The one where I mortified a Target employee...

So, as many of you know, my lovely sister was married last weekend!  Yaaaah!  As the 4 bridesmaids (myself being the MOH) are 4 different heights and shapes as well as the wedding being planned in THREE months, she decided that rather than TRY to find a single dress that both looked good on all of us and that we all felt comfortable in - she was content for all of us to buy our own dress as long as it was the same color (navy)..

Here is a pic of me in my dress choice:

Strapless.  So, two days before the wedding on a Thursday night, I decided:  Hey, I should try on the one strapless bra I own and see if it works with the dress I will be wearing in less than 48 hrs... AND?  No, it did not work - the strap was too large causing it to slip and peek out from under the dress when pulled up.. OFF TO THE MALL I ran!!

I am going to say this:  La Senza, when I try on a bra in my size that is so padded that I cannot fit my BOOB into the bra,  AND it sits 3" above my boob due to said padding this is probably a design flaw.  I ended up finding a normal old strapless there, but these padded deals - hoooo boy.

So, as I was leaving the mall I crossed through Target and out of curiosity decided to pass through the undergarment area to see if they had any strapless... it was there I found the clearance section.

Bras on 70% clearance - hello $5 cute bras!  It's not like bras EXPIRE, so I decided to stock up.. 4 clearance bras for $20?! Yes, please!  I also passed by the athletic department and scooped up a Champion  t-shirt which I thought was on sale for $9.09.    Off to pay I went!

Seeing as it was 9 pm at night, there was ONE cash open - being manned by a young male.  Oh Lord. 

The poor boy took one look at me and the contents of my basket and I could see the panic in his eyes.  The shaking boy grabbed the first bra and rang it in 4 times in a panic..  FOUR TIMES.  To which he swore out loud..  Target seems to be VERY poor about having proper prices ring up in the register (especially for sales - watch your bills, ladies!) so I had to remind him EACH BRA he nervously handled that the price was ringing up incorrectly... When it came to my t-shirt, the price rang up at $12 - I mentioned the sale price I saw posted (I think) and he panicked again: "I am not sure it's on sale.. What did you think it was?  Well.. whatever!  IT's all good! I'll give it to you anyhow."  and knocked off the price (The shirts are now on sale this week for $10 so I think I read some really wrong sign - and side note, I decided to buy another two of the shirts as they are also great as work t-shirts and they rang up incorrectly AGAIN and the cashier (a different store as well) simply said: "What was the price?" and took my word for it...) 

So, that is how I mortified a young teen aged boy at Target but scored some cheap bras!  

Happy weekend all!

Wordless Tuesday

The weekend was truly blessed.  ♥

Beginnings.

Hello!  I am alive!

 

I apologize for my lack of ANY posts in the past while - my sisters wedding is TOMORROW (!!!!), so assisting with the planning and events like showers related to that have kept me INCREDIBLY busy!

 

I am actually SHOCKED the BIG DAY has arrived so quickly - the rehearsal is this evening, and tomorrow should be a whirlwind starting with hair first thing in the morning.. WOW! 

Side note:  I decided two nights ago (I KNOW) I should probably TRY the strapless bra I own ON with my dress - and low and behold - it wasn`t a good fit.  

Off to the mall I went last night.. Here I will go on a little tangent... If someone can tell me HOW this works, please do:  La Senza has some strapless bras that are SO padded (with padding that cannot be removed), I couldn't actually FIT my boob into the bra.  It was like taping 5 inches of padding over top of the gals.  What the?? How is this a look??  I DID ended up finding a normal (over priced) plain old strapless bra there.. but c`mon.. WHO is wearing these cast iron bras?

 

Secondary side note:  I had gone through Target looking at strapless bras and ended up buying several clearance bras at $5 a pop!  HELLO BARGAIN!  Unfortunately, the ONE cashier (this was 9 pm at night) was a young male who panicked when he saw a pile of bras and rang one in at full price 4 times.. Poor guy :)  But I digress...

Combine  all of this wedding bliss with what ended up being a VERY action packed summer- blogging has fallen to the side!

 

I shall return soon!

When the blues are more than just the blues...

This is a difficult post to publish..

During the course of the week I THOUGHT about posting something to reflect the traumatic incident that occured, but wasn't sure a) where to start b) how I really felt..

For anyone who follows Canadian news - I am sure you have heard/read about the young mother who (possibly) drowned her 3 month old baby son and 2 year old daughter before going missing..  (and for anyone curious - her body was possibly pulled from the river today)..

Well, I worked with this mother. 

I didn't work DIRECTLY with her, per say, as our departments don't work side by side in the hospital.. BUT, I knew who she was and have most likely said hello in passing.

For anyone who doesn't know the story, the possible reasoning for this horror having occurred?  Severe post-partum depression.

