Friday night Greg and I went over to his sister's place for dinner. Excellent meal, normal conversaton. Afterwards we played Trivial Pursuit, one of my favourites. We played guys against girls. Now, I am not a competitive person. I really couldn't care less if I win or lose, as long as I'm having fun. And really, It's Just a Boardgame. OMG. J was such a Sucky-poo when the guys didn't have as many pie pieces, so he was making a point of us having to give the EXACT answer. But, it was ok for him to say the wrong answer and still take a pie because 'we knew what he meant.' In the end, Louise walked away from the game, and I let the guys win with their wrong answers. J whooped and hollered it up because they won. (Hard to believe this is a 46 year old man who has one of the top jobs with a well-known sports company.) On the way home, Greg admitted that they shouldn't have won, and that he knew I let them win. Thankfully, Greg is also not a freakishly competitive person.
I mean, everyone likes to win, but isn't it more satisfying to win when you really deserve it?

Weekend Cat Blogging #34

Dutchie and Mao love their baskets! There is one lonely tree buried in the cement where a few birds sometimes congregate, but mostly the view offers them a great people-watching vantage point.
For more Weekend Cat Blogging, visit Clare at eatstuff

Uh-oh. It's just past midnight, and after tossing and turning for half an hour, and listening to Greg make happy sleep noises, I thought I'd come out here to catch up on some blogs. It wasn't my intention to add to my blog, but here I am.
We actually went to bed at 8:30 tonight, turned on American Idol, turned off the phone ringer in anticipation of an early night. At 10pm, we turned the tv off, and I thought to myself "Self, why don't you read a few more pages of The Time Travelers Wife? That'll put you to sleep, because you're already 120 pages in and still have NO CLUE as to how the author is keeping her story straight!"
So, now I'm on page 220, and things are starting to make a bit more sense. But if I were to continue reading, I know I will be up all night, because now...it's starting to get good!
I do need to get to sleep, because not only am I keeping me up, I'm also keeping the kitties up. Mao wants to play fetch, and Dutchie keeps plunking her bum on the keyboard.
It's been an uneventful few days...can you tell?!

Weekend Cat Blogging #33

Mr. Mao loves to watch TV.
He is particularly fond of the movies Winged Migration and Planet of the Apes. His favourite tv channel is Discovery, and he also likes the Digital radio station called Galaxy Nature. Call it animal magnetism.
Once in a while though, there are other things that capture his attention. Apparently, he was quite concerned about the outcome of the Michael Jackson trial. Who knew? Then again, Mao was likely more concerned as to what would happen to Bobo the Chimp.

A few weeks ago, David Letterman was trying to establish if cats truly could call 911 if there was an emergency situation because of this story: hero cat saves owner. Mao was rooting for the cat to dial, but of course, Dave's cat couldn't have cared less if he croaked.








Then, there is the whole confusion that happens whenever The Trailer Park Boys is on. Mao thinks that Greg looks an awful lot like Ricky.



For more Kitty Pics, check out Clare Eats Weekend Cat Blogging #33.

The first meeting of the book club was fun. I was a little disappointed that not as many people showed up as I'd hoped, but I hopwfully, next month there will be a better turn out. Otherwise, we'll just have to do some juggling and find more interested members. Last night was mainly just about getting to know one another a wee bit, and not quite so much about the book. The main thing, is that it got a few women together, out of the house, and we should all get a little something out of it. I have always loved to read, and over the past few years have read fewer and fewer books. I want to get into reading again.
Next month's book is called "Crow Lake" by Mary Lawsen. March's book is called "Their Eyes were Watching God" by Zora Neale Watson.
I'm really looking forward to this!

Tonight, was also a first for Greg and I. We had date night, although it was not planned. For years, even before I met Greg, I had wanted to go skating at City Hall. Actually, I would have gone skating anywhere, I just REALLY wanted to try it again. Last winter 2-4 gave me some skates, that were her 3rd ex-husbands-sisters' skates (or something like that!) But they fit, so I took them. Two nights ago, Greg came home with skates of his own, and he had had my brand-new-used skates sharpened!
Tonight, we went to Nathan Philips Square at City Hall after work and went skating! Now, it has been at least 25 years since Pez, Banana, and I used to skating at the local arena. Needless to say, it only took about 2 shaky spins around the rink to get horrible shin-splints, and I did have to hold on to Greg's hand for dear life! But Damn! I had fun! We both had fun! I really hope that we do this again. I'd really like to get that triple-axle perfected.

