Memorial Day Weekend (plus 2 days vacation)
This past Friday night saw me arriving into DFW at midnight from Ottawa. After catching the first cab I could I returned home and promptly began doing laundry in preparation for repacking my bags the next morning at the crack of dawn before I headed off to the wilds of Disney, OK.
Early Saturday morning I began the 5 hour drive up to Disney where I met Tim, Cheri, Mark, Anita, Robert, Perry, Debbie and Josey (their dog). And what a weekend it was. We camped out next to Grand Lake and spent the next few days kicking back, going rock climbing in the Jeeps, going muddin’ in the Jeeps, Mt biking (fun, fun, fun) and of course enjoying lots of good campfire food, beer and a few sips of tequila.
Sunday night saw a thunderstorm blow in (and my side of the tent fall down – which necessitated some 3am stake pounding). Then on Monday while we were packing up for the return to Neosho – the thunder just kept grumbling, grumbling, grumbling with sporadic showers. It made for a muddy trip – but still very enjoyable. I spent the next two days with Tim and Cheri in Neosho. While there they took me out to see the damage caused by the most recent tornado. Parts of Neosho were completely wiped out – homes, out buildings, trees were snapped in two and machinery and debris littered the hillsides. I hadn’t realized just how much damage that storm had done until I saw it with my own eyes. It was tragic.
While in Neosho on Tuesday, Cheri, Rick and I rode the Mt Bike Trails in Bicentennial Park in Neosho – whew, what a ride. I made it but 3 years makes a huge difference in muscle tone (or lack thereof). But after an hour rest I was ready to go back out and do it again. And we did - although not Bicentennial Park - Cheri and I then drove up to Joplin and rode Hilltop with Debbie and Rick. I LOVE THAT TRAIL!!! The best part of the whole weekend was Mt Biking. I had forgotten how much I loved being out there in the woods, smelling the honeysuckle, and just testing myself against the rocks, logs, water, mud and bugs. It was so much fun.
Following the ride at Hilltop we met up with the rest of the gang (Tim, Mark, Gary, his wife and 2 boys, and Perry) for Taco Tuesday at Casa Montez. Yummy. After a couple of pitchers of Dos Equis and a few tacos we were all relaxed, chatty and having a good time.
Wednesday saw me up early and returning to Dallas just in time to do some laundry and take a breath before gearing up for work on Thursday and Friday.
What a wonderful mini-vacation.
Dinner, drinks and hockey
After a very productive – if quiet day at work, I adjourned to the comfortable seating in Le Bar for a cocktail and some light refreshments. Although I missed the season finale of HOUSE – I’m not completely devastated as I also missed part 1 of the finale. So this way when I do watch it I will be seeing the whole season finale not just the final segment.
Anyhow, I took my book “The Book of Air and Shadows” by Michael Gruber (a fantastic read!!) and proceeded to enjoy a glass of Sleemans honey brown and an appetizer (my dinner) of veal mini-burgers with sauteed onions and a wine reduction. Delicious!! I chit-chatted with the bartender who I remember from my visit last January and then proceeded to keep one eye on the hockey game (Detroit vs Dallas) and the other on the exciting events unfolding in my book as I’m drawing near to its conclusion. All in all a wonderful relaxing evening – just the sort I like.
And that was my night 
Ottawa’s Tulip Festival
The trip from Montreal to Ottawa was delightful. I travelled on the Via Rail Canada and it was so nice not to have to worry about traffic, airport lines, crazy security and the other typical joys of going from destination A to destination B. Upon my arrival in Ottawa I was greeted with a profusion of tulips as this was the last weekend of the tulip festival.
The history of the tulip festival: During World War II, the Dutch royal family were exiled from their home country and took refuge in Ottawa. In 1945, Queen Juliana of the Netherlands gave the city a gift of 100,000 tulip bulbs to show her gratitude for both the hospitality that the people of Ottawa showed to the family, and the role that Canadian soldiers played in liberating the Netherlands. To this day, the capital receives 10,000 tulip bulbs from Holland’s monarchy every year. The first Canadian Tulip Festival was held in 1953, and since then it has grown to be one of Ottawa’s most popular annual events-the largest tulip festival in the world.
Interesting – no? So that was my Sunday – filled with the beauty of some of springs most resilient flowers, some semi-beautiful weather (it became quite chilly and rainy in the late afternoon) and of course a visit to the Highlander Pub where I enjoyed a lovely lager and a good book while it drizzled outside.
