Turn Away While I Celebrate Will You Tolerate While I Waste The Day Away?

It wasn't a responsible decision, to go to a pub to watch the Canucks game on a Wednesday night, but it was a fun decision. The atmosphere was muted at the start but the back-and-forth momentum changes in the game soon had the entire pub whipped up into a hockey frenzy (upon reflection, I'll admit that the alcohol may have played a small role.) When the Canucks scored late in the 3rd and finally took the lead, the pub erupted in a cacophony of hoots and whistles that lasted until after the final horn.

I love hockey. I am a true fan - I root for my team when they're losing and I happily welcome back the bandwagon-jumpers when the team is winning. Tuesday's disallowed goal was ridiculous and I'll admit to unleashing a string of profanity when the call was made. That one call didn't lose the game for the Canucks, though, and the bitching and moaning that occurred afterward did nothing but make us look like poor losers. Last night's game was more than a chance for the Canucks to tie the series at two games apiece; it was a chance for the fans (whether long-term or short-term, steadfast or fickle, zealous or laid-back) to stop focusing on bad calls and conspiracy theories and just fucking celebrate. And celebrate we did. We stumbled home exchanging high-fives with random strangers, attempting to eat dirty pizza on the train, and laughing at the gems that came out of Shawn's mouth (my personal favourite: "Swedish power activate! I'm going to Ikea tomorrow.") (I guess that's only funny if you know that our top line consists of three Swedes. And that Shawn hates Ikea more than, well, anything.)

This morning I woke up with an inexplicably sore foot, a bruise on my wrist, a hangover that rivals my worst hangover ever, and a brother-in-law asleep on our couch. So no, it was not a responsible decision by any stretch of the imagination, but it was a decision I don't regret. Not even a little.

Now will someone please make me a baked potato and some tea? I'm pretty sure that a baked potato and tea are the only things that will keep me from dying this morning.

Glaciers Melting In The Dead Of Night And The Superstars Sucked Into The Supermassive Supermassive Black Hole

I have been feeling blue all week. It takes a lot of energy to feel sorry for oneself for consecutive days, I have discovered. This morning I woke up and just ... couldn't do it. I couldn't maintain the funk. I'm not a morning person - at all - but I felt almost cheery as I got ready for work. The idiot puppies helped, of course. They fucking vibrate with exuberance every single morning. It's like they weren't sure that we were going to wake up and the fact that we did wake up and fed them breakfast is cause for major celebration.

My new necklace also helped my mood. I mean, look at it:

It's a moosetash!


Nilsa brought it to my attention last week after Christyn added it to her shop. I had an awesome etsy experience with Bead Up (I would just like to clarify that Bead Up was not the etsy seller causing me unnecessary angst) and I fully recommend you check out her other items. Or you could all buy mooooostash necklaces and we can form some sort of mooosetash mafia. Let's do this.

Also contributing to my awesome mood? Tonight is the Muse concert. I have loved Muse for a long time but have never managed to see them live. To say that I am ridiculously excited is an understatement.

And to top off my day of awesomeness, tomorrow is a stat holiday so today is my Friday, which means that I get to pick a winner of the mooooosetash cupcake toppers today (spreading the mustache love brings me great joy.) This winner is .... (trying to figure out how to screen grab my results from random.org on a fucking PC ... not happening) Katelin!

Happy Thursday, peeps! I hope everyone has a fabulous 3-day weekend (and if you are one of the lucky ones who gets a 4-day weekend, I hope it rains where you live. Sorry!)

I Once Thought That Time Accentuates Despair But Now I Don't Actually Care

For the last week or so I have felt blue. I have been grumpy and snide and sad and just ... blah. Blah describes very well how I have been feeling. Vancouver can be a difficult place to live when your mood is strongly affected by the weather. Endless rain and grey skies make me want to curl up in bed with the puppies and refuse to face the world until I see a glimmer of sunshine peeking around the curtain.

The sun is shining today. Blue skies and sunshine, Doodle Jump, animal crackers and string cheese for lunch (because apparently I am five years old), the Threadless $10 tee sale, playing with my mustache keychains and having a mustache epiphany (details to come once my shop has been updated), finding the perfect shade of grey-ish / beige-ish nail polish, and the new Athlete album, are all putting a smile on my face. The sun is shining today and I am happy.

