Our House Hippo Has a New Hideout

For those out there that didn't grow up with Amazing Canadian Commercials, here's a YouTube video that will fill you in.

In unrelated news, my chiropractor and painkillers are helping a lot.  (And apparently I have mild whiplash?  So, that's making my life interesting.)

Desperate Measures

The day started off looking beautiful.  The sun was shining and I thought "I'll definitely be able to get a lot of work done today!"  I had a good start to my day.  And then the sun went away and it started to snow.  I started to droop.  And so I decided to make it springtime inside this apartment, even if it's winter-ish outside. 

Thankfully, Chris had brought home a bouquet of flowers a couple of days ago (he does that periodically when the sun hasn't been shining, because he's a wonderful Christopher who likes to find ways to cheer me up).  I decided to take a break and arrange the flowers.  I took one of our antique mason jars and cut the flowers way down to fit:

And then I drank my tea out of my pink teacup.

And now that I've used my SAD lamp for an extra five minutes, I can even enjoy the fact that it's snowing instead of whining about how dark it is outside.  Maybe I'll even get a little more work done this afternoon.

Three-Oh

Hey look!  I'm in my thirties now.  And I feel exactly the same (of course).  Of course, I spent my first day of my thirties consuming too much sugar and going to a Disney cartoon, and so one might think I turned six instead. 

I went to see Tangled with Ky.  I decided to dress up and wear my Christmas Outfit, because I was all "HOORAY SPECIAL OCCASION AND I HAD TOO MUCH SUGAR ZOOOOOOM!!1!" Meanwhile, Ky is sick today, and also who dresses up to go to a Wednesday matinee?  So, we took a self-portrait entitled "Rich Lady Takes a Homeless Person to the Movies." 

Aren't we lovely? 

I think this was my best birthday yet.  I even got a present in the mail that I could open on my birthday (from my brother and sister), and my landlords gave me a box of cupcakes from the lovely shop near the beach.  And now I don't have to cook supper and Chris and I are going to watch an episode of Community while we eat, and so I don't know what more I could ask of my birthday. 

(Chris is very excited, because for the next thirteen days Chris gets to say "I'm only in my twenties and my wife is in her THIRTIES! I married an older woman!"  He enjoys things like that.  So, we're both happy today.)

Update in Photo Form

On the weekend, we went to Vancouver to visit Meg and Karl.  And their hilarious wee one, who is no longer so wee:

He and Chris spent a lot of time staring at games on hand-held devices.  I keep forgetting that the kid is only two and can't read, because he handles cellphones like a pro.

 Sometimes, we got them away from the cellphones and carved some pumpkins. 

And then Chris and I went to a football game. The weather was beautiful and the fans were great,* but the game itself was miserable.  And we rode the ferry back surrounded by other Roughrider fans.  It was like being in Saskatchewan for a while. 

And then today I got my hair cut even shorter. 

* The guys who had the tickets for the seats right beside Chris were odd, however.  Dudes with emo bangs and skinny jeans, who showed up really late, took a picture of themselves, and then left after half an hour.  Chris's theory is that they needed an alibi.  At least it meant that we could spread out and have more room after they left, and so I'm cool with that. 

Help me ignore my head cold

It was probably inevitable, after being surrounded by sick people and then after hardly sleeping on the weekend.  Today I realised that it wasn't that I was still tired from all the traveling and the cooking, but that the cold that has been pursuing me for a week has finally caught up.  And so I've stayed home tonight, and I'm looking through the pictures from my previous week's adventures.

Last week I went, along with Ky and our friend Kristen, to the island's West Coast to celebrate Ky's thirtieth birthday.  It's funny how worried I was about the weather, as the forecast (correctly) predicted rainstorms.  In the end, the trip was better because we pushed through and were determined to be adventurous, in spite of (because of?) the rain.  We felt more proud of ourselves because we kept going, and the hot tea tasted better, and the warm cabin after our hikes felt like a reward. 

And, at the end, we talked most about that walk we took on slippery boardwalks through rainforest in the pouring rain.

It was so rainy that we discovered that our rain gear wasn't so waterproof, and we all resorted to using umbrellas. 

But we were so glad that we pushed through and continued, because the rainforest is particularly beautiful when it's raining.   I guess we were seeing it in its natural state, right?

(I stole all these pictures from Ky's Flickr account, because I forgot my camera in our cabin that day.)

Oh my Papa

Today is the birthday of this shady character, who was spotted on Vancouver Island several months ago.  I have it on good authority that he wants to spend his birthday practicing with his new RC helicopter and playing with his new iPod.  I asked him where he wanted to go for supper for his birthday, and he said that he wanted to stay home and have "more of that pot roast that Janice made," and then "sit in [his] own big chair."  That sounds like the right kind of day.

