it's raining outside

when it rains outside, all I want to do is stay home all day

i wish i could cozy up in a blanket

dream of curling up next to a crackling fire

reading a good book

sipping hot chocolate

smelling freshly baked goodness

i can't cozy up in a blanket for most of the day

i don't have a crackling fire to curl up next to

i need to buy a good book

but i can make hot chocolate

and i can make some freshly baked goodness

and then i can dream about the sunshine

and all the fun that a sunny day brings

deep fried pickles

club seats cheering the Hitmen to victory

entertaining ushers

sleeping in

catching up on 'the shows'

the smell of a freshly cleaned house

jasmine incense

jingle earrings

indian take out with good friends

strangers joining in on conversations

secrets and laughs

surprises

little personalities

island visits

vacation dreams

Sherlock Holmes

guilty Saturday's

pancakes

counting the sleeps until the next weekend

But I thought we were friends

Do any of you have service type acquaintances in your life that you feel like you are friends with in a weird sort of way? Like your regular cab driver that you always request? Perhaps the receptionist at one of your client sites that you always visit with? Maybe it's the person you see for all your waxing needs, the regular morning barista, the ups delivery guy or even the night security guard at your apartment building. The type of person that seems to know all about you and you aren't too sure how it happened. In many cases you feel like you know all about them as well. But are they really your friends? I wonder how many consider me their friend that I would not give a second thought to?

I have one of those 'friends' in my life. It's my hairdresser. I quite dearly like her and trust her implicitly - at least I thought I did. She knows my nephews by name and I know her sisters by name. Remembers my home town as I do hers. She knows all about why I love my job as well as why it drives me crazy some days. I know all about the drama with her and her hubby's brother and wife. We exclaimed over her engagement, she pulled out the wedding photos 2 seconds into my visit after the big day, she was one of the first that I talked about my love for a boy at length with and I couldn't picture my wedding day without her doing the hair for me and my girls.

Then something happened. She went away for a few months to spend some much needed time with her man (her works down in Mexico on the rigs) and just be married. During that time she referred me to a couple different people in her salon. She was only supposed to be away for 5 or 6 months so that meant I only had to endure one other stylist appointment if I timed it right.

The stand-in did an okay job but she was a bit of a gong show on the personal front. I knew immediately we would not be friends. But that's okay, my friend was set to return... or maybe not.

The time off in Mexico was so delightful, she extended it by a bit. This meant I needed to attempt the other stylist. What a delight she was. We hit it off right away and she did such an awesome job with my color that I knew I was in love. Before the third visit to my new found friend, my original stylist had returned. Now what to do . . . but I knew that I was enjoying the fresh look and so I made the tough decision to stay where I was - with my new friend!

That first visit was awkward . . . my freshly tanned back from Mexico friend gave me a hug, said she understood and we can still be friends then wished me all the best. I knew there was something missing. The look in her eyes said she was hurt. I stumbled over my words and managed to escape thinking that the first visit is always the hardest but glad that we were still friends.

Before I could make a second appointment my new 'friend' had disappeared to Edmonton without so much as a note. So I swallowed my pride and back to the faithful friend I went hoping now it really would all be okay. But something was different. I realized we may know the kinds of things that friends know about each other but we are not friends. We are merely strangers that share intimate details. And was I okay with sharing those intimate details with a mere acquaintance?

She's expecting now. I can sneak in one more appointment before her mat leave. She doesn't know how long she will take. I don't think I will be waiting. I think it is time to move on. Try someone new. Hope I don't go bald through the search . . . . and this time . . . I don't think we will become friends . . .

Pizza Showdown

In case you haven't figured it out already, I love eating. And for those of you still wondering - it takes a lot for me to get tired of pizza.  Don't judge me - we all have our guilty pleasures! Thank goodness pizza happens to be one of Jimmy's as well.

So somewhere over these last couple of months, it has become our mission to try all the joints out there claiming to have 'the best pizza in town'!

First up in this post, Pizza Bob's, located accross the river on Kensington road and Memorial.

I ordered a meaty boy pizza and a chicken and pineapple'ish girly pizza. Jimmy stopped in to pick it up on the way to my place for a night in. He really liked the vibe and the pizza wasn't too shabby either!! Nice thin crust, fresh toppings, cheesy; everything a pizza should be. I still think that Vogglio edged it out ever so slightly though. Vogglio's pizza crust was just that much thinner and slightly crispy and the vegetarian girly option was sooo yummy. Pizza Bob's veggie options didn't appeal to me quite as much.

The other pizza joint I want to share with you came through a recommendation from Mel! She was all amazed by their donair pizza.