I've decided to stop grumbling about the $300 insurance deductible we have to pay to get the car fixed because $300 doesn't matter as long as Shawn is okay. I'm not going to complain about the mother-effing cherry blossoms and the nosebleeds and itchy eyes they cause. I won't even rant about how Wolfgang gets all riled up playing with Stella and then drinks a bunch of water too quickly and then barfs (always on non-wipeable surfaces) at least once a week. No grumbling, no ranting, only sunshine and blue skies today. Unless Wolfgang vomits on my bed again tonight like he did last night. And the night before.

When I See The Apple In Disguise Oh My Love I Can Recognize

My new iPhone was activated yesterday and I am already smitten. It does so much! I am overwhelmed by the possibilities. I'm still unsure about my ability to use the iPhone (she remains nameless until I determine her personality) without dropping it into a mug of coffee, though, so my first priority is to get a protective case to (hopefully) negate any damage I may inflict. There are so many cases out there; I need help choosing the best one. What case do you use? Do you love it / hate it for any particular reason? Did you purchase the Apple Protection Plan? Would you recommend that I buy it? (Please keep in mind that I had my blackberry for a year and I managed to drop it in a mug of coffee, drench it in alfredo sauce, drop it down a flight of concrete stairs, etc.)

As for the fun stuff, what apps do you suggest?

I am an iPhone rookie, peeps. I need all the help I can get.

If We Were Children I Would Bake You A Mud Pie

Things currently making my heart sing:

* * * * *

All of the sweet comments and emails you guys have sent regarding my last post. You are all rockstars. I hadn't written about the seizures because there wasn't much to say about it. It sucks. It's kind of scary. It's extremely inconvenient (my driver's licence has been suspended until I have a clear brain scan.) And it feels slightly less scary today after writing about it. Thank you for reminding me why I love blogging.

* * * * *

Fantastic Mr. Fox. I rarely go to the movies but last night Shawn convinced me to go see Fantastic Mr. Fox with him and a few friends. It blew my mind. I spent half the movie grinning like a fool, not because the movie was particularly funny but because it made me so happy.

* * * * *

One of my favourite feelings in the world: the clean sheets, clean pyjamas, clean Hillary amalgam. I am currently in bed after a brutal workout. I came home and put clean linens on the bed, took a hot shower, and put on my comfiest pyjamas. I am a happy bunny.

* * * * *

The Them Crooked Vultures album. Dudes. It rocks my effing world.

* * * * *

Ben's hatred of science.

* * * * *

What's putting a spring in your step and a smile on your face today?

Dye Your Hair Suicide Blonde

I'm very unsure about my hair. I don't know what looks good or what doesn't look good; the only thing I'm sure of is that I do not love my natural hair colour and have never loved my natural hair colour. Over the years, this dislike has made me susceptible to wily hair stylists.
Admittedly, I am usually quite pleased with the results after I've agreed to highlights or lowlights or deep-conditioning or whatever it is the stylist is pushing. After the initial buzz wears off though (usually about the time I've washed away the blow-out and have been unable to recreate the salon results,) I'm left feeling sick at the amount of money I've spent. Yes, I loved my hair. But did I love my hair that much? Two hundred dollars' worth? Even one hundred dollars' worth?

I have a hair appointment on Thursday (I'm debating a Kyla Roma fringe ... stay tuned) and in an effort to prevent spending my grocery money on my hair, yesterday I coloured my hair at home. I spent $8 on a box of non-permanent hair dye and went nuts. One ruined tank top later (note to self: a wee tea towel is not large enough to protect your clothes from hair dye, especially when you are a clumsy oaf) I'm quite pleased with myself. My hair doesn't look as good as it does after a day at the salon and the colour is a bit darker than I hoped it would be, but I kind of don't care.

Before

After

(Wow. I just realized that in my before photo I'm not wearing a lick of makeup. This is why I should wear mascara and blush every day.)

And Now You Wanna Be My Friend on Facebook

This makes me very happy:

The Lazy Sunbathers The Sun Burns Through To The Planet's Core And It Isn't Enough They Want More

You guys ... you guys! I bring on the crazy and you all bring out the lovely and here I am, a little verklempt. Thanks for talking me off yet another bloggy ledge. Same time, same place, next month?

