Wednesday, November 30, 2011

WWTKW: The Job Front Edition

It’s rainy.  I have a touch of a cold.  All in all?  Not the best Wednesday in the history of the world.

Thank goodness it’s “We Want To Know Wednesday”.  At least you have something to read here other than my whining.

Linking it up this week with hostesses Queso and Crazymama.

WWTKbutton

This week’s questions are all about jobs:

1. What is the worst job you have ever had?
2. Have you ever been fired?
3. What would your dream job be?
4. What did you want to be when you "grew up"?
5. How old were you when you got your first job?

Here are my answers:

1. What is the worst job you have ever had?  I’ve had five jobs in my life, including baby-sitting.  And I don’t know that I can call any of them terrible.  I hated waitressing, but loved the people I worked with.  After college, I got a job as an Office Assistant at an accountant’s office, and while I didn’t hate the work, I hated everything else about it.  Literally cried every morning because I hated going to the city and feeling all alone there.  Plus, my boss was a hard-nosed bitch who tried to cover it up with sweetness and smiles while making me feel like crap.  So I’d say that was my worst.

2. Have you ever been fired?  No.  They’ve always ended on my terms, and the process of “quitting” is not something I enjoy.  When I quit my job as a waitress, I called my boss in tears because I didn’t want her to be mad at me.  When I quit my job at the accountant’s office, I broke out in hives for a week because I was so worried about telling them.  And then I cried.

3. What would your dream job be?  Honestly?  Stay-at-home Mom and part-time writer.  That’s the dream.  But I have no babies to stay at home with (nor a wealthy husband to support us), and I think I’ve had writer’s block for five years, other than what I write here on the blog.  So I think what I’m doing right now  - working in the office at Mountainview Turf - pretty much is the dream job.  I enjoy office work (for the most part), I’m five minutes from home, I’m surrounded by beautiful sod fields, in an office with giant windows, and I work for people that I consider friends and we can have a lot of fun here.  Truly, not much to complain about!

4. What did you want to be when you "grew up"?  When I was in Grade One, we did a class video about “what we wanted to be when we grew up” (because we were the Grads of 2000), and in that I said I wanted to be a doctor.  A DOCTOR.  What the hell?!  Not sure where that came from, because I don’t ever remember thinking, “Yeah, I want to be a doctor, they’re cool.”   I used to love playing “office” as a kid – we had an old rotary phone, and I used to sit at the coffee table in my little brown rocking chair with the phone and scribble on papers and staple things.  There are pictures to prove it somewhere… And as a teen, I wanted to be a journalist.

5. How old were you when you got your first job?  Not including babysitting (I think I started that around age 12), I think I was 14 when I started waitressing at our local restaurant on weekends and summers.

Feel like joining in on the We Want to Know Wednesday fun??  Then go link up!! :)

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

The Single Girl Files: Reason #682 why Jill needs a man. And while we’re at it, Reason #683, too.

Remember when I told you, via a Single Girl Files post, that I really needed a man because I didn’t own a hammer and I didn’t know how to fix things?

Well.  Apparently, I need one around for other reasons too.

Case in point:  Saturday morning, I had an appointment at the local garage to have my winter tires put on.  My mom had called and made the appointment for me earlier in the week, then called to let me know I had to have my car there by 9 AM Saturday morning.  Because I had plans to go with Lindsay to pick up my bridesmaid dress in Arnprior at 9 AM, I made arrangements with her to pick me up at the garage at 8 AM.  It wasn’t open yet, so I just left my keys under the mat for them.

I hopped in her Jeep and off we went.  It was a wonderful morning.  I was able to try on my dress (IT FRIGGIN’ FIT!!!!), and then we went out for breakfast (Eggs Benedict…deep-fried homefries…mmmmm…IT MIGHT NO LONGER FIT!!!!). 

