Oh what a night...

So, tonight was one of those nights when I had a work event to go to. And lemme tell ya, it's nights like tonight that even I tell myself my job is pretty cool.

The occasion was someone I know through work's 60th birthday party. Her husband and his son wanted to throw her a surprise party but she refused, saying if they really insisted on doing something she'd help to arrange it and wanted to make sure some serious coin was raised for charity - our charity! Woo hoo!! She asked for donations to be made and announced via the invitation that her husband would match all donations. Excellent!

Only two people from the hospital were invited - the doctor who their donations support, and little ole me. And Hubs of course. :)

The entire theme of the night was pink - did I mention how much I love this woman? Not just for her love of all things pink, but honestly because of the incredible woman she is. We have a blast when we're working on ways to raise money, and I was very honoured to be invited to her big celebration.

And what a celebration it was! Over 150 people, a super swank meal catered by North 44 (too bad I didn't think it was a dinner so we ate before we got there), and the guests! The who's who of the Toronto social scene, but a few local celebs thrown in for good measure. Like Gordon Lightfoot, Norman Jewison, Pamela Wallin, Margaret Atwood and Ronnie Hawkins...pardon my shameless name dropping, but come on! How cool was that?

Then the topper of it all, what had me rolling in the aisles, was the surprise musical guest. Even the birthday girl didn't know who it was! We were guessing furiously at our table and our final answer was Michael Buble.

Right genre, wrong guy. Not the Bubes, but Paul Anka. Yes, you read that right. The singer with a 50 year career for whom Lorelai's dog on the Gilmore Girls was named. Who knew!?

To steal a line from Reality Bites, he was so cheesy I needed crackers just to listen to him, but man...that guy sure can sing. Smarmy as all get out, but the voice, it is pretty darned good.

He sang My Way, New York New York (my theme song, I'll have you know), For Once In My Life (which I totally love) and Diana. You could barely hear the music for the cacophony of hips cracking as the 60 + something's all got up to shake their booties. Ohhh, that was harsh. Even for me. I shouldn't say such things - undoubtedly a good number of those folk are still there, shakin their things, whilst Hubs and I left before 10:30!! I chalk it up to the suburbs, not the age.

Yeah, that's it.

Anyway, all in all it was a very cool night and I felt very fortunate to have been included. It's at times like this when I absolutely love my job. For how can anything like this truly be seen as work? Especially when there's a huge veal steak on your plate?

The birthday girl had a blast and should be very proud of her efforts. The total raised to date is over $75,000, and there's still more money coming in. Methinks her hubby is going to feel a little worse for wear in the morning, but his hangover will be much more financial than physical.

And that's your daily dash. How's your diva doin'?

Greetings from this week!

Hard to believe it's been almost a week since I've posted. My most humble of apologies!

I know a few of you were asking me to post my Jeanne Lottie spoils and I promise, I will - as soon as I have a chance to snap a photo or two of what I ended up with. But rest assured it was a successful hunt. I walked away with a beautiful leather bag in a stunning Tiffany blue (how apropos) and a gorgeous brown travel bag that will be perfect once fall well and truly is upon us. Photos to come, I promise!

Speaking of Jeanne Lottie, just a little note to you local gals. If you're looking for something really fun to do on October 12, why not consider attending the Pink Bedroom Party at the Liberty Grand? Tickets for the full event are $250 (a bit steep, I know) or you can get after party tickets (so no dinner or super swank gift bag) for $45 (I believe). Visit www.pinkbedroomparty.com for more info! I'll be there, all decked out in pink. Imagine that!!

So let's see, what else....well, Friday after my fab trip to Jeanne Lottie I headed over to Tiffany's to get the chain on my necklace extended. While there a new ring was purchased...more about that in a separate post, but don't worry, we didn't go all bling crazy or anything like that. Momma can't afford no big Tiffany bling, ya know? Then it was off to a doctor's appointment, and home.

The headache that had begun late that afternoon took over, and I was in bed feeling quite sick to my stomach by 7 that night. Party girl is right! I'm taking the world by storm, one Friday night at a time. Sigh.

Saturday after a crack of dawn appointment at the clinic, we make the trek out to Brampton for a family bbq. At the one of our houses that doesn't have air conditioning. On a stinking hot day. Alas...lesson learned. Had a realy nice time - I do love hanging out with Hubs' family - then we dropped DeeDee off and made the trip back home. We were exhausted, plain and simple.

Sunday was pure bliss. Sleeping in, going to see Superbad (I am totally McLovin this movie, btw - totally crass but a great little flick), then just coming home and loafing for the afternoon. Hubs downloaded a game called Bioshock to his XBox 360 and liked it so much, that he had to buy it. So Sunday afternoon, part of our loafing included him playing the game, and me pointing out all the stuff he should be picking up. Teamwork. It's a wonderful thing!

