kiss-me mascara rocks my world

"Hi Katie: Just to let you know that Connor is up in doggy heaven now very calm and happy… he had a very peaceful passing with the help of our vet Dr. Brault, It wasn’t easy to make the decision but couldn’t go away knowing he could go anytime… hasn’t eaten for 2 days and jus stands and stares out into space… the vet did a thorough exam and the lymphnodes had grown larger and more of them throughout his system… he was so strong he was fighting right until the end.. had him for walk this afternoon and also took him to a party at Blundellls last night which he loved… dad and I are a mess and the house is very empty…however, he is happy and at peace at last.. I have that incredible poem you gave me about doggy heaven and will get it out now. He was cremated and when his ashes come back we will bury his and Seamus’ side by side in the back yard… Dad will dig the hole tomorrow as the ground is still soft…. Will talk to you tomorrow, lots of love Mummy"

well my eyes certainly weren't dry after reading that but at least my mascara didn't run

scary santa claus

When I was 3 years old I was absolutely terrified of Santa Claus. So terrified, in fact, that I actually made my father "call" the North Pole and tell Santa not to come. He could leave the presents at the neighbours' house (hey, I was not a stupid kid), but coming into the house while we were sleeping was not something I thought would be a great idea.

I am now 38 years old and I thought that my fear of Santa was long gone. Boy, was I wrong! I was just out running some errands and there, standing on the corner of Granville and Robson was the scariest looking Santa Claus I have ever seen, yelling obscenities at all who passed by.

Merry Christmas

misquoted

An article was written about one of the companies I work for and it was not flattering. Untrue and very biased, but unflattering nonetheless.

What bugs me most about it though? The fact that the opening paragraph of the article is a "transcript" of a telephone conversation between me and the "investigative journalist" and let's just say that I come off as slightly less than intelligent. My name isn't mentioned anywhere and outside of those in the office (and anyone I choose to show the article to) no one will know that it is me, but still, who wants to be portrayed as a "dumb receptionist"?

(especially since I am not a receptionist)

I hope he gets coal in his Christmas stocking.

a leopard doesn't change his spots I guess

Last year the end began with this email:

"Not ignoring you, just completely consumed with work"

Which led to him coming over and breaking my heart.

We have since gotten back together, slowly and comfortably and we are both in a much better place than we were last year. or so I thought.

We had our company Christmas party this past weekend at a 5-Star luxury resort and I brought him as my date (neither of us work at the place we worked at together last year, so that obstacle at least is gone and we can be more "open" about our relationship). It was, simply put, magical.

Then this afternoon I get this email, at work:

"Thank you for a very enjoyable soiree and Saturday in the Village. It was a great event - fabulous job organising - and a pleasure to meet many of your colleagues.

I am excited for you at company as it seems to be a great organisation with lots of energy and integrity. Good landing place you chose!

Will be thinking of you as you prepare for your parents' arrival and hope you have a great visit with them. As for me, my daughter is now back in town so things are spooling up quickly to add to the zone of activity that always surrounds son and the Christmas season. And of course, the factory continues on.

But then there is always more skiing."

I feel sick to my stomach.

update

ok, so maybe I over-reacted or was reacting to what has gone in the past, kind of how like I always expect him to cancel plans we have made and then he doesn't. I really have to stop doing that if this relationship stands any chance of working

better now

diamonds, etc.

A work colleague came over to my desk yesterday and asked: “want to see what Cam (her bf) is giving me for Christmas?”

She then went to a jewellery store’s website and showed me an engagement ring.

Now call me old fashioned or a hopeless romantic or whatever, but I would like to believe that if someone knows me well enough to ask me to marry them that they will know what ring I will love for the rest of my life without my having to be in on the choosing. And beyond that, I just don’t think that one should propose on Christmas. Or Valentine’s Day. Or on any other recognized or Hallmark “holiday” for that matter. It kind of takes away from the spontaneity and specialness of it all.

That said, there’s nothing wrong with finding a lovely blue box tied with white satin under the tree ….

what a difference a year makes

Last year his idea of fashion was Dockers (with pleats). Need I say more?

Last night he called to tell me that there was a big sale at Holt's (if you are Canadian and reading this you know where I mean; if not, think Neiman Marcus, Barneys, or similar) and why don't we go there and get that Paul Smith suit we were looking at last week, you know with the no--pleat trousers.

I am so proud of him.

Really, it's the little things in life

Bringing me the Style Section from the Globe & Mail on Saturday morning, knowing that it's really the only section that I actually read (I may pretend to read like realm news and stuff, but that's just a ruse). That's a sure-fire way to start earning your way back into my heart.

a bi-polar kind of day

Yesterday morning I woke up in a ridiculously good mood. no reason, was just happy. GOOD

Early in my work day I was told that I was a "low priority" by the EA of one of our Directors. Excuse me? Me? a low priority? I don't think so. BAD

Later I had lunch with a friend and former co-worker whom I have not seen in ages and we have been, unsuccessfully, trying to connect for months. A great gab session. GOOD

On my way back to the office I got swamped by a stupid car and had to spend the rest of my day damp. BAD

Early evening I went to my first yoga class in a very long time and it was fabulous. I left feeling refreshed, centered, calm and mellow. GOOD

When I got home there was a message from Jake's dad (the boy I was seeing this summer) wanting to chat. GOOD? BAD? dunno

I returned the call only to be confronted with "I knew you weren't telling the truth when I asked you if you were seeing anyone else this summer. I saw you with him on Sunday and you looked quite cozy together!" definitely BAD

(There was more to that conversation but it doesn't bear repeating - basically accused me of lying and/or cheating and insinuated that I was not a very nice person. So very glad that I dodged that bullet, let me tell you!!)

Spent the remainder of the evening snuggled on the couch with a lightly snoring Maggie. GOOD

let's hope this day has remembered to take its meds!

Friends like this are priceless

an email exchange between two sane, responsible, successful women who are firmly grounded in reality:

"Hello,

Have just returned from my elopement with Sir Clive. It was lovely. There will be no pictures - it was all we could do to avoid the paparazzi. My ring is enormous but must be kept in a vault in our Swiss bank because if it was ever stolen the value of it would bankrupt the world's economy. The honeymoon was, well, I will not digress. Eventually, I will have you out to our country estate (perhaps you have heard of it - Wales?, lovely little place, mountains, lots of shoreline, the Help speaks with a funny accent).

I am home now for a while, maybe we can meet up for errands or a coffee sometime. I know yours and George's schedules are as frightful as mine.

Let me know.

Mrs. O"

"Greetings,

Indeed, George & I heard wind of your recent elopement and would have sent our congratulations earlier but we were sequestered at his estate in Lake Como and, well, let's just say we were "busy".

I am, unfortunately, home as well and my schedule is remarkably clear, at least for today and tomorrow.

Cheers!"

