Enough now, enough.

Just over 11 months ago, during an amazing trip to New York, the DP and I got engaged. For the following five months I planned like mad and we had incredible parties thrown in our honour. And then there was the big day. And it was amazing.

And then...

Well, to be honest, I've had a hard time letting go of the whole wedding frame of mind. I still find myself perusing the wedding blogs and looking at dresses. (Confession! While my dress was lovely, I wish I'd spent a bit more and got one that I truly LOVED. Or maybe I'm just a bit sad that the wedding dress part of my life is done.)

But next week will mark five months married. There are framed photos, we've seen the DVD, have an album and have sent some pics to family members. It's time to move forward and enjoy just being married. Because it's awesome.

So, one last time:

Celebrate good times, come on!

What a weekend! It was the kind of weekend that makes you tired just thinking about it, but totally pays off all the energy output with an influx of joy. That sort of a weekend. Here are some highlights:

Saturday afternoon we hosted a belated birthday party for one of my darling friends who was in from Montreal. This was just *some* of the food.



The excellent cake was made by another talented friend who also made my bridal shower cake, you may recall!

Here's a little shot of most of the revelers:



All but two of these lovely ladies are high school chums. There's something about connecting with people who knew you back when you still thought perms were all the rage that is just...good.

But the "Life of the Party" awards have to go to the little ones:





Want to entertain people at a party? Get the kids to lip-sync to Lady Gaga. Instant good time!

Speaking of entertainment, the evening shindig was an 80s-themed karaoke birthday party for another wonderful woman in my life. Many awesome musical moments from that decade were performed. Here's a shot of us in our throwback ensembles rockin' out to Whitney's "I Wanna Dance with Somebody."



And then this afternoon was a lovely baby shower for one of the newest girls in my world. There was plenty of delicious food and I managed to spill both ice water and boiling water, meaning that I shouldn't be allowed to attend fancy parties!

Here's the new mom, covered in ribbons from her gifts:



Doesn't she look amazing!? All the joy is masking the lack of sleep. Her little girl was sooooo good at the shower, sleeping like a little angel as she was passed from great aunt to great aunt, grandma to grandma.

That's it for me! Thanks goodness I found some lentil soup at the back of my freezer and that there are still LOTS of leftovers from the party, because I don't have enough energy to actually cook something. Monday morning will come far too soon...

Oh ya!

I forgot that I wanted to show this to everyone:



Peace out!

The opposite of hiding away

This morning I left the warm bonds of dream world and discovered a chilly apartment with no hot water. That pretty much set the tone for the rest of the day.

I know that in the grand scheme of the world, my life is ridiculously easy and blessed. But something about starting the day sitting in two inches of tepid water (because I boiled a bunch and mixed it with the cold) trying to make myself presentable just did me in. So I considered canceling on my book club girls tonight, because all I wanted to do after work was go home and hide from the world.

But I didn't! I reminded myself both how much I enjoy our meetings AND how difficult it can be to sync our four schedules.

And you know what!? I felt SO much better after our dinner date and discussion. Thanks ladies!

Sandy, let me buy you a beer

When it comes to celebrity's lives, I try to keep my nose out of things. I went through a few years of reading Us Weekly and PrezeHilton.com. I watched my fair share of "Entertainment Tonight" and those crap bio shows on E! I've been known to still indulge in tabloid mags and TV to get me through my workouts, but in general I steer clear. Mostly because I think the studios and the media make a ton of the shit up. Just like when the old studio system used to make actors "date." Partly because I think some of it is pretty disrespectful, like those poor tiny actresses who are subjected to bump watch after they have a big meal. And partly because I would rather spend my time and energy on my own life.

ANYWAY, all that said, I can't help but feel awful for poor Sandra Bullock. She won an Oscar a couple of weeks ago and gave a beautiful speech where she openly expressed what seemed like deep, sincere love for her husband Jesse James. In front of millions of TV viewers.

And now it comes out that the bastard was having an affair while she was away shooting the movie!

I wish I could give her a hug.

The genius of doing things differently

So, once again I've been meditating on the Einstein quote: "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

Every time I hear or read this quote I identify with it and tell myself that I have to take it to heart and live my life with this idea emblazoned in Technicolor across my psyche.

A moment later I forget my vow and just keep trucking along in the same groove as always, all the while wondering why the stuff that's not working in my life still isn't working.

Well, tonight I made some minor progress in that arena. I'm hoping it will lead to some bigger leaps forward.

You see, I was drawn to the mall today both by the spring preview Mother Nature is giving us and a 30% off coupon to Gap/Banana Republic/Old Navy. (I had forgotten it was March Break until I arrived to find throngs of tweens and teens hopped up on food court fare lollygagging through the Eaton Centre in identical outfits. Oops.) I started off at BR and holed myself up in a fitting room with a pile of jeans and chinos, desperate to find some sort of covering for the bottom half of my body that fits both my generous posterior and my waist. It was, of course, an exercise in heartbreak.

