and I am progressing abominably

Good morning, I have a headache.


Oh, it's 7 p.m.
Right on.

I went to a sweet clothing swap last night at Russet & Empire in the junction!
One of my favourite vague friends (hopefully soon to become a proper dear friend hahahaaaa Norman terminology) came along with me.
I just texted her to ask what she wants her nickname to be. I received this list:

-Anastasia Candelabra
-LaMontaigne Adirondack
-Right-Eye Winkleton
-Candace Cameron.



Obviously we settled on Candace Cameron Candelabra.



Anyhow, Candace and I went to this clothing swap. Sooo many nice things. I felt a bit embarrassed with what I'd brought after seeing the shit these ladies were laying out. There were lots of people, too, with a bunch of different kinds of clothes. Also there was cake and pllllenty of wine.



I basically cleaned up. So many great things. Dresses and blouses, mostly. Perrrrrfect for spring! (oh god, spring, when is it you'll come to my arms?) A lovely slouchy pair of brown boots, and a pair of white mini-wedge canvas slip-ons. Cute!



After the swap Candace was kind enough to accompany me to my 2nd favourite watering-hole (after Hoops). There we spoke to several of my favourite babes and I might have stayed out until 4:30. See! this is why I shouldn't be trusted to go out on the town!

I ended up telling the dudes I was locked in with after hours all about how I want to be a foster parent sometime. And showing them pictures of the animals in my life. Haaaa, you're welcome, dudes for being such excellent company.
No, it was a pretty nice time. Always a nice time there. Very fond of those dudes. Rotating group of dudes but all of them are rather lovely.



Remember when the snow left? That was great! Remember how it was spring for a minute there?
I'm supposed to work outside at the soccer pitch this weekend. I AM NOT IMPRESSED.
I feel like maybe there are laws that say I shouldn't have to work outside pouring beer if it's below zero.


I have so many freckles! I'm so lucky!


This guy  is messsssssssssssed.

Sometimes when I listen to Joanna Newsom I want to cry. In a nice way. Still unbelievably good. I was singing it to Kaya today, she was into it. Dog fan.

I've made out with 60 people. I feel like that's surprisingly few, hey? In my whole life!?


I recommend that if you're going to call out, "hey! what kind of ducks are you guys!?", you should look around to see if anyone is around, jogging by for instance.

Also, what kind of ducks are the ones that look sort of like puffin-heads and they are pretty white and brown?
I saw a duck guy with a spiky mohawk, too. Lots of freaking birds.
Violet on birds "ew, gross" ahahahahahhhaa.


goddamn digital zoom is awful.

I WANT IT TO BE SUMMER AND I WANT TO GO TO THE ISLAND.

I'm actually starting to feel a helpless sad anger at winter. Like when you're walking and you have wet feet and that point finally hits where you're like this is not okay anymore. That's how I feel about winter.
Soon soon soon soon soon soon I will not remember what wearing a sweater is like. I will long to be chilly again.

In a bit I'm going to cook up some beans and I'm going to put so many onions and zucchinis and mushrooms and salsa and tofu and it's going to be super delicious and I'm getting right prepared to enjoy it.

I woke up this morning forgetting I had made cookies yesterday. Best sort of wake-up surprise!

might as well jump

ever just hang out with your fam and put your hands on your faces? We do!
there was almost certainly a lot of bossing going on before this photo was taken.

bet my mum wishes she didn't have such blurry children. haahaaa ugh, sorry. terrible joke.
My bro's been bugging me to post these photos for awhile and since I'm SUCH A GOOD SISTER I'm finally getting around to it. You're welcome, brother mistletoe.


People really like my mum. I don't know why. Except she's probably the kindest. Oh, we've been over this before? Well neverrrr mind, then.

E and I both kind of look like her and like each other. We have different biodads, though so it's okay if we're not like twinners or something. I'd like to see E's biodad, that'd be a trip.
Also, my biodad, obvi.


No, really, guys. Menu time.
Sorry for not photographing other people at this table. Well, at least we got some family portraits done.

I like Las Palapas. I miss Saskatoon. Always this time of year I miss Saskatoon. I kind of think I will only be able to afford to once this year. Via has last minute fares that are only like $150 right now. I wish.


ready?

yeeeah

fucking nailed the landing.
hahaha gremlin face on me, hey!

