I'm a Little Lacking in the Sleep Department. Can You Tell?

I can be dead, dead asleep, sleeping the sleep of the righteously asleep, but the second I hear the buzzing whine of a mosquito? I'm wide awake.

No, seriously, I hear that sound and I'm fully, completely, could save the world in that instant awake.

The real question here, of course, is not "why the heck do they always wait until I'm completely asleep to sneak into my room" but "how could I use this to my advantage?"

I mean, what if on all those mornings I just can't drag myself out of bed I had a mosquito trained to come wake me up? Maybe I could turn into one of those people who wake up early and go for long runs if I had a trained mosquito.

Whoops

So I've discovered that I'm a little behind in my photo album.

As in, the photos I printed out last time I printed out photos (oh please can we not relive the misery I felt that day?) are still in the print out box (I needed a box. Sigh) and they're from 2007.

And two thousand and six, shhhhh!

A little behind, as I said.

Ahem.

Because I Love You

Amazing choir (Perpetuum Jazzile) uses their hands to simulate storm

Is now tied for favourite with this one methinks. Maybe.

So. Cool!

You'll never guess what I just saw?

Well, ok, not, like "just" just, but, really it was so cool that it feels like I just saw it so you can forgive me, right? Right!

Because I saw them putting a house on a barge!

A house! On a barge! On the water! They put a house on the water! (With the barge inbetween)

I mean, as if it wasn't odd enough to be driving along and realize that there was a gigantic house IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD! it was super cool to watch the process the guys went through to get it onto the barge.

I think I spent something like three hours just sitting there watching, it was the coolest thing I've seen in a long time.

Plus, the cute helper construction (wait, do you call them construction guys if they're not, actually, building something? Like, would he have been a totally differently named job?) guy was a nice bonus.

But, seriously. They put a whole, entire house onto a barge.

Dude.

Dude

I think this town has bi-polar weather disorder.

It's jeans and hoodies one day and "holy crow I wish I could be naked it's so hot" a couple days later.

How 'bout you? You having normal weather or is yours moody too?

Um, Yay?

So, I just had what I guess is the first good part about having Celiac disease.

See, I've never liked getting the flouride treatment at the dentist. Nev. Er.

Not when I was a kid and that gooey stuff had to sit in the trays and certainly not as an adult (by age only, not by maturity level, I know, I know) with the swishy stuff that gak, gah, I don't even want to think about because ick.

I actually used to refuse the stuff because when I'd accidentally swallow it (which is hard not to do damnit) I'd feel so gross after.

Well, when I told the hygenist this time that I'd just found out about having Celiac she told me that that meant I couldn't have the flouride as their formula has gluten in it in some form.

I did a happy dance in the chair my friends.

And then I let her clean my teeth.

So yeah, there's at least one benefit to this whole thing; no more evil flouride blechy swishing stuff!

Let's just hope my teeth don't all fall out now.

(I kid. I kid.)


(I hope)


Updated to add: Look at this post I just found. Ha!

Encounter

I can't pinpoint the date exactly, but a while ago, instead of always thinking to myself "I wish people were more comfortable just chatting with each other" I decided that I would, when the individual gave of a "safe" kind of vibe, go ahead and initiate conversations with strangers.

You know, like in the grocery lineup, or while choosing the best cherries from the bins, or while sitting watching fascinating things involving heavy machinery happening (more on this later, I promise!)

A conversation I had the other night has lingered with me and I'm not really sure why.

I was in the lineup at the checkout at the grocery store (hello, I think I've covered all the obvious points, yes?) when a gentleman behind me asked if he could look at one of the items I was buying. I told him to go ahead and we chatted for a bit.

He talked about how he hadn't grown up with these things, having grown up in a "totalitarian society" and for the life of me I don't know why I didn't ask where he'd grown up because I really can't figure it out. I usually think I'm pretty good at figuring out accents, certainly those from around Great Britain and I would have thought this man's accent was Irish. ish. Irish-ish.

I've been trying to figure it out since and wish I'd asked.

Any thoughts out there? It's kind of stuck in my brain, as you can see.

I Just Have to Say

That Cat Deeley is one of the most adorablest, loveliest, sweetest people ever ever ever on television and I Loooooove her and want to hug her.

And if I won the lottery I'd pay a gazillion dollars to have Mia Michaels choreograph a dance for me.

*happy sigh*

Tie-Tie

Anyone else seriously tired out these days?

Ok, all of you with your hands up, when you're tired, do you go to bed early so you can get extra sleep or do you stay up late working on things that really don't need to be worked on and then find yourself all not-tired even though you really really are?

Oh. Just me then?

Mkay.

Aaaaaah! It's Monday the 13th!

Er, wait, never mind.

I got my days of the week mixed up. Sorry.





Nothing to see here, move along folks.

Ahem.

I Entitle This Video "How to Make Victoria Cry"

Disneyland Musical Marriage Proposal

I wish *my* name was Erica.

Or Amy.

Helloooooooo

Well, hi! How are ya?

Hanging in there? Doing great? Somewhere in between?

I wouldn't say things are settling down around here exactly, but I'm hoping that I'm sitting here typing this means I've found some sort of flow that works.

Those of you who write blogs probably know the feeling of missing a few days or a week or so of writing and then how it can feel a little clunky to get back at it. I'm a little bit in that space at the moment, but it's either "sit down and hammer away at the keyboard and hope something half decent comes out" or "just keep not writing anything" and that's not much fun.

So, how to summarize my last week or two? Busy. Emotion-filled. OK.

I do have some holiday time coming to me and it's already looking like it's going to be busy. Fun, I'm sure, but busy.

My car accident recovery is coming along; it's a very slow but steady kind of thing at the moment and I'm working hard and not rushing ahead too fast. I'm heading into my fourth month away from the gym, and those of you who've been around here for a while know that that's a big change in my routine. I'm not sure what's harder; not having the regular routine and familiarity of the place, or not having the regular stress release of the excercise. The good news is that I've worked back up to 25 minutes of cardio and other than a few twinges if I push too hard or fast, I don't think my endurace has lost much. I'm tighter than I used to be, and no, not in a good way, more in a "less-flexible" kind of way so all in all, I'd like to get back to the gym and see how it all goes.

