Down to the Nitty Gritty.....

Yes, that would appear to explain it all.

How many minute but important details can one leave until the last minute? If you are me, that would be MANY!!!! I have lists of things that must be attended to. Stuff that could have been dealt with earlier in the timetable. But of course some of us work better under pressure (um, ok) and we prefer to leave stuff until the last minute (um, stupidity). Oh yeah, I'm talking about this whole wedding thingy that takes off in just over a week.

Yep. One more week of being a bacholerette (actually I think I gave that up about 5 years ago! Maybe more). One more week of independence (hmmm, another thing I gave up over 5 years ago). One more week with my last name. That is kind of sad. I get attached to things pretty easily, and I am attached to my last name. But I'm willing to sacrifice that as I'm not one to get close and comfy with the hyphenated last name. I just don't like it.

One weekend left. 2 days of work left. 5 weekdays left. 9 sleeps left. 9 days left. That is the countdown at this point. And right now my body is saying that it is time to knock yet another day and sleep from those totals.

Prancing in a wedding dress...

I got the phone call! Actually, I made the phone call but got the answer I wanted hear. My wedding dress is finally in! One stress taken care of. Yay. So I went in for my first fitting yesterday. Girl leads me to the fitting rooms at the bridal shop, I see my dress hanging on the wall. Still looks good (thank you!), looks like what I bought, but man was it wrinkly! One of the questions I asked as I later went out the door after the fitting was "You are going to have it cleaned and pressed....right?" The answer was positive.

So I put the dress on. Hmmm, this bustier part is just a little too big (understatement here). I come out of the dressing room. Girl hands me these foamy things. 'Cups' she calls them. 'Stick them under your boobs, thick part at the bottom'. Uh huh. Okey dokey. I do as girl says. I look in mirror. Hmmm, the 'cups' really do nothing for me. I think I got a wierd look on my face at that point. Girl says 'Wait until the seamstress comes out, she'll tuck you in'. Uh huh, OK. Girl asks, 'Did you bring your shoes with you that you will wear at the wedding?' Yes, I did, but I wasn't all that sure at this point that these will be the EXACT shoes that I was going to wear. They're flipflops with a 2 inch heel (which really isn't all that tall, even by my 'I don't do heels' standard). But flipflops with a heel in a wedding dress, walking on uneven grass, and dancing countrystyle in a barn....I wasn't so sure of this mix. I told girl that I had had the salesgirl write down a style of shoes that I had tried on when I first found the dress. Hmmmm, ya, apparently they only have one left.... a size 11 (now, I never clarified if that was one shoe, or one pair of shoes, but at that point I just heard one and size 11 and nixed those plans of potentially buying that pair of shoes). So, lesson learned. When it comes to stuff like wedding attire, don't get buyers remorse before you even buy the article. Cause 7 months later it ain't gonna be there when you've finally made up your mind that you NEED that particular thing...in this instance....the shoes! Sooooo, flipflops it is!!

The seamstress who did my alterations? I think she might have been 20 years old. Am I being prejudice about age here? No not really. I just want my alterations done right. No I want them done perfectly. I don't have a lot of time here for a little nip here and a little tuck there, and 'oops' made that a little too small, here, let me fix that for you. Ah, but I'm judging the girl before I've seen her work. I admit, she did get right down to business and tucked and pinned away. So I'll give here the benefit of the doubt. Heaven forbid I become bridezilla at this late date. Or maybe it's at this particular time that brides become the bridezilla due to the pressure and stress of bringing all the tiny, and at a later date after the wedding, insignificant details, of their wedding together. Wouldn't surprise me. But it's not a claim to fame I'm willing to label myself with. Anyhow...back to the fitting.

I pranced around the bridal shop in the dress. Heck, what else am I supposed to do in a flowing gown and kitten heels that flipflop? Then I pranced my way back into that dressing room, removed the boobie cups (where in the heck do I put these suckers now???? Not to worry, I found a pocket to tuck them in), tucked my flipper flops back into their box, and slid out of my dress. Girl told me not to worry about special underwear...you know, the kind that hides those special curves us 30-something girls get when they get past 25 years old and their eating habits sneak up on them. Girl figures I don't need compression undies. I thanked her for the complement...although I might investigate that option...just to see for myself.

I'll leave you with that thought.......

Ice Cream is My Downfall....

