Interview II

So I totally got interviewed again, cause I'm just THAT awesome. This time by the phenomenally amazing Sheila.

1. I only "know" three Canadians but you all are very awesome. Is this typical of those who hail from Canada or are you three just extraordinary?
Yeah, I'd say typical. It comes from being part of the commonwealth and being all polite and stuff. That and the fact that for the most part we feel pretty inferior (while at the same time having a superiority complex) so we over-compensate. But yeah, I'm pretty awesome aren't I?

2. LeSombre wants to educate me by introducing me to delicacies like beaver tail. Was he just pulling my leg or do you guys really eat things like that?
Ahem. You do know that he is not in fact going to be feeding you a tail of a beaver right? I won't ruin the surprise or anything, believe me, it's quite delish. But yeah- we got some cool stuff going on...poutine (which is rarely made properly - it's cheese curds people, not shredded mozzarella!), bannock, tourtiere, uhhh maple syrup.

3. You call yourself "Princess of the Universe". How did you decide upon this name for your blog?
Le sigh. It's soooo not interesting if you weren't there. Let's just say that I don't like competition, and proclaiming myself Princess of the "Universe" really eliminates the idea that anyone could be a more important Princess than I am. The thought has occurred to me though that if I ever go to some sort of Blogger convention, I'm going to feel like a real dumbass introducing myself with that name.

4. Who is the most influential person in your life? Why?
My Daddy. As far as I am concerned, he is the perfect voice of reason and wisdom. He is forever the voice in my head and I would be devastated to ever disappoint him. I was always Daddy's little girl, and have to admit, that him dying when I was 11 rather than my Mother would have created an even bigger need for therapy than I've already engaged in.

5. What is your favorite song? Movie? Book?
Song? Uh, it changes every week. At the moment I'm kind of in love with all things Pink. But my niece got "Sing It" for the Wii this past Christmas, so I have to admit, that this song has been in my head ever since (I have no idea who these people are):




Movie: Moulin Rouge
Book: Eek, just one? No can do, I gotta do a list: The Complete Works of Jane Austen (Who could pick just one Jane book?) Harry Potter (all), The Fionavar Tapestry

Now, as you know, there are rules for this interview. So if you want to be interviewed, let me know in the comments- but really, is there anyone in the bloggiverse that I haven't sent questions to yet?

xo

It's the End of the Year...Time to Assess...

So what is it that makes us interesting people worth knowing? For the most part, I think what defines us, is the decisions that we make.

But it's not enough that we always make the decisions that we should make. It's the surprising ones, the stupid ones, the unexpected ones that also carve out our paths and make us who we are.

Before making any decision, I tend to always do what my father would prefer. And if it's a major life event, I even consult with him on it. He's the voice in my head. The epitome of reason and correctness.

But I don't even think that he would respect me if I didn't do the odd thing without his direct approbation. Our choices create a butterfly effect- both for ourselves, and for the people around us, and sometimes we need to create those effects for ourselves- without anyone telling us what to do.

On the whole? I tend to always do the right thing. I don't take a lot of risks in my life, and I am constantly aware of how my behaviour will both affect those around me, and how it will cause other people to think of me.

- I can't wear clothes that are too tight or low cut. Not only are they not flattering, but more importantly- people might get the wrong impression of me.
- If I throw a party, I must invite my neighbours, and slip notes under their doors ahead of time warning them that it's coming so as not to offend.

I could go on and on citing examples of things that I do that are proper and appropriate. I'm always the one to throw the shower or staggette. I will always be on time. I will always consult before purchasing a gift so as to not burden someone with something unwanted.

But does this make me interesting? Not even remotely. Even reading this makes me not want to be friends with myself. People don't want to be around people who are constantly in a state of high drama, crisis and neediness. Someone who is constantly making stupid decisions and is complaining about their lot in life is just frustrating.

However, someone who always has the correct job, education, and car and house and friends?
Someone who never gets drunk, and works out religiously and doesn't have time for TV because they're working at a homeless shelter? Yeah, they're probably not sought out for all the best parties either.

I've been thinking about some of the decisions I've made this year and trying to figure out which end of the scale I'm ending up on. There are some phenomenally bad moves that I've made, and I'm trying to figure out if I can counter them with enough smart decisions to at least have it all kind of be a wash...

BAD:
- Quit job without anything to fall back on, and not much hope for EI
- Got myself in a potential load of trouble because of this blog
- Said some unkind things about people on this blog
- Went out with a couple of internet men, had sex with one and am currently freaking out because of being "late"
- Totally betrayed my brother's trust to my father and had a potentially relationship-shattering fight with him as a result
- hit pole with car- haven't addressed annoying dent yet

GOOD:
- Quit job that caused me to end up on crazy pills and therapy and throwing up every day
- Found much better job with way more money and benefits
- Am now seeing step-sisters on a more regular basis and are getting much closer as a result
- Am now off crazy pills and therapy and seeing doctor every 2 weeks
- Am back to volunteering with Alumni Association, and have made some lovely new friends there

Honestly, at the moment the bad is looking a lot worse than the good. I think I need to perhaps re-assess some things. Do the bad decisions make me more interesting, or am I just looking like someone who needs to smarten up a bit? I get so tired of being proper and appropriate that apparently sometimes I tip a bit too far to the other end of the spectrum.

I'm all for being a well-rounded (read: equal parts smart and stupid) person, but I'm thinking that perhaps tipping a little bit more on the "good" end, as a rule? Probably the best way to go.

OK, off to write my list of resolutions. I only have a few days....

Administrative Whatnot...

• I have sent everyone their interview questions, so if you haven't received them- let me know and I will re-send (*Adam, I didn't send you any, because I notice you offered it to everyone that you interviewed - however if you actually enjoy the questions, I will be more than happy to do so)
  
  
• A day and a half more of work- then I'm on holidays until the 5th! Squee!
  
  
• I have made a pile o' peanut butter and mint fudge for the holidays - more than anyone could possibly consume. Feel free to send in your request, I'll be happy to ship some out to you!
  
  
• Because apparently I channel a 15 year old occasionally, I bought new winter boots that are all suede-y and need to be laced up and have pom poms on the end of the laces. Just a note for next time? Pom poms? Undo themselves while you walk. EVERY freakin' time. Next time make purchases appropriate for a 33 year old mmmkay?
  
  
• There is barely anyone at work right now. I have been cleaning my office. It's wonderful. I enjoy Christmas holidays around a school.
  
  
• I have my car back.

xo

On Siblings...

So my brother's car is all sick and broken and wounded and stuff. So since I take the bus everyday, an executive decision was made that I would be absolutely thrilled to lend him mine.

Now as it happens, I was sick last week. Cause that's just how I roll. You know, getting sick once a month and missing meetings and having to play catch up for a week even though I only missed two days. Whatev.

Anyhow, since I was all pitiful last weekend, I really didn't need my car. I was content to sit at home and feel sorry for myself. Good times.

So on Friday morning, I lent him my car. And everyday was told that I would get it back "tomorrow." Well, as the saying goes, tomorrow never comes now does it?

So on Wednesday evening, I'm in my Pj's listening to Britt and Adam's radio show and completely happy with my lot in life. I was heading to bed at 9PM cause I'm like 80 years old, and life was good. Then the phone rang. My brother's gf: he'll be at my place shortly to drop off my car. Cool! I get my car back!

*pause*

Wait, a second, where are you? Crap. I have to drive him home don't I? But I'm in my pajamas! Flannel pants aren't warm anywhere but inside people. Yeah, -40 degrees? Not so much. And this tank top? I know I'm all uber sexy and stuff, but it just isn't going to cut it. #@%^#&#^%()#%^)(#*^%#

So my brother walks in looking all proud of himself for returning my car after only 5 days and immediately heads to my fridge. Seriously, not the best idea. Only I know how old some of that stuff is. Eat at your own risk.

