Friday Ramblings

On My New Love…

Move over A, there’s a new love in my life! Haha, just kidding. Maybe. I got my new camera yesterday!!! It’s soooo pretty It’s a Nikon D7000 and it was quite the hassle getting it. I’d originally  ordered it from this one store that said they had it in stock but turns out it was back ordered until the end of January. Not too bad, so I decided to wait. THEN earlier this week I get an email saying it’s back ordered AGAIN until the end of February!! That’s too late. Time for plan B. I went on Henry’s website and found a refurbished D7000, and they had plenty available. I figure that it’s a reputable store and they wouldn’t sell faulty equipment (as opposed to buying used on Craigs List or Kajiji, where you never know), so I went for it!

I’ve begun reading the manual to familiarize myself with all the settings and had a ton of fun playing around with it last night. Yippee!

On The Weekend…

It’s a blissful Friday before a busy weekend! Tomorrow I have my trial hair and make up appointments for the wedding. My current plan is to wear it down, with my mom’s tiara. I decided not to wear a veil. It’s a bit fussy for me I think.

I have a bit of shopping to do in the afternoon, and then my sister, CJ and mom are coming over for a bit of a hang out and dinner. I promised CJ we would play soon last weekend Can’t wait to see what she comes up with. She’s such a ham!

And then on Sunday it’s my bridal shower!! I’m totally stoked and can’t wait. I think we’re expecting between 25-30 people, so it’ll be a great time. My sister and BFF B are doing a fabulous job with the planning and I can’t thank them enough for doing this for me!

On The Devil Cold…

The Devil Cold is playing elusive today, though I woke up and had some serious balance issues. My sinuses are up to no good! But I’m not as snuffly as I have been and the sneezing has eased off. It’s been the weirdest cold ever! Hopefully it’s on its way out.

Happy Friday all! Enjoy the weekend!

Weekend Wind-Up

I think I’m sick. In fact, I’m pretty sure I am. I feel pretty crappy. My nose is stuffy and my head is achy. I was awake at 4:30 this morning and couldn’t get back to sleep. I’m thinking that as hard  as I tried to stay germ free, someone at the hospital shared the love last week.

Le sigh.

As a result, I’m pooped and so today’s wind up will be brief. We had a very low key weekend which was nice, because next weekend will be super busy (my bridal shower!!! So excited!!).

Saturday morning we met with our officiant, who seems super nice. The funny part is that she is the cousin of a friend of my friend L’s. Small world!

After that we ran a few wedding related errands, and then made our way back home for an afternoon/evening of relaxing, napping and watching movies.

Sunday we did some tidying up in the morning, and then I headed off to pick up my sister to do some flower girl dress shopping. We found adorable dresses, in the sizes we need, at Winners, and for only $17 each!! I can’t wait to see our nieces in them. They will be adorable!

And that’s about it. This weekend is going to be super busy, so it was nice to have some down time!

Happy Monday!

Weekend Wind-Up

Sorry for the delay in my weekend wind-up folks! I spent 8 hours in the emergency room yesterday and didn’t quite have a chance to get to it

I’m perfectly fine, though turns out I have a cyst on my ovary! Not so fun.

I started having really bad pains on the left side of my abdomen yesterday around lunch, so I left work, took the train home and had my mom take me to the ER. 8 hours, plus some blood work and an ultrasound, later, I had my answer: a 3.2 cm sized cyst. It sounds big but I’ve read about women having 15cm sized cysts and bigger! Funny how such a small thing can cause so much discomfort! The doctor’s say it should go away on it’s own, but I’ll definitely be following up with my doctor in a couple of weeks.

The pain comes and goes and Tylenol helps, but sleeping is a bit awkward. I had a good six hours but woke up at five both hungry (barely ate at the hospital) and in pain. Not quite sure if I’m going to make it to work yet.

So here I am, at 6am, updating y’all.

We had another busy weekend!

Saturday morning I got up and got ready for my second dress fitting. BFF B arrived around 10 and she, my mom and I headed over to the seamstress. My dress looks AMAZING!! She did such a fabulous job putting in the lace up back and it fits beautifully. I can’t wait for A to see me in it!

When we finished up there, B and I headed down to a local consignment shop. I was on the hunt for a bridal cape of some sort, since we are getting married in early March and it’s likely to be cold. We totally lucked out! They actually have one for rent. I’m stoked that I don’t have to shell out $$$ to buy one.

