Bikini small. Heel tall. She said she liked the ocean.

Um yeah. The crazy just doesn't stop around here. With five days of birthday celebrations and packing M for his trip to Prague (and that job thing; man is that thing a time sucker) I've been very much down with the busy.

And that all comes to an end tomorrow.



I suppose one has to have actually been to Cali to go back. Meh, details.

I'm taking off for a week of ocean side chillin', dancin' and singin' in Newport Beach with my dear Wendy. She has promised to hover over me and utter Americanisms while I sleep so that I can come back to Canada talkin' all American like. She's also promised to take me to Disneyland, feed me and take me surfing.

I am so easily bribed.

HRH

What are you doing on Sunday?

Let me tell you. At about 8 p.m., if you're in the know and you know what's hip, you'll watch my esteemed friend Graeme represent for blogger-kind on CBC's Test The Nation.

8 p.m., CBC, Graeme. There is little else you need to know.

HRH

Evolving into an adult

Today was a very exciting day in my life. It was the first time that M and I had guests over to our current apartment for dinner and we were all able to sit at a table and eat like civilized human beings.

Living in a attic apartment creates all kinds of design challenges. The biggest of which has been finding a kitchen table that more than two people can sit at. Inspired by the success that Dooce had in finding a dresser on ebay, I decided to see if I could find a modern kitchen table. Just to get an idea of what was out there. Lo and behold when I typed in "modern kitchen table" I got a table and chair set, inspired or knocked off from the Harry Bertoia wire chair design. It looked perfect.



The glass table would give us a space to eat on, but wouldn't eat up all the visual space in the room, same effect with the wire chairs. Best of all, the seller was based in Toronto and offering local pickup only. Oh and the price. While this was a knock-off, it still would retail for up to $2000. The seller got it for half of that and we got it off the seller for more than half of what he paid. Super score.

After we bought it on ebay, M and Mike drove out there in two cars and collected it for us. Sadly, because life has been crazy, but good busy, we haven't had a chance to actually sit down at our mid-century modern table and see how it works.

So this evening we had Dawn and Chris over for dinner (as their spouses are both out of town), saved them from another night of toast for dinner and had them test everything out.

I am proud to report that the test was a success and, to make it even better, I got to use many of the plates and dining accessories we got from the wedding in the way in which they were intended. On a table, looking lovely.

More and more this house is starting to look like actual adults live in it. It's all rather cool.

Today's sing-a-long song: "When I grow up" by Garbage

HRH

Kicking it old school

It seems that the sun has abandoned Ontario. I'm used to my sunny fall weekends to draw me out of my bed and pyjamas on the weekends, but when it's grey, it's so hard to not stay in, cook warm winter foods and wear copious amounts of flannel.

Indeed, this weekend I left the house only once to pick up the supplies I would need to make a hearty beef stew with butter biscuits baked on top, as well as the odds and sods required for a proper Sunday roast beef. Both first time cooking choices that came out splendidly I might add.

When we were packing for Prague and M's half-brother texted me asking if I could bring over some of my PlayStation games (he is ten after all) and I decided that it would just be easier to take the whole PlayStation over and give it to him (since I never play it anymore), I made a fantastic discovery in the back of our TV cabinet. I found my very old, first generation NES. Back then I didn't have the time to plug it in and give the old games a whirl, but yesterday provided me with an unprecedented amount of free time in which I could reminisce.

We plugged in the nofriendo at around noon and I don't think it was actually turned off until just before midnight. Now this is nothing compared to the marathon sessions I would play when I was a kid, but I was none the less pleased. The only games I still have are Super Mario Brothers 1,2 & 3, Rad Racer, Bubble Bobble, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game, the Legend of Zelda and Link.

