Random Kindness
What a gong show week.
I'm up to my eyeballs in work projects and we're slowly getting used to life without Libby again. We're managing. I'm just EXHAUSTED from all the juggling - and praying that I'll be able to make this weekend a real, work-free weekend so that I'm ready to tackle an even crazier week next week.
This morning, I skipped MOMs group (BOO) to work and try to fend off a flare-up, then made lunch and rushed off to an afternoon of meetings at the office. I stopped at Starbucks to quarantine myself for 90 minutes in hope of hitting a few deadlines today before I need to go home and manage dinner, family time, and bedtime.
I made it to the front of the line and barely had my order out of my mouth - a Gingerbread Latte and Cranberry Bliss Bar - when I realized that I had left my wallet at home. No one had even marked my drink on the cup yet, so I quickly explained the situation and said I'd run home and come back. The barista (not the one from the other day) looked at me and said, 'Don't worry about it. I hate when that happens to me. No charge. If you really want to, you can pay for it next time. Or just leave a good tip when you stop by again.' And without another word, he made my latte and grabbed my snack from the case, handing it to me with a smile and a wish for a good day.
I'm sitting here now, trying to work, and trying even harder not to cry. What a simple little act of kindness in a crazy busy day.
Labels: MOMs Group, Random Joy, Starbucks, Working Girl
Lovely
Things that made today lovely...
Accompanying my mom + grandma for my grandma's scan (to check and make 100% sure that they killed all the cancer). Spending two and a half uninterrupted hours having coffee with my mom while we waited. And then hosting them at our place for lunch. They are two incredible, cancer-destroying women. I have formidable (and hopefully cancer-free) shoes to fill.
Welcoming the holiday season. Christmas came to Starbucks today, and I had my first Caramel Brule Latte of the season. My new barista friend was seriously thrown for a loop when I failed to order the usual on the first day after we established my usual. I suppose I'm allowed to be wild + crazy in one area of my life, right? :)
Spending the afternoon walking up and down Academy with Libby, shopping as we enjoyed some incredible sunshine and fine company. I even found a new blouse that is a great candidate for work AND a couple of nights out in NYC - and a polka-dot scarf that I'm a little bit in love with.
Opening
my 'thank you' package for the creativity class I attempted this fall. I haven't finished yet - I'm doing it at my own pace after all our recent drama + setbacks + general chaos - but these fab prints will find a very special place in our home. Most likely in my office. YAY.
For dinner tonight, we used a gift card to a local Italian restaurant that Aaron + Cait had delivered to us when Geoff had his accident. (Wow, that was an unnecessarily complicated sentence...) We all feasted on calamari + fried parmesan bread + cannelloni + some seriously garlicky linguine that involved asparagus, chicken, and red peppers. DELICIOSO.
Oh, and Briony is now addicted to calamari. 'MORE BABY SQUID. PLEEEEASE?'
Labels: A Beautiful Day In The Neighbourhood, Aaron, Briony, Caitlin, Family, Holiday Awesomeness, Libby, My Life, Starbucks, The C Word
Day At A Glance
Stopped at our friendly neighbourhood Starbucks today, and our 'regular' barista came around the counter to shake my hand and introduce himself. 'I want to know your name. Right now, to me, you're Double Tall Nonfat Vanilla Latte Girl - and you're married to Scooter Guy.' It made me smile. And the smile turned into a full-fledged grin when he gave me my Double Tall Nonfat Vanilla Latte for free. My usual. I have always wanted to have a usual somewhere. Given how I'm *so* much a creature of habit, I suppose it was just a matter of time before someone caught on :)
Took Geoff for his follow-up appointment with the surgeon today. He got his staples out and the surgeon is super happy with how it's all looking. Geoff got permission to increase the angle of his leg brace. It will be sloooow and steady process, but today was a step forward.
While I was sitting in the waiting room during Geoff's appointment, someone came out of the clinic area holding his leg brace (he's gone in a few minutes earlier wearing it). He had the biggest smile on his face. He walked right past me, then turned around and came back to tell me that we'd make it - that my husband would be the one walking out of there holding his brace before we know it. Kind of random, but it totally made my day.
Woke up more tired and in pain than usual today. It feels like I've been trudging through quicksand as I've been working through my to-do list. I HATE THAT.