I've had some personal-type news in the last week that was unexpected and have been riding some waves of sad. One is a move by a family member to the Maritimes (where, no, I don't expect they'll run into Smith) and the other will take a bit of explaining if and when I get around to deciding to share about it.

Other than that, I finally saw Up! and Wall-E and cried, cried, cried at Seven Pounds, so I guess you could wag your collective finger at me for watching too many movies when I could have been writing posts, eh?

So, yeah. Here goes, getting the ball back rolling here, and trying not to notice that the days are getting ever so slightly shorter so please don't mention it, kay?

Kay.

Missed ya. Hope you had a great Canada Day/Independence Day/Regular non-North American Day.

*mwah*

(That's the noise a kiss makes. FYI)

Waving (Not Drowning)

Heyas,

Apparently still on pause mode, which I didn't expect to be, but things are just super busy! It's like Christmas in July!

Heh, that was unintentionally funny.

Like, you know how at Christmas there are ten million and five parties that happen and get togethers and family comes out and friends want to meet up and stuff? Yeah, that's kind of been my week. (Or two!)

So it's not that I don't have anything to say (although, I don't have a whole lot of anything much to say) it's just that I, honestly, haven't had the time to sit and write anything down.

And I know, I know, I'm doing it now, but yeah, I made myself sit and type this out just so I had something on here to prove I'm not off on some super secret spy mission so secret I couldn't even talk about in in code here.

Ahem.

I'll try to find some time real soon-like kay?

Kay.

Love youse!

Be good.

Whoops

Just gotta press pause on the blog for a couple of days here because I totally forgot to write any posts and don't have time to write any right this second or day or three, so pause.

*Pause*

And in case I miss it, Happy Canada Day!

Heh

I forgot to tell you about a funny my brain made last week at the Tragically Hip concert.

See, when Gord Downey (the lead singer) called out "Hello Victoria!", for just a moment, I thought he was talking to me.

Even though "Victoria" isn't my *real* name.

And is the name of the city I live in.

Ahem.

My brain's teh awesome!

Cool

My apartment building has two large bins out back, one for garbage, and one next to it for paper.

(We also have two bins for plastic recycling, but they're not really part of the story. I just didn't want to leave them out in case they felt neglected)

My parents asked me if I'd stop off at their place on my way home from work the other day and push their garbage cans into the garage since they were going to be out of town for a couple of days.

Because I didn't want to forget, and when I'm busy my mind sometimes forgets, I wrote myself a note that said "garbage cans" and stuck it in my car so I'd see it on the way home.

I did, and did my daughterly duty on my way home.

When I got back to my place, I went over to the bins and threw the "garbage cans" note into the paper recycling bin.

Right as I let it go, however, a big gust of wind came along, picked it up and carried it right over into the garbage bin.

I guess the Universe took the note literally, eh?

More Than Odd

Woke up this morning and my arm was totally asleep.

I mean, I've had my arm fall asleep on me before, but this was different. I couldn't feel it AT ALL.

I had to actually pick it up (and I couldn't feel my own fingers touching my own arm!) and throw it off of me across the bed and because I still couldn't feel it at all (!) and was still totally asleep I had to tell myself "wiggle fingers".

It was a really odd, disturbing feeling, and made me feel very blessed that my body functions as well as it does.

N is for . . .

newness and nouns and navigating through this thing called life

and N is for nicknames and nebulas and nunchucks, of course

and N is for the narwhales and never neglecting their naughty nature

and N is for nudity and night night and Nana and noodles

N is for naptime and naming and no, no, no no-ing

but don't forget N is for nerds and nobility, no nonsense filled notariety

N is nostalgia and the necessary needs

N is novel and nutty and nice and naieve

and N is for numbers and never and now

but

without you this post would be Nothing, and how!

I Laughed Out Loud

Saw a hilarious bumper sticker yesterday on a big ol truck.

This car is a hybrid:
Gasoline + Duct tape.

Heh.

Baroo?

Look! A photo of cute, smiling children!

To distract you from the fact that I, in fact, apparently *do* have Celiac disease, as the specialist just informed me Thursday.

So, ok.

Kids! Cute! Look!

Awesomeness

Not yesterday, but the day before the day before not yesterday, I went to see the Tragically Hip.

As always, they were awesome. Awesome, awesome, awesome.

Every time I go to a concert, I'm reminded how much I love music, and how very much I love live music and I'm always reminded how very very much I love being part of a crowd of a few thousand people all singing along to a song.

Awesome.

Oh, yeah!

I almost forgot to wish you a Happy Father's Day!

So if you *are* a father or *have* a father; happy Father's Day to you.

(I think the occasion warrants the re-use of this photo, yes?)

Happy Father's Day y'all.

Um

I know it's only morning, but I'm tired enough that I'm already counting down to bedtime!

Brain's Still Melted

Y'all are smart, so help me out here.

I can't, for the life of me, come up with a decent "N is for..." post title to write about.

So, here's where you get to play the role of my brain for me. What do you want me to write about that starts with N?

Cuz, really, the only word that's coming to my mind right now is "nunchucks" and I have no idea how I'd write a post about nunchucks.

I Didn't Know If I Should Laugh or Cry

I was driving along yesterday evening(ish) when up ahead of me an adorable german shepherd dog walked itself across the cross walk.

I'm guessing it had walked across that cross walk with its owner a bunch of times before, because it walked exactly like it knew what it was doing.

Hopefully it made it home safe.

Reaction

Ran into Bird this weekend.

Yep, Bird.

Wasn't expecting it, but it didn't seem weird to see him as I've been thinking about him lately.

Not in any romantic way, just in a sort of "gee, I wonder what he's up to and miss him" kind of way.

What I realized this weekend, when seeing him made me want to cry and run in the opposite direction, or possibly run in the other direction while crying, is that I guess I fell back into believing some sort of magical thinking version of him might be what was real. And maybe that imaginary version of him would come back into my life and fill my "snuggle void". (A term I've just made up!)