I've had a fucking craving and a half for that weird do-it-yourself soup I get at Las Palapas. Anyone know what that shit's called? I tried to make something like it... it was just alright.


Goddamn, I am one fine specimen. Where did they find the sperm donor to make such a lovely and delicate flower of a lady?
Haa, E looks rather handsome here, too bad about me ruining this photo.

Yeah so I'm home again. Alone. Again.
Not spending money, not socializing. I spent noooo money today. Beat that. Not even a coffee or anything.

I get busy starting this weekend basically, start having a lot more shifts and making money money money.
Remind me that I need to not go out as much, still. And that I need to start using my dollars to pay my bills and act like an adult and shit.
No, don't remind me. I'll only want to punch you.

Clothing swap at  Russet & Empire tomorrow! I am excited for new clothes and wine and new buds. All of that!
And clothing swaps have definitely been saving me in these frugal times. I think half my wardrobe now is swapped. Amazing.
Let me know if you want to come along, obviously.


In other news:

Mini-flask necklaces!



I've had questions on where/how to get these and for how much, etc.
The young ladies pulling cans of PBR out of their bags in the bar washroom were very impressed by them! Plus, it's the one gift I've gotten Dollface that she has truly appreciated. Hahaaa.



I was considering making an etsy page but I don't really want to give them a percentage. How about if you just tell me if you want one and I'll make it happen?



$15/each
$25/two (great gifts!)
$5/shipping (Canada and U.S.)
less if you need, 20 if you're rich. (I don't know anyone rich now that I think of it.)
plus if you're a bud, it'll come pre-filled. haahaaa so handy. and if you live/work anywhere within a reasonable distance of me, I'll deliver it. I mean, I don't have anything else to do, really.


The blue one in the middle there, that's my favourite. I can't deal with how much I like that pattern. I made two. One for me, one for you. 



Okay. So buy one. I can do special requests in terms of the paper that covers them, also. If you have ideas, let me know.

BYE NOW.

random photo round-up plus great movie reviews!

I think it's possible that cabin fever is setting in. Or depression. I'm not sure which. Depressive cabin fever?

Maybe!




I haven't left the house yet today and the past couple of days I really only went out to walk the dog. Trying to stay in and be good and not drink and not hit on babes and especially not spend any money.

Unfortunately my plans to be getting shit done seem to be falling remarkably flat. Or expectedly flat.

Hmmmm.

There is nothing that I feel like doing. Nothing. I could do anything and there's nothing that I want to do. Except watch TV and waste time on the internet. How ridiculously sad is that? I have so many skills and passtimes. I cannot believe that I have the gift of all this free time (in between applying for jobs online, I mean) and that I'm not using it at all.
UGH. story of my life.

I have gotten a couple of minor things done. But so super minor. I could have my entire house cleaned, a whole script written, sellable crafts made, or at least the dishes all done.


I made cookies last night! And then today I ate them!
Okay, there's still a few left but not many. I'm not drinking so instead I'll eat!

These photos are from Loving In The Name Of, which is a dance party featuring a superband made up of members of lots of the best bands and they play the best songs ever and call themselves The Best. Fair enough!
Miss Lindeman and McGruff did a duet! And it was soooo lovely. I wish I'd gotten a photo of them holding hands it was too cute to deal with. Aww the babies.

They love me and I love them forever.

And these next few photos are from a fundraiser beer party for Birdtown Swanville we went to on Saturday.


I took a few more of the worst shots ever that night but luckily I deleted them! Was super happy to see people, super happy to break it down for a bit, and super happy to eat all the nachos at Sneaky Dee's afterwards with my favourite Dollface.
Home by 2:30, didn't go to an after party, what am I? A regular man?


And finally, this is the only photo I took at the clothing swap on Sunday. It looks like it should be on the oddly specific aspect of fail blog.

No one took that shirt home with them.
I also didn't take the sleazy tank top home with me that said "Rock Royalty" on it, despite Dayna's pushing. Hahahaaa I kind of wish I had. Except that what if people didn't get that it was a joke?

We did get really sweet hauls, though. I love swaps! Honestly, they are one of the best things to come into my life in the past few years. Some of my most favourite items have come into my life via my friends and their friends. Plus there was sangria!