Le Presse, TV5 and a lovely morning
Montreal. The city of my heart next to Paris, Msp, Seattle, and Denver.
This morning I arrived at the restaurant armed with a terrible hunger for croissants/raisin danish and tea. As I enjoyed my petit dejuner I reflected on how important this moments are in life. Perusing the paper (Le Presse) and even last night as I had TV5 on I was overwhelmed at how people struggle to stay balanced between the demands or work, health, relationships and family. Life is indeed a juggling act.
I love the peace and quiet of this hotel. It offers a view of some fields and rr tracks, the city is just 10 minutes away and of course the terrace is lovely in the evening. In the interest of keeping my life balanced - am enjoying as many small moments as I can possibly squeeze into the day. A great cup of tea, a funny fwd, a good book, catching the train on time. The little things that remind me of how good it is to be alive.
I’m Lovin’ It
Yes, it is absolutely true – I’m lovin’ it (at the moment).
A nice little hotel in Montreal, a manageable workload for this week and the opportunity to work out just as much as my little heart desires.
After a whirlwind weekend involving some serious procrastination at work, a few drinks at Houlihan’s Friday evening with Dali and Sean until their friends from Aramark arrived for dinner. I left after cocktails as I needed some downtime to gear up for my big race on Saturday. When a gal needed down time some go to the spa, some go for more alcohol, some go party but for me I go to the place I love most – Barnes and Noble- wandering and perusing the shelves for some airplane reading material until I finally settled down in the fiction section for some great phone conversation with Ryan and Sarah where we discussed a little of everything under the sun.
Saturday morning saw me up very early and ready for my first 5K. While not a resounding success as far as finish time, I did finish which for me was all I was going for in this first foray into running. It was a lot of fun, the weather was wonderful and the people very, very friendly. Of course you have those “serious runners” who are done before I even crossed the 1.5 marker but overall it was an enjoyable experience. Saturday afternoon I ventured into the Taste of Addison for some great food, drinks and a tasting by Robert Mondavi vineyards (where the host humorously described the legs as being “over-rated” as they are greatly impacted by their surrounding glassware). I have no idea why but that whole explanation was hilarious at the time. After imbibing, eating and imbibing some more I said farewell to the gang in Addison and went up to McKinney to hook up with Sarah and Ryan for a few drinks at the Londoner where we had a lot of fun, some great laughs and some quality time together.
Sunday was a travel day for me as I have an assignment in Montreal – The travel wasn’t bad, the plane ride smooth and the hotel as stated before is very nice. After working out for awhile – yeah for the 5 mile marker!!! I relaxed in the restaurant with a good book and some delectable chicken satay and Thai Tiger Shrimp – yummy.
All in all a very, very nice weekend. One that was a perfect send off as I venture into Canada for the next two weeks!
So much fun
Sometimes things that are done on a spontaneous, spur-of-the-moment basis are simply fantastic. Last night was one of those spontaneous moments.
It all began with a trip to David’s Bridal to try on bridesmaid dresses for Dali’s wedding in August. Now bridesmaid dress fittings can be demoralizing to a gals self-esteem when you notice that all the hard work-out work (since January 1, 2008) has not resulted in a reduction of dress sizes. But Dali was a real trooper about it. She had picked out the mix and match separates that she thought would look good on me and of course I had to add to the stack of dresses to try on. After two outfits – neither one which did anything for me aside from push my jiggly bits up, out and sideways – I then tried on the separates Dali had picked out and all of a sudden I looked like a 1940’s pin up girl. Thats a good thing – in case you were curious. So Dali’s choice was by far the winner. In addition, we were perusing the clearance shoe racks at David’s Bridal and Dali found a beautiful pair of T-strap shoes that went perfectly with the bridesmaid dress – and get this they were $14.99! So that was a good project done – and now I am becoming more and more excited for Dali’s wedding.
So anyhow, the story above is not the whole of the evening but in the interest of brevity the conclusion of the evening was extremely satisfying also. One thing does keep running through my head “how can someone who is so wrong for me feel so good?” And I don’t mean a little good, I mean really, really good?
I have to think about that some more.
I think I’m far more blue collar than I like to admit – that’s what I think at the immediate moment.
