Canadian Mother Musings

Successful Brown Bag Challenge

2011-10-01T19:27:00.000-07:00

They say it takes 21 days to break or develop a habit. I believe I have finally made a habit of making a good healthy lunch. The challenge is officially over and I did it!!!!

Through the Brown Bag Challenge I got in the habit of making sure I made healthy suppers and ensuring there were enough left overs for healthy lunches the following day. My routine became making a supper of a third protein, a third vegetables and a third carbohydrates. (I really make an effort to have brown rice, or organic products or often substitute a salad) Many people may argue this is not a perfect meal but in comparison to the thrown together meals of the past it a huge step forward.

I knew I really had made the transition to a healthy habit this past Thursday evening. I had worked all day and then I immediately headed to my latest new job at the hockey rink (I am such a Canadian stereotype). Hubby Terry and I arrived home at about 10:30 p.m. I asked Terry if he was hungry and if he wanted supper. I was really hoping he would say no thanks but of course he said “YES!”

In the past I would have told Terry to go ahead and make his own supper from his limited menu of grilled cheese, frozen pizza or eggs on toast. Realizing this was not going to make a healthy lunch for the next day I headed to the balcony to turn on the barbeque. I made grilled pork chops and from the fridge threw together a salad and mixed veggies. Because of my newly adopted system of pre-cutting, pre-packaging all sorts of ingredients it was a breeze to put it all together. I have learned to create my own version of healthy “fast food.”

Hopefully I will continue the habit of healthy suppers and of course the subsequent healthier brown bag lunches. During the past month I received lots of positive feedback on my blog. While no longer committed to posting my Brown Bag story perhaps I will make occasional updates to let everyone know of my progress. If anyone out there in blog land wants to be my cyber conscious, please let me know!!

Caught NOT Brown Bagging It

2011-09-24T09:53:00.000-07:00

I got caught!

I have been faithful to my pledge in bringing a brown bag lunch to school each day, but this Friday I got caught breaking my pledge! As I walked into the staff room with two pieces of pizza in my hand, my colleague Mike said “AHA! You didn’t bring that from home! Where is your brown bag?”

I was initially taken aback since I wasn’t aware Mike read my blog and actually knew about my participation in the Brown Bag Challenge. Because of guilt I began to head back to my office to get my lunch bag I had packed the night before. But then I stopped and realized it was my duty as the principal to eat the pizza a parent volunteer had thrust in my hand. You see the pizza at our school has a very long and important story.

The first day of school marked the implementation of a new policy in all schools across Ontario. The Ministry has mandated specific nutritional requirements for all food items schools provide or sell. It took literally a year of parent consultation, negotiations with Super Mario our pizza maker and student surveys to create a pizza which met the requirements of the new policy. Our pizza now has the right blend of whole wheat crust, low fat cheese and a plain topping which was the result of the student survey which indicated they did not want any of the legit options of vegetables or pineapple toppings.

With all of the duties of a school principal it is hard to believe selecting the right pizza would be so time-consuming. However, on Friday, when I tasted the pizza instead of the carefully prepared brown bag lunch, I knew we had done the right thing. Not only were we offering students a healthy choice for lunch but it tasted great!

The only disappointment was when I found out one of our students smuggled in contraband pepperoni! We still have inroads to make but I know we are heading in the right direction in making healthy food choices.

Pizza days are every Friday so on Monday I'm back brown bagging it!

9-11 Forever Changed

2011-09-11T07:23:00.000-07:00

It has been 10 years.

Like millions of others I remember exactly where I was when I heard the news. I was in a Junior Kindergarten classroom the entire morning. Like the children in my charge, I was totally oblivious to the events which would change the world, oblivious until about 11:30 a.m. when the first parent arrived to pick up their child. I remember exactly the look on her face when she asked me if I had heard the news. She looked like she had exciting news to tell but not sure how to tell it. I laughed and so said “no, what’s up? Are you pregnant?” She didn’t laugh.

She went on to tell me planes were missing all over the US and some were crashing into buildings. She told me things I could not understand. I thought she must have the story all confused. As she left with her young daughter she said “the world as we know it has changed forever.” I was left speechless standing in a room of four years totally confused. I was not clear exactly what she was talking about but I was sure she was over reacting. What she was saying was just not possible. I was wrong.

A half hour later when all of the children had been picked up and hugged a little tighter by their parents I was finally able to go to the staff room where CNN had been playing all morning. At the time I was upset no one on staff had taken the time to come to my isolated kindergarten room to tell me this news prior to lunch time. Ten years later, I realize it was just as well. I had a few hours longer than the rest of the world to live in my bubble where innocent people are protected and safe from the fear of terrorists.

While I admire the spirit of the Americans who have valiantly carried on with their lives I do wonder if Bin Laden has actually won. He may have been taken out by Navy Seals, al qaeda may be in disarray, but his goal to destroy the United States economy and ultimately their way of life may be closer to reality. Along with the economic concerns facing the United States, it is becoming Un-United. With the growth of “The Tea Party”, the aim of politicians to win, over the need for the country to win, might ultimately be a greater blow to the country than any crazy terrorist could ever accomplish.