I did, however, soothe my hurt feelings with a lovely cardigan:


The next stop was Jacob, where I tried on another armful of pants and had the exact same experience. Actually Jacob was even worse, because even though I was trying on the same size that I had tried on at BR, they didn't fit AT ALL. Vanity sizing sucks ass.

So as I was walking through the mall towards The Gap, I thought about how I've failed at buying pants of late. Part of my head argued that I was going to places where I had purchased the other pants that I have in my closet, so logic follows that these stores should carry stuff that works for me. The other part of my brain reminded me that none of those pants were recent buys, so perhaps I had to accept that the stores I would normally turn to no longer have my back(side).

This lead me to take a detour just before reaching The Gap, to a store that I would not normally go into. A store that sells all-purpose knives and camping lanterns, for the love of God! I went into Eddie Bauer. And while I still didn't have any luck with a pair of chinos, I did buy an awesome pair of Curvy Fit Boot cut jeans for $49.99! And they don't look like I should be wearing them in the wilderness!

Thus far, doing things differently turned out remarkably well. I guess I should really see about applying that to some other areas of my life.

Wherefore art though, fitness?

Remember that whole February Fitness Challenge that I did last month? Well, I was hoping that working out every day would a) bring my fitness back up to a respectable level after a long holiday/honeymoon hiatus and b) inspire me to be active everyday by showing how easy it actually is to fit 30 minutes in.

I totally accomplished the first goal, only to have it undermined by the complete failure of the second goal.

Yes, I was feeling good and fit. My muscle definition in certain easy-to-tone areas gave me reason to admire myself in reflective surfaces. I could leap up a couple of flights of stairs with nary the chance of wheezing. And I had lots of energy while also sleeping like a baby at night.

However, I was so sick of working out. And then life, in all its complicated glory, got in the way.

I had long decided that I would not be working out on March 1st. I just needed a break! And then I had to start wearing my glasses on the Tuesday, in prep for my laser eye surgery on the Friday, and I could not conceive of exercising in my old glasses that didn't really care to stay on my face if I leaned forward at all. Then it was my surgery and I was told I had to take it really easy for a week. Then I went in for my check-up last Friday and the doctor said to still be really careful this week.

Basically, other than a few outdoor strolls, I have been to the gym ONCE this month. And during that single visit I walked on the treadmill. Sometimes with a bit of an incline. And then I went home. So all that muscle tone I had been admiring has gone the way of cupcakes and comfort food. (There were lasers in my eyes, people!)

So, time to get back to it. I'm planning to go at lunch tomorrow. Hold me to that, will ya!

Oh, as for those March goals I set...

Rejoining the world

Well hello. Here I am, back from an unexpectedly extended break in blogging. Let me give you a quick rundown of the past week and a bit:

Eye Surgery: I do not know what the hell I was thinking going so blithely into elective surgery where they create a flap on the surface of my eye, flip it open and use lasers to fix my vision. I feel like one too many people told me how easy the surgery would be. Even one of the receptionists at the facility told me how squeamish she'd been about it before she'd finally had it done and that if she'd known how easy it would be, she'd have done it a lot sooner.

So I was not the least bit concerned going in that afternoon. I was anxious to take the sedative they were going to give me and then just lay back and let it all happen.

My in my naivete:



Friends, I could have used a stronger sedative.

The actual surgery, while not physically difficult, was highly stressful. They gave me two big stress balls, humourously designed to look like two veiny eyeballs, to squeeze and squeeze I did. It was pretty awful and I'm sort of glad that I didn't know it would be that bad. If I had, I'd still be wearing glasses.

But it was over in roughly 20 minutes or so and then the Husband whisked me home. I had to wear goggles all the way home and then to sleep for the next week, which was annoying and quite painful, since they pinched between my nose. The first couple of hours post-surgery were the worst. My eyes felt like they were full of sand and they were constantly streaming, which made my sinuses fill up, so I couldn't breathe. I was lying in bed, miserable, trying desperately to get to sleep and wondering what the hell I was thinking letting people near my eyes with lasers!?! (Oh, you can totally smell the burning during the surgery, too. Yuck.)



But once I had a whole bunch of sleep, I woke up to 20/20 vision. I was expecting a moment of revelation with a choir of angels singing in the background, but it's been a much quieter, slow appreciation of my newfound sight. The week was busy with making sure I was getting all my different eye drops, being careful in the shower and resting my eyes as much as possible, so I'm only now starting to have time to wonder at the marvel of modern medicine. It's damn cool!