Then it was back to work on Monday. Is the long weekend here yet? Sheesh! Work is kinda quiet right now which is good - a real calm before the storm that will be September - but it's hard to stay focussed when you're not really busy all the time! The mind wanders....then we pull it back to the task at hand and cross something else off the seemingly never ending to do list.

Last night was relatively quiet. Hubs cooked some yummy pork tenderloin on the bbq, and we tried to head to bed early. How exciting are we?

Tonight was to have been a Tuesday Night Distraction Club meeting (it being Tuesday and all) but the rest of this week is so stupid busy and I've been fighting a cold for four weeks now (it hasn't won yet - I'm still fending it off) so I decided we could all use a week off before everything begins anew after Labour Day. I did, however, sneak off to have coffee with one of the lovely WB gals who lives close by. It was great to meet you, N! I'm sure we'll be seeing more of each other!

Funny how, even though we're not in school anymore and I don't have any school age children, Labour Day still signals new beginnings. Interesting. Wonder why that is? Discuss.

Well, that's about the state of it over the past few days. Hope you didn't miss me TOO much. Now it's almost midnight, we have an early appointment at the clinic tomorrow and I've left you with something to ponder, so I think I'll simply say goodnight. So, goodnight!

And that's your daily dash. How's your diva doin'?

Me so spoiled...

I'm back! Wasn't sure if I'd make it to do another post tonight, but here I am! My belly is full of steak and potatoey goodness, and I've had some grocery store birthday cake with plenty o' grit. All is right with the world!! Oh and hey - any guesses what I wished for as I blew out the candles? Hell, I even ordered the free dessert at the Keg 'cause I knew it came with a candle, and I need all the candle blowing out luck I can get these days!!!

I've even had a chance to watch tonight's episode of Big Brother, even though it was all chopped up. Grr...the cable signal was crap, so the stupid thing keep freezing. "I vote to evict (blank)." Nothing. Sooooo frustrating!!

But still, I return tonight to revel in Hubs' sweetness. He outdid himself yet again this year - I am so spoiled!

When he picked me up from the train station, he told me I'd have to wait until we got to the restaurant 'cause he took my present there. Booo.... So I was preparing for an hour or so wait after we got home. I made a wee trip to our ever-so-sassy powder room, and when I returned, a beautiful blue bag containing this box


was waiting for me on our coffee table. Silly boy, trying to trick me like that.

Does my husband know his diva, or what? Tee hee.

Inside the box was a beautiful silver necklace from the Paloma Picasso collection. It's a heart that doesn't close at the top, but each side is heart shaped as well. Not sure if that makes much sense or if you can see it properly, but here goes:


The chain's a bit short, so I'll have to take it in tomorrow so they can add some length to it. Aw shucks, I'll have to spend some time at Tiffany's. What's a girl to do?

Oh yeah, before I go, I have to have lunch with the founder and marketing director of Jeanne Lottie, my fave handbag store. Yep, actually part of my job. And we get to go shopping first - you'll be sure I'll post the incredible bag I have my eye on after it comes home with me tomorrow. Soon my pretty, soon...

So that about wraps up my big day! And what a fantastic day it's been! Thanks for sticking around to to celebrate every one of those many years with me.

It's fitting to end here, because at the very minute I click publish, I'll be 34 years old.

And that's your double dose of your daily dash. How's your diva doin'?

A diva celebrates!

I know I'm a bit early today, but in case I don't get the chance to come on this evening and add a word or two post-steak, here I am!

I wanted to thank everyone for the wonderful birthday wishes, whether on Facebook or WB or by phone or email...I feel well and truly loved today! What an awesome birthday this year! No complaints on this end.

Hubs got me the cutest card and placed it on my pillow this morning as I woke. I think I may have mentioned it before, but I am desperately in love with English Bulldogs, I want one more than anything, but of course our current living situation is not at all conducive to a puppy of any description.

But that doesn't mean I won't squeal like a tween at a Justin Timberlake concert anytime I see super cute photos of them! So sure enough, this year's card had a pair of bulldogs on the front, and a 'happy birthday to my better half' message on the inside. Too cute. LOVED IT!

Now the morning is slowly ticking by and I'm pretty much ready to be done for the day. It's kinda hard to concentrate, actually. There are three of us in the office with the same birthday, so you hear all sorts of wishes being volleyed around the office at any given time.

I suppose I should get to some actual work. Despite my diva persona, I've yet to convince myself that the world truly does revolve around me, even on the day that's all about me (and the two other birthday gals in the office - sigh). Alas...back to work I go!

Hope to be back later! Ta ta.

And that's an early version of your daily dash. How's your diva doin'?

As dusk turns into night...

...I am brutally reminded that the days are getting awfully short, no? At 8:30 it's already dark. And that sucks. 'Cause it means that the summer is drawing to a close, and it's all flippin downhill from here.

Speaking of downhill, today's also the dusk of my early thirties. That's right, as of tomorrow, I officially enter my mid-thirties. 34 years old. Strange.

