trying not to melt into my chair as I type this. I think it's an ice cream for dessert night for sure. I'm glad I made enough dinner to have leftovers last night. Microwaving isn't as hot as oven.

On the hunt for air conditioning. Not so much for me (although I'll enjoy it) but more to keep the cat alive :S

weekend update

2006-05-28T21:11:00.000-04:00

This weekend was much more relaxing than I had originally planned and I'm glad it turned out this way. I ended up taking Friday off (lieu time) and ran errands. Saturday night I went to my cousin's 21st birthday party. It was....interesting. He's a city kid and was definitely brought up differently than my mom and dad brought my sister and I up. We're like nuns in direct comparison. I always remember leaving family functions and my parents turning to us in the back seat and saying, "we may have made a lot of mistakes in our lives, but we definitely raised two amazing daughters and did that right. Thank you for being so well-behaved all the time." I think this is why I'm such a rules-oriented person. I never want to offend or get in trouble.
We sat at a table with my dad's cop cousin and his two little girls who had crack running through their blood stream. Whoa did those girls have energy, but they're super bright and very cute. Cop cousin is going to set me up with a guy he knows. Should be interesting.
After the dinner portion, aunt is all excited about the "big surprise." Hmm...turns out she hired a "sexy, but tasteful stripper for her son" I turned to my own mother and said, if you ever do this, we will never talk again. Now I'm not a mother (yet) and I don't know how I'll really feel, but I can't imagine I'll be cool and comfortable enough to hire a skanky hoe for my son. Just me.

Lights dim and in comes the lady of the night. The young friends of my cousin were in their glory. The ladies (various family members and neighbours) were a bit shocked and looked away at the really raunchy parts. My aunt assured us this lady wouldn'tbe taking off clothes. Yah right! She underessed my cousin to boxers and then was herself left in her undies. At that point, my aunt was pissssssed. She was trying to get the lady out of there. My dad thought it was hilarious (aunt is his younger sister). Siblings never change their behaviour :) We busted out of the party soon after all this. Definitely an interesting experience. I can't imagine my 21st birthday party (had I been thrown one) would have been anything like that.

Sunday, slept in, made crepes for breaky, read for while, did nothing much. :) Can't believe it's back to work tomorrow morning.

uhhh...nproductive

2006-05-27T16:29:00.000-04:00

I didn't end up making it to the gym. Nor did I put my laundry away. I made a semi-To Do list and I'm ready to head to TO for the party. I did do some reading on the balcony though. Seriously, I don't know why I think I always have to be doing something on a weekend. The week's busy enough, it's not like I'm not living on the weekend. I am just choosing to have a low key one :)

Hope you're enjoying yours!

oh! one more thing...

2006-05-26T23:47:00.000-04:00

...I forgot to mention that I stole a lady's cart today at the grocery store. I was in the produce section getting all my fruits and veggies and left my cart at the end to go pick up some green beans. I grabbed it when I was done and went off to get my loaf of bread. It wasn't until I put the bread in that I realized I had someone else's cart. I certainly didn't put the giant bag of red apples in MY cart. So I went back and found a lady wandering through the department waiting for her cart to be returned. Luckily mine was still there too. ooooooopps.

day off

2006-05-26T22:56:00.000-04:00

Today was a great day off! Well deserved, if I do say so myself :)

Got up early and went to the salon for a pedicure. I've got some pretty cute toes right now. I'm loving the colour. Headed out in the pouring rain to run more errands. Went to my sister's store to see what she looked like. I haven't seen her in weeks. I can't believe we live in the same city and I see her about as much as I did when she still lived at home. She looked the same, in case you were wondering.
After that, I headed over to the grocery store to get some food. Got everything I needed. I'm trying this stir-fry dish from my new cookbook and had to pick up some stuff I'd never heard of. Can't wait to try it out though!
Came back home and had a little bit of lunch and a while later took a little nap. Woke up, watched a movie, made a great salad for dinner and washed dishes. Definitely the right amount of low-key activities I was looking for today.

Tomorrow's tasks - gym, put laundry away, make To Do list, go to TO for a birthday party.

Ultimate!

2006-05-18T22:29:00.000-04:00

I played my first games of Ultimate tonight. It was more running than I was anticipating! It was a lot of fun though and I'm glad to be playing.
The fields were complete mud, though, and I now need a new pair of shoes for the gym. I threw out a pair of socks and I'm hoping to salvage the pants. One run through the mud puddle and my shoe was actually suctioned off my foot!

Things I did before graduation....

2006-05-09T20:22:00.000-04:00

EDIT: I've only done the things in bold - what kind of girl did you take me for!?!

