Hella Stella

Hey! Remember when my BH took my inseam while I was brushing my teeth? And then I figured he was getting me pants for my birthday?

Guess what.



He did it to throw me off. He was actually ordering a fancy-pants tool belt.



Dang, it's nice. Morty is scared shitless of it, but Frida's cool with just about everything. I'll bet I could fit her in one of the pockets.

I'm also modeling a birthday gift from Shawna, who sends me excellent things every year. Thanks sugar! I love the shirt!

We get the house in three days. I'll be getting some use out of this belt, especially since we'll be tearing up carpets and installing floors mighty fast. I'm toying with the idea of not removing the baseboards completely, but we'll see if there's enough clearance. More talk about baseboards will pop up here.

I've got one more gig on May 23 at the Tulip Festival (7pm! Major's Hill!), and then I'm going to try and take the next few months off gigging. I'd like to recharge a bit before I book more shows.

I'm off to kiss a newborn. See y'all soon!

So today's a bit odd.

It's my birthday, but it's also Matt's funeral. Maybe a little more sombre a day than I expected, but I'm looking forward to seeing my old school friends at the wake. Tonight I'm going to a play my dad directed, and then I curling up on the couch with my BH.

I'm sure it will all be fine. There is a lot to look forward to this month, after all.

Last night I saw Iron Man II and it gave me the most insane migraine, I actually got a nosebleed. Weird, no? I'm not sure that speaks very highly of the film. I spent the last hour of it holding my head in my hands, grumbling to myself.

Frida's stitches are healing up nicely, and she's back to her old feisty self. Morty's not sure if that's a good thing or not - he was getting used to being top dog again. Oh, they are deliciously cute together.

My choir is performing our spring concert this Saturday! I'm looking forward to it..... And come to think of it, it will be the last time I sing with the choir for a while. The house will officially take over my schedule next week.

Bye for now, puppies!

The countdown is on: less than four weeks until we take possession of the house. CRAZINESS.

I'll be talking about the house casually on this blog, but if you want more details, I've started a new blog that will focus only on the renos, being a landlord, messing up repairs, etc.

To clarify:

This blog: life, music, food, home stuff, bulldogs.
That blog: HOUSE

Now, onto music. I mentioned that I had a couple of gigs in May, and you kind readers expressed interest in them. Here are the sexy details, if you wish to attend. Consider this an open invite - I love it when bloggy friends come out to shows!

May 4
NAC Fourth Stage, maybe 8pm?
Playing with Ian Tamblyn and Lief Vollebekk. This is part of the Bluebird North tour that I love so much.
Tickets are $15, which might be steep if it wasn't at the fabulous NAC. Lord, I love playing here.
You can get tickets at the NAC box office, and come to think of it, I think you can order them somewhere online too....
This gig will pamper you. Cushy seats and cafe-style setup.


May 8
Cajun Attic, new location at 349 Dalhousie in the Market
9pm... cover.... I don't know the cover. Not a lot.
I'm playing with my buddies East of Gatineau. They are loads of fun. Bluegrassy.
I'll be playing my set with my dearest cousin Brian.
This is a good gig to get drunk at (but aren't they all?).

Anyways, you're all invited. Feel free to e-mail me with any questions.

Update on the girl dog:

We are going to formally adopt her.
We are renaming her Frieda.
She is allergic to a variety of things, possibly including grass.
She snores louder than Morty and my BH combined.

Other than the dogs, gigs and house, my BH is turning 30 this weekend.

30.

I've dated this charming man for ten years now, and I can say that he's only gotten more awesome. More birthday details coming up.... I can't give you too many in case he decides to read this post before the big day.

That's all for now, folks!

My BH and I have a new obsession. Well, it's not so new for me, but it's way more exciting now that he's into it as well. Bento boxes!

Bentos are Japanese-style lunches, usually packed into containers that have dividers or different sections for your food. I grew up with a fairly typical lunch box meal at school, and while it does the trick, packing a bento has more benefits than I can count.

1. Portion control. Bento boxes are not usually that huge, so the chances of totally overdoing it are lower.

2. Packing diverse, healthy foods. Bentos seem especially well-suited to a little bit of starch or protein with a lot of fruit and veggie. I can easily eat bread with bread and a side of bread when unchecked, so it's good to have some encouragement to branch out a bit.

3. Ease. Bentos are designed to be eaten at room temperature, so packing it up (when you have the right supplies) can be pretty speedy and mess-free.

4. Compact. I've gone from having three or four bags or containers to having one bento box. It's lighter, easier and smaller to carry to work or school.

