[Mis]adventures in Saskatoon, check

So, lately I've been thinking about the lack of [mis]adventures that are described in this blog.

I have plenty of them, believe you me. However, I think I opt not to write about them because my baby sister reads this thing. I don't want her to get any ideas. Ha.

Most recent misadventure:
Going to Saskatoon. Checking Saskatchewan off of the list of provinces I've yet to visit. Knowing far more about B's sister the night before I met her and having to face her (and the possible one-night stand who was probably 10 years her junior) in the morning. She is a screamer and B is scarred for life. Even more scarred by the 98% chance that there were more than two people in that bedroom.

Also, Saskatoon is freakin' slippery. I was wearing actual winter boots (not heels!). With traction. And I slipped on my ass at least three times in less than the 36 hours I was there. Apparently they are very anti-gravel in the streets. Oh Edmonton, you are dirty, but you keep me standing.

Saskatoon = 3, Elle = 0.

I don't actually read nine books at once

My little place in the blogosphere here has gone to shit.

I'm attempting to update, and so I will let you know that I don't actually read nine books at once (I just suck at reviewing them like I said I would). On the other hand, I do read about three or four books at once (just not nine -- that is crazy!)

So.

I have, in fact, finished:

1) Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk
I love anything by Palahniuk, so I'm biased. He is so delightfully disturbing and provides such brilliant social commentary through his tales. Really, I recommend anything he's ever written.

2) Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs
Cute chick lit involving knitting and comraderie among women. Light. Quick. Sometimes you just need something like that.

3) Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann
Classic. Love the drama in others' imaginary lives... even though I can't stand it in my own.

4) Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman
Love Klosterman. There were times I'd be reading this book and burst out laughing. In public. I don't do that too often. He's blunt. He's honest. He's hilarious.

5) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
The last of the Harry Potter books. Still undecided about how I feel about the ending. But it works.

Things I love. Right now.

Random things of late that make me ridiculously elated are:

Things I've Bought That I Love -- Mindy Kaling, writer/actress from the Office is absolutely hilarious. Her blog, which features other contributors but tends to be dominated by her own posts, is very fun. She'd be the kind of girl to go for drinks and girl talk and squeal over cute shoes/clothes/things with.

Aveeno Lip Conditioner, Essential Moisture with SPF 15 -- I have a ridiculous pile of lip balms/glosses, let me tell you. And this one little tube of balm goes with me everywhere. Even now that the tube is empty. The air in Alberta is super dry all of the time so my skin dries out like the desert. Not any more! I pull this little baby from my pocket, sigh that it needs to be replaced and attempt to get out whatever I can salvage from the tube. And then I look at it. Look at the garbage can. And put it back in my pocket. Why? Because I have a poor memory and this way I remember to replace it. Must. Replace. Lip. Conditioner.

The Jumbotron at the hockey game -- I went to the Oilers game with B last night. My first Oilers game. Aside from being disappointed in the Oilers (winning streak no more), my people watching skills have reached a new level. Favourite thing about the hockey game (other than the hockey part, obviously) is watching how people react the second they realize they're on the big screen. Ha! Hilarity! Even funnier? The people who try to hide from it.

Miraculous footwear?

Last week on Oprah (I think it was last week anyway), Oprah talked about shoes. Oh shoes. They will be my demise. Not usually am I uber-girly, though when it comes to a pair (or ten) of gorgeous heels or flirty flats it's a different story.

Oprah talked about how she loves shoes for the fashion side of things, though she can't usually stand to walk in them for more than a few minutes. Apparently she carries her shoes out with her onto the stage on her show and puts them on then. She's been known to be seen barefoot at the theatre with shoes in hand.

For most women, I think this is a fairly common occurance (I've been known to take off my shoes and frolick around barefoot anyhow). The solution to all of these problems? Cole Haan. Nike Air technology has been introduced to this new line of Cole Haan shoes to make them super comfortable and to support your foot in such a way as to prevent the "pretty but painful" issues that hot shoes so often have.

I currently have a huge crush on these babies: If only my pocketbook was as infatuated as I am... *sigh*

Why love letters have to die with the relationship from which they sprung

I'm a bit wordy -- forgive my title.

I used to be one of those people. The people who would keep mementos and letters and cards thrown chaotically into a box for future reference. The Pandora's Box of love letters and memories past.

It got to a point where I just couldn't do it anymore. 

It's not only hard to look back at bits and pieces of the good times -- relationships past, friendships from long ago -- it's misleading. To pick up old romance spewed from the pens of past loves and yearn for something that couldn't be and possibly never was. To see reality through the rose-coloured lens of loneliness (which, lets face it... is usually when these boxes of notes get dusted off). It's not a good thing. It doesn't help make things better.

It skews how we see our own current reality. We try to measure up what we have or what we don't have with what we thought we had a long time ago. We blissfully ignore the ugly yelling matches and the differences that separated us. We miss people who we have let go for a reason. We try telling ourselves that we miss the friendship we had with someone who, quite honestly, probably wasn't friendship material in the first place.

It's healthy to purge sometimes. It's good for our sanity. It helps us truly move on. 

Let's face it. It's hard to be truly happy with yourself or truly happy with someone else until you really let old flames flicker and fade out.

This post is dedicated to a friend who stumbled upon one of her own hidden-away letters.