*live off campus - Ah Chartwell and Fosing Lee
*spend the summer in guelph - beer and nachos as Pablos
*paint the cannon - so many times!
*ask a professor for 3 extentions on an assignment
*attend a varsity game
*dress the naked folks on the fountain downtown
*read a novel - unassigned
*skip a class
*go to class
*sleep through a class
*kiss a boy
*kiss a girl
*vote in the CSA election
*vote in a municipal election
*sit in on a class you aren't a part of - even wrote the weekly quiz under an alias
*take over the discussion in a class you aren't a part of
*perform live music
*go to a play
*order in
*pick up the tribune from the ontarion racks and move it
*pick up the peak
*pick up the ontarion
*play intramurals
*ride all the bus routes
*get 91% on an exam
*get 19% on an exam
*go vegetarian
*resume eating meat
*pub hop in the south end
*patio hop
*bar crawl
*tell someone you go to "moo u"
*go drinking with your professor
*wear pyjamas to class
*join a club
*go to sunday night cinema
*go to the free noon concerts in the UC
*break into the tunnels
*set off the book alarm in the library
*have sex in the library

*volunteer at the ontarion
*write a letter to the ontarion
*take a dip in the pond
*swear at the folks at financial services
*trayboggan by lambton hall
*pull an all nighter
*pull an all nighter and then fall asleep at miss the due date
*take personal hygiene lightly
*walk the animals at the OVC
*drop out
*smoke a cigar
*drop acid and smoke a cigar
*get free CDs from the sucker Arts and Culture Editor at the Ontarion
*see the cow with the glass stomach
*get your hand caught in the cow with the glass stomach
*send an ontarion classified to the most beautiful person on campus inviting them to go to the college royal ball
*after recieving no response, take out another classified to sell your no longer needed ticket
*change your major - 3 times
*bike to guelph lake to see the hole in the lake
*go to the farmer's market
*smoke a fatty
*sit and ponder life in the arboretum
*get lost in south residence
*get over your ani defranco phase
*take your drunk friend home in a shopping cart
*hand in an essay on time
*get free condoms from medical services - but I was an RA...I had to have them for my students
*help clean the speed river
*skinny dip in the speed river
*learn the difference between MacKinnon, MacLachlan, McLaughlin, MacNaughton, and MacDonald
*Try to book a personal appointment with Morty (Alastair)
*Realize your Professors smoke more drugs than you do.
*Count the discrepancy between the number of people on the bus and the number of beeps the driver enters
*play dress up with the begging bear

*volunteer at the peak
*go for a night's walk through the arboretum
*go to college royal
*go to fair november
*figure out how recycling works on and off campus
*streak johnston green (it's been done)
*visit an art show at Zavitz
*convince your RA to break a rule, and then blackmail him/her
*Hand in an assignment five days late without asking for an extention
*find out who really runs this place
*get drunk and eat sun suns
*stay sober and eat sun suns
*go to an aggie pub
*attend the hillside music festival
*visit the church of our lady (the outside of it, to take some nice pictures).
*find out why guleph is called the royal city
*swim in the fountain downtown (clothes optional)
*find scaleable building roofs downtown
*check out the square dancing club
*go to the HAFA resturant
*go to world on a plate
*put coloured dye or laundry detergent in the fountain downtwon
*make thanksgiving dinner in Rez
*go to a midnight swim in the AC.
*attempt to bike up gordon hill.

Springy Spring Spring

2006-05-06T13:11:00.000-04:00

I'm so excited for Spring, I just wet my plants!

It's a little cool out there today. I wore flip flops to the market and my toes were cold! I should have known better as I'm getting over this cold.

Just got back from my first trip to St. Jacob's market this season! I really love that place! I can't wait for the fruits and veggies to be in season.

Rest of the day will be spent cleaning. I think a tornado blew through my apt this week.

Happy day!

wowie!

2006-04-23T14:18:00.000-04:00

There is one trashy, upset, psycho of a girl standing outside the building yelling up to her (presumed) ex-boyfriend about things I won't type on here for all to read. Needless to say, I think she's tried to make this guy (who doesn't seem to care) jealous by doing vulgar things with his friends. I know this because that's what she's currently yelling for all to hear. Poor old ladies in the building listening to this...

Gotta love the west end

Summer concerts!!

2006-04-22T14:19:00.000-04:00

yay!! Just bought tickets to the second concert of the summer. The sis and I are going to Dave Matthews in June and Ben Harper in Sept! So excited!!

Hello Spring!

2006-04-10T20:33:00.000-04:00

I love Spring!

The blue skies, birds chirping, fresh air, new beginnings....

