Bridesmaid: Nailed It!

This "next level" top knot almost makes me want to keep
my hair long...ALMOST!

Over the past 18 months I have posted rants about all my bridesmaids problems: The dress, the cost, the many parties etc. But it's over and it was spectacular. For all my complaining, the day actually went extremely well. I pretty much nailed this whole bridesmaid thing...BUT...I'd be happy if none of my friends get married for a while (well, those who would ask me to be part of their wedding) just so I can have a break - emotionally, mentally, and financially.

The wedding weekend began with the rehearsal, where my groomsman counterpart was late and I had to walk down the aisle with an invisible person. He eventually showed up and we practiced linking arms walking down the aisle like pros. After we had a dinner at a nice restaurant below the maid-of-honour's condo and were given complimentary champagne to toast with. After, I went upstairs with the bride to the condo and we got ready for bed and watched a bit of the movie Bridesmaids. We watched the rest in the morning while eating breakfast.

The day of the wedding is quite an ordeal for us ladies. There were seven of us, including the bride, and we all needed hair and makeup. We all met at 8:30 am in the condo's party room. We all brought food so we could snack all day - cheese, fruit, veggies, muffins, crackers, stuff like that. This of course included coffee - an essential bridesmaid staple. At 9:30 four of us went down to a nearby salon for our hair. I asked for a high bun with a braid wrapped around (you can't really see the braid well in the above photo). I came back up and snacked some more. The other three went down for 10:30 appointments.

One of the girls had a game on her iPad that was like Head's Up. We held the iPad in front of us with the screen facing everyone and as the words came up on the screen (movies, tv shows, animals, etc.) everyone had to describe them to the person holding it to guess. It was a good time-killer. The makeup artist arrived and we took turns getting beautiful. I decided on dark eyes with a nude/pinkish lip colour.

By noon the photographer, Ben, arrived at the condo. He took photos of everything! From the bride in her dress to us playing silly iPad games - he captured every moment. We poured some mimosas and toasted to a great day.

We left the condo around 2:30 for the hotel and I checked into my room before meeting the rest of the bridal party in the Presidential Suite where we waited to go downstairs to make our grand entrance. 

The wedding ceremony was okay - the room was very hot (as the AC hadn't kicked in yet). One of the groomsmen was sweating and red - we actually thought he might pass out. After the ceremony ended we all walked out of the room (to a song from the Muppets) and went up to a beautiful terrace on the 3rd floor of the hotel. There they took some photos with the bride's grandma and her baby niece.

The traditional family photos were next - and I of course had to be part of those. We then went on an adventure through the urban landscape of the city for the wedding party photos. I was happy about the photo locations, as I have a huge hatred for scenic nature shots (basically people standing with foliage). We got some shots of us in front of the historic hotel, then we walked down the middle of a street (that was closed for a festival). The street shots were fun, however, some homeless people thought it would be funny to yell things at us - though one busker played "Here Comes the Bride"on his accordion for us as we walked by. We found a huge colourful mural behind some buildings near a back alley. We did the bridesmaids photos in front of it - which I'm excited to see. He also took some individuals of each girl in front of this green wall.

My feet were killing me, so I changed into flats and the bridesmaids were told we could go back! Woo hoo! I really earned the gin and tonic I ordered at the bar.

Bridesmaids duties weren't over yet. We had to make an entrance into the hall for the reception after all the guests were seated. 

The food was great, the dancing was super fun, and the speeches were heartfelt and funny. I had to make a toast later in the night, luckily I had enough liquid courage to make it through. 

So now it's done. Over! No more bridesmaid complaints from me. I did what I had too, and even though it was stressful, I don't regret being part of my brother and sister-in-law's big day.

The beautiful head table set up. The wall of flowers is actually made of paper.
The chevron runners were made by the bride.

Heads or Tails?

One of the many reasons I'm single is the fact that I put way too much energy following around minor rock stars and pining over my fitness trainer. I try to come up with plausible scenarios where the seemingly unattainable can be tricked into loving me, leaving behind their more attractive alternatives.

I'm 30 and I still refuse to give up and settle for a guy online who works at a bank and wears a suit to work. I refuse to settle for boring. I just can't. No. Not yet! I got ID'd twice this weekend, so I still have my youth!

Here is a text conversation I had with my childhood best friend yesterday:

(I had sent her a couple photos from a live outdoor show I was at...featuring the minor rock star).

Her: Did you go down? U must have...too close for a balcony shot :)

Me: Yeah...he was [on the stage] behind the hotel

H: Playing originals?

M: He was supporting [other minor rock star]

H: Ah, interesting. Good show?

M: ...Originals and some covers

M: Yeah it was

M: I talked to him through the fence before the show

M: I'm such a stalker

H: Nice :) I would have liked to see it

H: Meh

H: It's ok

H: I'm sure he likes that he has a groupie* ;)

M: Awe...some day your kids will be older and you can be a groupie with me again

M: I'll still be single and likely wearing animal prints

M: You know...living the dream.

H: Lol haha :) animal prints are always fashionable :)

M: Suits an almost cougar chasing minor rock stars.

H: Lol yes it would ;)

M: I can't give up the dream

H: No reason not to at this stage :)

M: lol

M: Nothing to lose

H: Nope lol :)

*groupie in the non-sexual definition of the term. 