While the horror of 9-11 is something I never wish to witness again, can we ever get back those days following the attack when Americans, regardless of race, faith or political stripe, held and supported each other, strong in the belief they are the lucky ones to live in a free country?

Where were you before the world we as we knew it changed forever?

Multi Tasking Brown Bagger

2011-09-09T16:09:00.000-07:00

I did it! Not only did I make it through the first week back at school but I was able to pack a healthy lunch EVERY day! Go me!

The reason was simple…….multi-tasking during dinner preparation.

In the past, before bedtime I would procrastinate about making a lunch and figure I would just throw a lunch together in the morning. I do my best math in the morning while still sleeping. After the alarm rings, I lie there quietly calculating in my head how much longer I can sleep in if I don’t eat breakfast. How many more minutes of snooze time if I slip out to Tim Horton’s at lunch time instead of packing a lunch?

This year, thanks to the Brown Bag Challenge, my new plan is to make breakfast and lunch at the same time I am making supper! Duh! It is such a simple idea. While I make chicken breasts on the BBQ, I throw on a few extra to make a chicken/spinach salad. While the chicken is cooking I throw together the ingredients for my new favourite oatmeal breakfast so all I have to do in the morning is zap it in the microwave. While everything is cooking for supper it takes little more effort to throw together everything I need for breakfast and lunch as well. It also a great satisfaction after supper clean up to know I am finished in the kitchen until the next night.

Now this new process means I no longer read the paper, finish the cross-word puzzle, surf the net or write my blog while supper is cooking. While those things now have to wait until after supper to get done, my cooking has actually improved. Since my new cooking tactic, I no longer rely on the smoke detector to let me know when supper is ready. As a multi-tasking cook I am actually fully attentive to food preparation instead of distracted by other things, oblivious to the burning pork chops.

In the morning I still have those extra precious moments of sleep but I rest even better knowing my breakfast and lunch are already packed in the fridge, ready to go in my brown bag.

Any other ideas for great suppers that can be reinvented into great lunches???

The Most Important Meal of the Day

2011-09-05T18:27:00.000-07:00

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. In order to avoid eating all of my lunch before lunch time and starving the rest of the day I have decided to add breakfast to my Brown Bag Challenge. Last week after a long day of prepping at school I almost made a pit stop for a bagel on the way home. I white knuckled it and hung on until supper time.

So tomorrow being the official first day of school and in my mind, New Year’s Day I am going to start packing breakfast as well. Most people actually eat breakfast when they wake up at home. I however can’t seem to eat that early and I am too stressed in the morning to waste precious time eating. Once I get to school and get everything and everyone in their place, I will take a ten minute break and eat breakfast. (hopefully this will occur before lunch time)

My breakfast is a combination of all of the advice I have heard from Dr. Oz and from what I have read on the internet (it must be true) I am putting together an oatmeal concoction with the following ingredients:

Oatmeal(of course) – the real stuff, plain oat flakes – it has fiber's cancer-fighting properties
Soy Milk – better than cow’s milk because it is higher in protein (will stay fuller longer) and is made from beans -so even more fibre
Frozen Fruit (even though this is the best season to get fresh Niagara fruit, I am aiming for convenience here) –counts towards my daily five servings of fruits and vegetables
Walnut - omega 3 fatty acids and antioxidants (and fibre) - and walnuts taste good!

Cinnamon - One study found that smelling cinnamon boosts cognitive function and memory and it is also a great source of……wait for it…………fibre!

Any other nutritious ideas for a breakfast I can throw in one container to put in my Brown Bag?

Ready for the First Day of School

2011-09-04T20:30:00.001-07:00

In the midst of preparing for the beginning of school as well as starting up my new challenge as a contributor to “In the O Radio Show”, I am still trying to make sure I succeed in my Food Network Brown Bag Challenge. I must ensure I take to work each day a home prepared healthy lunch. I am also to blog about it to share good ideas as well as challenges I overcome. In spite of the busyness of my life I am thrilled I am all set for the first week of school. I am all set to continue my Brown Bag Challenge anyways.

I have healthy lunches planned for the whole week. I have a container of baby spinach to be the base of a salad for each day. I also have small containers filled with items to throw together a salad as quickly as possible. I’ve prepared:

Shredded chicken
Olives
Chopped onions
Chopped tomatoes
Feta cheese
Shredded carrots
Walnuts
Sliced mushrooms

These items may not be new to my fridge but the fact they are pre-chopped, pre- cut, pre-shredded, pre-pared is new. Instead of procrastinating in the evening and then giving up in the morning, I am actually planned and ready to quickly put items together to create a healthy salad for lunch.

I am also planning to cook a little extra supper each night to package up and to make a lunch for the next day. Tonight I made lots of extra quinoa and chicken breasts. Paired with a salad, these left-overs will make a huge lunch, loaded with nutrition but light on calories to carry me through the day.

OK…..I have my office all set, timetables are in place, teachers are all ready, class lists have been long planned…..and now I even have lunches for the week all set……….why I am still nervous about the first day of school?

