It's A Bit Like A Party

I hosted my third Virtual Trivia Night last night and it was busy! There were 19 teams! It is a big collection of people: from close friends to extended family, friends of friends and more. I have covered up their names but you might recognize some faces among last night's trivia crew:

Participants for Covid-19 Virtual Trivia Night

Hosted by me on Zoom

March 31, 2020

Go Jason Go

Jason and Meg were awesome Saturday morning doing Max's Big Climb in Dundas. Jason made it up the hill in 3 minutes and 39 seconds the first time and 3 minutes 52 on the second time (yes, they had to do it twice.) I am definitely going to try it next year.

Most of the participants were very serious racers so Jason and Meg didn't place but they did get prizes for raising the most money. I would like to thank you my friends and family for donating, including:
- Mom
- Aunty Nicky
- Rob
- Kristen
- Laura
- Teri (who pledged Meg)

We got to meet Max, and his family, at the event. His father spoke and handed out the ribbons. They made the decision a few years ago to use biking to raise money and donate it to an already well established charity fighting to defeat Duchennes - Jesse's Journey.

Andrea Loves Robert Too

Big Smiles, All Day (Photo Detail)

Robert loves Andrea - Toronto Hunt Club

By Selina Whittaker Photography

Mid-Wedding

After the ceremony, before the reception...

Jason and I at Rob and Andrea's Wedding

Corpus Christi Church, Toronto

Saturday June 4th, 2016

A Day Of Prep

Tomorrow is Rob and Andrea's wedding!! And, tonight I was asked to join in the Rehearsal events, both at the church and dinner afterwards. (Jason is Rob's Best Man.) Here is how I got ready, in my usual ADHD fashion is was scattered and done in stages. Note that between all these steps I would be off doing something else:

7:00am  - (At home) Had a bath
7:30am  - Put product into hair, then tied it up in a loose bun
7:35am  - Packed make-up and redid the stuff I keep in my purse
7:55am  - Put on red dress and black flats
8:50am  - (On Dufferin Bus) Take down hair from bun
9:05am  - (Bathroom breaks at work) Put clips in hair
11:30am - Put on pantyhose
12:55pm - Laura helps fix the clips in my hair
2:35pm  - Apply foundation and blush
3:50pm  - Put on eyeliner and mascara,
3:55pm  - Fix clips in my hair, again
4:05pm  - (On King Streetcar) Apply lipstick
4:45pm  - (In taxi) Switch flats for heels

These Are My Guys

I am in a Fantasy NHL Playoff Hockey Pool at work. (We are using the Sportsnet platform.) I have done lots of hockey pools before, but just picking teams on the bracket, never actually choosing players. These are the guys I chose for the first round of playoffs that start tonight. (Hockey playoffs that don't include any Canadian teams! Not a single one made it, which hasn't happened since 1970.)

I first made my picks based on a combination of ESPN suggestions, former Leaf/Ottawa players whose names I recognized, names/teams that I like, etc. I decided that this didn't seem like a winning strategy so I reached out to Rob for some suggestions. I also got a lesson at lunch as to how 'player value points' work and heard about various strategies. I also now have some clarification on how points are determined. Then I made some changes to my original picks to end up with the players above. I wonder how I will do?

This has reminded me of making my Fantasy Baseball Team from the Brantford Expositor when I was really little. You had to cut out the entry form from the newspaper, fill it out, and mail it in. I always got Bon to help me with my picks since I only knew of Roberto Alomar and didn't follow baseball at all. I have no idea why I used to participate in that as a kid but I remember doing it for a couple of years in a row.

Demo Style

Demo started a little early. We invited some friends over this evening to see the house, have dinner together, and move a couple of appliances. Then, once the guys were in the coveralls, they couldn't help themselves from tearing up some flooring, pulling down parts of the ceiling, and demolishing walls. Totally understandable, how often do you get to destroy a whole portion of a house? And it seems like people are always doing it on TV!

Making Meth or Making a Mess?

Greg, Matty, Jason, and Rob

Friday March 4, 2016

Photo by Andrea

So Many Milestones!

Today was a big day! Here is the list of the three big things that happened: Rings, Keys, and Fries! As I explained a while ago, Jason and I made our wedding rings at a metal workshop. I was leaving mine there to get them to adjust the shape since I didn't want a ring-shaped ring. The chevron style is the only type that I have ever liked on my hands. I got a call this morning that the jeweler had made the adjustment and the ring was ready to be picked up. Jason came and picked me up from work and we went over to get it. I love it so much, it fits perfectly and looks great.

After picking up the ring we needed to pick up the keys to Casa Verde. We closed today on our first house - such an overwhelming thought. We then hung out at the empty house for the evening and had a locksmith switch the keys for us. This is the new set, sitting on one of the pretty antique furnace grates:

Lastly, I broke my 'french fry fast' this evening when we celebrated the new house by eating Fish and Chips from a local place. In fact the owner welcomed us to the neighbourhood and offered to lend us tools. It will be dangerous having his shop (delicious food) so close, luckily it closes at 7 on most days so we won't make it home in time to eat there. We enjoyed our dinner sitting on the floor in our new dining room!

I had vowed to not eat a french fry until my wedding in September. I made this promise in May last year and have held true until tonight - that is 10 months!! Getting the house is such a big deal that it felt worthy of a fry-having-celebration. I have returned to my vow, though intend to also break it in June this year if Rob and Andrea decide to do a poutine bar at their wedding, until then no fries for me, and after that, no fries until September 24th.

Excited For A Fresh Start

Look what came in the mail today! Chapters was having a sale so instead of the normal $25, my yearly planner was only $20. Unfortunately, they only sell one colour (black) in the weekly-horizontal style that I use. Last year I had pink, but I think I ordered it through Amazon where there are more choices.

