28 April 2006

Hooray for pretty things!

Yet another busy weekend has passed and I'm having a hard time getting back into work mode. Last week was yet another 4-day work week for me, so the extra day this week will seem brutal.

On Friday, I took the day off to go out to Carleton Place with mom to visit my wedding dress. After almost a year of procrastinating, it was finally time to bite the bullet and try it on. Luckily, after seeing the dress on me a second time, I finally had that infamous "Holy crap I love It!" moment. This is a great weight off my shoulders because I wasn't sure how I would feel about the dress after waiting so long to try it on again.

All and all, I'm pretty happy with the fit. The ladies at the store told me that I shouldn't try to lose any weight. While this sounds nice, I was a little dissappointed because I was hoping to shed 10 pounds by September. I'm not huge, but I really wanted to get down to the size where I feel most comfortable. Oh well....more chocolate for me!

The only other exciting thing that happened this weekend was the Ottawa Sens game! FH and I I watched the game on his father's big-screen TV. Not quite as cool as being there live...but the HD does make a difference. It was some of the best hockey I've ever watched. Very close game. I don't do well with that kind of stress and I'm surpirsed I still have hair left on my head. I will definitely be one of those scary hockey moms some day! GO SENS GO - Woooo Hoooo!

Sunday was productively spent browsing around Home Depot. FH and I have a gift certificate burning a hole in our pocket. We went in to look at a few specific items and walked out with a huge wish list. Who knew that shopping for blinds could be so fun?!? Sadly... this is what excites us these days! House shopping has quickly become a passion / obsession of mine. I think that FH is just being a good sport.

27 April 2006

Time to play dress up!

I’ve had a very difficult time concentrating on work today. For the first time in almost a year, I’ll be trying on my wedding dress tomorrow. I can’t really reveal too much about the dress as my fiancé does read this blog on occasion. Let’s just say I’m pretty nervous…

Last July, mom and I went around town looking for wedding dresses. It seemed that everywhere I went I found something that I liked. Finally, after shop number three, I settled on a beautiful (but way over budget) dress. The funny thing is that I never had that stereotypical, “Oh my God this is the ONE” moment. Granted, the dress is awesome, but so are others that I tried on. For the price we paid for the dress, I better not have buyer’s remorse!

Either way, I’m looking forward to trying on my actual dress (as opposed to the store sample). The only problem now is that I ordered the dress a size larger in case I would gain weight over a year. Turns out I’m a bit slimmer. My seamstress has got her work cut out for her, and I better get ready of empty out my pockets!

$$$ aside, it will be fun to try everything on together for the first time. Now if only I can keep mom from crying….

Speaking of crying, I found a website that features some of the most hiddeous wedding and bridesmaids dresses in all creation. Tears of laughter or pitty?…you decide.... http://www.uglydress.com

25 April 2006

FORE !!!

As if life isn't busy enough, I've decided to tackle yet another challenge. I'm determined to learn how to play golf!

For years my future parents-in-law had been trying to persuade me to take up the sport, but I was never that keen. I tend to like fast and bloody sports; being docile was never really my forte. But after a few years of working, I’ve come to realize that golf provides great opportunities for networking and business. Not to mention there’s a certain status that comes with being a golfer. All I need now is a membership to the country club, a pony and a butler names Jeeves. Oh….and I also need those cool checkered pants….definitely got to have the pants!

On a more serious note, I feel that I need to try the sport in honour of FH’s mother who sadly passed away last September. She was an avid golfer and I was very touched when she decided to give me her much-cherished golf clubs. I promised her that I would try. Who knows, I may even come to love it like she did. Much like myself, she didn’t think she would take to golf, but it didn’t take long before she was hooked. It would be a lovely family tradition to carry on.

In an attempt to not embarrass myself (and taint my future family name), I am going to start golf lessons in May with FH. I’ve got to admit, I’m pretty nervous. I don’t think I’ve ever swung an actual golf club. I don’t think it’s really fair to include my mini-put prowess…? I barely even know the golf terminology. I do however know of one particular word, which I’m sure I’ll be using the instant that I hit the green…..FORE!

20 April 2006

I caved in...