I'm having a motherfucker of a day so I am unable to faff about for Friday Faff but let me point you in the direction of awesomeness:

Amanda wants to know: What's your bacon number? (mine is 4)

Lemon Gloria introduces baby Jordan.

Georgia makes me crave bread.

Right. In five hours I will be arriving in my favourite place in BC for three glorious days of sunshine, excessive Pimm's consumption, and hopefully a few bocce tournaments. I am beyond excited. I haven't peed from excitement yet but clearly that is a possibility.

Have a great weekend, lovelies!

They Left Us Alone In The Maelstrom As You Can See We're All Clearly Alive

We found out Friday night that the wedding is back on and we leave for the Dominican Republic this weekend. The news set off a celebration from Shawn and his brother and a maelstrom of activity from yours truly.

On one hand I was very pleased to know that in a week I would be in the sun, my most taxing decision being which tropical cocktail to enjoy next. On the other hand, I was fretting about everything that needed to be done before we left. Stuff that I had put on the back burner when the Mexican holiday was cancelled: picking up a new box of contacts, getting my birth control prescription renewed, changing Canadian money into US dollars. Important things that can't be put off until we return.

And now it's Tuesday and I have yet to complete any of my Imperative Tasks. Instead of checking items off my list, I keep adding to it: arrange transportation to the airport now that the flight time has changed and we need to be at the airport at 4am; buy dog food so the pups don't starve while we're away; host Mother's Day dinner because if we don't celebrate Mother's Day before we leave, the next time our entire family can be together is mid June.

On top of all that, I woke up this morning feeling like shite. I think I have a bladder infection. I was planning to go to the walk-in clinic today anyway (birth control prescription) so I'll hopefully be able to get some antibiotics to clear it up. I just don't want to deal with it.

I really don't mean to sound so complainy. I'm ridiculously excited to have a week off work. I went out and bought five new books this weekend to take with me (I have my priorities straight, ha.) I am loading up my ipod with various summer-fun-time playlists. I have stopped fretting about the size of my thighs (though I'm pretty sure the fretting will restart when I actually have to be in a bikini.) The next few days will be madness but after that? Bliss. Pure sunshiney bliss.

Victory 'Til The Storm Is Gone

A few things:

My Vancouver Canucks swept the St. Louis Blues last night. It was epic (no really, it was - the Canucks have never swept a team before, in franchise history.) The game got a bit dicey after St. Louis managed to tie it up, but Burrows (officially my new favourite player) got the winning goal with 19 seconds left in the first overtime. The city went wild. My head is hurty today. The end. Now we've got a week or so to rest up before the second round of playoffs begin.

* * * * *

To everyone who commented on my 30 Day Shred nonsense yesterday: Thank you for not laughing at me. I don't know what I was thinking. Level 2? Come on now. I was fine yesterday morning but by the time I got home from work, my arm, chest, and back muscles were a tight little ball of hatred. I didn't even do Level 1 last night. Tonight I am going to do Level 1 again and just amp up the cardio a bit by doing my jumping jacks and whatnot while holding my cans of beans (thanks to whoever suggested that. I'd go back and find out who you are and link to you but I can't. See: hurty head.)

* * * * *

Wolfgang peed on Stella's head last night. Intentionally. He actually propped his leg up on her back so that he could get some stability and better aim. And peed on her head (and in her water bowl, as she was having a drink of water at the time.) I don't really know why he did it. They had been wrestling. They both ran to get some water. Stella got there first and wouldn't let Wolfgang have a drink (they each have a water dish and both dishes always have water in them. It doesn't matter though. The water dish they want is the one that the other dog is drinking out of. Every time.) So he peed on her. And that's pretty much all I can say about that.

And that's all I've got. How are you doing this fine Wednesday morning?

Every Morning There's A Halo Hangin' From The Corner Of My Girlfriend's Four Post Bed

Yesterday was a rough day. I cried at work, which makes me feel like a major douche (though really, it was only the second time I've cried at work and if you compare that to the number of times I've felt like crying at work, it's pretty impressive.) I just felt like shite yesterday and work was really overwhelming and my boss was being a persnickety bastard and then my head melted. Mondays consistently kick my ass.