Copy of MVT Christmas Party 031[3] This is the sneak peek of the dress Linds posted on her blog yesterday.  As you can see, I’m going to have a hard time looking tall and skinny next to REBEKKA!!!

We were headed back to take the Ferry home around 11:30 AM when Lindsay, very casually, said to me, “So…you said you they were putting your winter tires on for you today?”

“Yep.”

“Well…were your tires already there?”

“Oh…ummm…”

That’s right.  I had taken my car and parked it in the garage lot, and left them my keys.

But I didn’t take my winter tires.

Crap.

So I quickly called my mom on my cell, and said, “So…does Mark have my tires at the garage?”  (Hoping, against hope, that maybe he stored them for me for the summer or something?  Because I’m sure that’s a normal thing for a garage to do, right?)

“WELL HE DOES NOW!” she exclaimed.

Turns out, Mother had waited and waited for me to stop in and get my winter tires out of their garage, and when I didn’t appear, she loaded them up and took them over herself.  She then proceeded to tell Mark, “My daughter needs a man.  She apparently didn’t realize that she had to actually bring her tires for you to put on!”

And of course, uproarious laughter ensued.

Woopsies.

Gimme a break.  I’m a girl.  My mom told me I had to have the car there at 9 AM, but she never told me I had to take the tires with me!!!!

Totally her fault.

*sigh*

Oh, and while we’re at it.  Another reason I need a man?  I have a brother. And a brother-in-law.  And neither of them are overly co-operative when I ask them to help me put up Christmas lights.

On Sunday, we were celebrating my soon-to-be sister-in-law’s birthday at my place.  PERFECT chance for the boys to put up my lights.  I had put net lights on the little tree at the front door already, and even assembled and connected the little snowman I had bought too.  That was a big accomplishment.

But I had also bought red lights to go on the big spruce tree between my house and the church next door.  We did that a few years ago and they looked so nice, but last year I left it too late and never got them up.  I think I also had mowed the extension chord or something.  (What?  You’re supposed to take lights down before summer time?  Who knew…) Anyways…I got a new extension chord, new lights…All I needed were the men to put them up.  And I had two of them sitting right there in my living room. 

Excellent opportunity.

Holy smokes, you’d think I’d asked them to do some really hard, terrible job.  Like open-heart surgery or something.  They weren’t overly enthusiastic about it.  And they were mad at me because I didn’t have a good ladder for them to use.

Um, hello?  This is me, remember?  The girl who didn’t even own a hammer.  Now you magically expect me to have a nice ladder in my possession?  Sure.

They found this rickety old wooden ladder in my garage, and leaned it precariously against the tree, and then they just kind of tossed the lights on haphazardly.

I’m not complaining.  They look fine.  I’m happy they are up.  My deepest thanks to Luke and Chris for obliging me.

But if I had a man to boss around, he would’ve spent a lot more time making it just right.  And he hopefully would’ve come with a good ladder, too.

Now.  There is some good news, folks.  I have made progress.

I actually do own a hammer now.  I bought a whole tool set a few weeks ago at Canadian Tire.  A pink one.  Because that’s the kind of tools girls use.

Canadian Tire_39 Piece toolkit_0992273C__09_067801

The bad news?  I forgot to buy nails.

Hammers are kind of useless without nails, I’ve discovered.

I also bought a set of shelves that I was going to put up ALL BY MYSELF with my BRAND NEW PINK TOOL KIT and I was so excited about it.

Until I read the instructions, and it said I needed a drill.  My pink tool kit came with a hammer, a tape measure, a screwdriver, an exacto knife, pliers, scissors, and a bunch of little do-dads that I have no idea what they are for.

No drill.

F me.

***

Once again, linking today’s Single Girl Files post up with Talk To Us Tuesday, hosted by Impulsive Addict and Shawn.  What are you talking about today?  Be sure to join in the fun and link up!

Talk2Us

Friday, November 25, 2011

Friday Confessions: Christmas Parties, No Booze, and Bieber or Elvis. It’s a dilemma.