Tomorrow is our last day with Libby here. I drop her off at the airport EARLY on Wednesday morning. It's going to be sad to say goodbye... We've had a great time with her, and she's been such an incredible support for us over the last two weeks.
As I'm sitting here, I can smell beef barley vegetable soup in simmering in the slow cooker and an apple pie baking in the oven. I AM A DOMESTIC GODDESS. Even if the soup is pretty much just last night's leftovers repurposed and the pie was totally just pulled from my freezer ;)
And speaking sarcastically of my Domestic Goddess title, I hit up M+M and Safeway with Geoff today to pick up some prefab meal components to help get us through the next couple of weeks. And another salad kit (turns out they're actually kind of good... and Safeway sells organic ones!). I'm done apologizing. It's not like I'm running through the McDonald's drive-through every night to feed my family. Some chicken breasts that have been pre-stuffed by some factory machine rather than yours truly will probably not kill us.
All my clients collectively decided to wallop my inbox today. It's going to be a crazy week. OF COURSE.
An eNewsletter that I've been working on launching for MONTHS finally went out on Friday and it felt GOOD. Just about ready to wrap up the content for Issue 2 and it's going *so* much more smoothly so far. That makes me happy. New projects are fun, but so is finding your groove.
Briony's been tippy-toeing around the house in her ladybug tutu off and on all day today, waving her wand and twirling around. And wearing my cat ears. I love her.
I was Bitchy Paranoid Mom today and cancelled Girls Night because my friend's daughter (who was going to tag along) was sick yesterday. Crazy? Maybe. Responsible? I like to think so. I was super sad to have to reschedule but I cannot imagine dealing with ANY of us being sick right now on top of everything else I'm attempting to balance this week. Seriously. CAN YOU IMAGINE?!
We totally bought some discount Halloween candy today. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now I have a bowl of candy on my dining room table. And a few leftover cupcakes from yesterday. And the aforementioned PIE. I have a sneaking suspicion that this won't be my best-ever eating week.
Brainstorming ideas of things that Libby could take back as a little treat for her family that would be distinctly Winnipeg-ish. Any ideas?
Labels: Being Domestic, Briony, Food is Yummy, Going Rogue, Libby, My Friends, My Life, Random Joy, Starbucks, The Boy
Aha Moment
It's quite something to witness another person's 'AHA!' moment.
I had the privilege yesterday evening when Geoff, Briony + I took a walk to our local Starbucks after dinner. I walked up to the counter to order my latte while Geoff + B checked out the travel mugs - and the girl behind the counter started FREAKING OUT.
'You guys are together!' she blurted out.
Um, yeah.
'You're married! And that's your baby!'
Um, yeah.
'Hey... Did you know these two are TOGETHER?'
'Whaaaaat! Seriously?'
'Yep, MARRIED. That's THEIR little girl!'
Um, yeah.
Apparently, we are both regular customers - but rarely go in together. It totally rocked their world, and we all had a pretty big laugh about it.
Labels: My Life, Nothing Important, Starbucks, The Boy
Friday Smile
You know where to find me tomorrow morning... :)
Labels: Friday Smile, From My Inbox, Starbucks
The One Where I Nearly Lose My &#*% at Starbucks
The entire population of chatty weirdos in Abbotsford is at Starbucks this morning. The same Starbucks where I am seriously trying to get some work done, away from my adorable but noisy eighteen month old and my husband who is annoyingly on vacation right now.
Here's the list so far (and I should note that I've been here less than an hour):
An older woman with a bowl cut and a rainbow scarf who sat down in the open chair beside me and talked to me AT LENGTH about how close our chairs were together ('It's so funny how they would put these chairs together. Our feet are almost touching! And we don't even know each other! They're really very close together...'). I finally moved mine.
An older man with a mullet and gold chain who immediately informed me that I was endangering myself by working on my laptop without a pad in between the computer and my legs. I smiled my thanks, and the advice just kept coming... Don't swim in public pools. Don't take a bath (but if you need to, stand up and shower right after). Only buy Rolex watches. And that was seriously just the tip of the iceberg.
Another older man with a mullet (REALLY?!) who had to tell me all about his own business success, his wife's success (she's a paralegal who types 165 words per minute... much faster than he had observed me typing, though I'm a pretty faster typist in his opinion), and his kids - including a son around my age who is currently trying to sell a screenplay he wrote about a man with a blood disorder who lives among vampires. Kill me now.