B and I had lunch at Kelsey’s after that, where I indulged in an appetizer lunch of french onion soup and their signature four cheese spinach dip. Yum! We had some great girly time before it was time to part and head home.

The rest of the afternoon was spent running errands with A before going home again to make lasagna. My dad is away on business for a few weeks, so we had my mom over for supper which was nice. Once she headed home, A and I settled in to watch Kung Fu Panda 2. It was really great! And sad! I cried at certain parts. I’m so lame

Sunday found us running more errands: new shoes for A, a water fountain for our kitty and a few things for the wedding reception. I’m putting together something I’m super excited about that will involve our guests.

I spent the rest of the afternoon working alternately on that little project, as well as pulling together images and memorabilia of A and I. I’m going to make a DVD to play at the reception. It’s a lot of fun!

And there you have it!

Oh, I wanted to mention that Ten on Tuesday is on hold until further notice. Our gracious hostess, Chelsea, is dealing with the loss of a very good friend. My thoughts and prayers are with her and her family as they make their way through this difficult time.

I hope everyone’s week is off to a groovy start! Mine could have started off a little better but at least I know what’s gong on!

Friday Ramblings

On It’s Finally January….

It’s snowing today! Finally. I know a lot of you are probably groaning about the current weather in Toronto, but I LOVE it! The lack of snow and warm (ish) weather over the past few weeks weirded me out. If it’s going to be cold, why not have snow on the ground so it’s at least picturesque while you’re freezing your bum off!

On CBC TV….

For those of you not familiar, the CBC is the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It’s been around forever and though in the past has had a very small viewership in favour of US stations and TV shows, I think they’ve come out with some decent shows in recent years. I took a sick day yesterday (my head was feeling super fuzzy) and watched Arctic Air, which had it’s first episode this week. It takes place in the Northwest Territories and stars Adam Beach, who is so adorable and I’ve been a fan for years. It was pretty good! I’ll definitely try and watch it again.

Last night, A and I sat down to watch another CBC show, the Republic of Doyle, which takes place in St. John’s, Newfoundland (where I used to live!). Guest staring was Alan Doyle, from Great Big Sea, and his buddy, Russell Crowe! Can I tell you how much I love that Russell Crowe was on a show set in Newfoundland?? Awesome!

Go Canadian TV!!

On Wedding Invitations…

It’s been a slow week on the wedding planning front, but we got a major task out of the way on Tuesday…Our invitations were mailed out! I love how they turned out and have already had some great compliments on them It’s really happening people! This makes it real. We’re getting married!

On New Chairs at Work…

It doesn’t take much to make me happy. We just got new chairs at work and they are FABULOUS!! It’s the SAYL chair, designed by Yves Behar for Herman Miller. I thought the chair I had before was good, but this one is beyond good! It supports me in all the right places. Yay!

Happy Friday all!

One Year

Today is the anniversary of the day that A and I met.

It was snowing and we met at Tim Horton’s for Cold Stone Creamery ice cream. We chatted for over an hour and just before leaving made plans for our first official date, which happened two days later.

I knew, that first night, that there was something different with this one and apparently I was right! The whole “when you know you know” line that seemed like complete bull-poo whenever anyone said it to me? I totally get it now. You DO know and that knowledge has provided me with such happiness, I’m overwhelmed by it at times.

My relationship with A is exactly what I’ve always hoped a relationship would be and I can’t wait to find out how the next year, heck, the next FIFTY years, turn out!

Happy Anniversary babe! I love you

 

Weekend Wind-Up

If I had one word to describe this weekend, it would be BUSY!!

Friday night we hit up the mall and did a little bit of shopping for A. There are some really amazing sales on right now, and for men’s clothes, which are normally so expensive, there were some great deals. Once we were shopped out, we stopped at the video store on our way home and rented Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World. We watched a good chunk of it, but fatigue kicked in for me at 9:30 (Fridays are never good for me) and I went to bed.

Saturday we were up bright and early to get going on some much needed house cleaning and laundry (speaking of….I think I may have left a load in the washer….oops), and then around 3:30 A’s parents arrived with his sister J! After a quick visit, we all headed over to my parents for our joint birthday dinner.

It was a fabulous dinner, as usual when cooked by my mom and I love that our families get along so well! The best moment of the night though was of course something that CJ said…

CJ: Where are you going An’ Kissie?