Connor continued

These emails were waiting for me in my in-box when I got to the office this morning:

"Just back from the vet and he has given him a life line for at least 3 to 4 weeks by giving him a shot of cortisone plus pills for 10 days… apparently the lymph glands have grown to double the size since last month thus causing his throat to close and make eating difficult but apart from that his body is good, joints excellent and sprits best of all… tail still wags as usual… all that to say that we have some time with him knowing his time is coming to an end so we can bond and make it easier for all of us…just fed him chicken livers and scrambled eggs… going to be spoilt a bit too…why not…so say your prayers for him and surely he will give us several more great weeks… xoxo Mummy"

"Dear Katie,

Your mother took Connor to the vet yesterday and he was given a shot of cortisone. This has got him back on his feet and acting somewhat normally. She is also going to give him pills for the next ten days. The vet says that he could last a few more weeks….so we will do everything to make his last little while comfortable….no more dried dog food but scrambled eggs, chicken livers, tuna, cheese and of course endless cookies. It is all very sad. He is so much of our lives.

xxoo

your father"

I am so sad right now -- for Connor, of course, but mostly for my parents.

Connor

2 summers ago my parents’ dog Connor developed a tumour in his jaw that was biopsied and diagnosed as a very aggressive form of cancer. My parents opted not to operate or subject him to chemo as he is a very sensitive dog and the vet felt that the trauma of the surgery and the treatment might do him in. My mother instead opted for a homeopathic approach and started him on a “treatment” of cottage cheese and flax oil. 6 months later the tumour was gone (adding to our suspicions that he was faking his cancer as a reaction to all the attention and "treats" that my father received during his cancer treatment recovery period. You see, once Connor was diagnosed my parents felt that it was their duty to indulge his every whim and so began the seemingly endless supply of cookies. Not a stupid dog, that Connor).

My mother called me yesterday, audibly distraught, and told me that he has lymphoma and has at least 9 large lumps in his neck that have developed in the last month. I am waiting to hear back from her as to what the vet has to say about him. Dogs have a crazy tolerance for pain and for him to not eat (except for a couple of cookies, but they aren’t food food) or even want to go out to pee indicates that the cancer is pretty far gone.

This is a picture of Connor in his favourite place (guarding the cookie jar) that I took this September when I was at my parents’ house for their 40th anniversary party. He is a beautiful boy and only 8 years old --- far too early to go.

take that, political correctness

I just ordered the company Christmas cards and the greeting will read:

"Merry Christmas and all the Best for 2007"

from company name and logo

for some reason it makes me very happy that I am now working with a company that hates "Seasons Greetings" as much as I do and isn't afraid (if afraid is the correct word) of appearing politically incorrect in this instance

Trick-or-Treating --- the new singles' scene??

I live in a very family-oriented neighbourhood with lots and lots of little kiddies and very little traffic which makes it a fabulous neighbourhood for trick-or-treating, so Maggie had lots of kids and bags to poke her nose at when we were out for our evening constitutional. As we were on our way home we walked past a dad obviously waiting for his kids.

“Great costume” he said

“Pardon?”

“The retriever – great costume”

“Yeah, thanks, pretty realistic, eh?”

“Are you out with your kids?”

“Uh, no, no kids, just walking the dog” as I move away, closer to my own driveway

“Dad!!! Come on!!! Let’s go!!!!”

“Here, have a KitKat”

“Daaaaaaad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

“Thanks for the candy”

“You’re welcome. You’re the best I’ve seen tonight”

I giggled my way into the house. I guess I was really working the sexy fleece and pink toque I had on last night!!

another symptom of the floopies: IDIOCY

When out walking Maggie last night in the dark and the rain I stepped on a rock and went over on my ankle, spraining it quite badly and painfully. Truth be told, it hurts like a son of a bitch!! Now I have broken this particular ankle 4 times in my life so am quite familiar with this event. After running the routine tests and establishing that it was not, in fact broken, I picked myself off up the pavement and stumbled back home. I iced, I elevated, I cried, and I contemplated calling the one person who lives relatively near me, who owns a car, and who, most importantly, keeps a supply of good painkillers at the ready. But I didn’t call. I sucked it up, made do with my measly Ultra-Tylenols and felt sorry for myself. The reason I didn’t call? Well, that would be because the person with the good drugs happens to be the same person who is the cause of my floopies and with whom I have a date on Sunday for a hike. The thought of calling him thereby allowing him to see me looking ever so slightly less than glamorous, and very vulnerable and with my apartment maybe not in the best shape that it’s been in in its life, was just too much for me to bear. I couldn’t do it. Also, making that call would alert him to the fact that I am injured and that maybe we shouldn’t go for a hike on Sunday. That won’t work for me, either. I plan on being in fighting shape come Sunday, or maybe I’ll suggest a gentle hike, like one with no hills or uneven surfaces ...

And I have yet to mention the really attractive and PAINFUL bruise on my hip, which took the brunt of my fall after my bloody ankle gave out. I am sure by Sunday that it will be all sorts of attractive colours.

The things we do for boys, eh?

how to irritate me

tell someone a lie, use me as your backup and don't bother filling me in on the lie (making me look like an incompetent and thoughtless idiot)

I do believe that that particular friendship is on its way out .......

Floopy

The feeling you get when you see a person’s name pop up on your call display, or your email in-box, or your text message in-box, when your heart speeds up and you feel slightly light-headed and your hand starts to shake even though you are fully aware that the cause of this disorder has proven time and again that he is more than capable of breaking your heart and throwing your usually well-balanced life and mind into an out-of-control tailspin.

That's right - this girl has yet again fallen victim to a terminal case of the floopies (yet there is a smile on her face, so maybe this time’s gonna be different)

Ding Dong the Witch is Dead!

You know how "they" say that taking the moral high ground and not stooping to your adversary's level, and being professional and all that is the better way to go? Turns out "they" are right.

My adversary is about to get her ass canned! And the best part? She herself sent the email to me this morning that will be the final nail in her well-deserved coffin. Victory is mine! (and I didn't even have to get my hands the least bit sullied)

SWEET!

(I do have to admit, though, that I was sorely tempted to bitch-slap her smug little face this morning)

so that's the secret

want to know how to make a presumably grown and respectable professional male in his late 40's grin?

(get your minds out of the gutter)

tell him he's first in line for the new model Blackberry and that it will be his by the end of the week.

issue of earth shattering importance

As a general rule I am definitely Anti-Clog. I am especially Anti-Clog when it comes to those truly ugly and I really don't care if they are the most comfortable shoe to ever grgace this planet, Crocs (or Holey Shoes, which are all the rage in fashionable Brakendale, British Columbia). That said, I am inexplicably drawn to these

any thoughts??

On Beauty

I am reading an amazing book right now - Zadie Smith's On Beauty. This passage struck a very strong chord with me as I read it on my commute to the office this morning:

"Why are there no awards for the girl who starves herself through the Christmas period – refusing all sweetmeats, roasts and liqueurs offered to her – so that she might appear at the January formal in a backless dress and toeless shoes, although the temperature is near to freezing and the snow is heavy upon the ground? Howard, who wore a floor-length overcoat, gloves, leather shoes and a thick college scarf, stood by Emerson’s front gate and watched with real awe the mist of white flakes falling upon bare shoulders and hands, the clothed men holding their near-naked, decorative partners as together they stepped around puddles and snowdrifts like ballroom dancers on an assault course. They all looked like princesses – but what steel must lurk within!"

Any girl worth her salt who has attended a winter formal in her lifetime can surely relate.

