Merry Christmas!!!

yay for family that come to visit, yay for fabulous gifts, yay for long walks by the ocean, yay for scrumptious food that fills you up.

well, this weekend was definately a change. whipped out a cleaning frenzy on saturday - including the inside of the fridge - made some truffles (and smashed my head on the fridge door when I was trying to shove the glass pan into the shoebox freezer, which involved finally having to tape the freezer door shut...) , tidied the room, and the christmas get-together began-- okay I have to pause for a moment, because the heat just turned on, but it smells like cigarette smoke! how nasty is that? )%%@$$!*# downstairs neighbours!!! ohhhh I could....-- so there was a nice amout of people, we ate yummy snacks, and lots of chocolates, played cranium, cheered when Crystal won a sirius satellite radio from cbc radio 2 (or 3 or something), listened to christmas music, had a fire, and generally a jolly time. Sunday, matinee with Tara (The Family Stone - funny, sad, cheesy, what more can you expect?) Coffee with an old friend Sinisa, and then to the Belfry to volunteer for the last showing of "The Syringa Tree" which was fabulous. One actor who did an amazing job. She was brilliant. Even when the play had to stop woth 30min left becuase a poor man had a seizure or something. It was quite unnerving. But the paramedics got there and he was okay. They took him in a chair stretcher, and then the play resumed. We gave her a big standing ovation when in ended , and she deserved it. Today, brunch with Sarah Mc and Steph - lucky Sarah is going to mexico for 6 weeks and then australia until june!. Then shopping - Ga! and finally home to relax for the rest of the day. another 7 days in a row starting tomorrow. weee. Happy Holidays!

when your days feel like constant deja-vous, it's time for a change...

so i finally had a day off after 8 days in a row of working, and it wasn't even as relaxing as i'd hoped. well it's my fault really. I should have just stayed home. But I thought I'd try to be productive and get some christmas shopping done. Basically I wandered the streets of downtown for 3-4 hours, bought some tea her hershey mint kisses... it made me tired, hungry and irritated. I was supposed to go to dinner with Ben, but I sweet-talked him into brunch this morning so I could chill out for the evening. :) Lovely boy. Now I've just tossed some laundry in (stupid work uniform), and am planning on writting some christmas cards before I head out to get Ben. and then it's off to work again.
But, it's our christmas get together on saturday which is going to be fabulous!

Well, today was no winner, but I made it though, and it perked up at the end. It was day 4 of an 8 day work week, I opened- which was actually fairly fun because if was with Sarah Mc. we made snowflakes. Phoned the mechanic at 7:45am. Yes my clutch is gone. yes it's going to cost my arm. okay, just do it. slow morning. cleaning. wandering. delegating petty jobs. weeee. get off work, get groceries at Red Barn - fabulous place for cheap produce! phone mechanic again, oh some part on my transmission is worn down, should be okay, but no big warranty or something. okay. Trying to figure out how I'm going to pay the guy, student loan, and life for the next month, a little overwhelmed. Phone the pappa, attempt to explain what's going on with the car... he decides to phone the mechanics himself. phones me back to say that he put the bill on his visa! and that I can pay him back in parts. Ah Pappa, I love you! Big sigh of relief.
went to the mall with Crystal to find her some pants etc. got a pair of christmas socks.
came home. chatted with sweet Nadya on the phone for a while. in bed nice and early. and there you have it.

- The movie "Proof" is fabulous! I highly recommend it - Great acting, good story, not too hollywood.
- Never go to the mall on Senior's Day.
- Put up christmas decorations today. yup, and I don't care what anyone thinks.
- knitting is where it's at. I finished a pair of mittens today. they're red and I love them.
- Pommegranets (sp?) are delicous and fun to eat (esp with a bit of vanilla frozen yogurt)
- working 8 days in a row will not be fun...
- pay day is thursday so hopefully i can finally get my car fixed!
- Finished reading "The Secret Life of Bees", and excellent book, sucked me right in. as delicious as honey!
- will someone please make me clean my room???

