Musings on my ankle

A few things:

• I have a cankle.
  
  
• I don't normally have a cankle. This is an injury-related cankle. Which, ew. It's bothering me, as it is incredibly fat and ugly and even though I have some body image issues, one thing I have always felt secure about is my lovely, thin, shapely ankles.
  
  
• But now said lovely, thin ankle is disguised by fat, bulging skin. Which, as I said, ew.
  
  
• As you can see, I'm obsessed with my cankle.
  
  
• In other news, it's Friday. Woo hoo! And I'm going to a friend's wedding tomorrow. Woo hoo times 2! (I love weddings).
  
  
• That's pretty much all I have to say.
  
  
• (Again, I'm obsessed with the cankle and can't think of much else to talk about).
  
  
• Will report back later when cankle is gone.
  
  
• Oh, please let cankle be gone soon.

It's like when Mr. Big's name was finally revealed

Have I blabbered on enough in this blog about how much I love the hubster?

For those of you that have been following for a while, you may think I have. You may be getting tired of hearing me gush. But then again, he's so gush-worthy.

Be warned: if you don't wish to hear more about the hubster and his general wonderfulness, close this window now...

(I knew you wouldn't leave. How could you not want to hear about hubby??)

As you know, we're in the middle of home renos. The kitchen's a mess and it stresses me out. So, almost every day I get a little tense, a little short with my words, a little frustrated. And hubster's reaction? Very calm and cool and all rolling-with-the-punches-like. Which, I'm not going to lie, is annoying at times. But also comes in handy when I need a little breather from the internal wackness that is my stressed-out mind.

I was thinking about hubster this morning on the subway. His reaction to all this kitchen stuff just further confirms for me that he's a fantastic person. He knows how to read me and how to make me feel better about everything, without making me feel like I'm irrational or wrong for feeling the way I do. He may get angry or stressed at times, but it never lasts long. And then he's just back to his even-keel kind of way.

The hubster knows. That calm demeanor and relaxed stance... it's all to make you feel comfortable in his presence. But he knows what you're thinking. And what to say. Yes, he knows. He's smart that hubster of mine.

Oh, and his name... is Andrew. And I love him to death.

The most exciting news you'll read today. (Or maybe it's just exciting to me).

I know you've all been waiting for this news.... Like, edge of your seat in anticipation, type of waiting. So - here it is. Wait no longer. My news is...

Our kitchen cupboards are installed. Hells yeah!

This is very exciting for you. I know. I'll pause for a moment to let you catch your breath and calm your delicate nerves.

*Pause. Blink. Pause.*

Moving on. Our counter top is in as well. The stove and microwave are back in their places. And... happiest of happy news - We. Have. A. Dishwasher.

I'll say that again for emphasis: We. Have. A. Dishwasher. (I'm sorry, but I'm getting a little teary eyed right now just thinking of it).

We got so excited about the dishwasher that we loaded it up and used it immediately last night. Of course, it was a bit anticlimactic when the dishes came out filthy. It took us 2 more tries before we realized that the water that goes to the dishwasher wasn't turned on. So all we were doing was cooking dirt onto our dishes. Twice.

Anywho.

We got that figured out. And then we (of course) hit a little snag. We realized we hated the paint colour we chose.

So... hubster and I hustled off to Home Depot for the trillionth time and picked out a new colour. Last night we primed everything, got almost all our junk back into the cupboards, and tonight we'll hopefully paint the first coat of our new colour.

And then... AND THEN... I will breathe a huge sigh of relief and will revel in the gorgeousness that is my brand, new kitchen.

Hallelujah.

At least my eye twitch is gone

I'm back from Capital City.

Where I ran a half marathon... again.

And it almost killed me.

But then I had waffles and wine for dinner - so it was all better again.

And now I'm back at work and very busy. And my house is still in a total state of wreckage. So I have no calm or serenity at work or home.

Which is why I'm feeling frantic.

And why I must go now.

Goodbye.

PS: I love you.

Oh, the flossy flossy

Things that happened in my glamorous life yesterday (in no particular order):

• My cat shit on the carpet.
  
  
• The contractor failed to show up for an entire day, thus putting all progress behind and forcing me to live in the wreckage of a demolished kitchen for another day.
  
  
• I received a letter from the Home Depot Mail-in-Rebate people saying: No, in fact, you CAN'T have your $100 rebate on your shiny new microwave that we promised you. Why? Simply because we are scam artists and you? Have been scammed.
  