A kid in his early twenties who wanted to know if he could use my MacBook to do something with his broken iPhone. I said no, and he proceeded to tell me a five minute long story about how he just got it yesterday and let his daughter play with it and she pressed something she shouldn't have. I suggested bringing it to wherever he bought it from to see if they could help, and he said something about 'getting it off some guy'... Of course. Buddy, this is SO NOT MY PROBLEM.
Now the seat nearest me has been filled with an older gentleman wearing slippers (WHY GOD WHY) and a black, white, and emerald green knit sweater. He's eating a scone in such a way that his lips and chin are literally blanketed in crumbs... But he's sitting quietly and reading a newspaper and so I'll take him.
Back to work...
UPDATE 11:17 - Buddy with the iPhone came back to ask me AGAIN if he could use my computer to restore his iPhone. Said no again. Now slightly concerned that he'll come back and kill me. On the upside, Crumb Man is now doing a crossword! A glorious crossword that requires SILENCE and CONCENTRATION!
Labels: Bitching About Nothing, Going Rogue, Starbucks
The One Where Hilarity Ensues
We met up with Rob + Vicky + Ava for our final playdate of this trip. It was sad because it's so incredible that the girls have each other to play with (and Geoff + I really enjoy hanging out with Ava's parents too). Over the past week or so, Briony started saying Ava, but with two short 'a' sounds. It's kind of adorable. Today, we picked up sushi and met up with Rob's sister and her family in the park for dinner. We just managed to beat the rain and it was a good time enjoying the very end of another lovely day.
I wanted Starbucks when we were leaving tonight and Rob + Vicky (like most of our BC friends, oddly enough) have a Starbucks on the main floor of their condo building. I knew how to get there, but Geoff knew a shortcut - which he didn't really fully explain to me before taking Briony to the car and driving around to pick me up. To make a long story short, I ended up going out the wrong door and found myself in an outdoor maintenance area, in the rain, locked out of the building, fenced in and half a storey above the street. GAAAAH. I called Rob for help - barely able to explain my predicament because I was laughing so hard - and as I attempted to explain to him where I was trapped, this guy came from inside and wordlessly opened the door for me. He let me in and then headed back into the condo closest to where I was stuck, half waving over his shoulder as I thanked him. I realized later that his patio opened onto the place where I was trapped and that the window had been open, and he had likely heard my call to Rob. Then I realized that - from his reaction - this was far from the first time he'd been forced to rescue someone there. Which just made it all even funnier...
Briony didn't fall asleep on the way back from Rob + Vicky's tonight - even though it was WELL past her bedtime. She started getting fussy about 20 minutes from home, and Geoff + I resorted to singing infinity verses of 'The Wheels on the Bus' to keep her entertained. This is particularly funny because neither of us actually knows more than about two verses of this song - and so Briony's bus contained some pretty weird stuff making some pretty weird noises. She was loving every moment of it. And we needed to trade off verses sometimes just because we were laughing so hard.
Labels: Briony, Going Coastal, Mommy Stuff, My Friends, Rob and Vicky, Starbucks
Thank God It's Friday
Briony + I had another battle of wills this morning. She thought it was morning. I disagreed. I WON.
But then *real* morning came, and I didn't feel any more awesome than I had earlier. And Briony's still being kind of whiny. So I packed us both up and we walked over to Starbucks, baby happily chattering away in her stroller as we went and telling me all about everything she saw.
All good, right? Yeah. Except for the part where we ran into one of my clients at Starbucks. It was a client I like, but that doesn't change the fact that I was in yoga pants, no makeup, and seriously looking like I needed a weekend (and a second cup of coffee). Super professional.
Anyway. Briony + I are muddling through a very long day over here. I'm trying to get some work done, but it's almost impossible with a toddler around. It's just not very possible to write - or more importantly, to write something GOOD - when it's being worked on in 90 second chunks. The deliverable I'd planned to wrap up today is going to happen this weekend, and I'm not okay with that... But it's outside of my control. (Can you even believe I just said that?!)
I'm still flared up - and starting to annoy MYSELF with how often I'm mentioning it - but I have a few fun things planned this weekend and I'm going to make the most of it.
