5 On Friday: January 30th, 2008

1. Here are some pics from our trip to Banff last weekend. I took some fantastic video too, and want to have a go at putting together a little video eventually, but for now photos are all I got. Because it was so frigidly cold while we were there, the longest stretch of time we spent outside was probably 1 hour , up at Lake Louise, observing the Ice Carving Competition (which is what my video will be featuring). The rest of the time was spent outside for minutes at a time, then finding things to do INDOORS. Like ordering room service and an in-room movie (Slumdog Millionaire - excellent!!!). It was a really great, picturesque getaway.

First - Our King size bed!


Then, the Ice carving competition.

2. Although we tried to be careful up in the icy mountains, there was sadly one lone casualty.

My new Mac Pressed Powder.

Why do they have to make bathroom floors out of hard, unforgiving tile?

RIP my friend. *sniff*

3. Now that Warren is a blogger, I'm no longer the only one to blurt out "That's totally going in the blog!", followed by the token response "No way! You'd better not!".

This next anecdote might fall under the 'Conversations with Warren & Amanda' category, I'm not sure. After it happened, Warren said SMUGLY "Yup, that's going in the blog". But I forbade him. Because there is no way to tell the story without me coming out the other side sounding like a total bi*ch. Since I know it is a story he will throw back in my face over and over and over again, I decided I will out myself before he has the chance.

So here it is:

Warren & Amanda are watching Slumdog Millionaire in their hotel room, which is in the last 15 minutes of the movie. On the verge of the plot climax.

Warren: Where's the remote? Can you pass it? It's too loud.

Amanda: (gingerly passing the remote) Here. But BE CAREFUL. Really. Be sure NOT to hit the CHANNEL button, ONLY the VOLUME button (sounding more annoying and condescending than ever). If you hit CHANNEL we LOSE the movie completely and will be CHARGED to order again.

Warren: (takes remote and attempts to push a button).

Amanda: CAREFUL!!!!

Warren: Geeze!! I'm being careful. GAWD. (gingerly lowers the volume).

A couple minutes pass.

Amanda: I can't hear! (grabs the remote, NOT gingerly, and begins to hit the *volume* button, NOT carefully, only to watch the screen go black and discover she was holding the remote upside down. Meaning the volume button was on the other side, and she actually hit the channel button).

WOW.

I had no words. What could I say? I was in such a blur of my own stupidity and utter embarrassment that I don't even remember what Warren said to me after that. All I remember is him muttering under his breath something like "If that had been me, I'd be a dead man..." as he stomped off to seek comfort in his beloved MAC and begin surfing the web.

Needless to say, I had to call the front desk and grovel and tell them my sad story. Turns out the warning before the movie had a been a bit alarmist, and you actually could re-select a title you've already ordered, and it would play from where you left off.

PHEW.

But our relationship didn't come away un-scathed. I have an inner no-it-all bi*ch, and my dear husband now has proof.

4. Hm mm...any other stories from Banff I can share? Oh - I know! One tradition we have every time we go to Banff, is to visit 'The Trading Post' gift shop by the river. "Why?" you ask? Well...to see the Banff Merman of course!

He's kept safe inside a large glass casing, similar to a fish tank. Post cards graced with his image are sold for 30 cents each.

5. I will end this edition of 5 on Friday with the 'Disappointment of the Week'.

Our new blinds were (FINALLY!) installed in the bedrooms, living room & dining room this week. Great, right? Mostly, yes. They look great and exceeded our expectations. But the disappointment comes in to play when I enter the baby's room. You see, Warren's mom made us some lovely curtains for this room, and we matched the paint color to them. We had a perfectly adorable green room (green is my favorite color, and also happens to be a generic baby color!). When the sun came through those curtains, it lit up the room with a soft, serene glow that I loved.

The new blinds have a big (beautiful) molding around the top, so hanging curtains directly over them isn't an option. If we try to hang the curtains higher, we no longer see the lovely molding plus, the curtains would be too short.

Honestly, I'm over it. The blinds look great. But it was really hard to say good bye to those curtains that I always imagined being a part of the nursery.