Afterwards, we went to the local pub, had a few pints and dinner. (I had a Southwestern chicken salad) Salad and beer...Yummmm!
What a fun night...

My neighbour died 12 hours ago. He'd been in the hospital since Nov 28th read this. He died of AIDS related complications. My neighbours wife, D, is distraught with grief and guilt. She knocked on our door an hour after he had passed away, sobbing.
I feel very sad for her, but relieved for B that he no longer has to suffer. He had been back and forth to the ICU, and I can only imagine how difficult that must have been for him. I know that D did everything in her power to try to help him get better. She was with him every day, all day, while he was in the hospital, and was with him when he died.
I think, being with someone you love when they die, is one of the greatest gifts you can ever give that person.

It was my turn to work the weekend this week, and as a favour, I worked the nightshift. I have to say, that this was the easiest weekend I ever worked as there were no emergency OR's, and I got to snuggle up in a heated blankie and sleep...both nights. It's very unusual, but I guess there were no serious gunshot fights or stabbings this weekend. Toronto has been inundated with gang turf wars this past year, and for me, personally, I think it is one of the biggest issues for the upcoming election. At least it is one that I've paid more attention to, probably because I deal with these people on the hospital end. It's heartbreaking when an innocent person is caught in the crossfire, but I must admit, I am not so sympathetic when the patient is clinging to life, with police guards at the end of the bed, and is 'well-known to the police.' The guards are there to protect the patient from someone coming back to finish the job, but the nurses are also glad that they are there...it does give a sense of security. In the past two weeks, the unit that I work in, has officially turned into a "locked" unit, which means that you need a special passkey to gain access to work. It also means that visitors can't just walk willy-nilly into the unit. It's a good thing, something that the nurses have been advocating for, for the past 3 years. It's taken an increase in gun violence in our city, in order to make the change.
So I now have three days off (in the middle of the week!) and I plan on being productive (as soon as I finish blogging!)
We emptied out our storage locker and now I have 15 boxes and various suitcases in the middle of the living room. It kind of looks like we just moved in. So, I'm unpacking and trying to find a place for all the junk I didn't miss for the past year. And, that means having to tackle the laundry room and rearrange everything to fit like a puzzle.
I am hosting the first meeting of The Book Club on Wednesday night, so it's good that I feel like I have a deadline to clean things up.
I am tres exciting about the book club! I got to choose the book, so I chose "Angry Housewives Eating Bonbons by Lorna Landvik." I thought it was a good choice for the first book, as it is about a bookclub.
Last week, I turned in a few gift certificates that we received as wedding gifts and bought an Empire Red, Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer. I am thrilled with this gift, but somewhat intimidated by it! I've had it for over a week, and have yet to plug it in. But, on Wednesday, I plan to use it to try out one of the recipes that came with the mixer: Crab Dip. (Sounds a little lame, I know, but I've got to start easy!)
I have given Greg a couple of options for Wednesday: he can hang around and be our Man-servant, or he can hightail it out of here, and watch the hockey game with the guys. Guess which option he'll be taking?!

Monday Madness

Just for fun, I thought I'd play the meme from Monday Madness . Play along if you like!

1. Before I walk out the door, I always check to make sure I have my keys, wallet and lipstick.
2. I can't seem to catch up on my housework.
3. The one surface in my house that always seems to get cluttered fast is the dining room table (it's right by the entrance).
4. If I sleep past 10 hours, I feel that I've slept in too late (I work shift, so I keep strange hours...but I do love to sleep!) Most days I just get 7 hours in though.
5. No matter how hard I try, I just can't seem to leave home any earlier for work. I get there just on time.
6. I hope to have my income taxes done by end of February.
7. This year I'd like to make more time for reading books.