Me: I’m going to the bathroom.

CJ: I come!

Me: OK

In the bathroom…

CJ: (fiddling with the toilet paper, she breaks off a tiny piece and hands it to me) Here’s some tissue for your bum

Me: (trying not to laugh at the one inch strip) Thank you so much CJ, but I think I need a bit more.

CJ: Oh, ok!

She’s such a ham! Around 8ish we headed back to our place. A’s parents took his sister home then came back and stayed with us for the night. We watched a bit of hockey (the Leafs won!) and then hit the hay.

The next morning we got up and I made us Zucchini Chocolate Chip Pancakes, which were super tasty, and then A’s parents headed out. And then so did we! We had some errands to run, including me needing to renew the license plates on my car. We stopped in to make a few changes to our registry (one item had been discontinued) and to pick up my very first shower gift (thank you B.T!!), and then popped into Marks Work Warehouse to shop a bit for A.

He didn’t end up getting anything (he forgot the gift certificate he got for Christmas), but I did! I bought these:

Aren’t the cute? I’ve seen them in the stores for close to a year now but have never managed to find my size. The best part is that they were on sale! Originally priced at $69.99, they were marked down to $14.99!!! A-MAZE-ING.

Once our errands were done, it was home we went and I got to work on printing off the address labels for our invitations.

Oh. My. God.

Did I ever get frustrated! I wanted to add a picture to the left side of the large address label, to give it a bit of interest. But everything I added it, once the file saved (and it does it automatically after a few minutes whether I wanted to or not), it added a black border around three sides. So not cool!

I threw the labels when they printed off with the horrid border on them (they didn’t go far) and turned to Google to try and fix the problem. I finally figured out the issue, which was related to the formatting in Word 2007. But if you save in the 2003 format, the black lines don’t appear. Boo ya! A was a champ through the whole thing and handled me well. He gave me a hug and then brought me food

Despite that setback, I printed off all of the labels we needed, and A and I spent less than an hour affixing them to the envelopes. Stamps too! All we need to do now is stuff them with the invitations and RSVP cards (which we’re picking up after work today) and they’ll be ready to go!

And there you have our weekend! Jam packed! Oh, and we did finish watching Scott Pilgrim Vs The World. It was cute. Very different, but I loved that it was set in Toronto.

Happy Monday!

Friday Ramblings

On Movies…

I love cheesy 80′s and early 90′s movies and I’ve made it a point to pick them up when I see them in stores. Amongst my collection is “My Stepmother’s An Alien” and “Like Father, Like Son“. Kind of random, but fun to watch! So you can imagine how excited I was when I came across “The Last Starfighter” the other day! And not just in DVD form, but Blue Ray! And only $12! I of course bought it. I watched it last night and it’s just as I remember. Love it!

On The Wedding…

Only 57 days until our wedding! We’ve got all the plans made. I now have to sit down and write up all our information, what deposits we’ve paid, how much we owe etc. and start working on a to do list for what we need to do moving forward. Like getting our marriage license! We tried to do it last Friday, but the municipal offices were closed.

On The Wedding Registry…

I have to stop looking at my registry, now that my bridal shower invites are out and people are starting to buy things…I would like to show a bit of surprise at my shower when opening gifts!

On Random Subway Occurrences…

I saw a guy playing hackey sack on the subway the other day. He was really going at it, even worked up a sweat! It was fascinating and yet bizzare at the same time. If he’d had a ‘boom box’ we might have been time warped to the 80′s!

On The Weird Weather in Toronto…

It’s six degrees in Toronto today. It’s a heat wave! And I’m not enjoying it. Mostly because it was still cold enough in the morning that I need my heavy winter coat, but at lunch time when I was out and about I just about died from overheating! Ugh. These temperature fluctuations (it was -21 earlier this week) are also a breeding ground for germs. Specifically for me, cold germs. My nose has been a bit sniffly the past few days and I’m hoping against hope that nothing comes of it! I had a huge glass of strawberry-guava juice at lunch (chock full of vit C) to stave off any nasties that may be crawling around my sinuses. Fingers crossed!

Happy Friday everyone!

It’s My Birthday!

34 years ago, on a very incredibly blizzardy day in Newfoundland, I was born.

34 years.

I can’t believe I’m 34!

I’m not upset about it or anything. On the contrary. My life is absolutely incredible right now and 34 is going to be a stellar year for me.