Love you love you, Papa.

More pictures, because my brain is moving slowly

I'm staying at my parents' place, and we're doing all those last things before we leave and don't see our family for another year (unless we suddenly become rich people who can afford to fly at Christmas time).  This week is/has been full of robots, laser tag, walks around the lake and fulfilling all my promises to cook for people.  And some German-reading, which is usually followed by a big nap (why does reading German make me sleepy?  Has it become a conditioned response now, or does translation just make me tired?).

We'll be leaving for laser tag in a minute (well, for Chris playing laser tag with our siblings and some church friends, while I read German in the waiting room with Ky, because there's no way you can make me do anything of the laser tag/paintball/water gun fight variety, unless you enjoy watching me have a panic attack).  But I thought that, in lieu of actual content other than updates, I'd show you a nice picture Chris took this week:

Thursday Cat- and Helicopter-Blogging

I'm not formulating very big thoughts right now.  I'm working on a fifth anniversary post for Chris, which means that I spent the early part of the week also processing that it had been five years since The Day When Everyone Died and Then My Wedding Was At The End Of The Week.  And so there's going to be more Not Much Content, But There Are Pictures. 

I've been keeping myself busy.  We've been getting around to visiting a couple of people, and going back and forth between our parents.  We got remote control helicopters for both of our fathers, and so our week has had a lot of this:

This morning, Chris and I were cleaning up around here, and I got distracted by taking pictures of his parents' cat (I take pictures of her because I can't pet her, on account of the allergies).  And then it occurred to me "This is the sort of thing that people post on their blogs."


























 Eddie is thinking, "One of these days, I will destroy this strange woman who sticks a camera in my face."

And so, for those of you who are interested in cats with pink noses, helicopters, and pictures of my silly father: you're welcome. 

I have a bucket full of sleepies

I'm in Saskatchewan! In fact, I'm still in my pyjamas, hanging out at my in-laws' house, having slept for about a hundred years in order to recover from the busyness of summer camp.  I apologize for all those commas in that last sentence: I'm tired and I'm moving forward.

In lieu of actual content, I provide you with three pictures of some of my odder moments from the past few weeks: the coldest July day I've ever experienced, cowboys on the highway (that were part of a parade that blocked off a major national highway for a little while), and a pug wearing a dress. 

Madness

Here's a picture from my hometown newspaper that shows one of Regina's streets this week:

That's the street our church is on! And have I mentioned the fact that Regina is the only city in Canada that wasn't built on a major body of water?  (The "lake" in Regina is a man-made one from the Depression era.)

And we're driving out there next week.  We're officially crazy.  (Well, granted, we're heading further north than that next week, and won't be going down to Regina until a week after that.  So Regina: you have two weeks to get your act together!)

In other news: I have laryngitis! Laryngitis is so strange.  And just as I didn't realise how frequently I unconsciously touched my eyes until I was covered in VapoRub, I had no idea how compulsively I talked until it hurt too much to talk.  (Everyone who has met me in person knows how compulsively I talk.) Poor Christopher: he's finally on holidays and I'm completely useless.  On the other hand, because I feel guilty if he does too much work, I encouraged him to play computer games for half the day. 

On the up side, I'm allowed to watch as many movies as I want, and I am getting better at Spider Solitaire.  I tried to read German and my brain and my head weren't up to it.  Relaxing without guilt is nice.

To Papa

What do you think?

For the first time in the five and a half years since I started blogging, I've given in to the temptation to change the template. I thought I'd stick with something reminiscent of the original.  And so, what do you think? I don't love having a dark background and light print, but I may keep playing with the colours. 

And now for something completely different: pictures from my weekend, with a few stories.

On Friday night we went to see all the navy ships that were in the Esquimalt Lagoon for the International Fleet Review.  (8000 sailors from all over the world took over downtown for the week, which made this city even more interesting than usual.)  On Friday night there were fireworks, and Fisgard Lighthouse had a lantern festival in honour of its 150th anniversary.

And then on Saturday we went to Lee and Andrea's wedding, which was held in one of the historical gardens in town:

It was gorgeous.  It was a sunny day, and we gathered under huge trees in a garden planted by the former crown prince of Georgia and his British wife.  There were thirty-four people at the wedding, including the bride and groom, the vast majority of whom were from our department.  (That's what happens when kids from far away meet and get married during grad school.)  It was neat being at an event like this with profs and most of our PhD candidates and recent graduates.  When guests started arriving, Chris looked around and asked if anyone would be presenting papers at this event.  (As it was, Lee began his speech at the reception by pretending to give a lecture about Confederation, and then he and Andrea got into a historiographical debate.  Those kind of jokes kill in a room full of historians.) Chris said that it reminded him of the wedding in Rachel Getting Married, except that instead of professional musicians, everyone in the room was a historian.* 

The whole thing was funny and sweet, and it was a good reminder about why I like this history department so much.  People care about each other here. 