I haven’t done any Friday confessing for a while, so I think it’s time to purge.  Get all the deep, dark secrets (or just the silly stuff) out before the weekend begins.  Ready?

Linking up with Housewife Eclectic, who is taking over Friday Confessions while Mamarazzi is on a bloggy break.

FridayConfessionalMamarazzi

I confess…that all the hard work you guys did yesterday in helping me choose a new pair of boots was very much appreciated.  I ended up settling on the first pair, only to find out that they don’t have it available in my size.  Awesome.

I confess…that some days, I hate Sears.  Don’t even ask me about my couch cushion situation.

I confess…that I’m wildly excited to dig out my Christmas decorations and put up my Christmas tree this weekend.  Can’t.WAIT.

Christmas-Decorations If only I had a fireplace…*sigh*

I confess…that I did not enjoy using the toning sticks at Zumba last night.  I sweat my ass off, and that’s obviously a good thing, but I felt entirely uncoordinated, and kept hitting myself in the head with the sticks.  PLUS, they felt like they weighed about 25 lbs. each instead of 2.5 lbs. by the time I was done.  Mothereffers.

zumba10-e1319558908562 I definitely didn’t like them as much as this chick.

I confess…I’m a little worried about the company Christmas party tonight.  Christmas parties are very hard on the diet.  Thinking of the spread we had last year already has me drooling.  It’s going to be a challenge.  But I might as well get used to it, right?  The month of December is only going to get more difficult.

I confess…that giving up the booze is not a big deal for me.  Truthfully, I’d rather allocate those valuable calories towards yummy food.  I’m trading my rum & cokes for dessert tonight.  So sue me.

I confess…that I was super excited to package up my gifts for the “Favourite Things” Christmas Blog Swap hosted by Leigh and Lindsay, and the “Accessorize Me” Blog Swap hosted by Lena @ Mom2MemphisAndRuby last night.  I’m sending them out in the mail today.  Really hoping Brittany & Lisa like them!!  My very first blog swaps!!

I confess…that I’m having a hard time deciding what to listen to while putting up the Christmas Tree tomorrow.  Bieber or Elvis Christmas duets.  I realize that this is a conundrum that a normal person does not have.

Elvis or bieber

I confess…that I already have plans to go see Breaking Dawn Part 1 again.  I’m excited.  Almost as excited as I was the first time.

I confess…that I spend an abnormal amount of time looking at the picture of Chris Neil and I.  You guys probably have, too, since I posted it three times this week.  Sorry.  But I don’t often have my arms around a hot hockey player.  It was a special moment.

And, just because I can, here it is, one more time:

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HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!

Thursday, November 24, 2011

The one where you guys tell me what boots to pick. Because I don’t friggin’ know.

Hi, Bloggy pals.  I have a job for you today.  Up for the challenge?  I hope so.  Because I need help.

My mom wants me to pick out a pair of boots for her to buy me for Christmas.  (For those of you keeping track, NO, boots were NOT on my Wish List.  But I guess I kind of need them more than a set of knives or a Tassimo.  I guess.  But not more than I need The Big Bang Theory, Season 2.  Or The Vampire Diaries seasons, which I have added to the list since then.)

(PS – to my sister, Kara, who keeps emailing me asking for my Christmas list…have you not read the Wish List post?  Excellent ideas can be found there.  Go.  Shop.)

Anyways.  Yes, the boots.  I need help.  I’m going to post pictures of the boots that caught my eye on the Sears website, and you tell me which ones you like.  Please & thank you.

Contestant #1 ($79.99)

Boots 1 79.99

I’m not sure if I can wear a boot like this. It’s kind of fancy, with all the buckles.  And I’ve never owned a high boot before.  But if I had to pick a high boot (which I think I maybe might want), this one appeals to me.

