Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Lovely Weekend

What a lovely weekend. And now - BAM! - it's back to reality. We'll be on the west coast in less than 48 hours and HOLY CRAP do I have a lot to do to get us all ready.

But first, let's dwell on the lovely. Emily and I spend Saturday and Sunday at the Fort Garry Hotel for a belated celebration of her 30th birthday. We checked in, enjoyed a cup of tea, and then headed downstairs in the hotel for a two-hour vinyasa yoga class. I'm often skeptical of new instructors, but these ones were good - and I surprised myself by not only surviving but enjoying my first ever two-hour class.

As an aside, the time and money I spent doing one-on-one sessions with a yoga instructor -slash- physiotherapist to learn how to modify postures to work for my disease-ridden body was maybe the best thing I've ever done for myself. I've always enjoyed yoga, but that knowledge has taken it to a whole new level for me. And it's given me the confidence to just do my own thing during larger group classes when I need to without spending a single ounce of energy worrying or caring about what other people in the class are thinking. I suspect that attitude and confidence has also transferred to my life outside the yoga studio... But I digress. That's another whole blog post someday.

Back to our weekend. After yoga, we walked over to The Forks to pick up some snacks from the market and then we went back to the hotel for dinner. From there, we started to get ready for our spa appointment. Around 8 pm, we headed up to the Ten Spa for our Hamam treatments. I don't know how I've lived 28 (almost 29) years of my life without experiencing this - and I'm no stranger to the spa. It was all hot and steamy and twinkly and AHHH...



From there, it was full-on Girls Night with a cheesy girly movie, a bottle of wine, and snacks in our room. The morning held just enough time for sleep and a quick Starbucks run before we got ready for our ninety-minute relaxation yoga class (think lots of sloooow breathing and five-minute stretches). Any part of me that was still sore from the first class was feeling pretty darn amazing after the second class. With the hamam in between, it was a perfectly balanced weekend. We headed back to our room to change and pack before meeting our boys for the hotel's infamous Sunday Brunch.

It was a lovely weekend. Oh wait, did I say that already?? :)

Of course, as soon as we were back at home, it was back to real life and I spent an hour with Geoff working on the yard - the perfect antidote to a spa and yoga weekend (hehe). It was so good for my heart to see how excited Briony was to see me. It was our first night apart other than my gallbladder fiasco when, if you recall, she had a vicious stomach flu at my parents' place (I'M STILL SORRY, MOM!). That attachment was not by design, but I just feel better when she's close by. This was probably good practice for my Girls WEEKEND away in July.

The long weekend was capped off by a daytrip out to the lake to visit my parents yesterday. Lovely.

And then my alarm went off this morning, yelling at me to go to work. I did so grudgingly, but with a glorious knowledge that this is my last trip into the office until we get back near the end of June. Here's hoping a combination of four shots of espresso and leftover zen from my lovely weekend can carry me through until we're sitting on a taxiing airplane very early on Thursday morning.

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Saturday, August 22, 2009

Friday Smile

I can't believe that my little Emily is all grown up and getting married.

Okay, so 'my little Emily' is actually older than I am. But STILL. I don't think it would be possible for me to be more excited for her upcoming wedding. And the fact that she's marrying Paul just makes it even better. They have one of those completely adorable stories where they've known each other since junior high, but didn't reconnect and start dating until their late twenties - and I think that's such an incredible foundation for a marriage.

Last night, we sent her off to Married Land in style with manis/pedis at Tiber River, a lingerie shower, and lots of food and laughter. It was a fun Girls Night, and I can't think of anyone more deserving.

Now the countdown is on... Three more sleeps!





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Friday, December 12, 2008

Friday Smile

I woke up at precisely 07.58 this morning to the sound of a baby beginning to ramp up her 'hungry cry' and the thought that it still looked cold and snowy outside. I rolled over to grab my glasses and go rescue my recently-awakened daughter... And then it registered. It was 07.58 in the morning. And I HAD GONE TO BED AT 12.30.

That's right, folks. Briony slept through the night. (Can you hear the angels singing?)

I don't expect this to ever happen again, but for today, I am grateful. And if this isn't a Friday Smile, I don't know what is. The very best part? My awesome day is by no means over: I have a pedicure booked with Darcie this afternoon.

After that, Geoff goes back for another three night shifts - so it's almost as if the universe is giving me an encouraging hug today :)

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Saturday, May 24, 2008

Spa Day

Today, Emily and I booked ALLLL afternoon with Darcie at Tiber River on Academy. From 1 til 6, we enjoyed pedicures and french manicures and Cornelia Bean tea and massage chairs and lots of talking and just general girly goodness. It was *exactly* what I needed this weekend. It's amazing how much a good mani/pedi - and time with friends - can fix.

It's been kind of a tough week. I'm feeling really overwhelmed with all the details of life: hearing Baby's heartbeat for the first time, getting the results from my mom's latest surgery, starting to transition my clients to other people, and other less bloggable struggles. It's been emotional. But it's good. I can feel that I'm moving toward goodness, that I'm going to end up in a very good place. It just sucks that sometimes we need to wade through all of THIS STUFF to get there.

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