Salad

So after a week and a half in nova scotia and then 2 busy weeks at home my body has been feeling some neglect in the nutrition department. Except for the fabulous meals Jimmys parents cooked I have had salad 3 or 4 times. Sad but true!!!

Tonight I spotted this fantastic deal on the menu at the little free house where we were dining. It included a burger with salad, tomato and onion, chips and your choice of beverage (pop, specialty coffee, wine, gin or any of their draft beers) all for £4.69. Honestly that is cheaper than the quarter pounder at McDs or a latte at Starbucks. Plus it had a salad!! Just what the body needed. 

In London, pubs are slightly different in that they don't wait on your table. So... I mosey on up to the bar to place my order. Beef burger, add cheese, no onion, and dressing on the side for my salad. 

The bar tender looked slightly confused regarding the salad dressing comment and indicated that there is no dressing on the salad. Perfect. I often don't use salad dressing anyway.

When my order arrived I noticed that I didn't have any salad on my plate. I realized I must have ordered it wrong as it only came to £3.99. Oops. Then I bit into the burger and saw that there was lettuce on the burger. And lettuce was not listed as an ingredient.  

No wonder the bar tender was so confused. Lol. Guess salad has a different conotation this side of the pond. Maybe tomorrow I will eat some greens!!!

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Picnic Guests

It was an absolutely crazy weekend trying to prep for a big presentation today. And as such my poor boyfriend spent a lot of time waiting for me or watching me work this weekend. Yesterday was no exception.

However, since we had to eat regardless, Jimmy decided that we should get take out from somewhere that we have wanted to grab this summer but haven't. As we decided where that 'somewhere' might be - we went through some of the standard options: Peter's drive-in, Angel's, Mexican. And then I remember that Jimmy really wanted to try Chicken on the Way. I mean really, how bad can it be??

So as we pulled up to our stop, we both took a deep breath, noted the clientele was not as bad as one might expect and headed in. The fry cutter rattled away as it rumbled out freshly cut potatoes. Everyone behind the counter was pleasant. The floor looked clean. The condiments were nicely organized. Wow - what a pleasant surprise! I honestly thought this place was going to be the biggest dive.

We placed our order for some fries, coleslaw, chicken and gravy. Everything was ready within minutes. And to further increase my surprise, they then nicely packaged everything but the chicken up in a little brown bag and wrapped the chicken box in brown paper. Quite a cute little touch. Then Jimmy pointed out the newspaper clipping they had on the wall for the 'grand opening' back in 1958.

So back we came to my little apartment to enjoy dinner on my balcony. Unfortunately we had barely taken a bite when suddenly a family of hornets arrived. After my childhood trauma with the wasps I have learned to ignore these pesky little guys unless they are flying at my face.

Jimmy however was showing off his best moves - ducking here and than moving there. Within seconds he was packing up our picnic dinner to take it inside muttering that he is 'going in so he doesn't get stung'. LOL - when he was grabbing his plate and running he must have realized how that sounded so he then mentioned he wanted to go inside so I would not get stung. Mmmmm - really.

Table for Two

After a full day of visiting some great friends and rescuing some other great friends, Jimmy and I were looking forward to the opportunity to grab a nice dinner and go for an evening walk downtown in Hallifax. We decided to also endulge ourselves with some dessert. It took a couple failed attempts but we finally ended up at this little patio at The Carleton restaurant (which has fantastic desserts by the way - just in case anyone is interested).

As we were being seated I noticed a girl sitting at a table by herself. She was wearing a cute little dress and wrapped in a shawl. In front of her was a glass of wine, a glass of water and a basket of partially eaten fries. She seemed to be intently reading the paper and keeping abreast with her friends on her blackberry.

At first glance, it was a familiar scene. As I travel for work, I quite often find myself enjoying dinner by myself with texts home to friends and family and a good book or the local paper. Suddenly we hear a frantic male voice asking her if she had been waiting long. My heart sank as I realized her look of 'intensity' as she perused the paper was more a look of controlled frustration.

And than the dreaded response: 'About an hour and a half'. The rest of the conversation was him nervously chatting as she pressed him on why he was late. The story that followed was certainly not an academy award winner but involved tales of his cell phone dying, a trip out of town, relying on someone else to drive him downtown . . . blah blah blah

Finally she stated, 'Well I am freezing so let's get out of here. I just have to pay my bill.' He proceeded to sit their while she went in search of her waitress to settle up. After all of that - she still paid her own bill.

