The Royal Word

Go here

noreply@blogger.com (Her Highnessness) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 22:17:00 +0000

http://herhighnessness.wordpress.com/

Like riding a bike, but with snow... and skis

noreply@blogger.com (Her Highnessness) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 19:27:00 +0000

The last time I went skiing, I was 18-years-old. It was a New Year's Eve trip with some of my classmates from highschool. It was at Mount St. Anne in La Belle Provence. It was a lot of fun, but it was the last time that I skied.

I love skiing. It has always been the best part of winter. Growing up I had lots of opportunities to ski some great mountains here in North America, thanks to my ski-loving family. Considering that we lived at least four hours away from a respectable ski hill, we did really well. Ski trips were always my favourite family trips too.

So it was a mystery to me why, after such positive experiences as a kid and teen that I hung up my skis for 14 years. Skiing isn't a cheap sport, so maybe that had something to do with it. Even stranger is that M had a similar upbringing that was ski-intensive and he too hadn't skied since his last year of highschool.

Last weekend we both remedied this by spending three days at Blue Mountain with our dear friends. Hills were skied, ski lifts were ridden, great company was shared and I found that skiing is like riding a bike; you never really forget how. And when you get back into it, you remember how great it is to be outside, to carve your way through the snow and how fantastically fun it is.

Welcome back to my world skiing. I was silly to have forgotten you for so long.

HRH

Irregardless

noreply@blogger.com (Her Highnessness) — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 21:15:00 +0000

C: Someone is trying to convience me that twelve noon, while grammatically incorrect is proper for a formal wedding invitation. Their reasoning is that old people won't understand what noon means.
M: Charming.
M: OK, just to play devil's advocate, why is it grammatically incorrect. You're not using twelve to explain noon, but noon to explain twelve. There are two twelves, so twelve noon differentiates it from twelve midnight. Don't think of twelve as the modifier; think of noon as the modifier/qualifier.
C: But midnight means 12 a.m. exactly and noon means 12 p.m. exactly, so why be redundant? It's like saying Tuna Fish. Find me a tuna that isn't a fish.
M: OK, but the structure isn't exactly parallel. Replace tuna with noon and twelve with fish.
C:Sure. You can have a fish that isn't a tuna. But you can't have a tuna that's not a fish. So why say fish? Just like you can't have a noon that's not exactly at 12 p.m.
M: Just because noon comes after twelve doesn't mean it can't be the word modifying twelve.
C: Do you honestly think that it's correct?
M: I think it's not the worst thing in the world if it has to be that way. I think it has a nice poetic ring to it. It's familiar and pleasant. It's for a wedding so you can do whatever you want. That's the beauty.
C: It's like I don't even know who you are anymore...
M: You could say "twelve noon, right on the dot, when the sun is highest in the summer sky." It's not a piece of business communication. It's an invitation, a chance to show people your personality. Noon is fine. So is 12 p.m. or 12:00 p.m. But if you want to write "twelve hours after twelve midnight," I might be annoyed, but it's not my wedding.
C: What's next? You'll start endorsing serial commas?
M: Woahwoahwoahletsnotgetcarriedaway.
C: Honestly, my world is shaken to it's core.
M: Sorry, baby. There are times to be 100% grammatical and times when it's good to take some license.
C: I don't understand this grey area you speak of.
M: I know, it's a scary place. Here there be monsters.
C: I am genuninely troubled. There are some things you just come to count on in life.
M: Death? Taxes? My pedantry?
C: Yes. And the last one... where did it go?
M: It's still here. Don't worry.
C: But it was so absolute and unyeilding.
M: I'm not saying people should start punctuating incorrectly or not capitalizing to begin sentences. But they should be able to use more familiar language, as long as it's spelled correctly. And even then, if you're some crazy hick, your wedding invitation should reflect that. You should know what to expect from the wedding from the look, feel and tone of the invite.
C: Here I thought you would become more grammatically conservative as you age.
M: Oh, don't worry, I'll have my moments. I just don't see twelve noon as a question of grammar. It's a question of usage.
M: It's not like they wanted to say irregardless.

I've been memed

noreply@blogger.com (Her Highnessness) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 15:34:00 +0000

So Beltzner tagged me on Friday to take part in the latest meme craze to sweep through this little patch of the Internet. As he predicted, I am none too happy to oblige.