What a weekend

2006-04-02T19:41:00.000-04:00

Thursday night:
I call home to see how dad's been doing and mom starts to get upset saying she's concerned he's not recovering very well. He had fallen a couple of times the night before from losing his balance and he wasn't as chipper as he was the week before. Dad's hops on the phone and says, "when are you coming home, your mother's trying to kill me. She put the slippery carpet down in the bedroom and it made me slip" He's a joker like that and I laughed and told him to behave. Mom and I continued talking and I said she should gauge how he's doing and then take him back to the ER. Better to know if there's a problem or if this is just how things will be.

Friday, 3pm:
Mom calls me upset. They're back at the hospital in town and they're just waiting for an ambulance to take dad down to the hospital in TO again. whoa. Apparently the bleeded had happened again and he had just as much pressure on his brain as he did a few weeks ago. He needed surgery again. I gather my thoughts, talk to my boss/friend, wait for my sister to show up and we plan to do it all over again. We end up back at the hospital and dad's in good spirits, but his left side is numb again. Moving him from the chair to his bed was near impossible. His surgery was scheduled for the next morning and we went home at about 11:45pm.

Saturday:
Mom and I head back to the hospital to see how the surgery went. We talk quite seriously about them moving closer to my end of the province. 1. Nothing but the house is holding them to the town. 2. If dad can't work, it doesn't matter where he goes. 3. Mom was looking for a new job anyway and has more options out my way than where they are. I think I've almost got her convinced :) We arrive and he has the drain sticking out of his head again (gross). I joked around that they should just put a tap in there (like a keg) to drain any new blood pressure. He seems to be in more pain than last time and isn't feeling as well as the last time. He takes some codeine and eventually falls asleep. The dr comes in after a while and chats with us. Turns out 20% of patients come back within 2 weeks with more bleeding. This is normal. We're relieved, but still beside ourselves. Mom and I eventually make our way home and get there around 9pm. It's so exhausting!

Sunday:
mom and I made a visit schedule to give each other breaks. She's also bumped up her holidays to be more free. She sent me back to G-town this afternoon because I've just been bagged. I couldn't drive home last night because I was so tired. I think I've found the downfall to being the strength in the family. Once the adrenaline wears off, I wear down. Mom just called with the update and it seems now he's draining the right fluids out of his brain and not blood anymore, which means he should be done with the bleeders. The one downfall is he takes blood thinners for his heart (yes, we dealt with that in the past too) and with the strength and weaknesses of some blood vessels in the brain, he could have this all again in the future or he may not.

Looks like he'll be released again some time this week. We'll see! sigh. I just had a 4 hour nap. I could have slept all night.

wooohoooo

2006-03-30T22:06:00.000-05:00

Wrote my final exam tonight.

Got 91%.

Yes...I rock :)

update in points

2006-03-27T17:35:00.000-05:00

dad's doing better, still recovering
I'm doing well too....not as tired this week as last
almost done my class (thank goodness). Just a few assignments and the online exam left by Friday
bought an iPod and love, love, love it
I think my dvd player is busted
it looks like a tornado blew through my apartment with the piles of papers everywhere - I really need to clean it when this class is done
I'm so excited for this nice weather!!

to hell and back - emotionally

2006-03-16T23:27:00.000-05:00

Monday:
Took the day off sick with a killer migraine. Around 4, get a call from mom telling me to find my sister; we need to get to Toronto because dad's being transported there in an ambulance. "He's got a bleeder and may need surgery tonight" Find sister, call mom back to ask what the hell a bleeder is, grab some fast food and head into the foggy traffic. Migraine quickly disappeared when mom explained that the bleeder was on dad's brain. wtf. By the time we started to find things out, it was late - 12am late. We didn't get home until 4am that day. Felt like 3 days.

Tuesday:
Dad's scheduled for surgery in the morning to drain the blood that's putting pressure on his brain. We're justly freaked out. We're talking the brain here. What if the pressure is relieved but there's damage. What if he's paralyzed. What if his personality is altered. What if he dies. Mom and sister are emotional disasters and I need to hold the family together. I'm terrified.
By the time we arrived (on 3.5 hours sleep) he's had his surgery and first words are 'finally you're here!' Guess personality is fine...lol. He's got a tourquoise gauze turbin on his head and there's a tube sticking out of it draining his head of blood (barf). But he's ok so far. Not sure how the left side's doing (was pretty much paralyzed on Monday), but he's looking much better. We spend the day visiting, thanking any and all gods for his life, his health and speedy recovery.

Wednesday:
post-op CAT scan was done and it was clear - no more bleeding. Tube is taken out of his head. Physiotherapist comes along and does some tests. He's up and walking around. Everyone is damn surprised! Who has a stroke, is paralyzed on one side, has brain surgery, and is walking the next day? Oh, that's my dad. Seriously, we were (and still are) beside ourselves. Rumour from the doctors and nurses is that if he keeps improving, he might come home tomorrow.