It’s just that I don’t feel 34. At least not how I always envisioned 34 to be like. I can actually remember my Dad when he was 34. I would have been 11 years old. He seemed so….OLD (sorry Dad…you’re by no means old ). But I guess age is like that when you’re a child.

So far it’s been a groovy birthday. I treated myself to a Starbucks gingerbread latte this morning when I got into the city and then had lunch with my good friends L and A, who were kind enough to treat me (thanks ladies! xoxo). I had a birthday phone call from my sister and had CJ wish me a ‘Happy Birthday’ (and then she went on chattering about her horse and elephant…she’s such a ham!).

I just had a ‘surprise’ birthday celebration from my co-workers (and by surprise I mean I walked by the boardroom just as they were unpacking the cake…whoops! Bad timing, haha). And if all goes well, I’ll be going out for dinner with A after work.

Since A’s birthday is this Tuesday, we’re having a joint family celebration on Saturday which should be fun!

Sounds like a great birthday to me!

Ten on Tuesday

The first TOT for 2012!! Thanks to Chelsea at Roots and Rings for hosting, as always

1. What did you get for Christmas?

Diamond earrings (more sparkles from my honey), a Kitchen Aid stand mixer, mixing bowls, PJ’s, some great books on eating healthy, a stocking full of toiletries (which were SO needed!), Love Actually on blue ray, a gardening journal….other stuff I’m forgetting….OH, my sister had our engagement article from the local paper plaqued for us. That was pretty awesome.

2. Have you taken down your Christmas decorations?

Yup, we took down Christmas yesterday. It was either that or wait another week.

3. What did you do for New Years Eve?

Ha. A and I had a quiet night at home watching movies (Salt and The Hangover). It was bliss

4. Do you like accents?

I LOVE British, Irish, Scottish and Australian accents.

5. What kind of television do you have?

We have a few…when A moved in last spring he brought with him a kick ass 50″ plasma. For me who can’t see far, it’s brilliant to have everything so big! We also have a 37″ and a 32″ LCD.

6. Did you make any changes at the beginning of 2012?

Can’t say that I did…I put away my laundry that had been sitting since before Christmas…can that count?

7. What’s the last book you read and do you recommend it?

I’m currently reading the Jefferson Key by Steve Berry, and yup, I recommend it. But first read the other books by Steve Berry because it’s a series featuring the same character.

8. Do you stay current on celebrity gossip?

Not really. Only what I happen to catch on the morning drive in. One of my resolutions from a couple of years back was to cut out reading gossip mags and sites. Totally stuck with that one!

9. Do you know the words to Bohemian Rhapsody? Gangstas Paradise? Fresh Prince of Bel-Air?

I know a bit of each, though probably most of Fresh Prince.

10. What is your favorite education television show?

Hmm. Good question! I can’t really say, since we’re down to basic cable and it’s been awhile since I watched any of the more educational channels.

Happy New Year!

I can’t believe it’s 2012. I also can’t believe I’m getting married in two months! Eeee!

Well I’m back after a lovely holiday. It was equal parts relaxing and busy, just the way I like it.

A and I got a TON of wedding stuff done: DJ, decorator, cake, florist, and photographer are all booked! Tonight we’re going to sign our contract for our limo and then all the major details are taken care of.

With the help of A’s sister (thanks J!), we sent our invitations off to be printed yesterday, so I hope to get those out in the next week.

What else…oh right, Christmas!

Our first Christmas together was lovely. We spent Christmas Eve at our house, then headed over to my parents Christmas morning for breakfast and to open stockings and presents. Later in the afternoon we headed to my sister’s to open presents with her fam, and then over to my sister in-law in law’s (my sister’s husband’s brothers house) for Christmas dinner! It wasn’t a late  night, which worked out well since we were up and early boxing day morning to head East to A’s family for a few days.

We had an awesomely relaxing time there, and it was even better because there was actually snow on the ground! We watched movies, we ate, we played cards. A good little getaway

New Year’s was extremely low key. A and I stayed home and watched movies together. I’m not big on going out anymore and it was a lot more fun to ring in 2012 sober and alert than drunk and disorderly (which I’ve also done and am not a fan of the recovery period)

And now it’s back to work! It’s always tough getting back into the groove of things after being on vacation. But I just have to keep in mind that in a couple of months I’ll have time off when we get married!

I hope everyone had a really amazing Christmas and New Years!