The Rules for This Particular Meme

Link to your original tagger(s) and list these rules in your post.

Share seven facts about yourself in the post.

Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names and the links to their blogs.

Let them know they�ve been tagged.

Meme-tacular me
Things you may know, may have forgotten or never would have guessed about me:

1. My food-related mood swings (or food-swings if you'd like) are epic and got me interviewed for the New York Times.
2. My maiden name was so unconventional and amusingly juxtaposed with my first name, that upon publication of said New York Times article, gossip website Gawker called the legitimacy of my existence into question.
3. I can walk on the knuckles of my toes. It's something I've always been able to do.
4. I have been a certified SCUBA diver since the age of 16
5. I have above average proficiency when it comes to the application and appreciation of make up. I cannot maintain my nails to save my life.
6. I am constantly dancing. If I don't look like I'm dancing (like I'm standing still, sitting, working, sleeping), I'm dancing in my head. In my old office, I would come in the front door dancing in a different style each time I went through. The admin assistant at the time said she never witnessed a repeat in my performances. The office-entry dancing was not as well embraced at subsequent work places so I now save it for when I pass the offices of colleagues who I know can appreciate it.
7. I have a tattoo of the rebel symbol from Star Wars on my lower back. FTW!

Tagees
Tragically, many of the people who I would have chosen have already been memed, so I can only come up with six. But what an assortment of six awesome people who have had seriously interesting lives. Also, most of my people live on Facebook and Twitter now, not so much in the blogsphere. So here you go.

Graeme
Matt
Kari
Wendy
Laura
Tanya

HRH

Givenchy Phenomen'Eyes Mascara

noreply@blogger.com (Her Highnessness) — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 20:30:00 +0000

I live with a man who, in the realm of all things beauty, does a pretty good job or paying attention and getting it. He knows how much beauty interests me and patiently listens to me while I yammer on about what one product does over another. When I buy his mother beauty products and she's asking me about what they do, he offers colour commentary on how to use it meaning he's actually paid attention.

Still, at the end of it all, he's a man, an attentive man, but a man none the less. There are things that guys just don't see. They might not notice that you're using a different mascara, just seeing that your eyes look pretty, like normal. Because of this fact, when he notices and comments on something I'm doing with my makeup, I take note. If it brings him to the point of speech, it's, like, a certified big deal.

I got Givenchy's Phenomen'Eyes mascara for christmas ('Twas on my list cause it looks so cool). The idea with this mascara is the ball-like brush that works at any angle and gets the littlest and shortest of lashes. While it looks kind of terrifying, it's really easy to use and the effects are absurdly awesome.

Case-in-point, when I'm putting it on in the morning, my husband actually stops what he's doing a just says "Wow." Cause it's insane what it does to your lashes.

It gets the short little lashes at the bottom so it actually looks like you've applied a really thin line of eyeliner. It's no secret that I have a long-standing eyeliner addiction, however this mascara has given me enough oopmh to forgo eyeliner almost entirely for the last week.

Did I mention the ease and the fact that it takes about 5 seconds?

There is a downside, sadly. While it's all kinds of awesome, it can be smudgy. So if you're runny-mc-rubs-my-eyes-a-lot you may want to wait for a waterproof version.

The rest of you, get to Sephora (I think it's an exclusive), buy with confidence and may your lashes be plentiful.

HRH

The Shape of Things to Come

noreply@blogger.com (Her Highnessness) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 21:05:00 +0000

Well hello there 2009. Aren't you looking tempting and fresh. All full of possibility and promise. And here I am, unrealized potential and waning neuroticsm. You and I, we can do cool things. New things. Great things. Even well-earned moments of nothing.

Cause you see, 2008 and I, we were all about doing things that scared me. Facing change, trying, overcoming insecurities, learning the subtle nuances of when to take control and when to let go. Realizing the power of sitting with things like sadness and discomfort, understanding that action is not always part of the solution. And we did a really good job setting up challenges and sorting out what the numerous successes and (thankfully) few failures meant.

2009, we're going to be about living a less hindered life. I'm still learning and still working on forgiving, but I'm good. Better than I've ever been and I'm just now seeing that.

I hope you're ready.