I stole some more party pics from Dave, not that they're terriffic ones, but just so you can see our silliness. :)
Another chilly day in the making. I feel the urge to go on a long wandering walk today, no destination, just walking in the weather.
Two of my favourite bowls decided to end their lives last night at 2:30am when they slid off the frying pan I had carefully (and stupidly) stacked them on to dry earlier that evening. I heard them and new what had occured but couldn't bring myself to get up and witness the reality. But someone had woken up too, and quietly (I barely heard him) picked up the pieces. Thanks Dave. They will be missed.

It's December 1st and it's snowing in Victoria. It's december 1st and I can now listen to christmas music. It's december 1st and now I have to work until 10:30 pm instead of 5pm. sigh. two out of three isn't too bad i guess.
Lots has been happening in the last little while, christmas parties, skating, eating delicious food, dancing, snow, and the like. I've been meaning to post excessively, but apparently that means sparsely in my books.
So there you have it.

unless...

Well I just finished my first evening of volunteering at the Belfry Theater and I'd definately do it again. Not only was it fun taking tickets and seating people, but I also got to wear a Volunteer tag!!! (come on, doesn't that make you feel important???) AND!! the best part was that I got to see the play: Unless - the play Carol Shields was adapting for the stage with her daughter Sara Cassidy when she passed away. Sara finished the adaptation, and she did a fabulous job! I haven't read the book (now I want to!) but I was blown away by the performance tonight. The actors were terrific, especially the woman who played Rita - the main character (don't have her name because I didn't manage to grab a program). We laughed, and cried (well I know I did), and the writing was fantastic. If it wasn't already sold out for the last two weeks I would recommend every one to go see it. If it plays again here, or where ever you areI highly recommend seeing it. Just a great story.
And that's what I've got for tonight.
Tomorrow night - Oklahoma!

p.s. either my clutch or my transmission is going in my car... I can barely get it into 1st gear! Gaaaa! I don't need this right now!

okay, it's been a little while since my last post. And there are a couple of reasons for that: I was a little overwhelmed by the epic nature if the post I had promised to write re my trip, I haven't felt like spending much time in my room beause it's messy, I've been working alot lately, I've been knitting and crocheting alot lately, and I'm lazy. So there you have it.

Basically I had a lot of fun on my trip, got to see a bunch of family(it was absolutely fabulous to see them all!) a few different cities, a couple rainbows, some snow, rain, sunshine, deer, a moose, my brothers, some appartments for rent, the road in front of me, a play, a hockey game (on tv) got to eat some great food, some terrible soy jerky (hey Travis? mmmm.....), bakery treats (drool), did some pottery, some dancing, went to a hotspring, played lots of games ( I love games), joked around, hung around, walked around, drove to town, and drove out again. Saw some lovely sunsets, and sunrises too, took a ferry, in fact, took two! Made it back, and that was that. Any quvestions???

in progress...

Happy Halloween!!!

Well, I finally made it back, to the tune of fireworks down the street, and the hum of rain. There is an epic (epic in the sense that it will probably be very long, but not necessarily adventurous or grand) blog waiting to happen. and I promise it will, soon, complete with pictures and song lyrics. But not tonight. It's halloween, it's getting late, and i haven't loaded my pictures yet. My luggage is half unpacked, meaning i have even less floor space than I normally do, I'm a little jittery from all the small packets of sugary candy I've been nibbling on inbetween handing some out to cute little trick-or-treaters and sitting perched on the end of the "un-comfortable-comfortable" chair listening to something strange going on in the suite below us. Tara and Ben were over, lovely friends they are, and we crouched uncertain in the livingroom as 4 cop cars pulled up next to the house, and proceeded to enter the basement suite, where someone had been yelling for the past 15 minutes. I won't go into details, but basically an ambulance showed up, and he was taken away. It was a rather unfortunate situation, hopefully he's okay. some night hey? so now, having driven Ben and Tara home, chatted with the roomie Dave and filled him in , I'd just like to relax a little, then try to fall asleep (although the stupid firecrackers are still slapping around in the air - really, it's just stupid.)

