Monday, October 29

crazy week, kinda

it feels like last week was a crazy week but it wasn't really. we had lots of plans but a lot of them feel through or we just didn't go.

i started going to the gym across the street from work and managed to go three times last week. i biked and did weights and ran. the gym is small and so not-goodlife but it's cheap and it's convenient. two things that matter to me.

i played hockey all the way in arnprior tuesday night. before the game i walked across some concrete and dulled my skates so i had to get them sharpened. we did that friday night.

my parents were supposed to come over wednesday - that didn't happen - and then on saturday - that didn't happen either. my grandfather is gone back to holland now and my parents have a two-day stay at a resort-y place.

there were three halloween parties we were invited to this weekend and we didn't go to a single one. there's something about halloween parties that i don't like.

thankfully, with a brand new xbox 360 j didn't mind staying home either. we played guitar hero II on cooperative mode for hours.

we had dinner with j's parents saturday night and with his parents and grandparents last night. the food was amazing and not having to cook is pretty nice too.

we ran the 5K rattle me bones race yesterday morning. i looked up as i was crossing the finish line and saw a time of 39 minutes. i knew i didn't run as fast as i could have, but 39 minutes was a little demoralizing. turns out that time was for the 10K race that started well before the 5K and i most likely finished under 30 minutes. i'm not sure i'll do that race again - it was mega disorganized. now i'm being talked into doing the resolution run on december 31st. brrrrr!

work has been mega busy and friday, i was asked if i wanted the opportunity to act as section head of my group for a month (at some point over the next 4 months) along with three of my coworkers. it's almost unheard of for someone at my level to get an opportunity like this so i'm taking it. i tell them today.

i read about the polar bears in churchill last night and realized going there would probably be more fun than going to cuba so i looked into it. it would be WAY more expensive than going to cuba and we would have had to book this time last year. shoot. cuba it is.

and that's about it. i'm avoiding the real halloween by having a hockey game this wednesday night. other than that it's just the same old same old around here.

Wednesday, October 24

when reading isn't good

reading isn't good when you've got about 150 pages left in a really good book and you stay up until 2am finishing said book and you have to get up at 7am. i think that the lack of sleep sunday night is why i'm feeling like i'm getting sick again. my throat is killing me.

i was able to catch up on sleep a little yesterday (small nap) and last night (8 straight hours of sleep) but my throat still hurts. i'm hoping it will pass.

i played hockey last night. the game was out in arnprior and i barely made it in time... and then i still had to get dressed. i missed the first few minutes and when i was walking to the bench, i walked for a bit on concrete after the padded okay-for-skate-blades flooring ran out. oops! i fell a lot and now desperately need to get my skates sharpened. i'm out of clear tape too.

j and i went and got groceries after work monday and got more vegetables than ever. we had momentum so we cut everything up and have been eating well this week. my hope is that we can keep it up. it really amazes me when couples or families can eat so well when they work all day. i just don't get where people find the time to do it all.

tonight my parents and my grandfather are coming over. my grandfather is moving back to holland and stopped in town on his way. it's also his birthday today. so we'll make him tea and show him our house and send him on his way. i have some tv from last night to catch up on and i'm looking forward to putting on my comfy pants and hunkering down on the couch with a cat or two. and maybe tonight i'll be good like last night and not start another book and get lots of sleep. one can hope.

Monday, October 22

weekend

saturday night we went to "thong roast 2007" hosted by j&s. it was absolute hilarity. we had a nice sit down dinner, drank wine and played wii.. all while wearing thongs outside our pants. here j gets a wedgie:

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sunday, j and went to mud lake to take some pictures. it was absolutely beautiful outside. i can't believe it's almost halloween.

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and now we're back to work. we did groceries today and got more vegetables than normal. i'm positive we're going to start eating more fruits and veggies. well, start eating healthier in general.

i went to the gym for the first time today. about two weeks ago i signed up for the gym across the street from work but then i got sick. today i went and biked and did some weight work. you'd think i'd never been to a gym before - i felt lost and didn't remember any exercises. i have to work on that.

hockey tomorrow night. i've been off for two weeks so we'll see how i feel after the game. and then it's halloween and parties galore. we have to start thinking what we'll carve our pumpkin into this year. i can't even remember if we had a pumpkin last year. ah well.