So we start driving to his car and he starts lecturing me about various aspects of my behaviour. Fair enough - I do in fact give him and his gf a hard time. And of course, they are neither of them self-aware enough to know that they bring it on themselves. It hurts me sometimes to know that my brother, the second most important man in my life is so completely clueless most of the time. I take the lecture with grace, and agree that I need to speak to him more nicely.

And you know what? I did. I was totally sugar sweet to him when he called me the next afternoon to tell me that his car died again and that I needed to go to his house after work and deliver my car. I was super patient when he sounded annoyed that I hadn't taken my car to work yesterday and took the bus like I do every other day, so it would take a little longer for my car delivery to occur.

I didn't even insist that he pay when he was driving me home (in my car) and I requested that we drive-thru Wendy's as I had no food at my place for dinner.

And then I dropped the bomb on him.

You see, he isn't quite so stellar at paying his bills. At the moment, he doesn't have any phone/TV/internet. So he's missed out on a few weeks of emails from the parents. He was totally clueless that Christmas was going to be different this year. You see the parents' bought a condo, and it's way smaller than the old homestead. So Christmas dinner? Lasagna. Maybe some garlic toast and salad too. Not sure.

I voiced my objections about this a month ago, and was quite bluntly told by my Step-Mom that I didn't have a say in the matter. Not so much a demoncracy in our family. I was just disappointed because being the single one, I spend both days with the parents - Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. And generally by the evening of the 25th I'm wanting to poke my eyes out and just go home and watch whatever new DVDs I had received that day. However, this year my step-sister is hosting us, and we get turkey! (My step-mom never does turkey either- we get chicken for Thanksgiving, and it used to be ham at Christmas). So I got over my disappointment knowing that I would get a traditional meal the next day.

My brother? Not so much. By the time we got back to my place, he had really warmed up and was well into the ranting and swearing and feeling victimized by the whole thing. But I promised to speak nicer to him. So my solution? Laughing at him and very sweetly telling him to suck it up.

I'm a good sister.

xo

The Princess Recommends 7.35

That last post? Let's face it- it wasn't really a post. It was me trying to make up for the fact that I really haven't written anything in almost a week. And lo! Here's a second post for the day!

I think we can all learn a lesson here. Don't post something sub-par just for the sake of posting. Cause then you might be rewarded with something way more worth posting later on in the day? Uhh, somehow my lesson went askew...

Anyhow, I totally got all shamelessly solicited today. And since I'm unaccustomed to being hit up for favours, instead of feeling all affronted? I feel cool! Cause why would I get hit up if I wasn't well on my way to being one of the cool bloggers of influence?!

The hitter-upper-person? Super Alisa! (No honest, that's the name of her blog, I'm not just being all complimentary).

And what does Alisa do? Well, she seems inordinately fond of her rack. On page one you see it proudly displayed a couple of times. So gentlemen? Off you go, I'll wait...

What else does she do? Well, she has an Etsy shop for Snarky Cards. And people? They are all kinds of hilarious. I have to admit, my friends would probably be waaaaayyy too uptight to handle these cards, but there is one in particular that I would like to give to a few of my blog crushes.
(Hah! You totally thought I was going to link to my boy bloggie crush didn't you?)

I think you should pay particular notice to her "Beautiful Rejection" section. It is totally fab.


Anyways, Alisa - thanks for making me feel all cool for a few minutes. Good luck with the leg and the boobies and the cards!

xo

I Didn't Take Journalism...

OK, so far I've sent out 8 whole sets of interview questions.
Yeah, this is a WAY bigger project than anticipated, but I love it.

And my questions? Totally self-centred.

E.g questions:
What would you make ME for dinner when I come to visit?
What are you doing to entertain me when I show up unannounced on your doorstep?
When are you planning the next Great Canadian Blogger Meet-Up?

What do Americans really think of Canadians? (just curious)

I also noticed that I'm kind of bossy too:

M&M's or Smarties? Discuss.
Go say hi to my friend who lives next door to you OK?
Name a rat after me, OK?

Hmm...perhaps I should lose the tiara for a few days...

xo

Five Questions from Avitable

So a little while back Avitable offered to interview anyone who asked with five questions. I got mine this morning, and since I've been feeling more than a little un-creative the past few days, I feel compelled to thank him for the excellent timing.

1. You and I have both experienced threading. I probably cried more than you, but shouldn't we get hats and buttons and membership into some awesome club just for surviving the experience?
And cookies, and chocolate and definitely some wine. (Preferably pink and really sweet.) And yet I still maintain that I will do it again. That whole allergic reaction thing was WAY traumatizing...

2. If you're the Princess of the Universe, who's the Queen?
I'm tempted to explain the whole "Princess of the Universe" backstory - but really? Unless you were there? It's so not funny. I don't think there's any possible way to explain it to make it amusing to anyone other than myself. (And I have to confess, I still find the memory amusing as hell). And on another note? Everyone I know who claims to be a "Princess"? No one wants to be Queen. I think it might have to do with the whole age thing...

3. Winnipeg doesn't sound like a fun place to visit - it's just the name, for some reason. Can you defend it?
I totally wiki'd this: Winnipeg's name is derived from the western Cree words of win and nippi which translate to "Muddy Waters". This I imagine is true, because there is a restaurant around here called "Muddy Waters." I hate that place. It's the first time I've ever gone to a restaurant and found nothing on the menu that I wanted to order. Ahem.
Ok, so cool things about Winnipeg that would make you want to visit:
a) World Class ballet (except I hate the ballet, so this really does nothing for me).
b) Winnie the Pooh is named after Winnipeg (although why would that make people come here now?)
c) Winnipeg is Slurpee capital of the World (so you can totally come here and see some signs proclaiming that)
d) Wedding socials- cheap alcohol, bizarre range of music, dancing with old people and winning prizes...
e) I'M here- isn't that enough to make people want to stop by???

4. Why do you blog?
Too much spare time on my hands?
Ok, why? Aside from the fact that I was kind of peer pressured into it? I've always had diaries, but I always kind of wrote them for an audience. I always assumed that someone would read them someday and I tried to make them appropriately entertaining. And I do love the community aspect of it all. The more commentary I get, the happier a Princess I am.

5. If I told you I was a Federal Breast Inspector, would you believe me?
I'd be much more likely to believe that you are, than if you tried to convince me that you weren't.
Just for you Adam:

The only rules are that you have to link back to the original post and you have to put these rules in your post:

"Want to be part of it? Follow these instructions:
1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions."

This May Be TMI for Some of You...

So this past Saturday? I got threaded.

(You know what makes me mad? The fact that I have to do that- I mean women are supposed to be all smooth and silky, so why? For the love of Goddess, why?)

Ahem. Anyhow, I got threaded for the first time. Cause I'm a delicate flower, and apparently waxing just causes me to break out in pink rashy puffed up itchiness. Annoying.

So I got a coupon for a free threading. Awesome. No product= no pink rashy puffed up itchiness right?

So off I go. My eyebrows were ready. My wallet was doing a little dance because I was getting this for free. Bring it on!

So first of all? It hurts. Like a lot. Not even like a lot. Just really - it hurts a LOT. I mean waxing, that's not fun, but it's brief. So in like a millisecond it's over. Threading? Not to much. But whatev. After the initial shock I'm all "I am Princess, hear me roar! I can totally do this."

Then? There's apparently audience participation required. The woman has the bloody thread in her teeth and is using her hands to tear out each little individual hair at a time, and is clearly positioning the thread very specifically so as to maximize the pain. But I still have to stretch out the skin above and below the eyebrow. Fine lady. I'll help you cause me more excruciating pain. (Did I mention that it hurts? Yeah. It does.)

Next? When it's all over? "You want upper lip done too?"
Le sigh. Clearly since she's asking, it needs to be done right? "Yeah OK" (I mean why not, it's been super fun so far, right?)

More audience participation! I have to shove my tongue up below the lip so as to stretch out the skin again. She would occasionally tap a place, and apparently that was her not-so-subtle way of letting me know where the pain was coming next. (Oh yeah, and where my tongue should be) (Resisting urge to make predictably dirty tongue joke here).