All that optical healing seemed to tax my usually strong immune system and I started last week with a drippy, sneezy, runny head cold. Monday night I was in bed by 8:30pm and Tuesday I had to call in sick to work. By Friday I was finally starting to fee like myself again.

Sooooo... the March challenges kind of got lost in the hoopla. I've been eating lots of fruits and veggies, but I haven't written anything since my last blog post. Time to get back in the swing of things! But can I start tomorrow? This whole "spring forward" thing has totally thrown me off.

Day 3 - Update!

If you are trying to write every day, but find that you sometimes lack inspiration, you should go to a book launch!

I had a fantastic time tonight and managed to write 525 words even though it's late and I am both tired and a little tipsy. Yay me!

Day 2 and sort of 3 - Why are baked goods so...good?

Okay, quick post because I'm killing some time at work after everyone else has gone. I'm waiting for my lovely friend to come and meet me, so we can fete this author's new book! I am super excited to read Love Struck, particularly because the book I'm just finishing up for my book club is written by a man, about a man, and it's full of sort of gross man stuff.

I'm ready for a dose of girly good readin'!


(This cover totally says "girly good readin'" to me!)

And speaking of books... I managed to eke out my 500 words last night. It was a bit of a trial, because I currently have to wear my old glasses in preparation for my laser eye surgery tomorrow afternoon. However, my old glasses give me a headache and make my eyes hurt, so I was desperate to just turn off the light and close my eyes already! Alas, as soon as I reached my word count, I did just that.

Yes, I went to bed at 9:30 P.M.

I have not had a chance to do my words yet today... First I must go to the book launch and then I will have to hurry home to watch the Jammy Baby episode. And THEN I will get down to it. Promise.

As for tomorrow and possibly Saturday (and possibly Sunday...), my completion of the words will be dependent on my ability to see after they shoot lasers into my eyes. I'm supposed to have fighter pilot vision within hours of the surgery, but I'm also supposed to give my eyes lots of rest so that the flap that they LASERED OFF can heal. (I'm also not allowed to "squeeze blink." As soon as I read that, all I wanted to do was squeeze blink.)

Oh ya - my fruits and veggies!

I wish I could say that this was easy. I think I'm doing okay, but I haven't mastered the art of eating the fruits and veggies before the cookies and Timbits. Instead, I eat the baked goods and am full when I come across the fruits and veggies. So I shove them in, too, and then I'm very full. And uncomfortable. It's a process.

Day 1 - Slaying the demons

When I came up with the idea for this challenge - the main writing challenge, I mean - I was very excited. I really like the project I'm working on and I was anxious to regularly devote some time to it, rather than just think about how I should be working on it.

And then today dawned. And all the expected feelings kicked in:

I was too tired. I was kind of burned out from work. "Lost" was on. I still need to cut out my skirt for sewing class. There was laundry to fold.

Besides, it's probably not such a great idea anyway.

GAH! Why do our brains get in our way so much?

I pushed away all the distractions and the negative Nelly thoughts and just sat down to write. The first five minutes did not go so well. The scene I was in middle of did not want to move forward, so I wisely abandoned it and jumped ahead. And before I knew it I'd written 551 words. Just like that.

This just proves that I picked the right challenge!

As for that other goal, I managed to ingest about 7 servings of fruit and veggies today:
- A banana
- An apple
- Tofu veggie curry (2 servings)
- Big salad with dinner (3 servings)


Tip: Chop up some purple cabbage to add colour and tons of vitamin C to your salad!

New challenge and new rule (because I can)

This morning, as soon as I left our apartment building, I slipped on the ice and fell smack dab on my butt. (Luckily I fell on the left butt cheek, rather than my tailbone, so no major damage.) That spill set the tone for the day and things progressed thusly.

Translation: I had a crappy day.

Obviously, as I try to constantly remind myself, not as crappy as billions of other people in this cruel, cruel world. But, in the tiny world of little old me, crappy enough to warrant a trip to the liquor store at lunch to buy a bottle of wine to drink with dinner. (Bright side: I do get to drink this wine with my amazing Husband who I adore and who is appropriately sympathetic about my crappy day.)

Crappy enough that I decide to delay the start of my March challenge until tomorrow.

New rule: I get to have a day off between challenges!

However, I think I should announce the challenge. First, background: I have a writing project that I've been working on for a bit. I have times of great productivity on this project and other times where I just think about working on it. But recently I've decided to take a bit of a break from all my freelancing, so I can concentrate some creative energy on this project. Hence:

Every day in March (starting on the 2nd) I will write 500 words of my project.


(ummmm... but I'm going to use my computer...)

Also, as a small side challenge, I will endeavour to eat at least 8 servings of fruits and vegetables every day in March. (This one I actually managed to accomplish today!)

I haven't figured out what my reward will be at the end of it, but I'll let you know!

What about you? Any challenges you'd like to set for yourself in March?