It's my birfday

And oh boy, have I been spoiled rotten!

An entire weekend of birthday festivities started Friday night when Hubs gave me some beaaautiful flowers. Pink gerberas, lilies, white and pink roses - just to die for.

Saturday morning we got up at a decent time, grabbed a Timmie's and headed to the theatre to see The Time Traveler's Wife. I'd read the book and was a bit meh about it, but wanted to see the movie either way - see whether the hype was worth it. It was okay. I cried at the end, of course, but that's pretty much par for the course for me right now. I cry over everything - love the drugs.

Later that evening we met up with friends and family for sushi and had a fantastic meal. I was stuffed! But managed to shovel some birthday cake in after we went back to our place. I was spoiled rotten (to the point of incredulity, really) and was feeling very fortunate to have so many wonderful people in my life to celebrate with.

Today I slept in, then Hubs made me an incredible breakfast that would rival any Denny's slam. My fab SIL went above and beyond yet again, so thanks to her I then went for a divine mani/pedi and even got silly little flowers done on my big toes.

Fingers still drying, Hubs, DeeDee and I got into the car and headed out to this elaborate mini golf place I'd seen about 45 minutes from home. Even though it wasn't our weekend with her, DeeDee phoned this morning and said she wanted to spend some time with her dad, so of course we were happy to have her join us. When she got here she handed me a pink gift bag, with the word "MOM" printed on it. Underneath it, in read pen, she'd written "#2. Your awesome. And special".

Well, my diva heart melted. How sweet was that? She even made a card for me with a picture of herself in it. So cute. I was really touched.

We then engaged in a surprisingly cutthroat game of mini golf, and I'm pleased to report that I emerged victorious - by one stroke. Ah, victory. Takes almost as sweet as my yummy birthday cake.

Golfed out, we returned home and dropped DeeDee off so she could have some pizza and watch a movie with her Auntie while Hubs and I dined in celebration at the Keg. Yet again, gift cards courtesy of my fab sister in law. Took them two tries to get our steaks right, but when they do - there's nothin' like 'em.

Now we've watched Big Brother and True Blood, had another piece of birthday cake (after I blew out more candles and heard more singing), done my IVF drugs for the night, and I have but 9 minutes more to stay awake to officially be 36 years old seeing as I was born at 10:41 pm.

I'm very very sleepy, but surely I can squeeze out another 9 minutes?

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

The working sick

We've all played this game once or twice (at least) in our lifetimes. You wake up, feel like abject crap, you're hacking up a lung...and you have to make that game day decision. Stay in bed, or go to work? If you're like me, the vast majority of the time, you solider on, shower and dress, and head on into the office.

You hack and you sneeze and you drop your snotty Kleenexes on the GO train.

You sit in the cubicle not too far from my office and I wince every time you begin the barking noises that emanate from what is surely a now raw, painful throat.

I feel terribly sorry for you - that can't feel good! You should be sleeping, resting, getting better.

I mentally tell you to go home.

Get the rest you need.

And keep your filthy germs to yourself. I can't afford to get sick right now, dangit!

The working sick - damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Every corporate culture is different, but generally speaking, I find there's a strange reward system in place for coming in to work sick. You're a trooper, you're sticking it out, look at you, feeling so bad but still managing to come in. There, there. So dedicated.

So infectious.

On the other hand, when you do decide it's best to keep your bubonic carcass home and in bed, you're almost chastised for not being strong enough to tough it out. Sure, you're at home resting which means you'll probably get better faster and be back to your productive self sooner AND you're not risking the health of everyone else around you...but, sigh, Jane made it in. Why couldn't you?

I've been pretty lucky lately. I used to pick up every little virus or bacteria under the sun. I'd have colds and flus all the time, but that's tapered off significantly and now, I'm all about the ear infections. Fun, but not necessarily contagious.

I had this internal debate just yesterday morning as I awoke from a delightful slumber and put my feet to the floor. I felt like crap. My ears were completely blocked, my head was swimming, and my voice was reverberating inside my head. The latter I discovered upon actually speaking to Hubs - fret not, I didn't get echoes from my internal morning monologue. I'm not that crazy.

Yet.

Alas, I felt brutal. Run down, nasty, just didn't want to move.

But what did I do?

Got up, soldiered on, showered and dressed, and made my way into the office. But man oh man would I have loved to have just.stayed.home.

I only made it until 1:45pm, then headed out to catch an early train so I could flake on my couch.

And I'm back at work again today. Still not feeling great, but not bad enough to mentally justify staying home. And I have the pleasure of listening to some poor co-worker who totally should have stayed home today hack up a lung. Maybe two, it's that bad.

I honestly don't even know who it is - I just know that I want to stay as far away from her as is humanly possible. 'Cause I'd really rather not add a nasty cough to my already miserable ears on the best of days. And certainly not three days before I'm supposed to start IVF.