I've never really been one who's too concerned about her age. I've loved my 30's so far...love knowing what I want out of life, what I'm not prepared to simply settle for, and having the earning power to make things happen. The only time the whole age thing really gets me down or has me thinking is when I ponder my egg situation...and the fact that 90% of our viable eggs are gone by the time we're 27.

Uh, if my math is correct, that was seven years ago.

Ouch.

Add dem statistics to the fact that I don't actually make my own eggies all that well, and yeah....34 gets increasingly daunting.

But hey - tomorrow's my birthday, and I don't want to bring MYSELF down before then!!

I love birthdays...love them. Especially my own. I truly believe that a birthday is a big deal, the one and only day all year where it's just about you because of you. Period. And that's kinda cool by me.

This year, it's not even my birthday yet and I've already had some pretty great celebrations. Last night I went out with a great cross section of folks from work, WB, and some lifelong friends. I had a blast! Yummy dinner, great company, pink balloons, a chocolate cake with pink frosting and smiley face rings (I'm not kidding! It was great!), flowers, great presents - what more could a gal ask for? Really! I felt quite spoiled, and it was a real pleasure to have so many of my great gal pals in one room to celebrate with me.

Ah, life is good.

I would have blogged about it when I got home yesterday but I was so danged tired I could barely keep my eyes open, let alone my laptop! I stumbled inside the house, put my pj's on, watched Big Brother, and was asleep before my head came anywhere close to the pillow. And damned if the blasted sun didn't come up seconds later. At least that's how it felt to me.

I'm pretty much ready for bed yet again tonight. Not sure why I'm so sleepy these days - maybe it's the weather, or the knowledge that I don't really have any more vacation coming my way for a good long time. That would make anyone tired. I really hope the sun comes out and makes at least an appearance tomorrow! Come on out for me, will ya? The almost leo?

So for now I'll say a simple goodnight, and I'll be back to write again when I'm another year older. And after I've had my yummy steak dinner at the Keg. Ah, birthdays....

And that's your daily dash. How's your diva doin'?

Let the festivities begin!

So it's T-3 days until my 34th birthday, and the fun is already underway. We were up north this past weekend for my stepbrother's wedding, and I was fortunate enough to receive some cash from some very kinda (and brilliant - I love cash, it always fits and is the perfect colour) relatives, so let the shopping begin!

The trouble is, there's not a lot that I want for my birthday this year. Well, there is, but they're all things that I'm not 'allowed' to ask for. Like a new lock/door knob for our front door. Or getting our carpets cleaned. Or a day of Molly Maid. Or 15 bags of triple mix for the front garden.

Oh how my life has changed.

So instead, since I'm forced to do something for me and me alone, I'm thinking I'm going to buy myself a Coach purse. Never had one, but I want one. I think. I just haven't found the one I want yet. Such a dilemma.

And then today, I got this fantastic gift from my WB SGF (a pen pal of sorts). It's a great pink Swarovski crystal necklace - could it be more perfect? I didn't think so either! So thanks again, Mary!!
Tomorrow night the festivities continue as part of our regularly scheduled Tuesday Night Distraction Club. Looks like there will be ten of us going out for dinner which is awesome! Looking forward to seeing everyone and a really yummy meal! Not a bad way to eek myself back into working.

Yep, I've been off the past few days (Friday and today) so it's back to work yet again. At least it's a short week, and it includes my birthday which is always a bit of a freebie in working land, ya know? Then again, there are three people in my office with the same birthday, so if we all stopped being productive there might be real consequences! Hehe.

Thursday Hubs and I were going to go to a fantastic little restaurant I'd wanted to try out close by, but wouldn't you know it, they're closed for the next two weeks. Guess restauranteurs want vacations too. But did they have to choose my birthday week? Woe is me. So now it's back to the drawing board. Guess I'd better make my mind up soon!

Then Saturday Hubs' family is getting together to celebrate not only my bday, but my mother in law's as well seeing as we're only two days apart. I love his family, so we'll have a great time whatever we end up doing. Then we'll take DeeDee home (she will have been with us for two weeks by then) and Hubs and I will have one quiet day together before we start off to work for another week.

So what else has happened? Oh, my aunt offered Hubs and I her beautiful home in cottage country for a weekend in September, and we can't wait! We spent a few days there right after our wedding last year, and it's a truly spectacular place. Nothing 'cottage' about it. And the best part about the whole thing is the timing - it'll be the weekend after we get the results from this next round of IUI, etc. So either it'll be a nice escape from real life to mourn yet another negative result, or a fantastic celebration of many years of agony paying off.

