Christmas was good

I had a pretty good Christmas. Lots of good food and time with family. Santa was good to me as well, I got am mp3 player, dvds, books, and stuff for my house. Yay! Oh, and I also got a pair of toronto maple leaf fuzzy dice for Zeke (my car). Cool! I am so glad to have this week off work. I was ready for a break. I still love my job, just needed a little time to relax.

I went out with blondecurls again last night. We went to a sportsbar to watch the leafs game. And they won - yay! I really like blondecurls, he is a great guy. I'm not sure if we would work as a couple, but I would definately like to get to know him better and hang out with him. Who knows what may happen. I'm not sure he's the one for me, but hey, I could always use more cool guys to hang out with.

I finally have date #2 with tallboy tomorrow. I was supposed to go out with him last week, but had to cancel because I wanted to go to my brother's play.

Scorpio also wants to see me again. I'm not sure I really want to see him again though. I may go out with him for a third time and then make my decision on whether to break the poor dears heart and tell him I'm not interested.

There are 2 other guys who want to meet me, I just haven't had time to set anything up with them yet. Man, I'm so busy! What am I going to do when I have to fit work into my schedule again?!?! :P

Okay, he's hot.

Last night, I went with a friend to see blondecurls' band play here in town. Holy cow, there's something about lead singers, they are totally hot! I really enjoyed his show. I basically just sat there and drooled ;)

We talked a bit before he went on and after his set as well, and he expressed interest that he would like to see me again. So, I'm going to wait a day or two if I haven't heard from him and send him and email and try to set something up.

Watching him on stage, my friend and I came to the following conclusions:

- he is totally hot (as mentioned above)
- he has the best hair (so cute, you just want to touch it! My friend told me to give her all the details on his hair if I get to touch it)
- he has killer arms
- he has a really good butt
- he has a good sense of style

Other than all the shallow, appearance-typed attributes, he also seems like a super-nice guy. The kind of guy you could take home to mom. I haven't got to spend a lot of time with him one-on-one yet, so hopefully that will change soon! Then I can get a better idea of what he's really like. My first impression says he's a good one, but, you never know. Here's hoping. And, if he turns out not to be a good one, I still have several more guys that want to meet me. So many men, so little time ;)

Scrapbooking fun!

I did about 4 or 5 pages in the scrapbook for my grandmother today. My mom and I are giving it to her for Christmas. It is going to be all about her adventures in Canada, starting from when she came over from Germany on a boat over 50 years ago. She is going to be so surprised, especially since she probably doesn't even know these pictures exist! I think we are about 1/3 finished the book, which isn't bad considering we only started it on Monday evening. We should be done by Christmas, no problem ;)

So, last night, I had to cancel my date with tallboy since my brother's homeschooling group was putting on Romeo and Juliet. They had been working on it for months, so I really wanted to go and watch it. Tom played Mercutio, he did such a good job!

On Thursday evening, I am going to watch blondecurls band play here in town. If you want to check him out, his band's website is: http://www.batwband.com/ and he is the lead singer. Then you will see why I call him blondecurls ;) He seems excited that I am coming out to watch him play, hopefully I will get to spend some 1-on-1 time with him sometime next week since I have the week off! Yay!

Only 2 more days of work this year! I don't go back until January 2, 2006! Yay!

3 dates in 4 days makes c-dub a tired girl

On friday evening, I did end up hearing from blondecurls. I gues he has been really busy with a big show with his band coming up and didn't get my email until then. So, we met up last night for a pint to mourn the terrible loss that the leafs incurred against the sens. Even though I was sad about the loss, I had a great time with blondecurls. He is a really cool guy. Of the 3 guys I have recently had dates with, I feel the best connection with blondecurls. So, we'll see. He's the only one of the 3 that I don't have a second date set up with. I'm hoping he wants to see me again, but who knows. Only time will tell. I wish I could know what he thought of the first date! Although, if I thought there was a connection, chances are he did too.

The good news and the bad news

Which do you want first?

The bad news is that I still haven't heard from the guy that I am supposed to be meeting up with on Saturday, blondecurls I'll call him. I just don't get it. He was all keen on meeting, so we set a date, and then I never heard back from him. It doesn't really matter to me if he's changed his mind, that just doesn't make sense because he was so gung-ho about it. Men!

The good news is that the guy I had the date with tonight, scorpio I'll call him, and it went really well! I didn't realize that he's quite a bit younger than me. He is 3 years younger, but you wouldn't know it. He is quite mature for his age, in that he has a full-time permanent job and recently bought his own house. So, I guess we're at the same point in our lives. He's a really nice guy, we seem to have a connection, too early to tell for sure, but I would like to see him again. I think he wants to see me again too.

I also have a second date with tallboy (don't you love all these names I made up for all my men?) on Tuesday. I don't think it was a match, but I want to go on a second date to see what happens. Sometimes it's hard to tell with a first meeting.

Anybody watch CSI Miami last night?

I fell asleep before the end, so I missed the ending. I saw up until the part when the found the brother. Can anybody fill me in on how it ended?

I hope everyone is having a good Christmas season! Hard to believe it's less than 2 weeks away now! I still have some shopping to do, but I'm in pretty good shape.

I have 2 more dates lined up for this week, 1 on Thursday, 1 on Saturday. I am more excited about the one on Saturday because it seems like that guy and I would be a better match, but you never know. Should be a good week!

So many men...

...so little time!

Man, doing this online thing, I have about 6 or 7 guys who want to meet me. It is a little overwhelming!

I met "tallboy" last night. We went and had a beer and I made a fool of myself during a couple of games of pool. Man, I suck at that game. But I had a good time nonetheless! He is a really nice guy, I'm just don't think it's a match. He is keen on seeing me again, so I may get together with him for a second date, we'll see.

I have a first date with another guy set up for next saturday night. We're going to go to a sports bar and watch the leafs game together. He suggested it...how perfect is that?!?! I like this guy already ;)

I think I'm turning into a guy. Never before have I dated more than one person at a time, even if it is the non-committal casual getting to know each other type stuff. It's fun!

Well, I'm headed off soon to my department's christmas party (yes, we have one in addition to the company one that was last weekend). I am getting a ride with a coworker, so I can drink at this one! Yay!

T minus 1 hour

I have a date will "tallboy" (let's call him) in 1 hour. I'm not nervous yet, although I may be. I guess I don't really have any expectations, so I have no reason to be nervous. If we don't click, I don't have to see him again. I have plenty of other prospects ;)

Oh crap

Just got a call from my tenants. Apparently, the 4 hours dad and I spent at the house didn't entirely fix the problem. Well, now, instead of the faucet running in the tub, there is streams of water from the kitchen cieling whenever someone takes a shower. So, back to the drawing board. Dad and I will likely have to take the tiles off again (good thing we have extras!). I have a feeling it is the pipe going up to the showerhead that is the problem. Likely needs some new sauder joints. That's just all I needed. Another phone call that it's still not working. Sheesh. The good news is that there is a shower in the main floor bathroom. It is not nearly as nice as the upstairs one, but they can use it in the meantime before the other one is fixed. Sigh, the joys of owning an older home!

I was a handywoman today

I had to go down to my house with my Dad to fix the faucet in the shower. It was quite a job! We had to rip out some of the tiles, cut the pipes, re-sauder the pipes, fix all the leaks (which took a few attempts and had to cut one of the pipes again and install new pipe and joints), re-drywall, re-tile... it was quite the job! Took us 4 hours in total. It was so great that my Dad helped me, I had to pay for the parts ($120) and then I bought him a case of beer for all his hard work. We also had to replace a light fixture. So it was a long morning! But, everything is fixed, so hopefully that will keep my tenants happy for a little while at least. Sigh, ownership of an older house... lots of upkeep required! I just can't wait until I move in and have everything just the way I want it.

I'm headed off to my company's Christmas party in a couple hours. Should be good times! I think I'm going to drive to this one. It's a cash bar and I don't really want to spend the money. Next Saturday is my department's Christmas party, and I already scored a ride with someone else to that, so I can drink that night.

In other news, since lj went on lavalife, I decided I would give it another go. So, I've been on again for a few weeks. I have found a lot of cool people and I have a date on friday to meet one of them. Of course, now I'm doing the whole nervous wreck freak out thing. He wanted to pick me up, but since I barely know him, I thought it would be better to meet there. We're doing to a local pool place/pub for a couple beers and some pool.

It's a busy time of year!

Merry Christmas!!!!

Yay! Today marks the beginning of the Christmas season... let the celebration begin! Happy hoho everyone!

I am headed to a christmas social with my mummy at a local bar... and apparently it's half price martini night - this could be trouble!

As per Niki's request...

Last night, we had a birthday dinner for me. It was great! My family NEVER sits down to eat a meal together, so it was so nice for all of us to spend some time together over dinner. And both of my brothers were there for an entire hour before Al had to leave to see his girlfriend whom he spends practically every waking minute with. Can you tell I'm a little bitter?!?

I really love my bro, and we get along super-well. I just hate that everytime he gets a girlfriend he spends ALL HIS TIME with her, and then me and my other bro kind of lose a brother. It stinks. Sooner or later Al has to realize that it's not healthly to spend all your time with the same person and neglect your family and friends in the process. Anyways, I'm sure he'll grow up sometime.

Okay, so Niki asked about my prezzies. I got some cool stuff! I got a new toaster that is wide enough for bagels from parents, a "gift certificate" for toronto maple leafs colours paint for my house (I'm doing my guest room with the toronto maple leafs theme) from my parents, a necklace from my granny, star wars 3 from Al, and a Thousand Foot Krutch cd from Tom. And on the weekend, I got a really trendy necklace from lj and a matching earrings and bracelet set from mm. So I got some really sweet things!

Another year older...

but really only a day older than yesterday. But, I am a quarter century old as of today. Scary stuff!

Had a most excellent weekend. On Friday, I didn't really do too much...cleaned, how exciting. Saturday, MM and LJ came to visit - I was so glad to see them again! We went to the fesitval fo trees and I bought a few raffle tickets for some trees, but I guess I didn't win, because they would have called me by now. Oh well, better luck next time. Then we watched the game - yay leafs! We then went downtown to a club and came to the realization that probably 75% of the people there were in the 21-23 years old range. Crazy! Where do all the 25-30 year old crowd hang out? Are they all at home having babies or something? I think the reason there were so many youngins was there were a lot of university students there. Last time I was there, it was in the summer, so there weren't as many students.