So it was good and not good to see him and I'm ok, but it took a good long venting talk with a girlfriend to make me feel better.

I have to say though, I was surprised by how strong my reaction to him was. I really thought I'd moved far far on from all that.

Things That Make You Go Hmmmmm

Here's what I've been wondering.

Why were my (male) neighbours vacuuming at 10pm on Sunday night?

Crunch

I heard a car accident yesterday.

And if you've ever heard one, you know the distinctive screech/crunch sound it makes.

Once I'd heard it, I turned to see if everyone was ok, (it was just a minor bump up) and I remembered the moment after we were hit in our accident,and my brain/body connection kicked in and my neck started hurting and I started feeling like crying.

Guess I'm not as over the accident as I'd thought.

Will just have to keep on getting better.

Argh!

I can't remember if I've ever mentioned this before, but I have this inability to stop reading a book once I've started.

Even if I'm not enjoying it that much (like right now) or really disliking it (as in the past). I'm not sure why I can't just put a book down, but I can't.

But, man oh man, am I ever glad when I'm done em.

Wish me speedy reading, would you?

Curiouser

I've been spending a fair amount of time this week sitting on a tennis ball.

No, I'm serious.

See, my recovery from the car accident is going pretty well, but I do have some spots that are still hurting.

And the funny/cool thing about the body is that sometimes if one spot is out of alignment (or whatever) the body will try to compensate and you'll end up with pain somewhere else. Or muscle tension or tightness somewhere else.

Which, I have.

I was saying to my physiotherapist (oh, ok, one of my physiotherapists) that when I have to sit for a long time (ie. more than 15 minutes or so) things really start to hurt in my, um, buttock and that one of the things I've been doing is folding up jackets or things to sit on because even though that hurts, it's kind of like getting a little physio stretchy-type thing as I sit there and that ends up feeling better. I jokingly said "I feel like I should carry around a tennis ball to sit on when things start to hurt!"

"That's a great idea." he said, "Go for it."

So, I bought a sleeve (is it called a sleeve?) of tennis balls on my way home.

It may not feel great at the time, but I can sure as heck feel the improvement it's making in the long run.

Yay for what I thought was a wacky idea that actually turned out to be smart.

Um

I think I need to book myself some holiday/vacation time soon.

I'm just sayin'

Inside Thought

While we were having our hot (for us) weather here last week, I found myself resisting the urge to just fall over and wither a few times.

See, our bat cave does not have air conditioning. Or anything. And while my particular part of the cave has windows, them there windows let the hot hot sun in, but, sadly, no breeze. At one point, I actually found myself starting to feel something like what I imagine claustrophobia feels like because it felt like there just wasn't any air. And not having air combined with being too hot, combined with having made the decision to wear not only pants, but shoes AND SOCKS wasn't a good feeling.

So later that same day, I had a doctor's appointment to go to and as I walked into the office, I realized they had air conditioning. (Oh, I should mention that I don't have A/C in my bat car either, so there wasn't a whole lot of breathing or cooling down going on on the drive either!) As I was checking in, I told the receptionist that I loved their air conditioning.

And I really meant it.

What I didn't say, but was SO totally thinking, was "I love your air conditioning so much I want to marry it and have its babies."

Not sure how that one would have gone over.

Indeed

I read this post a while ago on The Pioneer Woman and a quote in it has totally stuck with me.

In the post, the woman writing it, Heather, talks about how "experiential knowledge alters behaviour*." And it's so true.

She mentions how once she'd worked in retail, she no longer leaves clothes un-hung or messy in the change room. I'm the same.

My friends who've worked in restaurants always tell me that they treat the servers differently than they did before they'd had that job.

Maybe if we'd all done a variety of jobs we wouldn't be so quick to snap at a busy waiter or to leave a pile of un-hung clothes in the dressing room. What a perfect way to put it though: "experiential knowledge alters behaviour." Once we know, we change.

*The added "u" in behaviour is all mine, not Heather's. I know that means I'm mis-quoting, but I can't help it!

Alrighty Then

So it's Monday. Again. (Or is that "already"?)

To catch you up, I'm here, in body, but am recovering from a long few weeks and the physical holy-smokes-I'm-tired type exhaustion that has come from that. Nothing a good long sleep in will do, but seeing as it's Monday, that sleep in is going to have to wait a few days.

Four. Or so.

Not sure what else I've got to say, so this'll have to do for a Monday morning.

Have a great start to your week y'all.

No, I Mean It This Time

1. It's hot in these here parts right now (yes, even already this early in the mornin') my lordy

2. I'm taking off (again) for a few days and so am pretty sure (this time) that I won't be able to post til sometime Mondayish.

3. I had weird, seemingly random food cravings yesterday for ju jubes and plain potato chips. I'm not even a big fan of either of those things. Weird, huh?

Awww, Shucks!

I gotted an award!

The Last Single Girl was sweet enough to pass on a blogging award to me :)

I always feel kind of shy and stuff when people say nice things about me and TLSG was very nice with what she said about my blog and, well, yay!

I tried to thank her, but I either left two comments or didn't leave any because there are some blogs that just really seem to hate me when I try to leave comments and after a while of feeling like a computer dork, I gave up the struggle. *sigh*

So one of the things about the award is that it's about those who love blogging and love to encourage friendships through blogging and it asks the winner to talk about why they love blogging, so here goes:

For me, blogging started as a way to get the stories and thoughts and scenarios that were playing in my head out onto paper. Well, written out anyway. And I figured why not put that writing out there. Wherever the blog "there" is. And I like being able to talk about how I'm feeling about things and share good and bad and silly and have it bounce off other people. Sometimes getting that outside, neutral viewpoint on things is very helpful or grounding or supportive or just plain fun. I love reading people's comments and sort of getting to know the different personalities and people who stop by and stay around for a while or who slip in and out. Blogging is a way for me to be creative and also a way for me to sort through feelings. I also like the idea of sharing my slice of the world with different people.

So, there you have it. Thanks for the nod The Last Single Girl !

And now, the awards show after parties!