Oh, and the best part? Our dryer is getting fixed. Ahead of schedule. TOMORROW. I'm not too proud to admit that I cried when I hung up the phone after Manitoba Hydro called with the good news. I really need to do baby laundry and it was seriously stressing me out.
Labels: Arthritis/Fibromyalgia, Briony, Going Rogue, House Stuff, Starbucks
It's Raining, It's Pouring
Some randomness on yet another rainy day...
I can't find my umbrella. What's the point in doing your hair in the morning when it's raining and you can't find your umbrella? Stupid. Talk about a wasted spoon.
I have a secret. I really like the days when I come into work. Of course, I miss Briony like crazy, but it's kind of fabulous to drink Starbucks + wear grown-up shoes + talk about smart things for a few hours at a time. It's always this huge deal to actually get myself out the door, downtown, parked, and into the office - but all the effort is so totally worth it when I get there. It's been such an amazing journey to discover that I still really love what I do.
Today was supposed to be Estate Planning Day, but the lady we were scheduled to meet with has the flu. I was REALLY looking forward to just getting it over with and crossing it off our list, but it looks like it will need to wait until later in the month.
This is seriously the flare that will not end... I am SO sick of feeling like shit. I spend most of every day fantasizing about swallowing a handful of pills, crawling back into bed, and staying there until next week.
I married someone great. I used to really freak out when I flared up, worrying about how it affected our relationship and thinking secretly that I wouldn't blame him at all for wanting out. But that's not Geoff. And it makes every flare up feel so much more manageable to just let go of that fear. I'm sure there are other girls with chronic illnesses who aren't as lucky.
Our dryer is not going to be fixed for at least another week. But that's fine. It's not like we have A BABY LIVING WITH US or anything like that. I get that this is an opportunity to be more environmentally friendly and all that jazz, but in case you haven't noticed, it's RAINING. And the whole clothes-hanging-everywhere-to-dry thing is getting kind of old. Actually, it makes me insane. And there are not enough anti-anxiety meds in the world to make me okay with it. (Mom, I'm bringing laundry over to your house after the weekend, okay? Thanks.)
The barista at Starbucks this morning knew my order. I know it probably means that we spend too much money at Starbucks, but I don't care. It made me so happy. And besides, this is totally why I work - to pay for all the fun stuff.
And speaking of fun stuff... We're working on finalizing plans, but in exactly one month from now, Geoff + Briony + I will be in Whistler for the weekend with Rob + Vicky + Ava. I am so excited. It's always so great to spend time with them (and when we spend the entire weekend together, it actually feels like we snuck in some quality time instead of just speed-dating-style conversation chunks in between running after toddlers). And what better place to hang out than Whistler? Looking forward to some beautiful scenery and lots of time to relax.
I've been missing my house key for two days and counting, and it has seriously been stressing me out. I just found it in my lunch bag, underneath the lining. OF COURSE (note the obvious sarcasm).
When Briony was born, we got a ton of cards. They're all in a basket in her room and she LOVES to play with them - especially because so many of them have pictures of babies and/or things that babies like. But her very favourite card is the one we got from Emily + Paul because it plays part of Louis Armstrong's 'What a Wonderful World' when you open it up. I've heard the same two lines of that song about a kajillion times because she'll just keep opening it and closing it to loop it incessantly. It would be annoying except that (a) it's kind of a great song, and (b) she has a special dance that she does just for this song, kind of swaying back and forth with a huge grin on her face. Even if I'm not in the room, I know exactly what she's doing when I hear the song playing. This morning, she was playing with it - and doing her special little dance - while we snuggled and she had a bottle. I had been super stressed about needing to get ready for work and considering handing her off to Geoff instead of doing the whole morning bottle thing, but it was exactly what I needed to put the rest of my day in perspective. The world really is kind of wonderful, isn't it? :)
Labels: Bitching About Nothing, Briony, Emily, Going Rogue, Married Stuff, My Friends, Rob and Vicky, Starbucks, The Boy
A Quick Smile List
I am NOT having a great day. Geoff was working last night and I was up for hours with a teething baby. I feel horrible because it is so not like her... I can count on my fingers how many times I've been up with her during the night for more than a minute or two, and last night was a little bit weird - so I know she must have been seriously uncomfortable, and I tried all the tricks in the book but they didn't help her very much.