While it is not possible for me to comment on PPD as I have never experienced it, I have suffered a mild depression so I can relate to how draining it can be.. Combine that with a toddler and a newborn? I can imagine it to be hard.

The reactions to the news has been mixed:  More than half of the commenter's were HOPING that this "monster" went off to "kill herself" (or disgusting comments like that) while the other half were more sympathetic towards her recognizing PPD can lead to a psychosis and wishing for her safe return/not believing she murdered her children.

I am not sure if I didn't 'know' her if I would feel like the first half of people who think her to be a 'monster' or if I would still feel sympathy for a woman who obviously did not get the help she needed for a mental health issue.

One of the most heartfelt responses I have read to the news articles was from a mother who had suffered PPD.  In a nutshell she said that it is HARD to talk about it - you are surrounded by people congratulating you on the arrival of your child, and you are made to feel like you HAVE the entire world in your grasp.. To be put on that pedestal but to feel like you can't handle it/don't love your child must be horrific.. *I* couldn't imagine speaking those words to anyone.  She also went on to say (and it echoed a co-worker who was talking about her history of PPD) that she was AFRAID to tell anyone how she was feeling as she was afraid that she would either be labelled as a bad mother or have her child taken away from her... fortunately, her story had a happy ending and her husband recognized she needed more help than he could provide.

PPD has such a negative stigma attached to it - it's horrible that so many people also dismiss it as not being 'real'.. I am sure that deters some moms from speaking about it as well....

I am not sure where I am going with this post... I am grieving, along with my city, for the two innocent children who lost their lives, their father & grandparents, and especially for their mother who maybe could have been helped...

WW - U-Pick

Fresh strawberries from the U-Pick?  Yes, please!

There is a first time for everything!

 

 

What is almost as exciting as planning a vacation for yourself?

 

Planning your parents FIRST hot winter holiday!

 

 

My parents worked hard for their entire lives, and both retired in the past two years.  When they retired, they spoke of travelling.

 

While they have done some minor travel back in the day with my sis and I in tow, the only large holiday they have ever taken was a trip to Europe about 6 years ago..

 

Other than that?  Nada.

 

Last year my mom had both of her knees replaced, so a vacation with lots of walking was not really feasible for awhile as she needed time to rehab.. Well.. she has recouped!

 

 

That brings us to their renewed desire to travel.

 

 

After friends of theirs and my two trips to Las Vegas, that became a location they thought may be interesting to see... BUT, the draw of a winter holiday also appealed.   After each of my trips down to Mazatlan (and seeing how it has become a home to me, as it is a place where my heart lays) that draw became stronger...

 

Last week, I stopped by their house after I had the sutures taken out of my shoulder, and ended up staying for dinner.  The talk over dinner turned to holidays and by the end of the meal I had convinced them they should go to Mazatlan.... and they 100% are sold on the idea! 

 

As I am a self proclaimed Google expert and pro at finding vacation deals, once I was back to my apartment, I was able to locate a great vacation package for them at a 4 star hotel for UNDER the cap they had wanted to spend!  Yes, I am THAT good!  

 

Like myself, it is far too early to book a trip (they are looking into the end of February or beginning of March) but if I can find a great deal NOW - I will find an EVEN better deal closer to the date..

 

My job, after my sisters wedding this September, will be to watch prices and set them up with something!

 

I have to say - I am just as excited to book a trip for them for their FIRST winter get away as I am to book my 4th year to Mazatlan.. I remember how awe struck I was on my first trip at seeing the ocean and emerging myself into the culture!

 

I feel Mazatlan will be a great location for them to head to as it is NOT a party town like Cancun, isn't as North American-ized as Puerto Vallarta (where Mexican friends went and could not pay with pesos - only US money - and could not find a taco amongst the KFC, Starbucks, McDonalds everywhere), or as costly as Cabo.. There are so many snowbirds and ex-pats out in Mazatlan that are more than happy to invite a stranger to join them for a drink/their meal at the Golden Zone restaurants (I experienced this first hand) if they are wanting to socialize a little.. My friends out there are happy to take them on a tour/help them out if need be...

 

Most importantly, it is safe.  As I mentioned in my posts about Mazatlan, I never ONCE felt unsafe at any point.  I did a lot of exploring in the tourist areas AND downtown by myself and felt safe.. In fact, I felt safer then I do on occasion downtown in my own crime riddled city.  Even though my parents are responsible/not naive about safety while travelling, I still want a place I will not worry about their well-being.. which again is nice that I have connections out there in case they need someone to assist them.

 

 

Though I don't want to wish the summer away, I am getting excited to start booking these trips so they become a reality and not a far off dream! :-)

I'll need a vacation after I PLAN the vacation!

Oh, Lord have I opened up a big messy can of worms.