To crank it back - donair pizza is incredibly popular in Nova Scotia (and I would venture to guess other Eastern provinces as well). I was first introduced to donair pizza in Antigonish, when Jimmy took me to see his home for the first time. The Wheel Pizza and Sub Shop is a local pizza shop that the majority of Jimmy and his friends love so much they will even have uncooked pizza's brought out by visitors. I will honestly attest that the donair sauce is second to none and the pizza is pretty darn yummy!

Soooo when I heard about donair pizza in Calgary, I knew we had to try it! It has been a while in the planning for various reasons: Jimmy wasn't too sure if it would be as good as the claim, they don't deliver to any of the areas of town that we frequent; there were other pizza joints much closer that we had yet to try. But finally the time was here. It was a bit of a gong show trying to order - was I asking for three sauces or a side of sweet sauce - you can see how that would be an easy mistake to make! Struggled through it and we were off.

The result: Seniores Pizza was quite a delightful surprise. Their donair pizza is the best Calgary has to offer (the Wheel is still better) and if you mix a dollop of the garlic sauce with one of the 4 sweet sauces (yes that is right - trying to correct the order to 1 sweet sauce I somehow ended up with 3 + 1 or 4 sweet sauces - and I don't think it had anything to do with how cute I am) you will have a pretty yummy dipping blend.

The unanimous verdict is that if we have a hankering for a little donair pizza, Seniores is certainly worth the trip, regardless of the adventure it takes to get there. And you can't go wrong with a little Jones cream soda for the journey . . .

Laugh out loud (REAL LOUD)

Jimmy outdid himself this time

he asked me to help out with a couple of things

I said yes

he bought me a present

not any old ordinary present

but the 7th season of Gilmore Girls

I looooovvvvvve the Gilmore Girls

I love Jimmy more

Wow, it feels like time is slipping away so quickly and I am not too sure where it slipped too . . . I will admit though I am certainly loving the beautiful weather outside which might have contributed to the status of my days. There was also this little thing called OUR FIRST CLIENT RELEASE OF OUR NEW PRODUCT that happened at work. That also might have contributed a bit to my mental state as of late considering I had worked every night for the last two weeks. But all that aside, I did manage to slip in some adventures.

There was the sewage that flooded the apartment lobby. Bright and early - before the stomach had awoken for the day I was greeted with the pungent odor and the distinctive squish of wet carpet beneath your feet. Eeew!!!! It was ankle deep by the time I reached the outside door. Fortunately I had chosen a cute skirt and my knee high boots; unfortunately I had to walk all the way to the office before I could wash off my boots . . .

And there was the fun birthday planned for a friend out in Banff. After a lovely Saturday brunching and cruising with the top down I met the ladies at a little restaurant for dinner. By the time we were ready to move on, I was feeling incredibly ill. I spent the rest of the evening watching bad Banff hotel TV and waiting for the nausea to pass.

Then there was the moment Sarah and I decided we want to sample two kinds of ice cream . . . for the record - the double is the size of Lincoln's head!!!! But oh such a perfect treat to stroll through Garrison woods with. Just watch out for vehicles reversing. They don't always look in their rear view mirror first.

Finally there was the lovely dinner with a dear friend at a yummy little mexican restaurant on south macleod. I quickly became a huge advocate of the beef burrito! The evening was a much needed break after a little thing called A PRODUCTION EMERGENCY ON THE PROJECT I AM WORKING that happened at work the day after the other little thing I shared about at the start of the blog.

Yeah, the past week and a bit has certainly contained a few adventures. But I think that is why I like my life so much most days. It is certainly rarely boring and almost never predictable.

Okay - enough procrastination! I need to get my work done so that I can head out tomorrow night to visit a friend and her new little one! Too fun!!!

Those kinds of friends

There is something special about those friends that you have known forever. You know the ones. The friends that taught you how to tie your shoes. The friends that learned how to read before you and so would read the books to you. The friends that got their license a whole year before you turned 16 and kept all the secrets from that year. The friends that witnessed your first school girl crush on Todd Georffey that moved away before he could break your heart. The friends that know your family almost as well as you do.

Some people weren't blessed by those kinds of friendships. But I was not one of those unfortunate ones. My dad didn't serve in the army or move all over with his work. Quite the opposite in fact. These friends all go 'home to Christmas' to the same house they grew up in. These friends’ families have had the same post office box in town since we first learned our address in school. These friends co-op numbers have not changed (my dad's is 765 in case anyone is driving through Southey and needs to fill with gas).


Not everything has stayed the same though. We have left and found our own way. Some have married and born children. We have loved, lost, grieved and celebrated. Each of these events has changed us, some ever so slightly, and others more than we will ever share with most people.