We ended up having some good giggly mother/daughter time on the couch together but I prefer my quality time during daylight hours :)
And so today is a TIRED day. Today is a PAIN day. Today is a LONG day.
I think this calls for a smile list.
Today, I choose to smile because...
1. Our Lilith Fair tickets came in the mail this week. AWESOMENESS.
2. My bathtub is sparkly clean, and I am sooo taking advantage of that tonight. I have some Lime Margarita bath salts from Tiber River screaming my name.
3. We are now just three weeks + two days away from Geoff having an entire month off. HUGE SIGH OF RELIEF.
4. I got my course pack in the mail today for my FINAL COURSE that starts on May 10. This means that by the end of July, I'll be eligible to graduate. I'm loving the light at the end of this tunnel.
5. Geoff brought me a latte from Starbucks this morning. That is always a good start to the day!
6. I was able to pick up the new 'Master Your Metabolism' cookbook by Jillian Michaels yesterday, and I'm totally nerdy-excited to try out some of the recipes. YUMMY.
7. I had a wonderful evening catching up with Anja yesterday, taking Briony to the park and then drinking tea together. There's something incredibly special about friends you've known and loved for a long time. I'm so grateful to have her in my life.
8. My parents get home tonight from their trip out to see Aaron + Cait. They were only gone for a couple of days, but I hadn't spent time with them for a while before they left, so it feels like it's been a long time...
9. I have a massage booked for later this afternoon. That fixes *almost* everything :)
10. We found someone to help us with our estate planning. She seems super nice and we've set up a meeting with her for next week. It feels awesome to cross such important things off our list.
Labels: Briony, Going Rogue, Loser, My Life, Smile List, Starbucks, The Boy
Heaven
I think that working from Starbucks is pretty much the greatest thing ever. The only thing that could possibly top this would be if Katie was playing with Briony and Josy was cleaning my house right now...
OH WAIT. That's totally happening.
This must be what heaven is like. Actually... This must be what HAVING A WIFE is like :D
In any case, it *almost* makes up for my ridiculously stressful week full of teething and night shifts and fibro flare-ups and deadlines and client drama and...
Labels: Arthritis/Fibromyalgia, Going Rogue, Katie, My Life, Starbucks
Lent
Hey, is it too late to claim that I'm giving up coffee for Lent? ;)
I never do Lent. It wasn't really a part of my childhood religious upbringing, and by the time I became an adult and was more exposed to it, I didn't really get it. I mean, I GET IT, but I think that those same Lenty principles would mean more to me if they were practiced as part of my everyday life. I seriously hate doing something just because someone told me to. That's pretty much the best way to guarantee that I WON'T do it, actually.
If it's something that works for you and has significance in your life, that's awesome. Good for you. Seriously. I just don't see how - for me personally - giving up Facebook or television or chocolate or whatever will bring me closer to God. And God's cool with that. Really. I asked him. Right after I finished yelling at him for doing such a lousy job of taking care of this whole gallbladder situation.
Anyway. I used to work in an office where it seemed like EVERYONE did Lent. I was new, so I told them I was giving up cigarettes. Everyone was so super impressed. (I have never even tried smoking in my life.) And what do you know, I was totally successful! I *may* have also spread a rumour that one of my coworkers - the one I was secretly dating - was trying to give up cocaine for Lent... Yeah. It's a very good thing that I don't work there anymore. (Right, Margaret?) Boredom causes me to do terrible, terrible things.
I'm referring, of course, to my dating decisions. The Lent thing was FUNNY :D
Labels: Church the Universe and Everything, Nothing Important, Starbucks
Silver Lining
My silver lining in this whole gallbladder experience has been my surgeon. She is AMAZING. And it was nice to feel so extra-cared for again today when I called her receptionist to see if these new symptoms are something to really be worrying about or not. She spoke with my surgeon and called me back with the news that it sounds like it's *probably* not a big deal, but that they'd like me to come in tomorrow just to be absolutely sure. Then a couple of hours later, my surgeon called just to see how I was doing and reiterate that it's likely just an extra-tough recovery but that - regardless of how I'm feeling tomorrow - she'd like to see me just to be sure. And then she double-checked to make sure that I had her pager information and that I knew to call absolutely anytime if I started to feel any worse.