I'm driving around while I worked today (yes, I drive for my job), and I was driving around my old neighborhood that I left behind approximately 1.5 months ago. Lo and behold, what do I stumble upon (or drive past), but a Marble Slab Creamery Store.

"What!?!?!?!?" I say aloud to myself and do a double take...twice. "Marble Slab Creamery? When did that tasty and delicious store move into this shopping complex that is oh so close to my previous apartment?" I look closer. Grand opening. Wow. I'm feeling a little gypped. Ice cream is near and dear to my heart, and the Marble Slab Creamery is like a really expensive blizzard, but very tasty blizzard with many different types of ice cream to choose from. Lucky for me, I now work in that area of town. At least for this summer (which of course is the best time to eat ice cream). Unlucky for my body and wallet. But a treat once in awhile can't hurt...can it??

And what about that hockey game last night??? Game 5 of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Yes, I jump on bandwagons when I feel there is a need. No, I'm not much of a sports fanatic, but I do enjoy play-off fever. It's very contagious, and to be honest, it's cool to get so worked up and excited about something every once in awhile. Hence, 'yes' to the bandwagon jumper. Anyhow, didn't watch the 1st and part of the 2nd period. Groaned and moaned through the 3rd period (sometimes suspense does me in and I can't bear to watch). Really groaned when I saw the penalty assigned Edmonton in overtime. Almost threw my dinner all over the couch when I saw the goal scored by Edmonton in OT. I actually yelled uninhibitently (sp??) "Oh my god!!!". Then yelled again in a squeakier tone of voice. (I have been told my voice goes up an octave and becomes squeaky when I'm in disbelief). Tried to place a bet with my fiancee that the twin sisters' phoneline would be busy if I called them to squawk about that OT goal. And I would have won as yes, their phone line was busy. (Huge Oilers fans). So twins....if you read this...

"WHAT ABOUT THAT GOAL!!!??!!!"

A day comes to an end....

I really don't have alot to say. I just wanted to put another entry into the blog. Weird. Nothing to say, yet feeling the urge to type and attempt some sort of conversation with myself.

Everytime I think I've created some sort of order around this house (unpacking boxes, rearranging furniture so it fits in rooms, putting things away after this move), more chaos erupts. Is this the life of a home/house owner? Am I destined to forever be blessed with some weird chaos that erupts just when you think you can put your feet up? This time I've gone through a couple of days where we've 'recieved' new (but it's really old, hand-me-down) furniture. And I'm struggling to find a place to put it. I guess I had this dream of when I got my first house (real house, not condo) that it would be designer-like and I would finally be able to buy myself some nice furniture. Holy smokes was I WRONG. I have been encouraged to take one old recliner, an old double bed (which I actually am glad we got cause now anyone who comes to visit doesn't have to sleep on the floor - so it's not all inconvienient furniture), another old chair, and a flowery hide-a-bed couch. Hmmm. I still have old furniture that I've felt I've HAD to keep (like an old love seat) because otherwise visitors would have to sit on the floor, and I just can't have that!

So now what the heck can I do? I thought I'd save up my moolah, and perhaps find a bargain somewhere and be able to designerly decorate the new home. Now it's decorated like a thrift store. And I'm not trying to be mean here. I'm really not. I guess I'm just frustrated. But then, on the other hand, I am still a student and I really can't afford to buy new furniture. So maybe I should just keep my trap shut and keep the furniture for now. In the next couple of years, perhaps I'll be able to turn this situation around.

Maybe.....

Smile, and defeat gravity...

I was people watching today. Those sayings that promote smiling came to my mind, such as "a smile is a frown turned upside down", or "it takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile". Well, the one thing a frown has going for it is the fact that gravity works with the frown. A smile has to work hard to defeat gravity.

Then I thought about old ladies and how some ladies have those perma-frowns. The frown is their permanent facial expression. It makes a person look cranky. I was watching people and looking for their unstimulated facial expressions. You know, the one that a person's face automatically falls into when they have no emotion to express, or aren't thinking about moving the muscles in their face. I saw this one girl. She was young, and I could tell that she would be one of those perma-frown old ladies. Her mouth was naturally set in the frown position. Which really makes a person look cranky, regardless of how old you are. Would you want to approach a person who looks cranky? Not me. I'd run the other way. But the perma-frown is really not an indicator of whether that person is a perma-crank. Unfortunately, the face you portray to the world, is the one the world potentially judges you by. Guess I'll have to work hard to defeat gravity. I don't want an old wrinkly perma-frown face. It's bad enough that my lips are thin. I'm gonna have a lipless mouth as it is when I get old (you know, everything shrinks as you get older).