HRH

Happy Holidays!!

noreply@blogger.com (Her Highnessness) — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 16:22:00 +0000

I'm about to unplug for the holidays. Tonight will involve Czech Christmas (with sea bass, not carp, phew!) with my in-laws here in Toronto and then tomorrow, M and I will bundle up Calliope and Zeus and make our way to Kingston for some anglo-saxon yuletude turkey gluttony.

I hope that all of you have a wonderful winter break and if you're in the practice of gift giving and gift getting, that you get all kinds of gratitude and goodies.

All the very best,
Chelsea (HRH)

Santa baby

noreply@blogger.com (Her Highnessness) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 19:56:00 +0000

Yes, it's a mere two days until Christmas and I am just now putting together my beauty wish list for 2008. Fret not gift buyers, for I expect none of this under the tree. This is more a shopping guide for boxing week and all those Sephora gift certificates.

CHANEL No5 Eau Premier�

They often say that it's impossible to improve on perfection. Yet somehow Chanel has managed to refine the iconic No5, making it lighter without diminishing any of it's presence. While shopping at my local Chanel counter for my mother (cause I've trained her well), I was given a sample of Eau Premier�. While I've loved and worn No5 from the age of 16, my husband hasn't always been a fan. I think he finds it a bit stodgy and prefers things with more of a vanila base to it. Not loving the powdery notes of No5 wasn't a dealbreaker in the relationship, but I always hoped that there was a way that I could wear my beloved Chanel and please the senses of the person who smells me an awful lot. The response to Eau Premier� has been positive thus far.

DuWop Payoff Eyeshadow Intensifier

Ever loved the colour of an eyeshadow, but found its intensity severely lacking? I'm not sure why, but so many shadows just lack the pigment to do what you need them to do. Enter the Payoff Eyeshadow Intensifier. This fluid turns powder shadow into a cream making colour more intense and making it stay on your eyelids longer. Some reports have also said that it can turn powder shadows into cream liners (which you can also do with water, but durability is a challenge). Sounds like a few drops of magic either way.

Schwarzkopf Professional BlondMe Nourishing Luminosity Conditioner

No I have not fallen and hit my head. I know I'm not a blonde. I'm a brunette with warm, golden highlights who was in need of a deep conditioner. Upon asking my masterful colourist/stylist, she suggested that I try this new line from Schwarzkopf. I was all, "but I'm not blonde," and she pointed out that if I wanted to keep the golden brown in my hair looking awesome, best to harness all the power of blonde that I can. And this stuff does. It deep conditions well, gives lots of shine and is so nice to use that I think I may be overconditioning my hair I use it so much.

T. LeClerc Pressed Powder

I don't know if it's the packaging or if it's the reputation, but I have always coveted a T. LeClerc Pressed Powder. Maybe it's because I'm running out of pressed powder and have it back on the brain or maybe it's because so many of the great supermodels used the stuff, but I want it. WANT IT. Just look at the Loose Powder Box!! Adorable. But pressed powder first. Compact, beautiful and classy.

Can't wait to treat myself to some of this after the holidays! Let's hope Santa brings gift certificates!

HRH

A small request from me to the beauty industry

noreply@blogger.com (Her Highnessness) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 20:00:00 +0000

Would it be at all possible for you to start packaging products in a colour than pink? I just confused Life Brand nail polish remover in the pump packaging with MAC "gently off" eye and lip make-up remover. Ow.

Though as a credit to MAC, their long-wear liquid eyeliner didn't even budge with the nail polish remover. I did. But the eyeliner didn't.

Green, blue, purple... there's a whole rainbow out there to explore.

Today's sing-a-long song: "Eye" by The Smashing Pumpkins

HRH

Oscar Blandi Jasmine Oil Serum

noreply@blogger.com (Her Highnessness) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 17:53:00 +0000

I love this stuff. I truly do. It smells like Jasmine (WIN) and it gives lifeless hair a spruce up and fly-away down when I don't have the time to care for my hair like I should (which sadly, is more often than not).

Also there's shine. I'm admittedly a total shine junkie and there's something about the shine that the Jasmine Oil Serum gives off that looks like natural shine. That born with it shine that most of us gals covet. All that in a pretty smelling bottle. Just use a drop or two a day (or even before you blow dry for extra shine) and try not to distract passing cars when your hair catches the sun.

