Gran's coming to visit!

Yay! She got back from Alberta about a week ago and she's coming down to Scarborough this Saturday AND it looks like she's gonna be spending a few days at us. She'll be the first to break in our makeshift guest bedroom. It'll be so nice to have her, I can hardly wait. :)

I'm just not feeling it

Today is our quarter-end "celebration" and, just like every quarter before this, we're invited over to the Duke of Devon for food and drinks.

For quite a few people in our dept, however, [myself included] quarter-end isn't really over and it's a pretty safe bet that most, if not all of us, aren't in particularly celebratory moods when we've got deadlines looming ahead and we're short on staff.

Office protocol probably [according to Kevin anyway] dictates that I attend. I'm not going to - not after the week I've had, not after the day I'm fairly certian I am going to have tomorrow. To say it's been nuts is an understatement, last night I actually had to bring work home.

We've now got two team members that have left our group, and our boss has also bailed, his last day will be September 1. Everything is being passed down to the remaining few and there's been no word of a replacement for anyone, yet. So I'm going to pass on the lunch and pass on the drinks and try to get as much work done before I leave today... then maybe, if all the stars align I can actually leave on time tomorrow to start my vacation.

I can hardly wait for next week, I'm pooped.

Mornings are a b1tch!

Things are slowly becoming a nice routine in the mornings, the break in period is awful though!

It was only last week that I was waking at 7am, leaving the house around 8 and getting in for 9. Now I'm up at 6, getting in around quarter to 8 and leaving around 4. I swear the only thing that gets me up at 6 is the fact that I can now leave at 4.

But it's working out well, we now have time to sit and have breakfast together before heading out the door. It helps too that we're commuting to work with Roop, one week he'll drive in, one week we'll drive in. With regular traffic we're downtown in about 35mins, then it's about a 10mins walk to my building, so altogether not too bad. Ask me again in the winter, though. ;)

Oh, and I'm STILL very much sleep deprived. I'm off next week and work is even more nuts because of it. It's like they know I'm going to be off and are trying to get every last ounce of sweat out of me before I leave or something. Ugh.

Totally exhausted...

...but I'm back at work.

Things are [understandably] still nuts, but everything considered the move went pretty well, thanks to the help and assistance of all of our friends and family who turned up to help. The professional movers showed up about 20mins late, but they managed to do a lot in a short space of time. After they left we noticed that there was a tiny ding on the wall and a tile in the front foyer was also broken but that's about it, both are easy fixes as we have extra tiles and the ding on the wall isn't that noticeable. It really wasn't worth calling up and making a claim.

I think the worst part about the move though wasn't the move itself, it was that Kevin had to work on Sunday [system implementation meant that he had to be AT work for 7am, he didn't get back home until around 12 midnight]. Thankfully my parents and brothers spent most of the day with me and didn't leave until around 9pm to go home. For some reason I was terrified of being in the house all by myself, so as soon as they left I locked all the windows and doors and went upstairs. I was tired but at the same time I couldn't sleep. It was really weird, I'm usually pretty tough, I don't mind the dark, I don't mind being alone -- but just the fact that I was in this strange house by myself totally freaked me out. It probably didn't help that I was looking at CSI. ;)

Things are slowly starting to come together at the new place. Rogers showed up [finally!] so we now have phone and cable internet again. The kitchen looks a lot nicer now that I've had a chance to play with it a bit. Yesterday I spent the day organizing the room in the basement that I'd like to turn into a scrapbooking area... I plan to strip the wallpaper off, paint and create a little craft and sewing workshop. For now though I've made use of the drawers and offloaded a lot of the stuff I was storing in totes.

We met our next door neighbours on Friday night and they seemed pleasant enough. I think Kevin also met another neighbour two houses over yesterday - that's probably because he's been outside more than I have - tinkering around in the garage and working with the cable guy yesterday. I've noticed too we've been receiving curious looks as we're driving in or out - but so far no one has showed up with any pie or wine for that matter. Hmph. ;)

Bored, yet?

