Things I love and things I hate…

Amazing friends.
Awesome parents.
Concerts.
Ikea
The River Rock Casino
London Fogs

Today, these are some of the things that I love the most.

Aside from KEW that is!!!

Lack of sleep.
Wolf spiders.
Not having shoes on when running in to wolf spiders.

These are things I hate… I mean I REALLY REALLY dislike these things!

This past weekend was the getaway with my BFFs R and C. Because I have the most awesome parents ever, I was able to go away for the weekend and do so worries free knowing my girl was probably having an awesome weekend as well. We headed over to Vancouver on the first boat Friday morning… which meant for an early wake up call. This is when I ran in to Spider #1. After sneaking to get some shoes to stomp him, I was up and going and ready for the weekend to begin!

Once we got to Vancouver we decided to try our hotel with the off chance that our room would be ready. The River Rock Casino Resort is incredible. The place is beautiful and the staff are truly first class. I really mean it – I am totally impressed with this place – and not just because I won $125 on the slots in the first half hour that we were there.

Once we cashed in my winnings, we headed over to one of the greatest places on earth... IKEA! I hadn’t been there in a long while… and since I just moved, there were some things that we needed around the house. My winnings also allowed me to get some things I wanted too! R, C and I did our usual routine at Ikea – walk around up top checking everything out and getting ideas, stop for lunch and then shop down below in the marketplace. Since we got to Vancouver early it allowed us to really take our time… about 4 hours. Needless to say, I had to use my side mirrors to drive as there was no way I was seeing out the back. And it’s a good thing Cindy is little… as it was a wee bit cozy back there!

We finally made it back to the hotel after picking up some munchies in Richmond (thanks to the iPhone GPS app finding us a grocery store!). The suite was great and the living room was the perfect setting for some appies, some martinis and some laughs. Then it was off to Michael Buble!

I’ve been to quite a few concerts now, and I have to say that he will definitely stay up at the top for most memorable. He is an amazing entertainer, a talented performer and dang funny. Not to mention generous – donating Friday’s show to the Children’s Hospital was a great way for him to come home! His opening act, Naturally 7, was pretty amazing as well. I had never even heard of them before, but I am definitely a fan now.

Saturday was The Beach Boys and Bryan Adams at the PNE. I have to admit that The Beach Boys (or what is left of them) were actually pretty good. They played way longer than I anticipated and they got the crowd all warmed up for Bryan. As usual, BA did not disappoint. It was my 4th time seeing him live and he definitely customized the set list this time to let the hometown crowd know that he was happy to be back.

The only thing that I would have done differently this weekend was to book Monday off as well – I am SO TIRED!!! Thank goodness for the Soy Milk London Fog this morning that has gotten me through the day!

Things I haven't done in a while...

I’m in a really good mood about a few things that I haven’t done in a while.

One of them happened this morning… I made cinnamon toast. I was trying yet another breakfast food for my KEW. She has a lot of her Mama in her, including being a bit of a picky eater. I admit to not having the best eating habits, but I’m working at changing them. One that has taken me a while is actually eating breakfast. That, along with a whack of vitamins per Dr. Bovee (the best NP ever!), is really making a difference on my energy levels through the day. So I am trying to make sure the kid gets some food in her in the morning – she is a goer, so she needs the energy! Anyhow, back to the cinnamon toast. P-Dub did a post a few months back about the right way to make cinnamon toast (http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/?s=cinnamon+toast)… and man my mouth was watering after reading it! I didn’t follow her method this morning, but boy oh boy did it ever taste G to the O and O to the D!!! I may just need to have another piece or two as a bedtime snack!!!

The other thing that I haven’t done in a while is a girl’s getaway... and part of that means a ferry ride. I honestly think the last time I took a ferry was when KEW was a couple of months old and the ladies (R and C) and I went to the big city to see our boys - Duran Duran! To not take the ferry for over a couple of years feels strange… us Islanders need to get off the rock on a regular basis in order to appreciate it! Maybe I did take the ferry between now and then, but I sure can’t remember it… which could be more of the impact of Mama brain!

So let’s get back to that girl’s get away – it is going to be a HUGE treat! My parents (the bestest people EVER) are taking KEW for the weekend to allow me and the chicks to get our concert on. Not just one show… TWO shows! Michael Buble is on Friday night and Bryan Adams is on Saturday afternoon. I honestly could not ask for a better line up – R, C, Michael and Bryan – I am the luckiest girl ever. Oh ya, and we are hitting up Ikea on Friday morning… one of my happiest places on earth! My wallet will be tight this time, but I’ll still have an awesome time!

Oh… I can hardly wait!