And THEN? She keeps going...lower lip (wha?) chin...(seriously?)

"Next time, you schedule whole face."

*blink blink"

"OK" (as I try hard not to burst into tears, and suddenly have visions of photos of me posted around the city under the heading "See Princess, the Dog-faced Girl!")

I go out into the main area, and the owner asks me how it all went. "It hurt!" She sighs softly and agrees that it does.
"And apparently I need to do the whole face next time!"
By this time, I've recovered my sense of humour and am totally writing this post in my head.

"Did she do more than just your brows?"
"Uh yes, apparently I needed it. Whole face!"

She sighed softly again and told me how she's had talks with her about how it's not necessary to upsell, but the woman sees hair and just needs to remove it...
And then told me that the same thing happened in the interview - it was more of an audition with the woman waxing her. She told me that she had tears streaming down her face as the woman insisted in doing her lip too and how much it hurt.

First of all? Wimp. I didn't cry (on the outside anyways).
And second? Wow, I hope she didn't have too many people to interview that week. Cause the face is actually less painful than some other places...

But actually? I still think I kind of liked the little masochist. I didn't have any pink rashy puffed up itchiness afterwards. And at least she's gonna be honest with you.

Yeah, I'll be going back.

The Princess's Two Cents on some Pop Culture-ish Stuff...

I bet you think this is going to be another post about what I'm doing this weekend? Totally not!
Although, I have to admit that's tempting- because while I have nothing officially scheduled this weekend until Sunday night, I have a zillion and one administrative things to do, and I would love to whine about them. But yeah, like no one else has a lot to do before Christmas right? Whatev.

Nope, today this post is devoted to pop culture. Some things I've noticed of late on the radio/TV/movies etc etc that I think should have some sort of Princessy editorial added to it. (And lord knows I'm pretty late in the game on some of these - but nonetheless....)

First of all: Twilight. Now I have to say, I loved the books. Loved! And totally rushed out to see them movie the first weekend. And Miss Britt? She's having a contest, and she's giving away the series. Since I totally borrowed the books, I would love love love to win these. Oh and Miss Britt? She's so pretty.
And to all those of you who are either loving or hating the movie? Ugh, at least you didn't have to leave it halfway through. MUST get to the theatre to see the other half.

Second: Grey's Anatomy. I must confess, I tend to watch Grey's during the commericals of Supernatural (must get some sort of functioning recording device). But last night I caught the entire ep. Now I love love loved Denny. Was absolutely devastated when they killed him and then stalked him around TV land with an all-encompassing crush. But this? Seriously? Stupid.

Third: Rock Band? Guitar Hero? Wii? DDR? I could barely hop over the little mushrooms when Super Mario was the thing growing up, but now? I am a bloody rock star on Guitar Hero. I can do "Shout at the Devil" like no one's business. Uh, on easy of course. And I still don't get what that little lever on the side does or what all the way lines mean. But still? I'm so cool. And I totally need someone to invite me to a DDR party (Dance Dance Revolution for those of you less cool than me).

Uh, and apparently I'm so cool I can't think of anything else to make random commentary on right now. Perhaps I'll make this a recurring post, you know, when I think of more stuff...

xo

Princess's Happy Place

I used to proudly proclaim that this blog was my "happy place." And then I started writing posts about possible abuse and my crazy pills and my lack of sex. So maybe I should call this blog my "occasionally pleasant" place.

Anyhow, as I generally do- whenever I write a particularly not-so-upbeat post, I try to follow it up with happy happy things. And guess what? I'm totally doing that again.

1. My person and her DH had a baby! Yay! It's a boy! If you would like to send baby gifts to a complete stranger that you only read about on this blog, I'm sure she'll gratefully accept them. The baby should be worshipped after all. Email me!

2. I saw Ali last night! We had a mediocre dinner at Joey's - but who cares?! I got to see her after a zillion months. She assured me that I'm not a stalker by sending Facebook messages every few weeks: so when are we getting together huh? When? When? I miss you! I love you! When? When? Soon? When? Etc. She's a good sport.

3. Guess what I got in the mail from the fabulously gorgeous Wendy Brandes? A necklace! This one in the photo! And the name on it? Well, I guess you all know what my first name is now (contrary to everyone who thinks my name is "Violet" because of my email address)...and that's totally my handwriting and everything. Isn't technology fab?! Why don't you buy your loved ones a present from Wendy? In fact, why don't you send me a present? I would love either the Mia Scent Locket, or the Sunflower ring. Thanks! PS- do you read Wendy's blog? You should- it's fab! Thanks so much Wendy for this! I love love love it! And you're a peach for being so concerned about the delivery!

4. I have officially sent out a little over half of my Christmas cards. I'm quite pleased with myself. You know what to do if you want one....

5. Thank you all so much for all your lovely words of support on my last post. I really appreciate it and it gave me a lot to think about. Most especially to Rock Chef who sent me an email that was so sweet it made me cry. At work. First thing in the morning.

6. Only 13 more days of work before Christmas! And then I get from Dec 24- Jan 4 off. Who wants to hang out with me during my glorious holidays??

7. Did everyone notice my fish over there on my sidebar? The lovely AmyTree found them (for me). Click on the little screen and show them some digital love wouldja?

OK, that's all for now lovelies. Have a superfab Thursday!
xoxo

The Bootlegging Story Has Really Nothing to Do With Anything...

My Grandfather was arrested for bootlegging once. I'm two generations away from bona fide hillbillies. But apparently people find my family snobby. On my Mom's side anyways. I can't argue it. We are. It seems for no good reason at all.

So my cousin came in from out of town last weekend and stayed with me last night. We had a long talk. She's been hanging onto something for a long time and it seemed that I needed to give her some sort of absolution. I think when I tried at age 14 or so it wasn't quite good enough. I needed to have the conversation with her as an adult.

Abuse: bad or improper treatment; maltreatment: The child was subjected to cruel abuse.

It seems that some members of my family were concerned that I was being abused. Not sexually - just the usual old-fashioned kind as in the definition above. Not by my Dad of course. I am completely biased about him, but the general consensus of all who have ever known him is that he is a good, kind man.

The thing is, I think he is the one who may have been abused. By my mother. The one who's been dead for almost 22 years now. It physically hurts me to actually be writing something so awful about the woman who gave birth to me, but it seems like there was a genuine concern in my family when I was young that I never knew much about.

My cousin and her mother called Child and Family Services when I was 9 or 10. My cousin had lived with us when I was 9 and saw a lot. She was 18.

Since my mother dies when I was 11, all my memories of her are coloured with the thoughts, perceptions and feelings of a child. And I sometimes wonder whether everyone's childhood memories are as hazy as mine. My memories of my mother are at such extreme ends of the spectrum that it would be almost comical if it wasn't so sad.

But listening to my cousin last night was shocking, yet it reminded me so much of things that I had long forgotten. She compared me to a china doll back then. How I always had to behave perfectly and how my favourite restaurant as a child was some place much fancier than a child of my age should have been ever thinking about. In some ways I think I was a little doll for my Mom to dress up in fancy clothes and but jewellery for and take out to nice places.

But I can't quite reconcile that to abuse. I think my Mother was a very unhappy woman. I think she was also quite ill herself. Both in the traditional sense with heart and blood pressure problems, and in the mental health sense.

My cousin reminded me of how she came home one day to find me crying in my room because my Mother had dumped everything from all my drawers and the top of my dressers onto the floor and left me a note saying that I had to have my room cleaned by the time she got home. I don't remember the incident precisely, but hearing about it doesn't surprise me.

Is this abuse? I don't know.

Is it normal for a child to be afraid of their Mother? Is it normal that when my Mom was in the hospital for the brief time before she died that I was devastated when she said that she was taking 6 months off work for her health because I didn't want her around so much. Is it normal that I was a little relived when she died? Is it normal that while I still miss her every day, I wonder if I didn't turn out just a little bit better because I only had her moods and temper around for 11 years instead of my whole life?