'Cause yes, we're back on the horse and I'm on day 4 of clomid. And can I just say, this time around the irritability side effect has been supremely cranked up a notch? I don't know if it has anything to do with having DeeDee here non stop (only because I feel like I rip on her all the time, working with Hubs to correct some of her behavioural issues) but I kinda feel bad for the kid, hearing nothing but 'don't push on the side of the table' or 'gum stays in the mouth' or 'did you wash your hands?' out of my grumpy mouth. I think going back to work should help that a bit. Guess this is something I should get used to in case that whole custody thing ever works out!

So I guess that's about it for my world these days. I've enjoyed taking it easy today (only left the house to water the plants), just watching some PVR'd shows, hangin out in my fave cyber places, and starting to read the Harry Potter series. I never got into it the first time, so now that they're all out there, why the hell not? I started the first one last night and finished it this afternoon, so we're already on to book two. We shall see how things hold my interest from here!

Hope you've all had a fantastic few days, and I look forward to reporting on tomorrow night's festivities, uh, tomorrow!

And that's your daily dash. How's your diva doin'?

On being a girl

If I ever find the guy (and you KNOW it has to be a guy) that's behind the insanity that is the "Have a happy period" marking campaign for Always, I will push him down a huge flight of stairs and not even wait around to hear his body hit the ground.

Seriously...have a happy period? Who says that? What about a period is happy, I ask you? Unless you're praying to the bleedin' gods that you're not pregnant, and in that case the message should be more along the lines of "Congrats! Here's your get out of jail free card. Next time be more careful".

But I guess that won't sell maxi pads, eh? And it takes up an awful lot of room on the protective sticker thingie.

No, nothing about having a period is happy. You're crampy, you're tired, you're irritable, and oh yeah - you're bleeding for five straight days. In my case, I'm all these things. And, I'm also not pregnant. Happy period, my ass.

Funny how our emotions can ebb and flow much like the cycles themselves. Because of my PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) I don't get regular periods - never have. I'd go up to nine months at a time without one. And it was bliss, kinda. I mean, at the time I wasn't looking for a tenant in my womb, so I was completely content to let it sit vacant and cobweb over a bit until I needed the place. I knew something wasn't quite right, but for the time being there was no need to do anything about it.

Fast forward a few years, and I'm desperate for good ole Aunt Flo to show up at my front door, asking to be let in. Month after month she wouldn't show, so finally I had to get the good doctors to give her a little push until she'd begrudgingly make her appearance. Jagger was really on to something with that whole 'you can't always get what you want' thing. Sigh.

Fast forward a bit further, and we find ourselves at present day. Thanks to the jumbo sized cocktail of drugs partying it up in my bloodstream, I seem to be surfing the crimson wave with much greater regularity. And I gotta tell ya - it sucks.

Not that I'm telling the vast majority of you something you don't already know. How you go through this every 28 days (give or take) is beyond me. Or at least it has been, but now I'm actually becoming one of you, living this insanity month in and month out. That's right - I've actually had three periods in the past three months. Is it insane to say that's never happened to be me before in my entire life? And did I mention I'm going to be 34 next week?

WTF?

And no, just for the record and in case you couldn't tell, I'm not having a happy period. I'm having a grumpy, crampy, someone's-taking-a-melon-baller-to-my-insides, get-the-fuck-out-of-my-face period.

Take that, Always. And marketing dude - I suggest you rethink your campaign. Either that, or stay the hell away from me. And stairs.

And that's your daily dash. How's your diva doin'?

Another banner day...

Greetings, all. Hope you had a fantastic weekend! We had a blast at the wedding, but holy hell was it hot. I don't think I've ever sweat that much in my entire life. And I wasn't the poor fool all dressed up in a full tux, replete with vest and everything. Ouch. Hubs sure was a dripping pool by the end of the day.

It was great to head back to Kingston for the nuptuals. We had the rehearsal dinner at Chez Piggy, a K-town institution, and we even rounded the weekend out with brunch there on Sunday. I managed to have White Mountain ice cream on Friday night, and before we headed back to the hotel after the wedding, we made a wee stop at Bubba's so I could indulge in the best poutine on the face of the planet. Sooooooo good, especially after a night of drinking.

Yes, I ended up drinking. I hadn't drank a drop of alcohol in almost two weeks, as once again we found ourselves in that delightful torture known as the two week wait. Even though my clinic was closed I was able to convince my doc to give me an ultrasound so we could see how things were going. Sure enough, it looked like there was one good follicle preparing itself for release, so we were off to the races. We got to 'try the old fashioned way' which is relatively new for us and was a bit of a novelty, really.

But in the end, none of it worked. Hence the banner day.

This was my last chance to get pregnant before I turn 34. And now it's gone. And that totally sucks.

As with last time, I knew it was coming. All the tests I'd done at home (or on the road, for that matter) had come back negative, so today's blood test result was really no surprise.

Didn't stop me from sobbing in my office yet again, but at least this time it was a little less intense than that first one. We have to take our small comforts where they come.