HRH

Korres Wild Rose Imperfection-Targeting Oil

noreply@blogger.com (Her Highnessness) — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 17:49:00 +0000

There's an old adage about fighting fire with fire, which oddly enough, carries over nicely to fighting an evil, evil breakout. For most of my life I have battled oily skin and breakouts. It sucks, but there are things that can be done about it that make it much less of a big deal.

There are great treatments you can get from a doctor or dermatologist for battling long-term problems and for the random evil ones that show up before your period or during a time of stress, there are on-the-spot treatments. Traditional thinking has been that if something is oily, one needs to dry it out. Hence many treatments contain drying agents and acids. I've tried them all with varying levels of success only to find that the more I dried out my skin, the more irritated and broken out it became. Cause really, when you take all the oil out of your skin, what does it do... produce more oil.

And apparently I wasn't the only one to notice this and now a variety of oil-based products have come onto the acne-fighting market. One of my favourites has been Korres Wild Rose Imperfection-Targeting Oil. While there's nothing out there that makes a zit go away as quickly as one would want it to, I've found that the oil not only dramatically reduces the associated redness, but also helps things heal up faster than the drying agents did.

Also, being older (but still oily) I want to make sure I'm doing as little damage to my skin as I can. This oiler, but gentler way has totally proven itself to me. It heals and it doesn't hurt. FTW.

HRH

Benefit Miss Popularity

noreply@blogger.com (Her Highnessness) — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 17:43:00 +0000

When people find out that I have this (perhaps unhealty) thing for beauty products, the first thing I'm asked is "what is an easy thing I can do to look better?" I think that very question is basis of Benefit's mission. Little things you can do to get a boost and get a glint of glorious girliness in your eye.

Learning to use highlighters can be an intimidating thing. We're used to putting on makeup to either conceal scary dark things or on to things like lips and eyelids that give us a pretty good guideline in terms of where the colour goes. Highlighting is different. It's adding light in places that may not seem obvious at first glance.

Light can have a profound effect on how you look. For some reason, when I think about adding light to my face, I think back to highschool, where a girl in one of my classes (who was so much better at art than I am) was using white pencil to add highlights to a mask she was drawing. While both our masks were colourful, hers seems so much more real, as the highlights were reflecting light. I never forgot the effect it had and was really pleased as products like Miss Popularity came on the market.

This one is a powdery highlighter. It's pretty subtle going on, but also a bit messy, so be sure to lean over the sink, lest you want to be covered in white powder. The ladies at Benefit are kind enough to include a placement guide with the product, but if you want to try the product before reading the manual, try a bit between the eyes and a bit on the outside of your eyes moving towards your temples.

Then enjoy how everyone comments on how well rested you look.

HRH

A thousand skeptic hands won't keep us from the things we plan

noreply@blogger.com (Her Highnessness) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 17:51:00 +0000

So it's beyond awesome that working in all things digital is actually my job now. A long-time goal realized for sure. And I'm loving it. Seriously loving it. But there has been one very tragic side effect: my personal online stuff is suffering and suffering badly.

Honestly, if it weren't for Twitter, the digital world might think that I've quit. But I haven't, I promise. I'm just so busy absorbing everything that's coming at me and trying to apply it to work. How I use it to communicate or market myself personally has taken a total backseat. And I know that's not a viable way to operate in the long-term. I really do. I wish I could clone myself right now to get movement on all the ideas I have.

I have a massive number of work projects to plow through before Christmas* and over the holiday break I'm hoping to complete the transition of TRW from blogger to wordpress, give it a shiny new skin and think about my editorial focus, as it were.

Or, you know, I might sleep and get healthy again.

Today's sing-a-long song: "Things Can Only Get Better" by Howard Jones**

HRH

*which I am totally on top of and totally behind on at the same time! Tree is up (photos to come), cards are sent, cookies baked and iced, list is made, but not ONE present purchased!!

**this song has been playing in almost every store I've walked into for the last three weeks. Just like how "The Never Ending Story" theme song followed me around Prague for about a year.

ABC Meme

noreply@blogger.com (Her Highnessness) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 21:20:00 +0000

Instructions: type the letter �a� in your browser location bar and choose the first match from the dropdown. Repeat for each letter of the alphabet.