By now you're probably fed up of me yammering on about the house and what not, if you are, you'll probably want to stop reading now as this is going to get real boring, real fast. ;)

The topic today is locks, yes you read that right, locks, we bought locks for the new place. I warned you it was going to be boring. ;)

We picked them out on Friday evening and left them at Home Depot to have them serviced so that we'd need only one entry key. I think we got about 5 in total: front door, garage door, side entrance, basement door and bathroom door. We opted for the antique pewter finish, see pics below:

We chose this for the front door, but instead of the lever handle in the pic we got the round knob instead as the lever wouldn't accomodate a door that swung open to the right, even if the packaging said it would.

That's about it, tonight we get to go pick them up.

Tomorrow we're on break.

Wednesday we're meeting with our lawyer to sign final documents.

Thursday is moving-boxes-to-the-garage and inspection night.

Friday is installing locks and cleaning-before-moving-in night.

And then Saturday is the big moving in day.

5 more sleeps. :D

Happy Birthday, Ruth!

Today is pretty special, it's Ruth's birthday.

Ruth's my go-to friend, I met her on the WB forum back in March of 2003, shortly after Kev and I got engaged and she's been a really great friend ever since.

She's also pretty darn smart and possesses a wealth of information [that's why I say she's my go-to friend], and while we don't see each other as often as we should, she's usually only an email or a post away and I'm pretty lucky to have her in my life. Happy Birthday, Ruth, please keep the lights on today. ;)

Old friends never change... too much. :)

Yesterday I had lunch with Bhumica and Leon, two university buds that I hadn't seen in over 6 years. You might remember me mentioning Leon from my earllier thread after bumping into him at King Station. Anyway they'd both recently immigrated here and it was great catching up with them.

Bhumica is the same old Bhumica, she wears her hair shorter, has lost a bit of weight and her overall look is more mature but talking to her she's still the same. She still has to eat at 12noon [on the dot!], talks the same, laughs the same and still dreams of finding her prince charming - hopefully sooner rather than later she says! :)

Leon looks the same, has the same sense of humour and still teases us mercilessly. [He reminds me a lot of Mo, our old roommate] - as was to be expected I got teased about my ear piercing [I went through 20 years of my life without pierced ears and it was the first time either of them had seen me with pierced ears]. It's okay though because Bhumica & I got our digs in about an old girlfriend that he use to have that didn't want him talking to us at all - [he could only hang out with us when she wasn't on campus], that is until he lost his bag of texts and notes two days before finals and came running to us to help him out. Inquiring after her yesterday - turns out she apparently broke up with him after "he decided to let her go". *laugh* That's Leon alright.

The lunch hour came and went pretty quickly, name after name kept popping up as we tried to get caught up. Roseanne is living in the US, and is married.
Her ex, Miciah is married and has a child. Kathy is here in TO visiting this week and Ayanna works somewhere downtown as well, Melissa [according to Leon] is also living here - we might get a chance to see them the next time we do this if we can coordinate this. Lots of laughs all around, next time we're going to try to get together after work... that way we have the afternoon and evening to talk our heads off.

Measurements

Being the excited little munchkins that we are, we utilized our first, of two visits to the new place prior to closing, yesterday.

We've established that:

- we can comfortably fit the gazebo I'd like [if I go ahead with it], and still have space for a small veggie garden and a shed. Kev's a bit wary of the length of the deck combined with the veggie garden. If it becomes an issue and if I had to make a choice, I'd prefer to make the garden smaller rather than mess with the length of the deck. I'd like to add a rail to and keep the deck big enough to comfortably seat visiting friends, or to maybe have a hot tub one day [not likely, but at least the option is there] and I'd like to have breakfast out there on the weekends weather permitting.