Heh

Twenty-Twenty-Twenty-Four Hours Ago

One of my neighbours pulled into his parking spot last night around 10 and sat in his car with the stereo cranked and sang (loudly and heartily) along to "I Wanna Be Sedated"* by the Ramones.

And it took everything I had not to run out and give him a high five.

I hear ya, neighbour guy, I hear ya!


*I dare you not to sing along and thrash around a little.

June!

June, people! It's June!

Um, yes, Victoria, we *know* that. We're just wondering why you've put up a picture of a snow-felled tree?

Because it's June! And I thought we could all benefit from reminder of what the weather is NOT like in June.

It's not snowy or cold or dark or dreary. The trees are not bare and we do not need to wrap up in extra layers to stay warm. (Although some of us still choose to do so because sometimes the ocean can kick up a cool breeze don't cha know?)

And while I could have started this month off with my usual "holy smokes this last month flew past", I kind of feel like May went just about the pace I expected it to so I thought I'd go with the "hey, look what we're not having right now and therefore enjoy even more the sun and long days and green trees and flowers and oohhh isn't Spring/early Summer lovely?" post.

See? Snow! June! No!

Um.

I may be a little over-tired.

Sorry.

If you need to, just pretend this post doesn't exist. I won't mind.

But, happy June nonetheless.

Seriously

Who writes a post saying they're going away and therefore won't be posting tomorrow and then goes ahead and posts anyway?

Who does that?

*shaking my head at the crazy people*

Heyyyyyy, wait a minute!

No, I Don't Know Why I'm Talking Like This

Going away I am.

Not for long am going though.

Anticipatorily tired I believe I may be.

Not posting tomorrow I decided.

Even though could postdate (pre-date?) post and just pretend here am.

Back soonish very.

Weekend, yay!

Have fun youse do ok?

Please mail brain back mine when found, thank you.

Ribbon Cutting

I hereby declare Summer Fruit Season officially begun!


Amen!

Soundtracked

It was kind of a hard weekend for me this weekend.

There were just a few things that all seemed to happen, or not happen, as the case may be and they all just sort of snuck up on me and then stood there and stared me in the face.

There was a family birthday I wasn't able to be a part of due to schedules and there was the realization and understanding that the person I thought I'd like to try being in a relationship with is not interested and there was the first time in ten years I haven't attended a particular event with some friends of mine and the truth the hurt from that surprised me greatly.

I found myself down on Dallas Road (our waterfront drive for you non-locals) staring at the water and the mountains and watching the boats, spinnakers flying and I listened to this song over and over and over.


Friday Night Lights Theme Song

I know I've used this song on here before. It was my Sunday soundtrack for a while and it reminded me that it's ok to feel sad or hurt or disappointed or let down, or all of the above, if the case may be.

I'm feeling better now. Not perfect, not back to 100%, that'll take a while, I'm guessing. But for now I'm better, and that's good.

I Agree

I finally got a spam email that actually:

1.makes sense and

2.applies to me.

The subject line was:

"Your wrist was made for the diamonds"

And they're so, so right!

Hello? Victoria?

Victoria: Yes?

Post: Hi. I, uh, don't mean to be pushy or anything, but I'm the 900th post. And, I just thought you should know. You know, in case you were, planning anything.

Victoria: Planning anything?

Post: Yeah, you know, like a band to play or streamers to fall from the top of the page or anything.

Victoria: Oh. Um. I hadn't thought of anything like that. I, uh, didn't know that I was supposed to, um, do anything special, um, but, hey, how about I put up a photo of a paper jellyfish and you can imagine it blowing in the wind because that's just like streamers!

Post: (looking kinda sad) Yeah. I guess, that's a nice thought.

Victoria: (looking around desperately) Um, hey! I know, here!



Kool & The Gang - Celebration

We love you Post #900!

Public Service Announcement

I can't remember if it was Dilling or Likalia, (or maybe neither?) but I seem to think someone localish was bummed they missed Xavier Rudd last time he was in town.

So, just in case, I thought I'd put it out there that he's just added a Victoria show to his North American tour.

Wooooooooo hoooooo! (Whoops, that was supposed to be an inside thought, sorry!)

If you don't know Xavier but like music, check him out and if his tour comes near you, I'd highly suggest you go. He's awesomely awesome and I loves him muchly!

Undefined

I have a hard time answering the question "what's your favourite" when it comes to movies, books, songs, or, well, a few things, now that I start to think about it.

I mean, I know who my favourite band is, but could I pick just one of their songs as my favourite? Nope.

And as I was looking at this picture, it made me think of the Beatles' song "Golden Slumbers", which made me try to think of my favourite Beatles song, but I couldn't.

Favourite movie? Can't put it down to just one.

Book I'd read over and over? I have three shelves full, as a matter of fact.

So am I the exception or the rule?

Do you have favourites? Or are you more like me and find it hard to pick the one book/movie/song/etc. that's your ultimate fave?

I'ma Gonna Write a Petition

Seriously.

I know that it's season finale time, but I think cliff hangers should not be allowed.

Not. Allowed!

It's one thing to get to a season finale and go "oooooh, I can't wait to find out what happens next"

It's completely unfair to get to a season finale and not know what happened!

Yes, Lost and Grey's Anatomy, I'm looking at you!

Not. Fair!

Crush

So I have a crush on someone. But it's not really a crush.

I mean, it is a crush, it's just that that it's really only a crush on what little I know of him.

If that makes sense.

Like, it's more like I have a crush on the *idea* of him than the actual reality of him since I don't really really know him.

Know what I mean?

Perfection

I just had the best cup of tea ever.

Everything was just perfect.

It was so good, actually, that I'm thinking I may never make tea again because I want to remember just how good this tea was.

So. Good.

Rad!

I know I've already posted today and so you can count this as a Sunday post if you'd like, but since I don't really post on Sundays and Monday is a holiday (here) this can be my Monday post or whatever, but aaaaaaanyway the point is that I just came back from seeing Star Trek and LOVED IT!

LOVED!

Hidden Agenda

I want to re-open this discussion because I'm still not convinced that single men and single women can be just friends.

But I may work on disproving this theory over the next few months.

Maybe.

Unless, of course, it's totally not possible and I end up with further proof of my assertation.