Contestant #2  ($99.99)

Boots 2 99.99

A little shorter, and I like the fur trim.  But they’re suede, and I don’t know if I have the patience to care for a pair of suede boots.   They’re high maintenance.

Contestant #3

Boots 3

I love these stylish mukluks, with all the fur, especially the furry balls.  HA!  No.  These are not a contestant, they just make me laugh.

Contestant #4 ($49.99)

Boots 4 49.99

Hmm…Also suede-y looking, so high maintenance, but I like that they’re not too tall, not too short, and again that fur trim catches my eye.  Disappointed that there are no furry balls, though.

Contestant #5  ($69.99)

Boots 5 69.99

I picked these out, but now I don’t think I like them.  They’re not suede-y, so that’s a plus, but I think they kind of look like witch boots.

Contestant #6 ($159.99)

Boots 6 159.99

I love these.  LOVE these.  But they cost way more than I would ever want my mother to spend on boots for me.  Plus, I think I need black boots, and I think these only come in brown.  *sigh*

Contestant # 7  ($49.99)

Boots 7 49.99

Hmm…I like the slouchy look of these.  But the issue with high boots is that I have fat calves, and I have no idea if these would fit.  But I think these are a very strong contestant for the high boots.  No issues with suede here.

Contestant #8  ($69.99)

Boots 8 69.99

I kind of love these, except for the laces.  I have no patience for laces.  Plus, these are called “Military style” and I’m not sure if I’m a Military style kind of girl.

Contestant #9 ($129.99)

Boots 8 129.99

Are you sick of looking at boots yet?  Me too.  But I like the black one on the far right.  However, it’s suede, so I have those aforementioned suede issues.   It’s pretty cool for a high boot.  As long as the calves fit.

Contestant #10 ($99.99)

Boots 10 99.99

Okay, I really don’t know if I want a high boot or a short boot, but these are probably my favourite of the short boot selections.  The only thing is I think these are very similar to the last pair of boots I got, back in my College days.  Maybe I should be looking for something a little more mature than the College boots?

Alrighty.  So now that I’ve provided you with all that helpful insight (ha!  I don’t know if I want short, mid, or tall, black or brown, laces or not, suede-y or not…)  PLEASE pick for me.  Or make other suggestions.  I truly have no idea what I want.

Now, I do have some good news…According to the Payless website, THEY STILL CARRY MY FAVOURITE SHOES!  The exact same ones that I busted up on Saturday night!  The exact same ones that I bought 3 or 4 years ago!  Wahooooooooo!   I’m going to maybe buy 3 pairs.  They’re only $19.99, so clearly, very high quality. ;)

SHOES!!!

My shoe loves.

And now, in closing, to celebrate American Thanksgiving, I’m going to share with you something I’ve been very thankful for this week.

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Oh, get over it.  I didn’t post the picture yesterday.

Happy Thanksgiving to my American Bloggy Friends!  Enjoy your turkey lurkey! :)

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Snowy Wednesday Randomness

It’s “We Want to Know Wednesday”, but I’m not doing it because I’m jealous.  All the questions are about Thanksgiving – naturally – and I’m a little huffy that our Thanksgiving was over a month ago.

WHY CAN’T WE ALL JUST HAVE TWO THANKSGIVINGS?!?  Geez.

I want a holiday this week.  And I’m not getting one.  Bah.

So instead, here’s some of the random floating through my brain this morning.  (I’m going to try not to mention that hockey player I had my arm around on Saturday night, but…I make no promises.)

  • It snowed last night.  Our very first snow of the year.  You guys know I love snow.  I woke to the sound of a snowplow going by my house at about 5:30 this morning, so you best believe I hopped right out of bed, cracked the blinds, and watched the pretty white stuff falling in the street light.  Beauty.