Friday, October 19

bad week

the first bit of the week i was still sick. the middle of the week i was trying hard not to be sick and failing. the last bit of the week was horrible. and now it's friday and i'm (cautiously) feeling okay.

i had a written exam yesterday afternoon for a level higher than i am now, but for positions at my work. it was incredibly hard and i'm feeling pretty discouraged about it. but i can't spend my time thinking about it when i have to catch up on all the work i haven't been doing for the past week.

a rock and a hard place that's for sure. i hope everyone else is doing/feeling better than i am. if i drank wine, this is where i would ask you to pass me the bottle.

Tuesday, October 16

i'm alive!

i'm not dead - just super sick and not up to sitting at the computer much. i left work early last thursday and spent that day, friday, the whole weekend, and all of yesterday on the couch. i only left the house for a couple of hours saturday night for dinner. i'm gross sick, but i still have my appetite so it's not the flu, just a bad bad cold.

i went to work today because i was a little worried about my manager asking for a doctor's note and now that i don't really have a doctor that would be a problem. (i actually currently have two doctors: my real doctor is closing his practice; my potential new doctor i haven't met yet. but still.) my manager doesn't care about a note and wants me to only come in when i feel better. perfect. kiss away mornings for now. mornings are awful. they're awful because sleeping is hard and not restful and mornings are early.

whine whine whine.

i was at work today for about three hours. that was enough. i went through all my voicemails and emails and got rid of one of my files (in my job, i get lots of files but hardly ever get rid of any so this was nice) and left.

i think the cats missed me. except j was home all day because he's now sick (sorry j!) it's definitely going around and i'm sorry if i made you sick.

i just wanted to check in. i will be updating my flickr soon enough and will have posts of pictures for you in a couple days (famous last words or for real... who knows) unless the sick somehow gets worse.

here's hoping it doesn't.

Wednesday, October 10

thanksgiving

this was an insanely busy weekend. friday night we went out of town for a pre-wedding party for vik and karen. it was buffet dinner and open bar. needless to say it got a little rowdy.

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at least no one puked in our car on the way home.

saturday, we were supposed to go to the aerial park but it was raining so we cancelled that. j is looking for the best version of the xbox 360 so we went to lots of stores looking for one. didn't find one (i keep telling him that christmas is coming up and he should not buy anything but he won't listen). it was his family's thanksgiving dinner that night. the food was really good. then we headed downtown for the bar for vik's last night as a single man. we didn't stay long.

sunday was the big day. the ceremony was early afternoon and was beautiful.

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my new black shoes didn't agree with my feet so i'm left with huge blisters on my ankles, but i looked good.

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we spent some time with j's family after the ceremony since we had some time to kill before the rest of the wedding. we went back for cocktails and dinner and finally dancing. the whole night was a lot of fun. congratulations to vik and karen!

thankfully monday was a day off. we slept in and didn't leave the house all day. my parents came over for tea in the afternoon but that's it. a much needed break from our hectic week.

Friday, October 5

sens vs. leafs

at the last minute, we got tickets to the sens vs. leafs game. we went with j's cousin and his girlfriend. we were all clever and remembered that s&l live right near the palladium and asked to park at their place. about an hour drive and then a 15 minute walk, we were there for the beginning of the game.

the sens took an early 2-0 lead but lost it and only scored the third goal late in the game, but held on for the win. it was a good time.

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Thursday, October 4

hockey all stars

my hockey team had its first game last night. if it weren't for the first three minutes where we were scored on three times, we would have probably won. the first period, especially those first few minutes, were bad, but then we picked it up. i don't feel like i played my best game, but i like the speed and i will get better.

afterwards, we went to the prescott and as i was looking around for my teammates, a guy at the bar tried this pick-up line on me: look's like you're looking for somebody. no sh*t! i said i was and then he asked me if i had a name. i told him i had three names and walked away. what a winner.

my teammates finally showed up and we ate and drank and watched a period of the sens/leafs game. i like the new jerseys.

i got home relatively early and was in bed well before midnight but i'm still exhausted today. i'm looking forward to sleeping in on monday. our weekend is packed with wedding stuff and family stuff so i'm not sure if i'll be able to sleep in. at least i can count on monday.

Wednesday, October 3

picture intensive

here you go: pictures. finally.

teaser from my shopping outing monday night:
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before the run for the cure 5K race:
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during the race:
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at the end of the race:
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vik's party:
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teaser from meech lake ruins:
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first hockey game of the season tonight. i'm looking forward to it.