Today I decided to bite the bullet and hire myself a wedding coordinator. I know this sounds like a monumental waste of money, however I think it will be a godsend.

As it turns out, the place where we will be hosting our reception is a little on the unaccommodating side. Typically they do not allow people access to the reception hall until three hours before people start to arrive for cocktails. Nice…but not really practical. Everyone I know wants to see us get married at the church, therefore it leaves me in a bit of a lurch in terms of finding someone to set up the reception hall, meet the various vendors, etc. Quite personally, I don’t want to place that stress on my friends or family and I sure as hell don’t want to deal with it myself on the wedding day.

I still get entire creative control over the wedding. I still get to pick flowers, cake, decorations, etc. This just means that I’ll now have someone working behind the scenes to make sure that everything comes into fruition on the big day. In the grand scheme of things, this isn’t a huge wedding (100 people), but it’s amazing how much planning it still takes. I’m starting to wonder if it wouldn’t be simpler to go for something a little less conventional. It the end, I suppose it’s all about pleasing yourself and to heck with everyone else. I’m trying to teach this concept to my mother, who is still worried that we might be judged poorly if we don’t provide some form of Open bar. Here’s my take… “If you don’t like it, don’t bother showing up!”

It’s funny how weddings bring out our insecurities sometimes. When you think about it, it’s just one day of your life. I don’t need a huge fairytale production, just something elegant and simple.

I never thought that hiring a coordinator would be feasible, but this lady is affordable and came highly recommended. At any rate, I’ll be glad to know that all the irksome details are out of my hands. Now I can be golfing with the groom on the morning of the wedding! Okay...well maybe not. I’ll most likely be talking on the porcelain phone to my good friend Ralph.

19 April 2006

Extra crispy, with a side of Owwww!

Day two of the burn saga and things are still pretty terrible. Some of the redness and pain has reduced on my legs and neck, however the strip on my back continues to hurt like hell. This morning I had to swallow my pride and ask my mother to help dress me.

I’m one of those “so-called” lucky people who can’t get by without a bra. Big problem though, I can’t wear one on top of the burn…sheer agony! Once again, my craftiness came in handy and I managed to rig a pretty ghetto solution. I doused a paper towel with Solarcaine, smoothed it out over the burnt strip on my back, and got mom to put my bra on over it. Moms are wonderful in these strange situations – it’s part of the special mother-daughter bond. So far everything seems to work. The bra is holding the paper towel in place and the cream is seeping into my skin. Feels good for the time being, but we’ll see what happens when the paper dries out. I haven’t thought that far ahead….

For your amusement, I am including a picture from yesterday. By noon my neck was so warm that I was getting desperate for any sort of relief. I managed to find an unused J-Cloth in the kitchenette – perfect! I soaked the cloth in water, stuck it in the freezer for 15 minutes, and wrapped it around my neck. I looked like an idiot but at least it felt good. These are the definite perks of having your own office with a solid door. I locked myself away for the afternoon, and my co-workers were completely oblivious.

Speaking of work, back to it! Can’t wait to slather myself in more Solarcaine at lunch!

18 April 2006

I'm a redneck...literally...

Vanity will be the end of me some day if I don’t smarten up. For the longest time, I’ve hated my pale and pasty skin. I practically have no pigment and it drives me mad.

In an attempt to prep myself for the summer, and a plethora of weddings, I decided to use a tanning machine in order to get a light base. I figured that if I had a bit of a tan, I might be able to avoid awkward tan lines later on. Man was I wrong! I now have nasty red burn lines and blotches all over my body.

I have used tanning beds in the past, before heading to Cuba. While I may have turned slightly pink at first, it worked well for the most part. Seeing as I’m fair-skinned and a redhead, I’m usually pretty vigilant about the sun. Yesterday I went into the machine for only 10 minutes with a bit of sunscreen on and I still look like a lobster. Needless to say, I was pretty angry at the salon for not warning me about their machines which typically aren’t strong.

Here’s the worst part, all the whining in the world won’t change things, there’s only myself to blame. I paid $6 to sit here in extreme pain and put myself at risk for skin cancer. Not smart!

A word to the wise, from the dumb, “Don’t tan!” Looking in the mirror I can safely say that my natural pale skin looks much better than red blotches and blisters.

