An 'Uplifting" Weekend

Wow. What a weekend!

I picked my Gal Pal Joline up at the train station in Halifax on Friday afternoon and the fun didn't stop until I took her back yesterday.

First stop was Lily's Lingerie on Dresden Row. I had heard lots of good things about the place in regards to getting a personal bra fitting and I have been wanting to go there for some time. Well. If you don't mind being groped and taking out a loan for undergarments that no one sees (Joline saw one that she thought should be worn over one's clothing it was that pretty), it was well worth it. All this time I have been wearing a 34 or 36 B/C. Turns out I am a 32 D! Holy crap! What a difference. It stays put AND the straps don't go all trailer park! I bought TWO. But, despite that I spent a mortgage payment (!), it was SO WORTH IT. The "girls" have never looked better and for some strange reason, I did something all weekend that I have never in my history done: I referred to myself as a woman. It has always been girl.

Saturday morning we headed to Middleton to take part in Paper Arts A Thon '08. We stopped in Brooklyn to have coffee and muffins with Marilyn and then went to the Middleton campus of NSCC. An amazing event! The Dream Team really outdid themselves and no stone was unturned. How they managed to maintain an upbeat attitude for 20 hours was truly a miracle! All in all, we raised over $11,000 (that's eleven thousand) for The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. And had a damn good time doing it.

Sunday was a recovery day (we got home at 6am and went straight to bed). We slept for a few hours and then went to pick up the Hound at the Kennel. We went for a walk on the beach at Scots bay and then went for ice-cream. Came home, puttered around and unpacked our goodies from PAAT. Had a REALLY late "supper" of crackers, cheese, grapes and wine (Joline had some of her Tropikiwi, but it is a wine cooler so it counts) and then went to bed. SO GREAT TO HAVE HER HERE! Monday morning it was off to the Designer cafe for lattes and then to Halifax to catch the train. I came home and did laundry, went for a long walk with the dog, roasted a chicken, etc.

One other first time thing I did occurred on the way home from the city. You know that intersection where you come out and you turn left to get onto the 102 where you drive past Halifax shopping centre? There was a girl panhandling via a sign in the median. I had to stop for a red light and on impulse, when she got to the car, I opened the window and handed her a loonie that was in the console of the car. The look of sincere thanks was unmistakable. Our fingers touched when I gave it to her and there was a rare feeling of connection and gratitude. So I am thinking that you know what, maybe sometimes it isn't up to us to judge about how someone might spend the money. Rather, if you give with an open heart, it doesn't matter. It was a meaningful human connection and that was worth a lot more than a loonie.