I could go on, but learning about bentos has already inspired me to make better lunches. I'm saving a lot more money too, because I'm actually excited to eat my lunch and not tempted to go buy something elsewhere. Plus, I got all my bento supplies in Ottawa's Chinatown! It's great to have the basics nearby. I'll get the fancy stuff when I'm in Japan next spring.

Here are some of my favourite bento blogs, in case you want to have a peek:

Vegan Bento Pool (just pictures, but total eye candy)

Not Exactly Bento

Bento Lunchbox

Boston Bento

LJ Bento Lunches

Just Bento

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And now for something completely different! It was my old roomie's birthday yesterday, and her beau threw her a surprise party in the Legion. It's been a long time since I've been to a surprise party, and it was just as fun as I remembered. Some pictures for you!

Sparklers! Thankfully, we didn't set the streamers on fire.


Are they pretty or what?

And great tunage. Who knew the Legion could be so much fun? (I know... It's possible that my friends bring the fun with them wherever they go, but still.)

That's all for now folks....

The past two days reminded me why I need to get better sleep during the week. The weekend arrives, and I feel so drained that I pretty much want to nap the hours away. I fell asleep three times yesterday in completely random places! Not cool at all.

I still got some fun things done, exhaustion aside. There were two birthday parties, both of which allowed me to catch up with some friends and consume tasty snacks. One party featured the ever-popular unexpected queer dancing (I've had Prince in my head ever since), while the other featured unexpected adorable baby cheeks.*

I also cleaned parts of the house, which is no small feat when you're *this close* to passing out on the couch. I've officially put away my summer clothes and I've taken out the Rubbermaid of hats and scarves. My BH and I did a grocery shopping at the Superstore, which is madness at any time, but especially on a weekend. Oh well. We're fully stocked up on black beans and white vinegar, at least. What more does a person need? (plenty more, but I like those two things)

Lately I've been fiddling with our finances, since this is the last year (I HOPE) that we'll be splitting one salary into a billion different directions. Basically I'm going to spend the next eight or nine months just trying to make things work: paying bills, paying debts, putting aside for a trip to Japan. Then I'll reevaluate and retool again. This is about the only time I actually enjoy doing math.

I've also tried to encourage myself to stay organized by overhauling my system of keeping lists and notebooks. I may have mentioned that I am joined at the hip to my notebook. It's a hard cover, lined, ring-bound book and I keep track of my life in it. Recently, I decided that I could change my unmovable system, which I've been using in some form since high school. I needed the rings and hard cover when I was in university or shuffling between part-time jobs - this made sure the book didn't bend when I threw it in my bag, as well as letting me open the book all the way around for ultimate list access.

Now that I have a grown up, full-time job (and have for several years), I think I can be a bit more flexible. Gone are the days or morning class, afternoon shift, evening shift, homework until 3am. Now I'm using a black, lined Moleskine for my lists, and a bright green Moleskine for my finances. It even sounds grown up. To be honest, I'm a bit surprised at how well it works. I was just so attached to my ringed babies, I suppose...

So... Are you all asleep? *tap tap*

What can I say? I find notebooks almost as exciting as organizational shelving. Y'all are just lucky that I don't have any more room for shelving in my apartment, or you'd probably all be comatose by now.

*I was hoping to put up a picture of said queer dancing, but most of the pictures feature my boobs or somebody's fine booty. My camera has a mind of its own! Totally not my doing! Promise!

A few things today.

First, it is my friend Heather's birthday. Heather is one of those people I feel very lucky to know. She is an amazingly loyal and attentive friend. Funny, honest, CRAZY CUTE and knows how to have a good time better than anyone. Girl? I luuurve you. Happy birthday.

Speaking of happy...

Morty seems thrilled that my BH is back under our roof. THRILLED. He's all Mr. Snugglepants at night, happily sandwiched between us and over the moon that he now has TWO humans to drool on. Happy puppy, happy Stella. I love my boys.

Speaking of loving my boys...

Your comments about the whole "marriage" thing cracked me up. You guys are great. I promise, if I ever do have something resembling a wedding, it will be suitably quirky and well, fucked up. Like moi.

May I say something unusual?

I've given up on summer. Not in a bitter way, not really. I'm thankful for the day or two of warm weather we had. But now? I'm ready for fall.

Oh, don't cover your ears... You know you love fall! It's my absolute favourite season, for the smell of the leaves, for the food, for the temperature, for the layered clothes. Time to pass the torch to a less disappointing season. Autumn is up for the challenge.

And on a totally different note...

If you had to buy a really sexy outfit (think burlesque), where would you go in Ottawa to buy it? I could also use a wig. Help me out, peeps.

Oops, I didn't write yesterday, as promised. My bad. I was too busy causing trouble, as I am wont to do.