The Nintendo had been turned on for mere seconds and we had resorted back to the "remember to play fair" rotations from our youth. I was particularly blown away by how I really hadn't forgotten many of the moves. It's like there is a section of my brain that has all the moves from the Super Mario Brothers series, the Legend of Zelda and Bubble Bobble indelibly stamped on it's grey mushy matter. It was insane. So insane that just like when I was 11-years-old, I couldn't find the second labyrinth in Zelda. I could always find all the other ones, but the second was like a black void of "I totally can't find it." M eventually had to look it up for me online. I still got to the end of the sixth labyrinth at the end of the day yesterday.

Tash and Chris came over for dinner and were soon enthralled with the old games as well. Watching eachother play and cheering on almost became as fun as playing the games ourselves. I don't usually save things, I'm the "holy crap, throw it out already" yin to M's "everything is sentimental" yang, so I'm not sure what made me hold onto my NES for so long, but I'm truly happy that it did. I guess I'm mostly a huge creature of habit, so for me, the NES is what video games are. Sure it's amazing to play things on an Xbox or a PSwhatver, but I don't have the same attachment as I do to the NES that I spent more hours than I would like to admit playing. At the very least my parents can say they got their money's worth.

Today's sing-a-long song: "Play my game" by The Donnas

Shocked they even let me play

Because the collective lives of my very close friends (and bridal party: imagine that) seem to be coming more jet set by the year it was going to be challenging to get us all in one place to do the annual secret Santa draw, so Mike geniusly found an online Secret Santa manager, meaning that holiday shopping would not be hampered by the current physical distances between us.

So today we got our e-mails that it was on, and like some kind of primordial on/off switch I went from fairly sane person, to totally obsessed with trying to find out who has who in the draw. I'm not good with mysteries, secrets or surprises. I just HAVE to know. Last year I got, maybe a tad, obsessed with trying to find it all out. And I know that it doesn't matter in any way. It doesn't affect the time and thought we put into the gifts we get each other or the joy we share in opening them together. No bearing whatsoever, yet here I am. All twitchy and curious.

And I told myself I wasn't going to be all insane about it this year and it's been, like, 10 minutes and I'm already pestering people:

herhighnessness: Is that who you have???
feelafel: not telling
herhighnessness: I just thought since you brought it up...
feelafel: just stop
herhighnessness: But that would be a rookie mistake.
feelafel: :)
feelafel: unless, of course, I knew you'd think it was a rookie mistake
feelafel: and thus double blinded on purpose!

I should really just chill out and start shopping already.

HRH

Precision team

I was never more confident in our choice of bridal party than this weekend. On top of the fact that my girls have talked me down from and through all kinds of pre-matrimonial panics and have helped me keep all bridal jackassery to a minimum, Dawn and Natasha further blew my mind on Friday when they picked out and purchased their bridesmaid's dresses in about an hour on Friday. Within 48 hours they had both found perfect shoes.

Mike and Chris further proved their awesomeness by helping M find the perfect suit in one shopping trip. Handily Dawn and I were shopping near-by and we can fully attest that these men know how to shop as my M looks fine in the duds he chose.

Tick, tick, tick those items off the list.

I still don't have the right pair of shoes as the fruits of the shoe lift turned out to be too gold (gah!). Seeing how well everything is coming together for everyone else gives me a lot of hope. And as Dawn pointed out, so much of this wedding has been really easy, there has to be at least one detail that just refuses to get sorted.

Today's sing-a-long song: "So Fresh, so clean" by Outkast

HRH

We couldn't get closer than this

So Easter weekend was full of all kinds of wonderful developments. The most wonderfulest of which was the engagment of two of my best friends, Chris and Natasha.

They've been together almost three years now and it seems only fitting that now that they've found relative peace between the cats they respectively brought into the relationship that they make an offical family of it. And what a great family the Holmes-Christies will be.

Today's sing-a-long song: "The Lovecats" by The Cure

HRH

Full Board!!!

Thank the maker(s of Advil)!

Yesterday the gang got together to help Chris and Tash install their new floor and while the experience was pretty fun as floor istallations go (meaning it wasn't MY floor, so I wasn't super stressed) it was also educational.

