Whose name made you drink enough to forget your own?

Ten years! wow time flies. 

We celebrated our TENTH year anniversary yesterday! I can hardly believe it still. It seems like yesterday I was 23, and getting married. It was a really hot day, just gorgeous. It makes me feel a bit sad to think about that, because it also feels like it hasn’t been that hot ever since, and I miss the summers, like how they used to be.

where did you learn this, to want what does not want you?
where did you learn this, to leave those that want to stay?”

A lovely Warsan Shire quote.

We had a good run club day, and a fabulous dinner by my husband! So thoughtful and awesome. I feel like I’m not worthy sometimes! We were pretty young when we got married, and even to this day I feel conflicted, of two minds about marriage. On one hand, I hate it. It’s a silly tradition, designed to make people ‘property’ of each other. When I got married, I couldn’t care less (and DIDN’T!) about the stupid fripperies of weddings. Cake? sure. Dress? NOT WHITE please and thank you. Bridesmaids? No. Wedding showers? NO. Flowers? I’m allergic… So yeah, you get the idea. Me + weddings = bad idea.

This doesn’t even feel that long ago. It was a gorgeous day. 

Still, I had one (a wedding I mean, not a bad idea. I still have lots of those). It was fine, and I had a great time with my family, friends, on a day that felt like it was tailor-made for me. It was also incredibly stressful, dumb, and a waste of time and money. I would  NEVER get married again with a wedding. Thanks but no thanks. I felt annoyed that we had to get married to be legitimized in the view of our laws, society and my family and still feel annoyed by that. So, that’s still a thing.

I never took my husband’s name, and I’m proud and glad I didn’t. It honestly never occurred to me that I should? (?? or to him that I should also, which is even more important). I am owned by nobody, and I also don’t own him.

It’s a good day, and more importantly, one I mark by also reminiscing that it is the anniversary of me buying my other love of my life, Mr. Oats!

Without my wedding, our disastrous one-year anniversary ‘surprise’, I wouldn’t have had him in my life either, and I guess the subsequent challenges, heartbreak, drama, happiness, joy, or pleasure either. Life is more than black and white, to me, a very black-and-white thinker. Oh and if you aren’t sure if your wife is claustrophobic, don’t go ahead and book a 6-hour cave exploring adventure, just to be sure. It’s a bad idea. Go for a spa trip or something nice!!! For the love of god or else she will buy a horse that day. Immediately. 😉

I am definitely not a great wife, but in the words of Walt Whitman, “I am as bad as the worst, but thank god, I am as good as the best.”

Wedding Week?!!

Yep, I was away for a week attending (and working at) my sister’s wedding! It was crazy!!

To add to the madness, it was in Nakusp, a tiny town roughly 7.5 hours away from Vancouver, located in the Kootenays. My family has a long history there, so it was nice to re-visit it, as it had been about 15 years or longer since I’d been back.

We left last Thursday, after I ran a pretty fun (and lucrative!) track race on Wednesday night. Headed out on the first ferry, picked my friend up from the skytrain, and we were OFF!

One very long drive later, two ferries, and we were in Nakusp. Only to immediately zip out again to check out these hotsprings (word to the wise: the road up to them is SO ROUGH and I do not advise taking a tiny Honda Fit there, at all. Yiiiiiiikes). Really nice though! Just so tough to drive up, and quite hazardous.

Won the draw prize! Sweet Frontrunners swag!!

Then, my friend and I went on a run Friday morning and that was it for our free time. It was wedding, wedding and oh, wedding from then onwards….

 

Setting up the hall with chairs, tables, tablecloths (had to wrangle more from their owner), napkin settings, drinking glasses, decorations, so many decorations, lights, the candy buffet- I owned that one, ha- chair coverings, tulle bows, more decorations, balloons, swag, things that hang from the ceiling, flowers…

So yep, that ate up all Friday, and then we hosted the family get-together BBQ at the house my husband rented for us. It was great! We took down the BBQ, and I woke up the next morning to my sister yelling at our window to get up, and move chairs to the beach for the ceremony that was happening at 3 p.m….

Backyard of the house we rented with a rainbow!

Chairs wrangled, and it looked really nice! Then it was off to get our hair & makeup done. That took FOREVER, ha. I was also working the phones for some real last-minute things (more wine, more lights, the ‘guest log’ that I literally pulled off the beach so people could sign it, needed a marker, helium balloons, etc etc).

Tiring but we made it to the ceremony and it was beautiful! And quick!

Then it was photos for oh, close to 3 hours…I was STARVING. Ian had to run and grab M&M’s and granola bars from the nearby grocery store. Luckily everything is close together in Nakusp! We wrapped up the photos in a boat (ha, boats boats boats!!!), just as a storm blew in and the wind was something fierce.

Boats boats boats!

We ran for cover in the nearby Leland Hotel, something of a dive but also the oldest hotel in B.C.! Grabbed beers and appies, and then I called my husband to drive us to the reception, haha. Once there, things smoothed out a bit, but there were a few funny moments…No wine glasses on the tables being one of them! The caterer forgot and had to rush back home to get them. Hahah!~ The DJ was also kind of a moron, and we couldn’t find him because he was wearing all black in a very dark hall. Jeesh! He also played a song OVER the slideshow my husband had made for the wedding, that HAD music. Stop the DJ, he’s out of control!!

