And the Oscar goes to . . . . .

Charles left at 7am for a 5 day conference in Vegas, so Nigel and I have the house to ourselves. We napped in the guest room this afternoon and now I'm about to go upstairs to begin the long process of putting on the glitz and glamour for the Oscars!  My buddy, Karen, and I are going to the Oscar Night event at the Belcourt. It's one of only 10 'officially sanctioned' Oscar parties in the nation (whatever THAT means!)
I have a teeny tiny little black dress which I'll wear with either ridiculously high black heels or less steep, but still scary, silver ones. Just realized my pedicure is a week old and looks it, so I guess I'll work on doing one to myself.  Thank goodness it's warm outside because if we were having typical February weather I might not be able to dress as I'm going to . . . should be fun!

I'm just hoping I'll have a blast and STILL be able to make it to bootcamp in the morning! Let you know whether that happened or not . . .

HUGS

http://www.wimp.com/hugsamsterdam/


I know I know, I'm lazy. The day is just SO full. I have no idea how people manage to post everyday. So check out this video ---- it is wonderful!

Happy Thursday people!

Letters, Love, Laying in sunshine!

A beautiful day. Valentine's Day too, as a matter of fact.
First I managed to get out of bed at 4.45am and get myself to bootcamp. First time in two and a half weeks. It wasn't pretty, and I've lost a fair bit of endurance, but I survived and it will only get better from here. Josh had these little gel flowers as valentines for us all. I put mine on my rear view mirror in the car - it made me smile many times today . . . .

Then there was the weather. 68 degrees this afternoon. Bright, warm sunshine - heaven! After work I took Nigel out to the Steeplechase. He ran around and I couldn't help myself. I found a gently sloping grassy spot and laid on the grass for twenty minutes just soaking that sunlight through my skin. Why does sun on the skin feel so divine? Especially the first warm sunshine of the year - it's not yet been weeks on end of 95 degrees with 100% humidity, I suppose. Nope. It was wonderful. After my sunshine siesta Nigel and I walked around the park, not wanting to return to the car and the house!  The forecast for the week is super though, so I'm certain there will be more of the same to come!

Lastly, tonight, I was thinking it's been way way too long since I wrote to nan (my Grandmother in England), so I sat and penned 7 pages of jibber jabber about what's going on in our lives. I know she loves to hear all this, what we consider, mundane stuff. She is ninety-seven and can't get around like she used to, so letters keep her connected to the world. She's a special woman. Still living alone in her house. Still walking into the village everyday to buy something for dinner, to get her hair done, to sit on the bench and chat with passerby. Wonderful lady. Her name is Gertrude Reid (but she goes by Muriel, her middle name). Wonder if that name (Gertrude) will ever come back into vogue?!!

Here's a quote I like about letters: "Letter writing is the only device for combining solitude with good company."  Lord Byron
I hope everyone had a nice Valentine's Day . . . .

Last snowstorm . . .really

Okay, after the local news & weather guys getting their collective knickers in a twist, the snow finally came. And about when they said it would too. It's been snowing for about 5 hours now and it's still coming down. It is pretty, I'll grant you that. One itty bitty issue is I have this very cute new car . . . it's lovely to look at but not worth a darn in the snow, and tomorrow is the busiest day (as far as numbers of dog walks) in weeks!

I, however, resolve to NOT get my knickers in a twist. Tomorrow morning I will drive Charles to work in the Honda, spend the day doing all my dog walks and visits, return home for sustenance, walk Nigel and a nap and then, at 9pm when Charles is finally finished working, drive all the way back downtown to pick him up. Inconvenient? You bet. Okay with me? I guess.  I wanted this pretty, teeny toy car and I knew that inconvenience on snow days would be the price to pay.   Besides, this is the LAST SNOWSTORM of the season, I just feel it in my bones!  Bring on Springtime . . . .

Date with hubby

For my whole life I have LOVED to go to bed early and spend time in my room. Even as a child and teenager my parents didn't have to tell me over and over that it was time for bed. "Go to your room" was a wonderful punishment - all my stuff was there, my books, my drawing pad and pencils, a view over the backyards of the neighborhood, my bed for napping!

To this day I usually go up to my room for most of the evening. I don't watch much TV (and there isn't one in our bedroom) so I go up to the couch in our room and read, or work on paperwork for my business, or, more rarely, lift some weights and do some push-ups! In the winter I retire even earlier. Once it's dark, I'm done. Friends know if they want to get me out in the colder months, whatever the event is should begin by 5.30pm at the latest, so I have to leave the house just before it gets dark. . . .

Last night I have no idea what got into me. Charles and I have wanted to see the film 'The King's Speech' for weeks. He's usually at work or, if he's home, we get sidetracked with projects and errands that need doing or, "it's too dark to go out now. . !"  But Charles was on a conference call and I checked Fandango.com for movie times. The next one playing was at 7.35pm.  7.35PM!!!

I'll never know what was different about last night but I asked him during a lull in his call if 7.30 was too late for a movie, for him. He said it'd be great and I hopped in the shower, washed and blow dried my hair, even put a teeny bit of make-up on. And we went out! We left at 6.15pm and went to the bar at The Cheesecake Factory for a glass of wine and then saw the film (which was fantastic by the way, one of the best I've seen in months), and didn't get home til 10pm! Big night for the Phillips'!  I always think I'll feel exhausted if I go out late but this morning I feel pretty good.  Maybe we should try and do it more often . . .

Yay! Friday!

Not much to say today except "Yay! Friday!"
I like every day and this week has been another wonderful one. We got a different car (yep, a truly FUN car, not a sensible one!) and I had friends and neighbors over last night for wine and nibbles and jewlery. I LOVE LOVE LOVE having people in my house. Just being Charles and I with no kids and no family, it tends to be quiet around here. Quiet is wonderful and I need it and cherish it but I love the energy that people bring, and leave here, once they're gone. I have always said that, weird as this sounds, I can still feel the energy of laughter for days after guests have gone home. Having friends and family over, sharing food and stories, and laughing is, to me, what makes a house a home.

Even though I've missed my beloved bootcamp this week, it's still been a great week. My back is feeling much, much better and I hope to resume the torture of BC on the 14th. . . .(and I hope Josh brings muffins again, seeing as I missed that little perk today!)

I told you I didn't have much to say today and, as a result, I feel I'm just rambling about nothing, so I'll shutup now! Have a GREAT Superbowl weekend!