What am I thankful for?

Moments like this.

my very first piece of haute couture

For years my mother worked in the fashion industry, as a fashion co-ordinator, fashion show producer, personal shopper, and as such had access to some truly gorgeous clothing. Two items stand out for me: her midnight blue with white stars Kritzia cocktail suit and her full length, black silk Jean Muir skirt.

The Jena Muir skirt arrived at my door yesterday in all its glory and man now I know why one pays for the real thing ---- this skirt is at least 25 years old, looks as though it came off the Paris runway last week, weighs about 10 pounds in all of its black silk glory and looks and feels like a million bucks on.

And? it's a SIZE 6!!!!! That's right, I am now not only the owner of a genuine piece of haute couture, but of a genuine piece of haute couture that is a SIZE 6 and fits me!!!!!!!

now isn't this a nice email to receive??

I met with a friend last week about a new business venture he wants to involve me in. This was the intro line to our negotiations:

"First, I have to pass on that Jason was thoroughly impressed and wants to make sure we find a way to steal you away permanently somewhere down the road!"

yes, I am THAT good

Paranoia sets in

prompted by a series of emails about that last post

IT WAS A DREAM.

DID NOT HAPPEN IN REAL LIFE.

ARE WE CLEAR ON THAT POINT?

I looked at the stats to see who was looking, etc. one "viewer" stood out and when I drilled down to see who/where the IP address was from I got totally freaked out --- there is only one person I know who could possibly be checking in from there and that person is the LAST PERSON ON EARTH that I want reading this blog.

That person is the subject of quite a few of my most personal entries. I have never told that person about Finn's Space. I may have mentioned that I had a blog in passing over a year ago, but I certainly never divulged the name or the server or anything about it whatsoever. However, I don't think that it would take a rocket scientist to find it if one wanted to --- just google my name and "blog" and there you be.

Don't know exactly how I feel about this --- what's done is done after all and there is SFA I can do about it now. If I am right, then he now knows EVERYTHING. great. fantastic. see I never got over you. happy about that?

I am really freaked out by this

S***!!!!!!!

I’m sitting on my couch in my favourite PJ’s, sipping Aveda comforting tea and watching some enlightening show on television.

The phone rings.

“Hi, it’s me”

“Oh, hi”

“How are you?”

“Great, you?”

At this point am wondering why he’s calling. Why now? Why tonight? Is it a purely “let’s catch up on what’s going on” phone call or is it a “I have a few minutes to kill while waiting for my toast to pop” phone call or is it a "does he want or need something from me" phone call? What?

“Um, can I come over?”

“Now? Like tonight”

“Um, yeah, if that’s okay”

Yeah, it’s like SO NOT okay. You broke my heart months ago, you bastard!!!! You continue to hold on to one little part of me and push and pull as it pleases you and so of course it’s not okay!!!!!

“Of course, if you don’t mind the pj’s”

“Not at all (laughs) I’ll be there in about 15 minutes”

“Great, see you then”

Panic sets in. Glasses on or off??? Keep the pj’s as is or swap the ratty t for a sexy cami and try and pull off the “this is what I always wear to bed” attitude?? Make more tea or just stay on the couch and barely move to open the door for him?? DAMN HIM TO HELL ALREADY!!!!!

Swapped the t for the cami, kept the glasses on, made more tea.

Knock on the door

“Hi”

Big hug

“you look beautiful”

“um, thanks” (blush, feel slightly uncomfortable)

“tea?”

“sure, thanks”

I hate when we are this stilted together. I want the close comfort that we had. And still have, sometimes. But not always. Like now.

We settle on the couch, at opposite ends

“So, what’s up”

“I miss you”

Yippee!! He misses me!! He misses me!! La la la la la la (Smurf song)

“Um, well, uh, I”

“I miss talking to you …”

“we talk all the time”

“you know what I mean. I miss being with you. Like this”

“That was your choice. You ‘weren’t ready for me’, remember? You ended things and moved on with HER. That was your choice”

“I know. And I’m sorry”

Oh. My. God.

How desperately I have wanted to hear those words!!!!! I love this man and have tried to stop loving and wanting this man but I just can’t. I love him. I can’t stop loving him. Or wanting him.

“What am I supposed to say to that?”

He just looks at me and takes my hand and draws me close and I’m not stopping him. I can’t stop him. I don’t want to stop him. I want him. I want his arms around me and I don’t ever want him to leave. I feel the tears running down my face and I feel warm and happy and safe and LOVED.

* EDIT: I was getting all sorts of emails from friends asking why in the hell I hadn't told them that this happened and I was quite puzzled --- it was a dream for crying out loud!!!! Wasn't that clear?? Apparently not. Seems I omitted this rather vital final sentence:

Then I woke up. My pillow damp with tears.

oops, sorry about that

Maggie's Holiday

Is this the face of someone mising their mum while she was away???

Yeah, didn't think so

um, yeah, so this is a little embarrassing .....

I was reading this and was reminded of a similar incident a few years back ....

I was house/dog sitting at a friend's place for a couple of weeks. After I got home and unpacked all of my stuff I realized that I had forgotten something. This is kind of the conversation that ensued ....

"Hey -- welcome back! Good trip? Great!! So, um, well, yeah, this is a little embarrassing, but I kind of forgot something in your bedroom. Yeah, nope, nothing like that. NOOOOOOOOO Not condoms or slinky underwear. Nope, my stuffed dog "Trouble" What???? Marlow ATE HIM?????!!!!! You found him under the pillows and thought how nice, Kathryn left a toy for Marlow. Sorry, all that's left is a plastic eye."

Somehow I think that leaving illicit material behind would have been less embarrassing.

almost too much cuteness to bear

Maggie went to stay with her auntie in Squamish for a few days last week --- looks like she had a terrible time, non?

Shootings at Dawson College, Montreal

By now pretty much everyone in North America has heard about this tragedy in some form or another. It struck pretty close close to home for me, being from Montreal, and in particular because the apartment my parents, until very recently, lived in while in the city overlooked Dawson College and I attended the college, many, many years ago. It's all well and good for us Canadians to say that guns and violence are an American problem but I believe that this incident was a huge dose of the unfortunate reality that is our current culture.

I was up late last night, unable to sleep for a variety of unrelated reasons, and caught some US network news casts and was kind of shocked and then impressed that they were reporting live from Montreal about the shootings. Given the natural preoccupation of the 5 year anniversary of the 9/11 bombings, it was nice (wrong word but I can't think of another) to see them expanding their sometimes narrow focus of world events to include what some consider to be an insignificant country to the north. However, my cousin just sent me the following email that she sent to a radio station she listens to from Bellingham, WA, directly across the border:

"There is a large country just north of you called "Canada" - ever heard of it? 13 students were shot yesterday - one confirmed dead - at a college in Montreal, Quebec. It would have been nice for you to acknowledge this horrible event in your news report this morning. Instead, your D.J.s chose to yammer on about car brakes and property taxes. Why?"

Why indeed.