  
• I woke up to intense back pain along the left side of my mid back. Thought it was just from sleeping funny and it would go away.
  
  
• Back pain did not go away all day.
  
  
• Back pain is still present.
  
  
• The cat shit was ground into the carpet by the time I got my lazy arse around to cleaning it. (Luckily, our carpet camouflages such things as food, cat poo and wine.) (Note to all my readers: you may want to avoid things like eating off of or rubbing open wounds on said carpet. It's dirty, yo.)

What's this coffee-making machine you speak of?

Now that we're all a big mushy pile of goo from looking at a pic of my nephew... let's move on to other things.

Like the fact that I'm heading to Ottawa in 2 days to run another half marathon race. And the fact that I really, really don't want to.

(That's right. I said it. I'm a runner and I just do. Not. Want. To. Run. The Race. Perhaps it's because I've already inflicted myself with the torture of the 2 hour (plus) run. And yeah - once? Is enough, thank you very much.)

Or, we can move on to something else: the exciting news that my office finally has a coffee maker!! Again, you heard me right. We are in the year 2009 and my place of business just recently got a coffee maker put into the kitchen.

(Also - I'm not a coffee drinker, so you would think this news wouldn't be that exciting to me. However, I do make these homemade lattes every day and they taste SO much better with freshly brewed Starbucks coffee than with the instant crap I was previously using. Hurrah for modern inventions like coffee makers!)

Hows about we move on to the fact that yesterday, I was quite honest (read: brutally honest) with my boss about something and - surprise, surprise - my boss didn't seem too happy with my honesty at first.

Later, hubster asked me if maybe I wanted to perhaps approach the whole "honesty" thing a little more carefully around someone who could easily fire me. And - surprise, surprise - I was all indignant at this comment. I was all: "Hey - I'm just an honest person. I don't like to sugar coat. And if that ain't okay... than I don't wanna be right!!!" And.... then.... I thought about it a little bit.... and yeah. I realized that a little "discretion" really isn't a bad thing.

Anywho.

So that's what's up with me. And now, for your viewing pleasure (and your daily intake of vitamin "goo"), here is another picture of my nephew.

Hez: You have cute dimples, nephew.
Nephew: I like your honesty, Auntie.

When you're having a bad day, come here.

This.

Just this.

Nothing else matters anymore, does it?

Mama needs a new kitchen

Our kitchen is being redone this week.

I'm completely and utterly excited for the new cabinets and countertop (sigh... so old. So very, very old). And yet, at the same time - I'm SOOO not looking forward to having no kitchen for a week.

Last night, hubster and I emptied out every single cupboard and drawer and placed everything onto our dining room table, our hutch/cabinet thingy, on the floor and on the kitchen table (which is now sitting in our living room).

Needless to say - the place is a mess. And I might go crazy before the week is up.

However, as we were washing up after dinner last night, hubby said to me "This may be the last time we do dishes by hand. Ever. Again."

That thought alone? Yeah... it's enough to get me through this week.

The good, the bad and the meh

Hello, Internet. And how are you today? Are you good, Internet? Oh, I do hope so. That would be ever so lovely and wonderful.

I'm alright today. Not great. Not awful. Just - alright. There's a delicate balance between the Good and the Bad which is resulting in my alright-ness.

Let me enlighten you:

- It's rainy out (bad), but it's Thursday - and I'm off work tomorrow (good!).

- I'm tired (bad), but I'm wearing a shirt I discovered in the back of my closet that I haven't worn in ages and now I feel like I've got a brand new item to put into rotation (good!).

- I have been uber-unmotivated at work lately (bad), but I had sushi for lunch yesterday (good!).

- Work is piling up on my desk (bad), but I expertly shuffle papers around whenever somebody comes by so that it looks like I'm actually very busy and important (good!).

So you see, Internet... the Good and the Bad, they're entwined in this little tango and the result is my apathy. I'm meh.

I shall no longer go by Hez. Today, I shall answer only to Meh, Queen of Apathy. Unless, of course, by some freak of nature, the Good wins the battle. Then I would be restored to Hez: all chipper and shiny and happy.

This will require much chocolate, Good.

I'm just sayin'.

Weekend Update

Woo! Wooooooo!

Woo.

I had a "woo"-worthy weekend. Let's see... what happened...