Trials of moving...

We are finally moving into a house. A real house. Not a condo, not an apartment, not a townhouse. A real house with a frontyard, backyard, sideyard (if you could call it that), garage, patio (hmmm, well 'deck'), and a doorbell. And hopefully one day....a VEGGIE GARDEN!!! And lots of flowers. We're getting down to the nitty gritty. One more day left to pack, then the truck arrives, and it all gets loaded on and taken away to the new place. One problem....I've hardly packed a thing!

I know! You're thinking...wow, you either must not have very much stuff, or you're nuts? Hmm, well I would go with a little of both. We do have lots of stuff, but almost every year I am forced to purge and downgrade on my collectibles (some people would call it junk, others would call it frivilous items, still others would call it treasure). I love crafting, so tend to collect a little bit of that. Plus I've decided that I'm a magazine hog, so do have a few stacks of those. And I'm a student so of course I've got loads of textbooks and necessary piles of papers (emphasis on the necessary piles of papers!). And every year I attempt to purge as much as possible. So I have stuff, just not unnecessary piles of stuff. And yes, sometimes I do think I'm nuts. Who else would spend their time watching 'America's next top model' instead of packing to move into their long-awaited new house. *Hand goes up into the air* "I would!"

So needless to say, tomorrow is going to be very very busy. And I ran out of boxes today too. So I'll need to go on a run for more boxes tomorrow. I'll probably end up skulking around the big box stores (Staples, Petsmart, etc.), trying to score a box here, a box there. Then end up rifling through their recycle bins full of cardboard at the backs of the stores. Yeah, it will be embarassing, but it is a necessary evil. Perhaps I will strike out tomorrow at first light. You know, then if anyone sees me, they will think that they are still at home sleeping and dreaming about crazy people scooting around and on the prowl for the elusive cardboard box. Sigh, the things I do to save a buck.

Spring is a-Springin!

What better thing to do on a beautiful and gorgeous sunny spring day than to sit at the computer and type...NOT! I have to admit, right now my situation sucks. One last final exam to write tomorrow, and today is my last day of studying, and it's supposed to reach +22 degrees C outside. I believe that is like 12 degrees above normal! How unfair. So, instead I have chosen to pout and either stare at the wall...or type on the computer...or do what I do best when I'm bored and my conscience doesn't allow me in indulge in what I'd rather be doing (like torturing myself is soooo much better!!!). I take pictures of my cat!
She was especially active when I came home today. Not really sure why. But then we have this new, 'BIG', empty box sitting in the middle of our apartment. She gets excited when a new box comes into the house. While I was chowing on lunch, she was playing weird games with herself, jumping in and out of the box, making scratching noises inside the box, playing the 'Dr. Claw' game with the handles of the box.
I guess there is just something about enclosed spaces that she really likes. And if it is a smelly enclosed space, even better. For example, when she was a kitten she'd burrow down deep into DH's hockey bag - full of smelly, locker stink, sweaty gear. At this point I questioned if she had any sense of smell whatsoever. But then, why do little kids like to eat dogfood so much? What attracts them back time and time again? Certainly can't be the smell, nor the taste...or is it?
Any how, after a lengthy session of leaping in and out of the box, and creating a whole lot of kerfufful while doing so, one must lay down for a nap. But remember, if you're this cat, you don't pick just anyplace for your nap. You pick the smelliest pile of stinky jogging clothes and running shoes you can find. And if it also includes a plastic bag, then wow, are you ever in luck!!

Ok enough lolly-gagging. Back to the bookwork!

When one reaches boredom....

I really should NOT be here, fooling around, but when one has been studying social psychology for most of the morning, I guess one can take a break. Even if that break started about 1 hour ago, and should have ended half an hour ago. But this is my last diverson, I swear!