*EDIT - half of this post seems to have been eaten by blogger --- the rest of the intended post waxed poetically about how the whole point was not that we should care about what the American media thinks of us, and why are we always concerned with what they think and report, etc. but that the tragedy and horror of such a terrible event happening in an extremely safe city and country. Then I got this email from my mum this morning (slightly edited as I am not going to share everything my mummy says to me):

"have been in Montreal for 2 days (yes, during the shooting at Dawson which was very scary as we were in the neighbourhood... greene avenue etc. weren't witness to it but definitely had our day disrupted with traffic etc as you could not go west of Peel or east of Greene Ave... quite a large area for a Westmount type... still don't know a lot about the killing or how bad the last four students are in Hospital but whatever, it was a horrible event and so shocking in our very very safe city.... Daddy has a story to tell re the event as one of his lawyers that he was meeting with that day was involved at the outset innocently walking into Westmount Square when he was confronted by the murderer who asked him to take a bag out of a car and carry it...he said why and no... and the guy pointed a gun at him and told him to take the fu..... bag or he would kill him... needless to say he took it but fortunately shortly after walked into a police car, threw the bag and ran... and then events unfolded.... ask Daddy he knows all the details... lots of love Mummy"

yeah, so I have standards

Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Beautiful Girls
Metropolitan
Love Actually
The Princess Bride
BBC Pride & Prejudice

Q. What do these films have in common??

A. They have been watched and enjoyed repeatedly by me and if you hope to stand any chance of having any sort of lasting relationship with me (read like longer than a weekend) you had better get used to this and LOVE it.

Other desired features include, but are not limited to, the following:

Dancing in the kitchen just ‘cause it’s fun

Embracing the joy that is eating cinnamon toast fingers, in bed, with hot cups of tea

Waking up to the first snow of the season and running outside right away to revel in it --- coat and boots over jammies

Realizing that it’s because she’s Maggie

Crossword puzzles are done in ink and reading anything of mine before I get the chance to is a crime punishable by death (seriously)

Generally speaking, I am right

This is by no means an exhaustive list and I am certain this also serves to solidify many people’s belief that I am not quite sane (or ever so slightly difficult …)

Happiness is a warm puppy, really

God but this picture gave me the ever-so-much-needed warm fuzzies this morning.

One of the many, many joys of being a woman

Went 4 rounds with the endometriosis last night, as opposed to the usual 9 or 10, so all things considered I got off pretty light. I haven’t had a bout in a couple of months and so thought maybe it had passed --- after all there had been a good 10 years of dormancy until it reared its ugly head again last June. I had felt rather off all day and so engaged my usual preventative fasting tactic (my reasoning being that if there is nothing IN my system to begin with, then there is nothing to be forced OUT). It doesn’t really work, but it gives me some source of comfort.

In any event, on schedule at 11 pm (it only ever happens at night, usually after 11), the pain kicked in, the vomiting and other loveliness ensued and then I spent a good 40 minutes lying at the bottom of my shower with scorching hot water beating down on my lower abdomen. Pretty picture, non?? However, like I said it was only 4 rounds, so I did not feel like committing Hare Kari, which sometimes feels like the most logical option.

Having never had children I don’t know first hand what labour feels like, but I have a feeling that this is pretty similar ---- uterus contracting at pretty regular intervals, and all that, unbelievable pain and shaking and then that tricky calm with no pain, but YOU KNOW IT”S COMING!!!!!!! The self-styled hydrotherapy combined with some serious painkillers eventually kicked in, enabling me to drag my sorry soggy self, wrapped in my fluffy robe, to the couch to settle in for a few mind-numbing hours of CSI, ’cause although dopey from the drugs, sleep tends to elude me for many hours.

So yeah, I am whining and felling really, really tired. Not to mention highly irritable and apt to bite your head off if you so much as look at me sideways.


You have been warned and ..... Happy Monday.

YIKES!!!

Was just down in Starbucks, perusing their cd selection while waiting for my coffee. Sam Moore, of Sam & Dave fame, has released a "new" album of cover songs which looks to be quite excellent. However, on closer inspection it was revealed that he is doing a cover of "Blame It On The Rain" --- infamously "recorded" by that marvel of 80's marketing Milli Vanilli.

That is just so very wrong.

I only carry real money

DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT ANTI-AMERICAN. QUITE FOND OF OUR NEIGHBOURS TO THE SOUTH AS A MATTER OF FACT. HOWEVER, PEOPLE LIKE THE ONES DESCRIBED BELOW GIVE THE REST OF THEIR COUNTRY(WO)MEN A BAD NAME

I was getting coffee this morning on my way in to the office and there was a bit of a hold-up at the front of the line. What was the cause of this hold-up? 3 Americans paying for their morning cup-o-jo with American currency. In and of itself an annoyance ---- the assumption that anyone will simply take American currency in a country other than the United States and give them the current and correct exchange rate. Imagine trying that in their country? Yeah, that'll happen --- they treat Canadian currency like it's Monopoly money and won't even take a Canadian penny for chrissakes!!!!!! When I was in the service industry (waiting tables, tending bar and the like) I would happily take American cash AT PAR. Amazing how many people accepted that. Yet I digress.

What made it worse than the fact that they simply assumed that the foreign currency would be accepted without question was the following statement:

"I only carry real money."

Nice.

oh the drama

Care for an update on the drama in my personal life? No? Tough. Here it is …

I believe I mentioned a few entries back that news of a certain parting of the ways (okay so it was the news that my non-date-date of last year had broken up with the slutbitchwhore woman he had been dating since CRUSHING MY POOR FRAGILE HEART). This event of course prompted a phone call to me, which I waited a full day to return and which then resulted in our setting up a “date” for a hike with Princess Maggie. Oh, and of course I did not mention that I knew the information, nor did he offer it up. This is how we “communicate”.

To be honest I was more than half expecting him to bail on the whole thing at the last minute. But he did not. Instead, falling back into the pattern he developed when we were dating, he called in advance of his arrival telling me that he was on his way and that “he was really looking forward to seeing me”. Yup, my heart went flippity flop when I heard the message 'cause well that’s the kind of girl I am and that’s one of those things that he used to do that made me fall so hard for him in the first place.

Anyway, we hiked and we talked and we laughed and he hunted up and threw sticks for the furry princess and we were more relaxed and at ease with each other than we have been in months and months and months. We went for lunch, we bought Maggie treats and then he brought me home. I honestly expected him to simply drop me off, but he turned the car off and took everything out and came in with us.

This is where things got a little weird --- I knew he had stuff to do yet he was just kind of hanging around, playing with Maggie and her bear, like he was waiting for something --- that did not happen. I am not making this easy for him.

Verdict? A most pleasant day with a lovely man and I just have to be careful with my heart.

The next week we chatted a few times, emailed back and forth, the flirtation of yesteryear definitely back BIG TIME and made plans for Thursday. That got scratched due to kid stuff, which I am totally fine with, so we planned for Friday. He came all the way downtown to get me from the office as I got to leave early (YIPPEE!!), drove back across the bloody bridge and then suggested several lovely options for lunch. I opted for grabbing a sandwich and hitting the beach (my own suggestions and what I wanted to do). Again, a lovely relaxed excursion. He brought me home, kissed my goodbye and said we’d chat when he gets back from France mid-month.