Snow Falling

  • Everyone has a favourite pair of shoes, right?  I know I do.  Or did.  There wasn’t really anything much special about them, but they were just nice black loafer-style shoes that I got four or five years ago from Payless.  Comfy, and went with almost anything.  Well…Saturday night, after I met you-know-who, I blew the shit right out of my shoe.  We were walking towards the next bar we were going to, and I kind of accidentally stumbled off the side walk (trust me, just a stumble, I wasn’t being a drunken fool), and however my foot landed, I could just feel my entire shoe explode.  I walked around in it for awhile before taking it off and discovering the sole was hanging on to the rest of the shoe literally  by a thread.  It was a good thing I had the happy thoughts of you-know-who and his muscular back in my head, or I would’ve had the sads BIG time.
  • Sticking with the footwear topic…My mom has been bugging me for a week to pick a pair of boots out of the Sears catalogue for her to order me for Christmas this year.  I’ve been putting it off because I don’t know what I want.  I haven’t bought a pair of boots for 8 years.  I was in College the last time I got a pair of boots.  Yes, I am Canadian.   Yes, I live in the tundra.  But I usually just skip around in my shoes all winter long.  The very shoes that I busted the shit out of on Saturday night.
  • Needless to say, this morning, when I ventured out in my very non-snow-proof slip-on Skechers, I was wishing I’d listened to my mother’s demands to pick out a damn pair of boots.  Jill has very cold, wet feet this morning…Brrrr.

Skechers Not meant for Canadian winters…

  • I’m starting to panic that I have no time to put up my Christmas tree this weekend.  And I NEED to put up my Christmas tree this weekend.  Life cannot progress until my house is decorated.  I need my house to look Christmassy, STAT.
  • So glad I didn’t have far to go in the snow this morning.  I’m not getting my snow tires put on until Saturday, so I did a wee bit of skidding around on my way to work this morning.  A blessing that I only have a five-minute drive in…
  • I love Bieber’s Christmas album.  Especially when he raps in “The Little Drummer Boy”.

Justin-Bieber-Under-the-Mistletoe

  • You know how sometimes you hit a song on the radio that you haven’t heard in a million years, and you just remember all the words and it makes you feel amazing?  Sam Roberts, on my radio this morning, singing “Hard Road”.  We had an incredible duet.
  • I watched Water For Elephants last night, and if anything, it made Rob Pattinson even sexier to me.  As if Edward Cullen could get any sexier.  He got to smile and laugh a lot more than we’re used to.  Mmmmmmmmmm….

Water for elephants 3

water-for-elephants-4

Water for elephants 4  

  • Have I mentioned how jealous I am that our American friends get to have turkey tomorrow and I do not?  Have I also mentioned that American Thanksgiving throws a monkey wrench in the Y&R scheduling?  Like, no more Y&R this week, and just when I was so happy to have Billy back?  Dammit.

billy miller

  • American Thanksgiving makes me want to watch ALL the Friends Thanksgiving episodes.  One right after the other.

friends

  • The snow is going to melt tomorrow.  Because it’s going up to +11 this weekend and it’s going to rain.  What is UP with this weird, balmy, November weather?!

Okay.  I think that’s all I’ve got for today…

Off to minimize this window so that I can look at my desktop picture again…The picture of me and you-know-whooooooo!!!!

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

The Single Girl Files: Great Expectations

Remember yesterday, when I told you about how I met Ottawa Senators forward Chris Neil this past weekend?


No?


Oh, here, let me show you the picture again to remind you.


314582_10150953002385554_554310553_21583094_495006860_n Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!


Yeah. I kind of can’t get enough of that picture. It’s actually my new desktop on my computer at work, and I find myself minimizing windows during the day just to gaze at it… to re-live the moment…


*sigh*


But. BUT!


My Chris Neil meeting has reminded me of something my friend Sara once told me. Something that I laugh about to this day, but deep down, it still makes me feel slightly uneasy. Slightly worried for myself.


It was after we had gone to see Superman Returns in theatres – back in ‘06. I left the theatre drooling over Brandon Routh, who played good ol’ Clark Kent in the flick.


superman2


Yum.