And we are off

So for some reason, I seem to smell of trouble in airport security. Despite the fact that I am a seasoned traveller - have my liquids and gels in their little bag, take them out of my purse and lie them in the tray, ensure I have taken my belt off, emptied my pockets, if i am traveling with a laptop, it goes in it's own tray, know which items are best in my carry-on - makeup and jewelery. Make-up because it is the most expensive to replace for 1 or 2 days if I lose my luggage, my jewelry cause it can add 5 pounds of weight easily!!! - I still seem to be pulled over.

This time I set off the metal detector thanks to the bling I had chosen to wear and they needed to swab my bag for whatever reason.

After a thorough pat down and arms out wanding, it is off to the swabbing station I go. As the gentleman is routing through my bag he hits the jewelry bag. He pulls it out and starts looking through my things. He then comments 'so much jewelry' to which I respond, 'Oh - I left most of it at home'. As he continues to look through the various items he continually mutters 'what beautiful jewelry' and 'you are certainly a lady who has nice jewelry'.

Finally he is off to investigate the remainder of the items when he stumbles across my make-up bag. Of course you have to know that is going to cause a stir as well. He is still muttering about my things when he hits my eyelash curler. It is one of those red and white plastic curlers. He turns it over and over in his hands. When he finally holds it out to me - I am kind of chuckling and mention that it is my eyelash curler. To which he responds with a smile.

As he tries to pack my things away into the make-up bag again he is struggling with closing it. Finally I offer to do it for him - unsure if that is allowed with our security regulations or not - and he grins away at me. Repeatedly muttering - such a beautiful lady with all these gadgets and jewelry. Such gadgets and jewelry.

Jimmy of course is standing over to the side killing himself laughing!! Oh well - it's pure entertainment most days.

Well you know Aunty

My oldest nephew just turned 6. Hard to believe I know!!! And yes, I know I know - hard to believe that I at such a young age could have a nephew that old already but it is true!!!

I called him to wish him a happy birthday but unfortunately we kept missing each other so he finally called me back last night.

After a failed attempt that resulted in a voice message where he repeatedly said hello, I called him back and was met with an indignant 'I was saying hello to you Aunty and you wouldn't respond!'

We quickly caught up on his parties, the money gifts he received and all the sounds that the new bumblebee helmet made. Soon tiring of this and expecting a certain amount of birthday etiquette he queried as to whether or not I was going to come to say Happy Birthday.

Of course I broke out in smiles and exclaimed"Yes, I can't wait to come home and say Happy Birthday to you"!!

It was met with a brief moment of silence and then I hear 'Well you know Aunty, you could say it to me right now'!

The poor guy - I hadn't even bothered to greet his sweet little voice on the phone with a happy birthday so stammering I responded 'You are right - I certainly could. Happy Birthday!'

The most professional thank-you was his response before he inquired if he could chat with Uncle Jimmy!!!

Uh oh! I certainly better do better than that next year. Jimmy cannot dethrone me!

It was all worth it!!

We went to the virgin music fest at COP last night to watch Pearl Jam. 
Our friends have the perfect spot for it so we were able to meet at 
their house for a little refreshment first and then walk over to the 
concert.

The stage was set up at the bottom of the ski hill so it was a crazy 
incline to get down to the crowd. But once we were there we secured a 
spot against a retaining fence that went around the sound stage. The 
concert was awesome. The people watching a delight. And the company 
perfect concert goers!!!

However after 2hours of standing on a 90 degree grade we needed to 
turn around and climb back up the hill. By the time we were 2/3 up the 
hill I realized I needed to kick it up a notch at aquasize. My 
mercies. And I seriously can't be the most out of shape person nor was 
I 'wasted' after a day in the sun festivalling like many others 
appeared to be.

But once I made it back to the house, had utilized the facilities 
(there was no way I was risking a dark portapotty) and downed a big 
glass of water it was all worth it.

Won't make that mistake again

So for the past two years I have been going to this little place to get my brows waxed. It's a 45 second walk from my apartment, the ladies are a delight and for $10 and 5 minutes of pain I get brows that others rave over (okay maybe rave is a bit strong but I do receive compliments on them on a regular basis).

Now as I have learned - although the brows are fantastic and the price is reasonable, you do get what you pay for to some degree.

First the ladies all yammer amongst themselves in mandarin so you are never really sure if they are talking about you or someone else or . . . No worries on this because since I don't know what they are saying, in my mind I make up all these fantastic stories they are sharing about their gong shows the night before. After all if it was a place that I ran with my fantastic friends and we spoke a language other than english that is certainly what we would be doing.

