iTunes Playlist Tuesday #190

A few weeks ago Nugs and I were chatting and we agreed to make each other mixed CDs. I know, how early 2000s of us! This playlist is 10 of my favourite tracks from the mixes she made for me.

1. All I Really Want by Alanis Morissette

2. Gold on the Ceiling by The Black Keys

3. Clumsy by Our Lady Peace

4. The World is New by Save Ferris

5. Steady as She Goes by The Raconteurs

6. Teardrop by Massive Attack

7. Dog Days are Over by Florence + The Machine

8. Karma Police by Radiohead

9. One More Time by Daft Punk

10. Alison by Elvis Costello

Necessary Frivolity

This weekend was exactly what I needed. A weekend where I got to do things I don't often get to do. My very good friend Amanda visited this weekend. We had been casually planning this weekend for a while now - a weekend where we would go out for dinner at a nice restaurant and order expensive meals. When my grandma passed away last weekend she asked if I still wanted her to come. I told her that yes I did want her to visit, now more than ever.

We put the plan in motion to go shopping, to a movie and then dinner. A friend date! I had just been paid for dogsitting, so I had some excess cash. While at the mall I was on the hunt for three things:

A) A new bra (sorry boys...or maybe not..don't be gross...)

B) A denim shirt (I joined Pinerest and I've been into the whole denim collared shirt with a cardigan over it look).

C) A birthday gift for a friend. (I got her a lip gloss and some chocolates)

I was successful on all three.

We then went to see Identity Theft (the movie with Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy) and it was funnier than I expected. I enjoyed it. If you're into silly movies that are simply good for a few laughs, I recommend it)

Dinner at a downtown bistro was nice. I was a bit disappointed with my meal though. I ordered the prime rib and it was really fatty -  more fatty than normal. It was also a bit too rare for my taste. But I did enjoy the bread they brought to our table. I've been to many nice restaurants with my parents over the years, and usually bread comes with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. This bread did, but it also had a scoop of hummus in the mix! It was delicious. I'm definitely going to try this at home. We also got dessert - I had a sticky toffee bread pudding, which was huge. It more than made up for the less than stellar prime rib.

Instead of going for more drinks out, we opted to just go home and watch some TV I had recorded on the PVR - Californication and Big Bang Theory. It was a good time to put on sweatpants and chill out.

We got up this morning and went for a late breakfast and then did some IKEA shopping. I got some photo frames to put copies of a beautiful old photo of my grandma from the 1940s in, and a pillowcase.

We spent the rest of the afternoon watching TV - including the HBO Beyonce documentary.

It was a good weekend where I didn't feel stressed or tired or sad. Like I said, It was exactly what I needed.

Hope you had a lovely weekend too!

50 Shades of Fake Tan

I am planning a post about my grandma, but I'm not ready yet. So why not a short tale about a trip I made to a book store yesterday.

I had a couple books on my list that I wanted to read, and since I was in the mall I decided to duck into the bookstore and pick them up. I knew what I was looking for (Zadie Smith's NW and a fancy cloth-bound copy of The Great Gatsby) so I grabbed them and got in line. The girl ahead of me was buying a copy of 50 Shades of Grey. The very existence of this book and its popularity are enough to send me into a rage, so what happened next could have resulted in a homicide.

The girl put the book down on the counter and the sales clerk asked if she had their rewards card. The customer said no. So she asked her if she'd like a free card.

"No, I don't really...buy books. I'm just buying this to read on the beach. I'm going to Florida. All my friends read this, so I thought I'd get it."

This is why good literature is so hard to come by these days - so many stupid people are buying books just because they're popular and they don't even normally read books!

50 Shades of Grey isn't going to open up a whole new literary world for these people. They'll probably just read the sequels and never read again until the next trash novel series is released.

As a book lover this attitude breaks my heart.

I put down my rewards card with a smirk. Yeah, I buy books.

iTunes Playlist Tuesday #189

This playlist is songs for my grandma xoxo

1. Halo by Beyonce - I know this song is actually a love song, but I think the lyrics can apply to thinking of any loved one, not just a romantic relationship.