When I get bored doing my homework, I don't look to do productive things. No way. That would just be way to overly productive. Heck, I've got dishes piled sky high in the kitchen (both clean and dirty!), clothes in the dryer from last night that need to be folded, kitty litter that stinks to high heaven and really should be changed now, disarray and clutter spread all through this apartment, and here I am, really doing nothing. In fact I've spent the past 15 minutes taking pictures of my cat, and playing with her. I was trying to capture these unimpressed and disgusted looks that she gets on her face constantly. I truely believe this cat is a happy cat, but you wouldn't know it to look at her. For instance, take a gander at them eyeballs staring you down in the picture at the top. To me they say "Step no closer human, lest I unleash my pointy teeth and even pointy-er claw". Look hard. These are the eyes that tend to wake me up every morning. Scary. Now, how about this next shot...

WOAH! She just finished beating up her catnip bunny, during this shot. Hence the psycho-ess-ness that she portrays here.

Ok, I take another look at both these photos, and they perhaps don't quite get across the emotions that this cat tends to display on a regular basis. I guess this may be one of those, 'if you knew this cat in real life, you'd understand exactly what I'm talking about!" cases. As well, her craziness tends to get her in trouble. In fact, she spent one of her nine lives about midnight last night. She likes to tickle people's toes with her claws, as they are lying in bed asleep. I was woken up by thrashing and cursing last night as my fiancee ripped the covers back, leaped out of bed and went chasing the cat through the house in furious madness. Um, she also might have got a pillow to the noggen at the same time. She's just lucky that she didn't get a foot to posterior as well, which is what I'm sure he really wanted to do. Sigh. The cat just doesn't get it. This isn't the first time that this has happened.

OK, back to sociology styled psychology...or psychology styled sociology....or maybe I'll just call it something I wish I had done yesterday....

Mmmm, chocolate.....

So I had to make a necessary trip to Purdy's chocolates today. Yes, you may all laugh now. This trip was not intended for myself (well maybe in a somewhat loosely connected way, it was). It was in fact intended to make up for a self indulgence that occurred earlier last week.

I was suffering. I was (and in fact still am) trying to diet and be healthy. I was also trying desperately to catch up on my homework. So in an attempt to get away from bad influences and distractions, I went to my mom's condo (they're away for the entire winter) to sit on her couch and study. Which is in fact what I did. I was sitting there, reading social psychology, staring out the window a bit, then thinking...man, I'm thirsty! So I took my drink that I had brought with me and put it in the fridge, thinking it would taste better being least a minute bit colder than room temperature. And low and behold, I was attacked! The minute I opened the fridge, chocolate leaped out at me. I had no where to go! I ducked left, I ducked right, I did a super duper stuntman roll across the kitchen floor in a desperate attempt to dodge airborne chocolate! And they were in the shape of christmas bells to boot! So it was OLD chocolate. I didn't think old, stale chocolate had it in it, to become the deadly weapon that was persistantly attacking me so! Lo and behold, I was suddenly surrounded....little red and green and gold foiled bells, backing me into a corner. What else does one do when attacked by chocolate? One EATS IT!!!! So as a last resort, I chomped them bells. One by one I took them DOWN! YEAH! And as old and stale as it was, it actually tasted pretty good. So good I was able to defeat every last little sucker...I mean bell. So to all those who keep open chocolate in their fridge....BEWARE!

Anyway, I figured I'd better replace the chocolate that I ate in my moment of weakness. So now instead of old, yucky, bell-shaped chocolate in your fridge, mom, there are nice new rabbit droppings in the shape of tasty little chocolate easter eggs. So I have, in fact, saved you from having to deal with stale chocolate. I dealt with it for you.

Yellow Jello Legs

Here's my kitty. I didn't actually take this picture, my sis' did. Cute pic. And I didn't ask if I could post it. So I suppose I'm breaking copywrite laws, etc. I'm sure she'll let me know if she disapproves. Anyhow, just testing the upload picture feature. Yay! It works!!

My, what a cute kitty cat!!

So, in my effort to delay the layers and layers of jiggly adipose tissue that continues to multiply at a ferocious rate on my body, I signed up for spin classes for the month of April. One class per week, Tuesday nights, so four classes in total. Last night was my first class. Not too sure what to expect, as we used actual stationary spin bikes.

Oh the humanity!