Second I am not too sure how often they change the paper they have laid over the waxing table. No probs though since I usually go first thing Saturday morning, I just don't bother showering and changing into my 'going out' clothes until after.

Third, well let me tell you the third . . .

So, since I can't speak their language, I can never pronounce the name of my favorite girl. I usually wind up with her every other session and today was not one of those. The other ladies are not bad but they are not quite as good nor gentle. And today I got somebody new that I have never seen before!!

And although she was good - gentle is not in her vocabulary:

• the wax was so hot that it burned as she applied it; after visibly wincing she did take a half a second to blow on it
• she applied the wax to both sides of the brow all the way onto my lid before removing it
• then she vigorously rubbed the strips onto my lid firmly pushing onto my eyeball
• the strips were pulled off in one swift motion - not bothering to pull the skin taught (my eyelid was actually pulled off the eyeball during this motion)
• she then proceeded to move to the other eye to remove the cooled wax causing her to rub even more vigorously and the eyelid to pull up even more

The end result is a delight - two shiny eyebrows that are glowing red with wax glummed onto the hairs that are left.

I think I might sign up for some mandarin lessons, I really have to learn the name of my favorite lady!!!

And so the season begins . . .

This summer I feel like I am 23 again! It is another summer filled with weddings. And the last time I had this many weddings in one summer was back when we were young and everyone was falling in love!

Saturday was the first 2 of 5 weddings that we were invited to. It all started with an early morning so we could be at Preet's wedding in time for the Baraat and the Milni. Jimmy and I were running late but thankfully so was the wedding party as we showed up 45 minutes late and still waited around for 20 minutes for the festivities to begin. In googling the Indian Baraat I found the following:

Indian Baraat

The traditional Indian wedding establishes a bond between two families and their cultures, apart from creating a very special relationship between the couple, who tie the nuptial knot.

The marriage ceremony is a series of colorful events, spread over two to three days. One of the important and fun ceremonies is the arrival of the groom on the day of the wedding, at the venue.

The groom's family members, relatives and friends accompany him to the wedding venue, in a marriage procession called 'baraat'. Groom's friends and relatives are called the 'baraati'. The wedding baraat is held with high esteem and the baratis are pampered by the bride's family, when they arrive at the wedding venue. The baraat is received in different ways in different parts of the country. In the following lines, we have given description about the baraat in Indian marriage.

Indian Wedding Barat Traditionally in north India, the groom, dressed in his wedding attire, is seated on a white decorated mare, when he heads towards the wedding venue along with the baraati. Before sitting on the mare, the groom is adorned with a saafa (turban, preferably pink or saffron colored) along with a sehara (floral veil), which is tied around his forehead, by his mother. Saafa is mandatory, but tying sehara is not a compulsion. In some
regions of north India, a sword is also provided to the groom. In the mare, the groom is accompanied by his younger brother, cousin or nephew who acts as his caregiver, who is called 'sarbaala'.

The baraatis are often accompanied by music band, which provides them with entertainment, while on their way to the venue. The baraatis dance to the tune played by the band. A vivid display of fireworks contributes to the festive spirit of the marriage procession. A contemporary approach to the ritual is to make use of a car, instead of mare. For the purpose, people rent a car, in which the groom is seated. However, to maintain the tradition, the groom travels a certain distance via car and then rides on the mare.

After reaching the wedding venue, the groom and the marriage procession are welcomed by the bride's parents and the elder members of her family.The bride's mother performs the aarti, when the groom enters the venue. In the mean time, the other members of the bride's family welcome others in the marriage procession. The groom's acquaintance is introduced to the bride's family, friends and relatives. This ritual is known as milni.

The barati who comes in the procession are garlanded and seated. Cold drinks, snacks and sweets are served to them. They are also invited for dinner as the guests of bride's parents.


I was so excited to be able to participate in this joyous celebration - even
though I had no clue what I was doing and being the tall white girl it's not
like I could exactly 'blend' in. However, my vantage point meant I was able to
capture some excellent pictures.

Above, you can see Josh's family dancing as he enters. The music was soo fun!

Next is the traditional exchange of garlands between the groom's family and the bride's family. Again there was much dancing and clapping and cheering between the families.





Preeti's mom is absolutely stunning in her pink sari.


Once the outdoor festivities are complete, the groom can now enter into the altar. Great giggling ensues as the bride's family tries to steal the groom's shoes. After much giggling, running about the hall and the groom's family managing to steal them back a couple times, Preet's family had them securely in hand. According to customs, then charge a fee for their return. Rumor has it - the initial price was $1100 but Preet's family finally agreed upon $300.