Some of the things I learned include:

• Unless you live in a room that looks exactly like the room pictured in the instructions, odds are it's not going to be as easy as the instructions suggest.


• Group work is always more fun when you can shout obscure statements like "TAPPER!" and "FULL BOARD!" at each other with unbridled glee


• If you have the option of having a professional install your floor, for heaven's sake, DO IT


• Only really mature people can get through an installation like that with floor boards that have male and female parts without continually cracking up


• Dominion makes some lovely salads


• "You don't want to fuck with Shady. Cause Shady will fucking kill you." - Eminem

Really, we're all better people for knowing this.

HRH

Random things

As a child I used to dance around my parents living room to George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, all 14 minutes of it. There was an elaborate routine that I can still see in my head every time I hear the song. Classic Gershiwn was one of the first CDs we bought (after Beatles for Sale). I really am fortunate for having a family that would not only let me move furniture dance and around the house, but would also be kind enough to not insist upon watching.

Did you know that the last time I bought stationary for myself was nine years ago when I was in studying art history in Italy? It was the marble textured type of paper that they make in Venice and Florence. It was blue, green and lovely. But I haven't had to buy any since because wonderful people keep buying me stationary. And not just plain old stationary, but stationary that is completely perfect for me. Cards with stylized little fashionistas, art as make-up, cats, flowers... all lovely. I largely have Kari and Wendy to thank for this. I also have to thank them for keeping me well stocked in good reading.

A woman at the gym asked me what kind of face wash I was using and it resulted in me giving her a 10 minute skin care/cosmetics consult. A middle aged asian woman I'd never met before. Things like this happen to me a lot and I have no idea why. I suppose it appeals to my ego, that people think that I look like I know what I'm doing. I guess looking like you know what you're doing is sometimes 60 per cent of actually doing it.

Today's sing-a-long song: "Let Go" by Frou Frou

HRH

Signs that things are as they should be

• Christmas presents are wrapped


• Made pancakes for breakfast


• Watched more episodes of Carnivale and Return of the King Extended Edition


• Christmas cards are all written


• Could have slept in, but didn't need to


• Full flexibility restored


• Saw new Harry Potter movie with friends


• Got to shop, and clothing fitting wasn't the deciding factor


• Enjoyed Soma's "Drink of the Gods" hot chocolate


• M got to take lots of photos (see flickr roll)

Yay for good weekends

HRH

Friendship is being able to express it all with "eeee!"

This week was a bit of a doozy, but true to form my Kingston friends came out of the woodwork to tide me through it all. I would like to take this moment to thank them all for making this week just a little bit lighter.

Like Julie who took me to see Henry Rollins do his spoken word think and enable me to laugh so hard that no sound came out and who I managed to see 3 times in less than 24 hours. That hasn't happened since we were both living HMV back in K-town and my my it was wonderful. I must have more of that.

My Mum, who I consider one of my best friends, who just does so much more for me than I can express and having her come to the city so often is just so wonderful. That can keep happening all the time and I'll be quite alright with it.

Or Carly who I ran into on the crosswalk at Yonge and Bloor. The reunion went in typical style for us. Recognition, glee and the realization that it could be fatal if we stop and give each other a huge hug in the middle of Yonge street, so pause everything and run like idiots to the side of the street where we proceeded to hug, squeal with joy and lavish eachother with compliments. Blogs must be thanked for keeping us on top of eachother's lives, thus sparing us the "so what are you up to..." chat and just get right to the good stuff. I need more of this too.

Finally Laura, who I have to spend heaps and heaps of time with before she takes off on her own international adventure. There's something about hanging out with someone you've known and adored for 15 years that's just so affirming. Someone who can really laugh with you about how retarded everything was in the hell that was highschool and shared all those steps of growing beyond it all. I don't know how I could survive without this.

Today's sing-a-long song: "I'll be there" by The Jackson 5

HRH