I can't make myself believe that I was abused. But the rational part of me reminds me that even abuse must occur on a sliding scale. Perhaps I was in the low - mid range. There was a lot of good, but the bad was worse than non-abused kids would have to experience. I don't know.

I can't see how at age 33, suddenly deciding that I was an abused child could possibly do me any good. What would that do to my poor Father?

I know that the reason I'm not married and most likely never will be is because I'm scared that I will treat my partner like my Mother treated my Father. I know that the reason I pause before I say anything to anyone, ever, is to gauge their mood to make sure they're not going to snap at me or get angry at me for disturbing them. (Yes, EVERYone, EVERytime. That includes my person, My Dear Anon, Ali, everyone...) I know that the reason that I don't want children is because I'm scared that I'll be mean to them,

But abuse? Well, I think there's something to be said for denial. I just can't go there.
While a part of me felt validated by what my cousin was saying to me (cause how much guilt do you think I'm carrying, when there's a tiny buried part of me that just admitted that my Mom dying might have been beneficial?) but for the most part, I don't know that it wouldn't be better for me to forget the whole conversation. She's gone. Don't speak ill of the dead. If I have issues, I'll just go to therapy and then quit when I have to talk about the past too much.

I feel like I've lived my life backwards. I started out as a grown up and I'm becoming more and more child-like the older I get. I'm trying to make up for lost time?

Introspection sucks.

Princesses are Not Necessarily Classy...

I knew a girl once who told me that her and her friends "put the ass in class."

That's kind of how I felt last night.

I went out with an Aunt and a cousin. All we knew was that we were going to dinner and a movie. So we ended up trying this new place called "Dacquisto." It's run by a management company that has all sorts of different restaurant "concepts." This one was authentic Italian. OK.

So we start perusing the menu which is only marginally in English. I was good with "Antipasti" and "Insalata." Not so much with "contorni" and "Piatti." But there were explanations, so I soldiered on.

The server hovered. The second one of us would lay our menus down to look at each other or ponder the situation, you could see him inching forward. We allowed him to get us drinks. Diet cokes all around. Several cherries for me, one for my cousin, none for my Aunt. He dropped them off with a flourish proudly proclaiming which had one cherry and which had several. And he was wrong. Switch.

We examined the prices more closely. This place was kind of pricier than we expected. We compromised and decided to just order appetizers and then stop at Mcdonald's on the way to the movie if we had to. (See? Classy.)

The second all three of us lay down the menus he was right there. It was mildly alarming. That coupled with an Italian accent that we all suspected was more than a bit put on...by that point we were thrilled to be rid of him.

We concluded that we would get maybe 5 prawns, a pizza the size of a saucer and a fist-ful of calamari.

Wrong.

There were only 3 prawns.

Apparently worth $4.00 each.

He started clearing the table before we even finished the last piece of pizza. Is it just me, or is that rude? We had been told when our table was needed for the next reservation. We were WAY early, but I guess by then the server decided that we were a lost cause. As it turned out he was right, we were so annoyed by the whole thing, that he only got a $5.00 tip.

My Aunt was mortified that she had suggested this place, so she insisted on picking up the bill. Lovely. And then we went here for some dinner and music. A lovely cafe in a bookstore that has live bands on Friday and Saturday evenings. Perhaps we should have just gone there to start with? It was in the same mall as the movie theatre and gave us a much less uptight experience. And it was far too packed to allow for any hovering. My cousin picked up that bill, so I got the movie.

All in all, a lovely evening. But it proved to me yet again- am I sophisticated? Not so much. Classy? Barely at all. Fun? Yeah, I can pull that off.

Great Big Sea

God they put on an amazing show....




Sleepy now...

xo

First I Tell You Everything I'm Doing, and Now I Give You Work to Do...

So I blatantly stole this from Avitable.

I remember writing about a zillion and a half years ago about Johari windows, but since I label things in such an idiotic way - there's no way I'll ever find this again. Mental note: next blog, label things usefully.

Anyhow, so this is a superfun way for you to either totally trash me or tell me all the ultra fabulous things that you really think about me. And it can be all anonymous-like if you want!

Johari is the nice one. Nohari is the not so nice once.
So off you go...clicky clicky...

http://kevan.org/johari?name=Princess+of+the+Universe
http://kevan.org/nohari?name=Princess+of+the+Universe

And after that? We'll all get our slam books out and totally talk about other bloggers behind their backs. :P

Why Do I Just Keep Telling You Everything That I'm Doing?

So you know how I said you'd never have to hear about my contest again? Yeah, I totally lied.
Cause I have to announce the winners!

Prunella de Ville! You're a winner!
PsychGrad! You too!

I need your addresses and I will send you your superultrafabulous prizes!

Moving on.

So I have this reputation with my friends of being this social butterfly. (Along with a few other things, but let's leave those rumours alone shall we?). Anyhow, in my little mind it's not true. I feel like I'm pretty hermit-like. Nothing makes me happier than getting home at 5:30 each day. Puttering around in my sweats, playing on my computer until TV starts. Going to be at 9:30 cause apparently I'm 80. Bliss.

This week?
Tonight: I went to my person's since I haven't seen her in a couple of weeks and she's due to have a baby like any second now.
Tomorrow: Remember this post? Well, since he won the comic book contest and is soon to be all famous, I thought I would catch up with him in hopes that he remembers me when he's all famous. Maybe he'll cast Jensen Ackles as Blake Undying????
Wednesday: in theory a night at home, but actually prepping for a super important scrapbooking night on Fri.
Thurs: Great Big Sea!! One of my darling ex co-workers got tickets and asked me to go. Yay! For all my foreign readers who have never heard of them. Here's a taste of the joy that is GBS.



Friday: Aforementioned scrapbooking night. Step-sister bonding. Making Christmas presents for my Dad & brother.
Saturday: D2. I haven't seen him on over a month and I must hear about his latest stalker stories. He totally has some married woman dying for him. Both painful and hilarious (well if you're me anyways).

So yeah - while this is all glorious, it's also a wee bit painful. I mean I really like my sweats. And couch. And bed by 9:30.

This is WAY tarnishing the hermit rep that I'm trying to produce to counteract the butterfly thing. What's up with that?

And what the hell is up with two posts in a row where I simply recount everything I'm doing? Ok, I promise more girly fluffiness next time. Any suggestions? Photos of my gift wrap maybe? I could talk about my hair? Brood about boys? Maybe another photo essay proving that I can cook again? I can show you how I make my gourmet tuna melt?

xoxox

On My Weekend and Christmas...

Ok, this is the last time that you will hear about the bloody contest which even I'm sick of. It's over on Sunday. I will announce a winner Sunday eve or something.

Now that I have that out of the way - I'm totally going to tell you about my plans for the weekend. Cause you guys care and stuff.

Tonight: I think I'm going to end up picking up advance tickets to "Twilight" (too lazy to link, but if you don't know what this is, seriously you must be living under a rock). I am going to see it tomorrow with K and her hubby. I think while I'm at the theatre, I may even catch "Australia." (I'll forgive you if you haven't heard of this one- I love love love Baz Luhrmann and see everything he does. Moulin Rouge? Totally my favourite movie ever.)

Tomorrow: picking up bro from the airport. I feel compelled to do some re-bonding with him. He said some stuff to me that upset me and I talked to my Dad about it. My Dad talked to him and he got mad at me. Blah Blah sibling crap. Anyhow, I would like to just move past it, so I think a couple of hours of quality bonding time is all we'll need to move past it. Then, as mentioned, seeing Twilight then dinner at K's mother in law's.

Sunday: I hope to see my person. Will have to check on her schedule. I also want to do my Christmas cards.

