Good Health......

...never truly appreciated until it's gone. Above is a pic of the day from I can't remember when anymore....sigh. I suppose I could look it up on the JPEG but who really cares at this point? Not I, said the little red-nosed hen.

One should get these drops not only for the unusual flavour (chocolate mint cough candies...yum!) but because the little penguin on each wrapper urges you to GET WELL SOON! Makes one smile even when feeling poorly.

Chocolate mint - such a refreshing change of pace from my drug of choice, hot lemony Neo Citran (which I will be happy to never have to drink again anytime soon...let me tell you!)

Today is the first day in about 10 that I feel I am really, actually on the mend.

Welcome to My Weekend

March 20 POD

Argh.

No three bags full this weekend. First cold in about 2 years. Forgot how bad they can make you feel.

Weekend Update... a week and a half late

(Due to technical difficulties (blogger's malfunctioning respiratory and immune systems), this post has been unavoidably delayed, till now.)

Mar 15 POD - dollar store trip results in Golden Buddha head on a stick - for $2! Love me my Dollarama.

A fabulous week, weather-wise in my part of the world. We are experiencing that extremely rare animal - the Early Spring!



You may or may not notice that there were no pictures of the day for last weekend - Mar 13 and Mar 14. This is due mainly to the photographer being extremely ticked by last weekend's weather, which was cold, windy, snowy, blowy, rainy, dreary and all around depression-inducing.
So nice to have that followed up by an unseasonably warm and sunny week!

However, the weather gods have appeared to have smited me for not appreciating last weekend's display of their power as I have come down with the first bad cold I've had in...oh...at least 2 years.

Mar 17 POD - St. Patrick's Day Green Milk (made by washing out my Green Monster blender container with moo)

Urge to Purge

(Mar 18th PODs - too much stuff!)

One of the best things to come out of the awful year of ending my marriage and starting a new, single life was the freedom I felt at the new lack of "stuff" in my possession. I had almost no furniture, no knick knacks, almost no kitchen stuff...it was scary and glorious at the same time.

I remember having to flip pancakes for the kids with a paint scraper (dug out of my new tool box) in those early days of starting over.

Our living room consisted of 2 folding lawn chairs, and we watched our 13" TV on an old futon. We had a bed and a dresser and a desk each. For the first month, we didn't even have a microwave, till my mom bought us one. I knew exactly what I had and exactly where everything was.

Now, 10 years later, I have TOO MUCH STUFF in a TOO SMALL HOUSE and I long for the psychic space that lack of ownership affords. Less is truly more.

I have been wanting to get rid of stuff for a long time now, and have made half-hearted attempts. It isn't easy....JD and I are planning to consolidate to one place (his) at around this time next year, so a smart woman would be going through her stuff sooner rather than later.

I want to be that smart woman, I really do! So, to that end, I will begin this weekend. I am taking part in Caitlin's Three Bags Full challenge.

And here is the beginning: my dressers and pitiful excuse for a clothes closet (see above), set in the eaves of my storey and a half little house, and expanded into my bedroom with JD's gift of a clothing rack. Thanks, I think? (Way to be an enabler there, hubby-to-be!)

I'm not sure how I collected so many clothes. I seem to wear only the same few things over and over and over. A fashionista I am not.

I think my challenge will be to have ONLY three bags full!

Doin' the Java Jive, again

March 12 POD - soy and coffee "latte"

Technically speaking, is it still a latte if the other half of the drink is not milk? Is not latte very close to lait (French for milk)? Or do I have my languages/root words/meanings mixed up here?

Believe me when I tell you, I feel guilty not only for taking up coffee as a habit again, but putting a non-moo liquid in it too. (Mizz D works in the dairy industry...shhhhh...but don't tell anyone). I have nothing against dairy....in fact I am very pro-dairy. I love all manner of things about cows! (And, as one of my suppliers put it, so succinctly: cows are very interesting animals, and tasty too, especially on the BBQ.) At the very least, they are responsible for putting groceries in my fridge and keeping a roof over my head!

Sour cream, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, cottage cheese, fluid milk....I love and consume them all. But there is something about the taste of soy milk in coffee or chai tea....well, I just like it, OK?