Yesterday, went shopping with MM, bought a cool ring, and then had to go down to my house to fix a leaky faucet. Although, my dad couldn't fix it, we need to buy a whole new faucet for the shower and install it sometime soon. The joys of homeownership ;)

Tonight, we're having a family dinner for my birthday. It was so cute, I walked in the door and there were presents and flowers on the table! It was so nice, made me feel special. I haven't opened the presents yet though, I'll wait until after dinner for that. Although, I am quite curious...

That was SO cheap!

Tonight's Leafs game was going well... overtime, and then the Leafs scored, but for some reason unbeknownst to me, they decided to disallow it. I think the ref wanted to disallow it because he blew the whistle, but he didn't realize that the puck was already in the net, bounced out, and then went back in. It was obvious in the replays. So, they went upstairs to the video judge. And they need to get their eyes checked because it was obviously in! Cheap! So, no goal, and the leafs lost in the shoot-out. Crap.

The good news is, lj and mm are coming to visit tomorrow - YAY!!! SO EXCITED!!! I can hardly contain my excitement!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LJ! You're older than me now ;) But only for 3 days, so enjoy it!

LEAFS RULE!

The hockey game on Saturday was awesome!!!! Leafs won 5:1!!!! And they were playing so well. The passing was awesome and they were staying out of the penatly box. If they can keep playing like that, we should be in the running for the cup!

Before the game, I shopped at Yorkdale and spent way too much money. I needed some new "going to workshops" clothes. Because I see a lot of the same people I see at these workshops I attend, I didn't want to have to wear the same outfit all the time. So, I bought a few new shirts, a pair of pants, and a beige cord blazer. Should be set for awhile! And the money I made from working overtime in the last couple of weeks will cover my purchases, so it all works out. Yay!

I'm looking forward to the weekend because nej, lj, and mm (hopefully!) are coming to visit to celebrate mine and lj's birthdays. I can't wait!!! Is it saturday yet????

Go Leafs Go!!!

I'm heading to Toronto in a bit because I am going to the Leafs game tonight! Woohoo! Go leafs!

Yesterday was a very hard day at work. It turns out that since my boss isn't going to a competing company, he will be allowed to stay for 2 weeks. I am very relieved about that. Now I have 2 weeks to learn as much as I can from him. It is so sad that he is leaving.

Like a lost sheep...

...that's how I feel.

Last night, I got a phone call at home from my boss. He is resigning. What a shock. So, naturally, I burst into tears on the phone. How are we going to cope without him? Today is going to be a very hard day. He is going to come into the office to let the manager of the department know, and they will likely ask him to leave right away (company policy for managers, for security reasons).

He is such a good supervisor, and my mentor. I think we are going to be hard-pressed to find someone as good as him.

I was the very first person in the company to know. He called everyone in my group last night and I guess he told another girl I was upset because she called me right after she talked to him to see if I was okay and to offer me encouragement.

Gonna be a hard day at work. Good thing I have kleenex at my desk!

Workshop was good.

The workshop I was at Tuesday and yesterday was really good, I learned a lot. And also made a few more contacts. On Tuesday evening after dinner, a few of us went to "Dave and Busters" which was right next to the hotel. It is basically a giant arcade for adults. It was loads of fun! Especially since all the men paid for all the drinks and games. Woohoo! I even won a few things, so I got a glow in the dark sticky thing as a price. Everyone needs a glow in the dark sticky thing ;)

Yesterday, after the workshop was over, I went to the new Ikea. It was right beside the hotel I stayed at. I walked around the Ikea for 2 hours gathering ideas for my house. I picked out a bunch of furniture that I want to buy. I just have to decide on colours and whatnot. The furniture is so cheap there and it is good quality too! I love Ikea! I am thinking I'm going to have to rent a U-haul in May when I want to pick up all my furniture. It's going to be so much fun to move in to my new house! Only 164 more days!

On the road again...

Tomorrow morning I get to sleep in until 8am! That's two hours longer than usual! Can I get a WHOOT-WHOOT! Yes, I am excited. The reason I get to sleep in is because I am leaving at 9:30 to drive to Toronto for, yes, you guessed it, another workshop. This one should be really interesting. Tomorrow afternoon, I get to tour 2 tripped-out recycling facilities. And for a solid waste management geek like me, that's pretty exciting stuff!

I get to stay over in a ritzy hotel - yay! I just hope I am done "schmoozing" early enough to catch some of the hockey game! Then, on wednesday, I get to learn all about the advantages and disadvantages of single-stream and multi-stream recycling. The obvious being that single-stream is cheaper on the collection, more expensive on the processing. And more residual. Multi-stream being more expensive and "pain in the ass" on the collection, but cheaper on the processing. And cleaner end product. The debate continues! The workshop is called "the debate over single stream recycling". I hope there are some concrete conclusions at the end that I can actually apply to my municipal clients!

Anyways, enough of that grown-up talk. Yuck! I like puppies and cookies!

An interesting proposition.

Today, I was talking with a guy that I dated earlier this year, just a few dates, nothing developed from it, I think refered to him as "NM" in previous posts. Anyways, he asked me today whether we could have a "friends with benefits" type of relationship. Interesting...

The strange part is, this is the guy who doesn't drink because he's against it, doesn't swear because he's against it, doesn't go to bars because he's against it. Yet, he apparently has no problem having no strings attached, totally non-committal sex with me. Doesn't make sense to me.

Since this is a guy that I know I could never have a future with, I don't really see myself getting involved with him. I mean, what's the point? I've never been a fan of the "sex without feelings" thing. I think I need to care about someone and have that committment and trust there. Otherwise, that takes all the meaning out of sex.

So, I have decided to turn down his proposition. I don't know whether to be flattered or weirded out. The whole situation is strange.

You know it's going to be a crappy day when...

I woke up with a splitting headache and a sore throat this morning! GAH! Not cool. Although, this is only my second headache since I started seeing a chiropractor, and I used to get at least a couple a week. So, I guess I shouldn't complain. I have been so healthly over the last few months when everyone else has been sick, so I guess it's my turn now. I think I will have to get a booster juice on the way to work today, they work wonders for me when I am feeling something coming on.

At least it's friday! This weekend is the last weekend of the year that I have free. Crazy! Guess I better enjoy it and rest!

Quiet Weekend

I had a very quiet weekend. Which was nice since for the last couple of months, I have been busy every weekend. On Friday, I went to Red Lobster for the all you can eat shrimp...yum! Yesterday, I went to get my flu shot (my mom and I do this together as a sort of bonding experience. Yes, we get needles together to bond) and then we had a family dinner yesterday evening to celebrate my parents' 27th wedding anniversary. That's a long time! I hope someday I will be able to celebrate my 27th wedding anniversary. We'll see.

Today, I went to church. We have a new pastor now, which is great. We had been without one for almost 2 years, so we're glad to have one again. He seems like a nice guy. Much better than our last interim pastor, who was known as the "sex guy" cuz he always seemed to slip in graphic sexual references. Obviously, with the stand that premarital relations are not what God intended when He invented sex, but whenthis interim pastor is standing up there on Easter sunday giving a step-by-step on orgies, that's when I lost respect for him. It was rediculous. Anyways, this new pastor seems to have a good head on his shoulders, and so far, no sex talk. Which is good.

Tomorrow, it's back to the grind. On Tuesday evening, I have to drive to Orangeville where I am staying overnight for a workshop on Wednesday. Should be good times! I like staying in hotels when someone else pays!

Workshop time!

Tomorrow, I'm going to my first workshop since I started my job. And it won't be the last! I think I am going to three this month. Gee, do you think maybe they are grooming me to move higher up in the responsibility ladder? I think so! It's cool cuz I get to learn all about an area I am really interested in (waste diversion) and when I am all knowledgable and stuff then I will be the company's expert on waste diversion. Sweet!

I'm lucky since one of my friends in the waste diversion industry is also going to the workshop and she offered to share her hotel room with me so I don't have to get up at 4am and drive tomorrow morning. Which is sweet! The next workshop I'm going to is mid-month, and that one is a 2 day workshop, so I have booked my own hotel room for that one.

I'm hoping I'll learn lots tomorrow! Considering I am quite new to this area, I should learn lots of neat stuff. Yay!

One sick c-dub

I woke up this morning with a raging sore throat. GAH! This is SO not the time to be getting sick! I have a crazy month ahead of me at work! I'm hoping that if I stay at home and rest today, I will nip it in the bud and be better by tomorrow. *Here's hoping*

In good news, the leafs won last night! Yay!

Two nights of partying back to back...and I'm spent.

What a weekend. Friday, I went to MM's place for an 80's party with her and the nej. It was a blast! So much fun.

Then last night, I went to a Halloween party at a friends house here in town. Good times for sure. So glad to get the extra hour last night though. That gave me an extra hour to party!

Bet I'm going to be really tired tomorrow morning, but it was totally worth it. I had an amazing weekend! Well, the only sucky part was the piss-poor job the leafs did last night against the sens. So, I decided the only way to get over that was to drink more!!

Don't everybody jump at once...

So apparently nobody missed me :( Given the lack of posts this week on everyone's part, I will not take it personally ;)

Today, I had my formal performance development appraisal meeting. I am always a little nervous before this kind of thing, but I don't know why. My boss is really pleased with me and the amount of growth I have shown over the last year. When I think of where I was a year ago, it's amazing to think that it was only a year ago, given the increase in responsibility I have been given. Now, I am a project manager for 8 landfills, I am a mentor to junior staff (yes, I am no longer junior - amazing!), and I am training to become the companies sole waste diversion specialist. I get to go to 2 workshops/seminars next month in Toronto to learn more about this field. One is even an overnight one and I get to stay in a ritzy hotel - yay!

So, given my level of responsibility and the fact I have proved myself as a valuable asset to the company, I asked for a substantial raise. The company does the wage increases in January, so I won't find out how much of a raise I am getting until then. But, I told my boss what the range is according to the OSPE's salary survey for my level of responsibility and years from graduation, so we'll see. *keeping my fingers crossed*.

I'm back!

Wasn't that quick? Anybody miss me?

