We're totally guilty of an expanding entertainment budget and I think something has to give. Our vacation is now in jeopardy because of Frank (see below) and because we bought more tickets to New Kids on the Block.
Here's the NKOTB irony - they've played three shows in Toronto - about a 3o min walk or 10 minute subway ride from where we live yet we have seen none of those shows! The first show we saw was in Montreal because the tickets for the Toronto show went on Sale when we were on vacation in May. Since D really wanted to go I bought Montreal tickets. We thought we'd have a nice mini-trip so we didn't sell them when the other Toronto shows were announced. Fast forward to September 18th. I start looking online and see NKTOB tix are still available for that night. We talk about it and decide we're not going to go because it would ruin the excitement of going to the show in Montreal. Well.... after we saw the show in Montreal we both looked at each other and said "I wished we'd gone on Thursday". So we got home and checked a few of the closer destinations to see if tickets were available. We had the choice of Chicago, Boston, Cleveland, NYC or Detroit. Let's just say we have tickets to one of those shows!
Add to that our tickets to A Chorus Line, Legally Blonde The Musical, and two other concerts and we've spent a lot of money on entertainment. I also just saw Dirty Dancing on stage (which was awesome).
This may all sound really crazy but the fact is we've always been like this. We love to go out to shows and we love to go on vacations. We've been to New York City once or twice per year for the last 10 years. Lately though we've cut back a lot and this was because we were dedicated to TTC. I won't lie there were 2 NYC interuptions last year. It's why we didn't officially start until September and were out in October. Overall though we have calmed down so much from when we were younger. This is the first CRAZY thing D has agreed to in a long time. Oh wait, that's a lie. The second NYC trip last year was on impulse because I bought a ticket to Spring Awakening (to sit on stage) before asking if that was ok. Ok, maybe we haven't really grown up but we know we need to.
So we're going to cancel our vacation to New England. I was never really that into it. I wanted to go to NYC again. Something feels right about breaking up this vacation and I'm not sure why.
On the TTC front: Before Frank ruined our day (I guess his was ruined too), I was going to go for my PCOS blood work. I didn't make it so I'll have to go on Friday. I keep saying this and there's only Tuesday and Friday each week when it can be done.
Also, D randomly brought home a Clear Blue OPK. I was surprised since those things are like $50. Apparently she didn't like the idea of trying without some sort of monitoring. She also said the grossest thing yesterday. We were talking about how it better work within 2 tries with the fresh stuff because I do not want to go back to the clinic in January. She responded "I'm sure it will work, the proof is in the pudding". Now I know this is an old proverb and all but when you're talking about baby batter lets not use the word pudding? hehe
Oh and I almost forgot. I got an invoice for almost $700 for someone's SPERM! My cryo sent it to me in error!!! I called the lab and my clinic because some poor person was going to go in for their IUI and their sperm would have my name on it! I hope their procedure could still be done. How unprofessional is that? I got an apology from their VP.
Seriously, seeing the $700 bill almost made me want to puke. I'm praying the "old fashioned" way works for us because I'm sick of paying for that junk. I need to remind myself when I'm feeling uncomfortable financially that we spent close to $9000 on TTC in the past year. Duh, that's where all our money is going (other than to NKOTB).
JDZ: Two Moms, One Toddler
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
My Frankie
Today has been horrible and it isn't over yet.
We woke up to my 9 year old cat attacking his tail viciously. D went to calm him and ended up covered in blood (his). We soon found blood on the floor, carpet, walls and sideboards. We immediately thought that he'd finally "snapped". He's been a handful since we adopted him at 9 months old and he's on anti-anxiety medication which prevents him from marking and licking all of his belly hair off. He missed two pills (Saturday Night/Sunday Morning) because we were in Montreal this weekend. I felt soooo guilty! We always have a cat sitter but we thought for just one night he'd be fine. I should have known better.
Anyway, I was lucky to get a vet appointment and it was like Frank all of a sudden knew I'd be staying home with him and he was very happy and purring. Stupid Cat. I was furious. Yes he was feeling better but WTH? I am not a cat person, I am a Frank person. I love this cat to death but I just don't get cats. It was Jeykll and Hyde. "Grrrr, eat my tail.... Yawn, lick my bum."