Last time I was fully caffeinated, I drank it black. And only freshly ground Columbian beans (with a pinch of cinnamon in the mix) would do. Yes, I was a TOTAL COFFEE SNOB. Every morning I would brew (and drink) a big pot for myself. My kids were quite little at the time and I was pretty sleep-deprived. Coffee was my Mommy's Lil' Helper.

What got me off the coffee was that it was giving me uber-painful breasts at that special time of the month. My then-doc told me that caffeine was the cause and I wouldn't believe her. (Typical addict behaviour: outright denial). Until the month came where I was in so much pain that I was popping Tylenol to get through the day.....at that point I thought: well, what if she's right? I should at least try giving it up and see. And, of course, she was right.

I switched to tea. Became a TOTAL TEA SNOB, of course. Loose leaf tea blends, infusers, special pots, you name it - I had it. I actually had to pack my own tea when going away on business or vacation because goddess knows, the tea bags provided by the hotel might not be up to snuff - then what would I do? Eventually I decided to give that up too, as I didn't like the feeling that tea owned me, instead of the other way around. So I'd start my day with a glass of water. And have the occasional cuppa herbal. More so in the winter months, to keep warm.

Now I mix it up. Some days water, some days tea - herbal or green. The occasional black tea. And now coffee again.

This go-round I am drinking it only at work (1 cup...ok...mug per day), and with some kind of whitener in it, moo or otherwise, because I am probably deluding myself that a) this makes it less potent, and b) it won't stain my teeth as much. I'm drinking it mainly for the mental clarity/alertness it brings me. Boss's Lil' Helper.

So here is where I am at, with caffeine. I may have to kick this habit to the curb once again, but for now let's see where it takes me.

Another week closer to....Spring and Everything

See...the plants in my office know Spring is coming. March 8th POD - Orchid sending up 2 spikes for another spring/summer of blooms like last year. Hoo-dogie!

March 9th POD

And the quest for organization continues! Above is a pic of my credenza...er...cadenza....er...the thing behind my desk....whatever it's called. It's cleaned up now. I really should have taken a before pic for full effect but sigh....I wuz too ashamed. Nah, I just didn't think of it. (But I really should have been too ashamed.)

Now this is either March 10th or 11th. Can't really remember. Let's just say it's March 11th because I know I skipped a day somewhere and I think March 10th was overcast. I got up exter early (who talks like this? Someone I know but can't for the life of me think of who) and headed out-of-doors with Mizz Lucy for an exter long walk. And I brought my camera for a change. Thus was able to capture the sun rising over the forested hills at....wait for it...6:45 a.m.!!!!!

Yes, gentle readers, the sun is actually up that early now! Isn't it grand? I'm loving it. And am going to be getting up earlier as a result, with the aim of getting more walking in before heading off to my mostly sedentary job.

The ol' pedometer has not been counting too many steps of late and I'm feeling a bit lacklustre as a result. I also have been remiss in doing regular weight training of late. Only logged one upper body workout this week. And one session of doing sprints in the pool. This will never do.

This weekend I intend to draw up a plan for working out as somehow my exercising is not just spontaneously happening like I apparently deluded myself into thinking. Go figure!

Other unspontaneous happenings this week: we met with the man who is going to perform our wedding ceremony. Al, of Kettle Creek Weddings, is just a lovely warm soul, an ordained minister who performs weddings whenever, wherever, however couples want him to. JD and I were very happy that we clicked, as we couldn't imagine getting married by someone we didn't have a connection with.

During our discussion JD mentioned that he has his vows just about written. Eeek! Writing own vows? Are we doing that? And already? Guess this means I have some writin' to do as well!!! I should've suspected he would want to do this though, as he is very creative and was our class valedictorian in high school.

JD said something very sweet when telling Al the story of how we reconnected, after all those years. He said when he heard from a mutual acquaintance that "Mizz D said to say hi", he felt like "a fog had been lifted." I'll have to dig deep to come up with something better than that.

Game on!

Alice Rediscovers Her Mojo And So May We All

March 7 POD

"Johnny Depp: making crazy look hot since....whenever!"