After the welcoming aarti, the groom is made to stand at
an elevated level while the bride enters the wedding place, along with her
sisters and cousins where the groom awaits in the Mandap.

Mandap is usually in the form of a canopy and is beautifully decorated with flowers, colorful personal adornment, and other items.In the mandap, the bride, the groom the parents of the bride and the priest sit, while the rest of the family members sit around the canopy.

Below, you see Preeti presented to Josh by her brother and family.

The two then stand facing each other, holding a wedding garland made of flowers. After the two exchange the garlands, the bride and the groom are taken to the mandap where the other rituals and rites are performed.

One of the most significant rituals the bride and the groom perform is the Saptapadi or saat phere around a scared fire and light, which is symbolic to God. While the bride and the groom take the seven circles, the priest or purohit recites the mantras and speak of the real essence and significance of marriage. It is also during this time that the groom fills vermillion or sindoor in the center parting of the bride and puts mangalsutra around her neck.

Mangalsutra is the token of dignity and love given to a bride by her groom. On the wedding day, the groom ties the Mangalsutra around the neck of the bride, while the priest recites Vedic hymns and prays. It signifies the union of the bride and the groom, amidst the presence of deities, who are believed to be attending the marriage. In some regions, the groom ties first and his sisters tie the rest. Talking about its appearance, this sacred thread is made of two strings of small black beads with a locket or pendant. Sometimes, it is also made of small beads of gold and black beads, with gold and diamond pendant.

So that explains all the background that took place during the wedding ceremony. The real show is the family and friends that attend this event. Unlike traditional Christian ceremonies, the atmosphere is very relaxed among the crowd. People feel free to move about the hall, refresh their coffee and tea, pass snacks and play various hand held games. We could not believe the bustling activity that it was.

It was an experience that I will never forget.

Once it was all over, Josh and Preet sat at the front of Mandap greeting their guests. Preeti was even more stunning close up. She is absolutely gorgeous!

A quick update on the roller blading adventures . . .

I headed out to Baker Park again on Sunday to hone my skills. This little couple in their 70's passed me walking (yes I said they walked passed me as I was attempting to roller blade) as the lady encouraged me saying 'I am so proud of you love. You keep it up. You are doing great love'.

I can only imagine the determination that must have been on my face at that moment as my legs shakily skated me to the path following Jimmy who was far ahead.

I found a great little spot that was fairly deserted considering the first annual Bownesian bbq was being held in the roundabout area complete with a band, hot dogs and hamburgers and children's entertainment. As I skated up and down, gaining confidence and speed with each pass, I received many smiles of encouragement any time I would look somehwere other than the 3 feet expanse in front of me as I navigated around cracks and sticks. I also heard the odd encouraging phrase: 'keep it up', 'you're getting the hang of it' and 'looking good'.

Although by the end of my outing, I was starting to wonder if these were actually smiles of pity and phrases of sympathy...

Grass Stains

After 4 years of creating a summer 'To Do' list that includes 'Learn how to roller blade', I finally took the first step and invested in some blades. Cause everyone knows once you have all the gear, you are that much more likely to actually try them out.

So one beautiful Sunday afternoon, Jimmy and I headed out on the Roller blading mission. First stop: Sport Check to purchase my gear. Jimmy warned me that I was going to need to sport the helmet and the wrist guards but somehow I did not translate that into the fact that a short summer skirt should not be the attire I chose. Oops!!

Thankfully the sales guy was extremely helpful (I am sure it had nothing to do with the fact that I was struggling to stand up on these slicked wheels on the shiny floor in my cute little skirt) and after a few awkward moments, okay maybe a lot of awkward moments - I was set: white with black accents, rhinestones on either side of the foot with these little blinking lights (green in the front, red in the back) to let everyone know that I meant business.

After a quick stop home to change my clothes (I usually learn from my mistakes quite quickly - key word being usually) we were off to Baker park. By the time we arrived, the slight sprinkle of rain had stopped but the clouds were still hovering. Much debating later, we decided to give it a go.

I do want to note that this 'debating' included various warnings from Jimmy regarding looking out for rocks in the parking lot, being wary of cracks in the paths, avoiding sticks littered about, a concern that the rain had made it extremely slippery and if I need to fall - choose the grass!

