The End is Near...

Don't worry, this is not a post about the Apocolypse, just a quick entry about my least favourite time of year: the transition of Summer to Autumn.

I do enjoy Autumn: the beautiful colours of the trees, the crisp, clear days; but I always find it hard to say goodbye by to the hot weather and the long days. Lately I have noticed the sun setting much earlier - it is now dark by 8:30 and the slowly changing colour of the leaves, and the first leaves dropping to the ground.

Of course, this is Vancouver, and September is often a beautiful, warm month. So I may still be able to squeeze out a week or two more of summer weather, even though it appears to have disappeared this week.

One thing about the end of this Summer is, that a week after the Vernal Equinox, I am taking off for Hawaii... it will be a shock to the system, however, when I return in mid-October when in Autumn is in full swing.

Count Down

In exactly one month, and one hour I will be taking off in an airplane, destination - Hawaii, for two weeks... Needless to say, I can't wait.

I was completely relaxed after two days in Whistler, imagine what two weeks in Hawaii will do...

Just Another Manic... Sunday?!

Last night Colin and I went to this awesome 80's Party; it was like totally rad. The party was out in White Rock at Tina's boyfriend's (Mark's) house. Even though we didn't know most of the people there, we still had a blast. It's amazing what a little alcohol can do to get you chatting.

And now, after hearing 80's music for hour upon hour last night, the Bangles hit, "Another Manic Monday," is stuck in my head. It has been stuck in my head all day.

I had to go into work today to help out with a barbeque the marketing department was putting on. Despite the rain it went well, but I was at work until 8pm and glad to leave. Nice thing is, because I worked today I won't be going into work tomorrow. So my first five day week, in god knows how long, just became a four day week.

I have no complaints.

So what was so manic about today? Colin locked his keys in the car - twice! He was heading out to help a friend this morning with their new house. I heard my car start up, and saw Colin leaving in my car. This wasn't a big problem, except I had to go into work today and can't drive Colin's car because it is standard, and I haven't learned to drive a standard - yet. By the time I called down on his cell phone he realized he was in my car and got out, but managed to lock the keys inside the car. Ok, the first keys locked in car incident wasn't so bad since all I had to was toss the spare set out the apartment window. The second keys locked in car incident, well that is entirely different...

I had some time to vacuum and generally clean the apartment this morning and sat down around noon to play on the computer. Shortly after twelve I got a call from Colin to say he had locked the keys in the car... again. Because I had to go into work, I quickly jumped in the shower and got ready. I was on my way to Matt and Dana's when I realized I didn't have the keys to Colin's car. Luckily I realized this at 70th & Granville, but I was already rushed, so I wasn't too pleased with myself. I quickly drove home, grabbed ALL the spare keys and made my way, for the second time, over to Matt and Dana's. I gave Colin the keys and hurried to finish getting ready for work.

Now, finally, at 10:00 pm, I am having a less a manic, more relaxing Sunday.

The Martin Gelinas Fan Club

I just checked my email and had a blast from the past. Back in 1994, following the Canucks run to the cup, a couple of girlfriends and myself formed the Martin Gelinas fan club. I don't really remember much of it, but I think we thought he was the hottest Canuck around, or something like that.

Anyways, my friend sent me this...



I don't remember this "membership" document at all, but that is my sig on there, 11 years ago...

One Week

It is hard to believe that I have already been married for one week - time flies, and last week was certainly fun.

Last Friday was an unbelievable, surreal day. I actually managed to have a decent night sleep the night before the wedding. I fell asleep just after midnight and woke up at 6am, 6:30am, 7am and finally got up at 7:30am. I was trying to sleep in until 9am, but my excitement and nerves got the better of me.

I met my bridal party at the hair salon at 10am, and we returned to my house afterwards to have our make-up done and get ready. It was sheer chaos in the house: 7 family members, plus 4 bridesmaids, plus one bride makes one crazy household.

