Calgary Blogger Meet-Up

Ok kids, time to do something a little crazy - meet each other.

Mich at Who is Mich is organizing a Calgary area blogger meet-up so anyone in the area who wants to come out of their hypothetical closet...wait, I mean shell...? (That's Nutshell to you Carmen) should come down for some drinks and all that good stuff.

Here are the details:

Sunday June 21st at 12:30
Earls on Stephen Avenue
Drinks and Appies

Pretty sure Earls is somewhere around here...

(Erm...Circa 1912)

For you Calgary peeps, I have long hair that's not really blonde or red or brown and wear high heels. Look for me there.

Seriously what color would you call it?

I'm not making any promises to be showered though. It's Sunday morning for gawdssakes

Does Running Late Count As Excercise?

I've never been what you would call "athletic". My older sister won various metals for High School wrestling and I'm pretty sure she played soccer for a while too.

My younger sisters were both on their High School Rugby team, which went on to win the City Championship the year they graduated, thanks in large part to the two of them (they are tiny girls - but tough). They are both still on a soccer team and play Ultimate Frisbee and Dodgeball a few times a week.

The closest to sports in High School I got, on the other hand, was taking Sports Medicine so I could flirt with the football players. Oh and I was a cheerleader (although we called it a Dance Squad).

Don't judge me.

My first foray into real sports was when I was 5 - I was put on a soccer team where I could consistently be found picking flowers on the sidelines while I was supposed to be defending the goal.

Or kicking the ball.

Or something.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a huge klutz or super lazy - I took dance for 16 years and was a pro-star bowler when I was 8 (ya, I'm awesome, I know). You can also laugh at my first foray into having a Personal Trainer here.

I have no brothers so my poor father, with 4 daughters, taught us all how to throw a mean spiral, made sure we know how hockey works and took us to all kinds of games. I just never got into the strict structure of actually playing a competitive team sport.

This summer I've decided I'm going to get my shit together and be more active. I played soccer with my sisters (and I actually wasn't bad if I do say so myself), I played tennis with some friends last weekend, I started boot camp this morning and I'm about to strap on my roller blades so I can practice not looking like an idiot.

As of right now my stopping consists of flailing my arms, stepping on the grass and hoping there is a pole/tree/fence that I can grab onto or just falling on my ass.

If anybody knows a fail-proof method for stopping - Please for the love of all that is good let me in on your secret

Hopefully my new found enthusiasm for "being active" and "eating less shitty food" can last all summer.

After all summer is only, like, 2 months long here.

Marry This

The sweet sounds of summer are in the air; BBQ's grilling, neighbors mowing their lawns (finally), birds chirping, the shrill shrieks of Bride-to-be's yelling at their wedding planners...

Yes, summer means that wedding season is fast approaching. That's right, don your party gown and say a little prayer that your friends groom has at least some hot single friends/relatives/ex-jail-cell-roomies that you can bat your pretty little eyelashes at because this night is going to be long. I should know - I went to seven weddings last year.

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for all you marrieds/about-to-be-marrieds (mostly because now I don't have to listen to you whining about how that guy from last night never called you today - hello, give it a few days*) but weddings do come with their own set of problems for us single folk.

Firstly, I have a name and a "plus one". Most of the time I choose to forgo the date and just go as my fabulous single self but when all your friends are bringing their boyfriends, it changes things a bit.

See, now I have to scramble to figure out which of my single guy friends will fit in best with each crowd. I have to make sure said Plus One is attractive, witty and charming and mostly that he will be attentive to me so as not to embarrass me and/or the bride. I have to choose wisely because if the aforementioned hot single friends/relatives/ex-jail-cell-roomies actually exist, my Plus One better not stand in my way.

There's also a problem with going at it alone. As much as I like the bride's Uncle Jimbo trying to feel me up on the dance floor and then tell me he thought I was his wife (oh you mean the chick with dark hair that is 4 inches shorter than me and 20 years older? Ya I'd totally get us confused too), I've had my share of it. And your share too for that matter.

Then there's the barrage of "Grandma-means-well" questions about our own marital history and future, or lack thereof. Why is it your business (worse when it's a complete stranger), to ask me WHY I'm not married? Why are you married? What if I told you it was because I prefer emotionless, meaningless sex with no strings, huh Grandma - happy now?

You asked.

Also: I'm not allowed to wear white, I'm not allowed to wear black, I'm not allowed to wear anything sexy, I'm not allowed to wear too much makeup, I'm not allowed to wear anything too short and my shoes aren't allowed to be too high.

Good thing I don't follow directions well, we just eliminated the majority of my wardrobe.

All I'm really saying here is if I ever get married I'll make sure to stock the bar with hot single people so my friends have someone to drool at talk to.

Ya, I'm generous like that



* kidding - well maybe not really

Las Vegas - I Love You

We got back from Las Vegas late last night and I have a golf tournament early tomorrow morning so this will be a brief pictorial essay of the trip only - more to come!

Can I first just say that I freaking adore Vegas: bottle-service, free champagne, open bars, stretch Escalade Limousines, hot NYC Firefighters (um AND cops), New York and New Jersey accents ("Ya he's my cuz! Fuggedaboudit!"), delicious food, Vodka and the beach at Mandalay Bay?

Alright, now for some pictures:

Our view of the "beach";
so-called because they trucked in 14 acres of sand



Beach + Hot Lifeguards + Beer + Sunshine
= Alice in Heaven


Delicious Pannacotta at Wolfgang Puck's Restaurant
Trattoria de Lupo


Self Portrait

Our ride to Rain at the Palms
No big deal

I have lots of stories to tell and about a mess-zillion (see what I did there?) pictures were taken but for now I'm heading to my own bed for the first time since surviving a week in Vegas