So, with the adrenalin pumping, a rush of that excitement one gets when they are finally trying something new that they have wanted to do for a while and the cutest roller blading outfit ever - a shiny new black helmet with muted purple flowers dancing about, elbow pads, wrist guards (and for anyone new to wrist guards they are worn on the inside of your wrist - not the outside - a minor detail I am sure but really how is one to know), knee pads and my fancy new blades, we were off. Jimmy in the lead.

I navigated the parking lot like a pro, curled around to head toward the paths scooting around the stones scattered about picking up speed as I headed down a massive hill (one of those 'hidden' hills where it doesn't look like a hill until you try to navigate it on something that rolls - then you realize it is a 98% grade). I wound around the sticks. I glided over the cracks. My first 5 seconds on the blades I looked like I had blading for years!!! Then I realized Jimmy had made a 90 degree turn. I could feel my legs starting to quiver and my knees going weak. Turns were not something I had practiced yet. By now the only thing running through my mind was 'if you need to fall - choose the grass'!

With eyes focused on the end goal, I steered slightly towards the right and headed straight for the first expanse of grass in sight. With Jimmy so far ahead, I was sure I could get back up and on the path before he was aware that anything was wrong! So as my wheels came to a near dead stop on the grass, I could feel my body buckling but with all the gear I was wearing I knew I would be okay. I quickly picked myself up, and waddled back to the path just as Jimmy looked around to see where i was. I don't think he noticed a thing. Whew!

I quickly lifted my hand to give him a quick wave. Giggling with my little secret. Jimmy asked if all was good. Of course it was so I gave a nod and then visibly winced as I could feel this dull throbbing in my right thumb that I didn't have before. As I glided over to Jimmy he was asking if I fell. Time suddenly slowed down to a snail's pace as the word no formed on my lips and I looked down towards the ground noticing the grass all down the side of my shorts, the grass stains on my roller blades and the huge tufts of grass sticking out of my knee pads and the boots of the blades.

Good thing I fessed up to as I am not sure how I would have explained the fact that my thumb since is still swollen to twice it's normal size two weeks later . . .

Where'd you go

It feels like I had lost myself for a while. And not just a little while either. It was quite a long while. Or maybe it just felt like a long while. But alas, I think I found my way back.

You see, I had really started to embrace my crazy, quasi spastic life. Or perhaps not so much life but the effect my life seemed to have on others whether they be dear friends or strangers and the humorous things that God seemed to place in my path when I was least expecting it.

I found myself being too busy to notice those around me, to hear the murmurings, to dance while cleaning the kitchen and to laugh until my sides hurt.

But I can promise you, I can feel the change in the breezes that blow across my face. The air smells a little fresher. And the peeps around me - just a little bit crazier.

I love it!!!!

Calgary - Oh How I Miss You

Crazy that I miss home so much . . . being sick will do that to you, I guess. And I am trying not to dwell on this but I have been crazy sick - like I mean really sick - like in all reality my glands were swollen so large they protruded out larger then my breasts and for those of you who know me . . . that is quite a feat!! Anyways - only one more sleep and I will be there back in my bed eating chicken noodle soup and loving life!!!

I Hate Being Sick Away From Home

So here I am hailing from beautiful Dallas where it is 25 degrees even at 7pm, a tonne of fabulous restaurants within walking distance, beautiful parks, fabulous shopping and what am I doing . . . let me tell you what I am doing . . . hanging in my hotel room drinking gingerale and all that might entail. Yes - that means I arrived in this lovely city on Monday and by Monday night I was wishing I was no longer alive. Tuesday was a complete blur and it is now 8:15 Wednesday night, I am ready for a little TV and bed after barely making it through the day at the office. Trying to hold off long enough to down another of those two little happy pills otherwise known as Advil and finish my glass of gingerale. My travel luck has been non-existent as of late. On a bright note though - I was approached in Walmart tonight by some lady who want to use me as a model in her profile book because I have an 'exotic' look about me . . . I can see it - being from Canada and all. We do have the lily white skin as it never sees sunlight, frizzy hair that can't quite handle the southern humidity and most importantly according to James we are amazingly tall . . . all in all an exotic amazon I am a thinking!

My Life

Well I am loving Nicole's little blogging thing - the opportunity to express joy and sadness - to make exciting announcements and to rant about all those gong shows. And since our little small group has come to an end to a certain degree - but is certainly continuing on with friendships - here I come. Back to the Prayers and Giggles blogger!!!

So bear with me while I go through a few rennovations, work on a few new posts and all in all recapture the opportunity to connect with all of you again.

Missed you - an all those saucy comments!

