back from vacation and longing for the bread baskets...

there is an indefinable something about canadian bread. we bought a few loaves to take home, we're so fond of edible souvenirs. the customs guy thought we were nuts but he let us take it home so that was cool. it seems we ate our way accross new brunswick. but we also walked 5 miles a day so things evened out. i bought tea, which is way better in canada, and brown sugar cubes. i had been looking for the brown sugar cubes in every market on all our trips to quebec, and alas, they've been in st stephen the whole time. if you count the buckwheat we picked up at king's landing it was more like an international grocery shop than a vacation. it's no secret i have a weakness for supermarkets.

the weakness for chocolate was less of a problem. it's sort of a bummer at the moment, but we missed the chocolate museum. now i'll never know the gnawing possibilities. pretty much matt and i did the same thing my mom and i did when we tried to go five years ago. we walked around the retail shop for half an hour thinking "this museum bites" and then as we drove away we saw the entrance. we didn't turn around because we're lazy bastards, but it's only an hour away if i ever get an uneradicable urge. overall we had a very good time walking and eating and visiting a ton of historical sites. they're marked with beavers, how cute is that? who doesn't like a beaver? i wish i took a picture.

i'm regretting not taking pictures of our room too. it was a motel on the edge of st. andrews. fake flowers taped to the wall, doilies, a distinct grandma scent and of course what would a motel be without ant traps? very chez memere. but it was quiet and the shower was awesome and i think we might have gotten it half price. it did have cable tv, which i'm sure my meme doesn't have, and we watched a lot of news. they have, like, facts on the news in canada. and the elected leaders say "nuclear" correctly. y'all are so lucky.

we only spent a few days in canada because we're not just lazy, we're also cheap. the rest of the time i spend with my family, shopping and trying to use up my company perks. i went eye glass (es, i'm not sure) shopping with my sister because it's nice to try frames with someone who will tell you the truth about how you look. matt always says "nice" so he won't get in trouble and now he's banned, not that he minds. anyway, i picked out two frames and could i buy them...no. my precription is out of date. they wouldn't even sell me the empty frames. they're an accessory, not oxycontin. that was in new hampshire. will the lenscrafters of maine care that my precription isn't new, i seriously doubt it. so i had them ship the frames back to maine and the bastards sent them to portland. south portland. the very kind and thorough south portland lenscrafters called me three times while we were in canada using premium cell prices to tell me my frames arrived. bless them. when i called them on our return to free nights and weekends the man said "why did nashua send them to portland when your last purchase was bangor?". i don't know sir, i just don't know. it's only, what, a 4 hour drive from my house, i'll just pop over shall i?

it seems i'm not over that yet and i may still have to hit the optometrist if they stand by the rules. it less crappy news i bought a bunch of fancy pilates stuff with my fitness stipend. i've been meaning to try the balance ball so i got one of those, i got a stretch band set and another toner ring leg thing. it seems i'm either all or nothing on the pilates front and i'm in a definite on stage. i memorized the moves on the new dvd and i did it alternating days while i was off work. and don't i feel smug. i love knowing i'm doing good things for myself and i don't care how cliche that sounds.