Thanks Caitlin, for that great quote. Khizzie, my belly dance instructor agrees with you. Johnny (and Orlando Bloom) have provided inspiration for many of her classes as she makes us pretend we are mermaids bringing golden coins on our hips to Captain Jack Sparrow's pirate ship. A bit of a Pirates of the Caribbean fetish goin' on with Khizmet, to be sure. A whole lotta fun, but you probably had to be there...

I think he's been making crazy look hot ever since Edward Scissorhands, but I might have missed a character or two before then.

Mizz J and I went to see Alice in Wonderland on Sunday, after treating ourselves to a mani/pedi at the mall. Why is it so hard to find a salon that can consistently do a great job? Last time I went to this place the pedicure was pretty good. Still good this time, but the manicure was dodgy...mostly because the manicurist was rushing to be done with me so she could do a pedicure on a walk-in. And we had booked appointments! Argh. I'm going to stick to pedis from now on. I can do a better manicure and polish on myself.

Anyway, the movie was mostly fantastic. Way better than Avatar. Johnny Depp and Tim Burton are a match made in Heaven, once again. The actress who played Alice, Mia Wasikowska, was quite wonderful, I thought. Mizz J especially liked the fact that Alice was such a strong female character...she didn't start out that way, but became so as the movie progressed. Yes, a pretty decent young female role model for Mizz J, who is in the process of discovering herself and the world!

The Futtenwacken dance scene - what was up with that? It didn't seem to fit into the movie at all. Like it was forced in by some Disney exec for a product tie-in or something or to appeal to some demographic. Music and dance style did not jibe with the time period of the movie. Imagine Micheal Jackson dropped into 19th century England. Just weird.

But overall, a highly enjoyable movie.

Invitation Prototype

Here is what Mizzus K has come up with so far. Stunning! (March 6th PODs)

Sparkly. Pattern. Texture. Shimmer. Ribbon. Dragonflies. Pink. What more could a girl ask for?

Notice he-man stripes and plenty of brown. Manly, no? No? Well, JD isn't complainin'. Just wants something "golf " or some other representation of himself added to it somehow. Thinks it represents the bride more than the groom. D'ya think? Tee hee.

Just. Love. It. So far.

Nice, nice....hey, wait a minute!

JD - again, do not look at this posting if you happen to be reading my blog! Wedding dress photos below!!!!














Decided to search out my dress on the innernet so went to the designer's site to check it out. I wanted to see different views of it, also what it would look like, properly fitted, on a model.


Beautiful! I'm even starting to kinda like the goofy flower on the hip. Thought I think I may end up having it removed. Mizz J suggested wearing it in my hair instead. Could work.

Here's a close up look at the bodice of the dress. How lovely! It's hard to see from this photo, but trust me when I tell you there is random sparkly beading all over the top half of the dress. Just wonderful. Now for the back view:

Eeek!!!! What? Where did all this nakedness come from? When I tried on the dress, the consultant tutted tutted that the modesty panel was missing from the sample dress....remarking that sometimes this happens. Well, HELLO....there is no flippin' modesty panel with this dress!!!!!

Well, this will never do. Here I was so worried about excess front cleavage and I shoulda been paying attention to the back cleavage! Sure hope the seamstress at the shop can concoct something for me. Otherwise I will have to come up with something myself, and it might not be pretty, but at least I'll be covered.

Adventures in D-Land

First up, what you are looking at is the remains of a batch of Choco-cado pudding (Mar 2 POD). JD and I love this stuff - but it is extremely filling because of its richness. I add even more cocoa powder (3 tbsp) for more chocolatey goodness! A lighter but still awesome modification I made was Choco-nana pudding, where I substitute 2 ripe bananas for the medium avocado. Just as tasty, not as filling. Cut back on agave nectar somewhat when you use bananas, unless you like things really sweet.

March 3 POD - still on a high from the Olympics and the closing ceremony, I decided I HAD to have Michael Buble's latest. I have some of his other albums, or at least I thought I did (Mizz J, I am looking at you, you Michael Buble lovin' CD snitcher!). While I was browsing the CD racks I also decided I had to have the above dance compilation CD. Both CD's could have a place at our wedding. The first, definitely for ambiant music...the second in case people actually do want to dance. Although the 3rd track....Hotel Room Service by Pitbull....I dunno....