Enter the drama

I believe I have mentioned Chris, owner of Jake the lovely choclate lab, who I dated a few times, he got back with his ex, and that didn’t work and we have dated a few more time? The architect with the lovely house? The logical one for me to be with? Well, we went out for drinks Friday night and as we settled into our respective cocktails he asks: “are you seeing someone?”

WTF?????

Seems his friend Joel saw Peter and me having lunch last week and then saw us again on Friday and assumed …. who knows what but of course he felt the need to tell Chris. Who says men don’t gossip??

Now Chris is not aware of Peter’s existence in any way, shape or form, but we really haven’t got to that point yet. It’s not like we’ve pledged our troth or anything.

My answer? I was with Peter, a friend and former colleague (all true) and the next time Joel “sees me”, he might consider coming over and saying hello.

What a way to put a damper on an evening.

Puggle is "IT"!!

For those of you new to this space (or those of you who don't remember each and every entry I have posted, for shame!!), Decker is one of the dogs who stays with Miss Maggie and me when his dads go out of town. Decker is a puggle and really quite unique and adorable. After his first stay with us I posted some of his puppy pictures. This post was then linked here and touted as a "cure for depression". The photo was subsequently picked up by puggle.org and made "pic of the week".

And now, this:

Decker's dads were in NYC a few weeks ago and one of their friends showed them this article. Our little Decker has certainly made the big time!

Now, how to parlay this into hooking up with Jake Gyllenhaal ........

am I insane????

Some women get a stirring in the uterus when they see babies. Me? I get that way about puppies. Maggie is fabulous, of course, but she’s 71/2 now and I think that it might be time to introduce a puppy to the mix. I have canvassed the people at the office and everyone seems to be in agreement that I could bring said puppy to the office for the first little while, until it would be fine left at home with Maggie as “keeper” and going out on walks with the group.

This is where I want to get a puppy from. A chocolate coloured Maggie --- does it get any better than that??

Plus-Sized Cars

That’s right --- Ford’s 2007 line will feature cars designed for the “plus sized” consumer. I mean COME ON ---- if you find yourself too fat to fit behind the wheel of your car, maybe you shouldn’t be behind the wheel of your car? Maybe you should be walking? Or riding a bike? Or? Oh I don’t know, something. I’m not trying to be mean or make fun of people you are larger than average, but seriously, is this not a bit extreme and ridiculous?? Now I have had weight issues all my life and am certainly not one to preach about how being fat is bad and everyone should be a skinny size 0 or anything, but how large does one have to be to actually NOT FIT in a car? And why, instead of doing something about maybe getting healthier and slimmer, increase the size of the cars to accommodate America’s growing waistline (and when I say America, I mean North America as Canadians are getting up there in the obesity area right along with our neighbours to the south).

And then there’s the obvious: how embarrassing is it to have to shop in the “husky” section of the automall??

Friday randomness

Maggie and I woke up a bear that was sleeping in a tree the other morning (another reason that I am totally re-thinking those 5 a.m. runs ...) --- one of the perks of living where we do. You don't get that living in the BIG city .....

A random girl in the ladies room at the office told me that I smelled "delicious" and asked what perfume I was wearing. I don't wear perfume, so it must have been the absolutely FABULOUS hair straightening tonic I bought a few weeks ago at London Drugs for all of $1.99. (or maybe just my sweetness shining through)

I am going out with Exhibit 2 tomorrow. I am a weak, weak woman.

dancing her way to Texas

My friend Katie (with me in the photo below at the office Christmas party last year) is joining the Texas Ballet Theatre. She leaves Sunday to start what is bound to be a very successful career as a Prima Ballerina. I am so very excited for her!!!!

Game on?

If you impart rather juicy personal news to someone, knowing that you have friends in common, particularly friends in common that would be interested in said juicy information, you are safe to assume that the friend to whom you have imparted said juicy information is going to relay said information to the potentially interested party thereby relieving you of the responsibility of actually having to impart said information to the potentially interested party yourself, yet leaving you pretty much certain that the information will be so imparted, right??

And so the game continues …..

Why?

Exhibit 1

Attractive
Never married
No kids
Great dog
Owns a lovely house in a lovely neighbourhood
Employed – architect
Ex no longer a factor
Available


Exhibit 2

Attractive
Not quite divorced, hell the ex won’t even sign the separation agreement
2 teenagers
No dog
Rents a choc-a-bloc apartment, has never owned a house*
Not-employed lawyer
Has broken my heart AT LEAST once
Not available to me


Who do you think makes me quiver when he calls??



*Exhibit 1’s lovely house’s deck actually overlooks said apartment, with binochs I could probably see in

Making Friends

Maggie made a new friend this morning. Bears a striking resemblance to this little fellow:





We are currently taking any and all sugegstions as to how to deal with this ......

of cupcakes and men

I must be fighting something --- every day this week I have felt as through I spent the night before pounding back multiple bottles of tequila (which I have not) and barely make it through the say without nodding off and once actually dozing while talking to someone!! Also, all I feel like eating are these beautifully decorated cupcakes (which I have not as yet indulged in) and Krinkle Kut Kettle Chips, sea salt and black pepper flavour.

And before you even go there, No I am NOT pregnant.

I am also at risk of getting sucked back in by the currently underemployed and emotionally (and perhaps otherwise, though that is debatable) unavailable lawyer with whom I was involved last year at around this time. Message to the elusive dad of Biscuit: rescue me from this potentially disastrous fate!!

Those beautifully decorated cupcakes are sounding like a really good idea right now …… chased by multiple bottles of tequila, of course!!

Scruffy, but in a clean, sexy way

At George in Yaletown Friday night having cocktails with a friend. We both noted an extremely attractive, if slightly scruffy but in a good, clean way, man on the patio at a table with several other people who all seemed rather plastic and pretentious.

"He reads books and builds things and has excellent manners" was my friend's comment

"He has that dead sexy Billy Campbell thing going on" I noted

hey, wait a minute, it is Billy Campbell

I tried rather unsuccessfully not to stare, but really, can you blame a girl??

(and he has quite possibly the NICEST hands I have ever seen)

Biscuit's Dad Part Deux

At the urging of my friend Sarah, I placed the following ad in last week's Georgia Straight "I Saw You" section:

A dog named Biscuit

ok, so this may sound weird, but whatever

yesterday (Sunday) I met a lovely golden retriever named "Biscuit" on Yew Street in Kitsilano. Lovely dog with an even lovelier owner. Stupid me decided to actually continue in my own direction when our paths parted so as to accomplish my errands as opposed to doing the smart thing and turning in the SAME direction as Biscuit and her owner for continued conversation adn potentially ....

DAMMIT!!!!!

So, anyone here in Vancouver know of a golden retriever named Biscuiit who lives in Kits??

Let's just think of this as a great scavenger hunt of sorts :)

it ain't what it's cracked up to be, apparently

overheard at a local Kitsilano watering hole:

"my apartment's immaculate, I have a cute dog, I'm on a television soap opera and I STILL CAN"T GET LAID!!!!!!!!"

you just have to laugh, non?

so I'm donning a wimple

So yeah, I KNEW it was too good to be true ---- he has a girlfriend. Or, rather, an ex-girlfriend that he has decided to try and work things out with. I KNEW IT!!!! It was going too well. You see that’s how my life generally works, and people wonder why I am so wary and guarded and all that. And it all started out to well ….