Having a burn like this is pretty hard to hide. It’s kind of like wearing the “scarlet letter”; everyone looks at you and shakes their head at your foolishness.

Go ahead, give those heads of your a good shake. I would too, but my neck is too sore!




My left leg in all it's glory. Looks like I may have to skip Irish dance tomorrow. More punishment for my stupidity.

13 April 2006

Mmmmmm...bunnies....


Easter is on its way, and you know what that means...chocolate!
I'm a little too old for the Easter egg hunt now, but that still won't stop be from indulging in my guilty pleasure. The plan is to go out and find me a ginormous white chocolate bunny and chow down! To hell with fitting into a wedding dress, I've earned this treat.

Perhaps PMS has a small part to play in my sudden hunger for chocolate. Sadly, I know what will end up happening this weekend. I'll sit on the couch, teary eyed, with chocolate stains around my mouth thinking about how bad I am for eating too much and consequently feeling fat. I'll then turn desperately to FH and ask him, "Am I still attractive?" At which point he'll roll his eyes.

Yes, I admit it. I sometimes turn into an absolute banshee during that time of the month - a sure test of pateince for any future husband! I imagine it would be like living with people stuck in one body - the sweet / emotional one, and the one that wants to scratch your eyes out. Nice eh?

12 April 2006

home sweet home...almost

FH and I went to visit our house yesterday to see if work had progressed over the past week. Much to our surprise, not only was the brick on, but the workers also forgot to lock our garage door. SCORE! We haven't been able to get inside for the past month, ever since they started doing the dry walling.

Upon our discovery, we rushed back home to grab the camera to take a couple of shots before the sunset. Luckily when we got back to the site, the door was still unlocked and nobody was around to witness us sneaking around. Sounds strange, but we’re not supposed to be there at all. When we signed our purchase and sales agreement, we agreed to a condition that we would not enter the house while under construction. Yeah right! This is our first home – like we’re not going to go and see it!

I’m so pleased with the way everything looks so far. I was shocked to see that the carpet was already done, as I assumed this would be one of the final details. Hope the workers don’t muddy my new carpets!!!!

And now for your viewing pleasure. Our beautiful baby, throuhgout her various stages of growth....

This spot looks good to me















7L- Where all the cool kids hang...















Sweet concrete















Can we move in yet?















How about now?



















Not quite ready to cook in yet















That's more like it



















And it has heating too..sort of...
















Almost there now



















I love our tiles















and the hardwood...















In da loft...















View from Master Bedroom. Can you spot the creek? Waterfront property baby!















All I need now is some beer and a shotgun















That's all for now folks. Off to dance a jig or two.

10 April 2006

The "crafty" redhead...

Once again, I stupidly decided to partake in a late-night crafting session. This wedding is going to make a Martha out of me. Well, maybe not, but this is a pretty big accomplishment for someone who has the attention span and patience of a five-year old.

In an attempt to save money (NOT), I have decided to try making my own DIY wedding programs. So far I’ve managed to come up with two concepts that I like, although they really need tweaking. Lately my opinion seems to change on the hour.

Without further ado, here’s option #1. Not too shabby but I need to work on distributing the glue more evenly on the ribbon so that it doesn’t show through.
N.B. I have blurred out me and FH's full names...so don't even think of stalking us!
I am, however leaking our first names...so much for my attempts at maintaining anonymity. Anyhow, I digress...



Last, but not least, here is option #2. Slightly different monogram with a ribbon on the side. The text will be the same as the above photo.



So there you have it. My attempts at being "crafty". Wasn't that enthralling?

Right...bath time for me!

Another day, another dollar

Monday is here and I find it difficult to get back into working mode. Per usual, my weekend was jampacked with all sorts of activities and errands. I have a sneaking suspicion that this will become commonplace after marriage.

On Friday, FH and I set up joint accounts at the bank. This was a very big step for me as I'm a little preoccupied with money these days (buying a house will do that to you). I only pray that I don't become a fishwife when it comes to saving and spending. I'm used to my own personal banking system, however it's going to be a challenge getting used to how FH conducts his finances. Part and parcel of the joys of moving in together. I'm sure things will be fine once we work out a plan. Can you tell I'm a little anal retentive?

