Waiting: Day 17

Okay, you guys were NO help about the frames, so I picked them out without you. My mum and I agreed that they were the most feminine-cute-but-still-sophisticated ones. I'll post pics when I get them. After that there were several random errands. Belal and I skipped some of them to give you some Waiting Art:

The calm before the Puppy Storm.

It's that time again! The cups say that your chance of winning is 1 in 9. We're 0 for 13.

In other news, I think I've found a poor, unsuspecting organisation to donate some old text books to (yay!)

That's it for now!

Gillian

A Few More Updates...

... WE'RE GETTING A PUPPY!!!

A local breeder has a new litter of eleven Gordon Setters, so we went to visit them yesterday. They were only two weeks old, so they were just tiny and we won't get our baby until the end of April. They're darn cute though, so we're pretty excited. Here's a random Gordon Setter puppy picture I found online, so you can see how sweet they are.

I went to the optometrist today and have an astigmatism and need new glasses *sigh* Just for reading, computer work and night driving. It's sort of necessary because last week I was working on my courses, the website and the brochure and my eyes literally quit on me. They just wouldn't focus for two days. Still, augh... why now, when I don't have an income or insurance? Gah. Timing. I mean, being able to see will be cool, but that money would be much better spent on these shoes:

Those shoes? Are fantastic.

I haven't looked at frames yet, but they're going to have to be spectacularly cute because I'll have to wear them for work (when I get a job) and you know what Marilyn Monroe says: "men aren't attentive to girls who wear glasses." I bet they'd be attentive if I wore those shoes though. And I'll probably need a new hairstyle. This just keeps getting more complicated and more expensive. It's getting to the point where I almost need a stylist. I wonder if you can hire one for just one day? "I'm looking for a new style... Classic-Retro-Polished... with a little cute thrown in there... and kind of cheeky. OKAY GO!" and they'd just pick out the frames and the hair style and everything for you! That would be fantastic. Anyone out there have any ideas? Let me know. Also, frames? I wonder if I can find ones with Rhinestones in Wolfville? Hmm.

Okay, I have to go make dinner, but give me input people! Frames! Hair! HELP!

Gillian

Various Updates

People keep asking me how my courses are going, which makes me think that I haven't put a lot of updates on here recently. So here goes:

Renovations:

The Renovations are going slowly but surely. The Grey guest room and bathroom are 98% done. The bathroom just needs curtains and glass shelves and then it's ready.

The Grey guest room

The Grey guest bathroom (view 1)

The Grey guest bathroom (view 2.) The tub is deliciously deep!

The Gold room has encountered issues and is going a little more slowly. Mum is finishing up the painting as I type, and we have to find a headboard pronto. Sadly, this means that soon I will have no space at all for Yoga, which makes me a very sad girl. *pout* Hopefully it warms up here soon, and then I'll at least have space outside.

The Gold guest room. Can you spot the back end of a golden retriever behind the shop vac? It's like Where's Waldo?

The Gold guest bathroom, which is not functioning yet because the tub has a problem (it isn't being a team player! Bad tub!)

The problem tub. Once it's fixed or replaced it will have more elegant feet and will also be deliciously deep!

That's it on the Reno-front. The website re-vamp and brochure are both on hold until the rooms are completely done and photo-worthy. SOON, I hope!

My Courses:

... are going. I am completely finished my System Management course work, and am just waiting to sort out the Invigilator process, after which I will write my final. I am exactly halfway through my AutoCAD course and a miserable 1/5 into my MicroStation class (because it's a little frustrating.) I'm hoping to have ALL of my coursework done by April 11th, and have my exams done before May 1st. I have until May 22nd to finish the courses, but I want to make sure I have plenty of time in case something comes up. I'm really enjoying AutoCAD, and am excited to start designing my dream home :)

Anything Else?

In my "spare time" (haha) I have started sorting through my clothes and boxes in attempt to get rid of stuff that I don't want/need. I'm trying to weed out a bunch of text books that I will never look at again (eg: "The Unquiet Ghost: Russians Remembering Stalin" and the thrilling "Communication Theories in Action.") The problem I'm running across is that nobody else wants to read these books either, and I have no idea what to do with them. I'm contemplating leaving them on the doorstep to the library so that they don't have the option of turning me away. I have a few really hideous Canadian plays that should be a bit easier to get rid of, but man... A lot of it is just really expensive bonfire material. Anyone have any suggestions about where I could donate this stuff?