(Wait, why is that not a word?)

Ok, fine, further proof of my theory.

So, my fine friends, whaddya think?

Lucky

With the exception of a year I spent near Oxford England, I've lived all my life within walking distance of the ocean.

What about you?

Is there anything you've always lived near and can't quite imagining living away from?

Or maybe a something you've always lived with? (Cat, dog, etc.)

I Wonder

I wonder what my life would look like if someone decided to turn it into a reality tv show?

What spin would they put on things? What would get edited out?

I wonder if it'd be any good?

Finding Order in the Randomness

I was sitting here thinking about what, exactly, I might want to say in a post today, and I thought I'd listen to some music while I was waiting. So I flipped iTunes onto random shuffle and up popped this song:


Tomi Swick - Sorry Again

Now, that song reminds me so completely of Smith (I think he must have introduced me to the song, plus, it sort of matches a lot of the mood and words in our relationship.) that I thought it'd be interesting to see what popped up next randomly and what, or who, I associated the song with. And here's what came up:


Xavier Rudd - Fortune Teller Live

I love Xavier Rudd, and I owe my introduction to him to DD and I'm very very grateful for that. Xavier is so totally, amazingly, wonderfully, awesome.

Next, this one came up and it weirdly reminds me of both high school and early University. Kind of angry and head bangingish, or something.


Soundgarden - Black Hole Sun

So Cool

I was at my physio yesterday when he said "Have I threatened to tape your shoulder before?"

And I laughed as I shook my head, because all I could picture was him getting out a roll of masking tape and taping my arm up against my body like some ridiculous prank.

But he decided it would be the best thing to do (in my ongoing, progressing really well thanks, car accident recovery) for my shoulder.

I sort of giggled through the whole thing, because he didn't tape anything to anything, but rather, used big strips of stuff that reminded me of the toe tape I used to use for pointe class, to, like, tape my shoulder down.

I felt crooked!

But man did it feel good after a couple of hours.

So good I actually slept with the tape on.

Weird, but true. And completely effective.

Awesome.

Eight Hundred and Eighty Eight*

Driving home from my Mom and Dad's yesterday afternoon was awesome.

Partly because I'd had a lovely morning with my Mom, but really the highlight of the trip home was seeing other people on their way to see their Moms.

I must have passed four really big, tough looking guys holding a bouquet of flowers and I saw more than a few people carrying potted plants as well.

It just made me smile to know that, even if only for a couple of hours, so many Moms in Victoria were going to have a nice visit from their children and would have flowers and plants left over to look at when they left.

It just gave me an "awwww" feeling, and that's a pretty nice way to feel.




Hope you had a nice day yesterday too.





*Posts, that is! (cool, huh?)

M is for Mothers

And I love mine very much.


I hope you all have a lovely Mother's Day tomorrow, and if you're a Mom? Please hug yourself for me.

Updated to add: Or you could just hug yourself for me anyway!

Unknown

Part of (a small part of) what my brain is processing right now has to do with my physical health.

Most of you will remember that I was told, a few months ago, by the specialist, that I have Celiac disease and that it was quite a shock.

But I adjusted, and as I adjusted, I prepared myself for the test that would confirm, 100% that I had the disease.

Well, now I've had the test, and a few others for good measure, (and I assure you while some of may have been uncomfortable, none of them were awful, so if you're going through any sort of digestive system tests and are nervous, email me and I'll tell you just how ok you're going to be.) and I've had my results back.

The tests I was most anxious about came back clear; a big relief.

And then my Celiac biopsy results came back.

And I don't have Celiac disease.

But I don't not have Celiac disease.

And I can't quite wrap my brain around it.

I just spent the last few months wrapping my brain around being diagnosed with an illness that I now don't have. That took a few days to process.

But before I was finished processing not having it, I went in to see my doctor who went over the results with me and showed me that while things look great, they don't look perfect, and we don't quite know what that means.

So I'll be back to see the specialist in a few months and meanwhile I'm going to stay off gluten. My best guess is that we've caught the disease in it's earliest stages (which rarely happens) and so while things are a little "off" (and my blood work points, most definitely to Celiac), nothing's damaged. So that's good.

But it's still not clear. It's not a specific, measurable, nameable answer, and it's not what I had wrapped my head around.

So I'm re-adjusting, but I don't know what to, and I won't know for several more months, if ever.

And that's a little odd.

To say the least.

You Have No Idea How Much I Amuse Myself

I had to buy a new pot the other day and as I was leaving the store, all I could think of was all the funny jokes I could make.

Like, "Man, the pot I just bought won't fit in my bag."

Or... "I can't believe how expensive this pot was."

Heh.

Heh.

I could go on and on. Because it lasted the whole car ride home.

Heh.

It's The Small Things

I've finally been given the O.K., nay, the encouragement(!) to go back to the gym. (And may I just mention here how much I love my physiotherapist?)

So I went yesterday, a nice easy 30 minutes on the treadmill.

And it feels good to be back.

So good.

Mmmmmmmm

I love how the sky looks at 9 pm right now. It's just so . . . wow.

And everything's all green and alive.

Spring rocks.

"It Just Felt Weird"

There was a poem I wrote years ago that I can no longer find, but I remember the feeling behind it and I remember the ending lines.

It talked about the feeling of panic from falling ("falling" in this case was the actual feeling of falling straight down into a dark hole, but was metaphorically representing change and turmoil and fear) and how when everything stops, you "realize you weren't falling at all, it just felt weird."

I kind of feel like that again right now.

Except this time I know I'm not falling, so there's no panic. But still.

There is twisting in my life. And it's not bad and I don't feel too terribly uncomfortable, but it's not comfortable either. If you've ever gotten a foot sunk in mud you know what I mean about having to pull so hard to get it out that you don't feel like you can but you have to or else you'll never get free.

And it feels weird. Because maybe the other foot's on solid ground and it's just the one that needs pulled free. Or maybe the other foot's slowly sinking too. And it's pulling and pushing all at the same time and damn does it ever take effort. Sustained effort.

And you know it's going to be ok because you've gotten out of muddy patches before, and in this case you actually walked straight into the thing, knowingly, but it's still tiring.

