I. Don't. Shave.
My skin can't take it. I can't take it. (Sorry guys, this will be one of those posts. )
I've been waxing my legs for ten years now and for me, it's the only way to go. I found the most fabulous place in Vancouver and went there for years and became quite close with the owner. It was called Sanctuary Spa at the time but she has moved into a new space and is now Breathe Spa. Boy, was I ever spoiled.....
So, I've been looking for a good spa in Victoria for getting my legs waxed. I was referred to this place downtown that is run by a bunch of women and sounded great so I booked an appointment. The girl was really friendly which is super important but there were a few things that made me laugh:
1. Too much wax
When she's pulling the strips off my legs, she has to pull them towards me. But she puts so much wax on my legs that small bits of wax are flinging off the strips onto my sweater.
2. Decor (it's important!)
The building they are in is heritage and they haven't spent a lot of money on decor. They've tried though - which scores at least a few points. They just hung up lots of fabric on the walls and covered the ceiling with more drapey fabric.
Also on this note, she didn't keep her equipment very clean and organized. It was sort of thrown on this crappy shelf in the corner of the room....just not what I'm used to. The room we were in was also so small she couldn't even walk around the table.
3. We're all modest
The towel she gave me was the size of a hand towel. Seriously? I'm getting a half leg wax - could I have something a little bigger? And the best of all......
4. Where the hell are my pants?!
When I got there she gave me a basket and asked me to put my pants and my purse and stuff inside it. When she came back into the room I must have glanced away and didn't see where she put the basket. I didn't realize this until after she was done and left the room to let me change.
I'm standing in the middle of this tiny room with my socks on looking everywhere for the basket with my pants! I seriously couldn't find it. I started pulling the curtains back to check and was confronted with grimy walls, and lots of bookcases with TONS OF CRAP all over....but no pants. I finally found them underneath the table I was lying on.
So I'm probably going to go back once more and give her another shot but seriously....I'm super close to forking out $50 for a better experience in one of the more upscale spas here.
Remember how I said I was going to sew a Cat in the Hat costume this year? Well, here is the first and only progress photo.
I found the black fabric, and some white fabric and I have the hat. There was even a piece already cut out for the costume! I cut out all of the black fabric, but then I started thinking about the Tickle Trunk and seeing all the stuff I could just pull out and wear - so I talked Brad into Spy vs. Spy.
I don't know, what do you guys think? Is this too crazy a costume to wear to a party where we only know the hosts?
The last two days in the office were super quiet because more than half the office was out doing a design charrette. So on Thursday there were three of us there - three.
So I'm working away at my desk when I hear this loud voice saying hello. I noticed my workmate get up and go say hello to whoever was coming in, like he knew him. I looked over and there was a cute little man standing in the empty office waving at me. I didn't know him, but he seemed friendly enough so I waved back.
He gives me a huge smile, comes over to my desk, introduces himself, puts his picnic basket down and says to us (in a French accent nonetheless):
"Do you want to buy some cheese?"Now, keep in mind that I've been off dairy for 6 weeks now. Remember all my dietary craziness? Remember this post?? I looked around at my workmates, looked behind me and said:
"Um....is this a joke?"
The little French guy laughed and started pulling brie, smoked cheddar and other delicious items of goodness out of his picnic basket and laying them on my desk as I was looking around for the hidden camera.
Turns out that he goes around to local businesses and sells cheese, prosciutto and pate from his bike. I bought a HUGE hunk of brie (I'm re-introducing it early next week) and prosciutto. He had an Interac machine and everything!
I swear, only in Victoria.
I have a tickle trunk. I looks innocent enough right?
Actually it's out of control. There are at least 6 different costumes in there, lots of random things like vampire teeth , fake eyelashes, bowler hats and lots of different scraps of fabric for future costumes.
I even have costumes I have put together and never worn (Run Lola Run). There is stuff in there that I have no idea where it came from (orange clown wig?) and weird things like packages of toy cars......I even found a plastic doll hand. Just one.
This year we're going to a house party (woo hoo!!) but we won't know many people so Brad is a bit uncomfy going all-out and doing Spy vs. Spy.
So he is going as a bad surgeon - bloody scrubs (from the tickle trunk) and a severed foot and arm (from the Halloween decorations). I just have to make him a new surgical mask and cap.
I'm going as Cat in the Hat. I pulled the hat out of the tickle trunk and a giant piece of black fabric for the rest. It's all free, just lots of sewing. So you know what I'll be doing the next couple of weeks.