Rainy Days

So it is another rainy and cold morning and again I have my alarm clock all turned around and so it does not actually go off at 5 so I can work out before getting ready. However, when I awake at 5:20 and realize this I start to plan out my day to include it later on when I realize that thanks to Corporate Challenge 8Ball I have to be at Schanks North (about 25 minutes drive in clear traffic from my house) at 6pm to play. But we have to check in 1/2 an hour early and 5:30 is not going to be "clear traffic" so I realize I will have to take my car and park downtown. Now parking in my usual spot (where I got lost the last time) is $22 a day as I had already ranted and I already had to take a cab home ($12) one night to get my car and be at the basketball courts on time and so I really didn't want to pay $22. Then I remembered that my colleague Shannon had told me about the Palliser parking that has an early bird special of $13 if you are in before 7am and out before 6pm. Done!!

Next dilemma - what to wear. Now I have a client meeting at 8am this morning and need to be in the office by 7:30'ish to prep and get over there. A little tid bit I have not yet mentioned is that I sprained my ankle on Sunday playing ultimate frisbee, I then taped it and played basketball on Tuesday - the ankle was feeling great however last night was laser tag (which I don't really consider a sport and therefor did not tape it)- three games back to back standing/running/squatting from 7:30 until 10:30 and then having to drive my standard the 1/2 an hour back home. So my ankle today is a little sore. But on Monday I already wore a pretty casual outfit when I had a meeting with the same client (to facilitate the only pair of running shoes I could fit my foot in) and so I didn't want to be in the same situation again. I rationalized that if i could play basketball, surely i can wear my 3" wedge heels (open toes though but they only have straps across the toes and therefor my ankle is free to be as fat as it wishes) with my cream dress pants (don't really like them much as they are too big on me and hang weird through the thigh as a result) and this really cute little brown sweater (bought it in Seattle - remember the one I won in rock paper scissors with Fran!!).

So now I am off - I have my 8ball outfit in a bag, have my purse, my keys, wearing the strappy shoes and cream pants with my coat and an umbrella - what more can a girl need. So I arrive at the Palliser parkade fairly easily, have to choose east or west parkade (never parked here before so this will certainly be an adventure but east says Mariott and I know they have a plus 15 so here goes nothing) and garner a spot. Get out walk through the only door available and see absolutely no signage for the plus 15. Oh dear! Alas, someone else has parked and so upon inquiry directs me to the second floor. Excellent. Upon disembarking the elevator there is a sign and map immediately to my left. I am not too stubborn or prideful to check the map after the last rainy disaster with an unfamiliar plus 15. I finally spot the miniscule little arrow that appears to say you are here and follow the plus 15 over to the Marriott only to realize that is where it stops - 3 blocks of walking in the rain. However, the west parkade has a lovely little plus 15 that would have taken me directly to work. No worries - a little frustrated but that is why I brought my umbrella. So off I go.

I get down to the Mariott lobby, find my umbrella, step outside into the rain and an ankle deep puddle of muddy water. My mercies. I now have to trek the three blocks with freezing cold/wet/dirty feet. My ankle hurt for the first block but by the last two it felt great - and completely numb from the cold. Finally I can see my corner Second Cup welcoming me. With drenched cream pants, sopping cork wedge heels, my bags and umbrella I stumble in for a coffee. Thank goodness god loves me a little bit because one of the flavors was chocolate truffle (my favorite) and they only have it about once a month but just last week it was a flavor as well!! I continue to plow through the puddles the last 10 feet to my office and arrive looking extremely disheveled, frizzy hair, muddy pants and open toed shoes only to realize that now I have to turn around and walk the 6 blocks to my clients office in the same situation. Do you think I could show up in my jeans and runners??

Seriously Sarah - I hate the plus 15's. I think I will need a couple weekend training sessions when you get back on these damn things!

My Day

Ladies,

Just wanted to further express why I am just not myself some days . . . take today for example.

First, my alarm has been going off since 5am and I did not hear it until 7am (sign that I am a little tired and need a nice lazy sleep in day!). Upon realizing the time I now realize that again I am not going to get in my morning work out and again going to have to do it when I get home. I also am very grateful that my support shift does not start until 8:30 as I would not be able to make the 7:30 time frame. After deciding what to wear and cheering up over the fact that I can wear the new pants I just bought, I jump into the shower and quickly wash up.