Thursday:
We arrive right at 11am (visiting hours start) and he has yet to see his Dr. So we're not sure if he's able to come home. We do a couple laps of the ward and then hang out a bit. Just as his gross-smelling hospital lunch is arriving, a team of docs come in to give him his final list of rules before discharging him. We were home by 4pm! Mom buzzed his hair off and then he slept for 5 hours. He's looking great and walking around wonderfully. We're incredibly lucky and thankful and beside ourselves.

What a freaking week. Waaaay down in emotions to waaaay up in just a few short days. We almost lost him, but were blessed. I'm thankful....and exhausted. I didn't feel like it was his time to go, but my mom was more terrified that it was than I've ever imagined she could be. Seriously...what a week.

Wheeee!!!!

2006-03-09T20:35:00.000-05:00

Yay! Back to regular work hours!! As much as I like the shift in the first two weeks, the last two are brutal. My sleep schedule is so messed up.

Day off tomorrow! Off to find an outfit for the 70s party this weekend!

flood!

2006-02-23T19:46:00.000-05:00

Oops.....

Damn hotel shower curtains. They are so light and airy that I didn't realize the one side wasn't shut and I just used all but 1 bath towel and 1 hand towel to sop up the river flowing through the bathroom. Gah.

In BC...again!

2006-02-21T22:03:00.000-05:00

Hey there from 3 hours behind normal time :) I actually adjusted quite well to my bonus 3 hours this time around. I think my shifted work hours and sleep-ins helped that along. I'm back in BC for work and my schedule's jam packed!

I flew in on Sunday, but one of my pieces of luggage decided to take a later flight. It was actually a pretty good flight - great for people watching! I didn't end up with a window seat (sad) but I did have an aisle seat so getting up for pee breaks was super! The movie was Walk the Line and I really enjoyed it. Reese and Joachim did great jobs portraying the Cashes.

Had a couple days of visits and tomorrow is a big fair. Not as big as we do it in the middle of the country, but big enough for a lone rep in a 10x10 booth.

Fly out to Kelowna on Thursday morning and then back to Vancouver on Saturday to finish up my tour. Canadian Idol auditions are being held....maybe I should get in line *snicker*

censored

2006-02-12T20:28:00.000-05:00

I don't like feeling censored. Isn't that just part of posting my thoughts online, of all places!?! I've been blogging since 2001 in various places. When I started, I eased in and posted little tidbits of information here and there. As I became more comfortable, I started really putting it out there. I wrote about things I wouldn't dream of posting online now. Then my circle of readers got bigger. More real-life people started reading and I started to keep more thoughts in my head. I only let them read what I wanted them to.

Eventually, I erased it all. All the archives were trashed and I tried to start over. The truth is, I never just let it all hang out after that.

I'm starting to feel a bit more comfortable here again, but I'm hesitant to post too much. I want to tell you what's on my mind, but I don't want it falling on the wrong eyes. So here I am....typing away and not really telling you what's really on my mind. What is on my mind is bothering me. Perhaps I'll work out a more cryptic way to tell you about it.....

5s

2006-02-09T22:06:00.000-05:00

Stolen from Jummy (and edited to 5s since I can't come up with 7 things all the time)

Five Things to Do Before I Die:
*buy a house
*get married
*start a family
*write a book
*travel out of North America

And now 5 things that don't sound like a boring 'to do' list:
* enter and place in a lip synching contest
* run a marathon
* compete on Canadian Idol or Pop Stars with Itsy (if they revive it)
* drive across the country in a stolen car (kidding...I will use my own)
* thumb wrestle with a monkey

Five Things I Can't Do:
* write neatly with my left hand
* skate backwards
* eat raisins without gagging
* sleep if I know there's a bug on the wall
* not care even a little about what someone thinks about me

Five Things That Attracted Me To Blogging:
* everyone from Dland was doing it at the time (2001)
* my own little space for rants and raves
* people caring what I said
* not many real life friends knew what it was
* keep updated on people's lives

Five Things I Say Most Often:
* hey
* suppy puppy
* whatever
* the truth is
* yah

Five Books That I Love:
* Headhunter, Timothy Findley
* Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
* The Stranger, Albert Camus
* My daytimer
* the dictionary

Five Movies I Watch Again and Again: (I don't own very many movies as you'll see)
* Wizard of Oz
* home movies
* Amelie
* Serendipity
* Legally Blond

Bonus round - Five of the Last Unhealthy Treats I've Indulged in: (I haven't been eating unhealthy treats lately so this list is bland)
* chocolate chip cookie (tonight)
* diet coke (tonight)
* hot chocolate (Monday)
* M&Ms (yesterday)
* Hershey kiss (Tuesday)

getting there...

2006-02-08T22:27:00.000-05:00

I've been working on the procrastination list. I'm now only 2 weeks behind in my class. I took the Christmas tree down. I still need to file the bills and hang pictures on the wall, but I'm getting there! Baby steps.