Browser: Firefox 3.0.4 - Work computer

A: Apple
B: Blogger
C: Costco
D: Distance Calculator
E: Expedia
F: Facebook
G: Gmail
H: herhighnessness.com
I: Indigo
J: Jumpcut
K: Kiva
L: LinkedIn
M: Google Maps
N: Nunc Scio
O: Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
P: Perez Hilton
Q: Queen West Vets
R: Remember The Milk
S: SickKids Foundation
T: The Weather Network
U: Urban Outfitters
V: Google Video
W: Wikipedia
X: XM Radio
Y: YouTube: Her Highnessness' Channel
Z: Zappos Bags

HRH

It's a mime's world

noreply@blogger.com (Her Highnessness) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:49:00 +0000

Anyone who has been following my Twitter feed in the last few days will note that I have been battling some kind of bug. It's not been fun and it has made me question a lot of the nomenclature of science. I mean, why do we call it an immune system when it only provides immunity after the first attack and response to a virus or bacteria? To me, immune system implies that it would get it right the first time and repel the evil right away. I don't know what we should call the system we currently have. The adaptive immune system is a start, but still doesn't truly capture how very unpleasant the adaptation process is.

I am clearly on cold medication and rambling.

More fun is that I have also lost my voice. I'm well enough that I can walk around, go to work, get stuff done, but I have lost the power of speech. And you know what? It's kind of nice. I don't really have to participate in small talk in the same way and every conversation turns into a game of charades. Makes for an entertaining day. I wouldn't want to be like this forever mind you, but it's amusing enough for a Friday.

A colleague has suggested that I should get a striped shirt and a beret to really live the mime experience. Little did she know that I originally had a black and while striped shirt on today. :)

Today's sing-a-long song: Silent All These Years by Tori Amos

HRH

Video!

noreply@blogger.com (Her Highnessness) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 03:15:00 +0000

Cause Beltzner said that video was made for kittens. (sorry about the length, M hadn't sorted out how to stop recording)

Calliope Novak

noreply@blogger.com (Her Highnessness) — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 15:41:00 +0000

Today, we are getting a new cat.

Not that our current cat isn't working, cause he is, and he rocks. We just found the right cat to add to our home. An adorable little grey kitten with green eyes. Another furry baby for me to obssess over. A good reason to make sure the vaccuum is in good form.

And here she is.
Her name is Calliope (ka-LIE-oh-pee, cause it's always fun when a name needs a pronunciation guide), but we're mostly going to call her Callie. We got her from a cat rescue through our vet. They called her Clementine, but we wanted to keep with the grey cat/Greek name theme, so Calliope it is.

There was a bit of a saga in getting her. Originally we were trying to adopt another grey female through the same rescue. I'd gone into the vet's to pick up food for Zeus and saw this 18-week old grey kitten with green eyes. I promptly fell for her and made M come in a day or so later to meet her. We filled in the four-page adoption form and submitted our application. However this kitten was there with her brother and unbeknownst to us, another person applied to adopt both of them.

The rescue decided it would be better if the siblings were adopted together and went with the other applicant. I was heartbroken but M was relieved that we weren't breaking up a brother and sister who had been together for more than four months.

Not three hours after I'd gotten the bad news, the rescue called again, asking if we wanted to come in and meet another grey kitten, nine weeks old and very sweet. An appointment was made for Thursday night after work. We both hustled to get there as quickly as we could, though I got screwed by a short turning streetcar and arrived late.

When I got to the vet's M had a tiny, little, grey ball of adorable curled up on his lap. Honestly, I don't even think my agreement was needed. Calliope already had M wrapped around her little paw. We hung out with her for a bit and decided that given our schedule that Monday would be the ideal day to get her.

I already have her room set up at home, so we can slowly introduce her to Zeus and, since she's so little, have a smaller space to manage her in. It's very exciting!

I think it's safe to say you can expect an exponential increase in the number of cat photos on my blog for the next while.

Today's sing-a-long song: "All Cats Are Grey" by The Cure

HRH

The power of choice

noreply@blogger.com (Her Highnessness) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 17:27:00 +0000

Tash and I were chatting today about people we know who almost exclusively watch the news on TV and how terribly anxious these people are about the state of the world. It got me thinking, are they concerned because of how well informed they are or because of the way they are informed.

Like most of my peers, I read my news. Google reader aggregates my news outlets of choice, I get stories sent to me by friends and I can end up scanning up to 1000 articles a day. Not all of these are hard news stories, but there are a good bunch in there. I think I can, with good conscience, call myself informed.