Grandma Bell is coming out for a visit in a week and a bit, and then I'm spending a few days in Halifax with Kirsten! YAY! We'll see if we're brave enough to hit Lower Deck, which is (apparently) a bar that serves only beer and rum and is frequented by the Navy fellas. I might have to get a temporary anchor tattoo on my bicep for the occassion. I'll let you know how it goes ;)

I think that's pretty much it. Still don't know exactly when I'm moving or if I'll make it to Disneyland or if I'll work while I finish my classes or just move to Paris and marry a swarthy, rich Parisian man...

je t'adore!

Gillian

The Peanut Butter & Tuna Fish Sandwich

I have this friend who I discuss Tuna Fish with. Our conversations aren't strictly limited to the discussion of Tuna, but I'm not going to lie, it comes up frequently between us. From sushi to canned. We talk about it.

The other day my friend was pretty excited at a new kind of tuna he'd discovered: Clover Leaf Spicy Peanut Satay. It was really good, he said. Intrigued, I bought some the next day and today at lunch time I decided to give it a try. I opened the tin and paused. For Tuna, it smelled distinctly like peanut butter. I made a sandwich with more than a little apprehension. Surely, SURELY he wouldn't lie to me about something as serious as Tuna. Bravely, unflinchingly, I took a bite and realised the full of extent of what I was eating. This was a Peanut Butter & Tuna Fish sandwich. I was eating a (somewhat spicy) Peanut Butter & Tuna Fish sandwich... of my own free will.

However, I was intent on keeping an open mind about this. With every bite I tried to ignore the nagging voice in the back of my head that screamed "ARE YOU CRAZY!? YOU'RE EATING A PEANUT BUTTER & TUNA FISH SANDWICH!!!" 2/3 of the way in the voice won, I put the sandwich down and sent a rude text message to my friend. That's the last time I trust him about Tuna.

Like most things in my life, the situation reminded me of Sesame Street. Every child of the 80s knows that the magic word isn't "please", but "A LA PEANUT BUTTER SANDWICHES!" *poof*



In my YouTube search for The Amazing Mumford, I ran across this little gem. I had TOTALLY FORGOTTEN about this video, and it all came back in a flash!



The strange thing is that when I was little I just accepted this video as common practice. A small child walking her llama through the city streets without parental supervision to go to the dentist? Nope, nothing weird about THAT!

Love,
Gillian

Day Off... HOORAY! (and a little bit of waiting!)

Today we took off for an irresponsible but much needed DAY OFF! It was a very foggy and rainy day, so we took a meandering trip down the coast to Digby (see map below and the poorly drawn red line... yup, I'm wicked in paint :P)

First we drove down to Black Rock/Harbourville/Berwick area. Harbourville looks like it has very promising seafood in the on-season, so I'll definitely have to check that out before I leave.

Cool old apple tree... somewhere....


Harbourville Harbour

Harbourville Harbour. The ocean is behind that boat, it's just too foggy to see.

I didn't take any pictures in Annapolis Royal, which is ridiculous because it's gorgeous down there. Silly me! If you go to Nova Scotia, check out Annapolis Royal. It's the oldest continuous European settlement north of St. Augustine, Florida, founded in 1605 by your friend and mine, Mr. Samuel de Champlain. Yay Champlain!!!

Next we headed down to Digby. If you recall, Digby is where the ferry dock is for the New Brunswick to Nova Scotia ferry, and was the first place I saw in Nova Scotia (ahhh, memories...) We even stopped at the same Tim Hortons. It was magical, but I couldn't resist a small dig at my parents... "I remember this... this was before you dragged me off to the middle of nowhere." Haha... they didn't find that amusing... I wonder why... ANYWAY...

Through Digby, up the "scenic route" to Lighthouse Road, to the lighthouse on the cliffs. The lighthouse had a fantastic, earsplitting foghorn that might have replaced the Air Raid Siren as my new favourite sound. I'm going to have to get a video camera and start recording these before I leave.