I swear, I thought I was going to die. The instructor was kind enough to post a 'picture' of the course we would ride during the class. So it was broken up into 9 or 10 sections, with bumps, uphills, downhills, rolling hills, that kind of thing. Well, the first section - bumps. I swear, if the music wasn't so loud, the only thing anyone would have heard was my asthmatic huffing and wheezing. I look around at my fellow spinmates...people are actually smiling!!! What the heck is up with that???? And the new girls in the class (I was one of those new girls)? Dutifully following the instructor doing stand up/sit down drills. Was I the only one who was about the keel over???? Oh, then the uphills, done standing up on the bike. The pain, the agony, the cardiac arrest I swear was about to occur! If I could just reach my water bottle..maybe everything would be fine. Crap, how is one supposed to swallow when your airway has constricted to the point that only air is allowed passage?!? Oh, just to sit down. What? Turn up the tension? Are you nuts?? Maybe if I just turn it up a little, my body won't notice. *Groan* My body noticed.

Ok, I make it sound bad. It wasn't that bad. But the best part? When it was over. And to be honest. I felt so good after I was able to get my breath back and the lactic acid buildup in my legs dispersed. So good, in fact, that I was a-wailin' at the top of my lungs to tunes in the car on the way home. I guess that is the adrenaline buzz everyone talks about after a really good work out. I just wish that buzz would come sooner in the workout. The good thing about having one class per week? It gives you enough time to actually forget the torture you went through previously, and allow you to have some small bit of excitement for the next class.

My Question to Myself

I'm rushing through this morning as I have deadlines to meet today. I have these certain deadlines that are looming dreadfully in front of me. Now I ask myself. Even though I have pressing matters and have stuff that absolutely must be accomplished today, how can I still find time to be distracted?????? Procrastinate?????? I mean, I'm even rushing to be distracted and to procrastinate (I'm jittery and my heart is pumping, and my mind is saying "go go go go"). Is that not worst of all procrastinationness?? I shake my head at myself.

Holy snowfall Batman!

Did someone just tell me that the first day of Spring is March 20? Hmmmm, would that be..tomorrow? Oh, wait, let me check my calendar. Why, yes, March 20th would be tomorrow. What the heck is with all this snow!?!?!?!?!

Did we get dumped on yesterday! Now, remember, we haven't really had winter at all this year. We had a somewhat balmy February, a mediocre January and December, but not really all that much snow. And wow are we paying for it now. The question is, how long will this last?

I wake up yesterday morning, knowing full well that it was pouring snow when I went to bed last night. DH is supposed to go to his morning workout and so I check the weather channels to see what the conditions are like out there. Wow, there is snow everywhere. Apparently we would have had between 15-25 cm. Well, I would say we had more than that. I warn DH, he doesn't care, he's going anyway (in his 2 wheel drive truck with bald tires on it and no weight in the back). I don't hear hide nor hair from him until he gets back home 4 hours later (his workouts are really long....plus he went somewhere else too). He's down in the parking lot of our apartment complex and he's screaming into the phone to tell me to come help him push the truck out. Of course I just hang up, put my winter boots on and head on outside. There's alot of snow out there! He's all mad and cranky cause he got stuck going around the parking lot to our parking stall, sat in one spot spinning his tires, and about 4 able people just stood there and watched him. So apparently he ended up spitting snow at them as he spun his way to a relatively 'safe' are of the lot. I got told to go get my car from underground parking and to park it in the snowy lot because it has front wheel drive and it won't get stuck. Um, ok. Well I got stuck too. The car currently sits in visitor parking (I can totally see me getting a parking ticket - lame), because that is about as far as I made it. Crummy.

So anyhow, I now expect there to be floods, because the temp will go above 0 degrees in the next couple of days and the heaps and heaps of snow are going to melt.

My Sister Said I Should Do This

I've created this blog 'cause I don't want to take over my sister's blog. I always tend to comment over there, and although this won't stop me from commenting, now I can carry on with my rants on my own space.

I'm also doing this as an outlet for inspiration. My mind is always ticking and creating. I'm hoping that maybe by using this as an outlet, some of that creativity will become works of real life. Although it does have to compete with schoolwork (which takes up so much time!!! And not just the act of doing the schoolwork, one must also include the time it takes to think about getting the schoolwork done, then preparing to do the schoolwork, then surfing the internet instead, before actually settling down to performing schoolwork - and sometimes, this takes a whole afternoon!). So I'll see just how this strategy works.

First let's see if my inept computer abilites can make this sucker post!!