We met walking our dogs, he took Maggie and me for dinner. We had fun. Then he took us on a picnic --- Lighthouse Park, there was wine, yummy food, we looked at the stars. Again, a lovely evening --- tall, handsome, “single” , never married, no kids, viably employed (architect), dog, house, well dressed with a good sense of style, ALL GOOD (and the polar opposite (but for the handsome part) of Peter, the ex-non-date). We went for a dinner sans dogs on the weekend, the Grouse Nest, and had another wonderful time. “Maybe this will work” I thought to myself. “Maybe I am now ready to move on from that other jerk” maybe, maybe, maybe.

Well, apparently not. Seems his ex-girlfriend, with whom he was involved for 3 years and broke up with 6 months ago, is back and they he says he owes it to her, him, them to try and work it out.

WHAT ABOUT ME???????

That’s it. I’m DONE. Calling Sister Mary Catherine and joining the bloody convent.

weekend adventures

I spent Saturday at Lynn Canyon with my 3 nieces, 1 nephew, 2 cousins and my aunt (grandmother to the aforementioned children) I refer to the kids as my nieces and nephews because, while technically not accurate, I consider their parents my siblings hence their offspring nieces and nephews. Also, it's lots easier to say than "the children of my cousins".

I LOVE these photos even though I have obviously sacrificed any attempt at flattering angles and personal photo op vanity for the sake of keeping the 4 year old safe (read dry and not swept off by the rather swift (and bloody freezing) current).

Awkwardness

Situation 1 - good friend has recently gotten back together with a PSYCHO ex-girlfriend and they appear to be deliriously happy. Problem is, she is SERIOUSLY PSYCHOTIC and this is not just from how she acted during their relationship the first time 'round --- this comes from independent 3rd parties who know her in a professional sense. Trying to be happy for him, but he just sent me photos from their recent bike trip down the coast and the mere sight of her makes me cringe.

Situation 2 - there is a woman I work with who is most probably in her early to mid 50's. Not to put too fine a point on it, she has a tendency to err on the mutton as lamb side of fashion choices. This does not make her a bad person. In fact, she is lovely and I enjoy working with her. Yesterday she left early for a doctor's appointment which I later found out (quite by accident) was for botox injections. She looks decidedly odd today and I am doing my best not to stare.

I really, really, really hope that I am able to keep that pesky inside voice inside (as it does have a tendency to slip out at THE MOST inopportune moments .....)

kids and nudity

*Editor's Note: The anecdotes below ARE NOT mine -- they are taken from two separate emails I received today from two separate friends. I DID NOT magically acquire a husband and/or children over the Canada Day long weekend (much to my mother's dismay, I am sure) --- Management apologizes for any confusion this may otherwise have caused ...

2 posts in a day is un peut trop I realize, but this kind of goes with the earlier one (in that it involves kids)

Example 1:

Wreck Beach - total mistake. The 1000 stairs and complete absence of children should of been our first clue. We get to the bottom and then the gravity of nakedness hits. My husband, being the white bread boy that he is, was disgusted and wanted to leave ASAP. Apparently, in his opinion, nudity should be saved for airbrushed porn. The girls, who hadn't noticed the bareness at this point, started to cry since they were a stones throw away from the water and were hot are ready to collect shells etc. So I suggested we stay (the nudity didn't bother me at all) until they start to notice. Well, within a minute and half daughter 1 (age 8) starts to giggle etc. I told her to keep her head down and mind her own business. Daughter 3 (age 4) was completely clueless (and still is). Husband could only handle it for about 15 minutes then demanded that we leave. It wasn't until our departure that Daughter 2 (age 6) noticed all the tanning schlongs and was quite offended by the whole scene. Another BC tale to tell!

Example 2:

I was suntanning naked on Sunday with my son (at a friend's private pool). No one else was there. Son said: "oh mom do you have to keep taking your dress off everytime you get a chance".

My answer: "of course".

The most effective form of birth control

I just spent the past 4 days with my best friend, Andy, and her 3 kids --- Keighley age 6, Brenna age 4 and Fraser age 18 mos.

I got home last night and hugged Maggie for a VERY long time.

photos to follow ......

Monday

7:42 a.m., bag on shoulder, keys in hand, went to grab the mug of milk from the microwave to add to the waiting travel mug of coffee when

SMASH

the mug falls from my hands and lands on the ceramic tile floor, hot milk and shattered favourite coffee mug everywhere --- including all over my clothes, shoes, cupboards, etc.

Had to stop, strip and scrub the kitchen, pick up all the shards (can't risk the princess splicing a paw pad), called in to work to let them know I would now be running a tad behind, rethink the wardrobe for the day (not a happy process) and then start all over again.

Thank Christ it's a sunny gorgeous day this fabulous Monday or I might just have been tempted to throw in the towel before 8 a.m. and start the week over tomorrow.

the bloody injustice of it all

Hi, my name is Kathryn and I am addicted to shoes.

There, got that off my chest and so now can continue with this tale in clear conscience.

There is currently a fantabulous pair of red patent leather stacked peek-a-boo pumps for sale at Aldo and I want them something fierce! I mean they are drop. dead. sexy. I tried them on last week and while they fit my ridiculously large (12) foot, sadly they were cut too low for my additionally ridiculously high arch. I almost cried ---- I had already envisioned them paired with my super-dark denim jeans worn fashionably under my crisp black linen shift while sipping a sassy cocktail on a sunny patio. Alas, this was not to be ......

To add insult to injury, my young assistant just this instant went to buy them for herself (as further proof that height is in no way related to foot size, she is 5'11 and has a size 8. I am 5'9 with a 12 and my sister 5' 4 3/4 with a 91/2, so there!!). I tried to play the boss card and forbid her from taking lunch and threatening her with all sorts of nasty tasks that would come her way if she did indeed buy MY shoes, but to no avail. She bought them and they are indeed fabulous.

Contemplating

Just for fun (and to shut the annoying people in my life who think they know what's best for me and I am DYING to prove them wrong up) I am contemplating the thought of maybe, just maybe, trying out one of those matchmaking services that everyone is on about. NOT the internet variety but an old fashioned, screening process in place, criminal background check, etc. corporate matchmaking service.

This will open myself up for a whole whack of ridicule and rejection, I know.

Thoughts? Comments?? Suggestions???

You see, I kind of want to do it so that I can say "yeah, did it, hated it, didn't work, it sucks and is humiliating and you were all WRONG"

('cause I really am that petty)

one big happy .....

LIGHTHOUSE PARK JUNE 18, 2006

the parents are coming! the parents are coming!

My parents arrive tonight for a brief (4 sleep) visit to see their lovely daughters and grandchildrendogs. Our itinerary thus far is as follows:

Tonight 9:00 p.m. meet them at their hotel and have a late dinner

Friday Paula (my sister) and mum will “play” while my dad does important lawyer-type stuff (“ILS”) and I am at work then at 5:15 meet Paula and mum at family friends for drinks, dinner etc., dad still doing “ILS"

Saturday - Meet parents at hotel for coffee and then go to Horseshoe Bay where more family friends will pick us up in their boat (grandchildrendogs included) to go over to Bowen Island for lunch. Then it’s up to Squamish to look at houses and have a BBQ

Sunday - meet cousins and their children for a hike and lunch in Deep Cove, dinner at yet another friend of the family for Fathers’ Day, then it’s back to the airport for the senior Caseys for the night (I offered accoms in my 700 sq. feet, but the Fairmont appealed more, go figure!!)

