Random Channel Surfing

My beautiful best friend, my Jenn, has given birth. I still don't know the baby's name, weight, length, but I do know that I love him so fucking much already. I can't wait to see his tiny little face and I'm beside myself with joy for her and Dave. They're going to make terrific parents and the little cupcake is going to grow up to be a fabulous human.  I love this feeling! UPDATE: Baby's name is Sterling. I love it!

Throwback to August (top pic) and last weekend (bottom pic) with my three little birds.  Now that I'm entering the last week in my twenties, I'm especially thankful for these three women and everything that they have contributed to my life. I love them and I feel especially blessed to be a part of their lives and all their major milestones.  It's ironic to me that 2008 was the year that brought the most changes to their lives. The year I was falling in love with a city, Nicole and Janis were falling in love with their guys and Jenn was graduating from nursing school. The year I was so ready to leave Edmonton, my friends were expanding their roots to the city's soil. But our trip to Montreal in 2014 proved something to me: that while I adore Montreal and will end up there one day, these three women are integral parts of my life. Their love, support, and friendship is vital. They are a constant reminder that despite my fears and unease, "every little th...

  I'm feeling nostalgic.  This time last year, I was in Montreal with these good-lookin' kids. These pictures were taken on (what I think) was the best day we had there.  We started with some breakfast at a bistro a few blocks from our "apparte"; got caught in a storm; went shopping at Ste.-Catherine (where I bought us girls friendship rings); got loaded off $2 hi-balls at the world's cheapest sports bar; got more liquor at the dépanneur, which proved to be quite a fun experience for the boys; drank at Place Jacques-Cartier (just like the locals do!); watched the boats at the Vieux Port; had poutine at Nix and my old stompin' grounds, Montreal Poutine; and kicked off what was, without a doubt, the best holiday I've had to date.  Montreal is amazing, but being there with my gang made it SO MUCH BETTER.

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Tonight's the night before I fly out to Montreal with the girls and their fellas. Half of me is restless and anxious and fighting the hiccups, while the other is blissfully aware of how blessed I am to be going on this mini vacation. Seven days of mischief and laughter. Seven days of music and feasting. Seven days in the one other place on the planet where I truly feel at home. I can already smell the rain on the pavement and I can already imagine how wonderful our time there will be. How did I ever get so lucky?

Camping is not my first choice when I'm planning a short trip. No. I usually think about going to St. Louis to visit my sis and her family, or about going to Calgary to see a concert, or about going to see Mel in Toronto. Camping is never my go-to and it's especially not ever on my list of trips I'd like to take. Like, ever. And it's not that I don't like camping, or that I've never done it, but rather that when I think of taking trips, I envision myself touring museums, or seeing a band live. I never really think about campfire and woodsmoke. I never consider sleeping on the cold soil. I never think about spending an entire day in the sun. But this May long weekend, the three ladies, their fellas, Dustin, and I met at Pigeon Lake for one of the most loved-up weekends I've had in a long time. Our days consisted of snacking and chatting and we passed the time enjoying ourselves by the fire at night. Our last night, the coldest night, we picked each othe...

Last night was Rylan's 26th birthday party. I went as Rosie the Riveter and was joined by other feminist icons such as the Paper Bag Princess (Tamara), Cat Woman (Janis), Wendy Darling (Nicole) and Satan as Britney Spears (Seth). It was a grand old time and fun was had by all. Steph, Jenn, and Dave joined in the fun later that night and it was SOOOO MUCH fun to see the three of them! They even ended up staying well past 2:00 in the morning! Here we see two white boys gettin' down to some Biggie. n.b.d.

This Friday was a gift. It taught me that even when the four of us have a disagreement (for lack of a better word), we care about one another and work hard to improve our relationship.  I love these three women with all of my heart. I honestly cannot imagine my life without their light and love. 

I spent the evening with Janis yesterday. She picked me up from work, drove me to her parent's so we could have dinner, and we went to a free comedy show at Yuk-Yuk's. It was a great evening between friends wherein I shared my desire for a romantic partner and bemoaned my inability to like the guys who like me as much as they like me. I'll admit that it was disheartening to hear from Janis that, oftentimes, guys like us more than we like them. (Like, what the hell,  universe?!) Anyway, what brought on this conversation was her father. I haven't seen Mr. and Mrs. B in a long time, so I got the usual grilling that concerned and sweet parents do when they see their child's longtime friend after a long time. And, of course, the dreaded "boys" question came up. "Don't you want a boy in your life? Trust me, you'll want one soon." Yeah. I know, Mr. B. I get. I'm living it. I do want a boy. Nay, I want a man . Maturity, confidence, se...

We celebrated Nicole's roaring 20s before the Great Depression of turning 30 sets in in three years over the weekend. It was fun playing dress-up and, hey, I'll admit that it gave me the perfect excuse to buy the red lipstick I've been wanting to buy for the past three years. (Another push came in the form of an online article I read here .) Anyway, Nix always throws the most amazing parties. Look at the attention to detail! I was seriously geeking out over some of the stuff she did. Janis channels her inner Greta Garbo. Seth as Charlie Chaplin (especially loved his real 'stache!). Nix fashioned her sauna into a speakeasy.  Poisson rouge. Fab Four. Besties Five Ever. This was the best pic we took all night, in my opinion. Nix says this looks like a silent film poster about three best friends in the 20s: Janis is the cute, boy-crazy one, while Nix is the dramatic, wannabe actress, and I'm the sweet goofy...

So Nicole moved into her own place on Sunday. Own as in she bought it. She owns  it. It's hers. Funny how us three (Jenn, Janis and me) live vicariously through her ;) The crew: