Sunday, September 06, 2009

are you on the registry?

It's still hard to believe this wonderful woman won't be celebrating our wedding with us and that we won't be visiting her to take the wine tour we planned. I miss you E.

A Perfect Match

Friday, August 14, 2009

ring shopping in saskatoon

H is all of a sudden really showing me up in the blogging department...

It's 90% wedding stuff around these parts these days. I'm fairly determined to have pretty much everything done before I go back to school, since I'm pretty certain September is going to blink by in about 3 days.

One of the things we'd left a little on the late side was finding/getting our wedding bands. We both had a fairly specific idea on what we wanted, but weren't sure if what we though we wanted would actually be what we wanted once we saw it. So, one evening in the 45min after H got off work and before we met my dad for supper we zipped around and looked at rings at People's, Ben Moss & Heinrick's. H managed to figure out what features he liked in a ring, but those features did not exist anywhere in one ring. Me, I was totally out of luck. Apparently women only want different sized versions of the exact same diamond band these days. Bleh.

Just in case, I took a quick trip to GMG the next day solo (since this was where my engagement ring came from) to see if they had anything a little closer to what I was hoping to find. Unfortunately, the sales lady there must have been new since she treated me like a total alien for wanting to modify/have a ring made. She also told me tall tales of the months and months I'd need to wait to have it done. H had my engagement ring custom made there and it took no time at all. So little time that he had to leave it in the store for awhile cause he knew as soon as he had it he'd want to give it to me. Stupid woman.

All of this landed us in the office of Ken Paulson. We told him what we wanted and in less than 30 mins he'd designed two rings for us that were a combination of what we liked and of what he knew would look good. He'd also cut my ring in half and taken it away from me. Would have likely paid to see my face after that little manoeuvre. Thankfully he returned it the next day clean and fitting better than ever. In one day (!) he was also able to show me the almost completed wax mock-ups for both our rings. Compared to everywhere else we went, working with Ken was awesome. He wasn't pushy, his jaw didn't hit the floor when I said I didn't want diamonds, he was fun to work with and he was right on budget. Can't wait to see the finished rings when he gets back from holidays!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

the swine

H and I both got sick very soon after our trip to New York. Because I (genetically) am lacking some tact and sensitivity and just generally don't know when to keep my mouth shut, we joked that we came home with the swine flu. Har har. Or oink oink rather.

Well wouldn't you know, H1N1 is now rampant in Saskatoon, and I'm fairly certain that this time around I actually have it. I'd just like to say it was more fun as a joke. Seriously, the speed at which this thing went through my school was frightening to say the least, even more so when doctors are more concerned about what the fall version of this bad boy is going to look like. I feel particularly bad for a friend of ours who it would appear I infected simply by looking at him at a wedding we both attended on the weekend. Sorry! Maybe you'll thank me if we're resistant in the fall?

One of the symptoms they forget to list on the WHO website is a little something I'd like to call "brain meltdown." It occurs when you have H1N1, but don't get in quite as much sleep or napping as you'd like. If calling it brain meltdown doesn't suit you, you can also call it "test your relationship with your ridiculousness." To his list of accolades, H can now add being very tolerant and patient towards a totally delusional and illogical fiancee for a week. He's going to be great with a toddler.

While I don't think I'll be running out to buy a "I survived H1N1" or "I survived The Swine" I am happy to be on the mend. Having the flu, no matter how novel a flu, is after all, having the flu.

Monday, June 08, 2009

a world of hurt

In the interest of staying healthy, I occasionally entertain the idea of "working out." Problem is, I don't enjoy most activities that fall under the large umbrella of "exercise." I'm embarrassingly terrible at most sports. I mean, I suppose I'm at an age where there must be people who have become equally as terrible, but I'm too lazy to search out the options for this. I hate running. Rach tried to get me into it on multiple occasions, and I just can't do it. I don't mind going to the gym, but without a partner I wind up never making it and regretting paying for the membership. I like walking, but in terms of exercise, I feel like I should do something a little more strenuous than the mall walkers. In the last two years I have discovered a love of yoga, but H and I decided we would do it together at home instead of paying the insane class costs, only to find out that according to H "the roof is too low" and that we'd need to get the hardwood in upstairs before that was really an option.

Fast forward to two weeks ago. There are a few of us at work who for various reasons are there everyday til 5. The trend of P90X seemed to be going around, so we figured we'd give it a try. It had the elements I need - different things everyday, cardio and weights and a partner to do it with on most days. It also had a lean program option, which appealed to my girly self. We even agreed that we'd have a standing deal that whoever didn't stick to the program on our alone days would have to buy the other person lunch on Fridays.

Well the first day was "Core Synergistics." We had a great laugh at the never ending stream of warnings that precede each of the tapes, one of them saying something to the likes of "If you don't meet the minimum fitness requirement, P90X is not for you." Well, within 30 minutes I was rolling on the floor laughing at my inability to do anything, between giggles stating that "I don't think I meet the minimum fitness requirements!" We finished up to the best of our ability, and somewhere out came my stubbornness deciding that "dammit, I can do this."

Before I got too attached to my decision to see this ridiculous program through, I thought I'd look up the minimum fitness requirement. They might as well say if you can breath, you'll be fine. 3 push ups from your knees, an attempt at a chin-up and a stretch and jump test that anyone with regular mobility would have no problem with. OMG. 3 girl push ups is supposed to get me through AN HOUR of push-ups? And not just regular push-ups, all sorts of bizarro variations to make them harder than regular push-ups. Oh lord.

I made it through day 2, and day 3 and all of week 1. Turns out that first day is the hardest of the week. And, I felt great! Everyday I was waking up with energy, instead of cursing my alarm clock like usual. My partner however, had decided that it was maybe just a little too much and jumped ship, opting for a different program to follow. Luckily, H decided he needed in on the fun, and joined in for week 2. Week 2 did not see the same benefits in energy as week 1. In fact, week 2 became increasingly more difficult.

Today was the first day of my week 3. I'm not hurting nearly as much as I was, and I'm starting to notice some improvement in what and how much I can do. However, my muscles are so tired it's ridiculous. H and I are sad sad sights. Today we're hobbling around like 80 year olds just out of hip replacement surgery. Not going to lie, I'm totally looking forward to my recovery week next week, even if it is just 6 days of slightly less intense working out.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

things i am currently annoyed at

  1. Facebook asking me everyday "WILL YOUR DRESS FIT?!?"
    Now I am sure the makers of that particular advertisement are not actually yelling at me, but seeing that ad everyday for the last 8 months sure makes me feel like they are. Also, I feel annoyed that if someone keeps asking that question, you eventually start to wonder. Why are you trying to give me issues facebook? Why? I don't need to have body issues AND my dress will fit. You know, cause it has an adjustable back.
  2. Ridiculous articles on how to save money while planning your wedding during the recessions.
    At first glance this wouldn't seem like it was something that was annoying. And I keep reading them because I keep hoping they might be helpful. Wrong. Saving 10K on a 100K wedding is not "saving money during the recession" it's being 99.5 percent stupid instead of 1oo. Gah.
  3. The weather.
    nuff said.
  4. My neighbours garbage.
    Seriously, these people produce more garbage than a small apartment complex. The piles of trash behind your garbage can annoy me, and not just because it's sorta gross. It's 2009, RECYCLE. Something. I know we have to pay for our blue boxes, but as soon as we started using it we were down to one bag of garbage a week. If we get a compost box from the city, I'm not even sure we'll have garbage. Start small. Just start please.

Friday, May 01, 2009

must have fallen asleep during the training video...

(Yes I am going to totally pretend like it hasn't been ages since I posted last.)

Originally when we were making plans for our kitchen renos, H and I decided we would wait to replace our fridge.  Since there was nothing actually wrong with ours, waiting 6ish months to change it out would be no big deal.  We did need to replace our dishwasher and microwave however, and unfortunately this means shopping for the fridge first since it's the largest appliance and in the end we wanted them all to match.  We would randomly go look at appliances, and change our minds about which one we liked best and what features were most important every time we went to a store.

Fast forward to the kitchen install - interest rates were essentially zero and our old fridge looked absolutely ridiculous in the very large hole we had left for our would be fridge.  We decided to replace everything but the stove.  Now that we were seriously looking for a fridge, we quickly realised what our priorities were and that our options were very limited so we started shopping around to make sure we knew what all the counter-depth options out there were.

We hit up all the local stores first, and then made our way to Sears.  It was scratch and save days at Sears and they were having some kind of appliance sale on top of that, so we were looking to see if anything we had seen elsewhere was on sale.  While standing in front of one of our options, a rather pricey Jenn-Air, we were approach by a salesman.  We quickly told him what we were looking for - counter-depth, French doors, stainless - and asked what else in store fit that description.  

Oh, he said, we don't really have much that fits that description, but I do have this Samsung over here on sale for $1700.  
Yeah, we're really looking for something that's counter-depth we replied.
Yeah, but this Samsung is a great deal for $1700,
Yes, but we are also looking for French doors.
But it's $1700!
I think we'll keep looking around...

It was at this point that we bolted towards the exit, shaking our heads at how embarrassingly incompetent this man was.  I mean, it's great that he wanted to save us some money, but he clearly hasn't figured out how his commission works.  

Tuesday, March 03, 2009

save the date

Check it out, it's my first officially completed wedding project! I totally love them, and wish we were sending them to everyone instead of just people who might need a hotel. Stupid budget.