Danger - Unstable Cliff sign. I collect Danger Sign pictures, by the way... I'm kind of crazy, hey? "Hi, I'm Gillian and I collect Danger sign photos and interesting sounds!" ... riiiight. Not surprising I'm single, eh?

The afore-mentioned unstable cliffs in the fog (the reason for the foghorn)

After the lighthouse we stopped at a questionable restaurant for lunch, and then my parents stopped at Canadian Tire to buy the entire stock of some discontinued glass cleaner... Sooo... WAITING PICTURES!

Belal had frizzy fur from the humidity ;) SO CUTE!

Me, pouting because Tims put sugar in my coffee... EEEAUW!!! TWO CREAMS, PEOPLE! NO SUGAR!!!

In conclusion, it was a lovely day!

Love to all!

Gillian

Cute Videos!

Not much to report around here. Studying, working on the website, finishing up the renovations (well, the big stuff anyway...) I have a few cute videos to share with you though. If you're having a bad day, then these should put some sunshine back into it. Speaking of sunshine, it was finally sunny today, so I stepped out onto the roof to wash a window... I felt very daring standing on the roof. It was not at all dangerous, but neither of my parents wanted to do it ;) Haha... anyway... videos....

You've probably heard this song on the new MacBook Air commercial, but it's a terribly charming song AND video. Next time I move I am absolutely labeling a box "best friends." CUTE! I wish I was French. I think it just makes you automatically 1000% cooler.

New Soul - Yael Naim



This video is also cute! A three year old explains Star Wars.... "but don't talk back to Darth Vader... He'll getcha!" Teeheehee!



And in the same vein of adorable 3 year olds, this video of Shirley Temple is really cute! I love how she just flings herself around on those chubby legs as she dances ;)



Hope that brightens your day!
Gillian

Waiting Day 16, and much, much more!

This is sort of a random post! It's Saturday night and I'm at home being cranky that this has been just another Saturday night in 8 months of Saturday nights sitting at home, NOT going on dates or out with friends to movies or dances. This is getting a little old, and so when I get back to Calgary I'm determined to make up for it by going out every single Saturday night this summer!!! Maybe Fridays too! HA!

It's blizzarding merrily outside (March coming in like a lion, I guess...) and I should be studying or working on the website, but instead I'm writing on here and then will probably have a bubble bath and watch some marathon X-Files. I mean, it IS Saturday night, after all!

Here is the Waiting Art from our trip to Halifax today, outside (where else?) the Sears Home store. Have you noticed that I seem to get paler with each waiting art pic? I have given up sunlight and vitamin D entirely this winter (it burns, it buuuuurns!) Leaving the house is for chumps. I glow, but in a spooky, ethereal way. I was thinking the other day that it might be fun to go to Disneyland for one last hurrah before heading back to Calgary, but I think I might have to hit a tanning booth before I invade L.A. or else I might be mistaken for a ghost in The Haunted Mansion, and then burn to Piping Hot Lobster shade within 5 minutes. Yuck. Anyone want to come with me? I promise I'll bring sunscreen!!!

What else is new? This evening the fire department was beckoned with 5 short blasts from my beloved air raid siren (YAY!) and I thought longingly that I wanted to share my favourite thing with my friends and family! Thankfully, YouTube was there for me, and now I can!!! I'm not exactly sure, but ours sounds to me like the 2T22 model. Before I leave I'm going to go by the firehouse and ask about it, and hopefully record my own little video. For now, this video of a 2T22 will have to do. Their blast is longer than ours, but the revving up and down are the best parts anyway, so please listen. I know it gets a little unbearable around 30 seconds in, but hold out till it starts to wind down at 48 seconds. It's worth it, I promise.

One last thing... The Village of Canning has a new website! I don't think it's done yet because it's a little hard to manoeuvre around, but THIS picture caught my eye....

... Canning used to have a gas station!!! THIS IS HUGE!!! What happened? What event made Petro Canada wash their hands of this village? Mysteries abound! People often ask me "how big is Canning?" and my response used to be "it's so small that there isn't even a gas station!" Now I can respond "it's so small that they took away the gas station!!!"

Lots of love!

Gillian