Yes, I have a replacement monitor now. On Thursday, I took my monitor into Future Shop. As I'm sure all of you know, I HATE that place. But, I didn't have any choice since that's where I bought the monitor. So, I took it in, they looked at it, and yes, it was indeed broken. Thank you, genius. So, I went to the customer service desk to see what they could do for me. It turns out, when I bought the computer, I paid for the service package for 3 years for the computer, but the idiot that rang it in, rang the service package in for only the CPU, instead of the whole package, idiot. So, she said I was out of luck there. Luckily, I had looked in the owner's manual for the monitor, and it came with a 3 year manufacturer's warranty. So, I mentioned this to her, and she did some clicking away on the computer, and sure enough, I was right. So, she said that I should call the manufacturer directly and they would help me. Either that, or Future Shop could do that on my behalf, but it could take up to 6 weeks. I said and I quote "I would prefer to deal with the manufacturer rather than Future Shop because I have had the worst service in the world with Future Shop and I will never buy another computer here as long as I live". It felt so good to say that! So, I took my monitor and left.

When I got back to the office, I called up NEC (the manufacturer). They said I had 2 options. I could either get a refurbished one (of the exact same model I had), or I could drop my monitor off at one of their depots and they would try to fix mine, but that could take awile, depending on their back-log. So, I decided on the refirbished one. And, it arrived today, I plugged it in, and it works! It is even better than the one I had because my old one had a burnt out pixel. This one is like new! Yippee!

Okay, on to more important things! I had a good weekend. Met up with MM and the nej in toronto for the "everything to do with sex" show. It was a lot of fun! Went to a seminar on exotic dancing and the instructor made us all get up and try the moves. It was a lot of fun, but I am going to have to practice I think! Practice makes perfect, right? I figured I should have something to fall back on if this engineering thing doesn't work out ;)

Computer troubles...

We had a power outage last night and when it came back on, somehow, my computer monitor got fried :( Even though I have a surge protector! So, I dug out the receipt and it *should* be under warranty. Tomorrow I will have to set foot in the place I hate most in the world..Future Shop. Yikes! I hope they either fix my monitor quickly or give me a new one... I will insist on it!

So, if I don't update my blog, that means I am still monitor-less. I am using my brother's monitor right now, but he wants it back.

I hate computers...

Another Monday, can I have some coffee?

But, since I don't drink the stuff, a Timmies cappucino had to do the trick ;)

Yes, I was a little on the tired side this morning. Which came from a weekend with very little sleep, but it was totally worth it. Even if lj did paw my arm in the middle of the night ;) She CLAIMS she thought I was her cat, but I think it's just an excuse ;) She was looking so hot on saturday that she had a big ego and was trying to get a piece of me, I think ;) I'm just teasing girl, it did catch me a little off-guard though. It's been awhile since I've been caressed in the middle of the night.

Oktoberfest was a blast. WHERE WAS ONKEL HANS THOUGH?!?! He is one of the only two mascots I can tolerate (the other being Carleton), and he was a no-show. Disappointing. I still had a blast though.

Time for some Oktoberfestin'!

Yay! I am looking forward to going to Oktoberfest! Hard to believe it has been a whole year since I was there last, doesn't seem like that long ago. Should be a load of fun!

Last night, I went out for dinner and to a movie with Mary. It was so nice to spend some time with her again. We saw "Elizabethtown". It was pretty good, I think I am in love with Orlando Bloom ;)

Other than that, nothing new to report.

Edit: 12:55pm

Last night, Leafs:9, Atlanta:1. Need I say more? :)

Boys are stupid, throw rocks at them.

Compliments of kbum.

And I have to say that right now, I couldn't agree more! It has been over 2 weeks now until the break up. I am still in the "BD is a jerk-face and I hate men!" stage right now.

Here is the latest development. As I mentioned before, after much thought and careful consideration, I decided to mail BD the birthday present I had ordered for him. So, I sent it last week, and he got it yesterday. He sends me an email that says something like: "thanks for the gift, I was completely caught off guard. It was very nice of you, although I am not sure if I can keep it, given what has happened in the last month. Let me know what you think because I am not sure if I am cool with hanging onto it".

What the hell?!? I wouldn't have sent it to him if I didn't want him to have it. And I wasn't aware that we were on such bad terms that I can't even send him a gift that I bought while we were still a couple. I was hoping we could still be friends, but it seems as though he wants absolutely nothing to do with me. What did I do? So when he broke up with me by email and did the whole "it's not you, it's me" thing, was that just a lie to get rid of me? What happened? He was so smitten with me and turned cold for no apparent reason. GAH! I want some answers. And he's not willing to give me any.

Men, who needs 'em?

...unless you're talking about the Leafs, and then it's me! I need them! I am glad they won last night!

Why can't we win?!?

Three games, zero wins, two overtime losses... 2 points. Not good enough! Let's pull off some wins leafies! How about tonight, perhaps?!?

Turkey weekend

What a relaxing weekend. I ate lots of turkey at my Aunt and Uncle's cottage, and I was SOOO full! I also took my doggie on 2 long walks this weekend, which as nice. I am going to try to do more of that. We both could use the exercise!

On Saturday night, we had some family friends over and played cards while watching the game and the wine was flowing. So, I got a little buzzed which is always a good time.

Back to work tomorrow... boo... I was getting used to this life of relaxation.

Am I crazy? Or just plain stupid...

I signed up for a recreational math course and it started last night...yes, recreational math. What the heck is recreational math, you ask? Well, I wondered the same thing and figured I should take the course to find out ;) So far, we learned about all the different types of number systems and where number originated from. It was neat to learn some of the history behind math. There are 5 more weeks of the course, so I'll have to post about what is recreational about it when I find out!

The university here in town does have a really good program for adults. They have both professional development and personal development courses. There are some really neat ones. Like, in the spring, I took a forensic science for the novice course where we extracted our own dna and got to take our DNA profile home. We also learned a lot about crime scene investigation, everything from blood spatter analysis, to how the MNR uses forensics to solve deer poaching cases.

I also took a financial planning for women couse which was really useful. I think that course will save me thousands because I learned the best ways of investing (when I finally get some money!), mortgages, credit, taxes, insurance, etc, etc, etc.

They also have several courses I haven't expored yet. They have tons of writing courses, cultural courses, courses for the mind and spirit, entepreneurial courses, etc. Hmmm, I'm starting to sound like a commercial! I guess I am just loving taking courses for fun and since I am single again, gotta find some way of occupying some of my time ;)

I am soooo glad it's the weekend, it's been a long week. Tomorrow, the only thing I have planned is going to SDM, because they have a 20X the optimum points on tomorrow when you spend $50. And I think I have enough things that I need to get to bump me up there. So yay!

Sunday, I think I will go to the Norwood fair (if the weather is okay) and then in the late afternoon, it's the big family turkey dinner at my aunt and uncle's cottage. Then Monday is another rest day. Pretty quiet weekend.

I want to hit the gym a couple times as well. Need to get back in that habit. I found that the break-up with BD made me so distraught that I drowned my sorrows in chocolate and greasy food. So, I gained a few pounds. Need to get that off! Sigh, the never-ending battle of trying to lose that pesky 15 pounds that I have been trying to lose for the last year and a half. Man, I wish is was easier to lose weight. I have yet to find a good diet that works. I think the key is to combine diet and exercise, but what do you do if you're lazy and just want to sit on your butt doing nothing all day?

So it begins...

Less than 1 hour 'til puckdrop at the ACC! I am SO excited that the NHL is back in action. Hopefully my leafs can actually win the cup this year! I am hopeful every year...

I sent BD a short happy birthday email this morning (his birthday is today). I also decided that I would send him the birthday present I ordered for him, but not the card (since it was all mushy and stuff and it didn't really apply anymore). I thought about it a lot, and I decided that I do want him to have the gift. I picked it out for him, and I want to send it to him. So, I will mail it off tomorrow. Just because he is behaving like a cowardly jerk, doesn't mean I can't still be nice. I can't turn my feelings off like a tap like he seems to have.

The weekend was good.

I had a good weekend. Nej came to town for an interview and afterwards we hung out and then went to the ACC for a leafs game... and the leafs won! Yay! I spent the night at nej's place and then went out for brunch with mm on Sunday. I had a really great time. It was my first weekend since BD and I broke up, and I didn't even think about him all that much... I was too busy having fun with nej and mm! So, I think the distraction was just what I needed.

So, it's been a week now since the break-up. I have gone from being really hurt and not knowing how I will go on to being really mad at BD. I still can't believe he would break up with me by email. After 2.5 months of spending a lot of time together, he owed me the face-to-face. I am also mad that he could tell me I have nothing to worry about and then THE NEXT DAY break up with me. And he told me it was a well thought out decision, so then that means he had been wanting to do it for awhile, which means he was lying to me all those times he said I had nothing to worry about. Men! Why can't I find an honest, sweet, loyal, caring, funny, attractive, Christian guy? I really thought BD was the guy for me. And he was for the first 2 months. I still don't even know what happened. He changed and I don't know why.

Men, can't live with them, can't live without them.

Feeling a little better.

The last few days have been rough, but each day is a little better than the last. I think I will pull through this. I am still so confused about what happened though. I guess I will probably never know since he doesn't want to have anything to do with me anymore. MEN! Gah! I think I am about ready to give up on men. This is getting rediculous. I just want to meet the right one already! I really thought BD was it.

I am happy cuz nej is coming to visit tomorrow! Yay! And she is going to be my date to the leafs game tomorrow night! I was planning to take BD for his birthday (his bday is on wednesday), but since he ditched me, I had to change my plans. Nej will be way more fun anyways! I'm sure I will laugh a lot with her, we seem to do that when we get together, so I think that's just what the doctor ordered :P

Oh, I bought a birthday present and card for BD before he dumped me and I'm not sure whether I should still give it to him or not. I would have to mail it to him... I don't really want to keep it since it is detroit red wings related, but I don't want it to go to waste either. I think I will still send it to him. It would be the nice thing to do. Even though he is acting like a cowardly jerk, I won't stoop to that level.

Thanks for all the support

I really appreciate all the support I have been getting from you girls over the last couple of days. I have the best friends a girl could ask for :) Your encouragement means the world to me. I appreciate it so much! And I plan on collecting on all the hugs you've been sending my way next time I see you ;)

Today was a really hard day. Much worse than yesterday. At least yesterday I still thought there may be a chance to fix things. But, now I know BD is not willing to make things work and he does not feel the same way about me as I do about him. Which really confuses me. Because he was so OBVIOUSLY into me for the first 2 months. What the hell happened?!?

And it shows a real lack of character on his part that he would do this by email. So cowardly. I can't even talk to him about things. He's not willing to talk. Which really sucks. So you spend all this time with someone, fall in love, and then they just dump you out of the blue BY EMAIL? Makes no sense to me. And it probably never will.