And now I'm sitting at my kitchen table, while Chris snores in the other room. (He's been having migraines this week.)  I'm sitting by the flowers I brought home from the wedding (they asked that people take home the centerpieces, which reminded me very much of my own wedding), and I'm drinking tea. 

Other than Chris's migraine, this is not so bad of a weekend.

* You know, and without the recovering drug addict or all the white people in saris.  

Toddler Aftermath

Meg and the wee Andrew visited for the weekend, and now that they're gone the house is weirdly quiet.  It was not so quiet this morning:

Always with the photos

Mom was trying to show me her new haircut over Skype, but Dad kept being a trouble-maker in the background. And so I told him that if he kept it up I'd use the "Print Screen" button and show people how silly he really is.  (With bonus "Maryanne Looks Demented" in the corner.)

So... (aka More Hair-Blogging)

In the end, we decided against bangs after all, but to have the hair swoop across my forehead a little.  Here's what it looks like in the back:

Return of the Compulsive Hair-Blogging

So, Anastasia's planning on cutting off all her hair, and I've been feeling tempted to do the same thing.  I haven't had a haircut since the week before my brother's wedding (last summer), because I've been too lazy about figuring out a hairdresser in this city.  First, I only got my hair cut whenever I went home (back when I went home more than once a year).  Then, I went to one place in town that was not too expensive, but hairdresser said "I'm going to give you some layers" and proceeded to give me "the Rachel" more than a decade too late.  And then I went to someone recommended by my fabulous hairdresser back home, and while I got a fabulous haircut, it was so expensive that I haven't been able to afford to do that more than once a year.  I ended up getting my hair cut at my salon back home in the summer, and then I've been procrastinating from figuring out anything else ever since. 

But I'm going to be brave: I'm going to the salon on campus.  A couple of my friends have gone there now, and even the cost of getting a "senior stylist" is affordable (especially because they offer a discount for students).  I made an appointment to get my hair cut by the salon's manager, because the website says that she specialises in fine hair. 

I'm even getting braver: I'm going to talk with her about the possibility of getting bangs.  This will require me to get my hair cut more frequently than once a year, and I'm getting tired of the Vast Expanse of Forehead that I've had since grade 9. 

But it's scary, because the last time I had bangs, they looked like this:

Or this:

I just want light bangs, and maybe something that slopes to the side.  But I need reassurance that I won't end up looking like this:

Here's the most recent picture of my hair (and sorry Ky for putting a picture of you as well, but I can't figure out how to crop you out):

What do you think? Cut to chin-length with light slope-y bangs?

Friday Baby Bunny Blogging

 

Yesterday was sunny and all the baby bunnies were out.  I also managed to remember to bring my camera, which never happens.  (My cellphone is full of blurry bunny pictures.)

How we've spent all our spare time today

(Because Bronwyn asked for pictures.)  (Also, please ignore the pile of laundry.)

My Weekend in Pictures

 Why yes, it did take me until Wednesday to blog about the weekend. But I've been moving in slow motion and only got the house cleaned up after the houseguests today.

By the way, we had a girls' afternoon on Monday and went to a new tea house in Chinatown.  It was so good! It was quiet and airy, right in the middle of busy Chinatown! It had gluten-free food for Ky! It now has its own line of tea! And it was decorated in a style that would have made my whimsical 14-year-old self faint with joy.  (I wish I had photographed the old-timey bicycles that are hanging from the walls, with their baskets filled with flowers.)

I brought you flowers and chocolate

The weather's finally cleared up around here, and on Sunday I was itching to spend the day outside. Chris and I decided to walk around my university's flower garden, because I figured that its World-Famous Rhododendrons (seriously: we get tour buses) would be in bloom. We brought along the camera, and I was happy with the results:

Okay, I also brought you Christopher's eyebrows for Valentine's Day, but that didn't fit in the title.

I uploaded the whole photo set to Flickr, which you can check out here. Which you might enjoy, if your house is currently buried in snow. Or that might make you decidedly not enjoy a bunch of pictures of flowers.

***

In other (but related) news, I also used Valentine's Day as an excuse for my annual Try Out Some Kind Of New Recipe Or Cooking Technique. Last year was risotto, and this year it was little molten cakes! I took the flourless individual molten chocolate cake recipe from the Joy of Cooking and added the spices from Garrett McCord's Chipotle Flourless Chocolate Cake recipe on Simply Recipes.

And wow: individual molten chipotle chocolate cakes? I highly recommend. I'm going to try other variations on the molten chocolate cake on a regular basis now.