Is there anything better than a compliment, except perhaps a compliment from a stranger? Last week, I had someone tell me that I look like Nicole Kidman. I don't, but thanks! ( I'm much too short and chubby.) And today, I had someone tell me I look like Drew Barrymore! (That one, especially when I was thinner, I would buy.) Sweet! As the rest of my day is pretty, "Eh", I'm clinging to these spontaneous moments of joy. And they are two of my favourite actresses that are still living. Sweet!

Tomorrow, my mother and I are going to be picking up the newest addition to the Szymanski family- our new puppy, Ella. She's about 8 weeks old and 20 pounds already! Isn't she just adorable!



She is our Bernese Mountain Dog. I cannot wait to see her little face! And pinch her little fat butt! (We're big on pinching chubby animal butts in my family. Don't ask!) I did not pick the name, surprisingly enough, my mother did, but as if *I* would ever object to the name Ella. So today, my mom and I went to buy last minute things like a Kong and a stuffed, squeeky cow and some treats.

I can't believe it! A puppy! We haven't had a dog in our family in like eight years. Nothing but cats in that entire time. I get the feeling we're in for a pretty big adjustment. So are our cats. YIKES! They've never seen a dog up close before, except for my little Jack, may he rest in peace, so this shall be interesting. I'm so excited! Ciao!

That cold feeling of dread crept up my spine this morning as my alarm clock went off and I heard the radio announcer say that there were attacks in London. Then, five minutes later, my brother called, wanting to know if the family was fine. The family is fine. Fortunately for my family, and for my sanity, my family lives, respectively, in Coventry in the Midlands and on the East coast in Lincolnshire. But for that moment, always that brief moment... I was the one who told my mother. I couldn't help but cry as I saw the footage as my brain kept thinking, "I was just there, not two months ago!" And I thought of one of my customer's whose twin daughters only just returned from studying in London and I knew she would be relieved. My heart and my prayers go out the victims and their families. One cannot help but wonder was this linked to the G8 summit, or to the Israeli summit that is taking place in London or a statement linked to the announcement of the Olympics. It's terrible no matter what, but why? Then again, can there ever be a reason good enough for something so horrific. I highly doubt it.

YAY! I'm no longer a black box! I am me, well, me from 2 and a half years ago me, back when I had red hair in NYC me, but still me! Yep. That's pretty much what I look like, just change the colour of the curls and there you have it! Thank you so vey much, oh dear best friend, Dina. I shall miss you whilst you are away, more than you will know. That's about it for now! Oh! I am so jubilant!

I'd never before realized just how much I look at the world in black and white. Sure, I know that there's grey area, I often argue FOR the grey area, but in my life, I really do see things as "This is this, and that is that. Period." This weekend, amidst my floundering emotions, I discovered some very important things. First of all, I learned that when it comes to the Boy, what I think I know and what I actually know, are two very different things. I make assumptions about him, a very stupid thing to do, and then I build upon that assumption, driving myself to, well, where I was yesterday and Saturday. It's very humbling to realize that *I* am the one who has driven me to the brink of despair, not him. It was all my assumptions. In my defense, How was I to know that he wasn't going to get in until late Saturday night, rather than Friday night, and that he was driving in rather than flying. He never told me, so I made assumptions. Stupid, stupid girl. And I learned some interesting things about him when I spoke to hm, things that completely shocked me. He is neither a Republican (again which I assumed) nor a Democrate. He doesn't like political parites, nor politicians. He is conservative when it comes to fiscal responsibility, but liberal in his social ideals. And he doesn't believe in forcing his ideals upon someone else. You live your life and he'll live his. These are things that I didn't know about him, and yet it says so very much. But mostly what it tells me is that I have to throw out the window every idea I ever had of him and just discover. I love him more than ever and it's because of what I'm just finding out. He doesn't deserve to be burned at the stake. SpringFaerie deserves to be flogged for her rampant stupidity and blindness. I shall have to just let go and let him be him instead of what I think I want him to be, because frankly, the person whom I'm discovering is a hell of a lot more interesting.