Moreso, how will I ever be able to trust another guy if someone can be so obviously smitten with you one minute, and then turn around and dump you? GAH!

As Carrie Bradshaw said: "When you love someone, and you break up, where does all the love go?" Good question...

I extended an olive branch...

...and he broke my heart.

Yesterday, I replied to BD's "break-up" email and told him how I feel. I told him I care about him and that I want to try to work things out, but that I am willing to give him some space to work through things first. He replied last night and basically took my heart that I was offering to him ona silver platter and crushed it into a thousand pieces. He's not willing to try to make it work. He does not reciprocate my feelings. I am so hurt. I really thought what we had was meaningful and would last a lifetime. Nope, 2 months.

I am absolutely heart-broken. I don't know how I will go on.

As the dust settles...

I have gotten over the initial shock of the situation and have done some thinking. I refuse to believe that I could have been so wrong about him. How could I have been so positive that he was "the one" and then be wrong?

I have re-read his email a few times and I think the reason he feels a need to break it off is he doesn't think he is worthy of me. Which is rediculous. I think I will reply to him and tell him how I feel and suggest that we both take a few days, or a week, or whatever to think and then meet and talk all of this through.

I refuse to believe he could toss me aside so easily. What we have together means more than that. So, we'll see what he says.

The day from hell...

The day started out fine enough... it started to go downhill this afternoon. At about 4:56pm my mom phoned me to tell me that Daddy was in emerg...again. He has been in and out of the hospital like crazy over the last few years (brain tumour - still dealing with that, it's growing back, broken pelvis, etc, etc, etc). Today, he sliced the tip of his finger off. So, not life-threatening, thank goodness. But, it had me worried. Turns out he will be fine.

Then, I get home, eat dinner, and then go to check my email... and, low and behold, there is one from BD and the subject line is really long, but starts with "I'm really sorry, but"... and my heart sinks. I open the email and it is long and drawn out, but the long and short of it is... he is dumping me. BY EMAIL! I am so hurt and I can't even ask him why or find any answers since he did it by email. My heart is broken...again. I thought that one broken heart per person was enough. Just when I opened my heart to love again and really learned to trust a man after my broken engagement, my heart gets stomped on again. I am hurting so much I feel like I am going to throw up. Why does this keep happening to me?!?!?! I am a good catch! Any guy would be lucky to have me and I keep getting my heart broken.

And what gets me the most is that I was SO SURE that he was The One. I had never been more sure about anything in my whole life. I would have married him in a second if he asked me to. And I'm not one for rushing into things! Yet I was POSTITIVE that he was the guy for me. And to find out I was wrong all this time, I don't even know what to think about that.

I talked to my brother, since he just went through a recent thing a few months ago (a girl that he thought was The One dumped him for no apparent reason and broke his heart and he couldn't eat or sleep for days). So, it was good to talk to him about it. I asked him how he got over this incredible hurt and he said the very same thing I told him when he was going through this: "Just give it time". So, I know I will get over it and move on eventually, but that seems like an impossible task right now. I don't even know if/how I am going to go to work and function.

I hate this. How many more "wrong" men do I have to go through before I find the right one?!?! I am so done with relationships that end in heart-break! I do not want to get hurt again. Having my heart broken twice now is plenty enough. I don't know how I will ever be able to trust men again when it took me so long to get over my broken heart the first time.

Lazy weekend...

Well, in order not to run the risk of nej having to demand an update, I thought I would beat her to the punch and update all on my own! No nagging required ;)

I have done pretty much nothing but sit on my butt all weekend. I really needed a weekend to relax; I've been so busy lately. I did do some things this weekend though, in amongst all the sitting on my butt stuff.

On Friday night, I want to see Cuff the Duke. I didn't know this ahead of time, but there were 2 opening bands, so Cuff didn't even get on until close to midnight. So it wasn't over until 2. So, both BD and I were exhausted after a long week at work. But, we managed to stay awake. It was a really good show. They played about 4 or 5 of their old songs and the rest were from their new album (which I hadn't heard any songs from, so they were all new to me). It was an excellent show.

Yesterday, I read, watched Sex and the City dvds, went for a run, and went out for dinner with my mummy, which was nice. We also went to a new Shoppers Drug Mart here in town and it is HUGE! The biggest one I have ever seen! Today, I have done absolutely nothing... and it is great!

HAHA!

Your Daddy Is Darth Vader

What You Call Him: Pa Why You Love Him: He gives good spankings

Who's" Your Daddy?

I always knew I was a little bit kinky... ;P

Time for an update...

Apparently I have not been meeting nej's standards for frequency of updates to my blog. I will try to do better in that regard ;)

Not too much has happened in the last couple of days. I watched the season premiere of Lost last night. It was sooo good! That is the one tv show that I watch with my Dad. So, we watched it together and talked about it. I hope we get some answers this season!

I am going to see Cuff the Duke tomorrow with BD. I am looking forward to it! I have been wanting to see them again ever since I saw them in Guelph with Sam Roberts! And I am glad that I get to spend more time with BD.

Tomorrow is friday, so I am happy. Things are absolutely nuts at work right now...and will be for the next few months. I hope I come out alive :P

Awesome weekend!

I had a great time with lj, nej, and mm on friday and saturday. It was so nice to catch up with them. I had fun at the Kingdom and shopping on Saturday was great. I wasn't intending on spending any money this weekend, but, I bought 2 pairs of shoes, I just couldn't help it ;)

Yesterday, mom and I went to the Leafs first pre-season game at the ACC. It was great! Even if we did lose... I enjoyed seeing the Leafs again. Some of the rules have changed, so that will take some getting used to. I am just so happy to have hockey back!

I also bought a watch and 2 tops when I was at the mall yesterday. All good purchases though. I had been looking for a watch like that for over a year, so when I finally found it, I had to buy it. It would have been stupid not to. And both tops I bought were on sale, so that's okay ;)

Other than that, BD came over today. He is feeling much better (he had been sick on the weekend, he picked up a bug at work, poor guy). It was great to see him again, I really miss him when we are apart. And, for those of you who are curious, yes, I told him that his aloof nature for the last week was starting to worry me (although I didn't tell him that I felt so sick at work today that I couldn't eat anything because of his lack of effort lately). I explained that since I have been badly betrayed in the past, I need some extra reassurance in order to feel secure. He said he completely understands and that he will try harder. It turns out the reason for his withdrawl lately had absolutely nothing to do with me, and I felt much better that I was able to talk to him about it. I just think he is under a lot of stress right now (his job is a contract which ends in a month and he is really stressed that he won't have a job after that), and he has been sick, so that explains why he has been a little withdrawn lately. I feel so relieved that it had nothing to do with me.

Well, I am really tired, so I'm off to bed. 6:00am comes early.

Woohoo U2!

The concert last night was AWESOME!!! Totally awesome, words can't describe it well enough. I had the best time, it was worth every penny!

We were in the general admission floor section, and by the time we got to the ACC (it was still a good 45 minutes before the doors opened), there was a massive line for the floor section already! So, we got in line. By the time we got into the ACC, there was quite a few people there. They had a big semi-circle platform set up coming out of the stage into the crowd, and we were positioned about 4 metres from that - sweet! So every time the band members walked on that (and they did it quite often), we were that close to them! So amazing! The whole concert was awesome, I loved every minute. The opening act was "Dashboard Confessional". They were good, I recognized a couple songs.

Then, U2 came on and played for a total of almost 3 hours. They played 2 encore sets, each with about 3 or 4 songs. So the concert was over at about 11:15pm. I thought we would have a really hard time getting out of there, but we moved quickly and were on the subway within 15 minutes. Not too bad at all. I got home in enough time to have 4 hours of sleep last night. So, I was a little tired this morning (although not as tired as I was expecting), so I stopped at Timmie's on my way to work to buy myself a cappucino. That kept me awake for the day, so I was happy.

I would highly recommend going to a U2 concert if you have the opportunity! It was absolutely amazing!

Giving in to Nej's "demands"

Nej demanded details of the birthday lunch for BD's mom, so I thought I should post an update.

Yesterday, I met BD and his parents at Red Lobster for lunch. I love Red Lobster - it was so yummy! It was really nice to sit down and have a meal with them and get to know them better. They are really nice people. They are very funny as well. I gave BD's mom the birthday card that I had picked out (with the help of my mom since we picked out the exact same card). She really liked the card, so I was glad about that. I have a feeling they like me. At least that's what BD tells me, but I mean, come on, how could they not like me? ;)

After lunch, BD and I went for a walk since it was a nice sunshiny day and then we came back to my place for a little hangout time. It was nice to have some alone time since we weren't alone at all on Saturday at the tri cuz mummy was there too. So, I was glad that we got to have some "just him and me" time.

Okay, I am not normally one to spill my feelings, but at this point in our relationship, I have the overwhelming urge to tell BD that I love him. I have wanted to tell him for a couple weeks now, but I have been too chicken. I am afraid of telling him and him not reciprocating those feelings. Perhaps he is thinking the same thing though. I read in Cosmo (which I know, is not the best on the relationship front) and they said that you should always wait for the guy to say it first. But, Cosmo is usually just a bunch of crap anyways (they say you should make a guy "wait" for sex... and by waiting they mean until the 3rd date. I'm like, that's not "waiting"!!!! Insane!). Anyways, that is something that has been weighing on my mind as of late (wanting to tell BD I love him, not the Cosmo sex thing). I don't really know what to do. I want to share with him how I feel, but I also don't want to tell him too soon and scare him off.

Okay, enough of that, I am leaving shortly for Toronto to see U2! Yay!

Tri went well.

Yesterday, I competed in my last triathlon of the season. It was in Wasaga Beach and it was absolutely gorgeous. It was my first time there. The beach reminded me of the Dominican beaches since the sand was so light and fine-grained. It really was beautiful. BD came to cheer me on, which was so nice of him, I really appreciated the support.

So, here is how I did with my three goals:

1) Do not fall off the bike: Check. I was able to make it through the entire bike portion without falling off.

2) Do not run off-course on the run: Check. I was able to stay oncourse for the entire run.

3) Finish in under 2 hours: Check. My time was 1:52:44. So, I beat my goal by over 7 minutes! I was really impressed with myself! I beat my previous time for this distance by over 13 minutes!