Anyway.. I packed him up and got in a cab. We got to the vet and even the intake receptionist asked Frank if he was faking (because he was being charming) however when the vet saw him he immediately found a 2 inch long cut on the end of his tail. It looked like someone had taken an exacto knife and sliced him open to the bone. At first it didn't look like he'd need to be sutured but once his tail was shaved it was clear the cut was deep. I had to leave him there to be put under for the procedure and I have to go back and pick him around 6:00 pm. The estimate was $450!!!! SHIZ. I'm not sure if we're still going to go away! This is a hard hit (but more on that later in another post).
At this point I'm thinking I should go into the office. I was leaving him behind so all I had to do was get out of my civies and into some work wear and I'd be there by 11:00.
Not so easy.
I get to the subway and it's down due a power outage. Read: someone probably jumped on the tracks. Damn Goddit. So I turned around and came back home to work remotely and try to figure out what happened. We do not have sharp objects anywhere. When I spoke to D she reminded me that Frank made a weird noise under the table last night. I had totally forgotten about that. It was an odd cough/cry that made me say "what the heck was that?". Apparently it was him slicing up his tail. I've already been on my knees touching the base of the table but I can't find anything sharp. It makes sense that it happened there because that's where the blood is puddled where in other places it looks like he's dragged it around. This is all very odd. I need to call in the Cat CSI crime lab so we can prevent this from happening again.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Vacation booked!
Our vacation has now been booked! I found a great hotel right on the ocean. Check it out here.
It's a good distance to all of the things we wanted to do and specifically much closer to Salem. Even though Salem is tacky and touristy I really love it. I'm excited to be there for the Halloween festivities!
I also can't wait to go to Fire and Ice in Boston. I googled it to get the number for reservations and I saw that there is one in Markham. I'm curious to know if this is the same concept (and name) or if it is actually the same restaurant. The website for the grill in the states does not include Markham as a location. The Markham location seems to be more like Zyng where you can pick your vegetables. We may have to check it out...
It's a good distance to all of the things we wanted to do and specifically much closer to Salem. Even though Salem is tacky and touristy I really love it. I'm excited to be there for the Halloween festivities!
I also can't wait to go to Fire and Ice in Boston. I googled it to get the number for reservations and I saw that there is one in Markham. I'm curious to know if this is the same concept (and name) or if it is actually the same restaurant. The website for the grill in the states does not include Markham as a location. The Markham location seems to be more like Zyng where you can pick your vegetables. We may have to check it out...
Monday, September 15, 2008
Omigod you guys!
I just bought tickets to Legally Blonde the Musical. I'm not expecting this to be high quality but I'm hoping at least entertaining. I've been curious since it opened on Broadway but we haven't had time to fit it into our recent visits. Things like this happen when you need to see the same show multiple times (Spring Awakening).
Speaking of which, I feel obliged to at least mention that our beloved RENT has closed. I also need to mention that I completely forgot and now it's gone and I'm not sad. I admit that a small part of me wants to rush down to the BC/EFA flea market to see what they're selling.
I'll miss the Nederlander most... I have fond memories of the 2 dozen (+) attempts at lotto (successful 95% of the time).
Sunday, September 14, 2008
This Break Sucks
It's been a month and a half since we "went on break" and I'm done with it and ready to start trying again but now D has complicated things further by asking me to go back to school in January. I have approval from work (it's only 2 days per week) but it is a huge time commitment since the school is not in Toronto. I asked her when she expects me to make her baby in all of this and she says we'll do both. I want to go back to school and it's something I've wanted to do for 10 years but right now I'd rather get knocked up. When talking life goals I'm pretty sure I'm ranking having a baby higher.
As timing goes our first month back will be November. It's too late this month and next month we'll be on vacation. We've decided we are going to do this "the old fashioned way". When I suggested this to D she looked at me like I was nuts! What I meant was that I'm not going to medicate or monitor or even use OPK. I have 9 months of monitoring behind me and although the last 2 have been wonky I've still ovulated between day 15 and 20 with no exceptions. Normally either 15 or 20. Since we're using fresh we'll inseminate on day 14 & 19 (at night) and if we have the opportunity of any other time we'll go for it. I'd like to try day 15 & 20 as well. I still have the clinic on backup but my RE wants me to go on 150 mg of Clomid and I do not want multiples!!! We know this sperm works too well so I'm hoping that my bad luck in the past has been poor timing and frozen sperm issues.