I am really looking forward to their visit and I am sure that it will be much better than the Christmas visit (not that that visit was so terrible, but I was a huge basket of stress, thanks to the recent breakup and the fact that I was totally HATING my job and everyone at it and so was not really able to keep any food down and was drinking far too much (not that anyone noticed, we are WASPs after all)). However, dollars to doughnuts one of the first things out of my mother’s mouth will be some sort of comment regarding my weight/appearance (I have mentioned that one of the results of the whole breakup/job hating thing was a loss of 40 lbs or so and about 4 dress sizes, right?) and the second thing (though she may wait until Saturday for this one) will be about my lack of steady man and/or children in my life.

The fact that I now have a great new job, make that career (and there IS a difference) and am significantly less stressed and happier won’t matter.

The fact that I am single and childless will.

Maybe it's true what they say about dogs and boys

So I was out walking with Miss Maggie the other night and we ran into Jake the chocolate lab and his rather cute owner, Chris. We have run into each other a few times over the last couple of months and exchanged the usual dog walking pleasantries: cute dog, what's her/his name, how old is he/she --- you know, the kind of thing all parents chat about when crossing paths. The difference this time was that instead of just exchanging the pleasantries in passing we actually walked together and then Chris invited Miss Maggie and me out for a beer and dinner at the Red Lion in West Van.

Of course we went. And had fun (though this is the same venue as my first meeting with the ex-non-non-date's children and where I almost died from injesting an errant shrimp in my salad). No such drama this evening, though!! Just a pleasant, straightforward evening with nice conversation and two really adorable canine chaperones.

ex-non-non-date strikes again

If you hop into the wayback machine you will recall the drama that was the non-date, then non-non-date, then ex-non-non-date and then, finally, friend. After the "getting knocked off his pedestal in one fell swoop" incident we managed to somehow salvage a friendship. And for that I feel quite fortunate. Kind of. You see …

He has been calling, email, texting, a lot of late and quite frankly if I were his current girlfriend, and I’m not sure that he has one right now but I know for certain that he did, the discovery of which resulted in the knocking off the pedestal incident, I would probably not be all that happy about it, given our “history”. I mean we were talking with some frequency over the past few months, like maybe every other week or so but in a very Monday to Friday 9 to 5 kind of way, we worked in the same office so that was quite unavoidable, and he was super supportive of me during my whole career change and the fallout from that. But this is different. What’s happening now is bearing a striking resemblance to what was happening during his changing of our relationship way back last summer.

His calls etc. are far more frequent. He is feeling the need to keep me apprised of his whereabouts, like so I don’t think he is “ignoring me” or anything. For instance, I texted him last week on the morning of a really important job interview meeting that he had scheduled for late that day. A very innocuous message along the lines of good luck, I’m sure you’ll be brilliant. He emailed me back that night and left me a voice message saying that it went really well, he was really excited about it and would fill me in on all the details in about a week and a half as he was off to X for the weekend and then Y on Monday p.m.

Well, he called Tuesday afternoon to say that his plans had changed and that he was actually leaving Tuesday night, filled me in on how the interview went, what’s going on with his kids, troubles with his ex-wife, what he’s been up to, etc., etc., etc., and then said that he would be back Sunday night and could we get together for dinner one night next week to catch up and chat.

Well, logically I should just tell him to get F**ked. However, that would kind of be like cutting off my nose to spite my face. Technically I’m doing nothing wrong. However, there is that niggling doubt in my mind: what’s he up to? What’s his motivation? It would be great if I could trust that we really can be “just friends”, but, like most women do, I have this innate sense about certain things and his behaviour is eerily similar to when he was wooing me last year and I have to admit (as much as I am ashamed to) that I would not exactly be adverse to the possibility.

I know, I know, I am potentially setting myself up to be hurt in a HUGE way again. I know this, yet ….

Or maybe there is nothing to this whatsoever, he just wants to have dinner and go over what’s been going on and maybe even bring his current girlfriend (if he has one) along, too. HA!

I do believe the quote at the top of this page says it best.

In any event, I’ll keep you posted …

I mean why would a man want to date a woman in her 30's anyway?

I was at Nu for brunch on Sunday (which I highly recommend, by the way ----- yummy and complimentary fresh baked mini croissants and demi tassess of French drinking chocolate as an “amuse bouche”, and truly delicious (and non-expensive) brunch offerings, I had brioche toast, home-fries and bacon (need the carbs and grease to soak up the remnants of the JD that someone obviously poured down my unwilling throat Saturday night (that’s a whole other story)), fabulous service and a breathtaking view). I was not all that enthusiastic about going to be honest, skeptical of an “up scale” locale for brunch, wickedly hungover and not really looking forward to one of the expected attendees(who as luck would have it did not end up attending after all), so I was very pleasantly surprised by how yummy and delicious it was. Funny thing happened in the ladies room, however: 2 girls obviously in their mid-twenties were discussing events of the evening before and I gathered from their conversation that the one (pink t-shirt, cargo capris and army hat) was dating a man considerably older and was describing to her friend (very funky orange and red streaked hair) how someone was commenting that it seemed to be a trend to have men in their late 30’s dating younger women. Nothing groundbreaking or earth-shattering there.

However, her next comment was: “I mean why would a man want to date a woman in her 30’s anyway? They are so desperate and all they want to do is get married and settle down”.

!@#$%&^%$#@!!!!!!!

I was sitting in the next stall and honestly did not have the wherewithal to do anything about it (I have mentioned that I was feeling a little less than perfect, right?), but honestly ------ what a truly terrible thing to say, not to mention what a huge (false) generalization.

So I’m asking ---- anyone have an opinion, one way or the other, on this?

If a bear shits in the woods, should I have a cocktail??

Seems like a rather redundant question, no?

This was actually on the inside of a birthday card I got from a very good friend and it made me laugh and laugh and laugh ...... you know how when people who know you REALLY well can just look at you or say one word or whatever and you collapse like a boneless git in a heap on the floor laughing all the while? And then your abs hurt more than the morning after you have done 500 crunches in various positions in an effort to magically transform your 38 year old mid-section into something other than what it is? Yeah, like that and that my friends is worth more than all the therapy money (or extended health benefits) can buy.

Happy Birthday to me

My dad tells me the same story pretty much every year on my birthday: he arrived at MGH (Montreal General Hospital) to find my mother being wheeled down the hall on a gurney en route to the delivery room -- doctor's hand in one hand, smoke hanging out of the other. This was Quebec 1968 after all (my mother maintained for YEARS that she quit smoking while pregnant with each of us. She was busted on that little version of the truth a few years ago).

Don't know why, but I really like that story.