Oh yes, I ran a half marathon. Nothing serious. Y'know... just ran 21k and all.

Mumsie and I before the race.

Mumsie and I nearing the finish line. (This was shortly before Mumsie's unedited comment: F%$CK! Don't let our smiles fool you. We were EXHAUSTED.)

Mumsie and I done the race. And ecstatic! (Runner's high and all...)

Also, pre-race events included going to see 65_RedRoses... the last documentary we saw with our Hot Docs film fest pass. All I can say is: SO. GOOD. I won't do the synopsis justice. So, this is from their website:

"65_RedRoses is a Canadian documentary that takes an unflinching look into the life of Eva Markvoort as she battles a fatal genetic disease called Cystic Fibrosis (CF). At 23, Eva needs a double lung transplant to live. Unable to be around other patients with the same disease, Eva turns to the Internet where she forms a strong connection with two American girls in different stages of CF. As the film follows Eva on her journey to getting new lungs, we witness how her online friendship with Meg and Kina withstands the tests of both time and distance."

The best part about the screening we attended? We found out at the end that Eva and her entire family were in the audience. Tissues were definitely required.

Exploration into the Runner's mind

On Sunday, I'll be running my second-ever half marathon race. It'll be the first "official" 21k race that my Mom and I run together.

For those of you that remember, I've had all sorts of issues and problems and junk with my leg. Running and I sometimes have a love-hate relationship. I love it. My body hates it. Running likes me sometimes. Other times it looks at me all disapproving-like while shaking its head.

Anyway. So this year - by some kind of miracle - I'm doing quite well in the pain department. (Knocking on wood, for the love of god, must knock on wood). Unfortunately, Mumsie - the gazelle-like lady who has not had a single running issue the entire time we've run together - is now injured a teensy bit.

So, this has sort of messed with her head. We ran last night and it was hurting her a bit. Now she's discouraged and worried about how she's going to make it through the race on Sunday. (All runners go through this. We think that the last bad run we had means that EVERY SINGLE RUN FROM NOW UNTIL FOREVER will be bad. It's some weird thing that plagues our minds. Can't help it.)

I understand this feeling. Which is why I want my Mumsie to know this:

You are amazing.

You're 61 (sorry! had to say it to prove my point) and you're running 21 kms. There are a heck of a lot of people out there that can't run 21kms - and a lot of them are much, much younger than you.

You are strong and fit and healthy. And so far, running has almost, but not completely, been easy for you. Now you have a challenge to face. Now you have to deal with this annoyance mentally and physically.

But you know what?

You're going to do it. You're going to finish. And you're going to be thrilled. You're going to have SUCH a sense of accomplishment. Hopefully, you're going to enjoy it along the way, too.

And I? Will be prouder than any daughter could ever be on Mother's Day.

Yesterday it was milk. Today it's the TTC.

Today's rant is brought to you by the Toronto Transit Commission - your daily source for annoyance and exploitation.

Why annoyance and exploitation? Well, let me explain.

I get tokens to ride the subway each day. And I usually get them from the automated machines, to avoid the lineups of disgruntled people.

You put your $20 bill or $10 bill in the machine (no $5 bills... only 20s and 10s) and you get your tokens and change in return.

So, this morning when I put my $20 bill in, I waited for my 8 tokens and 2 loonies to drop into the tray so I could retrieve them and go on my merry way.

Only, instead of 2 loonies, I got 1 loonie and a 50 cent piece from some country I can't identify that uses characters instead of letters. (It's a beautiful coin, don't get me wrong. But it's not a loonie. Therefore, it is unfortunately worthless in the exchange of goods and services in this fine country we live in).

So I went up to the guy working the booth and showed it to him. He told me that to remedy the situation, I would need to either call head office or go to the Davisville subway station. (Which is 4 stops beyond mine.)

So, even though I found that slightly annoying, I went to Davisville - knowing that it would cost me another $2.75 to get back to work afterwards. (Yes, the math doesn't quite work out. Spend $2.75 to get $1.00 back. I know. But it's the principle!)

Once I got there and found the customer service office, I was informed that it doesn't open until 8:30am. (This was at 7:30). I would need to come back later on in the day. To which I said, "So I have to spend $5.50 riding the subway to get my dollar back?"

The guy just kind of nodded. He gave me a free pass to get back to my office. But yeah. If I want to go back later today, I gots to pay.

