Hump day...yippee

Is anyone else feeling like this week is dragging by, like super slo mo? Shouldn't it be Friday by now? I feel like time she ticks backwards. What the hell is up with that?

Argh. Apologies again for not being around the past few days. I've been fighting this insane cold for what feels like forever, but alas, has only been a week or so. It's like the cold was coming at me with the same glacial speed this week is has assumed...the very weirdest thing.

Fortunately I'm starting to feel a bit better now. I've managed to get lots of sleep (hence the lack of blogging) and I think that's really helping.

That, and the fact that I have three beautiful new pairs of pants (purchased during the uber-successful Buffalo trip) finally back from the tailors so I can actually wear them. I am styling, if I do say so myself. I also picked up two pairs of swank shoes to go with them and zowie...what a mental pick me up.

Clothes don't usually do it for me, really. I rarely feel great in anything I wear...I see all the flaws (and there are many) that each piece of clothing simply can't hide. But every once in a while, I feel good. Not fantastic (only day I felt fantastic was my wedding day - thank god!) but at least good.

So forget chicken soup - sleep and new clothes seem to be the recipe for my path back to wellness. Add Coachie, my lovely bag, and dag yo - I love it when an outfit comes together.

I have one new pair of pants left (the fourth pair didn't need to be altered) so I will sport them happily tomorrow. After I get some more much needed sleep.

I managed to squeeze a nice nap in this afternoon after I fled work early. I was just feeling so blah, so sick, so tired, and the morning at the office was absolutely craptastic, so I knew that if I wanted to be productive for the rest of the work, I had to make my way home - and soon.

I ran into an old friend from high school while waiting for the GO train. Weirdest thing. I'd reconnected with her via Facebook so I had a rough idea of what she was doing with her life, etc, but we haven't seen each other since high school. We were all in a huge, close circle of friends until, as it inevitably does, it all went terribly wrong and she kissed my date at the semi formal after party.

Some scars, they simply do not heal. :)

Fortunately, this one has healed rather well, considering it's had 16 or so years to do so. But weird upon weird to see her at the train!

And of course...she was there with her six month old baby girl. They'd just come back from a doctor's appointment and she was heading home with her little girl, her second, who's very cute by the way.

Of course. Just what I need to see these days. Sigh.

But alas, what can I do. Babies are a part of life and the world all around me, regardless of whether they're mine or not. I actually did quite well, but will admit breathing the smallest sigh of relief once she rolled that baby off the train. Such is life, I suppose.

For now, I'm just sitting here, watching Private Practice (man, how this one cuts close to home) and trying to keep Hubs from going insane. Yep, Sludge is up to no good again, and DeeDee's caught in the middle. Again. Le plus ca change...

So I'll watch the end of my show then head upstairs to bed with Hubs, trying to make him feel better. We'll fall asleep in each other's arms and I'll have lovely dreams of all the things I'd say to Sludge were there no consequence. Then I'll wake up with a smile on my face, hopefully feeling a bit better, and slip into that last pair of new pants. Best of all - I'll be one day closer to the weekend.

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

Three Fetes and a Funeral

That pretty much sums up my weekend.

What a busy one it's been! Friday night Hubs and I headed out to a swank event for work. I'm always so tired at the end of the week that it's a wonder we even made it there. But we did. Got all dressed up (in the bathroom of a Shoeless Joe's, no less - nothing but class) and made our way to the venue.

Sigh. So many of these things are an absolute blast and this one had all the right pieces, but it took them forever to get the evening under way! Everyone was a bit crabby by the time they put the freakin dinner on the table and the problem is the food wasn't all that much up my alley to begin with. But I managed to hold out until the steak hit my plate, and was thankful for those wings Hubs and I split at Joe's!

We left shortly after dinner - just too tired to keep partying, open bar and all! As it was we got home after midnight, and I felt terrible for falling asleep in the car on the way home. But I did. And it was good.

Saturday morning came way too early, but at least I managed to get up for a good cause. Around 10:30 am Hubs dropped me off at a friend's place, and from there we caravaned to beautiful downtown Bowmanville for Applefest! Yes, you read that right! The diva was woot wooting it up at Applefest with her WB gal pals.