I'm tired. But I'm pulling. And waiting for that sudden release. You know that feeling? When you finally get your foot out and you almost fall back from the lack of resistance?

Yeah.

I'm tired, but I also know the relief I'm waiting for will come if I just keep going.

Please Visualize A Tired Smile On My Face*

The best part of getting sick is when you get to start feeling better.

Which I am doing.

Yay!

*insert here

PS Happy May 'yall. (How'd that happen?)

Dudes

You'll have to excuse me here for a few days, I had an exhausting week, both physically and emotionally, and, wouldn't you know it, a cold's gone and done caught up with me.

I'm sure there are posts up there inside my brain, but it may be a while before I have get them down.

I'll be back as soon as I'm rested and whatnot.

But, in the meantime, how are you?

FYI

If you're ever in need of a good cry, may I recommend Marley & Me.

The Accompanying Photo Has Nothing To Do With This Post

I sleep naked.

(Um, I couldn't think of any other way to start the post, so I just threw the whole nakedness thing out there, without any preamble or warning. Sorry.)

It's comfy and, unless it's the dead of winter, I actually find I'm warmer that way. Or, cooler, as the seasons change.

The funny thing is though, that some nights, the whole not having any clothes on thing causes my half-asleep brain some trouble.

See, occasionally, I wake up needing to use the little girl's room. But sometimes as I'm only half awake, I forget that I'm at home, in my locked apartment all by myself. There have been nights (like last night, hence the idea for this post) where I've woken up needing to pee and lain there trying to figure out what I can put on so no one will see me naked.

It's like my brain's still in a dream or thinks I'm at work or a get together or something and I've actually, a time or two, wakened up enough to pull pjs out of a drawer and put them on before realizing that there's no one around able to see me in my nuddy-pants.

Or maybe my brain doesn't want me to have a real-life version of that dream where you go to school naked.

Oh, brain, you're so silly.

I don't know, maybe this is only funny to me, but I just find it amusing to be able to almost watch my brain process what's real and what's not.

Am I the only one that does this? Or anything remotely like this?

Intervention

Hi Victoria, it's Victoria here.

I just wanted to remind you about Bird and the whole "cuddle but nothing else" situation and how, while it seemed like a win-win at first, didn't end up going that well in the long run.

And, no, it wasn't a disaster or anything and not heartbreaking per say, more like heart-ouching, but still. I'm here to remind you that it's a great idea to learn from the past and not go ahead and cuddle "You've Got Butterflies" Guy again.

Once was enough, and you know better and I'm reminding you that you know better so you kind of have no excuse.

Back away from the Butterflies Guy, Victoria, back. Away.

I Can't Tell If I'm A Kingpin or a Pauper

The first concert I ever went to was the Red Hot Chili Peppers. (Which, if I do say so myself, is a pretty darn sweet first concert, lucky me.)

The concert was awesome and head-thrashing and loud and completely memorable. (Um, hello, they did their encore wearing nothing but gym socks on their you-know-whats! Which... WOOOOOOO! Oh, and the music was great too.)

But when I think back on that concert, a big part of it for me was the seriously cute guy my friend and I talked to on the SkyTrain ride back to our car.

We never asked for his name, but gave him a nickname anyway (which I wish I could remember) and used to talk about what a great couple the two of us would make. Me and what's his name the blonde cutie.

(Although, I swear, if Anthony Kiedis had given me the nod, It'd have been a whole different story.)

Ahhhhh yes. Those were the days.

Give it away, give it away, give it away now. . . .

Who was your first concert?

And did you meet the love of your life on the SkyTrain on the way home too?

P.S. Happy Earth Day!

Huh?

I've just seen the picture of a guy I had a couple of classes with in University (and had an adorable little crush on) on the back of a bus.

I am so weirded out by this I can't even begin to tell you.

Cuz it's like, wait, aren't we still just, like 19?

It was so seriously bizarre.

Puffy

One of the things I love about this town is the cherry blossom trees that are all pink and fluffy and glorious right now.

I have my favourites, and if you live around here you might know what I mean when I say my favourites are the really big, puffy light pink ones. They're just so..... fluffy and awesome!

I don't have a photo from this Spring yet, mainly because I haven't taken the time to get out on the sunny days to take photos of the blossoms. Yet. But I hope to. Have a vague plan to. But I'm also admiring them so muchly that I almost don't want to take a photo.

But I'll see what I can do.

In completely unrelated news, as I was typing out this post, I realized that this photo is from a walk I took with Smith when he was visiting. It doesn't seem like it was two years ago, but, apparently it is.

So, there's that.

Now, excuse me while I go stare out my window at the cherry blossoms for a while.

Woah

I'm heading out of town (and out of computer contact if you can believe it) for a few days. Or so.

I've known about it for a while, but what with the long weekend, it kind of snuck up on me.

So, because I don't want to leave you empty-blog-handed and pouting while I'm off on spy mission, I'll give you a link that will keep you more than occupied.

I apologize in advance if you discover yourself unable to tear yourself away from the computer. I've lost much more time than I'd like to admit on this site. (Click the "stumble" button in the upper left and say goodbye to your brain. It's awesome. Seriously. It'll take you to places like this!)

If that's not enough distraction for you, go here, and I promise you won't even notice I'm gone.

Just promise to come back eventually, kay?

See you soon(ish). Play nice!

Happy

I hope you all enjoy your long weekend, whatever you might be celebrating.

And if you don't have a long weekend, I hope you have a good one despite it not being long.

Happy Easter everyone!

Uh Oh

I have butterflies.

Not nervous-to-do-something butterflies.

When-can-I-see-him-again butterflies.

This isn't good.

I don't want butterflies.

And I never expected to have butterflies over this person. And never have before.

Maybe it's just an anomaly.

Hopefully.

Sunshine

I absolutely love the sunshine.

I love waking up to it.

I love spending a day looking out the window at it.

And I love, love, love, lying, like a cat, in a beam of it that's come through the window into my apartment.

And to be honest, I don't know if I'd appreciate the sun quite as much, if we didn't get our fair share of cloudy days.