Tuesday, October 2

shopgirl

i went shopping last night. for 4 hours. if you know me at all this should shock you. but what's more is that i bought stuff. expensive stuff. girlie stuff.

when we were scrambling to get ready for the party last sunday night, i was appalled at my wardrobe (i don't even know if that word has an e after the r). i have very limited clothing and hardly anything dressy at all. so i made it my mission to get something dressy for the wedding. i wanted the typical little black dress that every girl is supposed to have. i wanted a pair of nice-ish black shoes (nice-ish because i will not wear heals). i wanted some nice shirts in case i couldn't find a dress. mission accomplished.

i started out looking for dresses because i was pretty sure i would find something. i did, but the one that fit the best was so close to my skin colour that it looked awful. in that same strip mall, i found a really nice shirt. then i went to a big indoor mall where i knew tons of shoes stores lived and found a cute little pair of black shoes. i don't normally associate cute with the things that i wear, especially not on my feet, but these are cute. and my orthotics fit in them. and they were less than half the price i was willing to pay. i found another nice shirt and decided i had to focus on finding a dress. and i did. it's classy and fun and fits well and wasn't too much money. spend a little less on shoes and pay a little more for a dress... works for me.

i get home feeling like a prostar and give j a fashion show. he was just as impressed with me as i was: super mega impressed. plus i brought him food. that always helps. i took a little teaser picture and will post that soon. i'm hoping i don't chicken out and do wear the dress to the wedding. apparently the girl in me is slowly coming out. hold on tight to your wallet - this girl is learning to shop!

Monday, October 1

promises

i promised you a full weekend of stuff and that's exactly what we had. friday night we went to j&d's house warming party. they bought a little townhouse not too far from our old place. turns out it has four good sized bedrooms. it was deceptively big and so colourful compared to our new-house-off-white walls. there weren't many people there but that was nice because we actually got to talk to her friends. and one of them had this cute little dog that i fell in love with. it was about the size of sandy but with a much bigger head. it was so cute.

saturday we went to meech lake with a&s, s&l and t. we hiked to the ruins of a fertilizer plant which was right beside a waterfall. it was beautiful and the weather was so nice... too cold for nudists though. one of the sites about meech lake warns about the nudists that tan right near the ruins and waterfall but there were none. we climbed around there for a couple of hours. a&s had to leave for a party and we dropped t off at his house. j and i went with s&l to their place for dinner. i had steak for the first time in i don't even know how long but i'm thinking 3 or 4 years. i've been building back up to it slowly by eating hotdogs and regular bacon and then hamburgers this summer. i was a little worried about it, but my body was fine. we had a great dinner and then watched a slideshow of all the pictures we had taken that day and at the abandoned mine a couple of weeks ago. the slideshow was over 30 minutes long - a lot of pictures!

sunday was run for the cure. i hadn't signed up and was waiting - i shouldn't have waited because i would have trained if i had signed up earlier - but after all the hiking and the steak-eating, i decided it would be best if i didn't attempt to run. so i was the official family photographer instead. it was early and cold and there were tons of people. j, who registered online, didn't get a numbered bib so i took one of the "i'm running for..." tags and wrote "the best number" on it. he wore that. j and his parents all finished the 5K with good times and i got some good pictures of them running and of the cheerleaders. for j.

in the early afternoon sunday, i met l at the women's show. we were in and out pretty quickly but saw everything there was to see and got the bag of goodies. there was no stripper pole this time but i do have some feedback for the wedding show people.

back at j's parent's house, j saw that our car had been hit, probably in the parking lot at the women's show. there's an indent, paint transfer and scraping along the driver's side, both the back door and the driver's door. we just got the rear bumper fixed and haven't even totally put the car back together (they didn't put the panel on the inside of the trunk back on properly) and then this happens. unbelievable.

we leisurely drove home from j's parent's house only to find out that the party we had that night was actually a formal thing. j and i are not the formal-type people and had to scramble to figure out what to wear. we put ourselves together and were only 15 minutes late. it was the indian portion of v&k's wedding, which is this coming sunday. there were tons of people there, an open bar and buffet dinner, lots and lots of singing and dancing and chanting and praying and craziness. v's mom was continuously pulling us up to dance and dancing with everyone. j was drinking (drunk) and fell in love with indian music. he was having the time of his life dancing with everyone there. there was one point when v's mom gathered all the women and made us march onto the dance floor and one by one put a scarf-covered bowl on our heads while everyone danced around clapping. it was insane!

we got home relatively early, 11pm. poor cats could hardly remember what we looked like after us being out practically all weekend. we took all the pictures off the cameras and eventually they will make their way onto flickr and then i will be able to pictorally show you this weekend. promise.

this week and coming weekend are going to be mega busy too with the wedding and hockey and thanksgiving and family stuff all going on but i will try and update my blog more often than last week.