Regardless of how much we all have changed, we still choose to be friends. There is still something amongst us that binds us together. That gives us permission to speak into each other's lives. To dream together. To draw strength from each other. To love each other and accept each other as we are.


So ladies - this is to each of you. It was a blessing to be together last weekend. We may not have many photos to document the weekend. Our matching purchases are not for everyone to notice. However, we have some new memories to add to the wealth of old ones. We had many laughs. And until we meet again, you all know you are in my thoughts and prayers!


I love you girls dearly.

I got a special delivery this week.

They are gorgeous! Thanks mom and dad!!!

Vogglio

Once I realized that I had two food/dining out posts for this past week, I thought I better not post a third. But since I managed to post two in between, I thought I could slide this one in.

Finally tried a little pizza joint that is close to my apartment. From the outside, I didn't really know what to think. As a result I had been scared from trying it.

However from the delicious pizza I can tell you that others are right: Vogglio really does have some of the best pizza in town. The thin crust pizza was a definite hit!!! I would recommend the vegetarian margharita pizza if you love olives!

A breath of fresh air

Good Friday proved to be the perfect day to escape the city and its daily routine. We gassed up Zinny, and were off. Without a plan nor an end destination in mind, time granted us permission to stop wherever we wished. And stop we did . . .

We saw swans and bovines:

We witnessed geese skating

We made our way to the Rafter Six Ranch (they filmed Gunsmoke there you know . . . )

We drove through Canmore and took the long route home via Ghost Lake. The colors were spectacular.

We wondered over His handiwork

Late April Weather

Various nights as of late, the timing is perfect for Brenda and I to walk home together. At the point where we part paths we are both less then 2 blocks away from our respective apartments.

Tongiht was one of those nights. However, looking outside 15 minutes before the home bell rang, I wasn't too sure about this plan. Perhaps Jimmy would feel like being our night in shining armor...

(if you look closely enough you can see the effects of light snow flurries)

By the time Brenda's train arrived outside my office, the snow, rain and wind were gone. We Let Jimmy know we were okay and started the 15 minute walk home.

Within 2 minutes the wind picked up and brought with it sleet that felt like shreds of glass. We ducked behind a sign so that Brenda could wrap her scarf like a baboushka around her hair. I wasn't willing to give up the little warmth it was adding to my neck and decided to risk losing my cute hairdo instead.

In the end neither of us were better off than the other. Both of us had mascara streaming down our faces, our hair was soaked and our pants were dripping!

(This was the view from my apartment by the time I made it home)

Finally arriving at my apartment, soaked through to the skin, the sleet running down my face, I could not wait to get up to my place and hunker down underneath a blanket. But alas, my luck had not turned yet. The elevators were both broken - one stuck on floor 4 and the other on 17. After waiting a couple of minutes and continually pushing the buttons neither one had moved. Argh - floor 17 - that was where I could not wait to be!!! Stairs it is.

So 17 flights later, I am upstairs with nothing to eat (was going to hit the grocery store once I made it home), my lights are flashing on and off and I need to head out to cheer the Schooners to their first play off victory.

Oh dear - I hope the elevator is in operation again by the time I get home . . .

A little taste of heaven . . .

The five of us lovely ladies ventured over to International Avenue to check out Fassil's. I was the only one who had eaten at this delightful restaurant prior and I was quite anxious to share it with 4 of my great friends.

The menu can seem a little daunting but we did our best to narrow it down to the veggie sampler, a chicken dish and a beef dish. You also do not want to show up at this restaurant starving as their timing may not always be your timing for service. And on this particular night - the air was quite cool inside. However, if you can get past all of that, you quickly discover that this restaurant is worth the trek!

The friendly server was quick to inform us that we ordered a dish made with raw meat - whew dodged that disappointing outcome - so we pulled out our fall back pick and patiently waited for the meal to arrive. Okay maybe not quite so patiently when a couple of dishes were served around us and we the fabulous aroma of spices drifted our way!

Time seemed to go by quite quickly especially since it had been a while since we had all been together and there was a lot to discuss - dud ex boyfriends, trips to mexico, babies, houses and all sorts of topics flew around the table. It was great to all be on the same page again in each others lives.

And then it was our turn. A big platter of food was placed in the middle of the table with fresh injera to eat with. The smells rising up were amazing. Now for the big test - would all my promises of how fabulous the food is come true - or would I need to eat my words and confirm that this experience was no different than another Ethiopian restaurant we had tried!

After the first bite, the smiling faces around the tables confirmed that the dinner club choice was a success!!!

Thanks ladies for a delightful night as always!