Some Catching Up To Do.

Last night I was having some technical difficulties. Safari was suddenly shutting down every time I opened it. Weird, but fixed now thanks to my ingenuity and mad googling skills.

It's late Wednesday night right now, which means you're probably reading this on Thursday, which means that the countdown to leaving for Maine will be in hour long increments. I'm a bit manic right now because there is so much going on that my head is about to explode.

I hate it when that happens.

I have to take a second and show you the awesome gift that The Canadian gave me for my birthday. These green tahitian pearl earrings match the beautiful ring he gave me last year. 

He knows me so well.

I didn't give him one iota to go on this year either. All by himself, he thought to call up my favorite pearl jewelry designer, La Vie Est Belle, and special order these works of art for me. 

God, I love him.

Remember this nonsense from last week? I had to get a photo of me playing in a public fountain for the Michael Todd Challenge. 

Yeah, well I somehow managed to advance to the 4th round (of 5) and now I have to get a photo of me - you're not going to believe this - brushing the hair of a person that is over the age of 70!

It has to happen tomorrow and I don't even know where to begin. How awkward is it going to be when I walk into an old folks salon and have to explain why I need to brush someone's hair and get a photo?

Speaking of hair, guess who went to the beauty parlor today! 

That's right. I'm $80 poorer but girlfriend smells like a flower. She's so clean that I could actually pet her and rub her ears. She doesn't even have elf feet anymore. 

Money well spent.

Friday morning I'm heading down to Maine where I'll be spending my whole summer working at a camp. The Canadian has to finish up work and will be joining me at the end of the month.

Because of this, I spent all evening packing. It's truly amazing how much crap I own. What is even more amazing is the sheer amount of that crap I need to survive for an entire summer of living in a cabin on the lake. I'm taking everything from flip-flops to Uggs, from wool sweaters to tank tops, from alarm clocks to bottle openers. You'd think after doing this for ten summers I would have packing down to a science. But I don't. Guaranteed that I forgot socks or toothpaste. Guaranteed.

I've been working on giving the living room a little face lift over the past few weeks. I should show you a 'before' picture - but then I'd blind you. So, let's just focus on the mantle that I just fixed up this week. New vases, new rocks, new reeds, new mirror, new white ball thingy-things, and a new black mantle (that is has an odd glare and is kind of blending in with the brick - trust me, it's black black black).

I'm not crazy about the wall color, but it is going to have to wait until the fall when I can repaint. I'm just going to focus on the mantle decor and how it is astronomically better than the junk that used to be there.

And please ignore the white lampshade. I know it is five inches too short. I'm working on it. Lampshades that are 16 inches long are not easy to come by.

After a crazy day, I took a minute to go meet up with some of the ladies for a quick drink tonight - it is Wednesday after all, and we meet every week like clockwork. 

Tonight my friend Laura gave me a birthday gift that everyone ooohed and ahhhed over. I, of course, had never heard of it. It's the American in my blood, I guess. 

She gave me a book that is a collection of stories. Stuart McLean hosts a radio show on the CBC called The Vinyl Cafe where he shares G-rated stories that he writes. Apparently, the stories are completely kid appropriate and all around awesome and hysterical. 

(Mandy and Sally, are you listening? This is probably a book you should check out.)

Does any other American know who Stuart McLean is? I'm worried this is a case of me living under a rock.

Happy Thursday! One more day until I'm back in my homeland on American soil.