An interesting topic came up on Miss Britt's blog today - she said that she hates it when bloggers ask in a blog if their readers want a card. She said that if the writer wants to send a card, then to email and as for an address.
Question: I very specifically haven't done this beccause I was concerned that it was potentially creepy/stalkerish/alarming. How would you feel if I sent you an email saying: "Hi, it's PotU, I heart you. Can I get your address to send you a Christmas card?"
Cause whomever tells me they're cool with it, you'd better believe you're getting an email from me right away. I don't know why I'm so bloody Martha about this, but I love sending out Christmas cards.
Oh, and those of you whose addresses I've already managed to get? yeah, you're totally on my list already.

Ok, back to the topic at hand. There's a Christmas Craft Show going on this weekend too. I think I should try to fit that in somewhere. Along with cards, and gift wrap and baking, I also love love love buying stocking stuffers. It's in my top 3 parts of Christmas- stockings! I keep getting in trouble from my steps because I talk about stocking stuffers around the kids all the time. I'm good about remembering that Santa is supposed to be real and all that, but I can never quite remember that he's the one who's on stocking duty. (Have I mentioned that even as a child, I never really bought the idea of Santa? I can never remember a time when I actually believed in him, I always felt like I was humouring my parents with this myth)

OK, back to work. Have a super fab weekend my darlings.

xo

State of the Union

So I'm at work right now. I am freaking out about the amount that I have to get done - and yet here I am...

It reminds me that quite a few of you lovelies have asked me how I'm doing with the relatively new job. I can give you an idea in general terms, since my new discretionary rule precludes this very topic from my blog...

So this job is a lot more work and responsibility. Some days I love it, and some days I love it a bit less. But on the whole? It's a much better place for me. I feel kind of zen about it. I know that I am working towards something that matters and I know that what I am doing is necessary. That is important to me.

Now that being said, it's a good thing that I've done a lot of independent work in my life. When I worked for a race track, I got sent to off-track locations to do my thing. I would be alone for 6 - 10 hours per day and only have time to scurry to the ladies room when there was enough time between all the races that were about to go. This could sometimes take a while.

My last job was better, I would generally have at least one, if not two other people working with me. But still, there were times when I would have these intense moments of solitude.

And now? I am it. There's my boss who's AVP of whatever and I am my own Universe (and nobody calls me Princess around here). I generally stop by her office every couple of days to ask the odd question. But on the whole? Pretty much alone. I perhaps should remove "able to work in a team environment" from my resumé.

But, my doctor has declared me "cured" from what ailed me. As I've mentioned, I'm now off the crazy pills. And I broke up with my therapist months ago. I have no doubt that I will end up in therapy again, but for now I'm coping. And I very rarely have the dry heaving in the morning like I did for the last 2 1/2 years at my other job. And self-harm? Well, I manage to push those thoughts away more easily.

So "cured"? No. Better? Yes. I imagine a lot of people feel at the very least a tiny twinge of dismay at the thought of being hit by a bus or catching a fatal disease. Unfortunately, I'm still of the camp that thinks that sounds like a release. BUT, I don't think about it all the time like I used to. So no worries my darlings, you'll still have my girliness around for a while...

On the upside of life- I am still enjoying the bus, even though the weather has changed. I have done a large portion of my Christmas shopping, and know what I'm buying for most everyone else. I bought myself some sexy knickers yesterday. Gas is down to 89.9 cents per litre. I think I'm going to see "Twilight" with K and her husband this weekend. (Go team Edward!)

Oh, and so far Pru is the only person who actually entered my contest with any wishes. Is she the winner? Contest closes at the end of the week. (I'm willing to open it up to, give me 3 wishes of ANY kind- just not all "I want world Peace-ish" I want totally selfish wishes)

Ok, back to work. I have 5 more meetings this week to prep for.

xo

This Post Ended Up Being Pretty Random...

I went out with a friend last night to watch her play volleyball. I'm constantly in awe with how many adults are on volleyball teams. Makes me wish I had tried harder in elementary school gym class...

Anyhow, before that we went to a card-making event at a church.
Everyone ooh and ahh over what I created:Because I occasionally channel Martha Stewart, I have to confess, I'm chomping at the bit to send out my Christmas cards. I bought a lot in Boxing Day Sales last year and I totally want to spread the love around. A note to all my bloggy friends email me your address and I will send you an uber sparkly card filled with princessy goodness.

And speaking of sending you things? At the moment, it looks like the first person who actually enters the contest below? Gets everything. Are my little princessy feelings hurt by this? Uh probably not. I could perhaps have come up with some cooler vehicle to do a contest rather than forcing people to do a meme. But still...do it anyways, kay?

On a less needy note....

Apparently, I'm all sporty this weekend. I'm volunteering for a basketball tournament tonight at my Alma Mater. Ahh the things I do for the sake of the Alumni Association. Oh wait, I was supposed to staff it with volunteers. Then I crashed and burned at that since I only had a couple of days notice, so I decided to do it myself. Go Princess for having like, no life.

Although, I have been exploring the whole internet dating thing again. One of the men suggested that we both bail on our events tonight and get together. And by get together, he meant "get together." (Still too subtle? He meant have sex people. I know this is a pretty G-rated blog and all, but c'mon...)

It was tempting, however, since I'm kind of organizing this event and all, it seemed like it might be noticed if no one show up...Le sigh...
Although, he also said we could spend the day together tomorrow. (A potential sex offer on a Sunday afternoon? Seems wrong somehow...)

Since I apparently have a one track mind tonight.... you know what I just discovered? Well, since having no life means watching more TV, I decided to order one of those all inclusive packages a few months back. So I get all the music channels (must find those) and movies and ....(you know where this is going don't you?) porn! I have porn on my TV! Last weekend as I'm flipping through the family section cause I was hoping to find The Chronicles of Narnia, I found porn instead! And it's expensive too! Did I order it?

No. Cause guess what else I found, which trumped everything else??? A Nightmare on Elm Street Package! Nightmare, 4, 5 & 6! Yeah. Totally watched that last weekend. My Dear Anon and I rented all 6 Freddy movies in high school (before the last 2 came out) and did a marathon one Friday night. I was so tired by the end that I didn't remember the last one at all. Too fun. (I was sick last week remember? This was my entertainment for the weekend).

OK, off to cute myself up for my basketball night. Have a superfab rest of your weekend...

xo

A Meme and a Contest

So my darling Dee over at Sexy Whispers tagged me for a meme.
Now I may or may not be interpreting the instructions properly- but I think I'm supposed to list three sexy wishes (or perhaps just wishes in general- but seeing as how it's from Dee, I'll go the sexy route)...

1. Uhhh, well in general how about just getting sex sometime soon? This weekend? Ahem.
2. Ok, how about a bit more confidence? I don't think I'm one of those girls that people look at and immediately think that I exude sexuality. But I'd like to be...
3. I could use some more sexy knickers ( I'm so not a Brit, but I love the word "knickers" so much more than "panties"). I have way too much generic cotton going on in my drawer...

And now, something that's been on my mind lately. A contest dedicated strictly to the girls. (Perhaps this will fix up my blog's sexual ambiguity).

And for once I'm gonna tell you the prizes. They're of two completely different themes...
1. Vinnie's Tamp Case. Uber functional and hilarious.
2. This is obeying the wishes of my darling Random Musings...She sent me some books by blogger Jen Lancaster of Jennsylvania with the explicit instructions that I pass them on to some other deserving bloggers. So I have all 3 of Jen's books to give away in a package.

What are the instructions? Well I'm going to choose the winner all random-like, so don't worry about that...
I think I'm going to tag all the girls to do the same meme that I just did above. Tell me your 3 sexual wishes. They can be as clean or as naughty as you like... (mine would be much more interesting if I wasn't in the midst of such a dry spell...)
Ok. Go.

xo

I'm so Totally Girly...

So my darling Froggy found a site that let's you know whether a blog is written by a man or a woman. It's called the gender analyzer.

According to Froggy, this site is 64% certain that my blog is written by a man.
Uh huh. You know why she checked mine? Cause I have the girliest blog she reads. I wouldn't be shocked to find that I hold that title with more than one of you.

So OK, I'm going to write a wee vignette and see if it has an effect on the results.

