Dwight Schrute knows best

[via flickr]

Our vacation this year is short. We're expanding the September long weekend by taking two vacation days so we can frolick through the mountains to the Okanagan and drink some wine.

This morning I nailed down a (very affordable) reservation at a little B&B in Kelowna for two nights which includes a full day wine tour with the proprietor, a wine writer and educator. We had planned on camping, but with the recent fires (and the resulting fire bans) it just didn't work out. So now, we'll be camping in Yoho National Park, hopefully staying with some Edmonton friends in Vernon, and enjoying this adorable little B&B. I was worried a bit, I've never been to a B&B before and it's just so cheap.

This little snippet from the Boy this morning, via email, made all my concerns disappear. It's all coming together. I checked the place out on trip advisor, as Dwight Schrute said Trip Advisor is the lifeblood of the B&B industry. It has four reviews all 4 or 5 out of 5.

He's a spider on the web

The Boy reads my blog (hi honey!) so it's not uncommon to have a conversation that stems from what I've posted during the day.

We were talking about just how many people commented on my request for music post (thank you, thank you, thank you*) when I pulled up my Google Analytics.

"Oh wow, you can get all that info?"

I thought I'd show him one better and pointed out where most of my traffic comes from (his work server) and how people find me. We found some weird search terms.

a part of you has grown in me
admiring the struggle it takes to be human
boob mail banner girl
boys resting on girls boobs photos
engineering girl boobs
never judge people
New Zealand picnic pictures
small girl boobs
And my favourite... small talk makes me want to cry

I made some comment about how many people seem to be looking for boobs and he comes out with this little gem, "Well, you know, when you search for 'misadventures of elle bee' a porn site comes up."**

Ah, frack.

*I officially have a girl crush on Jenny Lewis.

**Of the entire page of search results, the porn site is number three. I am the rest of the page. Also, in case you think I've been posting my more scandalous misadventures elsewhere, that site is totally not me. That I know of.

But your love won't pay my bills

[Canadian Tire Money via Cap'n Canuck]

After graduation, and upon getting a "real job", it seems like money is something you have so much of. Finally, you can eat something other than bags upon bags of 99 cent pasta. A vacation! An apartment that doesn't have a bug infestation. Plane tickets. The fun things you've dreamed about as an impoverished student working two (or more) jobs to get through to graduation.

Now, with saving and scrounging up money for the return to school, putting money into RRSPs, and paying off the last couple hundred bucks of my student loan, I'm broke. And constantly stressed out about it. The stress of my big school payment this fall has been looming over me for months. The thought of Christmas is enough to give me nightmares. It's a good thing tickets home have already been purchased for the holidays (way cheaper than waiting closer to the day), but it still doesn't ease my no-money woes.

With the summer we've had full of road trips, wedding stuff, birthdays, prettying up B's house and moving all my stuff in, it seems like there's just no way to save enough money for everything I want. Definitely no more photography classes or wine courses. No shopping, save for the brief reprieve brought on by birthday money.

What do you do to ease the no-money woes? Any tips?

But I don't feel like dancin', no sir, no dancin' today

I've always been bad at first dates and meeting new people. My small talk is lacking. The worst possible question to come up during these times is the dreaded "So, what kind of music do you listen to? What's your favourite band?" The times that I mumble "I like everything", because I really, truly do. The times where the recipient also can't narrow down their favourite music because "music is my life!" I'm totally not like that. I used to think that was the case, but it was such a lie. Music is not my life.

If I cared enough to have favourite musical acts, they'd totally be the Beatles, Bon Jovi, Tom Petty, and Journey.

I never know new music. I'm never very particular about what I listen to (some people would argue that's how Whitesnake and all that country fit into my playlist). I enjoy jazz, terrible 80's and 90's tunes, anything that makes me lamely attempt to shake my shoulders (I can not do it for the life of me) and move my feet. Country music makes me happy because it reminds me of home, and of summer. I'll dance around the house to Madonna or Britney. I've gotten into some music through B (Blackfield, Opeth, Porcupine Tree, etc.), but most people don't get the Metal (not that Blackfield and Porcupine Tree are metal). Every football game is a dance party for me.

I used to be good at keeping up on things. I went through so many music phases through university... probably because I was away from the nothing but country! confines of the farm. Cows like country music, what? I went through phases of jungle, drum and bass, classic rock, hipster tunes... and now I'm at a loss.

For my birthday, Kitty replaced my broken iPod with a shiny new green one. As I went through my iTunes, populated by things I like and a lot of crap (so maybe I like some music more than others) that the old roomie downloaded onto my Mac, I realized I need help. I need some music that doesn't suck.

Give me suggestions. Pretty please?

On the road

I didn't even fall asleep on the 7-hour trek to Cypress Hills. This is quite the feat, as anytime I'm in a vehicle with the motor running my Pavlovian response is to pass out.

The Boy's parents live in the [inter]provincial park, and it's always a giant nature love fest to go visit. Seriously. Watching the fawn frolicking in the backyard as we were roasting hotdogs had me so enthralled I didn't even think of my camera. We toured the Conglomerate Cliffs, had a picnic lunch at the most delightful little campground, tested out my birthday golf clubs, and hit up the Cypress winery.

It was a long weekend that felt like a week. A much needed rest. It even eased my no-money woes... for now.