So we left the theatre and I was doing my usual schoolgirl babbling. You know, the kind of babbling that a 20-something probably shouldn’t do, but I do it anyways. “Oh my gosh, he’s so hot. I love that guy who played Superman. Did you SEE his muscles? He’s my new favourite.” Something along those lines.


Which led Sara to finally confess to me that she was worried about me ever finding a man in real life.


“Jill, you’re in love with Superman now. How are all of the normal guys ever going to compare?!”


And therein lies one of my biggest problems with finding a man.


Great Expectations.


I have Hollywood/Superstar crushes. Movie stars, TV stars, rock stars, hockey stars. Vampires. Werewolves. And…well…yeah. Superman, too.


josh_hartnett_02 One of my all-time faves, Josh Hartnett


james_marsden_picture_10 I would give anything for a James Marsden-type of guy


Brothers-damon-and-stefan-salvatore-18281180-1024-768 My latest craze…Damon & Stefan Salvatore…


Edwin The very first rock star I fell in love with…Edwin


edward-cullen-eclipse-1 Ah…Edward…Sweet & Deadly Edward


jacob Everyone’s favourite little puppy dog…Jacob :)


redden Always has been, always will be my #1…Wade Redden


chris-neilAnd the newest hockey player crush…Chris Neil


These are just a few of my favourite things…!!!


You get the picture. Guys with crazy-good-looks, big muscles, star qualities, sexy smiles, great hair, beautiful eyes, amazing voices, athletic abilities, and sometimes, yes…even superhero powers.


All of the normal boys? They kind of just pale in comparison.


I’ve only known a few guys in real life who came close to meeting these high standards. And we all know that guys like that are kiiiiinda outta my league.


So what’s a girl like me supposed to do? I don’t have star qualities. I’m a lumpy, over-weight, crazyperson (clearly), now in my late-twenties (ack!), with nothing remarkable about me.


And yet, I have a penchant for the “unattainable”.


You see, most women are able to separate the real from the fictional. They know that Edward is the sexiest vampire alive (followed closely by Stefan and Damon, natch), but they still love their average ol’ husbands, no problem.


(My apologies for calling your hubbies average, ladies. You know what I mean.)


I, on the other hand, will look at a guy, and wrinkle up my nose. “Well…I don’t know if his back would be nearly as muscular as Chris Neil’s, so no can do…”


Really and truly. I have serious issues here.


My friends tell me all the time that when I find “The One”, that I’ll forget about all of this silly hooey. That even though he might not quite match up to the great expectations I have, he will be mine, and I will love him, even if his back isn’t as muscular as Chris Neil’s.


But for now, I’m still living in this fantasy world, where my future husband can play guitar, be an NHL-star, have lots of money, the perfect body, and the best smile in the world.


Hey…it could happen.


***


Linking today’s Single Girl Files post up with Talk to Us Tuesday hosted by Impulsive Addict and Shawn. What are you talking about today? It can be about anything at all – no rules! Link it up! :)


Talk2Us ***

Monday, November 21, 2011

Just about the best damn weekend EVER.

Judging by what I’m seeing on other people’s blogs and Facebook statuses this morning, a lot of people think they had an awesome weekend. 

Nobody seems thrilled to start off another week, because the weekend was just that good.

Well, I’m sorry to break this to all of you who think you had the best weekends ever, but…

Mine was better.

Seriously.

(Unless you got married or had a baby.  Those would be the only two things that could trump the excitement of my weekend.  In that case…Congratulations.)

So, I know that my mom and my friend Stacy and everyone else who hates Twilight will cringe at this but, really?  How could a weekend start out ANY BETTER than with the Breaking Dawn Part 1 midnight premiere on Thursday night???

Breaking Dawn

Edward makes everything better.