EDIT: Tara's account of the evening has wicked drawings, i recommend you take a look. :)

well i've made it to edmonton :) and now i'm sick. :(
stupid head cold! but it's been great hanging out with my cousin Angie and her fiance Travis, and seeing the grandma and my aunt and uncle and cousins. Good times playing games, grocery shopping with Travis (he's from newfoundland - and very entertaining) :) , eating pies, and laughing alot. what more could you want? no stupid head cold! But I'll survive, and hopefully get some good pics to boot. :) ciao for now!

here we go two week vacation! I'm off to the wonderful world of visiting family (and while most people might cringe in pain at the thought, i'm looking forward to seeing my family, cause I like them) :) I'll attempt to post during the trip, but don't expect too much. There will be pictures, and perhaps a story or two when I return, of that you can be sure. :)
sorry Ben that I didn't get to see you before I left. Dinner for you and Micheal when I return, i promise!

happy thanksgiving!

Man I love potlucks! We had an epic potluck tonight, epically tastey and filling! Soooo much good food! Carrot Corriander soup, yams, spagetti squash casserole, homemade bread, salad, spinach salad, vegetarian stuffing (which was a little too moist, but absolutely delicious - kudoos Tara!), a yummy rice dish, and lentil dish... i'm soo full, and yet it's making me drool. :) and if that wasn't enough, dessert!!! to die for dairy and sugar free pumpkin pie, rubarb/apple/blackberry crumble, apple pie, baked apples, another fruit crumble, ice cream, and a mystery dessert (he wouldn't say what it was, but it was a delicious toffee, chocolate, whipped cream, graham cracker, peanut butter concoction). And if the food wasn't good enough, we got to share it with a bunch of great people! You gotta be thankful for that.
(and Tara, we missed you, but we understand - sorry the stuffing is all gone, everyone loved it!!! And if you're shaking your head at this post, I poop on you! :) )

I should have taken a picture of all the food, but by the time I remembered it was all gone!

A sunny October day is a beautiful thing. (especially when it's friday!!!) I'm off to take some pictures!

So, Saturday was great, and Sunday was looking to be fabulous. It started with some pancakes with strawberries and bananas, and the plan was oh maybe staying in pjs for the majority of the day, watching a movie, doing some crocheting, you know a lazy sunday. I was pretty excited.
but no, this wasn't to be. Some how the schedule at work was messed up and the closing supe. was in tofino, leavng a very sick Damon trying to find someone to come in and close. Lucky day for me, I was the only one available... So I got to spend my sunday at work. wahoo...
the only good thing is the money, and I got to see a few people that I never see at work because they're only there on the weekend.
so there's that.
monday was much better, had fun with Sue and Jess. Tuesday, felt a little sick, so work wasn't fun, but I made it through, and managed to make it through the Feist concert as well. She's bloody amazing. Her voice is, like, magic! :) Today flew by, and it was another new episode of LOST weee! It's so interesting! I just want to know all the damn answers! They've done a good job of hooking you in. damn them.
let's see what tomorrow brings...

You are a Social Liberal (68% permissive) and an... Economic Liberal (5% permissive) You are best described as a: Socialist Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

"Those were the days my friend..."