So hear I am standing in front of the fridge, packing a lunch as I am determined to not waste my hard earned money eating out cause I am lazy, feeling like I have recovered well and am still looking cute despite the fact that it has become a glasses day when suddenly it takes a new twist. I bend down to get something off the bottom shelf and feel a slight breeze. Sheisa I say as I realize that my new pants must have a hole in them. Sure enough in the crotch the seam was pulled out. Now I have to rework my wardrobe. Although thank goodness I discovered it then and not later . . .

Now this has put me at 8 o'clock meaning I can no longer take the bus to arrive for work at 8:30 but if I drive I should make it downtown for 8:15'ish. So grumbling I drive downtown realizing that I have spend $100 on parking in the month of August because of stupidity just like this. I get to the parkade and of course all the usual spots are taken. I finally find one, head to the door to take me down to the +15 (ask Tanis all about her new found knowledge on the plus 15!!) when the gentleman in front of me informs me that the door is locked. Well across the parking lot I go getting into a new stairwell that I don't usually take into a new plus 15 which I also do not recognize. After wandering around and losing site of where I want to be, I find an exit to the ground. But I am nowhere near my office - I am four blocks away.

So, off I trudge in my heels (didn't have to wear sensible shoes for a rainy day once the car decision was made) without my umbrella through the spitting rain (again who needs an umbrella when you are driving) to the office as I was not about to brave the plus 15 a second time. Finally, I arrive at 8:40 - late for a meeting but I am hear none the less. Looking very much so like a drowned rat, complete with spotty glasses, discolored shoes and an outfit that wasn't nearly as cute as the first draft of the morning.

All in all though - other than being called the B word by my boss (it was in joking but i was still a bit surprised), starving at lunch cause I forgot half my lunch at home, and now sitting here at 3:45 wanting a nap - the day has certainly improved.

Travels

Well
ladies:

Let me tell you. San Francisco is wonderful. I think we should have a mandatory girls weekend and San Fran should be the first location:

First of all my hotel:




This is the lobby where they serve wine every evening to the guests





The rooms – how can you help but love it.






And finally the sites, shopping and travels





These kinds of homes are everywhere.





Crazy Lombard street which is absolutely beautiful

My hotel was just half a block off the trolley line.














Chinatown





Yes Fran, you better believe it – an H&M

Part 2 . . .

So the first leg of the journey is somewhat uneventful. A whole seat to myself and about the concentration or attention span of my nephews. However, I do manage to get onto a roll and get a bunch of stuff worked through. Denver’s terminal for Frontier is huge and by the time we arrive there I am looking forward to a break from work and eating! I pick up a sub and have a quick lunch before finding a spot to recharge the laptop and get going on more prep work. I put in a CD so that I can listen to music while the lap top is recharging and I am working in the app. I can still totally hear all the boarding announcements – or at least I think I can. But time is ticking away and they still haven’t announced my flight. Finally I hear this woman get up and say this is the final boarding call for Nashville flight 243. Ooops – that is me! Next she comments that they will be closing the doors on the plane immediately. Well I quickly shove my stuff together and head over to the gate where she has to unlock the passage door to let me on. But I made it down to the end and others were still waiting to bored so I didn’t feel too bad.

To keep up with the roll I had going though, I loaded the computer with a couple Third Day CD’s and plugged in my ear phones to enjoy the duration of the trip. I got a tonne done and so the last 20 minutes I let myself play a game to pass the descent. Throughout the flight, whenever any of my favorite songs came on, I made sure to turn up the volume and sing in my loudest head voice. I was feeling so good about all I accomplished! As I am getting ready to shut everything down, I pull out my headphones then quickly realized I hadn’t muted the computer only to realize that I had plugged the headphones into the wrong spot at the beginning of the flight and had actually been playing my CDs so everyone around could hear it too! How embarrassing. And why the ladies on either side of me didn’t say anything – I have no idea. They probably thought that I was trying to subtly convert them.

Then it was off to the Opry Mills shopping spot! After some wrong turns in the airport – I found my way there safely and had a wonderful time doing some power shopping. By the time I came back out to the car with every intention of wandering around the Opryland Hotel (I was only shopping for a little over an hour) I realize it is already dark. So I decided to take a quick drive and see what I can see – an hour later, numerous parking lots, etc. I finally find my way out onto I155 when in the lane beside me I see this mid 80’s mini van that has a cardboard license plate. Yeah – that is right - jiffy marker on a cereal box complete with state and expiry date but no actual license plate in site. How bizarre, hey?! And to think that Jaime (my client contact at Eco) actually had the nerve to say that Canada - Calgary is dated. At least we buy our license plates :)

To Keep You Up to Date on my Travels . . .