So today I met My Dear Anon for lunch and was disappointed to discover that her restaurant no longer serves my favourite dessert. I had to wait for my Dear Anon to get off shift, so I read The Complete Works of Jane Austen. She then joined me and we talked about boys.
After that topic was done to death, we discussed shopping for cardigans. We then went out separate ways. On the drive home I realized that my back was a bit stiff, so I considered calling the spa to make an appointment for a hot stone massage. And while I'm there, why wouldn't I book a manicure and pedicure too? And lord knows I could probably stand to get my eyebrows waxed. I stared outside at the lovely snow and realized that while I should still be restrained from shoe shopping anytime in the near future, I could definitely use some cute new boots.
Alas, Christmas is coming and I should probably save up. Oh yeah, and did I mention that I ordered the sweetest necklace from Wendy Brandes the other day when she advertised that she was having a sale?

OK, I'm gonna pre-post this and see how I do....

UPDATE: It is now 65% certain that the blog is written by a man.

Hilarious...
xo

Teahouses, Mothering, and Generation Gaps

Thank you for all your well-wishes. I've kind of vegged at home for the past few days trying to healthy myself up.

I did go to a lovely teahouse yesterday with some of my Alumni ladies. I find those places to be hit or miss. They can be absolutely divine, and you're thrilled with the charm. Or you can find they they're trying too hard, and you leave feeling a bit hungry.

I thought that this place was wonderful. They served a traditional turkey dinner (lunch-sized) and the three of us ordered different desserts and shared. They had a nice array of teas too (of course). I discovered "Earl Grey Cream." Lovely.

I'm actually kind of picky about my teas. I don't like too many of them. Tea menus kind of remind me of martini menus sometimes. There are infinite varieties of them, but I really only like 2 or 3.
I love Celestial Seasonings Almond Sunset, but I can't find it here in Canada anymore. And other than that, really just give me a nice orange pekoe. Mmmm Red Rose...

Anyways, the ladies and I made some plans to go to some craft shows next month, and maybe go back to the tea house in the spring for an afternoon when they do "high tea."

It's interesting having friends who are at completely different stages in their lives than me. One lady is 49, and the other 69. It makes you realize that at the root of things, girls are still just girls. We all want respect, and fun and time together.

And I admit, I am a bit of a sucker for some mothering. I don't tend to mind it at all. My step-mom and I don't have that kind of relationship - and I wouldn't want it. But from other maternal types? It's fine. Sometimes I do wonder where I would be right now if I hadn't lost my Mom at 11. Would it have made me a completely different person?
Would I be married with children? Or would I be angrier?

It's been 22 years, but I still remember very clearly the highs and lows of living with someone that I now believed was quite psychologically ill. Bi-polar? Maybe. Unhappy with herself? I really do think so. It's hard to look back at it logically without it being tainted by the overtones of a child-like mentality, but I can definitely remember her pain.

Hmmm- quite a segueway from our original topic of tea-houses, isn't it?

Anyhow, I am quite enjoying spending time with these ladies, and I'm glad that I have made myself open to the experience.

xo

This Was a VERY Long Post Just to Tell You That I'm Sick

So I was talking to my Dear Anon a few months ago and mentioned that I was feeling under the weather.
She responded that I'm sick ALL the time.
This both shocked and insulted me. Surely I'm not sick that often...
So to prove her point she went to this blog and counted all the times I'd mentioned that I wasn't well. (This was before I deleted all my earlier posts).

I don't remember the exact number, but it was quite a bit. And Lord knows I don't mention it every time I'm feeling sniffly.

Except today. I. Am. Sick.
Everytime I walk into my boss's office she asks me if I'm going home.
No, I just have a question.

You see I called in sick last month. I've only been here 4 months. I don't care if I'm on death's door. I am going to be here every single day until January. I have given myself permission to call in sick next year if need be.

The problem is two-fold.

1. I have severely bad allergies. I'm pretty sure that when I called in last month it was because of an allergy attack. Which is dumb. I should have just toughed it out and come in anyways. Cause really? I feel crappy most of the time. I pretty much always have a headache. And frequently feel kind of dizzy and weird in the chest. It's just life now. The problem is, I can't always tell the difference between being sick and having a really bad allergic day.

Symptoms:
Scratchy throat - could be either cold or allergies
Headache- could be either (or stress or any number of things)
Tight chest- could be either (again, or stress)
Nausea - stress or cold

So many things could simply mean that I either should go back on my anxiety meds or that I need to up my allergy meds.

So I don't know what to do most days when I don't feel well. (Apparently not mention it to my Dear Anon- I would like to thank her for making fun of me for being sick, rather than being alarmed that perhaps I might have some terminal disease).

2. My last job. (Which I am NOT talking about here). But let's just say that due to various circumstances, I might have called in sick at my last job a bit more freely than I should have. So I think I need to re-train myself to get into the habit of ignoring my sickness and just coming in. I need to remember that I am still new here and that people here seem to come in everyday. In my 4 months, I've seen no one call in sick.

It might even be three-fold!

3. I am a neurotic headcase. I get stressed out far to easily. I can't even blame my last job for this - as I think it's just part of my nature. So if I'm throwing up in the morning? Odds are, it's just cause I'm apprehensive about some sort of work situation. Not an acceptable way to cope.

Anyhow. The moral of all this? This week I just have a plain, old-fashioned cold. And it sucks. And I am coming into work if it kills me. Even though I feel compelled to disinfect everything I touch now.

End post.
xo

I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing

So I was over on AMC's (AKA my blog crush) blog today, and his guest poster mentioned this site.
I strongly suggest you hop on over there and cast a vote.

Now in case you're dying to finish reading up this post before you hop on over there, I want to point out the site's opening line: November 4th 2008 the American people will choose a new president. The president of the United States of America is the most powerful person in the world.

I've been hearing that a lot lately. That the president of the US is the most important person on the planet. In fact one of my favourite bloggers wrote that very thing in a post about month ago.
If you read that post, you'll notice that in the comments I made a lot of commentary about that statement.

Now before anyone gets all up in arms, I am not one of those Canadians who like to criticize her American neighbours. Just because they forget the letter "u" in all their words doesn't make them an inherently flawed people.

It's just the sentiment that bothers me. I mean, how can one country's leader be considered the most important person on a planet? It just seems silly to me. But the site that I pulled those words from? It was created by some guys in Iceland.

If my darling Americans make that comment, I'll just think that they're expressing some national pride. But foreigners? Well, that gives me pause.

You may or may not know that Canada had an election last month. In my mind we lost.
It didn't escape me though that I saw more editorializing on Canadian, American and European blogs about the US election than there was about ours. Now, in our defense, we called and election and it was done a month and a half later. The entire world hasn't been hearing about it for two years.

But, the day of one of our debates? Well it was the same day as one of the US debates. And on the radio that morning, all I heard about was how the DJs were going to be watching the US debate rather than our own.

Now for anyone who's been on this blog for longer than- well this post...you know that I'm all about the fluffy here. I did not watch either debate that night. Politics bore me silly. But c'mon people- we do live here. It's embarrassing to care more about the cool country below us than about what actually affects our day-to-day lives.

And no. I do not think that my PM Stephen Harper is the most important person on the planet either. My Dad is.

No?

Ok, how about this scenario: the President? He gets elected in by the people for up to 8 years. Then no matter what, he's done.

The Queen? Yeah, she's in because of blood. And she's in for good.
The Pope? Elected in by his peers. Until he dies.

If I were to run into George W today. How would I feel? Not much. I would probably be polite- cause well, I'm Canadian and it's what we do. But it wouldn't affect my day much.

If I ran in to my PM? I'd roll my eyes.

If I were to run into the Queen? I would be bowing and sparkly and thrilled to bits. OK, yes, I'm part of the commonwealth- so she's our Queen too.

But the Pope? I'm not Catholic kids. But you'd better believe that I would maybe feel the presence of God radiating from him. And I would probably be bowing and be all calm and peaceful.