I managed to get through the day and jump on the train (I got to sit beside a crying baby for half an hour, lucky me) and walk home (through the rain. Of course it was raining! Of course I forgot my umbrella! I love Monday!) I had a pretty impressive funk on by the time I got to my mailbox.

And then my day turned around.

Remember when I did that poll a while back and I couldn't get "answer 5" to disappear and a bunch of cheeky people picked "answer 5" even though it didn't mean anything? And then remember how I told everyone that picked answer 5 that they should send me a present? MERMANDA DID!

Mermanda sent me the most random and hilarious package I have ever received in my entire life. I would like to document it fully here but I don't think I could do it justice so I'll just share the highlights:

First of all, who doesn't love a little Mark McGrath? I don't know why Mermanda has Mark McGrath stickers but it doesn't surprise me. And now I have a Mark McGrath sticker. I will cherish it forever.

Mermanda understands my love for the double L.

Chocolate! This made me laugh extra hard because of the "Chocolat / Chocolate" bit in I Love You, Man (speaking of which, Paul Rudd was on Craig Ferguson last night and it was freaking hilarious. Seriously, go see this movie.)

And my personal favourite: an Obama sticker. Mermanda told me to stick it to a puppy and I tried, but then Stella grabbed it from me and chewed the corner off.

So sad.

In conclusion: Mondays = suck and Mermanda = excellent. The end.

Just A Perfect Day Problems All Left Alone Weekenders On Our Own Such Fun

This past weekend was so fun, so heartmeltingly perfect, that I almost don't want another weekend ever because there is no way it could live up to the weekend I just experienced. That's just crazy talk though because really, what's worse - a bad weekend or a perfect work week? I'll take the bad weekend every time.

Friday night started with three of my favourite ladies coming over for a food & Wii party. We started the night eating copious amounts of food (see below) and then worked off our cheese-babies on the Wii Fit. I have not laughed so hard in a long time.

Saturday morning I woke up and could barely move, my abs were so sore. Damn you Wii Fit Hula Hoop! A dear friend was in town for the weekend so I took her out for Valentine's / Birthday pancakes. I also managed to convince her that she should let me throw her a baby shower (whoohoo, party planning here I come!)

My Saturday afternoon was a lazy one (which Shawn managed to catch on camera.)

Saturday night was Shawn's album release party at the Railway Club. The show went really well - the bar was packed and Shawn played really well (and looked damn fine while doing so.)

He had to stay until the last band finished so I hopped on the train by myself to head home when I got tired. And promptly realized that taking the train during rush hour is nothing like taking the train at 1am. I think the problem was that I had only had a few drinks at the bar so all the really drunk people were just annoying and loud. Or I'm just getting old.

The weather on Sunday was fabulous - blue skies and sunshine and almost warm. I took the pups to the dog park while Shawn recovered from his late night (he didn't get home until after 4am.) (And he is getting old.) And then we came home and the puppies got in trouble while I made yummy omelettes for brunch.

Stella loves shoes. She is always trying to get into the closet so she can get at the shoes. She's trying to teach Wolfgang her wicked ways.


Sunday night was spent watching the Canucks destroy the Habs and eating chicken satay with peanut sauce (which is now officially my favourite food.) My perfect weekend was not finished yet, though, because after the Canucks games I watched the season premier of The Amazing Race. I love this show. I love Phil Keoghan. I love everything about it. This weekend recap is long enough so instead of babbling about how awesome the first episode was, I'll just say that I'm happy with the couple who was eliminated (they were Annoying with a capital A) and my favourite couples as of right now are Brad & Victoria and Mel & Mike. I would like Linda & Steve to be eliminated next because I don't find it particularly entertaining to watch a man berate his wife for not being able to run fast enough. Can't wait for next week's episode!

Death By Chocolate Is Myth

There were 23 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1. JulyBug
2. Meghan
3. Bridge
4. Maxie
5. Nilsa
6. Jamie Lovely
7. Alice
8. Melanie
9. Sharon
10. Marie
11. Mermanda
12. Georgia
13. Katelin
14. Angella
15. Sarah
16. Meg
17. Aine
18. 3carnations
19. Jess
20. Nate Ring
21. doahleigh
22. Over-Thinker
23. Green

JulyBug, email me your address (ninjahills at gmail dot com) and I will send you some yummy chocolate.

