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Summer maddness is quickly gaining on us. It's seems that there are a zillion things that we need to do every single weekend. All I really want to do is go camping for 3 months. On second thought if I were to do that I probably wouldn't be able to reenter society... I'd become some sort of crazy lady who yells at the neighbourhood kids, sweeps my driveway and pees in the back garden.
This weekend we're off to visit Paul's dad. It's long overdue and he hasn't been feeling up to snuff lately. Dante is very excited and told every single person we passed on the way home that we were going to "farm world" this weekend. I have no idea where he got that term but he's used it for years now. I'm hoping that the weather hold off at least for the drive up there so that I can hit a couple of garage sales.
 Speaking of Dante... he's been enjoying soccer and doing very well. He is a total goal hog and is determined to sneak his way in at every opportunity. So long as he's having fun and no one is crying I'm okay with that.
We went to a little tex-mex restaurant called Poco Loco tonight. We really enjoyed ourselves. I think a lot of places miss that service, atmosphere and attitude have a great deal to do with forming an opinion of a restaurant. Eating out is really about an entire experience, not just the food. Although the food at Poco Loco was really nice (D ate three taco's without so much as a word!), the service is what sold us on the joint. They were super friendly, especially towards D. We'll definitely be going back.
The art thing is coming along slowly but surely. I've managed to completely finish 9 boxes and have three more on the go. You can see them here. About a week ago I bought a bunch of old photos from ebay so that I could get some images that hadn't been used by 1200 other arty folks and they arrived safe and sound yesterday. It was fun going through them. There were a load of stinkers in the batch I bought but there were also a few gems in that rough pile including this one:
Next week is going to be total craziness... Paul is away, we are hosting our dinner club meeting, soccer match, soccer practice, work, cleaning for company, taking D and his friend to the movies... it's going to be insane. Let's hope I don't crack under all that pressure! Wish me luck!
Okay, this pic is not of the Big D but I'm sure that one day they will be selling similar posters of him. Dante had his first soccer match of the season tonight. He played goalie and was brilliant. I swear that child is going to be some sort of sporting super star... and I'm not just saying that 'cause I'm his mum :) We're dreading the next game however because he has to relinquish his beloved goalie spot and play another position. We've already had a word with him but he seems to think that he's now the team goalie and will very likely have a nasty fit when told to give up the #1 goalie jersey for his #12 shirt.
It's been a strange few weeks. Death seems to be making the rounds again. I feel badly for those that have lost someone near and dear, and am grateful that we have been spared. We are so very fortunate.
Also on the weirdness front... I participated as a swap angle a while back... sending a package to someone who was previously flaked on... and my package never arrived! I feel like a schmuck. Damned postal service.
Paul and I have both been under the weather. First Paul, then me. It's best that it happens in that order so that I can remind Paul how miserable he felt and finagle myself some sympathy. I'm not 100% yet but well on the way... I'm certain I'll be right as rain in no time at all.
Arty stuff has been slow going lately. I've set a goal for myself to complete 26 shadow boxes in the near future. Basically I'm making different faerie boxes, with each having a name that starts with a different letter of the alphabet. Naming things is all sorts of fun. So far I've got 11 in various stages of completion.
Lastly, my latest obsession? Sushi. Okay, it's not really an obsession but it's friggin' yummy and I can't get enough of it.
It's almost 5 am and I'm not in bed. Paul is sick and coughing up a storm, D is beside him writhing around. I decided to escape before losing my mind.
Nothing terribly exciting happed this work work. Vanny, the project coordinator at CCMA, had her last day today so there was a wee party for her Thursday. She was the most organized person I've ever met and would make me daily 'to do' lists. I'll have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing now.
I keep getting promotional emails from Chapters/Indigo and it's like being poked by a bully. I logged in to the site in order to remove myself from their mailing list but for some reason I have to add more information to my profile before it will remove me from their mailing list. That is the very last thing I want to do. What I really want is to completely remove my profile, delete my account, but I can't seem to find any information of that. I send a message asking how to delete my account and get an automated response saying that someone will be in touch within 24 hours... that was about 36 hours ago... I haven't heard anything. Buggers.
Lastly, I actually gave someone that hand punch 'props' thing today (yes, awkwardly). It's not something I would chose to do, but you can't leave a fella hangin'. Now, after doing this I went to catch my bus and I swear to you that I saw about 20 other people do this. I began to wonder if it was national props day... I hope so because if that replaces a handshake, well, that's just dumb.
It's already shaping up to be a month chocked with activity. Yesterday alone visited three peeps and had an appointment for D to boot. Christ, I hardly ever go a visiting so that's quite the social calendar for me.
- We went to Wayzgoose in Grimsby last weekend. It's a book arts festival that has been around for ages. I'm not exactly certain why we still go as I tend to think that a lot of the goods there are a bit pricey (but that's just because I'm a cheap bugger!) I DID pick up a couple of cute things though and managed to snag myself a few woodblock letters to add to my collection.