In my mind? Policiticans - NOT the most important people on the planet. All they want is power. Maybe some of them want to do good, but for the most part? I don't think so.

But perhaps I'm wrong.
Who do YOU think is the most important person on the planet?

xo

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow...

Hair Yesterday (ish)

Hair Today.
What do you think?
xo

I'm in England Today!

If you love me you're totally going to visit me over here where I'm guest posting today!
xoxo

Backseats Aren't Just for Sex Anymore...

So who here has been in the backseat of a police car?
I have. Twice. Not in a punitive way mind you. In a giving a statement kind of way.

Bloody uncomfortable. They have these glass walls that come down between the front and back seat. I'm assuming with like bulletproof glass. Anyhow, they severely cut into your knee space. I suggest sitting cross-legged back there.

So the second time I was in that situation wasn't very interesting. I had just been hit (by "I" I mean my car, not "me") by a crazy driver who took off, but was kind enough to leave his front license plate behind. No need to call CSI really.

The first time I had to do the statement thing though was kind of shocking. Hence a moderately cool story that's semi blog-worthy.

I was about 18ish and getting a ride home from work. It was winter and pretty dark. Anyhow, we were pulling out of the parking lot, stopped to make the turn when suddenly my (passenger side) door is jerked open. By a guy. Covered. In. Blood.

He wanted us to give him a ride. Can't remember where. That might have to do with the shock of being inches away from him. You know? The Guy? Covered in blood?

Anyhow, my ride wasn't going to take him anywhere. But she did offer to go back into work (I worked at a horse race track) and call the police. He may or may not have indicated that he had been stabbed. Again. Guy. Blood. Shock. Hazy.

So we called the police and they arrive fairly quickly. But by then the guy was gone. I felt all cool giving the police my statement thinking that I would of course be kept in the loop of what happened. Was he a murdered? Was he the victim? Was he a hero? I need to know!

Yeah, I'm still waiting for the police to call me. I'm sure it's on their To Do list.

It was briefly pretty exciting though. Definitely an interesting story to tell all my peeps.

So I wanna know, do you have any interesting police car/crime stories???

Proof that the Princess Can Cook Something Other Than a Tuna Melt

So my favourite food ever is my brother's lasagna. However he seems to actually like this girls he's been dating, so I rarely see him, so when I woke up with a craving for his lasagna this morning, I decided to take matters into my own hands.

I've totally made the lasagna with him a zillion times, albeit in an assisting kind of way. I can absolutely do this, right?

So, you're getting a photo essay of my lasagna experience. Is this the most riveting post ever? No. But will it make you hungry? Maybe.

OK I need ingredients and stuff. Off to Safeway I go!
Hmm, there's a weather warning in effect. Wind? A wind warning? What are we in Kansas??
Not to be deterred from my mission, I carry on.
I round up all the ingredients and am on my way. I step outside and my lasagna pan blows away. Then my nylon bag blew away. You know those nylon bags? The ones that you use so you don't have to use plastic bags? The one that I totally forgot about until the cashier was already done bagging all my groceries? Yeah. That one. It blew away. I sighed and wrote it off, but a kind man ran after it for me and I frantically stuffed it back in my trunk underneath some heavier groceries.

Time: 2:20 PM

Ok, what first? Cheese. Cheese needs to be grated. Why do I know this? Cause usually - that's the only job that my brother assigns me. I'm going to have to wing it for the rest of the recipe. Oh and the recipe? Yeah, making it up as I go. In those bowls? One block each of cheddar and mozzarella. Not so much a healthy meal tonight.

OK. Now what? Ok, onions and mushrooms and peppers need to be sautéed. And right here is where I'm already deviating from my brother's recipe. You see my brother would have just bought a can of mushrooms and dumped it into the sauce. That's a travesty in my mind. So I decided to add a few extra veggies by adding these to the mix. And by the way? Why hasn't anyone ever told me about Pam before?? You can totally cook without without all that extra oil! Awesome. (See, I tried to redeem myself from all the cheese!)

Ok, lasagna has like meat and stuff in it, right? Ok. Let's do that...
And guess what I had to add to the meat?? Italian spices. From Italy! My parents totally knew I would do this someday when they brought that back for me. (Uhh, and for all the other kids - but whatever, I'm the baby so I'm the most important right?)

So where are we? Meat? Check. Cheese? Check. Mushrooms, onions, peppers? Check. Noodles boiled? Check. Sauce simmered? Check. Ooooh- now for the fun part. The assembly.

3:00 PM

Uhh, so I sort of remember what order this is supposed to go in.

My only panic is about the cottage cheese. It gets it's own layer at some point. I decide to put it in layer 2 just to get it over with.

After that it goes pretty smoothly. Noodles. Sauce. Mush/onion/pep. Ground beef. Cheese. Repeat.

And then?? Oh crap. How long do I cook this? At what temperature?
Just a note: 425 for 75 minutes? Either too hot or too long. Possibly both.

Now before you think all my work was a dismal failure, it totally was not. But I refuse to post a photo of the final thing in the pan, cause it looks too crispy. But here is a slice.

I even remembered to let it stand for a bit before cutting into it so it wasn't lasagna soup.

Dinner time: 5:00

How would I rate this experience? I would give it a 7/10. A bit over cooked. And a bit liquidy on the bottom of the pan. Other than that? Delish.

xo

People REALLY Like Sara Lee

It's time for another episode of: random searches that led to this blog!

1. "Nobody doesn't like Sara Lee"! Mmmm Sara. She's the one who introduced me to cherry cheesecake....and I never looked back.
2. "Blogger Winnipeg." Clearly someone looking to make new friends. Hi! Do you like shoes and chocolate? We can be Bff's!
3. "Little Slices of Death." Someone who either watches Freddy movies, or enjoys Shakespeare like me. You can be my BFF too.
4. "jensen ackles, spanking" While I agree that I'm not really looking for an intellectual and/or spiritual relationship with Jensen, I don't know that I ever got that specific about it.
5. "princess suicide blogspot" Odd. I don't even have anything witty to say about this one. Suggestions welcome.
6. "detective spy rubber duck"Ok, I don't get this at all- but I LOVE that this query led to my blog.
7. Two more Sara Lee requests in a row. Hmm, I guess she's more popular than I thought. I admit I don't think I've touched her cherry cheesecake since high school.
8. "first appearance of the coset" So I dutifully went to dictionary.com to see if "coset" was really a word, and if I should make fun of this person for their typo. It turns out that it is, but it has to do with Math, so I quit caring.
9. 2 more specific searches for "nobody doesn't like sara lee." Seriously. What are they looking for??
10. "how to make male feel like a woman" My question is: are you looking to make your man more sensitive, or more smooth and silky? Or something else??

I love the internetz.

xo

Random Smatterings 12 or So....

Nothing really big to report right now, so I thought I would just give you a few little tidbits to remind you that I'm here and I luvs you all!

- I'm beginning to like taking the bus to work everyday. I keep thinking there's an entire post that should be devoted to it, but I must confess, nothing really noteworthy has happened. I do like the lack of responsibility that the bus gives me. I don't need to worry about traffic. I don't need to keep my eyes on the road. When leaving work each day, I get on at the first stop on the route, so I'm guaranteed a spot. I didn't expect to enjoy it this much.

- I am obsessed with Pink's "So What" song. Seriously- I probably listen to it 10 - 20 times per day. Cause Really? I'm a rock star. If I could figure out how to do a video post, I would totally show off my rock movez (yo.)





- I discovered a new game on Facebook called "Who's Got the Biggest Brain?" So far I'm at genius levels. Pretty cool huh? Except that's just the tip of the iceberg. My darling Goth? Yeah- he's a "Space Ace." Apparently that's smarter. So I need all of you to befriend me on Facebook and start playing. I totally want to see how smart I am in comparison!!