So, what's life like where you work? Are you encouraged to actually stay home when you're sick so you can recover faster (thereby getting back to productivity faster) and not take the rest of the office down with you? Or are you forced to function in one of those environments where the phlegm-ier you are, the more kudos you receive? I'm willing to bet most of us fall into column b, but I'm interested to see your responses.

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

Heaven, thy name is Elmwood

Back in March when our frozen embryo transfer failed, my wonderful friends banded together and got me a lovely gift card to one of the swankiest spas Toronto has to offer...Elmwood. www.elmwoodspa.ca

Ah, Elmwood.

Say it with me, and you'll feel instant relaxation.

Elllllmmmmmmwooooooddddd.

Felt good, huh? Yeah. I know.

So yeah, got the gift card in March and decided it was time to put it to good use while I can really really enjoy it.

I roped SIL into joining me, and so yesterday at 2pm we arrived at our urban oasis and instantly were transported to a blissful state of mind that lasted a luxurious two and a half hours.


Huge fluffy robes, a fantastic whirlpool in mosaic tiles in every shade of blue, chandeliers everywhere, dressing tables with blow dryers, straighteners, every kind of cream imaginable, cranberry/orange flavoured water, peppermint green tea - and the most incredible massage a girl could ask for.

A hugely indulgent afternoon, well enjoyed.

Upon leaving we even managed to procure some incredible handmade soaps...one a cranberry and the other almond and buttermilk.

It's amazing that soap could make me that happy. Talk about the icing on the cake.

If you have the time and the resources, I highly recommend that you splurge and treat yourself to the wonders of Elmwood at least once in your life. Preferably more, much much more, if possible.

Thanks again to my fantastic girlfriends for making it all possible. I left there feeling relaxed and carefree. And these days - that's a pretty incredible feat.

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

Dash of Diva gets a makeover!

Yep, it's time. It really is. The daily dash was neither daily nor dashing anymore, so I decided to put her under the digital knife and up came what you see before you now. I hope you like it!

A little easier font to read (I hope), nice concise links to other blogs and followers, and a kick ass graphic at the top that the saver in me fell in love with - what more could you want?

I hope you like it just as much as I do. Or, well, even just a little bit. Liking it a little bit would suit me just fine.

I miss shopping - I really do - so I can now live vicariously through the sassiness of the exceedingly svelte diva in the upper right hand corner. Note her multiple pink bags, and the fact that they all say sale or 50/70/80% off. That's my kinda gal.

And her purse is kinda cute too.

So there you go. A new look for the daily dash. Me likey.

As always, if you'd like your blog added to my list, feel free to leave a comment with the addy or send me an email at jshtoronto@yahoo.ca.

Toodles!

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

The gems of summer television

So here we are, smack dab in the middle of summer. These are the (supposed) days of sunshine, picnics, holidays, running in sprinklers, lemonade...and crap television. Because you're supposed to be on holidays, running in sprinklers and picnicking while drinking lemonade during the summer. Not stuck inside watching television.

But alas - this summer, the weather is what's crap and the television is actually not that bad. I thank two things - HBO and Big Brother.

First, I love Big Brother. Yep, I do. I'll admit it. Yet another one of my guilty pleasures. I love rooting for the underdogs and am always fascinated at how fickle I can be from week to week, my allegiances shifting from person to person faster than I ever would have thought possible. I try not to read the spoiler sites, but sometimes I can't help it.

And I find myself yelling at the television more than once a week.

Now THAT'S good tv.

Then there's HBO. Thanks to this brilliant network, I have not one, not two, but three incredible shows to enjoy each week. Top of the list would have to be True Blood. Sundays at 9 have never been the same.

We got hooked a bit slower than normal. After seeing something about the show somewhere online, I looked it up and Hubs and I were instantly addicted. And for Hubs, that's a huge flippin deal, 'cause that guy pretty much hates tv. But True Blood - that shit is golden for us both.

I love the whole vampire thing, the southern gentleman thing, the intrigue, the different characters, and the Eric. Har. He's just every kind of fine.

Then there's Nurse Jackie. Edie Falco as a drug addicted nurse having an affair while her hubby waits for her at home. Great characters, snappy dialogue, and some laugh out loud moments. Another reason to look forward to Monday nights.

And finally, there's Hung. How could you not love a show like this? Gotta dig the role reversals - female pimp and male ho - and all the family dynamics. You never know where it's going to go from one episode to the other. And through it all, you're just sitting there, kinda waiting for him to get caught. We shall see!

So if you have HBO or TMN On Demand, I highly recommend checking out these three shows. True Blood is in season two, but Hung and Nurse Jackie (which I think is actually a Showtime show, not HBO now that I think about it) are new this year so it doesn't take long to catch up.

Happy summer tv watching! Hope you're loving these shows as much as I am!!

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

PS - as I mentioned in my last post, I've started a parallel blog for my IVF journey. If you're interested, here's the link. http://seedsininfertilesoil.blogspot.com