All in all, it was a great course. The swim was very nice. It was a little chilly, but not too cold. It was nice because there were absolutely no weeds, which was great. The only part I didn't like was the swim started about 150m offshore since the water was so shallow for so long. Which really sucked when you were done the swim because you had to run out of the water, and then up the beach to the transition area, which probably took about 2 - 3 mintes, which was added onto your swim time. Also, when I reached the last bouy, which meant that you could stand up and walk/run out of the water, I tripped over the cinder block that was anchoring the bouy. That really hurt! I thought I had cut up my toes, but they were okay. Just very painful.

The bike portion of the course was awesome. A few hills, but for the most part very flat. It was great. The run portion was awesome. Most of it was on boardwalks along the beach, but portions of it were in sand (hard to run in sand!) and through the forest and some on the road. I really liked the run course, although my calf was giving me problems, so I had to walk for a little bit of the run. My run time ended up being about 5 minutes longer than I was hoping for. But, oh well. I am glad I accomplished my goals and that I ended the season on a high note. I am looking forward to being able to improve my time next season!

Today, I am going out for lunch with BD and his parents to celebrate his mom's birthday. Here's a funny story. When mom and I were in the mall on Friday, we went to Hallmark to pick out a card for BD's mom, and I was in the birthday section, and she went around to the section of this artist that she likes, and within 30 seconds she said "I found the perfect card" and I said "I did too". So, I took my card to where she was, and we traded cards, and it was the same card! We broke out in hysterical laughter for about 5 minutes, with tears pouring down our faces. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. What are the chances?!?! Of the thousands of cards, we both pick the same card, from different areas of the store, at the same time. Too funny! Needless to say, that is the card I bought!

Tomorrow, I have the day off work because I am going to see U2 in Toronto. I am taking my brother since his 20th birthday is tomorrow. Should be a good show! I'm sure I will be exhausted at work on Tuesday, but it will be worth it!

Big race tomorrow!

Tomorrow is my last triathlon of the season. I am hoping that it will go well. Last night, I went out for my last training run and about 11 minutes into my run, I got this awful cramp and was limping. So, I stopped to stretch and tried to continue, but it hurt too much, so I had to walk home. It feels a little better today. I hope it is all better by tomorrw otherwise I could be in trouble on the run! Yikes!

Back to the grind.

Today was my first day back at work after my vacation. I thought it would be really hard to go back, but it wasn't so bad. Turns out I was missed at work, which is always nice. I am going to be crazy busy for the next few months though! I'm working on some really big projects and man, is it ever going to be a lot of work. We broke it up into smaller tasks though, which makes it seem much less daunting.

On Sunday evening, BD came for a visit. We went out for dinner and played mini-golf...and I won! That was a first! I was certainly on my game. But the best part of the evening was getting to spend time with BD. As of tomorrow, we will have been a couple for 1 month.

Also, BD is coming to my triathlon on Saturday to cheer me on! Yay! I think that knowing he is there will motivate me to go faster. The distances for this tri are the same as the first one I did (750m swim, 20 km bike, 5 km run).

I have three goals with this race:
1) Do not fall off the bike.
2) Stay on course on the run portion.
3) Finish in under 2 hours.

I hope I can accomplish all three goals!

Oh, and on Sunday, I am invited to a birthday dinner for BD's mom. I thought it was so nice of them to invite me, I guess I am their son's significant other! I want to get his mom a card. What should I write in a card for a woman that I have only just met and barely know, but hope that someday will be my mother-in-law? Any suggestions?

Still in vacation mode

I just got back from the cottage. I was there for most of the last week. We went up last Saturday, and BD came as well for the day. We had a great time. Mom and I stayed until Monday, and then we came back into town for 2 days. Monday evening, I went to visit Mary (the girl who I used to work with). We hung out at her house and then went out for dinner and to a movie. We saw "40 year old virgin". It was quite funny. Here we were, she's 39 and I'm 24, and we were surrounded by teenagers, but oh well. We were a little buzzed from all the wine we had with dinner (but the restaurant was in the mall with the theatre, so we didn't have to drive anywhere). So the movie was extra funny to us. It was a blast, I don't think I've laughed that hard in a little while.

On Tuesday, I went to the lawyers to sign the papers for my house. As of this past thursday, I am a home-owner! Yay! I am super excited and scared at the same time!

After the lawyers, mom and I went to Toronto to do some shopping. We parked at Yorkdale and took the subway down to MEC. I got a bunch of stuff, and so did she. The only major thing I bought was a rack for the back of my car to put bikes on. Mom and I are doing the tri in wasaga beach on the 10th, so we needed a way to transport our bikes. Then we did some shopping at Yorkdale. I didn't have a lot of money to spend, but I got some really nice clothes. I got a navy cord fitted blazer/jacket at H&M for a really good price. Also got a couple other tops. Then we went to Costco. I bought a couple of things there as well, nothing major. It was a really fun day.

Wednesday, I headed back to the cottage and was there until today. I have gone over a week without seeing BD, and I miss him soooo much! We did talk on the phone a few times, which is better than nothing, but I really miss seeing him. Good thing he's coming to visit me this evening! He had to work all weekend this weekend, so that really cuts down on our visit time! But at least he only works every other weekend.

Well, I have a load of cleaning to do. My goal for tomorrow is to clean out my closet. I can't fit the new clothes that I bought into my closet because it is full of stuff I never wear. Time to get rid of some stuff. Tomorrow I also want to go for a 25km bike ride and perhaps a run as well. The tri is only 6 days away! Yikes!

The countowns continue...

Only 1 more day of work until my vacation!

Only 7 more days until I am a home-owner!

Lots of things to look forward to. Tomorrow is my last day of work until Tuesday, September 6th. I have been looking forward to this time off for a few months now! Ever since my last vacation, I guess ;)

Tomorrow evening, I am getting together with BD. Not sure what we are doing yet, but we will figure something out. Then, Saturday morning, I am going to the cottage. I am staying until Monday afternoon, at which point I am coming into town for 2 days. On Monday afternoon/evening, I am going to visit my friend Mary (the one who hyst quit from the place I work). Then on Tuesday, I am going to the lawyers to sign the papers for the house, and then mom and I are going shopping in Toronto for the afternoon and evening. Wednesday morning, we are heading back out to the cottage and staying until Labour Day. Yay! Should be a most excellent week!

Last night, BD and I went to the Festival of Lights and saw "Beatlemania". It was really well done. The guys looked and sounded like the Beatles. I had a great time!

I have moved to Mary's old desk at work and I really like it there. I am glad I made the switch, I needed a change of scenery.

Okay, so I couldn't go a whole blog without talking about BD at least a little! Things are still amazing on that front. We have been seeing each other about every 2 or 3 days, and I couldn't be happier. On Monday, we had a conversation after work and it went a little like this:

BD: I miss you sooooo much!

Me: I miss you soooo much too!!!

BD: Wanna go for ice cream? I can be there soon.

Me: Are you serious? Cuz it wouldn't be very nice to tease me if you're not.

BD: I'll jump in my car right now.

Me: Yay!

BD: See you in a half hour!

Isn't that adorable?!? He missed me so much he couldn't wait until Wednesday to see me, he really wanted to see me on Monday too. It was soooo cute, made me feel wanted. He really does make me feel special; I hope I have the same effect on him.

"Meet the Parents" went well.

On Saturday, I went to meet BD's parents. They are really nice! They made me feel very welcome. His Dad is a huge leafs fan, so right away he said to me: "So, I hear you like the right hockey team!". I think I have an automatic "in" with his Dad being a leafs fan. Score! I took Skor Bark that I had made as well so I wouldn't show up empty-handed. They really liked it. All in all, it was a great meeting the parents experience. They are very easy going and welcoming.

I also did 2 brick workouts (bike ride and run right afterwards) this weekend. I decided that since I was not comfortable using my clipless pedals, I just got regular pedals put on for now and I'll save my clipless pedals to use later on. I feel much more comfortable on my bike now, I can actually ride it without falling off! It's great; I really love it! I have less than 3 weeks until the next tri to get really used to my bike. I also need to do a lot of running as well. As of Saturday, I will be on holidays until Labour Day. I will be spending most of that week at the cottage, so I can do a lot of swim training there. Hopefully the next tri will be my best yet!

Nothing new to report...

I have been feeling a little under the weather in the last 2 days, so I haven't really done much. I found out that BD's parents are coming back from vacation today, so I will likely meet them on the weekend. This is getting serious! He wants me to meet his parents, that's a big step. I'm excited and nervous at the same time. In the past, parents have been my thing and they love me, but you never know... I'm sure his parents are great. How could they not be with a son as wonderful as him?!?

So, in honour of the occasion, I made some Skor Bark. I don't want to shop up empty handed. I also want to wear that new dress that I bought at H&M when I meet them, I just hope my bruises from my tumble off my bike heal somewhat before then! Yikes! They aren't looking any better yet, I may be in trouble there!

BD is coming over for a visit tomorrow night, I can't wait! I was getting used to seeing him so often, and now I've gone a whole 3 days without seeing him. It's sad. Oh well, I am looking forward to tomorrow!

Weekend Update

I had a really awesome weekend. It was so busy, but so good! I had Friday off, so I had a long weekend, which was sooo nice. I saw BD a total of 4 times in the last 5 days (Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and yesterday). It was amazing! We have spent so much time together and it just keeps getting better and better!

Friday, I went to see Green Day with lj. What an amazing concert! One of the best ones I've seen to date. Then, lj and I sat in the parking lot for over an hour trying to get out of our parking space. I really don't know what the hold up was, but we could not move from our spot because of traffic and it didn't seem like anyone was moving. So, it took us a total of 1.5 hours to get from out parking spot to the 400. It took us 3 hours to get to the exaggerators from when the concert was over, so we had to cancel our Kingdom trip. There just wasn't enough time. No time in fact. By the time we got to the exaggerator's, the Kingdom was closing. Which sucks, but we'll have to go sometime soon.

On Saturday, did some shopping. Spent too much money, but I really needed some new clothes and stuff for my bike. I have been looking for a nice jean skirt for about 3 years now, and I found 2 on Saturday, so I bought them both! They were pretty cheap, so I didn't worry about it. And I bought this really cute sundress which I will wear the first time I meet BD's parents. Which I'm guessing will be sometime on the weekend possibly (his parents are currently on vacation, but will be back on friday). They are going to be surprised, I think. So much has changed since they left! Their son now has an amazing girlfriend who he adores! Yay! I really am so pleased with how well things are going. It seems like he feels the exact same way about me as I do about him. I am totally falling for this guy. Never would have expected to feel so strongly about someone so quickly, but it just happened. I'm not complaining ;)

Saturday on my way home from t-dot, I stopped in at BD's for a visit. We went for dinner and watched a movie and just hung out. I can't believe how much I miss him when we are apart, it's crazy!