- our desks are not going to fit as nicely as they do now in any room other than the basement or the living room. The basement's living space is pretty much Kev's domain for his entertainment centre so living room it is by default. I'm actually okay with this, when I'm home I spend a lot of time either online, watching TV or in bed so I want those spaces to be comfortable and cozy and this set up should achieve that.

- the couches are probably NOT going to fit down the basement stairs, which could potentially be a problem. We'll have seating downstairs, that's not the issue, as there will be a sectional in the basement, the problem is we're not sure where on the main floor there will be room for BOTH of them. I figure one will definitely go into the family room, but where we'll put the other one is going to be a question mark for the time being.

- we're going to have to get a gold lock to go with the gold trim embedded in the glass of the front door and also the trim of the closet door. Gold is not my preference but it's going to be cheaper than replacing the door and the closet trim. ;)

I'm also toying with a few ideas in my head including the addition of standing cabinetry to the "breakfast area" in the kitchen [against the wall only] as the breakfast banquet style seating area I'd dreamed about is not going to happen based on the location of the sliding doors. Something else I've been toying with is how to get the best use of our dining room window that opens up to our neighbour's brick wall, then it occurred to me yesterday that I could potentially lean a small trellis [with a climbing plant attached] against that specific window and instead of looking out at brick, we could be looking out at greenery.

That's about it for random thoughts on the house, things are coming together with the packing and we're still pretty excited. Oh and there are tiny baby apples on the tree overhanging our yard, I'm guessing we'll be there in time for the ripening. :)

Happy Birthday, Leah!

I met Leah back in the spring of 1999. We were out to dinner with her and Cory at this little restaurant/pub place and I remember being a bit queasy and not too sure what to expect - it didn't help either that I was painfully shy and didn't say much during dinner [boy how *I've* changed since then, eh?] - but as I remember she was pretty, had a gentle smile and a quirky sense of humour and I liked her right off the bat.

Seven years later, she's still pretty, she still has a gentle smile, she still has a quirky sense of humour and she's still my friend. Happy Birthday, Leah.

They got it!

It's an exciting day indeed!

Not only do we get to go visit our place tonight [I still can't believe it's our sometimes] and take measurements and stuff.

But I'm happy to announce that Ruth & Dave are the proud new owners of a cosy little nest egg, well not so little but it's cosy all the same. A very nice place, with a wet bar, hardwood floors, a HUGE backyard, spacious kitchen, huge lot - basically everything their little hearts had desired... but the best news yet [from my perspective of course *laugh*] is that they're going to have the room for a pool table! :)

Coolio!!! :D

Are we there yet?

I think I got a lot done this weekend. This thread will basically serve as a checklist of what's been done and as a reminder of what I still need to do.

The kitchen cupboards & drawers have been cleared except for two plates, two cups, two glasses, two forks, two knives and one spoon [which will be packed on moving day]. All cupboards have been cleaned out except for Kamran's cupboard, the one under the sink and the one immediately to the left of the stove [if time permits I'm going to tackle these tonight]. I've been trying so hard to keep everything methodical and organized. Boxes containing stuff that we won't be using in the next two weeks are clearly marked, sealed and in the basement at this point, the other boxes sit open in the kitchen already packed but with items still at hands reach if we need them [this allowed me to clean out the cupboards without completely packing stuff away]. I will scrub the kitchen floor completely on the Sunday after the move, as again there's no point doing it before as people will be likely tracking in and out with their shoes - also, remember to replace the burner pads with new ones before we leave.

The washroom on the main floor [while pretty clean at this point] will not be given it's final scrub until after the move, I figure it's going to see a bit of action on the day of the move so in order to have it clean for when Mike takes possession, I'll clean it the Sunday after the move. I emptied the cupboards and packed it all away.