Good times were had at the Irish Times last night, celebrating Oona's 21st Birthday(Happy Birthday Oona!) We sipped martinis, clapped and belted along with the music, laughed, tried to de-grumpify Tara ;) , and generally had a blast. Nice atmosphere, tastey food (although primarily for meat eaters...), all around good time, (even with me and oona practically pushing this couple out of their table so we could have it.) :) And my friend Aimee, who I haven't seen since february was there, and it was great to reconnect with her. Then, me and Oona and her friend Julie then headed over to The Upstairs Caberet for some dancing. It was fun - we just boogied to the beat (some of which was terrible, but most was fun and great for dancing), the only downside was my choice of shirt (too hot!) and the sleasy guy that kept trying to dance with us. (Take a hint buddy!)
Today was a great day too! In the morning (ok, waking up at 730 to josh - the kid downstairs - yelling MOMMMM! was not so pleasant, but seeing how it's pretty much a daily occurence...) Crystal and I went for americanos at Cafe Fantastico (the best ever!) , then we pulled out the last of the beets, tidied and turned over most of the garden, and trimmed the hedge (with an electric hedge trimmer! It's not pretty, but at least it's not flailing in all directions now). Burritos , mmmmm, one of my favourite things for lunch, then a spot of crocheting (tis the season) and 13 going on 30 (which was actually more amusing the second time). Then (a busy day) I went out for a bit of groceries (a bit of an ordeal as it was 530ish, and customer appreciation day at Thriftys, busy place!) and to pick up some wine for Crystal and our dinner guests. So, basically I shouldn't be the one to pick out wine. Seeing as I don't drink it, have no idea what's good, even what the differences are between say a shiraz and a merlot, and could pretty much get lost in a liqour store. So I bought two, just in case...
And for dinner... Ramona, Kent, Juile and Hayden brought over salad rolls, steamed soy beans, and tofu (SOOO good!) and me and Crystal made (well, actually Crystal pretty much did all the cooking and cutting) bbqed veggies and tofu (a very soy-ful night!) and Yams and Beets with Lime (simply divine, esp with some chipolte mayo... drool) another night of good food and great people. Then I headed out for a late movie with my friend Gavin; we saw The Constant Gardener. Very very good. I highly recommend it! It made me want to do something important with my life. Gorgeous cinematography.
and to top it off, a bit of dessert at home and a little SNL ...
all there is left to do is sleep!

part two of three

some pics from the last little while (obviously me and tara shouldn't be allowed to have a camera when we're together - we're a little camera happy you might say, especially when we get giddy)

She's got hearts on the soles of her shoes...

I’ve been meaning to blog for a while now…
Quite a bit has happened in the last week or so:
- My brother Jesse was in town visiting (his girlfriend actually cause she just moved here about a month ago, but I got to see him too J). We (me and Tara) went dancing with him and Maren (said girlfriend – very nice, and cute) at Hush on Friday night because there was a dj that Jesse really likes playing. It was fun to dance, but Tara and me didn’t last too long (it wasn’t entirely our scene…) we headed back to her place and crashed. On Saturday morning, we met Oona for breakfast at The Blue Fox (one of the many excellent bruncharaunts in town) and then we went shopping all day and had supper at the Lotus Pond (mmmm!!! But I swear I normally don’t eat out twice in one day!!! It’s usually more like once a week… )
- On Sunday me and Crystal and Jesse headed out to East Sooke Park, to bask in the sunshine, ocean air, and take a walk along the coast. It was lovely. We had sandwiches, and apples, and chips with some of Crystal’s delicious homemade salsa (with tomatoes from the garden!). But poor Jesse’s feet! He was wearing Birkenstocks, which aren’t the best for that kind of trail.
- Had a busy week of work (four days of closing in a row! Whew!)
- The Finale of Rockstar INXS! It was so intense (shut up all of you)! But J.D. won, and while I was rooting for Marty, I think J.D. actually fit with the band better, and that’s what matters in the end I guess.
- The O.C. on Thursday. Steph and Sarah and Tara came over. Oh the soap opera sinks it’s teeth in cleverly hidden behind the darling dimples of Adam Brody once again. Thursday night line up… (and Happy Birthday Jay! Finally 19)
- Friday night consists of a low fat cake, frozen yoghurt, some people from work over to celebrate Jay’s 19th (he makes it over, but is in fairly rough shape from the previous night of revelry) we chill, eat some cake, and then head down to Hugo’s. Only Hugo’s is packed, (with older people). So, we head to the Sticky Wicket (Roof top patio) and find a table large enough (there are 7 of us at this point) under the only table where the heater is broken. We shiver there for a little while, order a round of drinks (coke for Jay) and then as soon as we see an opening for another table, we grab it. Only to discover that there is one more broken heater. (Insert Sandeep making some amusing comment about telling the weather from his nipples) Sarah Mc finally arrives and we decide to head indoors. Only to find no seating… anywhere inside… so. We head out side and attempt to find a location with enough seating for the nine of us (yes I can count, Sarah has a friend with her) It’s getting a little ridiculous (we really should have planned it better) Sandeep decides to head out, taking Lisa and Will along, so it’s now six of us. We decide to check out the cactus club, and low and behold, they aren’t that busy! And it’s warm! Wahoo! We actually had a pretty good time there, the food was nice (a little pricey but what can you expect) and the martinis were on special. Poor jay went home to recuperate for his Sub Party on sat night, and me and Dave walked home (brrr! It was chilly!)
- Saturday, the Matthew Good concert!!! Sooooo good!!!!
To be continued… (sleep first)

ah the weekend...