By the afternoon the day was starting to heat up. I was the first one ready and so my mum plunked me down on a stool in the front hall of the house, with my bare feet on the cold marble floor, trying to keep cool. I was all alone. Everyone else had disappeared to finish getting ready.

The photographer showed up just after 3pm and we had some time to take photos before the limo showed up a 4pm. We had booked one of those stretch SUV limos - it was awesome, and came complete with leopard print carpet and throw pillows - very fitting (I used to be a leopard print junkie).

We arrived at the Yacht Club around 4:30 and my bridal party and I immediately headed upstairs to our waiting room. The actual name of the room evades me right now.

During the rehearsal we practiced coming down the staircase, the only way down, or so we thought. It was fine walking down in capris and high heels, but I wasn't sure how I was actually going to get down this thing in my dress, while holding a bouquet.

On the day of the wedding we discovered an elevator. Not as glamorous as coming down the steep, winding staircase, but a hell of a lot more practicle, and giving my penchant for clumsiness, I was completely in favour of taking the elevator.

We hung out in the room for just over an hour. I was totally relaxed and sprawled out on a leather couch, while Thalia's nerves were going crazy. All the girls had to block the windows when Colin and his crew arrived, to prevent me from taking a peek. I had never seen him in a kilt before, so I was looking forward to that.

The only time the nerves hit me was right when I was walking down the aisle. But once I was up the front with Colin, I was fine. I had this big grin on my face throughout the whole ceremony, because I didn't know what else to do.

It was over in a flash.

We were married.

After the ceremony, it was on to photos and then on to the reception.

The rest of the evening was a blast. Our guests commented on how this was the best wedding ever, the most beautiful ceremony ever and so on. I didn't want the night to end, as did a lot of the guests. Unfortunately, we only had the Yacht Club until 1am.

It was a amazing night.

Saturday was a do nothing day, which was perfect. Colin and I went to the Bay to pick up some gifts and then spent the afternoon with his family. Later that night we went to celebrate the 30th birthday of one of his groomsmen.

On Sunday my entire family and Colin's entire family met at my parents' house for brunch and gift opening. We received some amazing gifts, which we haven't really had a chance to look at yet. We will be doing that today.

After the gift opening, Colin and I headed up to Whistler for a couple of days. Monday was hot, so we went to Alta Vista and lay on the beach. Tuesday brought the first rains in 30 days, but it was welcome.

Wednesday was back to work, and the warm weather. But it wasn't the end of the gatherings: On Wednesday night we had dinner with Colin's parents and his aunt and uncle who were leaving the next day to return home to Belfast, via a week in Newfoundland. Thursday it was dinner at my aunt and uncle's as my mum's cousins were returning to England on Friday. Today is one last visit with my dad's family as my aunt, uncle and cousin return to England tomorrow and my dad's cousins go back to England on Tuesday.

I will miss them, and miss everything that has taken place these last couple of weeks, but I am really looking forward to returning my normal, everyday life, which includes going to Curves, which I haven't been to in almost 3 weeks.

Updates and Pics coming soon...

I know I haven't written in about a week, but since the wedding I have been very busy. My first free day will be tomorrow evening, exactly one week after the wedding. So, I promise I will write and post pictures tomorrow evening...

Here is one photo to whet your appetite:

Testing Testing

I typed a blog earlier this morning, talking about my last day as a "single" woman. But it didn't post. I tried again and again to post it, but it hasn't worked.

So here I am typing this tester. I don't have much to say right now, even though it is the night before my wedding, but I am trying think about anything but, to keep my nerves at bay.

I will post this boring, useless, pointless blog, just to check if my blog is working....

Today is the Last Day...

So today is my last day of being "single." I use single in quotation marks, because I really haven't been single in over seven years. Today is the last day that I am someone's girlfriend. Today is the last day where I have the sirname Poole.

Tomorrow I get married. Tomorrow I become someone's wife. Tomorrow I take on the sirname Blackstock. Such a strange thing to think about.