On my trip a few months back to Mazatlan, a friend of my friend David inquired why I would only take a one week vacation to Mazatlan as it was simply too short.. and why wouldn't I look into 10 days, because 7 days is not too short (true) and 14 days is a little too long.

10 days is perfection, apparently.

So, with that, my head was filled with 10 day trip possibilities. 

Seeing as my work requires us to book our holidays (at least summer ones) by the end of the fiscal year (April 1) I started looking into if I would have enough holiday time to pull off a 10 day holiday - and I did!  I was able to book some great summer holidays, but had enough time left over to basically be off from Mar 17 - April 1, so I booked it off already. 

This is the joy of not working Mon-Friday - you end up being able to get huge chunks of time off with only taking a week of work off.  Crazy, I know.

I knew I wouldn't BOOK a holiday 9 months before I would actually leave, as too much could happen in that time - BUT I was also curious to see what the prices were like.. Could I afford a 10 day trip?  What would it hurt to just LOOK at prices?

So, with that, I bring you to the giant ? that has formed over my head and the new wrinkle on my forehead. 

I CANNOT book a 10 day trip.  I could  go for 7 days, or 14 days... or 8.  Not 9.  Not 10.

I plugged in EVERY day combination from Mar 17-April 1 to find something - nada.  WestJet - why advertise 10 day trips when you make it impossible to take one?

Correction - I could take a 10 day holiday if I wanted to have an overnight layover in Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver OR Minneapolis... but WHY book a 10 day holiday if you are not THERE for 10 days.. I fail to see how having to pay for a taxi to go to a hotel overnight is worthwhile?  The prices for these 9 night trips - No thank you!

Part of the problem is that is waaay too early to look for some travel sites.  WestJet does not even list the majority of their partner hotels to book a flight/hotel package with.. So with that I said, let's look at 8 days!

Aye dios mio.

I ventured off WestJet vacation packages and onto Expedia.  8 days I could do!   (And WHY is Expedia so much cheaper??  I feel like I'm missing something.  How can the same package through WJ be more expensive on there (minus transportation) compared to Expedia???)

I plugged in a Friday - Saturday 8 day trip and found some great prices.  So, why not watch prices for a bit in the am AND pm to see how they differ, I told myself.  Did you know the prices of the SAME trip varied between $200 during the SAME week depending on the day (weekends are pricier then weekdays to book ON) and TIME of day (After noon the prices appear to jump).  I became obsessed watching!

So yesterday I decide to plug in 8 day trips for every combination in my holiday time to see how THOSE prices differed and if I would HAVE to do an over night. If I wanted travel for any day other than Friday or Saturday, my 8 days turned into 7 nights because of the wonderful world of layovers. Grumble grumble... and prices? $200 difference for SAME hotel SAME days if I flew Monday compared to Tuesday. 

THEN, I discovered Sat-Sun.  $400 cheaper?? Whaaaaaaat?!  Where did you come from??

This was flying Delta instead of WestJet with a brief daytime layover in Minneapolis. 

My messy can of WestJet Fri-Sat worms knocked over the can of Delta worms. 

I could leave Winnipeg the same time as the WJ flight would be leaving IF I left the day prior, but land 2 1/2 hrs earlier AND save $200?!  So I looked further..

I have never flown with Delta - how are they for travel? 2 hours of Googling later, not as many great reviews as WJ, but I also came to realize people are WAY more apt to post a negative review (about silly things like the seat was not comfortable ENOUGH for them) compared to send in a positive review.  I threw my questions onto Trip Advisor and got good enough answers to feel it would be worthwhile..

Also a 'worry' - WJ packages INCLUDE your transportation to and from the airport, Expedia bookings do not.  While I am perfectly fine to travel by myself (as it appears I will  most likely be doing again), I enjoyed having my transportation arranged FOR me.  I worry about missing flights in a foreign country.   So how much would transportation cost?  Is it safe? 

I spoke to my friend David as well as 2 other friends - one who lives there as well and another who I met through David from the US.  They basically all said it was SAFE, about $25 but would agree to be my transportation... I just like options in case my friends are not able to do me the favor.

Oy.

So now my bit of time just looking turned into 2 weeks of watching prices for ONE set of days and now has morphed into a homemade chart to start watching TWO sets of days.

APPARENTLY, you will get your BEST prices 6-8 weeks prior to travel - so I have time.. Maybe.. It depends on what you read heh

Then I think - what IF I found a great price NOW.  Would it be silly to book so far in advance?  I believe WJ would reimburse, Delta I have heard not so wonderful things about..  AND seeing as our PST is increasing July 1, would it make sense to book PRIOR to save that 1% increase? 

I don't know about you, but I am feeling like this is WAAAAAY more complicated then it needs to be.  Last year, I logged onto WJ, found the hotel I was at last year and clicked purchase.  Bing bang boom.  Aye Aye Aye.

Any experiences from anyone flying with Delta?  Expedia experiences?