17.1.12

One Phone Call to Calm Them All, One Phone Call to Bring Back Sanity...

Ever have one of those days?
You know, those days when you wake up after a restless sleep, and as each hour passes, your stress and anxiety level make your hair turn greyer by the second.  With each new email, phone call and text - you can't see the light at the end of any tunnel. In fact, if there was a tunnel around you would lay down smack dab in the middle of it and wait for the next car to come through.  And drive over you.
That kind of day.

This month has been "that kind of day" for me.  With every week, I have been challenged in all aspects of life.  From constant work issues, to being away from home, to missing my (now a cat) kitten - and then some, I have become one big bubble that was bound to burst at any given moment.

When I got some news today on the home front that pushed me over the edge, the build up of the last month forced me to turn into a raging ball of emotion, unleashing on everything an everyone around me (much to the dismay of anyone within ear range, or within text range for that matter).  One the final day of my longest work trip ever, I was ready to walk outside in the -40 temperatures of Edmonton, and sit in the snow bank. Eventually, my tears would have turned me into a giant ice cube, which would then be covered with snow and forgotten about.  At 6pm this sounded like the perfect plan.

Enter a phone call from my bestie in Ontario.

2 hours later, and I am smiling alone in my hotel room.  We talked about how eating chia seeds from the Bulk Barn would help us lose weight, we planned a kick ass Whistler getaway for when she arrives in February.  We talked about everything that made me want to explode, and then somehow ended up rolling around laughing alone on my hotel bed.
One phone call took away a months worth of frustration, like it never even happened. Sure tomorrow it could all collapse again, perhaps my plane will be delayed and I will be forced to stay another night in the hotel where the room service knows me by name and knows that I like my diet pop in a regular sized glass, as opposed to a wine glass (who does that?) -- but you know something?  I will be able to get through it.

And THIS is why you need to have friends.  You need to put the effort in to keep people in your life who can bring you back to reality, when all you want to do is smash your head off any hard surface.  Someone to talk about a topic 75 times over and never get tired of it, until some form of a resolution has been concluded, even if that resolution is to drink 16 bottles of wine and then smash the empties over my head one by one.  If I didn't have someone like that to turn too, you'd likely not hear form me again until spring rolls around and my cube of tears thawed out, revealing a (hopefully thin) grey-haired, mascara smeared girl.

I often say that I don't like talking on the phone - but when you have the right person on the other end, there is nothing better to get you through those times that you feel you wouldn't otherwise be able too.

@loveyourcake & @sarahspizzie
So here's to all the bullshit - may your presence be replaced with thought of chia pets growing in my stomach.  And for anyone else having a bad day, pick up the phone and talk about anything else.  You will not only breathe a sigh of relief once you hang up, but you may also only need 15 bottles to cope when you get off the plane...

15.1.12

I need it to be summer because...

For the last few months, Bf had been taking the Canadian Boating License course in a night school class on Thursdays.  He would gather his books, and maps of places that didn't exist - and head out for 3 hours after work.  This was all in an effort to pass the test, and become our very own personal "Shrimp Boat Captain"...mmmm. shrimp.

Ok, so maybe a shrimp boat wasn't exactly what he had in mind...


Regardless of what kind of boat he'd be captaining, he was on a mission.
So low and behold, after tediously studying for the final exam..

HE PASSED THE TEST WITH FLYING COLOURS!!!!!

Now, I cannot wait for summer so that I don't have to pay $100+ every time I want to go whale watching.  I asked him if we could just live on a boat, and maybe take off and sail (or motor) the open seas.  Although it sounds like a good idea - the actuality of it would probably lose it's appeal pretty quick.  Either way, I'm very excited about the prospect of being able to take off on the open waters, and finally experience what it's like to  zip up and around the coast without the hustle and bustle of a ferry ride - and if we happen to stalk chase whale watchers see any whales or other sea life, well then EVEN BETTER!

OH HAI THERE!!
Congrats to bf for all his hard work, and let's get this winter business over with so I can be where I love to be the most - near water.  You don't get a fish tattoo unless you really like to fish - so this girl can't think of a better gift from a bf, then to be out on the open seas, surrounded by lord knows what underneath us.

As long as it's not a great white on the other end of the line, this will all have been worth it...

GOOD WORK BF!!! XOXOX!!!

6.1.12

"A Book A Week For A Year" Book #1 Review: The Night Circus

My 2012 New Years Resolution is to read one book per week, even if it means having to catch up on Grey's Anatomy on the weekends.  I spend far too much time watching TV, and have never been an avid reader.

This year that changes.  And the change has already begun...




For book #1, I started with a book that bf got me for Christmas, entitled "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern.  Apparently, while bf was browsing at Chapters, a lady ran over to him and told him that he 'HAD TO GET' this book and that it was 'ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!' -- so that's what he did.   After a week of reading, I have come to the end, and I have to say....she was right.

This book is not just amazing, it's like reading the script of a movie I would pay money to see.

"There is so much that glows in the circus, from flames
to lanterns to stars.  I have heard the expression "trick of
the light" applied to sights within Le Cirque des Reves
so frequently that I sometimes suspect the entirety of the
circus is itself a complex illusion of illumination.

-Friedrick Thiessen, 1894"

The story starts out setting the scene. The authors way of depicting scenery and smells made me feel like I was about to walk into a real circus - and head straight over to the caramel apple booth.  In my mind, I could visualize the tents and the performers.  There was even mention of kittens at one point, and that's when I knew I was sold.

Celia Bowen is a young girl who has just lost her mother to suicide, and is sent to live with her father, Prospero the Enchanter.
Marco Alisdair is an orphaned child, who is taken in by a mystery gentleman - the man in the grey suit - with seemingly no emotions of any sort.
The two are connected, through a bond like no other - and with the help of a cast of characters unlike any other, they embark on the most amazing journey that one could only wish to have in their lives.

The characters surrounding Celia and Marco take on a life of their own, and I felt connected to each one in a different way from the moment they were introduced.  As I read each page, the descriptive story line and intricate mixing of the characters made it feel like I was watching them with my own eyes.  Like I could buy a ticket to the circus and run in to tell them things they needed to know.

As the story unfolds, there is a dual of sorts that will not only change the direction of the story altogether -- but ultimately pulls you deeper and deeper into their twisted world.  I normally struggle to enjoy anything set in 1800-1900's, but this book is just that.  Between the train travels, and the simplicity of the language and storyline - I had the feeling that if I were to meet any of these characters in real life, we would be bff.  Especially the ones who can alter appearance -- who wouldn't love a friend that could get rid of your grey roots just by willing it to happen?  No one. That's who.

Each character plays a role in the upcoming battle between two people who have been raised solely for the purpose of this event, but with a dramatic turn - everything begins to fall apart, much to my dismay.  I had imagined myself being at the dinner parties, and standing in front of the amazing, colour changing and dreamlike Wunschtraum clock.  As someone who has had an admiration for timepieces for the past 10+ years - this aspect of the book made it all  the better.

If you are looking for a book that has you craving page after page, trust me when I say that you do not want to miss this one.  The Night Circus will undoubtedly be seen on the big screen in years to come, and I hope that  the author decides to continue in the future and allow us insight into the lives of the characters I have grown so fond of in such a short period of time.

As for the author herself, she can be found on Twitter at @ErinMorgenstern and when I had to tell her just how in love with her writing I was, she was very humble and thanked me for reading.  The connection with the book was amplified by the pride of it's writer - and I hope that many other people take the time to not only relive childhood fantasies through the chapters, but also appreciate just how descriptive a story the author has managed to tell.



**Next week is Book #2 - Dead Sky Morning by Karina Halle.  It's book #3 in a series that I started last year, and I am anxious to see how my lovely Perry and sexy Dex are doing on the hunt for footage in their Expirement of Terror.

Stay Tuned for another review!!

4.1.12

2012: The end of the world, or the end of bitching? Either way, it'll be a quiet one.

So I don't pay much attention to people who say the world is going to end this year.  I never watched the movie "2012", even though John Cusak is in it.  I don't have a bucket list that would need to be accomplished by any certain date.  There is absolutely nothing different about this physical year, then any of the years before it.

There are, however, a few major differences that have nothing to do with the year as a number.  2012, is just that.  It's just a number.  As a child, when I thought of the year 2012, I pictured something similar to the Jetson's.  Flying around in cars, living in space - having an elevator that takes me up to my condo...
oh wait...

The actual reality of 2012, is that it's just another year.  Another year for me to say I want to lose weight (while eating everything), and another year where I continue to wallow in my own self-pity for being a spinster who has to watch all her friends spit out babies and exchange vow after vow.  2012 is already shaping up to be as baby-making wedding-gift getting action-packed as 2011 was, and I welcome it with open arms.

I have decided this year, that my resolutions need to be attainable.  Clearly, the weight loss goal is a load of bullshit, and I like cake too much to be skinny.  I needed to set goals that won't make me cry myself to sleep or make me feel like a disappointment.  That is why this year, my resolutions are simple.  In no particular order, my 2012 will be summed up kinda like this:



1)  Read one book a week, for 52 weeks.
I never read.  Only when I have too, or when a friend of mine writes a book and I want to be supportive.  I always see people with books in their hands, and when I see them reading as I watch tv or browse my cell phone for stimulation - I get jealous.  I know how to read - so it's not like they have a one-up on me, but I could never bring myself to commit to one book.  Since school, I have probably read less books then I can count on my hand(s).
That all ends this year.
This year, I will not only read a book a week - but I will blog about my book, in something I invented called "A BOOK CLUB" --- what was that? those already exist? well... not to worry.  I'm not upset, because this brings us along to my second resolution of the year....


2) JUST BE HAPPY.
Fuck.
I am guilty of never being totally happy, and it's starting to wear on my old body.  Even when I've been "happy" in the past, there has always been an underlying layer of jealousy, an inferior feeling that I couldn't shake.  I would come home from work as happy as a pig in shit, and upon seeing a sink full of dishes and a bf sleeping on the couch - I would lose my mind.
"WHY ARE YOU SO LAZY?"
"WHY DON'T YOU LOVE ME ENOUGH TO DO DISHES?"
"WHY AREN'T WE MARRIED YET?!?!?"
"YOU HATE ME"
"WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"
And I'm sure that's exactly how it sounded, had someone actually been paying attention.  The reason no one paid attention? Well that's simple.  The things I was unhappy about, were stupid.  I can admit it.  I hope bf doesn't read this, because then he'll know he was right - but I need to come to terms with the fact that dishes don't equate to love or happiness.  The sick part about it all, is I LIKE CLEANING.  So why am I so mad?  Good question. And because I can't answer that question, I have decided that 2012 is the year to just be happy.

So that's it.
No unreal expectations, no silly goals that by January 28th, 2012 will have me eating my words.

Although......with these resolutions, eating my words would be considered alright....
I'm liking this already.

What's your resolution?
 
Blog Templates by Delicious Design Studio