Weekend Cat Blogging #32

I've been meaning to get involved with Weekend Cat Blogging over at Clare Eats for a while now. For those of you who stop by regularly, you'll have seen this picture of The Dutchess and Mao (the cross-eyed one!), but I thought it would be the best picture to introduce the two of them.

I've had a really good week this week. Partly, I think, because I haven't sat on the couch every night watching TV. Wednesday night was Robin Williams night, Thursday night we went to see Blue Man Group and today I spent the day with Salena, wedding dress shopping.
Blue man group, Click! ,for whoever has the opportunity to see them, is an absolutely wonderful show, worth every penny. It was Greg's surprise Christmas gift to me, I had been wanting to see them for a while, but hadn't really thought that he'd paid attention to me talking about it. I loved the show! If you like current kind of techno music (think Moby) and drums you'll love it. It made me laugh like I did when I was 10 years old, it made me sing like when I was 19, and it made me think about life and technology like what's going on now. It very interesting. Very avant-garde.

Today, I went wedding dress shopping with Salena, and after 5 hours, she found The. Perfect. Dress. And shoes and veil. A successful day. We went out for dinner, and drank some wine. Then some more wine.

A very fun, very girlie day.

Wednesday Night out on the Town

Well I just had the best time tonight!
Greg has a friend who is a drummer, and just hit it big time with a band named Danko Jones. I'd never heard of them before, but they will be headlining for Nickleback on their NorthAmerican tour. Dan is an incredible drummer and it was an amazing gig. Apparently Danko Jones is quite popular in Scandanavian countries. Click here for their website
But what happened afterwards, was SO MUCH FUN!!!!
Through Dan, we heard that Robin Williams was doing an open mike improv at some divebar up the road. We hightailed it up there, and heard the last 15 minutes of his show. He walked by, and I got to touch him!!!! I remember saying "I love you!!!" (Where the hell did that come from?!!!)
Anyway, for some strange reason, Greg, my brother and I ended up standing around at the same table as him and kinda shooting the shit with him. Well, I was starstruck and didn't say a whole lot, but it was pretty fun! And he was so nice to everybody. (I have to say, I thought he was a bigger man. What is it about celebrities seeming so much bigger on the screen?)

Anyway, I guess Robin is in town doing a movie, and I overheard him saying to someone that he was reading the local entertainment rag and heard it was open mike night at The Oasis. He thought it would be fun to do a little show.

He was right!

I'm having one of those insomnic nights where I woke up at 3:30, tossed and turned for 2 hours, and decided that I might as well get out of bed, drink some herbal tea, blog for a while, and hopefully tire myself out so I do get some sleep. The Dutchess is here with me, proof reading, although I'm sure if I fed her she'd be tucked away in her basket in a second.
I never did take photos of the scrapbooks I made, but here is a pic of one in progress, with ever-so-helpful Mao supervising. I can't tell you how many times I had to kick him off the table. (You can even see the devilish glint in his eyes. ) I'm sure if we had a dog, he wouldn't be up on the table.

I was looking up the word 'insomnic' because at this time of the morning, I'm not quite sure it is the correct word. So I googled "definition insomnic" and this is what I found:
Definition of an Insomnic Agnostic Dyslexic. Someone who lies awake at night wondering if there really is a dog.

Oh. And, insomnic is not a word, according to Webster's. So I have a choice of insomnia or insomniac, neither of which sounds right when paired with the word night. So, I should have started out by writing "I'm having one of those sleepless nights..."

YAWN!

I had an interesting, unusual, flattering, funny experience today.
Greg and I were doing the usual Sunday morning thing at the antique market. Walking up and down the ailes, looking at this and that, whatever.
About half way through we were kind of stopped at a bog of people and I noticed this cute guy. Only he wasn't looking at me...he was looking at Greg! At first I thought that maybe I was mistaken, but then I saw that he jabbed the guy beside him with his elbow, and did the quick head tilt in Greg's direction. The second was not at all subtle! He slowly drank Greg in with his eyes and then nodded in agreement with the first guy.
I looked at Greg and asked him if he just saw what I saw.
Ever so cool, he says "Ya...those guys just checked me out. First guy gave the second guy the elbow. It used to happen all the time when I lived in Vancouver"

You know how I felt?
I felt kind of proud. Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. I smiled and looked at my man in a new light. He really is cute!

