Blogger Notes

So, normally my mailbox gets a weekly dumping of bills and junk mail and that's about it. Yesterday, however, I came home to a happier mailbox than normal. Not only did I get a lovely card from one of my aunts, but I also got TWO parcel notifications, neither of which were expected. When I shop online, I have a U.S. address that I use to send the goods to, and from where they are shipped to me on the Rock. Many stores won't ship international and with a U.S. address, I can normally get free shipping deals as well, which is aweseome. The shipping between the U.S. and the Rock is not free, but it's not terrible and they take care of all of the duty charges, etc. so that all I have to do is pick it up and pay my Visa bill. All in all, a pretty decent deal and has helped enormously when I've tried to get my hands on a book or something that I can't track down here.

Anyways...I wasn't expecting anything to be delivered to my apartment, so the notices are a bit mysterious. What could they be? The only idea I have is that one of them is a shipment of gifts I'd purchased for my bridesmaids that I couldn't cancel in time (well, maybe I could have, but I didn't want to) and that they shipped it directly to my billing address instead of my shipping address in the States. I'm leaving early today to hopefully get to the post office before making my 8:20 ferry. I can't wait. I really LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE to get mail that isn't bills!

Apparently, I am not clever enough to figure out how to have the date post as a header on the new blog template. I was sure there would be a "fix" somewhere on Google but my search has turned up empty-handed so I'm just going to try to remember to include the date in the post title for now. HTML = sucks.

Today on my lunch hour I decided to spontaneously pop into to a store that always has fabulously dressed mannequins in the windows. Seriously, they change them twice a day and every single time I walk by, I see something I want. However, their stuff is usually priced out of the realm of what I will pay without vomiting. I don't mind paying for something that's good quality, that I know I'll get a lot of use out of, and that I'll have for a long time. When I see a t-shirt with a $98 price tag on it for no apparent reason - in that, there is nothing remarkable about the t-shirt except maybe the name on the label - I get annoyed.

I took a chance today and for the first time ever, I didn't walk out empty-handed. I found a hemp fiber ivory wrap sweater with fun sleeves, a sundress with some ruffly flair and a silk Karen Kane shirt for 50% off. Sweet. I haven't bought many things for myself since I was home in April, except maybe some books, so I feel like a few cute things for summer were well deserved and a tad overdue.

I love summer clothes, but I'm just a *tiny* bit excited about what the Rideau Centre might have in store for me during the time I'm in Ottawa in September. I do love a back to school special.

On second thought, the likelihood that plane fares will go down for that weekend is very, very slim, so the trip to Miami will be postponed until September...or maybe October. Some time when American Airlines is NOT taking advantage of Rock-dwellers gasping for dry land every time a long weekend rolls around. Seriously. The weekends on either side of the long one are each about $200 less per fare. They take advantage of our desperation. Not that I blame them.

Title: Couldn't Keep it to Myself: Testimonies from our Imprisoned Sisters
Author: Wally Lamb (other titles include 'She's Come Undone'...one of my all-time faves)
Why am I reading this? Book Club book for July.

Basically, Wally Lamb started a writing group at York Correctional Institution and assembled various submissions into this book, wrote a wonderful forward, and then let the stories speak for themselves.

Verdict: Only a third of the way through at the moment but so far...it reminds me of some of the stuff I read during the final two years of my criminology degree. But with far better writing. Wally's touches are everywhere but the stories stay true to the women's voices, which I like. They don't talk so much about their offences...it's more about their lives, both inside and outside the prison walls. Good stuff.

A very good friend of mine recently moved to another rock. It's a rock I've spent some time on and I know she's enjoying it so far, but this Rock hasn't been the same since she left.

I'm debating a possible mini trip over our upcoming 4 day long weekend to meet her in Miami for a couple of days of mayhem with a side of shopping. The airfare is pretty high right now, so I'm hoping I can find a deal online in the next couple of days and if I can...I'm so there. It's a quick flight for her and we would finally be able to experience Dolphin Mall (pretty much the greatest place on Earth) together.

I think I blogged about Dolphin Mall before, after the weekend where I stumbled upon the entire mall having the biggest sale imaginable. People were walking out of the Coach store with gigantic sacks of purchases...it was quite a scene. Anyways, amidst the chaos I was able to do some fairly serious shopping of my own in a fairly short time frame and I have been dying to go back ever since.

Fingers crossed for a seat sale! A shopping trip in Miami with one of my favorite people? Just what I need.

For the past three weekends, we've been lucky enough to finangle our way onto one boat or another to spend a day, or at least a long afternoon, out on the water. We swim. We drink. We dance (so long as someone remembers the iPod). We eat chips. Sometimes hummus. It's fairly blissful. We all get off the boat hours later with a bit of a sunburn, a bit of a buzz, and a bit of dehydration. It's awesome.