Food was great, drinks were flowing, and the most important thing was that my sister had the best wedding of her dreams 🙂

On the way back home, we stayed for a few days in Penticton. The weather sucked, but we made do with 3 winery visits and 3 brewery visits in one day!

Okanagan Lake is drowning!

The Good Times are Killing Me

Literally!

When I last blogged, I was off to a wedding in Whistler, and then today, of course, is my birthday! Yay!

The wedding was really nice, a lot of kids were there, but no matter. It was a really cool venue- actually chilly- but super unique. Food was good, booze was flowing and we were feeling nooooo pain! Got some super cute photos with my friend the bride, and we danced, and then helped pack up. I even did some shots with the groom, I have a sneaking suspicion that caused some of my wilder behaviour (or maybe it was my total lack of control in general, not pointing fingers!!).

Well, tried to pack up. We were all feeling the effects of a fun day- booze- and started getting ridiculous…I got in a mild food fight with another friend, who was throwing chips I think. I tossed a watermelon chunk at him, missed him, and it hit the wall and slid down…A slimy trail of pink. Oops!

Husband came to my rescue and threw blueberries. Hah. My other friend came down to help pack up and saw us hooligans causing a riot! Whoops!

We cabbed home, safety first people, and hopped into our tub in the room. Yeah, the room was literally some sort of swinger’s paradise, with a huge four-person tub next to the second bed. ???? Well, we filled that sucker up with hot water and hopped in to play cards.

I had to casually go throw up first, and then hopped in. And then threw up afterwards…Yiiiiikes yeah it was going to be one of those *those* nights 😦

Passed out at around 3am and then woke up VERY gingerly at 9am or so. And proceed to throw up. Constantly. 

This was not going to be a fun car ride. I thought drinking water would help- it didn’t. Neither did coconut water (I took one sniff and puked) uh oh.

We made it to the car, and I was ok for a minute until I realized I was ‘ok’ when the car wasn’t moving…Once it started moving, I had to get husband to pull the car over so I could throw up on the side of the road. ARGHHH

I had the bright idea to take a Gravol, which seems like a good thought…Until I took it and puked immediately. Shoot!

So, that’s how the ride went…Drive for 20 minutes, pull over to throw up. Until the highway was shut down due to a major car accident. So, our ride went from driving = throwing up, to crawling/stopped on the highway= throwing up.

It was the LONGEST car ride ever. And the worst, for me, my friends and husband. I still feel sooooo sorry for those horrible retching noises.

Oh, and did I mention that we couldn’t stop on any shoulders for a lot of the traffic shutdowns, so I had to puke in tupperwares? And I emptied one of them out the window, to the HORRIFIED stares of nearby motorists, also crawling by at 5km/hr…Eeek

Things got better on the ferry, even though I had the shakes pretty bad. Poor husband had to empty my puke tupperwares at the ferry terminal.

I slowly felt ‘not worse’ (can’t even use the term better, ugh.) and we made it to the husband’s parents farm to pick up our critters, raid the garden, and drag ourselves back to the city! 

I didn’t eat a single thing yesterday, was pretty dehydrated too. This morning it felt like my taste buds died somehow, because breakfast didn’t taste like anything and I didn’t finish it. Coffee also tasted weird. Lunch was better, ate all of it.

Stomach is still kind of angry at me…

I can’t even look at photos of alcohol/wine without cringing.

That’s it, I am NOT drinking again. And it’s my birthday! boo hoo hahaha.

 

Dinners, drinks and screams- A Wedding story, part 4

Or is it dinner, drinks and screeches?

Anyways, the happy couple and bridal party comes in –their entrance also carefully choreographed to a song, can’t remember which one, probably Bruno mars…yeah, I’ll leave that one there– and take their seats.

 I’d also have to say that it felt early on like the wedding was not a wedding to unite the happy couple, but rather the bride’s wedding, birthday, Christmas and what the heck, maybe even her graduation rolled into one event. Anyways! The drinks start and it’s only the finest for this young couple- plastic cups for every drink, and served by the teenager out of the Simpsons.

Hey, booze is booze though. If you ask nicely, you get wine on your table.

Buffet- snooze. Pierogies for all.

Now for the speeches. Endless, bottomless (like I wish my drinks were!), forever, speeches.

It felt like everyone and their dog got up there to say something (mostly about the bride, because BRIDE IS PRINCESS).

Some speeches were boring, some funny, and some very embarrassing.  Note to all: bodily fluids jokes and or tales are NOT acceptable at mine, yours, or anyone’s wedding. At all.

Thanks.

Even if the bride or groom wants a joke or two, they don’t want to be embarrassed at their own wedding.

Other people at the wedding? Well, roast away!

Speaking of which…the Emcee at the wedding  was related to the bride (aunt or something?) AND she vaguely knew my SO.

How did she know my SO? Well, she tried to take him home from a bar some months before he and I met. This same MC gave a very long- drawn out speech about the bride, blah blah and then about herself: HOW HAPPILY MARRIED SHE IS LOOK AT HER BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTER SO HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY.

Interesting.

She apparently was also heard whispering comments about how ‘cute’ my SO looked. 

Yeah, on MY arm, cougar-town! 

The guests were the best part of this wedding though, and you’ll never believe…