Then yesterday, I had a triathlon. I did pretty well. It was just a mini-one, but it was a good accomplishment nonetheless. A bunch of things went wrong though. First, when I got to the transition after the swim, someone's bike was on top of mine. It must have been leaning on my bike and knocked it over and was on top of my bike. So that wasted a good 20 - 30 seconds of my time trying to get this bike untangled from mine. Then, I thought to make up some time, I would put on my bike gloves while on the bike. BAD IDEA! I fell off my bike while trying to put on a glove and now have some massive bruises on my legs to show for it. Never again will I try to do that. I should have taken the extra 10 seconds to put on my gloves in transition. Oops. But, I wasn't seriously injured, so I was able to get back on and keep going. Then, on the run portion, I ran off-course. There was supposed to be a volunteer stationed at this turn (I guess he was on a pee break or something), so I missed the turn. As I was running, I heard someone behind me yell that I was going the wrong way. So, I had to turn around and go back to the turn. That wasted a good minute or so right there. I was mad that there wasn't a volunteer there, but oh well. I'm glad those people behind me told me though, that could have been a lot worse! All in all, I was hoping for a time of 1 hour, and I got 1:00:30. Those pesky 30 seconds! If I didn't have so many things go wrong, I would have been able to get 1 hour no problem. Oh well.

My mom did the tri as well and she is also now hooked. We are going to do another one in Wasaga Beach on September 10th. Mom will do the give-it-a-tri and I will do the sprint. I'm looking forward to it!

Then yesterday evening, BD came over for a visit. So I spent a lot of time with him on the weekend. We've gotten really close lately. I certainly do miss him a lot when we're not together. I wonder when I will see him again, my guess is wednesday or thursday.

I am really tired, the last week of late nights is catching up with me. I haven't slept more than 6 hours per night in more than a week. I think I will go to bed really early tonight to try and catch up.

The weekend is here!

Since I have tomorrow off (or today, I guess, since it is 2:30am), I am in weekend mode. I just got back from some quality time spent at BD's place. Everytime we get together, I like him more and more. We've only been dating for almost 4 weeks, and I already can't imagine my life without him. I am totally falling for this guy. And I think he is falling for me too. I have never felt this strong a connection with a guy in my whole life. There really is no denying it. My mom makes jokes about the fact that at this rate, we'll be engaged by Christmas, and you never know, that may not be that far off ;) I'm not one for rushing into things, but I know in my heart this is right. I just know. This is it.

I also wanted to mention that on Wednesday night, I told BD that I had been engaged before. It just seemed like the right time, so I told him. And he was fine with it. I'm glad I told him because I'm always a little nervous as to how guys will react to that news because everyone is different.

Oh, my boss took me out for lunch to celebrate my success on the PPE (yes, he's a little behind). Mary joined us (she's on holidays this week). So, we had a lovely lunch and then she spilled the beans (about that she is leaving the company). Of course, my boss was upset (and understandably so). I was happy that she called me last night to let me know. I was the very first to know. The announcement will go around tomorrow. I am so sad, but I am happy for her at the same time. We're still going to be friends though, she's coming to cheer me on in the tri on sunday!

Well, better get some sleep, got a big weekend ahead of me! Green Day concert tomorrow with lj, then dancing at the kingdom with lj and the exaggerator. Then saturday, hang out with the exaggerator and lj during the morning/afternoon, then head back home (with a stop at BD's place of course). Then on Sunday I have a triathlon. Busy weekend!

Is there a cloud ten?

Cuz cloud nine just doesn't seem to cut it right now! BD came over last night to meet my parents and it went amazingly well. I couldn't believe it. He gets along super well with my parents. My mom is really easy to get along with and outgoing, but my Dad is another story. He is a really nice and funny guy, just in the beginning sometimes he can come off a bit gruff. But, last night, he was joking around with BD and they got along wonderfully. I am so pleased! I mean, it wouldn't have changed my feelings about BD if my parents didn't like him, but it sure is nice what they think he's great. It's icing on the cake.

Tonight, I am going over to BD's house. That's two days in a row! Yay! Tonight will be good because it will be the first time we get together since our very first date when we both have the next day off. It's always that one of us has to work the next day. But not tonight! He has every friday off and I have tomorrow off since I'm going to see Green Day with lj.

I am excited about seeing Green Day. Should be a good show. After the concert, lj and I are going to hang out with the exaggerator. Yay! I love hanging out with those girls, they are the best friends a girl could ask for :)

Speaking of friends, that brings me to the not so good news. My friend Mary (who is my best friend at work, we eat lunch together everyday and have gotten together outside of work and she is a really good friend now) is leaving the company we work for. She called me last night to tell me, I am the first to know. But, it will all come out today. I am just so sad. I am happy for her because she is moving on to bigger and better things, I am just going to miss her a lot. Who am I going to talk about boys with at lunchtime now?!? Anyways, it makes me sad. They may make her clean out her desk and leave today, in which case I will cry. I know these things happen, but it is sad nonetheless. We did express on the phone that we are definately going to still be friends and see each other after she leaves, which is great. I don't want to lose her! Sigh, it will be a hard day at work. And my boss was going to take me out for lunch today to celebrate my success on the PPE. I guess that may be off depending on whether he finds out about Mary before or after lunchtime...

It's official!

BD is now my boyfriend! And I could not be more happy! He is the most absolutely wonderful man in the world! Not only does he have all the qualities that I look for in a man, but we also have amazing chemistry.

I went over to his place yesterday. He made me dinner and we watched a movie and talked (that's when we made it official: we are now a couple). It was absolutely wonderful, I loved every minute the evening with him. I didn't want it to end.

He's coming over on Wednesday to meet my family. Big stuff! I'm soooo excited, I hope he likes my family! How could he not, really? We put the "fun" in dysfunctional! ;)

This just keeps getting and better!

I just got in from date #5 with BD. Each date we go on is better than the last. He picked me up at my house (so he met my mom; that's a big step!). Then, we drove to the Outback for dinner and then did some mini-putt at the Putting Edge. It was so much fun! Then, we drove back and went for ice cream. The time went by like nothing. He had to leave at 11 though since he has to work tomorrow. Our goodnight was perfect! I'm not gonna give out any steamy details, but let me just say this: he is one heck of a good kisser! Score!

He wants to see me again on Sunday. That will be twice in one weekend, this is getting serious! Speaking of getting serious, I'm wondering if it's too soon to tell him that I've been engaged before. I just don't want it to get too far down the road, then I pull out that shocker, cuz then it would seem like I was purposely hiding it or something. But, on the other hand, I don't want to tell him too soon either. I think on Sunday I am going to his house for some movie-watching, so we will be alone, and perhaps then would be a good time to have the whole "previous relationship" talk. I don't know. I guess I will just know when the time is right to break the news. And it shouldn't really upset him or anything, I just sometimes wonder what guys think when I tell them that I have been engaged before.

Well, I should get to bed. I have a big day of bathroom renovations planned for tomorrow. But, I know I will just be thinking of BD all day...I am on cloud nine right now! I can't stop smiling. I really have a good feeling about this.

Great weekend!

I had a top-notch weekend. It started off with martinis at a co-workers place, which then turned into heading down to the big boss' place for some more drinks. Didn't get drunk though. I don't know why, I guess I just didn't feel like it. But, I had a good time nonetheless.

Saturday, I went to the cottage and stayed until Monday around lunchtime. I went to the Gemboree on Sunday, which was fun. I got 2 bracelets ($5 each) and a cool sodalite candle holder. It's basically a huge chunck of raw sodalite with a hole for a candle. It's pretty sweet.

Yesterday, I spent a total of 7 hours with BD. Date No. 4. It was amazing. We started off with a walk around the local zoo here. Looked at the animals, had some ice cream, went down the super slide, sat on a bench by the river and talked. It was great. Then, we grabbed some dinner and then went to see "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". It was good, I liked it a lot. Can definately see the Michael Jackson influence in Johnny Depp's portayal of Willy Wonka. It was a good movie all around. After the movie, we took a walk down the millenium path, which is a neat path right by the river, and it's all illuminated and it's pretty nice. That was my first time there at night. So, we sat on a bench there and talked for another little while. There was even some physical contact going on, which was really nice. It just felt so "right". I can't explain it.

I would have to give the old congrats to the exaggerator on her correct prediction. There was a kiss at the end of the night and it was just perfect. It was really sweet, the way a first kiss should be; not awkward or anything. I look forward to many more where that came from.

I have a feeling that very shortly he will be my boyfriend. It's just around the corner, I can feel it. He really is amazing. He has everything I am looking for in a guy (okay, so he likes the wrong hockey team, but he can't be perfect!). And he is crazy about me, so I think we are both completely smitten with each other.

Slightly discouraged...

I brought my bike home today. Man, does it ever look nice. I really like it. So, I thought the best thing to do to get started would be to lean against a wall and just practice clipping in and out of the pedals. So, that is what I did. It was HARD at first, but it got easier with time. So, after a few minutes of this, I thought I was ready to take it for a spin around the driveway. Bad choice. Of course, the whole time my Dad is watching me and telling me what he thinks I should be doing. You need speed, he says. So, I got going, clipped one foot in, but couldn't get the other one in. So, I turned around and was heading back towards my Dad who was barking out orders, and of course, over I go. On the concrete. And my worst fear of the clipless pedals was realized: I was going over, and I couldn't get my foot out to break my fall. So, instead I got a nice scrape on my knee and knuckles and thought I sprained my wrist, but it has since gotten better.

So, I laid on the pavement for awhile with my Dad standing over me. When I decided nothing was broken and I could face the world again, I got up, dusted myself off, surveyed my injuries and decided I needed to alter my plan of attack. Obviously, I tried to do too much too soon. So, I thought I would take my bike out for a spin with regular shoes on. This worked much better. No more falling. I am slightly discouraged though. At this rate, I dont' think I'll be ready to do the Triathlon I was planning to on the 14th. But, I'm not giving up yet. It will just take some getting used to. Perhaps I should switch the pedals to normal pedals for the first little while.

Now, on to the boy talk. BD sent me an email today, and a portion of it went a little something like this: "I just wanted to say how much fun I had last night and how much I've been smiling since then... I couldn't imagine things going much better.... you're pretty amazing". Now, is he smitten with me, or what? Yay! I can't wait to see him again! I feel the exact same way about him, I've got it bad.