My birthday was great - thanks for your well-wishes here, there and everywhere. My BH went all out, despite my feeble cries of protest that he not go overboard. We started the day with giant pieces of French toast, local maple syrup, fried bananas and tea. He gifted me that fancy Tivoli radio and a wicked label maker. I plan to make labels this evening!!! I am most excited!!!

Then I went to work, a mistake I will not replicate next year. Who knew that everyone expects you to book your birthday off? Now I know.

My BH had asked me where I wanted to go to dinner, and I requested Whalesbone, one of my very favourite Ottawa restaurants. Motherfuck, my meal was good. So was my Caesar. We floated out of there, a bit drunk and very full. Milan popped over as I was passing out on the couch to gift me a giant framed photo of Morty. Talk about a thoughtful gift.

Morty celebrated my birthday by sticking his head in between my BH and I while I was getting a birthday smooch. Thanks Morty! Nothing says birthday like a mouth full of bulldog, and a paw in your ear.

I seem to have misplaced my camera, but as soon as I find it I'll catch up on the backlog of photos I keep meaning to post here.

Enjoy the sunshine... Today is my last day of work before I take next week off. Can't freaking wait.

I have started wincing every time I open my music e-mail account. The danger with getting lots of great music news at once is being paranoid everything will fall through. So far my fears are unfounded, but still... The wincing. When I finally open my eyes, things are usually just fine.

Now I understand why people hate the dentist! Usually my appointments are no longer than 20 minutes. I leave with a free toothbrush, and I skip out of there with shiny teeth. At yesterday's routine cleaning, they found that my gums were unusually sensitive, and proceeded to spend the next hour and a half poking at them with a metal toothpick to see how much they would bleed. AWESOMENESS. My mouth is still swollen today.

I did get my free toothbrush though...

Last night the gang went to see Star Trek, which I LOVED. Entertaining, funny, and I had a good time watching the characters' personalities come out of the woodwork... Hello Spock! I'll certainly be watching it again. I guess I should mention that I'm not one to be bothered by plot inconsistencies or implausible story twists so long as the overall film is great (same reason I enjoy the Harry Potter series so much). If I couldn't turn off the critical part of my brain, I'd never be able to watch movies. I draw the line at atrociously cheesy music though - nobody should be subjected to that.

Tomorrow is my birthday, and my BH is taking me out for a night on the town... So I may or may not be able to post. I'll be back here Thursday, if not.

Bye puppies!

My BH has only been done school for one week, and he's already morphing into the world's sexiest house-husband, if I may say so myself. Last night he made me dinner, and today he's baking cakes, pies, and vacuuming. AND THEN HE'S GOING TO LIFT SOME WEIGHTS. I'm not even kidding!

*swoon*

(Sorry if I'm embarrassing you BH, but you've got to acknowledge the hotness at some point...)

I'm having trouble believing it's May 1. April was the sort of month that felt like it would never end. In fact, last Tuesday I spent the entire day convinced it was Wednesday. It was so bad that when I checked the Weather Network for the forecast, I got pissed off that they were showing Tuesday's weather and not Wednesday's. I believe my exact thoughts were: "Stupid weather people... It's not that hard to get the day right."

Yeah. I'm an asshole.

I guess I don't have that much to report today. Tomorrow my BH and I are going with the in-laws to a sugar bush! I am crazy excited. Then it's Chinatown Remixed, and Bubbi's birthday. Should be a really stellar weekend,

I'm also really looking forward to a couple of weddings that are happening this summer. Isn't it cool when old friends get hitched? I'm not one for cheesy traditional stuff, but dang, I love a good quirky wedding.

(My love for weddings may or may not be related to the fact that it's the ultimate excuse to get one's drunk on. Don't judge.)

I'm puttering away at spring things.

Gardening is on my mind, which is hilarious, because I have no yard or garden. Well, I guess I have a teeny garden out front, but the neighbourhood dogs (including Morty) like to relieve themselves there and ewwww, I say no to lettuce laced with pee. So, I've got no yard, and I can't keep plants alive to save my life. Still. GARDENING. I've made a note to buy some planters and stuff them full of veggies to see what happens. They should fit well in our sunny nook and it's probably worth trying, at least. Especially when there is a possibility of fresh lettuce.

Speaking of veggies, I am collecting recipes for asparagus. I already have so many, but last summer we got local asparagus in our food box every week for months. I'd like to be better prepared this time. It would be a shame to start hating on fresh asparagus just because I've cooked it in everything under the sun.

I finally, FINALLY mailed my long-overdue birthday package. Immediately afterwards, I glanced at my birthday calender and noticed that I have about five birthdays sneaking up on me in the next two weeks, including that of The Colombian. I'd better got on that now... I don't want to be mailing those cards in a month. One day, I dream of being a little more organized about stuff like this. That day will come. I know it.