I can always count on this particular friend to encourage and indulge me in my crazy whims. She's a mom of two kids, with a house and three dogs - doing things that are seemingly normal for people our age, so my antics and childish crushes on unattainable men must amuse her.

As for my fitness instructor he's just a goof and has a great smile that makes me act like an idiot around him, causing me to fall over while trying to balance during floor exercises. I doubt he's amused. I'm not little and cute...it's pathetic.

I think what these two guys have in common that attracts me is their passion and their talent. I'm attracted to talented people - whether they be artists or athletes. I love when people dive right into what they love. It's what I've been trying (unsuccessfully) to do in my own life, so I feel like I need to latch onto someone and absorb all their talent and creative energy to inspire me to make things happen for myself. I want to be a Yoko Ono.

Our Animals, Our Friends

"Time spent with Cats is never wasted." - Sigmund Freud

I've been around pets my whole life. When I was born my parent's had a big Rhodesian Ridgeback named Nikki. I don't remember much about her, but there are photos of us together. Nikki probably loved me because I was a great source of extra food. Unfortunately for Nikki, her other favourite way to scam extra food was to sneak out under our fence and eat garbage from a nearby restaurant. This restaurant sprayed the garbage with poison and my parents had to put her down. I was too young to understand, but I'm sure my parent's were heartbroken.

The first pet that was mine came as a late night knock on the door. Our neighbours, who had a farm somewhere, found a tiny tabby kitten and brought it to us. I was three, and my brother was two. My dad, feeling outnumbered by our mom and us, reluctantly took the kitten in. I named her Softie, after the word I used for my childhood blanket that I dragged around like Linus. She was very small, so I played with her like she was a toy. I put her in my doll-sized cradle and carried her around on my hip till her fur rubbed off. My uncle even wrote a story about me and my kitten. As she got older she got mean. I mean really mean. But we loved her anyways. She ended up having kittens on our kitchen floor - giving me my second kitten (my Sally Mittens, more on her later).  She was the queen of the house and ruled with an iron paw for 19 years. No tears were shed when she passed, as she had a long and good life.

Sally was born to Softie when I was in pre-school. She had two sisters - Tabby and Blackie (a somewhat racist sounding name, now that I think about it). Tabby and Blackie were donated to the shelter, but I was allowed to keep Sally because she was the first born and my dad claims I said, "I want that one." He tried to tell me there would be more kittens born, but I didn't care. I wanted her. She grew up to be a great cat. Thick wooly fur and a great lion's mane. She had white on her paws and a bit on her face. She was feisty, but not mean like her mother. The two cats would fight often and there would be fur all over the house as they growled and hissed. She was my baby for 15 years and I'll never forget the night my dad called me while I was in university to tell me they had to put her down. I cried for a whole day and my roommate thought I was crazy.

My brother wanted a Dalmatian puppy - like the movie. He saved up some money, and my parent's paid the rest and we all went to the breeder together to pick up Freckles. She was probably the most attractive Dalmatian I've ever seen. Even to this day I have not seen one as beautifully marked as she was. She even had a spot by her mouth that we called her Cindy Crawford mark. She loved people and being photographed. She was a model for sure. She also had some unfortunate medical conditions that made her kind of smelly sometimes. Yeah, we definitely had a farting dog. She could clear a room. But in spite of that people all loved her. Strangers always wanted to pet her and take pictures of her. We once had to take a photo of a Japanese couple at a restaurant with our dog. She was 11 when she got cancer and had to be put down. I was sleeping when my mom woke me up to tell me she was going to be euthanized. It was summer and I was 18 - my friend and I were going to drive up north to my cottage the next day and I had planned on taking the dog with us. I bawled my eyes out the whole day. When I came home from the cottage to a house without a dog I felt sad all over again. I keep her collar in a box on my desk. She was a good friend to our family.

In addition to my own pet's, I've had to say goodbye to other people's animals. My best friend's childhood cats, and her dog. I would pet sit for them and looked after them when they were sick. I fed her cat Holly on a bed because she was too weak to move. Her dog Brooke stopped eating for a whole week while I was with her, and she was diagnosed with cancer shortly after the owners returned. I've always been worried that someone's animal would pass away in my care, and I have been able to avoid this up until yesterday.

For a week I have been housesitting for a lady I run with and her husband while they are in Europe. I know their pets very well, as I've watched them before. The dog, Cash, is a 5-year-old loveable golden retriever, and Bandit, was a 23-year-old brindle coat cat. I noticed Bandit was looking extra thin and her fur was matted, but she was otherwise acting like her usual self. She was eating, drinking, using her litter, and climbing the stairs. Yesterday evening I noticed she hadn't finished her food - then I found her behind the couch. I picked her up and set her on the living room rug but she couldn't walk. Luckily the owner's daughter was with me, so we called the emergency after-hours vet and drove her there. I cuddled her on my lap and pet her as we drove. After checking her out we were told she was extremely dehydrated, anemic, and had tumours. They told us there was nothing they could do and that the most humane thing to do would be to put her down. While I'm sad that she's gone - especially while her family is away - I am grateful that the clinic was honest and kind. It feels weird to be here with just the dog. We both slept in really late today because the cat didn't wake me up to be fed. So goodbye Bandit, it was nice looking after you and being part of the last year of your life. You were a good girl.

When I get home I'm going to cuddle my animals so hard and tell them they can't die for another 10 years at least!