For those of you who are curious...

Date No. 3 with BD was last night and I had an awesome time again. We really get along well. We went bowling (and I realized how much I really do suck at bowling). But, it was fun nonetheless. Then we went out for dinner and the waiter spilled my beer on me! It was funny. He only spilled like maybe 1/4 of the beer, and I got a whole new free one, so I got almost 2 beers for the price of 1. Score! Sure, I had a little beer on my leg, but meh, oh well. What was really funny is the waiter said "I'm so sorry for spilling that on you...this isn't your first date, is it?" That was funny.

Then, since we were really close to the mini-golf place and didn't want the night to end quite yet, we had a re-match on the mini-golf course. He beat me, again, but it was much closer this time and I improved my score substantially from the last time.

At the end of the night, we were talking, and I think it was one of those situations where we both really wanted to end the night with a kiss, but we were both too chicken to make the first move. So, we ended with a hug instead. Booo. Oh well. If that's the only thing I can find wrong with him is the fact that he cares about what I think so much that he's afraid to do something that might offend me, I guess that's alright. I wish there was a way to let him know I want him to kiss me without saying it. Hmmm... Well, I think we're going to go out again early next week, so maybe by then we will both have snapped out of our state of chicken.

Going to pick up my bike tonight. Yay!

JetsGo refund - woohoo!

I FINALLY got my JetsGo refund. Yay! I am so happy that I got it. Now I have a credit on my mastercard, who would have thought? That's good though because I bought shoes and pedals for my bike and put that on my card, so it's like I'm getting them for free because I won't have to pay that money back - yay! And I still have almost $300 left of the credit, so I can buy some more bike accessories, tri shorts, and register for my 2 tris and will probably still have some left over.

I had a most excellent weekend with the exaggerator and lj up at my cottage. It was very relaxing and we had a lot of fun. The weather was really nice too. Of course, the weekend just flew by, I have no idea where it all went, but it was fun nonetheless.

It looks like date #3 with BD will be on Wednesday. He seems to be really keen to see me again, so that is never a bad thing. We're kind of in the whole "limbo-land" right now. Where I'm not sure whether this is a just a hang out as friends thing, or whether this is a dating thing, and if it's a dating thing, does he think it's a dating thing too, or does he think it's a friends thing. I wish I could read his mind and know whether he sees me as just a friend to hang out with or whether he sees me as someone he is dating. I certainly consider our outings dates, but I really don't know if he does. Makes it difficult. Maybe he hasn't kissed me yet is because he thinks we're just friends. Or maybe he wants to be more, but doesn't know how I feel, so doesn't want to make a move until he knows how I feel. It's all so unknown. Hmmm... Don't really know what to do about this. Probably just continue on how we're going and see where it leads.

Date # 2 was awesome!

I went out with BD again last night. It was a lot of fun. We had dinner, went mini-golfing (we were going to go bowling, but it closed too early, so we had to change our plans), and then went for ice cream. I had the best time! It was a perfect date. He is so funny and easy to talk to. We also have really great chemistry. We just "fit" somehow. The only thing that could have made it more perfect is if he had kissed me at the end of the night. But, oh well. I would rather him error on the side of cautious than go totally the other way. Hopefully next time though! Otherwise, I may have to get up enough courage to make the first move. And that's a hard thing to do!

I am WAY excited for lj and the exaggerator to come and visit me this weekend! I haven't seen the exaggerator in like 6 months, way too long! I hope they can make it here easily without too much traffic. I know all too well how frustrating it can be to drive into cottage country on a friday evening, but maybe they will somehow miss the traffic, or maybe it won't be all that bad today. *Keeping my fingers crossed*

I have a new arrival!

I bought a bike today. When I did my first triathlon 10 days ago, I had such a good time that I realized I wanted to keep doing them. So, considering that I did not want to be passed like crazy on the bike like I was on my last tri (I was on a mountain bike), I started doing some research into getting a road bike or a triathlon bike. So, with the help of lj, I did some internet research, found some ads for some used bikes, and went into a couple of the local bike shops here in town to see what they had. I had a certain price range in mind and all the new road bikes in that price range were entry-level bikes. So, I went home, did some research on the models in my price range, and went back in a few days later for some test rides. I was not all that impressed. They all just felt kinda cheap...hard to explain...the shifting just seemed all rickety and they were not very comfortable at all.

So, I was a little discouraged, but I wasn't going to give up my search for the perfect bike just yet. I still had a lead on a good used one in town to check out. So, I went to check it out on Sunday (but I couldn't ride it cuz the guy didn't have pedals on it). But, I asked him lots of questions about it, it was in really good condition, really good components, so it looked perfect. But, I didn't want to buy something without riding it, so the guy took into a bike shop where his friend works, so they could put some pedals on it. Last night, I took it for a ride, and right away, I knew it was the one. It was so comfortable and the shifting was worlds better than the new road bikes I tried. This one is also a triathlon bike, and a really good one at that. Here is a link to a review of it, and it has a picture too (mine looks identical to this, the only difference is on the tires, mine is red instead of yellow): http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/reviews/cervelo02.shtml

So, as soon as I got home from riding it last night, I called the guy up and told him I want it. I dropped the cheque off tonight and now it is officially mine! Yay! It is still at the store right now because I need to go in and pick out some pedals and I also want it to get a tune-up. I am SOOO excited!

In other news, which is equally exciting, I have date #2 with BD tomorrow night. Dinner and bowling it sounds like. Woohoo!

And then in other news, still equally exciting, I have a weekend with lj and the exaggerator planned at my cottage this weekend and it looks like it will be gorgeous weather. I can't wait to see them again! Yay!

The date went well...

I had a date with the new guy (initals BD) last night. It went really well. I was SOOOOOO nervous beforehand, I have never been that nervous before a first date in my whole life. I don't know why I was so nervous, I guess I just really wanted it to go well.

So, I was a complete nervous wreck getting ready for the date. But, I managed to pull myself together and head over to the movie theatre. Then, as soon as we met, most of my nervousness went away. He is really easy to talk to....and super-cute! Definately a hottie. He seemed to be nervous too, it was quite endearing seeing that he was nervous, showed he really cared about how it was going.

So, we saw "Wedding Crashers". What a funny movie! Definately made me laugh a lot. After the movie, we went to a restaurant patio to get some food. That was really nice. We must have been there for close to 2 hours, but the time just flew by! It was really great to do the movie thing first to break the ice a little, and then we talked for a couple hours after to get to know each other. He is SUCH a nice guy. And he makes me laugh as well. We have a lot in common, which was nice. Lots of things to talk about; there was only a few short awkward silences, and I think that's normal for a first date. And he wouldn't let me pay for anything. What a sweetie. I will have to twist his arm into letting me pay next time though.

I really like this guy. Of course, I was wondering afterward what he thought of me. When I woke up this morning, he had already sent me an email (he sent it when he got home last night) to let me know he had a really good time and that he would like to see me again. Yay! That was so sweet. So, I guess he is interested in me! YAY! Finally somebody that I am interested in is interested in me back! I think I am smitten.

A very hard and tearful day.

This morning, I had to take my cat (Caprice) to the Humane Society to be put down. She was 17 years old and was just getting so sick, that she was getting to the point where she was obviously in pain. It was such a difficult thing to do. But, I figure we did the right thing; it would have been selfish of us to keep her around when she is obviously in pain. She had really deteriorated a lot in the last few weeks. I just feel so much loss. We had her longer that we've had my brother! Since we got her when I was 7 years old, I don't really remember a time without her.

Caprice was a funny cat. She was never very cuddly, but when my mom was pregnant with my brother Tom, she would curl up with my mom. And when he was born, Caprice would always want to be around him. She slept on Tom's bed every day since he was born. So, of all of us, I would say that Tom is probably hit the hardest with this all. I was glad that he came with me this morning to take her in, I didn't want to go alone. Man, I've only been to the Humane Society twice now, both times to put a pet down, and I have been a crying mess both times. I guess they are used to it there, I bet people cry all the time when they bring their pets in to be put down. So, I cried the whole way there and the whole way home. Then, I managed to pull myself together and go into work. I got teary a few times at work, but was able to hide it well. I didn't want to start bawling at work.

I am just so sad. Caprice was a part of our family for 17 years and I hate to be without her. I miss her so much.

Let's try this fish on for size...

Well, I have another first date coming up this weekend. This one is a little different because it is with a guy I have never met. Although, we have been emailing back and forth for about 5 months now. Yes, I met him online, which I still feel a little strange about, just the whole concept of it, but I am going to have to get over that because it really is a good way of meeting new people. Totally non-threatening and you can really get to know someone before you decide if you want to meet. I guess I'm just old fashioned and still wish I would meet my future spouse by some chance encounter, but that really isn't all that realistic. So, I was just browsing around on a christian singles website back in february and I came across his ad and he was just too good to pass up. He's one of those "good on paper" guys. He has everything I'm looking for: He's a Christian, he likes hockey (even if he is a Red Wings fan, I could learn to live with that, at least it's not the habs, that would be a deal-breaker), he's tall, cute, likes working out, likes running, he seems like one of those really nice, sweet guys, and he lives about a half hour away, so that's a good bonus too. He's one of those guys that you wonder why on earth they are still single, but then again, why on earth am I still single?!? I am a good catch, I just haven't met the right guy yet. So, you never know.

So, once again, I am nervous. I am trying not to think about it too much. Since he is coming to my neck of the woods, I have to decide what to do. I made a few suggestions, like mini-golf, bowling, movie with a snack/beverage afterwards on a patio, and he was cool with all those "or a combination thereof" (maybe that means he's excited about seeing me and doesn't want the night to end too quickly). But, on the other hand, I don't want to do the whole marathon date thing, I want him to leave wanting more. So, given the impending heat, I'm thinking that either a movie with an outing afterwards or bowling sounds good. Bowling is so short though, I'd have to have another activity afterwards. Man, so much to think about!

I am getting so sick of dating. I want to be in a relationship already! But I'm not willing to settle for someone who I know is not right for me. I hate all the unknowns and insecurity of the dating world. But, it is exciting at the same time. You never know, the next first date may be the beginning of something special. Or not, only time will tell.

I've got the fever!

Tri sport fever, that is! I am hooked. I want to do more triathlons. There is one that is pretty close to Peterborough, it's in Cobourg on August 14th. It is a little longer than the one I did yesterday, but I think that with some training, I should be able to do it. The only issue is the fact that I don't want to use a mountain bike for the tri. I asked lj for some advice and she did some internet research for me and found some used tri bikes to inquire about. Hopefully I will be able to find something good for not too much money.