In The Arms Of An Angel

My Monday funk started to dissipate mid-morning when I bought snowboots. Cute snowboots that were 50% off (boots that, as it turns out, make my feet want to die but whatever, 50% off!) 

After the snowboots, a client came by the office and dropped off a box of chocolates for me. Not office-chocolates, Hillary-chocolates that I brought home and hid in my bedside table so I not only get to keep them from my coworkers, I get to keep them from Shawn too. Don't judge me; they're not just any chocolates. They're my favourite chocolates. 

Soon after the chocolates, I got a call from Shawn. He was headed downtown with his dad and brother to watch the hockey game and they decided to leave early so they could meet me for dinner. I ate french onion soup (mmm...onions and cheese!) and cheesy garlic bread (mmm...garlic and cheese!) and I would be a sad person indeed if my bad mood lasted through all that. 

On the skytrain home, I had an overhead view of the roads. During the day, the plows were out in full force and the road conditions looked fair enough to drive on. So I got in my car and headed out to the photo store to pick up the rest of my parents' Christmas present. The roads were so good that I decided to head to my parents' house for a quick visit, as they live five minutes from the photo store. I didn't take into account the fact that the photo store is on a main (plowed) road and my parents' house is not. I got stuck. I rocked my car back and forth. I got out of my car and tried to kick snow away from my tyres, to no avail. I was a block away from my parents' house so I called them, hoping my dad would walk down and help me out of my pickle. No such luck - there was no answer at their house. I got back in my car and was starting to panic when a man tapped on my window. He was not a nice looking man. He looked a bit rough around the edges and I was all alone and it was dark but I was stuck and didn't know what to do. So I rolled down my window and the man, the nicest man on earth, told me he'd help me get unstuck. And he did. It took fifteen minutes for him to push me free but he didn't complain or give up. He got me rolling down the hill and I barely managed to yell my thanks out the open window. I have no way of tracking down this man, I have no idea where he lives or what his name is, but I would just like to acknowledge that this man saved my bum tonight. And in the spirit of paying things forward, I would like to offer a package of my favourite chocolate (not the box I received today, obviously - that sucker is half empty) to one of my lucky readers. Leave me a comment telling me either your scariest car moment or your nicest good Samaritan experience (you can be on the giving or receiving end) and I'll use random.org to choose a winner. Contest closes a week from today. Or when I feel like picking a winner. 

But Tell Me How Do My Leftovers Taste

I love party leftovers.

I'm eating lunch right now and I can't stop grinning because it's so excellent.

I'm eating one of those fancy apple/pear things. I don't know the proper name. I looked on the little sticker that was stuck to it to see what the office name is and it said "Delicious Pear. To Gentle Pressure." I don't know what that means. I also still don't know what the proper name is, so 'fancy apple/pear thing' will have to suffice.

Along with my fancy apple / pear thing, I am eating a hunk of Jarlsberg cheese, a few slice of salami (which is in direct violation of my No Processed Meat Except Bacon rule; however, it being Monday I don't give a damn) and a shameful amount of nanaimo bars.

And I have a lemon cupcake with cream cheese frosting in the fridge for later. Hi! I'm Hillary and I have no willpower.

Mermanda from Cusp of Normal bestowed this gem of wisdom on me today and I feel the need to pass it on:

"You should never put off bacon that you can eat today until tomorrow. Bacon tomorrow is never promised, as they say."

Truer words were never spoken.

In addition to her sparkling wit, today's post also features her 101 Things in 1001 Days List. Check it out! Play along! I'm thinking of making a list of my own, if I ever stop being a lazy bastard.

The City Is Flowing Through You That's What You've Become

Turtle and I saw David Usher play at the Commodore last night.

It was fabulous. 

I may have a tiny crush on David Usher.

And by "tiny crush" I mean "raging boner."

That voice! The hair! Those arms!

Yes, please.

Come back soon, David!

One Life But We're Not The Same

Last night was fabulous. We made our homemade pizza (it was surprisingly easy and so worth the effort.)