:(

2006-02-07T23:03:00.000-05:00

I definitely do not like being the disciplinarian :(

with a pumpkin in one hand.....

2006-01-31T21:57:00.000-05:00

awwww...the kiddies make me laugh. Reminds me why I love my job. :)

come on baby light my fire

2006-01-29T23:00:00.000-05:00

There were no matches...not even a spark... I had to acknowledge it and let him know. So I did. And I try not to be disappointed that I haven't heard from him, but I guess not everyone is looking for a new friend. At least we both know where the other stands now.

procrastina...I'll finish the title later

2006-01-29T20:23:00.000-05:00

I've caught the procrastination bug. Dammmmit!

1. still have to take Christmas tree down
2. need to file bills that are piled in the inbox by my desk
3. need to answer week 1 &2 questions for class
4. need to hook printer up
5. I'm sure there's more....

Happy birthday to me!

2006-01-18T20:59:00.000-05:00

Today is my 28th birthday!!! Happy birthday to me!

It's been a super day! Thanks for your well wishes!

report

2006-01-17T20:34:00.000-05:00

So it went well! He was waiting at the theatre doors with tickets and everything! We were the first in the theatre and started chatting about stuff and things. It was cool. Watched the movie (king kong) which was ridiculous in most parts. It was cool. I think we're going to get together again. We'll see how it goes.

blind date (not the show)

2006-01-15T19:45:00.000-05:00

So I'm 45 minutes from a blind date. Yes, a blind date. Yes, a date. And yes, on a Sunday!? I'm freaking out and so nervous. But I am trying to convince myself to just chill the f--- out and just go and meet someone new. If things don't work out, no big deal. If they do, then they do. I'm such a novice.

I'll post the results ...probably tomorrow since by the time this freaking movie is done, I'll be home close to 1am.

eeeee

Happy New Year!

2006-01-10T17:45:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year everyone! I haven't been avoiding the celebratory phrase because I felt it wasn't a happy new year, I just forgot to log onto blogger to say so.

The days leading up to the new year were spent silently wondering what my motto or theme of the year would be. I say it like I do this every year. I did it once in 2003 and loved it. No Fear 2003. Remember J?
Well, I was trying to come up with a new one for 2006. My parents and friends even jumped in and offered their suggestions.

Make it stick 2006
Make it happen 2006
Love Fix 2006 (thanks to my family looking forward to a wedding that isn't on the horizon...no pressure...sheeesh)
Rock the boat 2006

The truth is, I couldn't come up with one. The other truth is that I just loved No Fear 2003. So, here I am, no motto. Any suggestions? The year's still new!

play that funky music

2005-12-29T15:44:00.000-05:00

There is a child who lives in the apartment above mine. I think she sounds like a herd of elephants.

She got a recorder for Christmas.

Can you sense my excitement?!

Holiday times

2005-12-28T21:08:00.000-05:00

I took a week off around the week I'm schedule off, which has been amazing for relaxing and getting some things done. Went home last Tuesday night with my sister to my parents' house. It was great to get there and help with stuff around the house, bake, get last minute shopping done. We found out my dad's uncle passed away Tuesday night so Friday we were in Newmarket at a funeral. It was great to see the extended family, but obviously not for the reason we were there. Ate me an egg salad sandwich at the legion with all the old relatives. Weird.

Saturday was Christmas Eve and we spent it prepping for Christmas Day, which was being celebrated at our house this year. I made up some gingerbread men and I hadn't laughed that hard in a long time. I kept saying the "not my gumdrop buttons" line from Shrek. So funny. We made some hysterical looking men. A couple lost limbs in the process, but it was so much fun.

Christmas Day was great. Lots of great food, company, stories and laughs. The typical political and hockey debates ensued and most of us girls glazed over. It was pretty funny. I imagine there are only a few of these left before we start to grow our own families and we branch off.

I was supposed to drive back with my sister Sunday night, but the snow was falling pretty hard and we decided not to risk the drive at night. Bright and early we got up Monday morning to get her to work on time. Poor thing having to work Boxing Day.

I can't believe I still have a week off before I head back to work! I realize I really won't be able to take time off like this until the summer so I'm enjoying every moment of it!

Hope all is well with everyone and that you all are having a great holiday.

smurfette

2005-12-06T20:50:00.000-05:00

Lookey me....all in blue hue...

I'm a big girl now!

2005-12-06T10:21:00.000-05:00

The beauty (not so much) of working contracts was that I was always hesitant to settle down in my apartment. Every 6 months, I was job hunting across the country, trying to find something permanent. As a result, I kept using the futon I got for free 4 years ago and have never decorated.