To add a bit of salt to my gaping wound, a few minutes after getting the call, I get an email from a friend telling me to use her home email from here on out as she's now off work, waiting for her baby to arrive. A few hours later I get stuck beside a pregnant woman on the GO train.

And now I have cramps.

In some ways, cramps are good. It means another cycle is getting ready to begin (yippee!!) and we have yet another shot to get knocked up. At least this time the clinic's not closed right around ovulation time. Small mercies. Although if my math is correct, it looks like our next insemination might be right around or on my birthday. Yay for me. Happy birthday!! Nice card from Hubs in the morning, then an hour later flat on my back with a catheter shoved in my hoo ha. Do I know how to celebrate, or what? Sheesh.

So yeah...today hasn't been the best day. Thankfully tomorrow is jam packed with work stuff so there'll be lots to keep my mind off it all, then we'll be out celebrating celtic kitten's birthday (so many August birthdays - you'd think there was no other way to keep warm in November/December...insane!) tomorrow night. Then there's only Wednesday and Thursday to get through, and I'm off again on Friday and Monday so we can head up to Sudbury for my step brother's wedding. Yep, two weddings this summer, and they're back to back at opposite ends of the province.

I'm looking forward to it though! The wedding part should be great, but I will admit it will be hard to spend the entire weekend with my now-very-noticeably-pregnant sister. Sigh. Nothing against her personally of course - it's just so damned hard to have it right there in front of my eyes. Especially since we all know she's having a girl this time.

Oh great, here come the tears again.

On that most happy note, I'll bid you all a fond adieu. Hope your day has been better than mine. And on a purely selfish note, I hope my tomorrow is much better than my today.

And that's your daily dash. How's your diva doin'?

Headin outta town

Just a quickie tonight...we're getting ready to go to a friend's wedding out of town, and as such are now busy packing and remembering everything we need and...well, I'm doing all this stuff, while Hubs sleeps/snores/watches UFC. Amazing how that boy can multi-task.

Did I mention he's the best man for this wedding? Boys.

I asked him if there was a rehearsal. He's not sure. I asked what time dinner was tomorrow night. He can't remember. I asked if he went to the bank to get the funds for their gift. He's going tomorrow morning.

Boys.

Good thing they have us!

So we're heading off for our three hour drive and will be leaving by a different entrance to the highway than the one we usually use. This is to achieve two goals - 1) to avoid the construction on the main route and 2) to hit the new Starbucks drive through so I can have my grande lactaid one splenda latte. Yummyyyyy. I can taste it already.

So I'm all packed, my various outfits are all selected and strategically tucked into my sassy pink faux croc duffel, and Hubs has...slept. Hope he doesn't make too much noise when he gets up in the morning to catch up to me in preparedness. 'Cause this diva needs her beauty sleep, and tomorrow is my last official day of vacation to sleep in.

I pity the unprepared Hubs who disrupts this diva's sleep. Mostly because he'll subsequently be trapped in a vehicle with said sleep deprived diva for almost three hours. And that's liable to be punishment enough for almost any transgression.

I'll give you the update from the other side on Sunday when we get back.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

And that's your daily dash. How's your diva doin'?

Greetings from this side of vacation-land!

It's true - I've been on vacation for so long (sarcasm) that my mind forgets to do the normal, every day things. Like write in my blog on a daily basis. When I popped over to Blogger world and discovered that my last entry was almost a week ago, I recoiled in horror! So unlike me! The non-vacationing diva would never do such a thing, never let such a lapse transpire. Vacationing diva sincerely hopes you'll forgive her this transgression and just be so damned relived that I'm actually back that you'll put the whole thing behind you instantly. Sounds good to me.

So what's been going on? Let's see....went out for dinner for my brother in law's birthday on Saturday. We went to Casey, one of the many fine establishments on Hubs' most hated list. Yes, he really has such a list, I'm not exaggerating. We seriously had not been to Casey's in almost a year because, in Hubs' mind, a) their service constantly sucked, b) they changed their menu and all the good stuff was gone, c) you now had to pay for previous freebies like salad with entrees and d) they now make their club sandwich on a floofie little bun instead of bread, it's not triple layered and the turkey isn't even real. That was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. But good ole Hubs, he sucked it up for BIL's birthday, and off we went. Not that anyone really likes Casey's all that much, but hey - the birthday person eats for free, hence the restaurant selection by said BIL.

Sunday we traipsed out to the country for dinner at my dad's place. It was my little (ha - little, she's like 20 now) sister's birthday on Monday, so we celebrated everyone's all at once. Including mine, now only two weeks away. So strange how they creep up on you every year.

We've also had more fun with our car than is humanly possible. We have a 2006 Kia Rio 5 (hardly befitting the diva persona, I know, but it is kinda cute) and over the past little while it's developed this annoying habit of not starting. Kinda cramps that whole 'get in the car and go' thing. First time it happened was mid-July. I was hanging with my mom at my sisters place and when we tried to go out shopping, no dice. Car no start. But later that day, it did and I was able to get home.