I have this strange experience every time I fly now. Whether it's a little float plane or a big jet plane.
Sigh, yeah.....when the plane starts to take off - I cry.
It's not like blubbering tears or anything, I just get super teary and then it passes. 
Photo: Ted Topping
So anyway....the plane lands in Vancouver and I begin:
"Holy shit that's new?!"
"Woah, that rain drop is SUPER cool!!"
"A lego whale?!"
"Where did THAT building come from?"
Totally over stimulated and I haven't gotten off the plane yet. I guess I've been living away from Vancouver long enough that it seems super busy and crazy when I go back.
One of the meetings I flew in for was cancelled (??) so I dropped in to visit Rawbean and my old work mate R. for the rest of the afternoon. Flew back to Victoria on the last flight of the day. I love 'work days' like that, don't you?
Tomorrow I get to take a float plane into Vancouver for the day for work. I've been on these planes before but every time I do it I still get excited. 
I'm sure it's universally acknowledged that it's lame to blog about your houseplants blooming, but I have this really great plant that has the most awesome flowers.
My Grandma gave me a snip of her plant years ago wrapped in a wet paper towel. I brought it home with me on the plane and planted it and it's still going strong. I would die if anything happened to it. So when it blooms I get super stoked.
The darker part of the flower grows to it's full size first. Then when the red flower starts to come out it looks like a tube of lipstick. And it's all fuzzy. Which makes it even better.
Okay one more post about the overtime I was working then I'll move on, I promise.
In the middle of all the extra hours I was working I took a break from the office to meet Brad and talk to a travel agent about Cuba.
She must have laughed when she encountered us.
The last time I wore my bathing suit it was in such rough shape, I took it off in the change room and threw it in the garbage. It was the only way to force myself to go through the trauma of buying a new one.
Well, today was the day. We are getting ready for our trip to Cuba and this is one of the big items on my list. I went to Swimco and ended up with a fantastic girl who helped me out. My main concern is that I don't want "the girls" to look any bigger than they are. (I'm haunted by a horrific photograph taken of Brad and I on a lake and I'm just not wearing the right bikini top....if you know what I mean.)
So I tried on a bunch of different tops with her help and finally found the right one. My favourite moment was when I was standing in my little change room and her and Brad were standing there staring at my chest after I asked them "Okay, honestly....."
Here is what I ended up with:
Another item on our list was to find cheap rings that we would wear as wedding bands while we're travelling rather than our real rings. Of course Brad's was easy to find - we just went to a local craft market and bought one.
Me on the other hand - well I have serious skeleton fingers. Ladies, I'm a size four. FOUR. Most stores/vendors don't even make that size unless it's a toe ring. So what does a girl do?
Etsy.
I found the perfect little ring, sterling silver and it even has a pattern on it that I just love. Twenty-two bucks.
We also got all our "shots" today too. It's expensive but worth it. I'm doing Twinrix and Dukoral because if anyone is going to get sick on a vacation like this, it's me. Plus, it's our health - why risk it?
I'm working on a really interesting project at work right now. It's a high school - we are renovating some classrooms in the existing building and adding a new extension on to the back. It's awesome.
The last two weeks has been a push for the big deadline. I ended up working the last 12 days straight. And not just 8 hour days, we're talking 10-12 hour days. Last weekend I worked Saturday and Sunday well into the evenings.
Actually during all this time I was actually having a bit of fun with the work because the team I'm working with is fantastic. We call ourselves 'Estrogen Row' because we are all women and we sit in a 'row' at work. When we were working on the weekend we were dancing around the office to Chromeo.
At one point I made the mistake of glancing at the architect's redlines that he left on his desk. I had a mini meltdown. But the team was right there to bring me back.
When my alarm went off on Monday morning I thought "Thank God it's Friday."
Um, yeah. That should have been a clue.
Yesterday I went in to work and crashed. I found myself sitting at my desk several times during the day choking back tears. I had one more deadline to hit and I managed it but I was a mess at the end of the day and broke down.
So today is a Mental Health Day. I've got Chromeo blasting in this room, Sense & Sensibility playing in the living room, Ziggy is doing his thing right now (see this post) and I can't believe how much I need this.On the other hand there is a part of me that is disappointed I couldn't achieve the 13 day stretch.
I'm standing in the middle of this tiny room with my socks on looking everywhere for the basket with my pants! I seriously couldn't find it. I started pulling the curtains back to check and was confronted with grimy walls, and lots of bookcases with TONS OF CRAP all over....but no pants. I finally found them underneath the table I was lying on.