Anyway, we need to rent a zipcar and do a trial run to see how long it takes to drive to Hamilton and back. At first we thought we'd rent from Hertz but it's so much easier to grab a zipcar. The only downside is that 4 hours costs the same as 24 hours at Hertz however zipcar includes Gas and if we're not using the car longer than 4 hours what's the point of keeping it parked in our garage or paying for gas and parking to drive it to work? This is the same old story and reason we do not own a car! I know once we have the baby we'll need one but until then we're enjoying the freedom. BTW, I do understand the irony in this statement to most people but not owning a car does have it's freedoms and renting a car when needed is a great alternative and fun because you get to drive a variety of cars.
As timing goes our first month back will be November. It's too late this month and next month we'll be on vacation. We've decided we are going to do this "the old fashioned way". When I suggested this to D she looked at me like I was nuts! What I meant was that I'm not going to medicate or monitor or even use OPK. I have 9 months of monitoring behind me and although the last 2 have been wonky I've still ovulated between day 15 and 20 with no exceptions. Normally either 15 or 20. Since we're using fresh we'll inseminate on day 14 & 19 (at night) and if we have the opportunity of any other time we'll go for it. I'd like to try day 15 & 20 as well. I still have the clinic on backup but my RE wants me to go on 150 mg of Clomid and I do not want multiples!!! We know this sperm works too well so I'm hoping that my bad luck in the past has been poor timing and frozen sperm issues.
Anyway, we need to rent a zipcar and do a trial run to see how long it takes to drive to Hamilton and back. At first we thought we'd rent from Hertz but it's so much easier to grab a zipcar. The only downside is that 4 hours costs the same as 24 hours at Hertz however zipcar includes Gas and if we're not using the car longer than 4 hours what's the point of keeping it parked in our garage or paying for gas and parking to drive it to work? This is the same old story and reason we do not own a car! I know once we have the baby we'll need one but until then we're enjoying the freedom. BTW, I do understand the irony in this statement to most people but not owning a car does have it's freedoms and renting a car when needed is a great alternative and fun because you get to drive a variety of cars.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
The Weekend
I'm very sad that the weekend is almost over. It's been a super busy weekend that has been quite enjoyable.
First, I must say that walking is a hard habit to break. We haven't used our bonus metropass as much as we thought we would even though we've been all over downtown. We're so used to walking that it seems like a waste to walk over to the Subway to go only a couple of stops. We started the morning off on Saturday by walking down to EQ3 at Sherbourne and King. We were hoping to place our order for our new sofa bed. Unfortunately we didn't end up liking the one we saw online and are now torn between a couple of other options. We're either going to get the Solo double sleeper or the Solo sectional. However we have two issues. The first is that EQ3 has discontinued the fabric we used for our chair and ottoman as well as discontinuing other fabrics we would have liked. We brought home a couple of samples and we weren't happy with our selections. It's pretty much back to the drawing board on fabric. Second, the sofa bed we were interested in was 77" which would fit perfectly through our 78.5" door frame. The Solo Double Sleeper is 80". Although I am certain we could angle the couch and get it through we do not want to take that chance. I need to either figure out a way to be 100% certain it will fit or we'll have to go with the sectional. D likes the sectional so we'll probably get that but we're still stuck on the fabric issue. I think we may need to expand our search to other stores. Crate and Barrel opens on September 15th so we may find something we like there.
We didn't hit the TIFF activities until later in the day. We went to the red carpet event for Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. This was a much more enjoyable experience than the Zac Efron mania. Michael Cera (Arrested Development, Juno) is a total SNOB. I ended up getting a few good shots but at the point of the red carpet where most of the fans were he just walked past completely ignoring them. Would it have really hurt to turn your head and smile? Maybe wave? It was like he had blinders on. Other celebs spotted included Ari Graynor, Kat Dennings, Jonathan B. Wright, Eddie Kaye Thomas and Jay Baruchel. We'd already seen/met Ari and Eddie in Dog Sees God on Broadway and Jonathan B. Wright in Spring Awakening on Broadway but it was cool to see them again.