Okay, since I've been at home watching so many movies lately, maybe you'd like some reviews? Probably not but whatever.
Hmmm. Actually I'm the worst at reviews of anything and I also hate when people ruin anything about movies or tell me anything about them before I see them. Whatever. Here are some things I thought,

Blue Valentine:
The posters for this make it look really really sexy and hot and fun. Maybe I should have watched a trailer or something because this is really sad. I didn't love Michelle Williams or Ryan Gosling as much as I thought I would in this. In fact, I maybe liked Ryan Gosling better in All Good Things, which I watched recently as well. They were still totally solid but because they are two of my favouritefavourites, I had high expectations for these guys. Can someone make Ryan Gosling my boyfriend? Also, it did make me want to get a good dad for my kids, though. Hmmmmm.
Recommend.

Catfish
Dudes, I'm not allowed to ruin this for you! It says right on the poster. But I will say that it is a documentary and not a horror film. And I like good documentaries and this one is pretty outrageous. It'd be hard to make something up this crazy. Morgan Spurlock thought it was a fake but I do not because you'd be hard-pressed to find an actor who could pull off playing this character.
Recommend.

Temple Grandin:
Claire Danes! I'm not even going to pretend for one minute that I don't have a deep love for Claire Danes. I do. Except I also find her annoying sometimes. But not here! No not here at all! Maybe slightly over the top? But also maybe not. Playing someone who is autistic would be terrifically hard. And I think she did such a lovely, warm job of playing someone who really isn't warm at all. This story was super interesting as well, trying to make farms and slaughterhouses much more humane for cattle? I'm in!
Recommend.

Adam
I wasn't even going to bother mentioning I watched this movie, as it was terrible. But then I remembered that Hugh Dancy is Claire Danes'... WAIT. I thought ex-boyfriend but I just checked and they are MARRIED. Wow. hmm, and in this movie he plays a man with Aspergers, which is on the Autism spectrum.
Okay. This movie is not terrrrible, it is just not great. I found it forced and also boring. I found his portrayal a bit false. I don't even know why. Now I feel bad since he probably has a soft spot for Claire Danes, too.
Alright, Hugh Dancy, I really really like your name, I'll give you that. When I was small I had imaginary friends named Soandso and Dancy. soooo..... nice work.
Do Not Recommend.

The Social Network
Interesting! More interesting than I thought! I like the guy in this a lot. Ummm.. yep, that's pretty much what I have to say about that. Also, I'm glad Facebook exists, how else would I creep on everyone all the time?
Recommend.

The King's Speech:
Man, dudes cry a lot when becoming king, hey? Actually the friendship in this story is super lovely and I cried when I watched it, so... actually that doesn't prove anything because I get choked up over everything. I like looking at Helena Bonham Carter and pretending I will have a career like hers one day. GOAL. I liked the sets in this movie, also. Oh, and Colin Firth was great.
Would it be weird to name my daughter Wallace? I guess Cheesbrough is probably bad enough without bringing Wallace into it. 
Recommend.

Wow, at this rate watching the Oscars is actually going to be interesting for me. I've actually seen some of the movies.

Now, if you are my mother I can hear you thinking that I am being ridiculous watching a billion movies (not to mention the TV shows! Did anyone watch Shameless?) instead of writing my own shit.
And you are really, really right.

SUPERSIGH. 

biking to work in the sun is not as good as lying around in the shade

ONLY FOUR MORE SHIFTS TO GO UNTIL VACATION.

And by vacation, I just mean several days off in a row. like maybe 13. Maybe one shift in there at some point? Who knows. Anyhow, working two different jobs tomorrow and one tonight and one on Sunday.
I have one billion plans until Tuesday. Then Tuesday onwards I have nothing really planned. Let's make some plans!
Who wants to take me on a trip?

During my time off I am going to get so much done! Or at least catch up on sleep.

I did actually end up going out last night. Until 3. Why did that happen!
It was Raymi's fault. And mine for being too easy to sway. Met her at Brooklyn bar and then moved to Salvadore Darling.

This world is so small. I ran into a girl from Saskatoon who I went to high-school with there. I was supposed to have brunch with her today but that didn't end up happening, but at least we partied last night. Seriously, this whole world is so small.



So I was up until 5 a.m. looking at the internet. Because when I come home after drinking I frequently just get carried away looking at random things and linking around. So dumb.

Slept in until noon and then somehow managed to get up and showered and go to the gym with Mrs. I'm kind of amazed with myself. It's good to have people to meet at the gym because then you can't wiener out of it like I was fully planning on doing.
I'm sore!
Obviously.