My family is planning a surprise birthday party for my Mom. We've decided to have a lemon drop martini station but we don't have a recipe. Shawn and I took one for the team and set about finding the perfect combo of vodka, lemonade, fresh lemon juice and triple sec. We're selfless like that. Selfless and hungover, today.

We watched the Canucks beat Anaheim 7 - 6 in one of the most entertaining hockey games I've seen in a long time.

Stella cleaned the kitchen table for us.

She didn't get in trouble because we were already a few drinks in.

We dressed Stella up as a Moo Cow for Hallowe'en (just because I was boycotting doesn't mean that Stella wasn't forced to participate.)

Our non-Hallowe'en was a perfect night.

How Longs It Take To Validate Your Wages

The topics I choose to write about on my blog are generally pretty light and fluffy. I write about how my puppy is the cutest! puppy! ever! I write about being a newlywed. I post recipes and pictures of my adventures. I read other blogs, blogs that are emotional and honest and deep, and I am in awe. My family is big on denial. It has been a hard journey to get to a place where I can identify my feelings; I haven't yet reached the place where I can write about them. At least not coherently.

But then sometimes I can't help but write. Last week I felt tremendous stress at the thought of going back to my doctor. I wrote about it here on my blog and the response I got was amazing. The support means more to me than I can express. Though nothing is resolved - I still have to go see a doctor to get a prescription renewed (here in BC you cannot phone in refills - you have to physically go to a doctor to get a new prescription) and I still haven't found a new doctor - a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Your comments made me feel validated. Thank you for being such rockstars.

Hope I've Lost Enough To Win You Back Your Prize

Hey, so remember when I was all "Wish me a happy birthday! I'll give you a present!" and then, uh, never chose a winner?

Situation = rectified.

Aine Caitriona, you are random.org's chosen one.

In other birthday news, today is Stella's first birthday. When I find the stupid brand-specific usb cable for my camera, I will post a picture of her wearing the birthday sweater that Shawn's mom made for her. She loves it (and by "love" I mean "hates like she has never hated before.")

I Know He Won A Mercury Award And Brought It Back To The Estate

There has been a lot of bloggy love floating around lately - some of it was bound to stick to me. The lovely Marie, Lauren and Mermanda have recently honoured my blog with Fabulous! Blog! Awards! which I have been very negligent in passing along.

First off, Marie gave me this:


You should read Marie's blog because she watches The Office and has fabulous taste in shoes.

I'm going to send this one out to:

See Hear Speak No Evil for being three ladies who can share a blog without fighting over it.

Maxie because she drinks vodka from plastic bottles and acknowledges it's a bad idea, she makes me think deep thoughts with her Would You Rather Wednesday questions, and she is a very good liar.

The Over-Thinker because she hasn't blogged in so long and I am trying to entice her to come back.

Lemon Gloria because she just got married, isn't afraid to write posts about poop, and is vengeful in an extremely entertaining way.

Miss Milk for reminding me what it's like to be 17 years old.

Next up is the award Lauren gave to me:


Lauren used to be in the circus, she's voting for Obama, and she organised a fabulous blog series called Testaments.

I would like to give this award to:

MLE at Pantalones Del Fuego for her fabulous recipes, gorgeous photos, and hilarious post titles.

The Over-Thinker for her mad paint skills. And because she hasn't posted in so long and I am trying to entice her to come back.

Angella because she spells her name with 2 L's and has a fabulous photography site.

Doahleigh for working her way through a broken heart with grace and honesty.

Katelin for her awesome Tuesday Hollywood posts.

Finally, Mermanda awarded me with this guy:


Mermanda and I were oblivious to each other's existence until recently but happily we managed to find each other. I'm pretty sure we're meant to be bloggy best friends. Mermanda thinks that she has stupider hair than I do, but clearly she is mistaken.


This award is going to:

The Over-Thinker for making the weathergirl picture possible. And because she hasn't posted in so long and I am trying to entice her to come back.

Who's Your Dachshund for being so shamelessly a Dog Blog.

Oh! How lovely! Shops for featuring an abundance of etsy talent.

Take Me Back To Manhattan for her 10 Days in Burma series.

Jessica Maria because she has the most adorable little kittens and she has great taste in music.