- Dante has eczema. It's not bad and we knew that he had it already but I think that being in the pool is making it a bit worse. I just hope that trying to make it better doesn't make it worse.
- More in Dante news the wee fella is getting his poor teeth fixed. When he had them looked at before we were told that he would have to be put under in order to fix them because he was so little. Now we are being told that they are going to work on them little by little. I feel so bad for the kid because he doesn't get very many sweets and treats, not nearly as much as the other kids do, and yet it looks as though he sleeps with a sucker in his mouth. The doctors office seems to think that it may be a genetic issue more than anything else. Ah well, so long as the poor thing is getting sorted out and I don't pass out in the dentists office, it will all be good.
- Our next 'dinner club' meeting is on June 7th and will have a Moroccan theme. Yummo! Paul will certainly be practicing with the tajine until then. I'm looking forward to it and hope to start cleaning the house NOW so that there isn't a mad panic in a months time.
- We've tried a few recipes from Gordon Ramsay's book Fast Food. I'm pleased with everything we've made so far... Dante however has been an unusually picky bugger... the recipe for champ however was sucked back like no ones business. Who knew that whipping cream would make a world of difference in mashed potatoes!
- As I type this D and Paul are at Wrestlemania! I managed to score 2 tickets from work and so the boys have gone for a night out. I get myself a couple of hours alone in a quiet house and can watch the food network to my hearts content!
It's been a couple of days since the signing and I'm still ridiculously happy about meeting Gordon Ramsay... I'm also still angry.
To read the very long story click HERE
Pics of the lineup at approximately 10:30 am
Me BEFORE the sunburn
Paul, right after telling me he wants another tattoo in return for standing in line
Miss "201" or "Donkey" as she was known. Really nice lady, I'm so glad she got in to see him.
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I've met Gordon Ramsay and he was bloody lovely.
Paul left the house before 7am to get a spot in line in order to get a wristband so that I might meet Mr. Ramsay. When he got there a list was passed down the line so that people know where they were... Paul was number 200, the last one that was to be given a wristband!
When we finally reached the front of the line at approximately 11:30 there were about 8 people in front of us and we were told that all wristbands had been given out!!! That caused a wee bit of a kerfuffle since everyone in line knew that Paul was the 200th person in line (and that the gal behind him was 201 and teased relentlessly throughout the day because of it). The marketing manager said that there were not 200 wristbands and that she didn't know where that number came from. We confronted her with the fact that a group of strangers don't just come up with the same number, that staff had given us this info. After a bit of arguing she admitted that there were 200. How could this be if Paul was number 200 and had no wristband?
I have to vent here and say that the marketing manager, was extremely rude, and ignorant towards the patrons at the event. She is very fortunate that the people she pissed off were civil, level headed individuals because others would not have reacted so well. I won't go into details, I'll just say I'm pretty sure you don't boldface lie to your customers... you definitely don't call them liars. People were pretty unhappy with her and Indigo/Chapters/Coles has lost a few customers.
Anyway... now we had a choice to make. We could stay and be the first people with the possibility of maybe getting a siggy after those with wristbands were done, or calling it quits. When you're the first in line it's a tough choice... we stayed.
After another 5 hours of waiting in the sun, my boobs were totally sunburned but the end was near as we were ushered inside! I was going to meet Chef Ramsay himself!
I made my way up the stairs and I became dumb with awe. All the things that I could have asked or said immediately flew out of my head and I was living that part in "A Christmas Story" when Ralphy visits Santa and totally forgets what he wants! Gordon shook my hand, and did the kiss-o-the-cheek thing (which was a strange experience because Mr. Ramsay has the most lovely warm soft skin). I just stood stock still and said nothing until he said something, which I think was "And how are you?" to which I relied "I'm well thank you. And you?" and all I could think was 'Christ? How the hell did I manage to reply properly?' and by the time that thought went through my head he said "So, which one of you is the cook?" and I said "We share. Though Paul claims he's the better cook... but he's wrong, I am." And Mr. Ramsay waved and said "Hi Paul." and I admitted that perhaps Paul was a better cook but I was definitely a better baker. And that was it.
  
To Paul & Nicky GR
It's friggin' illegible but I don't care one bit. Should Paul and I ever split I'll just say it says something rude and no one will be the wiser.
I've gotten responces like "I can't believe you let that horrible man kiss you on the cheek!" but here's the thing, Gordon Ramsay really is someone special. People were in tears, shaking, cheering, laughing. He's just so charming, exciting and lovely you can't help but find him likeable. His handshake and peck on the cheek were rather friendly too, not weird and uncomfortable. I'd be willing to bet that every person who met him today really felt like they had a personal experience with him. It's also pretty sweet that when someone like myself goes up and totally loses all sense, he still tries to give you something to remember. I'm not insane, I know 20 seconds means squat, but truly, I would do it all over again, booby burns and all :) |
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