I have a few, small errands I need to complete today and then Devon is picking me up at 2:30 to take me for a manicure and pedicure. Lisa is joining us, and possibly Thalia too.

After that I am going over to my parents to spend the night there.

In all honesty, it doesn't feel like I am getting married tomorrow. To me tomorrow is just another day; I am sure, however, it will all sink in as I walk down the aisle.

Yeah!

Today has brought some good news:

First: The Yacht Club is available this Wednesday evening for the wedding rehearsal. To bring you up to speed, the RVYC has this policy that you cannot book a small event, such as a wedding rehearsal until the Monday before the event. So I had no idea if we were able to actually run through the ceremony in the ceremony location. I was hoping to do the run through at the Yacht Club because I have no clue what state of mind I will be in on Friday, and a run-through at the location will give me peace of mind.

The other good news (which will be viewed as bad news by some)...

The NHL has reinstated Todd Bertuzzi. With that and the signing of Morrison and Naslund, the WestCoast Express rides again.

Busy, Busy, Busy

It hit me Friday afternoon as I was driving home, that I am getting married this Friday. I was wondering when it was going to start sinking in. I was waiting at the lights at 25th & Oak. A stretch limo was stopped beside me. I thought to myself, I am going to be in one of those next week, and I looked at my clock and realized that in exactly one week, at that very point in time I will be in my limo, en route to the Yacht Club.

This past weekend was a lot of fun, and I really got into vacation mode, but I am at work today and tomorrow, so it was hard to get into that frame of mind. I am looking at work this week like a break from everything else that is going on around me.

I left work around 4pm on Friday. It was so hot in my office, and we finally figured out why: Yes, the morning sun does stream into my office, heating up my desk, but that is only first thing in the morning, by late morning the sun has moved and is no longer beating down on me.

But there were still pockets of extreme heat in our office, and even though we have left the air conditioning on, on full blast every night, our office has been getting hotter and hotter and hotter.

There is another air conditioner in the main office area. The back end of it sticks into our office. It has been on full blast all day and night; blasting cold air into the main office and blasting hot air into ours. So in the battle between cold air and hot air, hot air won, making our office more unbearable each day.

But the secretary isn't here today, so we have turned off the main office air conditioner. I hope it works.

When I arrived home from work on Friday I was so hot there are no words to describe how I felt. Colin was just heading out to go pick up his attendants gifts, so I said I would join him. I drew a cold bath in hopes of cooling off. It worked for all of five minutes. By the time I was dressed and we were out the door and on our way, I was hot again, and feeling dehydrated.

We went to our first destination to pick up the attendants gifts and then headed to Richmond to buy Colin a pair of shoes for the wedding, and pick up his wedding band. I started feeling sick, so we stopped off at a convenience store to pick up some Gatorade. It did the trick. By the time we got to Richmond I was still hot, but no longer feeling sick and dehydrated.

Afterwards we went to Colin's parents for dinner and to visit with his out of town family. We went for a swim in hopes of cooling off. The swim helped, and as it got later into the evening, it began to cool off a little, to a nice, comfortable temperature.

I woke up the next morning far too early for a Saturday, but I was so excited about my family's arrival from England that evening. I took off at around 10:30am for my hair appointment, and then dropped by the florists afterwards to settle that balance. When I got home I was frying again and just sat on the couch, watching TV, trying to cool off.

Colin and I left for the airport at 6:30 and met my mum, dad and Andrew at the Elephant & Castle for a drink and to wait for our family to arrive. When we arrived home we starting talking about the fireworks, and some our family wanted to go see them. So with only 10 minutes to the start of the fireworks, all 10 of us piled into two cars and made a bee-line for Trimble Park and the West Point Grey Academy School grounds.