- I've been thinking about throwing a party. I feel like I've become kind of hermit-like of late. Except I would have to do it soon- I have a friend who is WAY pregnant. What kind of theme would I do this year? I mean it's going to hard to top last year's "Lamest Party Ever" theme.

- I had to scrape ice off my car the other morning. Boo.
- I bought jeans and a string of pearl beads this weekend. Happiness.

OK- so my questions to you, my darlings:

1. Do you ride the bus to work? Do you enjoy it?
2. Who wants to be my Facebook friend so I can totally kick a** on my latest nerdy game obsession?
3. What should my next party theme be?

xo

I'm So Hawt

So married men seem to love me.

I've noticed this in the past with my friends' boyfriends and husbands. They seem to be on a constant quest to tell me what a fabulous girl I am. Well duh. But really? Where is this coming from?

Now before My Dear Anon gets all up in arms that I'm writing yet another "poor me I'm so single" post, that's totally NOT my point.

That was more of an intro to some kind of odd things that happened to me this past weekend. (I'm all about the essay-format people - you have to write a proper introduction).

Situation # 1:
I had to volunteer at my University all weekend cause there were 2 convocations and I suck at scheduling volunteers. Ergo: I had to do most of the work. Anyhow, one of the men who works in the Alumni Office was totally telling me all weekend how amazing I am (yesIamthankyouverymuch) and went out of his way (like waaaaayyy out of his way) to bring me a slurpee on Sunday.

Now before I get the "Princess that's like NOthing" speech - believe me - I thought so too. But when I leave early and he tells me how "I'll be thinking about you, I hope you'll be doing the same" well that raises a few flags. Weird. Dude- you're like married or dating or something...involved somehow, cause you also mentioned how devoted you are to whomever you were on the phone with all weekend...

You'll be thinking what about me exactly??

(FYI- he's a total sweetheart and I don't have anything bad to say about him- but still....)

Situation #2:
Distinguished Alumni Award Reception Saturday night. (Where I looked totally adorable, but wore my beautiful yet evil Skecher's boots - I could barely concentrate on any of the speeches or people or outfits or anything. All I could do was try not to cry from the pain. Ahh the sacrifices we make for fashion. Stupid.) Anyhow, in between holding back tears, this other volunteer from the Alumni Association kept me entertained all evening. First he offered to buy me a drink, then insisted when I initially said no. Then was I was leaving he requested that I text him football scores because he was staying for the dinner.

So when I got home I dutifully spent 10 minutes trying to find the sports channels on my TV and texted him the (incorrect as it turns out) score. It seems this gentleman bailed on the dinner and had made it home to the game before I ever sent my text.

This resulted in about 2 hours of texting back and forth. I have to admit, he is hilarious and adorable. But isn't it a bit odd to be texting a girl you barely know all night when you're all married up? I mean wouldn't the wife question that a wee bit? And before you ask- I kept it totally G-rated, as did he. So it's nothing like that.

So my point/question is- do men just like flirting with younger women simply to validate their egos? Is it just assumed that since they're married/involved that I won't read into it - cause why should I? But really- what's to prevent me from going all Fatal Attraction on them?

BTW? I'm totally not going to. I'm far too lazy ever be a stalker. I mean I'm the one who should be worshiped and adored right? Why would I waste my time on married men? Ugh - such a turn-off.

But am I wrong here? Is that not just a wee bit weird/inappropriate? Or am I just so immersed in the single-life that I'm being too harsh on some innocent flirtation amongst the other half?*

Men? Feedback?
Wives? your thoughts?

*I.e. married folks.

xo

I am SOO Popular - It's the Way it Should Be

Guess what?! I got an award!
My darling Libra Girl gave me this superfabulouslywonderful blog award!!
I love her blog too!

There are rules and stuff that come along with an honour of this stature:

1) Add the logo of the award to your blog (done!)
2) Add a link to the person who awarded it to you (done!)
3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs (OK)
4) Add links to those blogs on your blog (Will do)

So who else gets this award?
OK, here goes:

1. Glamour Puss at The Pole Affair
2. Jen at Tales From a Texaconsin Diva
3. Hilly at Snackie's World.
4. Miss Britt

And to prove that I have boy crushes too:
5. AMC at All Mod Cons on Video
6. Dave at Blogography
7. Karl at Secondhand Tryptophan

AND guess what else?! I got tagged for a meme by the darling Bon Don over at Who Throws a Cupcake?

More Rulz (yo):
Here are the Rules:
1.Link to the person that tagged you
2.Post the rules on your blog
3.Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself
4.Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs
5.Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.
6.Let your tagger know when your entry is UP.


Randomosity:

1. Hmmm have I ever mentioned my love of all things gift wrap/bows/ribbons etc? Yes? Well, I thought I would mention it again anyhow- it really is a sickness.

2. I hate putting on lipstick/lipgloss unless my teeth are brushed. I feel like it's emphasizing an area that isn't perfection. (Cause the rest of me is of course)

3. I don't chew gum. Unless I'm on a plane. I don't know if it really helps the ear popping thing or not, but I convince myself it does.

4. I have to sleep with a fan on. I think the reason why I can't sleep well anywhere but at home is because I don't have the white noise anywhere else.

5. Given the choice between marrying a local guy who loves me 100% and a guy with an accent who loves me 75% - I think I would have a hard time deciding. Especially if it's an English accent...

6. I'm a chocoholic- but only for crap chocolate. The higher quality it is, the less I enjoy it. I frequently eat chocolate chips out of the bag.

Who am I tagging?? All of those people that I gave the award to above!

Kisses!

I'm too Lazy to Link Everything in this Post...

I've always considered myself the "smart" one. The "responsible" one. The "reliable" one. Sometimes even the "considerate" one.

Yeah.
As of late, I've been reconsidering that.

I mean why couldn't I be the "cute" one or the "fun" one?
I have lots of people tell me how much I make them laugh - so why couldn't I also be the "funny" one too?

But that's not the way I've been leaning. Lately? It's more like I'm the "how-do-I-get-through-life-being-this-flaky??" one.

Exhibit A: My computer chair. Pretty basic - there's a screw/knobby thing on the bottom. Turn that and voila! Chair. Unless you're me- who has it sitting upside down in my living room for weeks until my father comes and puts it together. Like the bookshelf that time last year. Like my washing machine a few months ago. Like my ...well...you get the idea.
(Please note, this is not laziness - I made many attempts to put these things together/fix them, and came to the conclusion that I'm simply incapable).

Exhibit B: My car. I needed a boy friend to teach my how to pump gas. When I was 23. Until then I only ever went to full service stations. Even now, I can't do anything more complicated than put air in my tires. Even the car wash stresses me out. Lord knows I don't know how to check the oil or change a tire.

Perhaps you're thinking this is because I'm a girl?? Nope, I can crash and burn on both unisex and typically girly things too. And really? Most women I know are more than capable of doing the things listed above.

Exhibit C: Coffee. Just this morning the office assistant showed me how to make coffee. This is not the first time I've needed someone to teach me how to do this. I don't drink it, therefore it's dead to me. Until I get told that if I schedule a meeting, I'm the one that should be providing coffee. Crap.

Exhibit D: Voting. You may have heard that Canada just had an election. My person was kind enough to explain to me the other day what the difference is between a majority and a minority government. Now that I've learned that basic sixth grade information, I can't quite work out why we (the people) would ever want a majority government - but that's a post for another day.

Exhibit E: Local news. Ok, so I did know that there was an election - but really it was hard to miss what with all the phone polls and lawn signs. But I couldn't figure out yesterday why people kept commenting on the newspaper. They were going to save money on that ad they ran. Do we have to pay for the paper? Huh? So apparently one of Winnipeg's major dailies is on strike. Like I care about the news.

Le sigh. How do people keep up with EVERYthing? Making coffee? Politics? Cars?

I used to think I was a relatively intelligent person, but occasionally I wonder if my vast knowledge about Shakespeare, Jane Austen and accessories really counts for that much.
Seriously people - do you just keep me around as flaky comic relief?

Are there classes on just getting through life that I could take??

xo