Saturday turned out to be a wonderful day. I was inspired by the sunshine and decided to be adventurous by walking from my parents' house to the new Walmart in Orleans. After the 20 minute sprint, I then decided to walk further to check out some of the new stores that are being built in the area. This seemed like a good idea until I ran out of sidewalk and ended up walking along a major thoroughfare with cars whizzing by. Suddenly aware that was not a "good" place to be, I opted to walk further inland through a muddy construction zone. Two hours later, laden with shopping bags and muddy clothes, I arrive home...happy to be alive.

In the evening, FH and I went to the Ottawa Sens hockey game. Despite the fact that we've had a team for years now, this was my first live game. After five minutes of play, I realized that I'm definitely going to be one of those loud and scary "hockey moms". My screaming was not aided by the fact that our team was losing brutally. Seriously 6-2 is pretty embarrasing. So much for being the top in our division...Either way, I had an awesome time and can't wait to see more games in the future (provided we get free tickets again)

Go Alfie, Go!


Sunday saw FH and I back to our usual running around. I went to Michaels to purchase some cardstock and a paper trimmer/scorer for wedding centerpieces. I swear to God this place will have made a fortune off of me by the time I'm married. They certainly don't give their paper away. I thought that DIY projects would save me money, but now I'm starting to wonder.

On a more positive note, we were able to find ourselves a new mattress yesterday. How do I describe it??? HEAVENLY!!! This was one area where we were willing to shell out a little more $$$. Poor FH has been sleeping on a terrible mattress for the past 5 years. I think it will be a bit of an adjustment for him.."You mean I'm not supposed to feel coils on my spine?!?" Quite personally, I'm looking forward to being able to sleep together without rolling towards the middle of the bed. I used to think it was because we were both gaining a weight, but it's really because his matress is so terrrible. That's our story...and we're sticking to it!

Back to the old grind for me...TTFN

07 April 2006

!!! TGIF !!!


At long last, Friday has arrived - blessed day of the mystery sandwich...

Confused? You should be!

Let's just say that I work in a building that has the worst cafeteria imaginable. The selection leaves a lot to be desired, as does the taste. Don't get me wrong, if salty soup and dry-ass sandwiches are your bag, then this is the place to be!

I refer to Fridays as "mystery sandwich day" because you never know what you're going to find. Typically meals consist of a mishmash of unwanted food - the rejects from Monday to Thursday. Sort of a "yesterday's meal is tomorrow's soup or sandwich" kind of deal....

Aside from questionable sandwiches, my day is going well so far. Lots of work to do (I shouldn't be blogging right now), but it makes the day go by faster. I had my PPR this morning and received a glowing review from the DG. After a year of pulling rabbits out of hats (somehow managing to be productive without an operating budget), I guess I did a good job!

In other news, FH and I are taking a big step today. We are setting up a joint account. Yikes! This freaks me out slightly, but it's kind of necessary seeing as we are marrying one another. Right now our new home is being built and we have been paying for eveything out of seperate/personal accounts. Finally we got tired of playing the "I paid for this, so you pay for that" game. This should simplify things! FYI...we are not currently living together, this is why we each still have our own accounts. Yes, I'm one of those strange people who is stuck in the past and is trying not to live with my partner until we are married. It's a family thing...just go with it...

05 April 2006

Ouch...

Still recovering from tonight's Irish dance lesson. After missing classes for two weeks, it was hard getting my feet and brain back on track. I've started to learn more advanced steps for my hornpipe, which invloves some moves up on the tippy toes. I'm sure my feet will be happy tomorrow - NOT!

All in all, I'm fairly pleased with my progress this year. I'm kind of pursuing this a little late in life, but I enjoy it; it's a definite passion. My teacher seems to think I'm ready to compete at an upcoming Feis (irish dance competition, pron. fesh) but I'm not sure whether I want to go competitive at my age. Maybe a few Guinness will do the trick....

Off to bed for me. My left leg has fallen asleep and my right knee hurts. Awesome, my body is already falling apart at age 25.

Slán leat agus oiche mhaith...

Achooooooo......