Yesterday was another busy day. We went over to Colin's parents for breakfast and then popped round to Fraser and Brenda's (old family friends) to pick up their Quaich, which we are borrowing for the wedding ceremony. We visited with Fraser for an hour or so and he shared stories with us about me as a little girl. It is always fascinating to hear different stories from different people, because no one person ever quite remembers everything of one event, but if you talk to different people, you can piece the puzzle together. For instance, I had completely forgotten that my mum and dad, Fraser and Brenda used to take me swimming at UBC and skating at Kerrisdale Arena. I remember going to the UBC pool with my aunt, uncle and cousins, but not with Fraser and Brenda.

That was not the end of my day. I dropped Colin home - he was heading over to a friend's, and I made my way to my parents. There was my family, looking so hard done by, lounging around and in the pool. It was the same scene at Colin's parents house.

Later in the evening we headed to the Cheshire Cheese for dinner. My family traveled all the way from England, and their first meal out, we take them to an English-style pub. Go figure. My aunt, uncle, brother and I all opted for Toad in the Hole (sausage baked into Yorkshire pudding).

After dinner we returned home and watched BritComs on BBC Kids. I could say again they traveled all the way from England and we ended up watching British TV, but British shows are far superior to most North American shows, so no big loss. I got my second taste of My Hero, which I really enjoy. And Blackadder, one of my favourites.

So, here I am at work. Tonight we have a family BBQ; a chance for my mum's relatives and my dad's relatives to meet again or meet for the first time. Tomorrow evening I am going out with some of the Crofton girls. Wednesday I plan to putter around during the day, and Wednesday evening we have the wedding rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Thursday Devon, Lisa and I are going to the spa for manicures and pedicures, and then Friday... well I get married. But it doesn't end there - Saturday we aren't really doing anything, which I think will be enjoyable. Sunday we have a brunch and gift opening with the whole family and then we are heading up to Whistler for a couple of days and then, life returns to normal.

End of an Era...

Colin and I celebrated our 7th and final August 1st anniversary. Next year it is back to square one. While we will acknowledge the fact that on August 1, 2006 we will have been together for 8 years, we will be looking 11 days down the road, towards our 1st wedding anniversary.

After celebrating so many anniversaries on August 1st (which often, conveniently fell during the August long weekend) it, in a way, is hard to let go of. So we decided to say goodbye to August 1st in style: on Monday we went to the Flaming June day spa for massages - our first ever, and a good treat right before the wedding. It was so relaxing, I almost fell asleep.

Afterwards we grabbed a quick bite to eat at Quiznos and headed into Richmond to go for a swim and soak in the hot tub at Colin's parents' house. It was a great afternoon. In the evening we made our way to Silvercity (Riverport) to see the Wedding Crashers. If you have not seen this movie yet, I suggest you get to a theatre right now. It is so funny. And, in our case, highly appropriate - I would have no qualms if Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn crashed my wedding...



The BC Day Monday was the perfect end to a fun-filled weekend. On Saturday we went over to Todd and Thalia's house in North Van for dinner and drinks, before heading to the Blarney Stone to celebrate Thalia's birthday.

I could not believe how dead the Blarney Stone was - I know it was a long weekend and the night of the fireworks, but it was like a ghost town. Anyone who has been there knows that you need to be there no later the 9:00pm if you don't want to line up forever. We arrived at 9:15, found parking across the street, and walked straight in - no line up. It was good thing, however, it was so dead, because it was so bloody hot in there. I was sweating away just sitting at the table - nevermind how I felt after I started dancing - I thought I was never going to cool down.

I decided to wear flip flops. I thought this was a smart idea since my feet usually hurt when I wear some sort of heel to the Blarney Stone. Let me tell you: pseudo-highland dancing and flip flops don't mix. My calves hurt for 3 days afterwards. I could barely walk on Sunday. And no amount of stretching, hell not even the massage helped. The muscles finally loosened up yesterday after my workout, but they are still a little sore today.

The wedding is now, only nine days away! The wedding rehearsal and dinner, is one week from today! All the planning is done, I just have to pick up a few items, but I cannot get my head around the fact I will be getting married next Friday. Things are starting to seem surreal. I will wake up next Saturday morning married, yet my life will be back to status quo. Go figure!