We had a blast! It was cold, it was windy, and the local firefighters didn't quite live up to their GTA counterparts (so sad - such high expectations dashed on the rocks) but we still had a fantastic day. We shopped, we ate hot dogs and french fries and apples with caramel sauce (as Nat says, sex in a bowl). I brought home apple pie, apple crumble, candy apples, cranberry loaf, fudge, some Halloween decorations, a beautiful pottery bowl that is supposed to be a Christmas gift but I don't know if I can make myself part with it, and a folk art-y pumpkin thing to put on our front door.

By the time we got back to the car, I had those permanent bag indentations in my fingers and my fellow fest'ers were equally happy to put my purchases down and deal with their own stuff. Yes, I bought so much I had to enlist the aid of my friends. What great gals they were to haul my stuff!

We made it home around four and an hour later, Hubs and I met up with Nat, her hubby and a bunch of their friends for dinner and drinkies at a local Irish pub. They (the pub, that is) made the mistake of having a Keith's night among other things, and so each time you purchased a Keith's, you got a Nevada ticket like card that could win you a prize.

Well...you never saw a more dejected group of drinkers than us last night. Beer after beer, card after card, we kept losing. It was almost impossible really - to have that many pints and cards and to never win.

Finally - finally! - we had a winner in our midst. Of course it was the guy who showed up late and was on his second pint. I thought our alpha drinker boys were going to jump out of their skin they were so ticked off at the injustice of it all!

The tide finally turned later in the night when we finally hit the part of the pile where all the winners are. Soon there were mugs being handed out left, right and centre. I left with two myself. Delightful!

After five pints of the India pale ale, we decided it was time to shuffle on home. Hubs' butt was sore from sitting on those fancy pub chairs - you know, the wooden ones with no ass padding whatsoever - and the appearance of the regional pipe band in the pub (to come on stage later) gave the poor boy palpitations (he hates bagpipes. Hates. Big time.) was therefore a clear signal to him that it was time to depart.

It was 9:30.

Yes, our Saturday night ended at 9:30. And I was perfectly okay with that. Especially since I had a five pint buzz going on.

Aw come on, there have to be some benefits to this nature imposed break in baby making. Sometime's a girl's just gotta drink, ya know?

So. Home by 9:40 (ah, I love a pub in close proximity) and in bed around midnight. Just to wake up early-ish again to go to that funeral I mentioned.

Yeah, not a fun way to spend a Sunday, but it was something I most certainly needed to do. Someone I worked closely with in a client-type relationship passed away last week, and even though it wasn't necessarily expected of me to go (professionally speaking), there was no way I was missing it.

This individual was one of the kindest, most unassuming, gentle and generous people I've ever had the pleasure to work with. He was one of my favourites, and he's gone all too soon. I got to know his family and his friends over the years, and was honoured to sit amongst them and hear stories told of this wonderful man. Many tears were shed, and when one of his closest friends hugged me tightly and thanked me for coming, I knew the early morning wake up and cross GTA trek was more than worth it. You'll be missed Al - you'll be missed.

On my way home I spotted a Starbucks and headed in for my caffeine fix. As I didn't know how long it would take me to get to the funeral home and I most certainly didn't want to be late, I didn't press my luck and stop for coffee at our local Tim's. So by the time the service was over, I was in major caffeine withdrawl.

Once my grande non-fat sugar free vanilla latte had been safely procured, it seemed my senses were heightened and I became acutely aware of my surroundings. Including the clothing store I like to frequent and the Shoe Company.

Yeesh.

The last thing I needed was to spend money. But I did need new shoes. And a fall trench coat. So while I was in the neighbourhood, I decided to check in and see what they had.

I didn't find a trench coat, but I did get a new top, a pair of pants, a comfy nightie, and some sexy underwears. You know those boy cut panties? Yeah, I like them a lot and Hubs is quite a fan, so a nice pink and green pair came home with me. Fortunately I had a gift certificate from my sister/mother in law so that took a lot of the sting out of the purchases.

Great - now when Hubs' sister reads this, she's gonna know I spent part of her money on undies. There's a mental image she probably didn't need!