Strange.

So Hubs takes it to the dealership to get checked out. I, in my infinite mechanical wisdom, do declare that the alternator is the problem. Prognostication is a fine art that I practice with great frequency but all too little accuracy. Sigh.

$130 later, we're given the car back and told that it was the spark plugs. Doh. Wrong again. We both thought it was weird, but hey - we're neither of us mechanics and we don't have those sassy little diagnostic computer thingies, so we'll go with spark plugs.

Until, that is, the damned car fails to start again. We give it a bit of gas and it will go, but now this is just plain annoying. I go to WalMart with DeeDee to fetch something, come home with the wrong something, Hubs hops in the car to return said wrong something at the WalMart, and as soon as he comes out - dead. Dead car. No turn over, no nothing.

And he didn't have his cell with him.

So very unhappy Hubs walks home in the blistering heat and stifling humidity to call roadside assistance. Poor sweaty Hubs then has to walk back to the WalMart to wait for the tow truck and pray it doesn't take long. Pretty soon some Joe guy drives up in his little green car and says he's roadside assistance. Hilarious. So glad to see that money well spent. He boosts the car, and Hubs, now sweaty and supremely pissed off, heads home in air conditioned splendor.

Back to the dealership we go. This time, they replace everything in the fuse box/central computer. New wires, everything. Fortunately all covered under warranty. They tell us that some other Rio's have had this problem and this seems to solve it. Fabu.

This is Friday afternoon.

Saturday afternoon we go to Shoppers to stock up on all our fave Life brand products (I'm soooo a sucker for those 10x the points things). We walk out with our loot and, you guessed it, the car doesn't start.

And NEITHER of us have our cell phones. This never happens...ever. But they're both sitting at home safely nestled in their chargers. Where they are completely useless to us. Fanfuckintastic.

So the kind and generous people at Shoppers let us use their phone to call Roadside Assistance. Sure enough, 35 minutes later, same Joe guy shows up again, and boots us, again, and we're on our way. He asks us if they've done a load test on the battery, that it might not be holding the charge long enough to get us started again after a short stop. Hubs manages to catch his new best friend, the Kia service person, on the phone and she promises to take care of us on Tuesday. Goodie.

Throughout the rest of the weekend, it's a tag team effort everywhere we go. If we need to pop into the grocery store, one shops at warp speed while the other waits in the running car so we don't have to call for another boost. Great for the freakin environment, people. Sigh.

Tuesday is manic. I have an appointment to pick a rental car up for me while I'm off this week at 8. Hubs drops me off, then heads up to Kia to put the car in (third time has to be the charm) and get their loaner so he can head out to work.

8:30 goes by and I'm still waiting at Enterprise to pick up my car. I'm now certifiably not happy. They've told me that a car is coming for me from their sister branch the next town over, and they apologize for the delay. Right. I'm super tired, I haven't showered yet (I sincerely expected this to be a quick in and out thing) so I'm starting to look a bit sketchy, and I really want a flippin coffee by this point. Argh.

Meanwhile, Hubs is up at Kia and - surprise - no loaner car. But good ole Tammy arranges to rent one for Hubs from, you guessed it, the Enterprise location from which my rental car has recently departed. Oh the irony.

FINALLY my car arrives and you can imagine my shock and chagrin when I realize I'll be driving...another Kia for the week. No shower, no coffee, a half hour plus wait, and now a freakin Kia. Not that they could have known, but come on!!! Then I realize that it's a Spectra and a nice upgrade from what we usually drive, so I chill out a bit.

I chill out even further when the manager of Enterprise offers me $100 off my rental because I had to wait for so long. So here and now I say snaps to you, Enterprise Rent a Car, for empowering your employees to make serious decisions that have a real impact on customer satisfaction. Any animosity or lack of coffee demon voodoo vibes I was previously sending your way vanished in that instant. I reckon if you're willing to pay me $100 for half an hour of my time you're in the ballpark, so consider thyself forgiven.

So Hubs has his car and heads to work, I have my car and head home to the shower (with one little stop at Timmy's). I play around on the computer a bit, then head out to Costco, poke around at the library...very Desperate Housewives of me. Kinda.

Then I head down to meet my gal pal Celtic Kitten as she's known in these parts for wings and such at Shoeless Joe's while my house is once again overrun by geeks. We had a great meal - good food, good conversation, excellent commiseration, and we were both home earlier than we would normally be after a Tuesday Night Distraction Club. Fab evening.

Today was a blissfully slower start. Got to sleep in, have some coffee and surf the net, then headed out to where our car was to pick up the registration so I could renew my sticker. Yeah, forgot to take it out before we dropped the danged thing off. Not the smartest kids on the block, us. Get the sticker done, grab a healthy pita at the Pita Pit, then make my way over to the new Aveda salon to get my nails done. Now THAT's much more diva, wouldn't you say? My nails are now a fabulous fuchsia that will expertly match the clutch, necklace and bracelet I purchased as accessories for my little black and white dress for this weekend's wedding festivities.