I can see why people really love triathlons! It is addicting!

I did it!

I sucessfully completed the Peterborough Sprint Triathlon this morning. It went well. Since it was my first one, I didn't set a time goal, I just wanted to try my best and finish the race. And I did that, so yay! The race consisted of a 750m swim, 20 km bike, and 5 km run. The swim started off well, it is a little scary when you are swimming with hundreds of people around you and people are kicking you, swimming right next to you, it was hard. I swallowed a little water at one point, had a minor panic attack, but I was able to calm down and catch my breath and keep going. So that was good. Then, after the swim, was the bike. Man, was it hard. The first half went really well, but when the second half just seemed to be so much longer than the first. And the fact that I was riding a mountain bike made it so much harder. People were passing me like crazy. But, I was expecting that, so it wasn't a big surprise. I just didn't think the type of bike would make a HUGE difference, but it did. I was working really hard on the bike, and people were just whizzing past me. That's alright though, I was just so happy to get to the end of the bike portion because my quads were killing me by that point. Then, it was on to the run. I was pooped right from the get-go on the run. But, lj was finished the race by this point (she did amazing, you should be so proud of yourself lj!), so she ran with me for my run portion. That was really sweet and encouraging, so that helped me get to the finish line. When I was running into the finish, the announcer called my name, and I saw my family and friends cheering for me, it was an awesome feeling. Worth all the hard work and sweat right there. I am SO happy to finish, I feel it is quite an accomplishment for me. Yay!

Why not me?

I just received the news that Michael Kuss got married (to someone other than me). The nerve! How could he think he could marry anyone but me; I have had a crush on him for years! For those of you who don't know, he is the Global TV meteorologist. We even had a brief, but very intense, email relationship. It all started when Pardora got me an autographed picture of him for my birthday. So, of course, I had to email him and thank him. I asked him some of the most intellegent questions I could think of (so he would know I wasn't just like every other airhead fan who just wants to get in his pants). But, I made sure I wasn't too boring either. And he emailed me back, thanking me for my support, but that's where it ended. I didn't email him after that. But, I did have a short relationship with a celebrity! If only I had met him in person...then he would marry me and not some idiot stick figure with no soul (Sex and the City reference there). I'm just kidding, I'm not bitter. I do wish him all the best.

Tomorrow I am heading out of town for a borehole drilling project for one of my landfills. I'll be back either Thursday night or Friday. I hope all goes well with the trip. I'm nervous about making a mistake, but I guess I will just have to be careful and trust myself.

To end on a happy note, I finally received the letter from the PEO that I passed the Professional Practice Exam that I wrote in April. Yay! I am so glad to have that off my chest. Now all that is standing in between me and P.Eng. is about 2.5 years experience. Everything else is all taken care of.

Great book!

Thanks for all your encouraging words in response to my last post. I am a believer that everything happens for a reason, and even though it didn't work out between J and me, I am still thankful for the time we spent together and I feel I am a stronger person because of what I went through with him.

I just spent the long weekend at the cottage and it was very relaxing. The weather was awesome, I got in lots of R&R, and even a little practicing of open water swimming for my tri that is in a week! Scary!

I read this book called "The Wealthy Barber" by David Chilton. What a great book! If you haven't read it already, I highly recommend it. It expains a very easy and affordable way that we can all be living a life of luxury and wealth in our retirement years if we just do a little financial planning while we're young (that's the key, start when you're young). That's the beauty of compound interest and dollar cost averaging. I think I will definately have to do that. I would highly recommend this book. It has a lot of great tips for all kinds of financial topics such as how to ensure you are wealthy in retirement (not just getting by, but stinkin rich), life insurance, RRSPs, wills, buying real estate, saving and credit management, investments, income tax, etc. This book is also written in a easy to understand and sometimes comical way. It's great!

Well, back to the grind tomorrow. Why is it that long weekends just seem to slip by us so darn quickly?!?!

Three years and all the wiser?? Or none the wiser?

It was three years ago today that I was supposed to get married. June 29th is a bit of a bitter sweet day I guess. On one hand, it's the day that was supposed to be the happiest day of my life and I was looking forward to it so much. On the other hand, I'm glad I didn't marry J because I don't think I would have ever been able to trust him after what he did. So alas, I am left alone with my wedding dress. Sigh, maybe someday I will actually get to wear it!

Another Amazing Kalan Show!

The Peterborough Festival of Lights kicked off yesterday with Kalan Porter. It was amazing! My mom managed to score VIP passes so that was sweet! We got to sit really close and we didn't have to be at the park at 3:30am like some people did. That's nuts. There was a whole group of people who showed up at 3:30am to line up (the concert was at 8:00pm). The funny part was, we showed up 12 hours after them (we were at the park at 3:30pm), and we were in the same row as them! Haha.

Kalan put on a great show, as usual. The Festival of Lights has been running for 19 years, and that was the biggest crowd last night than for any previous show. Gordon Lightfoot had the previous record with 10,000. I'm sure tomorrow's paper will say how many were there last night, but it was more than that!

I had an amazing time, he is such a talented guy. He's come so far from when he was on Canadian Idol. He is unique because not only is he an amazing singer, he also is a very talented musician. He plays the violin and it's so awesome because you don't normally hear violin or fiddle music incorporated with pop/rock type of music. Definately unique. He is definately going places. I hope I get the opportunity to see him again soon! Although, I'm sure I won't get to see him again for free. That was a special treat. And VIP passes, what luck! He certainly set the bar high for future performers at the Festi, that's for sure. I think he will hold the record for the most people for awhile.

I am a DragonBoating Champion!

Yesterday, I was in the Dragon Boat Races here in town. For those of you who don't know what this is, it is a festival that was started by breast cancer survivors. Now, it is open to anyone, and all the proceeds go to breast cancer research. It is a huge fesitval all over the world, but the Peterborough one is the largest closed (meaning all local people) races. There were 104 teams in it this year! This was my second year competing and we certainly improved over last year!

This year, we had 2 races. Our first one didn't go so well because there was only a few seconds between the time you get to the start line and when the start gun goes, so we weren't really ready. So, by the time we got going, the other teams were already a boat length ahead. But, we maganed to catch up to one team and take third place in that race with a time of 2:12. Then, in our second race, we did much better, had a better start, so we managed to get a time of 2:01 and take first place in our group, so we got first place ribbons! I was so proud of us, we really worked together well. We were all paddling in sync and it was amazing. That was my second year in the races, and we really imrproved over last year. I can't wait to see how we'll do next year!

Fishing in the desert...

I have been thinking a lot lately about the whole thing going on between me and NM. I think that in the long run, we would be better as friends. We are a lot alike in some ways, which is cool. But, there are a lot of times when he makes me want to pull my hair out. So, I thought, if he makes me so frustrated already, and we're not even a couple, there really is no chance of us making it. We just lacked an emotional connection, I think. I don't know if he is just super-shy or something, but he just seems so aloof about everything that it was driving me nuts. And I think I'm a fairly easy-going person. But, when you've been seeing someone for 2 months, you would expect a little "I miss you" or an "You look really good today" or something. But I get nothing, absolutely nothing. That and the fact that there have been a few red flags that have popped up recently. Like the fact that he doesn't dance, and will never try. That really sucks because one of my favorite things is dancing, and I just can't bare the thought of being with someone who is not even willing to try. He is also against drinking, so I think that would cause a problem down the road too. Because, as I'm sure you all know, I like to enjoy an alcoholic beverage (or 13) every now and then, and I think that if we were a couple, he may grow to resent that. And, I think we also have different views on what is important in a relationship. I believe that a good relationship is based on honesty, trust, and good communication is key. He is under the impression that you should never talk about things because that just complicates things. That makes no sense to me. So, I have given it some thought over the last few days, and prayed about it, and came to the conclusion that we should be friends. I still have every intention of spending time with him in the future, I do have a really good time when I'm with him, I just think we're missing that "spark".

Funny thing happened to me the other day. It was Monday night when I came to the "just be friends" conclusion. Then I was thinking, geez, I've been single for awhile now, and there seem to be no other potential boyfriends on the horizon, am I blowing my only shot at a relationship? Are there ever going to be other men? (I know it's rediculous, but this is just what was going through my head). So, I prayed about it and just asked God to reveal his will for this situation and to show me what I should do. Then I went to sleep. Then, on Tuesday morning, as soon as I got to work, like within minutes, one of my co-workers comes up to me to tell me that her roommate (whom I have met on two occasions at parties at their house) was asking her questions about me the night before. So, apparently, he is interested in me (otherwise why would be be asking?). Now, he is probably not someone I would consider dating (too much of a player, I think), but, how timely it was that not even 12 hours after I had been thinking that perhaps no men are interested in me, this guys shows interest. And, I haven't seen him since February! He just happened to pick the day I needed to hear it most to show his interest! I think that was definately a "God thing". Also, there is this guy who used to be interested in me (some of you may remember him as "Jeremy, but not the good looking one" [I have 2 friends named Jeremy]). Anyways, he used to be interested in me. I haven't seen him in over a year, and then on Tuesday he stopped by. Again, someone I would not consider dating, but just the ego-boost I needed at precisely the right time. Also, on the same day (what a Tuesday it was), mymom ran into one of my highschool crushes at a business breakfast and he told her that he saw me at my brother's concert on the weekend (I did not see him). I have no idea why he didn't come over to say hello, I haven't seen him in years, but it just reminded me of all the guys I have had in the past that have been interested in me. So, all this happened the day after I prayed about the situation with NM. God is so awesome!

Interesting, eh? So, about the title of my blog entry. It's something that my mom said. I guess I was complaining about the lack of eligible bachelors I am meeting and she said "well, you can't go fishing in the desert and complain you're not catching anything." It's true! Things were so much easier in the waterloo days, meeting guys all the time, surrounded by singles. Now, it seems like I'm not meeting anyone. But, I'm not really going to places where the single guys hang out. So, the age-old question...where does one go to meet eligible men? If I only knew the answer to that one... Who knows, I guess I just keep hoping that I will meet my dream man by some chance encounter (hey, it works sometimes! That's how my parents met and that's how I met my ex-fiance). So, I guess I just keep hoping that it will happen again. But, I guess I should give myself a kick in the pants and get out there where the men are.... If I only knew where "there" was. But, I'm gonna have to start looking.