Only now, a few hours later, I'm wondering if maybe, just maybe, maybe it really was Queer Eye for the Straight Guy! Maybe there was the elbow jab and the agreeing comments between them that really, the love of my life needed a Queer Makeover! I mean, he was wearing baggady-assed jeans, a bright blue t'shirt covered with white paint stains, and a non-descript black jacket. He was unshaven, his hair a little too long...

Nahhh...they were just checking my guy out! Funny, if it had been a couple of women being so obvious I might have gotten my tail feathers all ruffled. With the guys checking him out, it was oddly flattering.

Am I weird, or what?!

Blog Slob

Well, I've been somewhat of a blog slob this week, eh?! What a way to start the New Year!
Truth is, there was another resolution that I made to myself, and that was to work a little more (OK, full-time hours) and to start to dig my way out of debt. So, I've been working some odd hours. This week, I have also spent a number of hours with Salena, as she is Wedding Dress Shopping. She is more particular than me, and hasn't quite settled for the first dress that she liked, although, I know, that she will buy the first dress she tried on last week. It really was beautiful, and one that she has pictured herself in.
I returned my dress to the shop, and am hoping that someone else will love it as much as I did, and buy it as impulsively as I did.
Other happenings this week:
I went to a Cityline live tv broadcast on Tuesday. It was a home decorating show, but quite fun. I immediately signed up to go on the show again. (I am hoping to get a free makeover!)
Greg and I watched Million Dollar Baby the other night. I HATED it! It was a two thumbs down, 1/10 movie. To be honest, I was thoroughly disgusted with it. Don't get me wrong...love Clint, love Morgan, even think Hilary is pretty good. But I thought the movie lacked honesty and intelligence. It was a typical recipe: poor girl with lots'o'heart, makes it big in boxing, falls down and goes boom. Dies. It was like a Monday Night at the Movies kind of movie. (OK...I realize that I am 2 years too late for this movie review) MY point is...and this is my point...if you're gonna spend millions of dollars making a movie, why not hire a medical professional to tell you how to make the medical parts realistic? I've noticed lately, that even on the Y&R they are putting the siderails up on the beds when there is a patient in the bed. When someone is critically ill, they are not on nasal prongs, they are intubated and on ventilators...and they can not have normal conversations with a tube shoved down their throats. (Yes, sometimes they try, but this is not a good thing!) (You can permanently damage vocal cords) I think someone should hire me for this job.
My point of this rant is...the movie pissed me off so much, that 3 days later, I'm still pissed off about it. I'm sure professional boxers might have been just as annoyed at this movie.
Does this at all indicate how uneventful the first week of 2006 was for me?!
WW is going ok. I've cut down on the vino, but not eliminated it. I'm eating better. Next week, I'll incorporate the exercise.
Uh huh. Right.

What else?
Sigh.
I got nothin.

Happy first week of 2006!

Today, I start.

I have to say...Jan 1 is always a good day.
There are no resolutions on this day that I have to keep.
For the past 4 New Years, Greg and I have had friends over, and at midnight we all head up to the roof.
Last night, there was 4 inches of snow, the cathedrals and churches in the neighbourhood were chiming, and we could hear fireworks in the distance.
We toasted each other with champagne (aka sparkling wine) took some photos and enjoyed the moment.
Because, really, New Years is a moment in time.
This time, last year, I was still single. Living with someone, but still calling him a Boyfriend. This time, this year, I'm married.
This time, last year, I was just getting used to the idea that I would never have children of my own. This time, this year, I'm still gettting used to the idea.
This time, last year, I had just started a new job. This time, this year, I'm switching the new job up a bit and will be working some night shifts.

Jan 1, is the Limbo day.

The tree comes down. (this year it was wrapped in Saran wrap)
We finish off the already opened bottles of wine, and our meals consist of yesterday's hors d'oeuves.
We watch girly movies ...Mean Girls and Titanic

Go to bed. That's it.
Tomorrow...
Is a New Year.

Take a deep breath.

Start.