I came home to a poor, sick Hubs who's battling something flu-esque. Poor guy is weak, feverish, nauseated, and headach-y. So I've stocked the fridge with Poweraide and am almost virtually shoving it down this throat.

Which brings us to this very moment. We're lying in bed, Hubs is watching the first Borne movie and moaning a bit, and I've just told him it's time to drink more Poweraide, that his body is craving fluids and it's my job to make sure he answers those cravings. All I need is my whip (and Hubs to be feeling better, of course) and it would be a very different evening in the diva's bedroom indeed.

And that's your daily dash. How's your diva doin'?

We now return to our regularly scheduled programming.

Welcome back to fluff-ville!

But wait, before we re-enter the domain of the pink fluff posse, allow me to first comment on the really interesting comments left in regards to my last entry. Very cool to see so many different opinions and life experiences. So if you came and made a comment, thanks! And if you read, pondered, but didn't comment...what the hell - are your fingers broken? Hehe. I kid because I love. Seriously, even if you didn't comment, I hope it gave you some food for thought for the day.

Back to fluff.

Today I'd like to talk about astrology. Specifically how fortunate (or not, depending on who you talk to) I am to be born on the cusp of one sign to another.

Hubs and I have this ongoing battle about whether I'm a Leo or a Virgo. According to about half of the publications out there, I'm a Leo. The other half - you guessed it - Virgo. I once had someone do my chart and technically, due to the time and location of my birth, I was born three hours into Virgo.

Boo-urns.

I think I'm much more leonine, no? Very in your face, wants to be the centre of attention, the one who, when she's like three years old, is most likely to pull up her dress all the time, flashing her panties to the world. Yeah, that's kinda me.

Virgos are a lot less, uh, gregarious. They're very organized, anal, super clean, perfectionists...all those boring-type traits. I'll admit, it's kinda handy to possess some of these character elements, but somehow super clean never really seeped into my personality makeup. Not that I'm a crazy dirt pig, I do know how to clean and all, but I just don't like it as much as I might if, say, I was born 12 hours into Virgo as opposed to 3.

So in my mind I'm much more Leo, with definite Virgo tendencies. Yes, I realize this is me trying to have the best of both worlds. Those of you who aren't cusp babies don't have this luxury. For that, I am sorry. It is really quite refreshing to have two horoscopes to choose from every day. Again, best of both worlds. If one doesn't seem all that great to me, there's always another option. If one sounds a little shady, oh well, today must be a 'insert other sign here' day.

Options are wonderful things.

This is why I was saddened to discover that I could only choose one sign for my Astrology application on Facebook. Don't they realize that there are millions of cusp babies out there, just desperate to have their Facebook apps reflect their every day reality? I was so torn, forced to make a choice of signs. I wasn't even given the option of entering my birth date and allowing the computer to decide for me!

No, this decision was all mine. Rested squarely on my shoulders. What's a diva to do? Leo? Virgo? Leo? Virgo? Brutal! Such torment!

Sigh. Like there aren't enough decisions of consequence to be made in your average day. Now something that's normally already done for me (by the magazines, newspapers and internet sites I trust so much) is left to my own devices.

So yeah, I chose Leo. Big fucking shock. But you can bet your ass I make sure to find a Virgo reading or two somewhere other than Facebook each and every day. Hope your daily dose of meaningless superstition is easier to come by than mine!

And that's your daily dash. How's your diva doin'?

And now for something completely different...

So traditionally my blog has been pretty fluffy. Lighthearted stuff. No real redeeming social qualities, but I like it that way, I like it just fine.

On one of my fave sites, there's an interesting discussion going on that I thought I'd extend to my blog reading family and friends. It revolves around a book entitled The Feminine Mistake: Are We Giving Up Too Much? While not groundbreaking or revolutionary in its substance, it does, once again, bring up that age old debate about women being in the workforce after the birth of their children.

As taken directly from the book's website, www.thefemininemistake.com, here's a bit of background:

Like her mother, Bennetts raised two children while earning a living; She and millions of other working women provide ample proof that there are many different ways to have kids, maintain a challenging career, and have a richly rewarding life as a result. And yet women are constantly told that it’s simply too difficult to balance work and family. Not only is this untrue, Bennetts says, but the arguments in favor of stay-at-home motherhood also fail to consider the dangers of dependency and the difficulty of reentering the workforce after opting out. When women sacrifice their financial autonomy by quitting their jobs, they become vulnerable to divorce as well as the potential illness, death, or unemployment of their breadwinner husbands. Bennetts’ own family learned this lesson the hard way: Her grandmother suffered a lifetime of financial problems after her husband left her, and Bennetts’ mother ended up as the family’s primary breadwinner. But women who stop working sacrifice far more than financial security. Bennetts’ painstaking research documents the steep toll when women forfeit the intellectual, emotional, psychological, and even medical benefits of self-sufficiency. It’s time, she says, to get the message across—combining work and family really is the best choice for most women, and it’s eminently doable. “You never know what you can achieve until you try,” Bennetts says. In riveting interviews with women from a wide range of backgrounds, The Feminine Mistake explores both the long-term risks of economic dependency and the surprising rewards of work. These dramatic stories—some shocking and heartbreaking, others triumphant—will inspire women to embrace the challenge of figuring out who they are and what they want to do with their lives in addition to raising children, and benefiting from the joyously complex lives they deserve.