My BH's last birthday gift arrived in the mail yesterday, so I'm set to spoil him this weekend.* All that fancy gifting should make up for the fact that I'm dragging him out to Almonte when we should be partying. Okay, not "dragging" per se, but I do feel badly for having a gig on his birthday. At the same time, I'm excited for the show!

Other spring things? Appointments, appointments, and booking another haircut. Not that my hair has grown much in the past two months, but I'd be down with another colour change. I'm a manic hair changer. It's a good thing I grew out of my fluorescent dye phase, or there would be a lot more terrifying hair around here. I have a thing for colour, after all. Remember the kitchen cabinets?

*Luckily, this particular package didn't announce to the world what it contained. Because you know what's not fun? Having your BH sign for his own birthday present, pay the COD charge, and read the package content list to see what the heck he was paying for. SURPRISE, HONEY.

Snow. It's snowing.

I knew it would come, so I shouldn't be so surprised, but still. A bit of a downer. Morty chewed up my spring jacket (not his usual behaviour, I assure you... his chew toy was just out of reach), so I'm stuck with my light jean jacket or my winter coat until I get the buttons sewed back on. Charming!

My BH bought me a very very early birthday present, and I can't use it until the big day comes (over a month, soooo much waiting), but I'm thrilled to have one. I wasn't supposed to know, but we were shopping together when he found the exact model he was looking for. So pumped!! Who doesn't love sexy audio gear?

This makes me even more excited for his birthday, which is coming up in a few short weeks. He will be spoiled, I'll say that much.

This weekend is a long one, which takes me by surprise every single time. I know I've mentioned it here before, but having worked in retail for so many years, I never assume that I get a day off just because it's a holiday of sorts. How on earth will I spend my time?

I've had a drastic dry spell of photos here on the ol' blog lately. Seeing as how today is the most beautiful spring day we've had yet, I promise to get out and take some shots around the neighbourhood. Or at least around the apartment. It's not like I could ever have too many pictures of Morty's bum (or my BH's, heh, uh... AWKWARD).

So, remember that time I painted my kitchen fluorescent green? Okay, it was more lime in the end, but the scars remain. Although I ended up liking it, I think part of Operation Spring Cleaning should be dedicated to adding a bit more white to the mix. I always assume that when something gets painted, it should just stay that shade forever... But I guess nothing is actually stopping me from lightening things up a bit. I won't destroy the green. I'll just mess with it.

The Colombian has moved to Miami. This is good for more reasons than I can count, but most because a. Miami is easier to get to than Colombia and b. Miami doesn't have dudes with machine guns on every street corner. The Colombian (do I have to change his moniker now?) called me from his new apartment yesterday and may I just say, it was SO NICE to hear his voice again. I usually have to pretend I don't miss him because he only calls in six-month intervals. Our birthdays are both in May, so now I have an excuse to send him a care package.*

I'm going to see a sexy queer burlesque show this weekend and I can't freaking wait. I would see sexy queer burlesque every night if I could. Who says Ottawa's boring?

*Speaking of care packages.... Happy birthday Will !!! Woot!

Yesterday was the weirdest day. I felt foggy and out of it, and wandered around in my favourite ratty sweatshirt and jeans in a daze. I noticed at about 11pm last night that I had also been sporting the blonde equivalent of an afro all day. HOT.

It didn't help that I only had three hours of sleep. Although I was good and tired, my brain wouldn't shut up. Chatty chatty chatty. Eventually I gave up on the idea of sleep and baked stuff.

First I made a soup with every green leafy thing I could find in my fridge. Chard, kale and spinach, creamed together in a nice broth.

Then I made a fruit cobbler even though I had almost no fruit. We're talking one apple and some very tart plums. I added some cranberries and mangos from the freezer and VOILA! Super tart cobbler. My BH and I made jokes about being tarty. It was a good time.

Then I noticed that y'all were sticking up for my tofu-loving, tarty, gambling behind. Thanks! I'm sure Zoom's video will blow you all out of the water. I'm happy to convert the rest of you tofu-haters, should you need it.

My BH's birthday is coming up and I'm getting really excited about his gifts. He's dangerously easy to buy for. He and Heather are the two folks in my life who I can always spoil rotten - they like so much fun stuff! DANGEROUS.

I'm also thinking of booking off a week in May to do nothing. I'm saving up for Japan, so any vacation I take until then will be of the do-nothing variety. That way I can blow my cash on bento supplies and drinks for M-A so she won't make me do karaoke. I have a plan, folks. It involves vodka.