There's something about the TV news and how it's presented, the manner in which information is shared that, I think, creates more anxiety for viewers. The only choice they have is in which news program to watch. They don't get to decide the story line-up or the manner in which it is presented. I suppose with the advent of PVRs, they can decide when they watch it.

I think I'm in more control of how I'm getting my news and the by reading online, it's quick and easy for me to check a different source and get another point of view. Further to that, I have most of my close friends ready via IM to share the article with and discuss it. I think even that small amount of control makes a huge difference. Sure there's lots of streaming video news online, but I feel like I have more control over it.

At the end of it all, the world is still a mess but at least I'm absorbing the magnitude of it on my own terms.

HRH

A scientific mystery

noreply@blogger.com (Her Highnessness) — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 16:48:00 +0000

M: I don't know why, but the sun in the fall at this time of day seems really bright and intense.
C: It's because of the angle of the sun.
M: Isn't that always the same?
C: No. The sun is moving towards the Tropic of Cancer so the angle of the light is different. I think.
M: I don't get that.
C: I think physics explains it.
M: There are things physics can't explain. Like why the moon looks so big when it's close to the horizon.
C: Or why I'm so awesome.
M: It's true. It's one of the great mysteries of science.

HRH

The cupcake solution

noreply@blogger.com (Her Highnessness) — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 15:06:00 +0000

I've been in a really bad mood for the last 10 days. There's been some variety in my mood mind you. You know, those subtle shades between sad, surly, angry, woeful, indignant and overwrought. Sigh.

I'm actually feeling a little better today. It may have been the good sleep I had last night or doing pilates three days in a row. I like to think it's the 13 cupcakes I've consumed in the last 48 hours. Yup I've now eaten a baker's dozen of cupcakes.

And you know what? I feel mostly okay with that (mostly because I think the refined sugar has started to eat through my stomach lining). I baked them, I decorated them with sprinkles and I've enjoyed them. I needed to do something nice for myself and each of those 13 cupcakes have helped me in my quest to not anger and alienate my loved ones as I ride this regrettable emotional roller coaster.

This is not a sustainable coping strategy. Continuous cupcake consumption could become a very maladaptive behaviour, but it did its job when I needed it to. I will continue to search for a way out of this mood and continue to feel okay with eating 13 cupcakes. Yep, I'll feel great with every step I take as I run off half a cake this week. So good indeed.

HRH

Things that suck about today

noreply@blogger.com (Her Highnessness) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 16:57:00 +0000

In no particular order:

It's Monday

It's raining

My skirt/shirt combo is really unflattering with my shirt tucked in.

My skirt/shirt combo is really unflattering with my shirt untucked.

I'm working with text in Excel. Excel is for numbers, not words.

My sense of smell is super keen today and the world smells foul.

I have to be nice to people.

People keep talking.

People keep getting louder.

I am angry at everything and everyone.

I'm, so far, unable to think of anything to make me feel better.

This blog post won't format correctly.

Update: Icing on the sucky day cake, someone likened me to Hitler. Ugh.

HRH

Don't let the sun go down on me yet

noreply@blogger.com (Her Highnessness) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 02:49:00 +0000

I'm in such a bad mood today that I really have to question the merits of blogging. I figure if I use I'll temperament as an excuse not to, I'll be in that same non-communicative rut that got me here in the first place. Here I am. Pout and all.

It's so dark already. It can't be possible that my SAD is starting three months early. M joked to me today that I have a much deeper depression to look forward to as well. Well yay. It October. It makes my stomach sink to think about six more months of waking up in the dark. I never used to be this bad. :(

My mood is not helped by the fact that I may be loosing one of the things that has helped me through the dark months in the past. It's not for sure, but I may be losing my dance classes. Or at least leaving the ones I take right now. I hope things don't end up in such a way that I can't stay, but sometimes you have to leave when things aren't working for you anymore.

There's other stuff afoot too. Stuff I hope will inspire hope and excitement in me. Really just waking up to the sun would be pleasure enough.

HRH

Touchy, touchy

noreply@blogger.com (Her Highnessness) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 14:09:00 +0000

Isn't it amazing how there are people in the world who can move you from zero to volcanically annoyed in seconds? It's like they cast a shadow of annoying and exasperating over everything they do and touch. Any kind of faculty of reason you might have to assess the merit of their contribution to a conversation or a project is absent as all you can see and hear is how annoying they are.