When I got my permanent position in October, I started to get really excited about the fact that I didn't have to search for jobs or prepare for interviews. I started to look forward to coming off the road so that I could finally decorate my apartment. I have yet to do that, but today I'm at home because my new couch and arm chair are being delivered! I bought furniture! I'm so excited!

Today I'm dismantling the futon (that my sister will now get) and I'm clearing the path for the nice delivery man to bring me my big girl furniture. I can actually settle down and stay put for a while. Yay!

datey date date

2005-12-04T16:13:00.000-05:00

Went on a date with this guy a couple of weeks ago. I went into it with a very open mind - trying not to think much about it and the what ifs. It was....weird. He kept saying "that's fun" or "that makes things more fun" when responding to something. I chalked it up to him being nervous. In all honesty, there wasn't a big connection between us....not anything that would lead to dating, but I thought I'd give it a chance and not write him off after the first impression. We've been trading emails and msn conversations since, but actions are speaking louder than words and I'm not interested in another date.

As open as I am to a relationship, I forgot how tedious dating can be.

O Christmas Tree...

2005-12-03T23:41:00.000-05:00

Tree went up tonight! wheee!

complete moron

2005-11-28T18:09:00.000-05:00

I didn't check to see if I had shut off my kettle after I emptied it and I ended up burning through the bottom of it. The kettle's currently cooling off on my balcony where the smell of burning plastic isn't making me gag. stupid.

almost there....

2005-11-17T19:24:00.000-05:00

...just 1 more week of travel after this one. I'm bagged. I'm so ready to have some 8:30-4:45 days in the office and to get my sleep schedule back on normal timing.

psychos

2005-11-02T19:10:00.000-05:00

Road rage is running rampant in Vancouver. Seriously...the drivers here are annoying. Not scary like they were in Montreal, but raging enough. And EVERYONE talks on the cell phone while driving. I drove by more accidents yesterday than necessary. I think it all stems from this crappy, rainy weathet. Lack of sunshine is turning them psycho.

4 more sleeps...

2005-10-31T18:26:00.000-05:00

....until I go home. I'm so ready. The weekend here pretty much wrapped things up for me. I'm now feeling the effects of being away for several weeks. I miss my apartment, my bed, Ontario time! I'm ready to go home and do closer regions. I spent the weekend here in Vancouver and when people talk about beautiful BC, they can't be referring to Vancouver! It's pretty ghetto! And the nice parts remind me of downtown Toronto. Nothing new. Yes, I admit the mountains in the background are nice to see, IF I CAN?!!?!? It's been raining since I arrived. I have to admit Victoria has been my favourite stop so far.

In Vancouver!

2005-10-27T22:30:00.000-04:00

I've moved on to Vancouver from Victoria. The few days in Vic were just amazing! Beautiful mountain drives...just breath-taking. Now I'm in Vancouver and so far it looks a lot like Toronto but with mountains in the background. I've settled in for the long haul on this one. I'll be here for over a week now. My hotel room is divine! I'm so excited I've got the longer stay here than my last hotel. I've been taking lots of pics and will post them when I get back to Ontario. I never thought to install the kodak program on my laptop...I also didn't think to bring my camera cable with me. You'll have to wait!

In BC!

2005-10-25T20:25:00.000-04:00

Hey there! Work has brought me out to the west. I'm currently in Victoria, BC enjoying the beautiful scenery. I have never been out here before and I'm loving it so far! I'm in a harbourside hotel so my view of the marina is just amazing.

new shoes!

2005-10-15T14:32:00.000-04:00

Yay for new shoes! I stand a lot for work, giving presentations and my old standards have had their run. It was time for a new pair. Well, I bought 2! Nice shoes and a pair of boots. Gotta love BOGO.

CELEBRATION!!!!!

2005-10-10T12:57:00.000-04:00

I just got a full-time PERMANENT position at my job!!! I'm so excited. No more contracts! Lots of benefits! A raise! So happy *BIG GRIN*

I didn't want to say anything about the process before I knew whether I'd get the job or not. I remember the days of having lots of interviews and no bites and I wasn't interested in jinxing it. yay!

7's

2005-09-01T21:40:00.000-04:00

Saw this somewhere...and then somewhere else...

7 things I plan to do before I die:
1. fall in love
2. get married
3. buy a house
4. settle into my career
5. travel to Europe
6. get a dog
7. love with everything I am

7 things I can do:
1. bake chocolate chip cookies
2. ribbit like a frog
3. use sarcasm in inappropriate times
4. play stick sports ambidextrously
5. come up with the perfect answer or comeback line way after the moment has passed
6. make up new words to songs
7. think of funny ways to make people laugh

7 things I cannot do: (or so it seems)
1. read only one book at a time
2. finally hang pictures on my wall
3. go a day without tripping or stumbling
4. pass up a good cup of tea
5. not eat chocolate
6. sleep knowing there's a bug on the wall
7. kill someone

7 things that attract me to the opposite sex:
1. sense of humour
2. build (tall and not skinny scrawny)
3. someone who looks like he's outdoorsy, but not a hippie
4. great smile
5. intelligence
6. open-mind
7. thoughtfulness

7 things I say most often:
1. suppay puppay (as in what's up puppy?)
2. peeps
3. dude
4. whatever
5. thanks/thank you
6. ugh
7. hi

waiting...