Interesting, no? I know that we've all had different upbringings, different family situations, and as such, I'd be really interested to hear comments on the premise behind the book and/or how your particular upbringing may have shaped your view on the subject.

I'll start (what a surprise.....)

The best way for me to do this is to simply paste here the long entry I made earlier on the message board. I'm not going to add anything afterwards, so consider this your formal invitation to wade into these murky waters once you've finished reading my diatribe. Looking forward to hearing other people's thoughts!!

Oh yeah... if you're a WB gal and you've read this already, you miiiiiight wanna just head directly to the comments section and leave your point of view there. :)

Over time and with age and experience, my thoughts on this subject have radically changed. I haven't read the book, but wanted to comment generally on the broader topic of women working vs staying at home.

My parents divorced when I was 7. Even before the divorce, my mother always worked. Always. We, even at young ages, were required to be surprisingly self-sufficient - make our own lunches, etc - and while at the time I thought nothing of it, as I started to see other kids' lunches with cool snacks and the crusts cut off their sandwiches, I'd start to get jealous of the kids whose mom was at home, making their yummy lunches for them. Or coming to their recitals. Or school plays. Or Christmas concerts. Or being there when they fell from the monkey bars and broke their arm.

My mom wasn't that mom. She had an excellent job, one that required her to travel often, and she had to work her butt off to continue to do well, because she was it after the divorce. And she did a fantastic job of it.

She always joked that she'd never win the mother-of-the-year award because she was away so much and just couldn't be 'there' for us when we needed her - especially since we were only living with one parent. Her sister lived with us for a while to help out, and as such I had not one but two examples of strong, working women who did what had to be done to support their families.

So while at the time I was crushed that it was my mom's secretary, not my mom, who drove me to the hospital and waited with me while my cast was setting, now I wouldn't change my upbringing for anything.

My mom taught me that it is hugely important for everyone to work to the best of their ability, and that you shouldn't/can't rely on anyone else to support you, because who knows? She taught me to work hard in school, because education is what would give me the edge in a very competitive world. She taught me that a woman can have any career she wants, and really excel at it. She was the President of an international organization and through her travels, she taught me to appreciate art, different cultures, and she reminded me that there is a huge world beyond our front door.

Because of her, I am who I am today. There was no discussion about university - it was just the next logical step after high school. And when I finished my first degree, I was encouraged to do a Master's and I did. My ambition, desire to work, and drive to succeed all came, in great part, thanks to watching my mother in her professional life as I grew up.

Until I met my now DH, career was it for me. I was aggressive, ambitious and hard working. Over a period of five years I worked for two different organizations, but held 7 different (and progressive) titles. I'd stay well past five, and had no qualms about putting in extra hours or doing some work at home on the weekends.

That's changed now - substantially. And we don't even have kids yet! While I'm still career oriented, it's not my sole focus in life anymore. I have a husband that I love and a home that we've built together that I really like to spend time in. I leave at 4:30 now pretty much every day so I can catch my train and get home to him. I stay if needed for a meeting or event of course, but my priorities have shifted.

I'm still dedicated to being the best I can be on the job, but there's a huge part of me that can't wait for a maternity leave. I LOVE my job, but I'd also really love a break! Not that dealing with a newborn is a break - I mean a break from the workforce. I want to go to swimming lessons with my baby, and not turn on my BlackBerry. I want to take advantage of the fantastic park behind my house.

And at the same time, I'm petrified about what will happen in my job while I'm gone. Who will take over for me, how they'll interact, what they might do to impact the relationships it's taken me years to meticulously build?

I also make more than Hubs, so we can't afford for me to take the whole year off, even with both of us earning good salaries. We just can't do it. So it looks like I'll take nine months and Hubs has expressed some interest in taking time too.

This both appeals to me (less time for someone to screw up my job) and angers me (why CAN'T I take that whole year like other people can?). And therein lies my dilemma.

Despite what we've been told, we can't have it all. We can't give 100% to our children and 100% to our careers - simple math tells us that. So we compromise. We do the best we can. And I hope at the end of the day that if my son or daughter ever has to be taken to the hospital by my secretary, in time they'll realize what a strong and fabulous role model they have in their mother as I did not too many years ago.

And that's your daily dash. How's your diva doin'?