So now the TTC totally has me (pardon the expression) by the short and curlies. They'll either make $5.50 off of me if I go back to get my dollar back - or they'll make that dollar off of me if I decide it's just not worth it.

Friggin' robbery, people!! How many of us are out there deciding that it's just not worth it to get that dollar back?? And the stupid fat cats just sit back and get rich off of our HARD EARNED money!! I can hear them laughing at me now.

Argh. So that's my morning rant. I know it's not that bad in the grand scheme of things (and it certainly isn't as bad as having my milk stolen). But still. It makes me want to go to Union station and stand around yelling out: DAMN THE MAN!!! THE TTC IS ROBBING US!! THEY MUST BE STOPPED!!

Or........ maybe I'll just let it go.

Really? Like... really???

My morning started off okay today.

Then I got into work and discovered that someone stole my milk.

Here's the thing. Yesterday, I brought a small jar of milk into work - just enough for 2 days' worth of my homemade lattes. I'm trying to save money so I've started making my own lattes with instant coffee and a milk frother. (Love it.)

So anyway, that's why I bring it in. But rather than lug a jar of milk back and forth every day, I bring one in that will last for a few days.

And while I was commuting in this morning, I was thinking all along about how nice it'll be to get into work and make a hot, steaming, delicious latte to enjoy while I check my emails and ease into the day.

Imagine my chagrin when I opened the fridge and found a teeny, tiny amount of milk left in the bottom of my jar.

Just enough to tease me.

Now - I know it's just milk. But the thing that bugs me the most is that someone I work with, someone who is gainfully employed and making money, is stealing my stuff. Not even just asking to borrow a little milk... But actually stealing almost all of it - and leaving a tiny bit at the bottom to make it look like they didn't take it all.

Really?? This - from adults??

I'm going to have to resort to hiding my food in the company fridge. How sad.

Person who stole my milk today? You = FAIL in the good coworker department. Epic fail.

Race day approacheth

It's May 4th! That means - only 6 more days until the first of two half marathons that I'll be running this spring. (My second and third half marathons, respectively).

Omigodomigodomigodomigodomigodomigodomigodomigodomigod!!

I'm ready though. (I think).

Come on, race day... show me what you've got!

You're so damn lucky, England

I have this friend. Let's call her "Jolivia".

Jolivia and I met in University. She was a good friend of my roommate - so she would come around to our apartment often. We instantly hit it off when we met - and before long, we were hanging out, even without my roommate around.

In between classes and studying, we had movie dates, long chats, lots of laughs and tons of inside jokes together. After Uni, we remained close friends, visiting one another whenever we could. (We live 5 hours away from each other).

And over the years since then, we've shared discussions about our future, a common interest in running, an amazing trip to Ireland together, my wedding (she was a bridesmaid) and countless girly weekends complete with lazy Sundays in our pjs, movie marathons, comparisons of our "Top 10 Male Celebs we would get with" lists, food, drinks and an incredible amount of laughs.

She's the type of friend who is awesome to be around. She listens to everything you have to say and is genuinely interested in your life. She has cool stories to share and is always, always fun to be around. She knows great places to dine at, go for drinks at, shop at, and great museums to visit. She's just all-around awesome.

And now... she's embarking on another cool aspect of her life. She's going back to school.

I just found out that she was accepted into a post-grad program in Sustainable Development. In England.

So, Jolivia is packing up her life in Canada and moving to London, England in September.

And yes - the program is only 10 months. But I have a feeling Jolivia might not be coming back. There's just too much in this amazing world to be seen by her.

I'm envious of her ability to get up and go and see where her life takes her. I'm also so incredibly happy for her (this was something Jolivia really, really wanted) and I know she's starting out an amazing path in her life.

At the same time - I'm not going to lie - I'm a teensy bit sad. Sad about the thought that I may see even less of Jolivia as we get older. Sad that we won't be able to travel back and forth between Canada and England as much as we travel to see each other now. Sad that the laughs will have to be over the phone, rather than in person. Sad that England gets her... and we have to lose her at home.

I know it's selfish - but I'll miss my girlfriend. As you get older and see less of your friends, it's the ones who you really care about, who really mean something, that you want to hold onto for dear life.

I'll be holding onto Jolivia as much as I can. And also wishing her the best experiences in the world in her new path. She deserves that from me.

But England, I'm warning you now... you better welcome her with open arms. Or you'll have a very protective friend to deal with.

Good luck, Liv.