Well the day dawned bright and clear but I knew better then to be deceived by the blissful sight out my bedroom window. I was going on an adventure – and all who know me know that when I head out on an adventure it means that laughter and “experiences” arew right around the corner.

Never the less, I bound out of bed and jump into the shower (okay I was pretty tired as it took for ever to fall asleep the night before and I was probably running on about 3 hours of sleep! – needless to say I didn’t bound or jump anywhere!!) and start the day. After my final packing and ensuring I had enough room for whatever little items I may buy along the way, I quickly call my mom to tell her that I will email the itinerary tonight. By this point my hour of the day has gone pretty smoothly. Of course that never lasts as sure enough – Mom questions me as to whether I had heard all about the ‘666’ play that has been in the news. Of course not! I have spent every waking moment doing nothing but prepping for this trip this past week – but thanks Mom for bringing it to my attention now! She then instructs me on where to go to buy fun things for the boys (my mercies – haven’t I proven myself as a valid aunty yet?) and then Fran and I are off.

The trip to the airport is fairly uneventful but I know this can’t last. I get into the terminal, look at my ticket, find the ‘Frontier’ counter and within 2 minutes I am at the desk being serviced. This is where things start to get sketchy!! They can’t seem to get all my info loaded into the computer. Whenever they try to print a baggage tag – some dudes tag prints but he is only going as far as Denver. As much as I love shopping, there is no way I can afford to buy a new wardrobe if my luggage does not make it to Nashville. Finally after 15 minutes and 5 wrong baggage tags, 3 re-rentries of my passport, I have the necessary boarding passes and I am off! Next stop security.

Just as I am about to load my stuff onto the conveyor belt that goes through the xray machine, I am told that I have been selected at random for a search. Of course I have! I always am!! So she pulls me out of line, asks me to empty all of my electronics then sends me through the beepers. And of course I chose to wear the belt with the metal beading on it – it never beeps – I am sure they are plastic beading with metallic finish. But no! I beep away. So then I must undo my belt while she feels around my waistline.

Next it is a complete search of all my bags. That careful packing all put to waste as everything is disorganized once again. Finally – the best part. The “patting” as they so innocently put it. That means that you stand there spread eagle while they feel over my entire body looking for hidden weapons culminating with “patting” my head with their rubber gloves. Of course my hair is now all staticy and being pulled as they run their fingers over my head. Goodness gracious!

But alas I am on the plane and awaiting the next adventure while looking out over the Colorado mountain range – the rockies are most definitely cooler!!

Stay tuned for part 2 because alas the day was not over yet . . .

Another random moment in the midst of my life . . .

My friend Mel and I have established a bit of a fun tradition where we do a progressive dinner when she is up visiting and we actually have more then 2 hours to see each other. The premise is that we choose all of our favorite restaurants with favorite items for each course (i.e. I love the cactus cuts and BP’s but don’t often eat there for anything else) and then order one to share – take our time getting to the next restaurant and do the same.

Well, Friday was the day for this extravaganza –

We started out at El Sombrero’s and had some fabulous tiquita chicken bites of heaven while being entertained to all the famous Mexican love songs by this cute little Mexican man on his guitar. Then we walked down 17th to hit up Fiore’s for their yummy mushroom caps. Along the way we wandered into a couple shops and looked around. Our next stop was Milestone’s where we decided to keep the varieties of ethnicities, etc. going and chose the Red Thai Curry bowl! From there it was back to the car and off for the dessert finale! Well – on the way Mel decides that we should run across the intersection even though the light had started to flash. Just as we take off I notice the hand no longer flashing and the light turn yellow. In my mind I am realizing that I am never going to make it as my flips do not allow for sprinting very well but I decide to at least give it my best shot when my back foot fully runs out of my flip flop. Now, please do not forget that I have a 36” inseam – this means a full 3’ of toned muscle (okay maybe not so toned but still a 3’ span of leg) per leg and as Fran can attest to a very long stride. So now to jog back to where my shoe lays is a good 10’ with one bare foot and a light that is definitely red for me which means green for the four lanes of traffic 3 deep per lane anxiously awaiting to cross through the intersection. I then realize that my best bet as I don’t want anyone running over my favorite flip is to take my other flip off thus freeing my body to uninhibitedly sprint to the flip and back to the sidewalk. I didn’t dare look up at anyone waiting in their cars as I am sure my face was beet red to the point that the drivers thought their light had turned red again.

My my - what a laugh – enough that we had no problem working off our first three courses and making plenty of room for dessert!