2. That's How Strong my Love is by Otis Redding - She was so loved.

3. In My Life by The Beatles - I loved you more.

4. It Was a Very Good Year by Frank Sinatra - Thinking about her life through the years.

5. Over the Rainbow by Isreal Kamakawiwo'ole - Just makes me smile

6. Home by Foo Fighters - The day she passed away I was in the bath listening to music on shuffle and this song come on. My grandma always made us feel so at home.

7. What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong - Cliched, but classic.

8. It's a Man's World by James Brown - But it wouldn't be nothing without a woman...

9. When I'm You by Danny Michel - A song about growing older and becoming our parents or our grandparents (in my interpretation anyways).

10. You Are Not Alone by Michael Jackson - She'll always be with me.

This is Real Life

African Violets are one of my grandma's favourite plants.

Lately my life has been feeling a bit like an episode of Scrubs. Mainly because I have been at the hospital several times this week. I've seen the comedy and tragedy of it all.

Why am I there so much? My grandma is dying.

I wasn't going to write this post, but it's this all-consuming thing in my life and I can't escape it. I could just avoid this blog for a while, and just post playlists with cryptic meanings on Tuesdays, or I could just say it now so it's out there. My grandma is dying.

She went into the hospital Sunday morning with severe pneumonia (as this post said) and by Tuesday night the nurses were finally telling us in a round-about way that she would not get better. "This is a situation that will end shortly" is what they said.

She's been stable, with moments of distress ever since - but she won't get better, but she also won't let go.

The hospital is a funny place - especially after visiting hours are over. When someone's dying you can pretty much stay for as long as you want. On Tuesday night, while we were all crying and pretty much thinking this was the end, there was an old women in the hallway in a bed. I'm not sure why her bed was in the hallway, but it was and she was not happy to be there.

"I paid big bucks for a room upstairs, and they put me in the basement!"

We were on the 4th floor. She was also concerned that if it rained the "basement" would flood and she'd drown. She was also tearing up cotton batting with her teeth when I walked by. My cousin Sara and I agreed that we wanted to be like her when we're old, crazy as shit. That lady was comic relief. And today I'm pretty sure I overheard her tell one of the cleaning staff that she needed to get back to her room because "I have things to do!"

It's been a stressful week to say the least and I feel completely run down. I have no energy - my body aches. I'm over the sadness of it all (the shock and such) and now I'm just waiting for death. It's a horrible thing, but I can't stand her suffering like this. Yesterday I watched her try to pull her oxygen mask off, and we fought her to keep it on. But I will admit that part of me was like, "maybe she wants it off because she just wants it to be over."

I'm trying to be as strong as I can be, but I just want it to be over too. Her window faces the Psych Ward of the hospital and I look and say, "man, can somebody please just check me in there - I need a vacation from my life!"

UPDATE:

To anyone reading this after I first published this, my grandma passed away early this morning. (Feb 16, 2013) - thank you to all my special blog friends for being good listeners when I felt I had no one else xoxo

iTunes Playlist Tuesday #188

Since I've done 90s Brit Pop & 90s Canadian Alt-Rock it's time for....90s American Grunge!

1. Heart Shaped Box by Nirvana - In honour of the stupid holiday of VDay I've included this timeless classic.

2. Rooster by Alice in Chains - I don't like many of their songs, but I like this one.

3. Pretty Noose by Soundgarden - Ya 1993!

4. Alive by Pearl Jam - Ya Vedder!

5. Violet by Hole - I think Courtney Love is effin' crazytown but I love 90s Hole. Make me want to wear ripped fishnets and mary janes.

6. Plush by Stone Temple Pilots - Though not from the Seattle area, their early 90s sound was totally grunge.

7. Hunger Strike by Temple the Dog - This is one of those songs I hear on the radio and think it's Pearl Jam.

8. Let it Slide by Mudhoney - I'm a bit young for the birth of grunge and it happened around the same time as I too was born. Maybe this is why I have a special place in my heart for grunge.

9. This is a Call by Foo Fighters - This is a band born from grunge.

10. Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana - Since they were the crowned princes of Grunge, they deserve another song.

That One Where They All Left Uncle John at the Hospital

The desserts and sandwiches we had today.

I've almost written three very depressing posts in the past week and deleted them all. I've decided to just tell a funny story - a funny story that was born out of a crappy story.

To better understand this story I have to debrief you on the crappy story. Early this morning my grandma, my mom's mom, my lovely grandma Dot, was admitted into the hospital for pneumonia. She is almost 87 years old, so this is not good.

My mom, my two aunts, one of my cousins and my uncle and I were all at the hospital to see her. We had originally planned a girl's afternoon where we were supposed to go to a flea market and out for tea after. So we were still gathered, only under sadder circumstances. After waiting for a while, and visiting and such we planned to leave and go to the tea house as planned. My aunt had talked to the nursing staff who had given her a card with the direct phone line to my grandma's floor. When we were all waiting by the elevator she realized she didn't have it on her, so she ran back to the waiting room to look for it. My other aunt followed. My cousin, knowing her mom might get lost and not realizing our other aunt went too, decided to stay and wait too. My mom, uncle and I took the elevator to the main floor to wait in the lobby for them.

My uncle's back was bothering him and his doctor advised him to take Aspirin - not Tylenol or Advil - but specifically Aspirin. He had run out, so we checked with the gift shop to see if they sold it. They did not - only the two other brands that he was told not to take. Okay, that's fine - we figured we could pick some up at the variety store near where we parked.

We kept waiting and waiting and they still weren't back downstairs, and our reservations at the tea house were coming up. My mom and I then told my uncle that her and I would go get him Aspirin then go save our table at the restaurant. He stayed in the lobby for wait for the other three.

My mom and I had to go to two different stores in search of his pain med of choice, but we finally got him a bottle. My aunt called to check in and we said we were getting Uncle John some Aspirin and we were on our way.

We got to the place and my aunts and cousin are sitting waiting for us.

"Where's John?"

"What, I thought he was with you?"

"No, we thought he was with you!"

I text my uncle who replies "You left me here?"

Yes, yes we did.

My aunt felt so bad she got up, grabbed her coat and went to rescue her brother from the hospital! When they came back we all enjoyed amazing tea and delicious food and had a good laugh about the whole thing.

I can see it now, "so this one time we forgot my brother at the hospital."

"Oh, when he was a little kid?"

"No, he was almost 50."

So even though I'm full of anxiety and sadness and worry, I will always laugh about the day we left my uncle at the hospital.

iTunes Playlist Tuesday #187

After last week's successful Brit Pop from the 90s playlist I've decided to continue with the same decade, only with Alt-Rock songs from my home and native land: Canada.

1. Push by Moist - I heard this on the radio the other day and I was singing along like I was 12 again!

2. One More Astronaut by I Mother Earth - This band recently did a comeback tour - but not with their original lead singer. Um, no thanks.

3. Naveed by Our Lady Peace - Our Lady Peace used to be one of my favourite bands. I felt like they kinda went soft in the 2000s. 90s OLP is the best. I had a huge crush on Raine Maida.

4. Elmo by Holly McNarland - I was obsessed with her back in the day. She's now one of my Facebook friends and once commented on one of my status updates.

5. Everything You've Done Wrong by Sloan - A bunch of shaggy haired dudes from the East coast who transplanted to Toronto. Real garage band sound.

6. Everything is Automatic by Matthew Good Band - I was a dark child, I loved some pretty intense music as a tween.

7. Ahead by a Century by The Tragically Hip - Love it! Such a good Canadian band.

8. Rave + Drool by The Killjoys - I loved this band and not many of my friends had even heard of them.

9. Someone Who is Cool by Odds - Anyone who's ever felt uncool would get this song.

10. You Outta Know by Alanis Morrisette - Last night's How I Met Your Mother Robin Sparkles episode made me think of this one.