Despite all my worries and concerns about how Thursday evening would go, it all went off pretty much without a hitch.  No issues getting the tickets (apparently all you really have to do is say, “Hi, I pre-ordered tickets on-line, here’s my credit card, please believe me”…and they do); a delicious supper at Montana’s with my Twi-buddies Britt, Sharon & Lindsay; a waker-upper at Starbucks (where Sharon commended me on my pro ordering of my Venti-Skinny-Peppermint-Mocha-No-Whip…I’m a Starbucks newbie and wasn’t sure I could pull it off without screwing it up)…Then off to wait in a not-too-long line up, and they let us into the theatre earlier than expected, which was a much more comfortable place to sit and wait for the vampire/werewolf hotness to begin.

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And ohhhhhhhhhhhhh the hotness!!

breaking-dawn-part-1-cast-poster

breaking dawn wedding 2 

breaking-dawn-TSBD1-004623_rgb1-560x373

It was wonderful.  I think maybe my favourite movie thus far in the series.  The wedding…the honeymoon…the vampire sex (or at least the PG-13 version we got)…Bella’s life-sucking pregnancy…the birth of a vampire-human hybrid baby…

It was everything I could’ve hoped for.  And more.

I will probably go see it again in theatres.  I loved it that much.

The only small issue I had was that I somehow got stuck beside the stereotypical “Twi-Hard”.  A thirty-something woman sitting by herself, talking on  her cell for like TWO HOURS before the movie started, and whoever she was talking to must’ve also been a Twi-Hard because that was all she talked about.  The whole time.  And referred to the cast as if they were on  a first-name basis (OK, so, like I do with the hockey players, but whatever. NOT the same.) 

She was just very very excited to see Rob and Kristen and Taylor and all the gang, apparently.

Needless to say, once the movie started, she went into SUPER-annoying mode.  Huffing over the squealy teens at the start (“Geez! You’d think Rob himself had just walked in the room or something!”), fanning herself with her hands at the romantic parts, singing along to the wedding version of Iron & Wine’s “Flightless Bird, American Mouth”, clapping, vocalizing her disappointment when certain scenes didn’t meet her lofty expectations (like the love scene - “WELL! That was anti-climactic!”…I’m sorry, dear, but did you not catch the PG-13 rating?!)

I had to block her out.  She was driving me bananas.

But other than that?  It was wonderful.  Even the cheesy wolf telepathy scene (which brought more laughter than I’m sure was intended) couldn’t ruin it for me.

Did I mention the wedding?  The honeymoon?  Bella waking up covered in feathers?  The baby?

headboard shot

It was pretty near perfect.

By the time I crawled into bed after 3 AM, I was still buzzing with excitement, and didn’t think I’d be able to sleep.  I was wrong.  When my head hit the pillow, I drifted off quickly, and was so glad I had the following day off work.

I spent Friday lounging around, feeling kind of hung over even though I don’t think the two Pickle Caesars I had at Montana’s the night before could’ve made me feel hung over.  Oh, and I finished Season 1 of The Vampire Diaries.  Yes, I was on vampire overload.  I think I need to buy the seasons of The Vampire Diaries rather than just Zipping them.  Because now that Stefan and Damon are in my life, I need to keep them forever.  Swoooooon.

the_vampire_diaries_season_2-wide

Friday evening, I joined a group of friends at Cafe 349 in Shawville for a baby shower for our friend Priscilla, who is due in December.  We had a great evening chatting, eating, and showering Priscilla with gifts and good wishes.  I can’t wait for Baby B to arrive!  Priscilla and her husband Chad have not found out what they are having, and have also kept their names a secret, so it will be very exciting to hear all the details when the baby comes. :)

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On Saturday I did some shopping and got some of my Christmas lights up outside, then spent the afternoon resting up for my friend Krista’s Bachelorette.  Krista and her fiance Kyle are getting married on New Year’s Eve, so the ladies decided to take her out on a party bus tour for one last rip before she becomes a “Mrs.”.