They make the sunshine seem just that much brighter.

Ahhhhhhhhh.

42

I am writing this at 2 in the morning because I can not sleep.

I mean, I *think* I'm sleepy, but it's just not there.

And I don't really mind.

Which is weird.

Because I should mind. That I can't sleep.

Right?

Owwwww

I bruised my pubic bone.

My....pubis?

No, not in a fun way that involves being naked.

I bruised it by walking into a turnstile that didn't turn.

Stile.

Apparently you can't just go when the thing beeps, you have to wait for the green light too.

I even said "Ow" outloud when I did it. And I didn't care if anyone heard me.

Cuz it hurt!

But now I feel kinda dumb and like I should have pretended nothing happened.

Except I was still stuck on the other side of the thing.

So it was kind of obvious I guess.

Sigh.

Seriously

I know I could just by a book or something, but I much better enjoy (holy smokes, that's so not a phrase that exists: "much better enjoy") telling you about my weird dreams. Well, the super intense ones that I remember for days anyway. I don't tell you everything. (Aren't you relieved?)

So Mohinder from Heroes, who wasn't Mohinder, so I guess it could have been the actor, (um, hello hot stuff) was there (and by there, I think I mean a four star resort hotel of some sort in a hot foreign country) and walked up and offered to take me for a walk.

As we were walking towards the beach, we stopped by the lioness and scratched her belly (it was some sort of local religious tradition to show respect) (and this lioness was all happy cuz of all the belly rubs she was getting, so it was scary but not) and then went down to the beach where we proceeded to, um, get to know each other very well, if you know what I'm saying.

So, what's that all about?

And, yes, I had watched Heroes that evening, so that probably explains part of it. But, seriously, what's with the lioness? And did you know how soft their bellies are?

I Had a Title For This Post, But I Forgot It

I love books.

In fact, when I had to take a couple of days off after the accident, I think I read three books in two days. (Or possibly three and a half, if I think about it.)

A few years ago, however, I found myself no longer wanting to read books that were sad. Or depressing. Or dark. Or any sort of angsty. (Although, I've found I can easily handle some teen angst, as those of you who follow my reading list may have noticed.) I like my books to be entertaining, and if they can make me smile, all the better!

Right now, I'm racing through a couple of series that I'm really enjoying (one being the Sookie Stackhouse novels.) The thing I least look forward to with a series, is coming to the last book. It's like so many of my favourite t.v. shows seem to be ending right now (no more BSG, *sob*) and I didn't want to watch them so they'd last longer, but I wanted to see how they'd end.

It's the same with these book series. I want them to last, so I don't want to read them, but I can't help but read them so I know what happens next.

Ahhhhhh, books. I love you guys.

Got any fun, light, or non-depressing sort of books you'd recommend? (I'll read Sci-Fi/Fantasy too, so don't be afraid to throw them in there.)

First Mal, Now Castle

I love Nathan Fillion.

Always, always makes me laugh out loud.

Love. Him.

This Little Piggy

It's currently striking me as amusing, but as my body's recovering from the smush up, I've actually found an unexpected injury.

One that required X-Rays.

And one that I didn't think was that serious until my doctor gave me the OK to head back to the gym, thereby allowing me to get back into my regular routine and end up in unexpected tears when this particular body part came into contact with the floor at a particular angle during a stretch.

Who else do you know gets into a car accident and finds themselves with an injured big toe?

Seriously.

Spun

One of my best friends was just told by her husband that he's leaving.

I can't figure out why I'm so upset when it's not my marriage, but it feels like my heart got broken.

Funny how life can shift on you without warning, eh?






And, no. I only wish this were an April Fool's day joke.

Flickr Me This

When I first decided to start a blog, waaaaaay back in the sweet, sultry summer of 2006* I knew that I wanted to include photos in my blog.

So, to do that, I started a flickr account and have since come to really enjoy using flickr and being able to witness glimpses of people's lives through their photos.

But since my original intention for using flickr was to provide photos to go along with posts, that's what this post is about.

Well, to be more precise, it's about this photo. Because, for the life of me, I can't figure out a post that this photo would go with. So I decided on this post.

The one you're reading right now.

Yes, this one.

Tell me a memory you have from Elementary school. I'll go first.

I hated using the bathrooms at school. I can't honestly remember if I ever peed at school until, like, highschool.

Is that weird?

Ok. Now you.

But, um, you don't have to share about your bathroom habits in Elementary school.

And you also don't have to share about how scary that 'woman giving birth' video was and how it made you certain you'd never ever ever have a baby.

Or was that just me?

*Actually, I don't remember if that Summer was sweet or sultry. It just sounded like the thing to say.

Earth Hour

I remember, last year, when Earth Hour came around, I sat in my Mum and Dad's living room with them and my sister in law and we lit some candles and we sat around and talked.

It was nice. And relaxing. And it was nice to all be there with each other, instead of someone being off in another room doing something else.

And I remember at the time thinking that I was glad we'd all been there for it.

This year, I was home alone for Earth Hour and it was just as nice.

I stared out the window for a while and there was something about being in a dark apartment that was completely relaxing.

When I eventually put the lights back on, I felt calmer and happier than I had before and it really made me think about the light based visual stimuli I'm constantly surrounded by. Other than being asleep, I can't think of a time when I just sit and do nothing in the relative dark.

I liked it.

I think I'm going to do it again.

Maybe even fairly regularly.

Cool.

Morning

Not a whole lot to say today.


I've had quite a week.


Am planning on relaxing.


Did, however, think this was pretty cool.


Have a great weekend. Y'all rock.

Maybe it's Genetic

You know how there are certain things that some people can do and others can't, like making your tongue curl n stuff?

Well, when I go to hold hands, with anyone, I like to be the hand under (if that makes sense) and I wonder why that is.

Do you have a hand holding preference?

Um

So it's kind of weird to say (because it still seems surreal) but my friend C and I were in this bizarre car accident.

We're both ok. Sore, but ok, and are feeling really really lucky.

The whole accident was someone else's fault and C did an awesome job of getting us out of the worst of it. If I told you the details of the accident you wouldn't believe me. It's movie worthy, really, but the novelty of it has worn off.

