May 28, 2008

I stumbled across a facebook group entitled "awkward wedding pictures rock my socks" the other day. It's a collection of awkward, badly edited, and overly dramatic pictures. It amused me greatly. It's also where I stole this picture from. I've seen many wedding pictures in my day, but never one quite as strange as this one. I just wanted to share. Enjoy!

May 26, 2008

Last night we went to Kinsmen Park with our friend Kevin and his 17 month old son, Damean. Kinsmen Park is a small park with a few rides intended for young(ish) children. One of the rides is the freakiest merry-go-round I have ever seen. Along with the normal horses, the animals available for riding included:

A pink elephant (above)
2 chickens (a hen and a rooster)
A giant dog
An antelope/reindeer (we couldn't decide what it was)
A terrifying giant rabbit with creepy eyes


I think that rabbit would have given me nightmares as a child.

May 24, 2008

Haircut.

May 22, 2008

I've been going to a chiropractor.

I've always been somewhat of a skeptic regarding chiropractic medicine - it's always seemed more like witchcraft than actual medicine to me. There was also a highly publicized case in my city where a young woman died from a ruptured artery caused by a chiropractic neck adjustment. But I've been having neck pain and headaches almost every day and some substantial foot pain brought on by soccer, so I decided to give it a try.

My first visit was only an assessment, no adjustments. I was poked and prodded and had to bend in funny ways so the Dr. could assess the range of motion in all of my joints.

My second visit was my first adjustment. The first adjustment was at the base of my neck. It was fairly painful but made my back feel much better. Then the Dr. started focusing on my feet. He grabbed both feet, told me "This will likely hurt" and proceeded to crack all 10 of my toes at the same time. I screamed. Loud. I'm sure people were fleeing from the waiting room if they heard me. After the adjustment was over, my feet felt better than they have in at least three years. I've been having fewer headaches too.

I had another adjustment today, this time focusing on my lower back. It was much less painful than my first adjustment and relieved nearly all of the pain in my lower back.

This may be witchcraft, but I'm beginning to believe.

May 19, 2008

I spent the long weekend painting our kitchen. Doing renovation work on our house has taught me some interesting things about some of the philosophies the previous owners had. For example:

1) Nails are definitely better than screws. Even if the maker of whatever product you're trying to hang supplied you with screws, use a nail if at all possible. Because really, what would the product manufacturer know?

2) The larger the nail, the better. Obviously.

3) If you have to use a screw, immediately discard those supplied with the product. Always use the largest possible screw you can find to accomplish the job (see picture above - those two enormous screws were holding up one of the jacket hooks by the back door).

4) It is also much better to use different types of screws to mount a single wall bracket. Phillips, Robertson, different sizes... mix them up! It's fun and you get to use multiple screwdrivers when you try and remove them. For additional entertainment, hang a wall bracket with a screw in one hole and a nail in the other.


Sigh.

May 12, 2008

That's actually the price of gas?!? You've got to be kidding me. This is not good news for someone planning a wedding that is to take place ~2 hours drive from where she lives.

I'm starting to worry that with gas prices on this steep upward trend with no relief in sight, that it will become a major hindrance that will prevent some guests from attending the wedding. And if they do come, will there be greater expectations since it cost them so much to travel all that way?

Someone needs to invent a teleporter for me as a wedding gift.

May 10, 2008

I bought THE dress today. Once again, it's not the dress in the photo. While I'd love to post a picture of it here, there is a small possibility that Ian may one day decide to read my blog and see it.

It's funny how I've discovered some wedding traditions that I feel are important to uphold, while many others I am perfectly willing to toss out the window. For example, it's incredibly important to me that Ian not see me or know anything about my dress/appearance until the ceremony but I really couldn't care less if I have a wedding cake, a traditional 'first dance' with Ian, a garter/bouquet toss etc, etc, etc. Oh well... it's my wedding and I can do what I like. At least, that's what people keep telling me.

If you really want to see the dress, leave a comment and I'll email you a picture. Don't show Ian.

May 9, 2008

This is the first year I've had to send money back to the government at tax time. I actually did receive a hefty refund thanks to my remaining tuition and books credits and the graduate tax exemption from the provincial government, but the federal government decided they wanted their money back for the last two GST rebates they sent me. So I received my refund, then had to write a cheque to the feds. I much prefer it when the government writes me cheques, not the other way around.

Enjoy the $234, Federal Government of Canada.

May 8, 2008

This is the ice cream cake I bought from Dairy Queen for Ian for his birthday. There, in the cooler beside all of the 'Happy Mothers Day!' cakes, was a cake decorated with a bikini-clad woman riding a football. Perfect for Ian. Somewhat bizarre for Mothers Day.

May 7, 2008

Ian: So, uh... this dress you like... how much does it cost?

Me: It retails for $730

Ian: I love it

Again, it's not the dress in the picture

May 6, 2008

I went shopping for my wedding dress for the first time yesterday. Both my mom and Ian's mom came with me. It was an interesting experience. It was much more fun than I had anticipated, but it was also exhausting. Who knew prancing around in fancy dresses all day could make a person so tired?

I was pleasantly surprised to see how nice I looked in all the dresses I tried on, even if they weren't exactly my style. I was also surprised to see how different a dress can look on a person, as opposed to on the hanger. Overall, it was a good day.

I did find a dress that I'm 99% sure is THE dress, but I'm going to think about it for a week or two before putting a deposit down. After all, I have 13 months to change my mind! And no, it's not the dress in the picture.

April 27, 2008

Spring? Is it really you?!?