Afterwards we decided to head up to Yorkville. This was actually at D's request however I was ok with it as long as we could go to Summers for ice cream (Watermelon Sorbet - YUMMY). We didn't see much there but it was fun to be "part of the action". The best and most hilarious part of the night and possibly weekend was when a car pulled out of the Four Seasons Hotel and the paparazzi rushed it. Not even knowing who it was I took a pic. Afterward everyone was saying it was the girl from Zoey 101. We even heard this rumor after leaving Yorkville and walking down Bloor. Anyway, much later we figured it all out. It was Jamie-Lynn Sigler NOT Jamie Lynn Spears (morons).
This afternoon (Sunday) we went to go to the red carpet for The Duchess. This was at Roy Thomson Hall so it was busy and hard to see anything. We got a few shots of Keira Knightly and Ralph Fiennes. I'm completely over the Gala's at RTH. It's just too busy.
We're hanging out at home now waiting to go over to red carpet for Zack and Miri Make a Porn. D thinks this may be busy because it's a Kevin Smith flick but we'll see.
Here are some pictures:
First, I must say that walking is a hard habit to break. We haven't used our bonus metropass as much as we thought we would even though we've been all over downtown. We're so used to walking that it seems like a waste to walk over to the Subway to go only a couple of stops. We started the morning off on Saturday by walking down to EQ3 at Sherbourne and King. We were hoping to place our order for our new sofa bed. Unfortunately we didn't end up liking the one we saw online and are now torn between a couple of other options. We're either going to get the Solo double sleeper or the Solo sectional. However we have two issues. The first is that EQ3 has discontinued the fabric we used for our chair and ottoman as well as discontinuing other fabrics we would have liked. We brought home a couple of samples and we weren't happy with our selections. It's pretty much back to the drawing board on fabric. Second, the sofa bed we were interested in was 77" which would fit perfectly through our 78.5" door frame. The Solo Double Sleeper is 80". Although I am certain we could angle the couch and get it through we do not want to take that chance. I need to either figure out a way to be 100% certain it will fit or we'll have to go with the sectional. D likes the sectional so we'll probably get that but we're still stuck on the fabric issue. I think we may need to expand our search to other stores. Crate and Barrel opens on September 15th so we may find something we like there.
We didn't hit the TIFF activities until later in the day. We went to the red carpet event for Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. This was a much more enjoyable experience than the Zac Efron mania. Michael Cera (Arrested Development, Juno) is a total SNOB. I ended up getting a few good shots but at the point of the red carpet where most of the fans were he just walked past completely ignoring them. Would it have really hurt to turn your head and smile? Maybe wave? It was like he had blinders on. Other celebs spotted included Ari Graynor, Kat Dennings, Jonathan B. Wright, Eddie Kaye Thomas and Jay Baruchel. We'd already seen/met Ari and Eddie in Dog Sees God on Broadway and Jonathan B. Wright in Spring Awakening on Broadway but it was cool to see them again.
Afterwards we decided to head up to Yorkville. This was actually at D's request however I was ok with it as long as we could go to Summers for ice cream (Watermelon Sorbet - YUMMY). We didn't see much there but it was fun to be "part of the action". The best and most hilarious part of the night and possibly weekend was when a car pulled out of the Four Seasons Hotel and the paparazzi rushed it. Not even knowing who it was I took a pic. Afterward everyone was saying it was the girl from Zoey 101. We even heard this rumor after leaving Yorkville and walking down Bloor. Anyway, much later we figured it all out. It was Jamie-Lynn Sigler NOT Jamie Lynn Spears (morons).
This afternoon (Sunday) we went to go to the red carpet for The Duchess. This was at Roy Thomson Hall so it was busy and hard to see anything. We got a few shots of Keira Knightly and Ralph Fiennes. I'm completely over the Gala's at RTH. It's just too busy.