Steph used to get them for me, when for a couple of years you couldn't get this specific layout in Canada and had to go through the USA. She used to use the one that is smaller than this one, the "pocket-size" but I don't know if she still does. Everyone's phones are so good now and calendars sync to various devices; most people have gone digital.

I actually keep mine, and look through them, it is a really cool snapshot of time to see what I was interested in or doing each year. They store in a compact way. The last couple of years I make sure to white out (or scribble over) any thing that I don't end up doing, so these planners are accurate representation of what I do. This is especially key for spinning since I am trying to keep track of how much I spin now that Tessa and I have an unlimited package (got to see if we get our money's worth.)

I have already torn open the packaging and transferred over the details for my Peru trip, the second week of which was mapped out on a blank page in my 2015 planner since they do minimal overlap between the years. I also put in all the birthdays, in two places. Usually the first 3 pages has a list-version of the year's dates and it goes in there for easy reference, in 2016 they have a full month on each page so I used that. Then I go through and put notes in the individual days too. I already made my first white-out, I tried to draw wedding bells to go beside Rob and Andrea's wedding date but they looked horrible and I had to erase them, there are hearts now instead.

Salad On A Hot Dog

Sunday Mornin' Coming Down - A post about my Dad each Sunday, named after a song that he loved.

Rob and Andrea showed us a cool little pizza place near their apartment downtown. One Pizza is a counter style restaurant, with seating or take-out. What I was most impressed with (besides the great crust or interesting and vast selection of toppings) was the single price point for a pizza. They offer individual pizzas, which if eating in their entirety at dinner leave you very very full. Splitting worked at lunch the next day to satisfy both Jason and I (yes, we visited the place twice.) Whether you pick one of their signature pizzas or create your own it is the same price, any combination of toppings.

I really enjoy that there isn't this counting of the number of toppings, or prices for premium choices. I am sure that it works out financially that few people would take advantage and create an insanely expensive pizza covered in an unreasonable amount and number of toppings. Then I remembered my dad...

In Port Dover there is a huge hot dog stand and they have lots of condiments on the counter for you to dress your footlong yourself. You may have noted that I said condiments but there were some odd options like onions, shredded cabbage, corn, cucumbers, etc. My dad would load it up like his hot dog was a plate at a salad bar - had to get his money's worth.

Wedding (In A While) Wednesday

Ok, so I don't know when the wedding will be, but Jason's best friend proposed to his girlfriend this past Friday! So, I think that engagement congratulations is an excellent choice for Wedding Wednesday. Rob and Andrea are truly an amazing couple, who also met through eHarmony. They are both such kind, smart, and fun people that the engagement news has been met with enormous amounts of joy. (It was also very exciting to know a bit ahead of time - but keeping that type of happy secret is so hard!)

Best wishes and love to Rob and Andrea!!

Now And Forever

21.11.14

Photo by Andrea

My Ice Bucket Challenge

It has been buzzing around the internet all summer, so I knew that it was only a matter of time before The Ice Bucket Challenge made it to my group of friends.

Rob did it over the weekend and nominated Jason. Jason did it last night and nominated me. So, I did it tonight....

I wanted to 'spread the love' (where love means funding) a bit so have made 3 separate donations.
- In honour of the Ice Bucket Challenge tradition and because ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) is a horrific disease, I have made a donation through ALS Canada.
- I think I would have nominated my dad. In donating to The Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada, I hope that one day easier/earlier ways to indicate heart disease will give a few more years to dads and their daughters.
- I donated to the Canadian Mental Health Association, Ontario Division because of my own struggles with depression and the annoying stigma it still carries.

I pass the challenge onto Teri, Kristen, as well as, Steph and Dave. I look forward to their photos/videos and seeing what charities they choose.

A Wonderful Toronto Weekend

I had an amazing time with Jason these past few days...

Friday Evening
- Appointment at L Studio to have my hair cut
- Three course Italian dinner at Caffino in Liberty Village
- Surprised with a night in The Ambulation Room at the Gladestone Art Hotel

Saturday
- Ran into Rob and Andrea during a walk on Queen St. West
- Got croissant sandwiches and other treats at Nadege Patisserie
- Had a picnic in Trinity-Bellwoods Park
- Bought some Succulents at West Elm
- Took the streetcar to MEC to buy lots of cycling stuff
- Came home and took a nap while Jason went for a bike ride
- Met up with Kristen and Noah to visit Taste of the Danforth

Sunday
- Slept in and watched TV
- Tried on my new Cycling Capris
- Went for a bike ride along the Beltline Trail with Jason
- Saw Guardians of the Galaxy with a big group of Jason`s friends
- Stopped for Menchie`s frozen yogurt on the way home

When Does It Count?

Jason is moving in. (This is both scary and exciting.) However, it is a long process and I don't know when to really decide that he has MOVED IN.

We haven't spent the night seperatly since the start of September, we have spent the night apart but never seperatly with each sleeping in their own apartment (instead, only apart at night when one of us is crashing at a friend's place.)

The King Size Bed is now at Rrunuv Bayit (much thanks to Kristen & Noah for helping with that) but he could still sleep at his old place since there is still a futon there.

Yesterday, there was a huge move of pretty much all the major items and furniture (huge thanks to Rob and Jason's brother-in-law). His computer is set up at Rrunuv Bayit though we haven't sorted out getting the internet to the back room being used as an office so it isn't super functional at the moment. He also could also work back at his old place on his laptop and he hasn't cancelled things yet so the internet would probably still work.

He is still paying rent at his other place and we haven't totally sorted out rent splitting yet for Rrunuv Bayit.

I think it will be OFFICIAL at the end of October when he is 100% out of his apartment and then we will be totally and utterly living together. (I am still finding this a very exciting but also overwhelming prospect.)