2005-08-27T01:58:00.000-04:00

I can't wait for the day I get to dance the slow dances with someone I love instead of sitting at the table watching everyone else do it....

....I hope I'm not single forever

travel season

2005-08-22T16:38:00.000-04:00

Work is right in the midst of taking every waking minute of my life. I admit I'd prefer it this way than twiddling my thumbs and being bored out of my mind. Got my travel schedule....everything I thought it was has now changed....good, but it means meeting up with people will be trickier and will require more maneuvering.

guh

2005-08-22T16:37:00.000-04:00

I can't believe I'm getting spammed in my comments already. Now i need to figure out how to delete them. hmmm...

vacation fun!

2005-08-03T23:48:00.000-04:00

I got to hang out with Itsy today!!! We went for lunch and then did some unsuccessful shopping at the outlet and bigbox stores. Well, I got a new bag, but otherwise we were unsuccessful.
I get to see her (and hopefully Jummy!) in about a month and a half! yayayay

this one is twofold

2005-07-27T19:47:00.000-04:00

this post is twofold....
1. I donated blood tonight (haven't done it in 3 years) and there's my owie
2. a pic for Jummy....excuse the mess behind me, I'm moving furniture around.

update on lunch date

2005-07-27T19:35:00.000-04:00

Ok...so the update on lunch. Lunch wasn't just with any old high school friend. It was with my high school boyfriend. We had such a wonderful young love that ended toward the end of high school. We almost got back together during university, but didn't. Then we had lost touch (with the exception of a couple of emails traded back and forth 2 years ago) for 6 years. We recently started chatting on msn and then I suggested lunch in person. Part of me wanted to see what he was like now....another part was definitely remembering old love. I've always compared every relationship to him because he has the qualities I want in my future husband.
It was a nice time. We caught up on each other's lives and gossiped about old high school friends. He's still an absolutely amazing guy who I adore and want in my life. As for rekindling any old love (the question everyone keeps asking)....well that is up in the air. He's just started seeing someone and it's been a long time. I am definitely happy we've rekindled our friendship.

VACATION!

2005-07-23T15:55:00.000-04:00

I'm on vacation...have been for a week now. It's so lovely *grin*
Last week I went home and spent some time visiting the folks and enjoying their a/c (I don't have any and my apartment is like a giant oven). Just relaxed, shopped, hung out. All good stuff.
Got back to Guelph late Wednesday and have been chilling out here ever since.
I am heading to TO tomorrow to go back in time - I'm having lunch with a high school friend. I'll divulge more after the actual lunch and see what we're like after 6 years of not seeing or really talking to each other. Should be interesting.

Went shopping today - bought new nail polish..purtttty. Going to go sit outside and read now. I'll update more tomorrow.

By request...

2005-07-10T20:24:00.000-04:00

Below is an update on my life, as requested :)

work contract ends Friday; next one starts up in August which leaves me with a 3 week 'holiday.' Despite lack of paycheque, I am looking forward to the time off. I haven't had any time off since last summer
Speaking of work, I wish something would happen or get nailed down so that I could avoid these contracts. While I appreciate being kept on all this time, I really want a permanent position
stupid people who live below me occasionally bang on the wall/ceiling still. I've complained and they turn around and blame me for making noise (or the cat). They banged again at 3:30am Sat. night and 8:20am Sat morning. I hope they blame it on the cat this time because he's been at my parents' house 2.5 hours away since the beginning of June (damn heat). So if they can hear him running around there, they have awesome hearing. Otherwise, they're banging on my floor when I'm fast asleep. Bastards.
I get so nomadic and have contemplated moving several times. But...the contracts throw a loop into everything. I'm not willing to sign a year lease if I'm not in a year position. We'll see how the winter pans out.
Still single....and tiiiiiiiiired of it. Seriously, it's been 2 years since I thought relationship thoughts about anyone and 2.5 since I was dating, and 4 since a real relationship. I'm ready for a boyfriend again. Seriously...I wonder how much longer this will take. Ugh.
This sounds complainy, but I'm actually pretty happy right now. Despite contracts and everything, work has been going extremely well this year. The future sounds promising, but I don't want to count any chickens before they've hatched.
The guy situation will sort itself out when it's time.
I'm thinking of taking a distance ed class while I'm on the road for work this year. It will keep me occupied at the hotels while I'm in and around Ontario.
I finally fixed my USB ports and can upload pics again. I'll just have to sort out how that works in blogger.
Did I mention I have 3 weeks off in just 5 days??? Sooooo excited!
to you Ottawa folk, I'll be there the week of September 19th. We need to meet up and play! :)

Ok, that's better than what I've posted in the past....I'll update more over my holidays (if anything exciting happens)

Because I'm a Copycat...