Now here’s where the really, really exciting stuff happened.  The stuff that transformed this weekend from a GREAT one to an EPIC one.

Our first stop on the party bus was the Crazy Horse bar & grill in Kanata.  And shortly after arriving, I was scouting around because so many people tell me, “You need to go to the city to meet guys – the Crazy Horse would be a great place to go, lots of guys there!”

Um.  Yeah. Sure.  Lots of guys.  But as I scanned the room, there weren’t too many who appealed to me.  In fact, I could only find one table of guys, seated behind us, that I thought were my kind of guys.  The rest were all kind of goofy-looking.  With big belt buckles.  Meh.

Not long after, I noticed the Bride-to-Be and several of the ladies over chatting up my table of hot guys.  Krista had a list of things she needed to accomplish during the evening, and I figured she was over there getting something checked off her list.  Sure enough, she got her picture taken with some of them, then came over to our table and said, “There!  Good thing we added ‘Meet a Sens Player’ to my list!”  Then I noticed they had scribbled it on to the bottom of her list of tasks to complete.

I was confused.  “Meet a Sens player? Who?!”  (Did I mention I’d forgotten my glasses at home?)

“That’s Chris Neil sitting over there!”  Krista told me.

Chris Neil!  One of my all-time favourite Senators players!

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I was soooo disappointed.  I didn’t even realize it was him – if I had, I’d have totally joined them when they went over to meet him.  But Krista told me he hadn’t been overly friendly, and I figured he just wanted to be left alone, so I declined her demands that I go back over there with her.

But eventually word had spread that Chris Neil was in the house, and the next thing you know, a big group of the ladies who were with us made their way over to his table.  Krista told me to go then, with the rest of them, but I was sooo not even a little bit drunk and worried about pissing him off, so I said no.  But Krista wasn’t going to let it go, though.  She ended up grabbing me by the wrist and DRAGGING me over to his table, telling everyone to move out of the way so that she could get to him.

“Excuse me, Chris Neil, but this is my friend Jillian and she is the biggest Sens fan I know, would you pleeeeeeeeease get up and get a picture taken with her?”

Meanwhile, I’m standing there shaking my head and mouthing, “I’m so sorry, Chris Neil.  I’m so sorry.”

She had to beg him a couple of times before he finally shuffled out of his booth and put his arm around me and said, “Hey.”  And then I put my arm around him too, and ohmygodmuscleybackofheaven

Indeed, this was the 2nd best night of my life – after the night I met Wade Redden, of course – but luckily, this time I found my voice.  I wasn’t a complete mute.

However, all I kept saying was, “I’m so sorry, Chris Neil.  I’m so sorry.”

Yes, I called him “Chris Neil”.  Every time.

And he just kept chuckling and saying, “It’s okay, don’t worry about it.”

Krista and I got our picture taken with him (thank GOD Ashley had her camera handy because I had left mine behind at the table!) and after I looked at the picture, I totally didn’t regret it.  I did  feel kind of bad that now that he was out of his booth, he had to get his picture taken with approximately 25 other girls…and stand on an injured ankle (the reason he wasn’t out west with the rest of the team)…but oh well. ;)

The picture was totally worth it.

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And also, I realized I could crop Krista out – not because I don’t LOVE her – I do love her and I will be forever eternally grateful to her for introducing me to Chris Neil!!! – but when I crop her out, it makes it easier to pretend it’s just me, posing with my hot muscular hockey player boyfriend…

See what I mean?

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And YES I KNOW he’s married and has kids and I think from what he told some of the girls that night that he has another one on the way very soon…

Whatever.  I CAN STILL PRETEND!!!!!

Here are some of the other sneak-pictures I took of him from a distance:

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Wade WHO?!?!

(KIDDING!!  JUST KIDDING!!)

Epic weekend.  Simply epic.

Don’t even try to compare.  You know you can’t. ;)