Another rough morning. Bring on the caffine! Last night's project consisted of rolling change on the floor for roughly 90 minutes. It's amazing what a person will tolerate just to find a bit of extra coin. (I see visions of married life and home-ownership)

In all fairness, I kind of had fun. There's nothing like blasting some tunes while counting money.
If only it were bills as opposed to small change.....

Typically, I roll change only once each year. It's always a bit of an adventure as I dash around my room opening drawers, containers, jewlery cases and old purses in search of spare change. Actually, it probably looks a little desperate! I should really make my life simpler but throwing all my change in one location, as opposed to a myriad of hidden caches.

The good news is, I'm about $50 wealthier than I thought. I'm going to haul the change into the bank, exchange it for bills, and keep adding to my growing honeymoon jar. More on that later...

In case you are wondering about my subject line, I am referring to a lovely allergic reaction I had last night (pre-change counting). My family and I were at my brother's house for coffee and I made the terrible mistake of playing with Hunter - his mischievous kitty. I know I shouldn't have gone near him, but he's just so darn cute. (see picture of young Hunter)

Hunter will be "de-manned" is a few weeks so I had to be nice to him. Poor kitty.

04 April 2006

Coffee break...


It's 4:30 in the afternoon and I feel as though I could crawl into bed and sleep for weeks. Definitely time for a strong dose of coffee. Typically I don't indulge in caffine in the afternoons, but it's getting pretty desperate.

Last night I had an epiphany, or moment of sheer madness (still trying to figure it out). For some odd reason, making wedding centerpieces suddenly seemed crucial at 11:30 p.m. I won't go into into the boring details, but lets just say that I have a newfound hatred for all things Microsoft. By 1:00 I decided to give up my futile attempts at prodictivity and crashed. There's nothing like waking up with yesterdays makeup still on your face and glue / scrapbooking materials strewn across the room. Bring on the workday!

Am I starting to sound a little bridezilla yet?!?

02 April 2006

Need a break from the weekend

So much for for my idea of blogging daily. This turned out to be a busy weekend - a common occurence since my hubby-to-be and I became engaged. I feel as though we are always playing catchup on Saturdays and Sundays, running a million errands while trying to make time for eveyone. These days I've pretty much given up on sleeping in...

All that aside, it was an enjoyable weekend. On Friday we joined another couple for dinner, drinks and a movie. My friend adores animated movies, so we went to see Ice Age II . It was pretty cute and good for a few laughs...even the guys admitted that they had a good time. The rest of the evening was spent drinking coffee at a Tim Horton's in a pretty shady neighborhood. It's amazing what some people will put up with just to get their daily dose of Timmy's!

On Saturday, my mother, FH and I went to our local bakery to select a wedding cake. I was tremendously pleased with the service and samples!!! As with everything else with this wedding, I walked in with a very specific idea in my head and walked out with the complete opposite of what I originally intended. So now, rather than a traditional vanilla cake, I have a funky, three-tier cake with chocolate and ganache filling. The future-hubby is a chocoholic, so he's pretty excited...okay, I guess I am too :)

On Saturday evening we went to a friend's house, who was hosting a "gaming/LAN" party for his birthday. I won't get into specifics, but lets just say that "gaming/LAN" parties are pretty much the epitome of Geekdom! No...I did not participate. I simply went along to rescue one of my girlfriends (fiancée of the birthday boy). All in all it was a pretty good time. We drank wine, had some great girl chat, watched home decortating shows on TLC and laughed at the boys who sat transfixed, for hours, in front of their computer monitors. Yes, my fiancé is a pretty big geek. I don't always comprehend him, but I wouldn't have it any other way. For anyone who has ever dated a geek, you'll know what I'm talking about... we have it pretty good.

Sunday was spent shopping with my mother. This is a very rare and arduous task because she is an amputee and hates walking the mall. After a day of shopping, I have come to the conclusion that clothing designers do not consider the disabled at all, nor do the cater to fuller-figured women. I mean seriously...just because your large doesn't mean that you want to wear floral print or big tacky patterns. Maybe there are a few Plus-Size stores that are decent, but the majority seem to be stuck in another era...very frustrating for those who want to look their age, rather than 90...or like Bozo the clown.

End of rant....