The dining room area, where our desks are. I've cleared out my desk, contents boxed, labelled and sealed. Computer speakers, steering wheels and the scanner have been dusted and boxed. I've wiped down the entire desk, my monitor, the CPU, the printer and the filing cabinet. The only thing left to do with my desk is for Kev disassemble it next Thursday/Friday, my monitor and CPU will likely be transported via car/van on moving day.
Kevin still has to work on his desk before disassembling it - box, label, seal, dust etc. - he also has to box/bag items currently lying on the floor including his hiking bag and tennis bag [are you reading this Kevin Hopp?]. Next Thursday night, after the desks have been taken apart I've got to roll up the chair mats and place them in the basement awaiting transport, also clear off the couch in the desk area and have it clutter free and ready for the movers.

The living room, coffee table to be cleared off and moved to the foyer/basement on Thursday night. Kevin to pack away all electronics and speakers.

The basement, on Thursday night ensure that all small misc. items are boxed or bagged, no loose pieces to be left lying around.

The bedroom, final load of laundry to be done on Friday night and packed away, this includes bed linens. Also pack away all clothes currently on shelves in the walk in closet. Clothes on hangers will be hung into the portable wardrobe that the movers are bringing. Kevin to take apart the bed on Friday night.

Master bathroom, all cupboards have been emptied and cleaned. On Thursday night pack away all toiletries into the box sitting in the area, label and seal it. Wipe off counter and clean sink, clean toilet, clean shower, sweep and mop floor. Kevin to re-attach the door.

And the one big item on Thursday night, vacuum. Then on Sunday after all the furniture has been moved, return and vacuum spots that weren't easily accessible before. Kevin to clean out the oven completely on Sunday.

Heh. There. The end result of 3 days of packing and dusting and organizing and we're still not done yet.

Quit while you’re ahead

Over the past year or so I’ve noticed an intolerance to lactose creeping up on me. However, being the defiant person I am, I decided to try to fight it… where I’d start off small and keep pushing my luck with it.

Gradually I found that I was able to have small amounts without a reaction, so [of course] I just had to start pushing myself even further... I started drinking glasses of milk.

Bad idea.

See for every 5 glasses I drank I had reactions at least 3 out of 5, even with those stats I figured I was getting better and could deal with the washroom escapades if it meant I could conceivably work my way up to having milk again, that is until today when I developed the worst stomach cramps ever, the kind that cripples the body and seem to last forever, I was doubled over on the carpet, lying down didn’t work, standing didn’t work, sitting didn’t work, I kept changing positions to try to get the sharp pain to stop but found I only got relief if I was on my knees and hunched forward.

Eventually, after many trips to the washroom, the pain stopped and I vowed not to do that to myself again.

I give up. Lactose Intolerance, you win.

Happy Belated Birthday, Snook-Ums

With all the excitement of the last week or so, I just realized that I totally didn’t throw up a post wishing my wonderful hubby a happy birthday.

Kev, as most of you know, turned 29, on July 29th, celebrating his champagne birthday while at camp. He got a card, a cake and the promise of a garage makeover when we move so he was, literally, a happy camper. ;)

But all that aside, I celebrate his birthday, sometimes even more than he does not just because I’m thankful that he was born and that our paths eventually crossed but because each year with him in my life just makes life that much more fun and interesting and I look forward to many more years with him as we grow old together.

On the way to work I found an old friend!

As I was getting off the subway this morning, I heard someone call out "Michelle!" - I spun around and there in front of me was one of my old university buds, Leon!! Before I knew it, he was giving me great big hugs and kisses... I think I was still in shock, we were both talking at the same time, something along the lines of --> wow, how are you doing, are you visiting, do you work downtown, how long, where are you living, how are things, have you been in touch with anyone else, have you heard from Bhumica, I thought she was in touch with you, what's your number, let's do lunch, let's not get run over by the cab, call me.

Turns out he's working at BCE Place, which is right across the street from me. I was, still am, pretty stoked, now I'm going to try to arrange a lunch with him and Bhumica, we've got about 6 years of catching up to do, should be loads of fun!