I also managed to score two great pairs of shoes, two bottles from the new OPI Russian collection - Siberian Nights, which I'm wearing right now, and An Affair in Red Square - pick my pants up at the dry cleaners, and get Hubs some pop.

When I got home, Hubs was already in the process of completing the most dreaded task on this afternoon's to do list - putting down the black earth all over our aerated lawn. What a wonderful guy. He did it because he knew how much I didn't want to do it. Gotta love him.

That task completed, we decorated the outside of the house for Halloween, then it was relaxation time. He watched one of the Star Wars flicks, I played around on the computer and we both ate apple pie.

Just another weekend in the suburbs. Hope you had a great one too!

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

Puking sucks

Yeah, today wasn't the best day. I woke up feeling like complete ass and spent most of the early morning utilizing multiple facets of our ensuite bath.

Not a good way to start a Tuesday.

As much as I didn't want to (things to do, people to see) I called in sick - well, Hubs called for me, truth be told - and I went back to bed. And I didn't move, at all. For fear of more puking. Blech.

What made matters worse is that as I was washing my hands in the still dark early morning that is my commuter hell wake up time, I didn't realize that our regular fragrance free soap, found in our Jonathan Adler light blue soap dispenser, had secretly been replaced by a passionfruit and something scented soap from Bath and Body Works.

Ever notice how, when you're already feeling really gross, a strong smell can just push you over the edge? Yeah. I did. Fabu. I have now glimpsed what morning sickness looks, smells and tastes like. And she ain't pretty. Ah, so much to look forward to if this pregnancy thing ever works out for us.

So despite being at home sick, I still managed to respond to well over 25 emails and participate in two conference calls. Working in my pj's ain't too bad! Even though I technically didn't have to be working. Oh well - at least I got to get stuff done in my jammies while eating toast and drinking tea. By the time the calls rolled around I was feeling a bit better. I could at least move around, which was an improvement from those waking hours.

Got caught up on some tv that I'd pvr'd. Still lots left to watch, but progress is progress, yes?

The rest of the day passed with little of interest happening. The stomach flips came and went, but generally speaking and barring anything unforeseen, I'll be back on that GO train first thing in the morning. Hands smelling of passionfruit and all.

Before I forget, I did promise to tell you the fire department story. You WB gals may have seen this already, so bare with me if this is all old news.

So I have this completely irrational love of firemen. Can't explain it, never have been able to, but here we are.

Saturday night after our big Thanksgiving dinner we were sitting around and our carbon monoxide detector went off. Even though I didn't want to, Hubs called 911 and they dispatched the fire department to check it out. (Note - as much as I thought it didn't warrant a 911 call, we were told when we called and by the firemen that came that it is important to get them to come and do a reading right away - I felt better after that. I hate the thought of wasting emergency personnel's time!)

So the truck shows up to our house and three firemen bounce out. Not in the boots and gear and stuff, but in uniforms...the kind that make you glance at their hands for the ghetto blaster .

One of the guys was older, shorter and won't grace any firefighter calendar in a community near you. Totally nice guy, but no beefcake.

Then there were the other two...

Oh

Mi

Gawd.

Poor Hubs. He knows of my weakness, and as much as I was trying desperately to keep myself composed and contained, all he had to do was look at me to know I was ga ga for these two beautiful men in uniform. What's worse - the CO detector is just outside of our bedroom, so for all intents and purposes, there were bona fide hot firemen this close from my bed.

What is it about firemen that makes us ladies weak in the knees? I can't ever put my finger on it...any insight?

I think the biggest lessons learned from this experience are a) call the fire department if your CO detector goes off, b) CO detectors have an average 5 year life span before they go caput (which is what happened with ours - no CO in the house, everything was just fine) and c) Hubs will be making his way to a costume shop in the very near future to pick himself up a firefighter's uniform.

I'll take trick over treat any day this Hallowe'en!

So there you go. Details of my pukey day and a little firefighter story to try to get the pukiness out of your head.

Guess putting the pukey word in the previous sentence not once but twice negates all that firefighter story's good work. For shame.

I'll try to do better tomorrow.

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