So yeah, I turned 38 today. Big whoop. Funny how that just doesn't seem so old to me anymore. Maybe 'cause I don't feel 38, whatever 38 is supposed to feel like. Looking back at where my mum was when she was 38, I was 13 and in grade 8. I simply cannot fathom having a 13 year old child. Or a child of any age for that matter.

I have to say that this year is starting out better than last. I am in a great new job and am generally feeling pretty good about things. Last year, at least the the last half of last year, was pretty bloody miserable and not one I care to repeat. There are neither dates nor non-dates in my life at present, but that's just fine. Last year's non-date and I are finally back to a place where we can be friends and it seems to be working for us --- though his calls, emails, texts, etc are becoming quite frequent and I'm not sure as to why. However, one of my resolutions at the termination of the romantic side of that particular relationship was to tryto not analyze it all and just let whatever come, come (once I am more secure with it I will share what was quite possibly the most shocking moment of 2006 thus far for me and what also knocked non-date way, way, way off the pedestal that I had put him on and let me begin the healing that I so desperately needed, but that's not now).

As for how I'm celebrating, well I don't really know. My sister seemed very concerned that I had no plans (in fact actually forgot about it until she reminded me) so I think that we are going out somewhere to do something. If we get up to anything exciting, I'll be sure to write about it (or maybe not, depending on just HOW exciting ...).

Maggie & Decker go to Abbotsford

Spent the long weekend in Abbotsford at the request of my three nieces. Well, the request was actually for Maggie and Decker, but I came along as part of the package. (Maggie was visibly relieved that they didn't try to dress her up, too. )

Rule 72(a)

72(a):

When you meet an ex for lunch after not having seen said ex for like a month and when said ex has been looking pretty much like shit and really, really old and stressed for the couple of months leading up to the not seeing him for a month, said ex shall not look REALLY REALLY good. I mean REALLY good.

(So yeah, the hug at the end of lunch may have lasted a bit longer than necessary, but can you blame a girl??)

My newest guilty pleasure

I can't believe I am admitting this (ok, so maybe I can) but I am totally addicted to Laguna Beach. In case you're not familiar with it, this is a "reality series" on MTV kind of like the real OC. I wasn't even aware that I got MTV, but flipping around on the rainy holiday Monday I stumbled across it and like a train wreck I could not look away --- and it was an ALL DAY MARATHON!!! I tell you I am hooked. This is some truly good stuff.

Now I wasn't going to actually admit this new found obsession to anyone, but when I arrived at a girlfriend's place Monday afternoon for lunch, she and another friend were watching tv and the first thing she asked me was "have you seen Laguna Beach??". Well kids, that was the end of life as we knew it. We plunked ourselves down in front of the idiot box and lost ourselves in the world of Taylor and Talon, Jason and Jessica, and then Jason and Alex, and Stephen and LC and the Stephen and Kristin and Casey "the new girl" and all that is fun and fabulous in Laguna Beach, CA.

Apparently we are watching season 2 --- I must, must, must get my hands on the dvd's for season 1.

definitely one of my top ten recent favourite quotes

From Ian McKellen (in part of an interview re his role in the DaVinci Code (though I am CERTAINLY NOT advocating either the book or the movie and not because of any stupid religious controversy, I just didn't like the book and will not be seeing the movie))

"I'm very happy to believe that Jesus was married," said McKellen, an outspoken defender of gay rights since disclosing his homosexuality in the late 1980s. "And I know the Catholic church has problems with gay people, and I thought this would be absolute proof that Jesus was not gay."

some stuff I know

1. one must be very careful about donning the currently-in-fashion-but-that-doesn't-mean-everyone-should-wear-them WHITE PANTS (if you must partake of this trend, please, please, please think very carefully when choosing your undergarments)
2. people lie to get what, where, who they want
3. heartbreak is a very physical ailment
4. addiction affects everyone
5. The West Wing, now dearly departed, was quite possibly the best television show EVER (at least when Aaron Sorkin was involved (not to mention Rob Lowe)) ---- I so wanted to work in that version of the White House glibly spouting witty repartee and boasting a fabulous Max Mara wardrobe a la C.J. Craig
6. the phrase "change is often as good as a rest" is so very true ---- I am LOVING my new job and was not aware until after I had left just how toxic an environment I was working in at the big national law firm (go figure --- working for lawyers SUCKS!!!!!!!)
7. to quote my father (though I am almost certain that the phrase did not originate with him, the context that I am taking it from does) "people never cease to disappoint" (see 6, above for context)
8. I am tired of the cutesy Australian wine marketing, though huge Kudos to whoever came up with the Yellow Tail/Little Penguin, etc ---- BRILLIANT way to market/package what is really over-sugared not so great wine and sell like a gazillion cases to people who don't know any better
9. leggings = bad, wedges = good
10. I am SO worth it

Last Day

This is it, my last day as a paralegal/administrative assistant in the wonderful and exciting world of private practice, huge national firm, commercial litigation!!!!! Monday marks the start of a new career and I am both terribly excited and ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIED!!!!!!!!!!!

I am entering a field that I know virtually nothing about, don't know anyone at the new place and, after the CEO, CFO and President of the company, there's me. Yup, that's right. No more entry level, support positions for this girl.

What happens when they find out that I don't really know what the hell I am doing?????

this & that

my new favourite product ---- Burt's Bees Lip Shimmer (watermelon and champagne are my 2 favourites). you see I hate the feeling of lip stick or lip gloss but am addicted to my Burt's Bees chapstick, so now I can get a little hint of colour without the ickiness of lip stick/gloss.

latest television obsession: Tuckerville. seriously, I am OBSESSED with this show. WT to the max which of course is what makes it so fabulous

can't wrap my head around: "But can they sing?" can anyone help me out on this one?

and we're back ....

After a 5 month hiatus all is well, lots has changed and this blog will (most probably) be back in action on a regular basis.

I offer for your amusement last night's adventure:

I went out last night to my neighbourhood store to get some milk for Monday's morning coffee and was accosted by a strange woman accusing me of having an affair with her husband and being the reason that he left her and wrecking her marriage.

WTF?????

What I managed to get of her was this:

Her husband walks their dog Skye in the morning at around the same time that I walk Maggie. Several other people, mostly men, walk their dogs in and around the same time and place as well. Most mornings I am the only woman out there, basically because I live in a predominantly family oriented neighbourhood and I guess it is the dads' job to walk the family mutt in the morning. (note to self: must remember to pick one of those useful household items up for dog-walking, trash removal, etc). Anyway, this is the basis for her MISTAKEN belief that I am having an affair with her husband --- she had seen us walking the dogs together, ergo the next logical step was sex, I guess.

Now it wasn't until she told me the name of their dog that I figured out who her husband was and, in a word, YUCK!!!! There are some rather attractive dad's in the neighbourhood if I was inclined that way (which I am not, (being a homewrecker, that is)), but this man? No way!!!!! Comb-over city, baby. And paunchy. And pale. I mean, come on, if I am going to be branded a husband-stealing hussy at least let it be with the chocolate lab's hunky dad, Bill.

I think I managed to convince this woman that she was mistaken, but I'm not sure, so Maggie and I will be very, very cautious when we venture out after dark in the future .....

p.s. new career starting May 1 and I am very excited about it