I'm back, did you miss me?

Hello world. I’m coming to life slowly, trying to shake the post-camping slumber I’ve been in since Sunday evening. The trip was great, and I had a total blast.

We arrived shortly after 2pm on Thursday and decided to proceed with our setup right away, just in case the rains that paid a visit to Jen, Chris, David and Amanda on Wednesday decided to return. It was also their night to cook [they had started camping a day or two earlier than us so we figured it’d be easier if they cooked on Thursday night while we set up camp] so we had a chance to set up and basically just bum around until dinner. Our site was also deemed the party site [because the other sites had kids therefore not allowing for campfire and loud chatter after the kid’s bedtimes] so we got the fire going and everyone sat around it chatting into the late evening.

On Friday we got up, made breakfast and decided to go geocaching, we managed to find the cache without anyone getting hurt [including Kevin] so that was a bit of a relief. I think the best part of finding the cache was reading the logbook contained in it that told of earlier geocachers, who they were and the dates and times in which they’d found the cache. Once at the site I was already thinking about scrapping for this trip so I took the Gary and Mary Adventurers Card and left behind a little leather/cloth satchel bag that can be hung around the neck, while Bruce left a Scotia Bank hockey puck and took an eraser before we headed back to camp. We were a little more than sweaty by the time we got back so we had a quick lunch and headed down to the beach, the water was fantastic [i.e. not too cold and not too deep] so I think I spent about 2-3 hours wading around in it and then another half hour or so picking up rocks from below the surface and then trying to throw them as far as I can.

Friday was also our night to cook so Ken fired up the BBQ for the porkchops while Liv and I worked on the veggies, we did a combination of grilled and sautéed veggies and they turned out pretty well. After dinner we made smores and sat around the campfire chatting, then around 11pm or so Kev and I decided to head down to the beach to watch the stars, we brought a towel and laid it on the grass so we could lie on it and look up without hurting our necks - we found that a few other people were there as well doing the same thing, it was pretty neat, people were around but everyone was so quiet, talking on whispers and enjoying the night sky. We saw the milky way, the big dipper and countless shooting stars and satellites before heading back to camp.

On Saturday after breakfast [we made egg McMuffins], Ken wasn’t feeling well, and it looked like we weren’t going to do any geocaching that day so I took Xavier for a walk and Chris joined me with Daniel. It was neat being out with the kids, they stop and look at everything, they’re curious about everything [including washroom areas and other people’s campsites ;) ] so they made Chris & I stop and appreciate our surroundings. Xavier kept stepping in the mini potholes in the road, and if he happened to notice a bit late that he’d missed one, he’d stop turn around and go back to step in it. :)

It started raining on Saturday shortly after lunch, I didn’t mind the downpour [Kev and I were actually talking of playing in the rain if the downpour continued] so while everyone scurried for their tents or the cars, I decided to continue doing the dishes [in the rain!] – Kev stayed outside with me and started digging a trench to drain the water from our site. His system worked pretty well and within an hour or so the site was above water again.

Then on Saturday night Rene, Steph and Bruce made dinner and I surprised Kevin with a birthday cake after dinner, Ken still wasn’t better so he missed dinner and the cake and we never did get a real poker game going on this trip but altogether we had a blast.

Packing up and heading home on Sunday was a nightmare, we left the site shortly before 2pm but didn’t’ get home until 7:30pm or somewhere thereabouts. On our way home we’d decided to take a detour through the backroads after traffic came to a halt on the 400, but it ended up taking way longer than we expected. I think next year we’ll leave on a Monday instead, that way we can avoid all the folks heading down from the cottage on a Sunday. Our saving grace was our annual tradition of going to Liv’s parents place for dinner after camping, they made pasta for us and as usual it was incredibly yummy and very much appreciated. Since then I’ve been in this slumber… with today being my first day back at work. I think I’m going to need coffee to get me through it as my sleeping schedule is all messed up. :)