Um, so yeah.

We're really lucky and grateful that things went as well as they did. No pileup or anyone seriously injured. It's kind of weird to say, but if you have to be in an accident, this is the best possible result.

Um. Ow.

Am I The Only One With My Mind In The Gutter?

There's a store here in town that every time I drive by, I can't help but wonder just who, exactly, decided to name their consignment clothing store "The Velvet Crease."

Shrug

I'm in kind of a different (I refrained from using the word "weird", yay me) headspace with regards to guys right now.

The guy I went on a couple of coffee dates with right now is out of town for a while so there's nothing new on that front.

I've fallen out of "he's perfect"-ness with the guy I thought was maybe meant by the Universe to be my husband.

I can't even be bothered wishing Huck would suddenly decide he wants to call.

Maybe I'm still just tired from the death plague, because lord knows that took a lot out of me, but I don't know. I kind of feel like I just can't be bothered with the whole wondering about guys thing right now.

It just somehow doesn't seem like that big a deal.

Question

Do any of you ever type dyslexically?

Because, more times than I can count, I find myself typing words backwards, or sometimes flipping the order of letters.

Just me?

Smooth Sailing

So don't hate me or anything, but I've already finished doing my taxes.

It's part of my mega-awesome "procrastinate until my work load falls over and maims me" plan. And so far it's working really well.

My taxes are done and my bathroom's never been cleaner. I didn't even know I had fake glitter eyelashes in there!

No, in all seriousness, I am getting some work done.

I'm just proud of being done my taxes too.

Updated to add: I forgot to wish you all a very Happy Spring!

March

I forgot to talk about the absolutely hilarious weather we've been having, and had this weekend.

For anyone who grew up around here, we're used to this kind of thing, but for those of you who don't live in these here parts, let me tell you about an average March day we might see.

Take last Sunday.

The day started off grey, then it rained. Then the sun came out. And then it poured. While the sun was out. And then it went back to being sunny for a while. And then it rained.

And then it hailed. And then it was sunny.

And then it snowed. For all of five minutes, because then it cleared up and was sunny.

And we capped the evening off with a few drops of rain and a wind warning.

Very, oh so very typically March in the Pacific Northwest.

Comes in like a lion, goes out like a lamb.

Has a few undecided days in-between. March is kind of like a toddler: really not sure what it's thinking, but man oh man, does it ever let you know how it's feeling.

I Like Sugared Cereal*

Have to head out of town for some secret spy stuff for a couple of days.

I should be back by Friday, so until then . . . play nice!

And, no, it's not snowing, I just thought the girl in the photo looked all mysterious.

You know, like me.

Looks around all shifty eyed and spy-like.

P.S. Happy St. Patrick's day to those of you who celebrate it.

*No, the title doesn't have anything to do with anything either, I just couldn't think of anything to say and that was the first random thought that popped into my head.**


**I may be hungry.

Hrm

Well, I'm still mending from the death plague/flu/cold thing, but I got back to the gym this weekend, which was good.

I was worried that my lungs might not be up to capacity, but they seem fine, just feel a little tight sometimes. It actually makes me have a lot more sympathy for people living with asthma or other breathing conditions. You forget how nice it is to be able to breathe without coughing until you can't.

The other thing that happened this week was that I rediscovered all the work that I have to catch up on. That's the other funny thing about being really sick; you just don't care about anything but getting better.
Which is great. Um, except that now I'm on a deadline that feels pretty tight.

Or maybe that's just me getting into panic mode in order to get things done. Guess we'll see.

Wish me luck though, eh? Because if I don't get my work load down, dere won't be no time for da postin of de posts.

And, apparently I'll start talking weird.

But, anyway, wish me good "get lots of work done" vibes, kay?

Oh Yeah

I went to a Hawksley Workman concert last week with a few good people (including Buddy, hi Buddy!) and I was totally going to tell you how awesome it was, but then I got the death plague/cold/flu and forgot.

So.

It was awesome. Like, seriously so.

The end.

Roll On Summer

I don't think I ever quite get used to the time change thing and how suddenly everything's at the wrong time and my brain just won't get over the fact that it's no longer (blank) o'clock when I *know* it should be.

But I'm not going to complain about the hours of light I have when I get home from work, that's for sure.

Shakin' My Head.

Bird texted me last night completely out of the blue apropos nothing.

First I've heard from him in months.

Random, eh?

Drifting

People often ask me why I love snow so much and I'm not always able to come up with a great answer.

"I just do, I always have!" is usually what comes to mind.

But I paid special attention to it this weekend, knowing full well that it's the last snow I'll be seeing for a few months around here. (Well, we do often get an Easter mini-snow in Victoria, but this may have been the early version of it for all I know.)

One of the things I love about snow is how it falls. Because it doesn't *fall* the way rain does. Rain just comes down. Straight down. Drops down.

Snow floats down. Or drifts down. Or sometimes it swirls or the wind blows it back up for a moment, but it's not heavy.

Snow comes out of the sky magically. Every single time. And when I watch it coming out of the sky I can never quite believe it's happening because it's just so beautiful and magical and mystical.

So, that's one of the things I love about snow. I love how it doesn't just fall down out of the sky, it magics down.

Hi

So, you'll have to give me a little bit of time here to get my health back up to par and then to get back on track with blogging.

I won't go into details, but will say that it's been so long since I was last sick that the expiry date on my cough syrup was 2007. I found that amusing.

It snowed here on and off this weekend, which was fun and very March-comes-in-like-a-lion esque.

So, yeah, I'm still sick, but now it's more like I've just got a really bad cold, which is such an improvement from last week I feel like throwing a party.

And how have you been?

Groo

Am alive.


Over the worst.


Functioning at minimal levels.


Back to work today.


Back to blogging once brain recovers.


Whatever you do, avoid this cold/flu/plague thing.


Seriously.

FYI

I woke up this morning with the cold/flu to end all others.

Won't be blogging for a while. Won't be at work either.

Have a good week. I'll be busy getting better.

This post took all my energy to type. Someone push publish for me?