We're hanging out at home now waiting to go over to red carpet for Zack and Miri Make a Porn. D thinks this may be busy because it's a Kevin Smith flick but we'll see.
Here are some pictures:
Jay Baruchel is very Odd:
Michael Cera is very Rude:
Kat Dennings is very HOT:
Jamie Lynn Spears? Jamie-Lynn Sigler? Bristol Palin?
You decide...
You decide...
Where's Waldo: Keira Knightly is in this pic.
Can you find her?
Can you find her?
Saturday, September 6, 2008
TGIF TIFF
Friday was excellent. At work and afterward. Partially because Debbie Downer didn't talk to me all day and also because after work we went to a couple of TIFF events that were great fun.
The first was to see the red carpet for "Me and Orson Welles" at Ryerson. We saw Claire Danes and Zac Efron. I nearly took out a teenager who kept shoving High School Musical pictures in my face trying to make him sign it. I feel a bit bad now since it was probably her "dream come true" but it's still rude to shove paper in someones face (mine)! One thing that always really annoys me at TIFF are the 40 year old ebayers that are there to get autographs. They were there in full force as well as the paparazzi (damn Zacquisha). D had a really good time because she loves this stuff. I was on camera duty.
As we were leaving we found a MetroPass on the ground. This is the equivelent of finding a $100 bill considering it was only September 5th yesterday. Whoever lost it is going to be pissed but unfortunately they didn't sign the back and it was in the middle of a sidewalk where many people had walked down so it's not like we were going to ask "who lost a metropass". If it had been signed we would have because the person who owned it could be identified. In this case, I hate to say it but: Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers. This is a major bonus for us and we were very happy/excited. I have a MetroPass because I take the subway to work but D walks to work so she uses tokens. Now we both have unlimited travel for the month and we can be lazy again! Yorkdale here we come!
Next on our list was to grab something to eat so we went to the Eaton Centre to go to McDonald's since we had "2 can dine" coupons. At that point our choices were to join that madness known as Brad Pitt at Roy Thomson Hall or go check out the Etalk Festival Party.
We ended up at the Etalk party. I guess they didn't give out enough wristbands or there wasn't a big enough crowed because they were letting everyone into the red carpet area. We ended up right in the front for a Diddy concert which was awesome. The whole event was very exciting. D and I watch Canada AM and Etalk everyday so seeing Seamus O'Regan, Ben Mulroney, Tanya Kim and Lainey was cool.
Here are some pics:
The first was to see the red carpet for "Me and Orson Welles" at Ryerson. We saw Claire Danes and Zac Efron. I nearly took out a teenager who kept shoving High School Musical pictures in my face trying to make him sign it. I feel a bit bad now since it was probably her "dream come true" but it's still rude to shove paper in someones face (mine)! One thing that always really annoys me at TIFF are the 40 year old ebayers that are there to get autographs. They were there in full force as well as the paparazzi (damn Zacquisha). D had a really good time because she loves this stuff. I was on camera duty.
As we were leaving we found a MetroPass on the ground. This is the equivelent of finding a $100 bill considering it was only September 5th yesterday. Whoever lost it is going to be pissed but unfortunately they didn't sign the back and it was in the middle of a sidewalk where many people had walked down so it's not like we were going to ask "who lost a metropass". If it had been signed we would have because the person who owned it could be identified. In this case, I hate to say it but: Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers. This is a major bonus for us and we were very happy/excited. I have a MetroPass because I take the subway to work but D walks to work so she uses tokens. Now we both have unlimited travel for the month and we can be lazy again! Yorkdale here we come!
Next on our list was to grab something to eat so we went to the Eaton Centre to go to McDonald's since we had "2 can dine" coupons. At that point our choices were to join that madness known as Brad Pitt at Roy Thomson Hall or go check out the Etalk Festival Party.
We ended up at the Etalk party. I guess they didn't give out enough wristbands or there wasn't a big enough crowed because they were letting everyone into the red carpet area. We ended up right in the front for a Diddy concert which was awesome. The whole event was very exciting. D and I watch Canada AM and Etalk everyday so seeing Seamus O'Regan, Ben Mulroney, Tanya Kim and Lainey was cool.
Here are some pics:
Diddy
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)