I've just had my last tuesday/wednesday weekend before moving over to actual weekends off! wahoo! It's going to be nice actually getting to do stuff on the weekends with Crystal.
It was a nice weekend though, on tuesday I got my hair cut by a very cute asian girl at Aveda (student of course, that way you get a haircut and can actually afford to by product!) Then I did a bit of shopping, well grocery shopping that is, and I made a roasted red pepper and feta dip for Ben and Micheal's 2nd year anniversary, which was fun. We chatted, ate yummy snacks (mmm roasted garlic bulbs!) listened to a very eclectic music selection, and I got to taste Amerello (sp?) a drink made from fermented fruit that has fallen off of trees (which apparently elephants then eat and get drunk and crash into villages and the like!) Tara was there for a bit with Biz and her doggy Pepper (whom I have now dubbed "Spepper") which was nice, and I always enjoy hanging out with Ben and Micheal. I like them, they're just so darn cute and loveable! I'm excited to go for brunch on sunday with them.
Then today, I slept in, lazed around for a bit, then showered and decided to go a little domestic. I tidied the kitchen, then made banana muffins (which didn't turn out so well, but my muffins never do, and I did manage to use up 4 of the 8 or so frozen bananas shoved into our shoebox freezer), and cookies (which turned out rather smashing if I do say so myself) and finally for supper I made carrot corriander soup with carrots and onions from the garden (and even some of the corriander was seeds I'd dried from the garden!) it was tasty (and so easy to make!). The me and the roomies settled in for and intense hour of Rock Star INXS which we are shamefully (or shamelessly) addicted to, to discover who would be going home of the 4 remaining hopefuls!!! To our immense sorrow, the dumb bastards sent the best singer, and the only female left home. I really don't understand what they see in Mig? (Mic?) I'm really hoping that Marty wins. I like his song "Trees" very catchy.
and tomorrow? work again. but it's the last late shift of the season! (till christmas anyway) I'll be glad when it's over (and even happier if Dave remembers to tape The O.C. for me! - I swear I have a real life...)
anyway, enough babbling.

ah the workplace...

okay Ben, here you go...

7 x 7?

7 things I plan to do before I die:

1) Own and operate a bookstore and cafe.
2) write for a month in Brugge
3) publish a collection of poetry, a novel, and a children's book
4) have two children, a girl and a boy
5) build my own house
6) travel around great britain
7) rent a room beside Ben in the Shakespeare and Company bookstore in Paris

7 things I can do:

1) make some mean pancakes
2) pun terribly
3) drive a standard
4) listen
5) get along with parents
6) use a blender
7) laugh

7 things I cannot do:

1) eat tomatoes
2) save money well
3) hurt people intentionally
4) keep my room clean for more than a week
5) confrontations
6) drink wine (eww)
7) burp intentionally

7 things that attract me to others:

1) a good (potentially quirky) sense of humour
2) beautiful eyes and smiles(and calves)
3) High intelligence.
4) likes to dance
5) Tastes in food, drink, literature and film.
6) Genuine warmth.
7) hugs


7 things that I say most often:

1) Halla
2) certainly
3) You have a break
4) yo momma
5) what's the word?
6) sweet
7) so basially

7 celebrity crushes:
1) Johnny Depp
2) Orlando Bloom
3) Dermot Mulroney
4) John Cusack
5) Dave Matthews
6) Diego Luna
7) Matthew Good

7 people I want to do this

1) Dave
2) Tara
3) Norann
4) Mika
5) Lindsay
6) Nadya
7) Jay

sunset at summit park...

Happy Birthday Tara!!! (and a champagne one at that!)

apparently i've decided to purchase a cell phone...
the things that can happen when you're just lying in the backyard enjoying the sunshine, a good book, and some cherries...
hmmm....