I find it's particularly true with email. When an email sets me off I often have to close it, file it and give myself at least a four hour time-out before responding. It's absurd. The things being said are usually pretty sound and valid, but when it's said by someone who annoys, I see nothing but red. It's so frustrating.

I can't stop people from being annoying, but at guess I can just work to reduce my time-out time. Sigh.

HRH

Some things just shouldn't be taped

noreply@blogger.com (Her Highnessness) — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 01:11:00 +0000

I wouldn't call myself one of those women who complain about the specific challenges that only women face. Sometimes the things women deal with, be it through dealing with the things we encounter because of nature, or through the things we deal with to conform to all things proper, are tolerable. Almost never enjoyable, but there's some kind of payoff. Wearing three inch heels kills the feet and knees, but my god they make the legs look like all kinds of hotness. Sure cramps are about as fun as stabbing yourself in the eye, but many women who've become mothers would tell you that all that pain (I'm not even talking about labour here) is nothing in comparison to the awesome that is being a mom.

Sometimes I think we endure painful and difficult things because it's like a badge on honour. I know there are days when I'm working, coping with cramps, wearing heels, nylons, a tragically ill fitting bra, having gotten up early to blow out my hair, dutifully applied makeup to conceal a bout of insomnia and thought "I am going to be even MORE awesome just to spite all these things that are causing me ire."

Usually I'm like that. And 99.9 per cent of the time I'm willing in endure discomfort for style, but this evening, I think I found my boundary. It's called flash tape.

I have this completely gorgeous, red Diane Von Furstenburg dress. Like it's crazy pretty and it hits me in all the right places. I love it dearly, but the neckline is rather wide and plungey. M is a fan. But it make it look right I have to use flash tape. This is basically clear, flexible tape that you use to make clothes stick to your skin. It works well and keeps undergarments under. It doesn't offer support like duct tape, which can be used to fashion a bra when a bra just won't work. It just keeps clothes in place. Yay for that.

However, like all good things, there is a price. It's just so not fun to take off. Just not fun at all. Sure, it doesn't tear off skin and such like duct tape can (seriously, if you've never used it, please, please, please stick it to a towel before you stick it to yourself. Just please)- it's a huge improvement - but it's still not a good time. It's just never good to mix adhesives and delicate skin.

Such is the dilemma. I'm not willing to go to a formal event and flash my bra all over the place, so I must remember that it's just another time to be awesome out of spite.

HRH

I'm super brain. That's how they made me.

noreply@blogger.com (Her Highnessness) — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 18:40:00 +0000

During our respective vacations, M and I stayed in touch via SMS. I was really thankful that we could use it like we did, as it made the 10,000 km distance seem a little less epic. Having your thoughts reduced to 140 characters made for some interesting communication, especially when we were both getting into a different head space.

For me, going somewhere new and having time to think and relax was really helpful. Insightful conversation with Wendy helped a great deal too. I remember texting to M that I was sitting on a beach and reading. Finally reading and using my brain in a different way. And that it was really exciting for me. I guess that's what makes vacation so great. Getting out of your environment and using different pathways in your brain. Sometimes it can feel like you're actually thinking, versus running on autopilot.

Sadly, as I've been back for more than a week, I'm feeling that new cerebral state wash away. I don't want to lose it. I liked feeling creative and like I couldn't document my ideas fast enough.

In an effort to keep as much of that going I've got a couple of things planned. First, I'm going to try and find a book club. I know it will be hard because I want to read and discuss literature and books that interest me, and that's not the typical fare you see in book clubs. So that search is on.

My hope is that by reading more, I can keep thinking more. It's not that I never read when I'm not on vacation. I just never make the time for it.

Next, is blogging. It's really fallen off in the last year. I know exactly why, but that doesn't make it okay. I'm hoping to experience a blogging Renaissance, where I can approach it with the enthusiasm I had back in 2002. Over the years, while I've written a lot, I've said less. Blogging only about things that I would try to make above reproach. Which, while admirable, is also kind of wussy and uninteresting.

I'm not promising spectacular feats of intellectual writing. I'm just hoping that if I stimulate my brain a bit differently and make blogging a priority again then this new brain feeling will go from a once a year phenomenon to neural pathway to awesome.

If not, hopefully it will at least be amusing to read.

HRH