These pictures are just like the pictures from yesterday only with slight variations. I know I know.



I wish I had time to relax all day right now. I'd like to go to the park and read in the sun. Or shade. Yeah, in the shade.



So I'm officially having a clothing swap on Monday. I invited a bunch of really nice ladies but I don't think it'll be too crowded in here, probably just right? I hope so!
I'm going to be making my (famous) sangria and my (famous) guacamole and maybe some cookies?
I wish gluten-free baking was easier and less expensive. It probably will be later on because everyone is sort of realizing how hard gluten is to digest, lots of people are going gluten-free or just eating way less.
Pretty good.

I'm planning on cleaning and finishing up organizing this place on Monday so hopefully I'll have photos of it for you then (Mum and Sass/Joey, mostly). It's not exciting really at all now I am building it up. oHhhh wells.

too much TV on the internet!

There's a movie I really want to watch that just got uploaded and I want to stream it (illegally) so badly right now but instead I feel like since I just wasted an hour of my life watching the second episode of the new Melrose Place (soooo bad why did I do that?) I should probably do something productive. Or at least go out partying. Or something. Hmm.

Well, I've opened up my writing folders. And I'm brewing a pot of tea. So... it could happen. Or I could watch Away We Go. I WANT TO.



I went shopping today and holy hell do pants ever not fit me. What the hell? I didn't think I was that strange of a size. Also, I hate pants. In the summertime I really rarely wear pants except to work.
SHORTS, SKIRTS, AND DRESSS!

I did buy a new jacket to replace the one I lost in Saskatoon. It is bright blue. I look terrific in bright blue. NO REALLY.
I got a bright red winter jacket at a clothing swap this summer and it's been sitting around patiently since then and I am excited to put it on at some point soon...
I look pretty terrific in bright red, also.

Lush was closed because of some red carpet event at Ultra which was very annoying because I wanted to buy some shampoo from them and instead I only saw (a very orange) Ben Mulroney. He looks exactly the same every single time you see him. I think he is fake.

The shampoo I wanted to buy is this blonde shampoo which naturally lightens/brightens your hair. I haven't tried it but last time I was in I bought their "Marilyn" hair mask which is a lightening/brightening/conditioning hair mask.
I'm trying to get back to my natural hair colour and so I'm trying to ease the transition from faded-out red to dark blonde.
I kind of love this hair mask. I actually first saw in on Keira-Anne's blog and she was liking it so I thought I'd try it.
a) it smells very very good (the smell of Lush stores is way too much for me so I was wary)
b) it feels very good
c) it actually seems to actually lighten my hair. Naturally!


Anyway,

WELCOME, FALL!

I am more than pleased with the crispness of the air and the lack of humidity. I was quite chilly on my way home tonight and that was a-okay.
Hallowe'en so soon! and then.......

CHRISTMAS


Aw man, I'm so pleased that Christmas comes every year!

this gouda tastes like candy

Still not much interaction with Theresa. I guess she just got separated from her kittens and stuff so it kind of makes sense... Poor little lady. She sure eats a lot under the desk back there, though.
Hopefully she'll get too fat to come out!

I appropriated these images from Sass for you!

Luckily a lot of you read both blogs so these will be old news! Boring!



The Mrs. was being particularly funny at the swap. She's pretty excited to be quitting her job soon, I think. I'll be glad to have her be around more often and glad she won't have to get up ungodly early and work so late.




Sometimes the hardest part of a clothing swap is not making fun of clothes other people wore. Sometimes you just have to though.

It was right around this time:

when Miss Lindeman told me not to grow out my bangs. Awww man, headbands! I'm in grade 10 again!



Niki just stopped by and she said she realized she'd gotten a whole new wardrobe from the swap. Swaps are really kind of magical. FREE CLOTHES. I can't believe I didn't start having them in highschool. It would make so much more sense.




Coffee in the park today with my friend Poppy.. have I nicknamed him already on here? I don't remember! Anyhow, I think that Poppy is a good name for him and so I'll go with that for now.
He is Cpt. Heh's friend from university who now lives here in Miss Lindeman's house, actually. He hangs out in the park being underemployed with me a lot. Except apparently now he got a new job so that sucks. for me.


I have to go work U2 now! I'm actually pretty terrified of working concerts at the dome because of how poorly they're run. Hopefully I'll be out before midnight..? Please?