Here is a sampling of the cleaner lyrics: "two, two, two, I gonna undress you; three, three, three, you gonna undress me; four, four, four, we gonna freak some more." Mr. P-Bull also discusses a whole lotta other stuff in his song, most of which I don't understand and sounds kinda innocent but I am sure it is some kinda slang for raunchy stuff, given the general...ahem....theme. I don't see our guests particularly enjoying this number. Just saying.

March 4 POD - JD and I went with my matron of honour and her hubbie to see David Francey in concert. A real troubadour and a great story-teller. A lovely evening with this particular singer-songwriter and Craig Werth and Jeff Sommers, who accompanied him on various instruments.

March 5 POD - I had to take a pic of this plant. Mistah K (my son) gifted me with this lovely for my birthday and I have to say it is doing fantastic in my office. It really likes it there (along with my orchids, only one of which is really thriving). The plant has easily doubled in size since July and the number of "blooms" (I don't think anthuriums really have flowers, but whatever you call them, they're beautiful)....well, it just keeps shooting out more and more.

That's all I have time for, for now. More news later...dress drama, reconnecting with my Dutch cousin, and whatever else I get up to this weekend. Have a great one!

Oh, What a Feeling! What a Rush!

The Winter Olympics are now over but I am still so pumped!

The Men's Gold Medal Hockey Game - I watched the last 10 minutes of the 3rd period on the computer while tidying up some stuff at work on Sunday. When the US scored in the final seconds, putting the game into overtime, I was so tense, I just couldn't sit still and watch anymore. I called JD to say I was on my way home. He asked when I would arrive. I said "By the time Canada wins the gold". "So, in 4 years then?" came the reply - JD's way of steeling himself in case we lost.

On the way home, I tried to relax by coming up with consoling thoughts (a survival strategy) in case we did lose. Thoughts like : "Well, the women got gold in hockey anyway", and "Our goalie couldn't help himself, facing such an onslaught" and "We still have the most gold medals we've ever won, and the most of a host country". Somewhat calmer, I charged into the house, shouted hi to JD and ran right to the remote. The TV revealed the hoisting of the flags and there was the Maple Leaf in centre, top position, and then the camera panned to our team, hung in gold medals and smiling. OMG, OMG, OMG - we did it!!!!

I was glued to the TV from then on, watching replay after replay, analysis after analysis, interview after interview.

I watched the Closing Ceremonies in their entirety too (and taped them for JD, who was finishing an assignment on the computer) and I have to say how much I just LOVED the piece with Michael Buble (sorry I can't figure out how to accent his name in Blogger) and The Maple Leaf Forever.

Flying moose! Dancing canoes! Giant inflatable beavers and Mounties! Scantily clad Mountie and Maple Leaf showgirls! Cutouts of tabletop hockey game players! Loggers, bears, and courier des bois! Plaid flannel shirts! Stetsons! Cloggers! The only things missing were mocassins, igloos, Niagara Falls and maple syrup. Oh yeah, and a dogsled or two. Maybe a snowmobile too. (Bob and Doug McKenzie would have been a nice touch, however diverting from the Canadian souvenir theme).

It was like the tackiest Canadian tourist trap gift shop sprung to marvelous, over-the-top, self-deprecating life! Like Night at the Smithsonian, only at Table Rock in Niagara Falls instead. (Only in Canada can something be both over-the-top and self-deprecating at the same time).

What I didn't like about the Closing Ceremonies were the two pieces by William Shatner and Catherine O'Hara. Not only unfunny, but O'Hara's piece was very un-Canadian - rude, and somewhat gloating. Too bad, because I usually really like Catherine O'Hara. What was she and/or the writer of this piece thinking?!?!?!?

Overall, I thought it was a good ceremony though, although I must confess I don't have anything to compare it too, never having watched a closing ceremony before.

This morning I ordered the 5 disc Commemorative DVD set just because....I AM CANADIAN. After fuelling up with my "Ode to the 2010 Olympics" breakfast: steel cut oats with cinnamon, dates and raisins, mixed with Greek yogurt and topped with golden-y (is that a word?) maple syrup!