It's been such a tough week, but it makes all the difference to know that there are such wonderful people taking care of me.
Today's been a series of drug cycles. When everything's working, I have two 'good' hours where I can cuddle with Briony or talk to Geoff but I still feel pretty lousy and have no energy at all. The next two hours while the last round of drugs is wearing off and the news ones aren't quite working yet, I'm too sick to lift my head off the pillow. But with every cycle, I seem to be improving just a little bit. I'm on an upswing now and actually considering some tea and toast... CONSIDERING. We'll see.
The worst news of the day is that my surgeon recommends staying completely off coffee for another three weeks just to be safe. That is the craziest talk I've ever heard, but I'm sick enough to listen.
Labels: Attack of the Gallbladder, Starbucks
Teething
How long can it possibly take for a measly couple of teeth to pop through some wimpy baby gums? And - perhaps more importantly - how many times will I get bitten before that happens?
It's still teething central over here (still working on Teeth 5 and 6, if you can believe it - they've been in progress for at least a month so far). All things considered, I really shouldn't complain. She's being a trooper. She's actually sleeping more than usual, which is nice but it makes my days impossible to plan. Lately, she's been totally fine with one good nap around lunchtime and an early bedtime around 6.30 or 7.00 (a new schedule that I am LOVING, by the way). This morning, she woke up at 8.00... and was napping at 9.30, after a full ninety minutes of manic giggles and insane biting attempts, interspersed with fussing. What the heck?!
I found myself microwaving the Starbucks that Geoff brought home for me at 8.00 because - two hours later - I'd managed to get about four sips into me. Now THAT's depressing.
The upside is that I can get some work done now... The downside is that I can get some work done now :)
Labels: Briony, Going Rogue, Mommy Stuff, Starbucks
Busy Bees
It's been a whirlwind here lately, which is starting to feel more like the norm and less like the exception. Not sure how I feel about that yet. But like it or not, that's our life these days.
Geoff and I took a little step back yesterday and left Briony with my parents for the day while we headed for the border... We spent the day in Grand Forks and got a head start on some Christmas shopping. It was a fun day - but it felt incredibly strange to both of us not to be planning everything we did around Briony. It was kind of nice. But we were very excited to pick her up and be a family again. This morning, she came and snuggled in bed with us and she kept on nuzzling her face up against us - just like she does with her favourite stuffed animals. It was so incredibly sweet.
Today was very much back to normal. Geoff was out the door by 09.00 for a dental appointment. I had two client calls before my friend (and former roommate) Sherri stopped by for coffee this morning. Then Geoff came home and I had just enough time to jump in the shower before heading out to meet with another client - while conferencing with yet another one on my cell phone in the car (I am *so* in trouble when that's illegal for real). Then it was back home where we traded off so that he could run an errand. And then we tagged off again so that I can get some actual billable work done.
Oh, and did I mention that my baby - who could not climb stairs at all when we dropped her off at my parents' place on Monday morning - is EASILY scooting up an entire flight of stairs today? Just saying.
Yep. Business as usual...
And in case you haven't heard, IT'S CHRISTMAS AT STARBUCKS. I went in for an Eggnog Latte this afternoon and actually walked out with something new: a Caramel Brule Latte. You should seriously consider stopping whatever you have going on right now and going to try one.
Life seems so much more manageable when you're managing it with a good coffee in one hand. At least, that's how it works for my life :)
Labels: Briony, Going Rogue, My Life, Starbucks, The Boy
No Good Very Bad
So I have two client meetings and a meeting with a business analyst at the Women's Enterprise Centre today. I also have a teething baby who is THIS CLOSE to cutting her next two teeth - I could see them poking through a little bit yesterday. I feel *so* lousy for leaving her when she's so obviously not herself right now.
And did I mention that I'm sick too? Doesn't really matter, I know. A mommy getting sick is like a tree falling in the forest. Except that I called MY mommy to complain about it :)
I know that I'm a good mom for going and doing my business thing, I know. But I'd be a good mom to stay and take care of her too. So the net result is that I feel like a terrible mom no matter what. UGH. Not even Starbucks (or Katie) can heal my wounded heart today.
Labels: Briony, Going Rogue, Katie, Mommy Stuff, Starbucks