2005-07-08T22:10:00.000-04:00

From Itsy...

LAYER ONE: On The Outside
- Name: Nicole
- Nicknames: Nic, Nicky
- Birthdate: January 18
- Birthplace: Toronto
- Current Location: Guelph
- Eye Color: dark brown
- Hair Color: red
- Height: 5'7"
- Righty or Lefty: Righty
- Zodiac Sign: Capricorn
- Religion: not overly
- Sex: Female

LAYER TWO: In The Inside
- Your heritage: Canadian...back even more is Scottish/Irish
- The shoes you wore today: black flip flops
- Who you look like: my mom
- Your weakness: disorganized only at home...everywhere else I'm a wizard
- Your fears: rejection, disappointing people I love
- Your perfect pizza: BBQ sauce instead of tomato, chicken, tomatoes and feta cheese
- Goal you'd like to achieve: Get my career nailed down

LAYER THREE: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow
- Your thoughts first waking up: I don't want to go to work today
- Your best physical feature: eyes
- Your bedtime: weeknight - by 11pm; weekend - by 1am
- Your most missed memory: my nana and papa

LAYER FOUR: Your Pick
- Pepsi or Coke: Diet Pepsi
- McDonalds or Burger King: McDonalds
- Single or group dates: Single
- Adidas or Nike: Nike
- Chocolate or vanilla: Chocolate
- Cappuccino or coffee: Coffee

LAYER FIVE: Do You?
- Smoke: no
- Curse: sometimes
- Sing: yes, but never in public
- Have had a crush(es): Yes
- Think you've been in love: I thought I was in the past and want to be again
- Want to get married: yes, definitely
- Believe in yourself: Most of the time. Its tough sometimes though. (Itsy said it well)
- Motion sickness: no
- Think you're attractive: no
- Think you're a health freak: no
- Get along with your parents: Yes
- Like thunderstorms: I love them
- Play an instrument: not anymore

LAYER SIX: Have you ever...
- Gone to the mall?: Yes, more than I should
- Eaten an entire box of Oreos: No
- Eaten sushi: No
- Been on stage: Yes
- Gone skating: Yes
- Gone skinny dipping: no
- Stolen anything: I took my friend's eraser once and blamed it on her brother.
- Been caught "doing something": No.
- Been called a tease: No.
- Gotten beaten up: no
- Shoplifted: No

LAYER SEVEN: Getting Older
- Age you hope to be married: I would love to be married by my early 30s....even more I'd love a boyfriend. lol
- Numbers and Names of Children: Don't know
- Describe your dream wedding: something that is perfect for me and the guy I marry...
- How do you want to die: I want to die knowing it was coming and I said my goodbyes
- What do you want to be when you grow up: happy and not alone
- What country would you most like to visit: I would love to travel around Europe, Australia and New Zealand

LAYER NINE: In a partner
- Best eye color?: Any
- Best hair color?: Brown
- Short or long hair: Short.
- Height: I liek to wear boots so I want him to be at least 2" taller
- Best article of clothing: jeans and a t-shirt

LAYER TEN: In The Numbers...
- Number of drugs taken illegally: None
- Number of CDs that you own: Too many
- Number of piercings: just 3 now
- Number of tattoos: 0
- Number of times your name has appeared in the newspaper: a bunch...all good things

one...more...day...

2005-06-29T22:17:00.000-04:00

seriously, this week started off wonderfully well (great news with work, contact with an old friend...) but it's been dragging ever since. One...more...day....until...long...weekend. If there is a god, time will fly by tomorrow.

biiiiiig nap

2005-06-11T19:13:00.000-04:00

so after running around and doing things this morning, I came back to my apartment to melt and thought I'd just lay on the bed for a bit with the fan blowing on me. 4 hours later I woke up from my nap. I must have been tired!

saturday

2005-06-11T12:25:00.000-04:00

Got up early this morning and headed to the farmers market. I haven't been in years. Bought lots of fruits and veggies since I don't want to turn my oven on to cook in this heat. I plan to eat a lot of salads over the next little while.

Bought a new cell phone the other day. I love, love, love it! It's so much smaller and cuter than my old one. Aaaaaannnddd...I can take pictures with it. I have finally joined the current technological race.

Canadian Idol

2005-05-30T20:57:00.000-04:00

I know someone who made it through to Toronto! Yay!