Just When You Think You're Out........They Pull You Back In

2011-09-03T19:29:00.000-07:00

I have spent a lot of time in hockey arenas this past year. For a certified “Hockey Mom” this is not an unusual thing but to be honest I thought I was over hanging out in arenas. You just can’t take the hockey out of a Canadian girl.

Greg started playing hockey at the age of 3 or 4 and Kaitlin joined in a few years later when the powers that be finally realized girls are quite capable of playing hockey too. So to summarize 20 years of hockey motherhood, I have experienced 5:30 a.m. practices, double, some times triple booked calendars and of course the laden down van with stinky, smelly hockey equipment.

So the last few years have been pretty much arena free. I got rid of the van and now drive a sedan which only holds one set of equipment. No more team mom for me. But hockey can’t leave me for good. I became a fan of the local Junior A Niagara Ice Dogs. Instead of actually going to the arena I am able to watch the games on the local cable station. Between my day (and often night) job as a principal, my free-lance writing jobs and trying keep Terry and Journey the dog happy, I have become a multi-tasker and I watch the games on TV while doing a million other things in the house.

2011 brought me back to the arena in big ways.

It started with a fabulous Christmas present from my father, tickets to the World Junior Hockey Tournament. The World Juniors is a showcase of the best hockey talent in the world. A preview of the next NHL stars. As Buffalo is just down the road from our place we were able to spend our Christmas vacation at the HSBC arena. I can never remember what those initial represent but it’s where the Sabres play. It was exciting times as not only the hockey was great, but the fans were spectacular. Canadians arrived en mass causing back ups on the Peace Bridge as they were arriving and back ups at the beer gardens once they got there. Good times as we met up with lots of friends, family, neighbours and made new friends. The Canada-Us game was awesome. (can you guess who won???)

As the junior season headed into the play-offs, hockey in our household revved up again. The Niagara Ice Dogs were doing well but the Owen Sound Attack were doing fantastic. The Attack team is from my home town and my Dad is the business manager and past minority owner of the team. The Attack made it to the Memorial Cup which is the Canadian championship of junior hockey. It has been said the Memorial Cup is the most difficult trophy to win in all of sports. As Owen Sound migrated to Mississauga to cheer on the Attack, it quickly became apparent the Hershey Centre Arena had been renamed the Owen Sound Bay Shore South Arena. It was like a high school reunion. People I literally hadn’t seen since high school graduation were there. Not only were the games great but once again the fans made it memorial.(is that a pun….Memorial Cup….memorial times???? Sorry)

Summer progressed relatively hockey free until some how through the Twitter universe I hooked up with a new job possibility. I am now a contributor to “In the O Radio Show”. The O stands for OHL hockey (Ontario Hockey League- the big step for junior hockey players before making it pro) The radio show is not actually on the radio yet but rather on the internet but it is an up and coming business run by a guy who is passionate about what he does and I am confident it is going to be big. (Check it out at www.intheoradio.com) The compensation is little, but the learning and networking I will get is priceless…….not to mention a media pass for the games! Who ever thought those days as a hockey mom at the cold arena in the wee hours of the morning would turn into this? Just when I thought my days of stinky hockey equipment were over I’m back in as I interview players post game in sweat drenched gear.

I will keep everyone posted how my new job as a sports contributor goes. Any ideas for interview questions to young wannabe pro hockey players??

Storage Wars

2011-09-01T20:02:00.000-07:00

I believe the key to a successful Brown Bag Challenge is planning. As they say, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. (I’m not sure who “they” are but it is a good adage.)

I began planning for the Brown Bag Challenge by organizing all of my plastic containers. Until yesterday my system for organization was throwing the container and hopefully matching lid into the cupboard as fast as possible and slamming the door before the pile of mismatched containers fell back out onto the floor.

Yesterday I finally mustered up the strength to tackle the container cupboard. I took every piece of plastic storage-ware out and placed them all across the kitchen counter. It took several minutes but I matched up all of the containers to the appropriate lids. It was just like matching socks. No matter how hard I tried they never seemed to match up. I ended up throwing into the recycling about 20 plastic lids and 8 plastic containers which could not find its partner lid.

I was left with 12 perfectly matched, variously sized containers which will be exactly what I need to pack up healthy nutritious lunches for the Brown Bag Challenge.

The dilemma now is how to put them back in the cupboard? Should I put the lids on the containers and stack up or should I nest the containers within each other and put the lids in one container. Oh, the decisions one has to make to reach success!I need to make the storage system as system and organized as possible in order to simplify the lunch making process.

Does anyone have any suggestions how to store the containers properly so I don’t end up with a tangled mess again?

New Year's Resolution - The Brown Bag Challenge

2011-08-30T18:22:00.000-07:00

For most people January 1^st signifies the beginning of the New Year. But for an educator, the real “New Year” begins on the day after Labour Day, the first day of school. In preparation for my “New Year” I have made a long list of resolutions.

My number one resolution is to become a healthier person. My theory is, if I look after myself I will be able to look after the students and teachers at my school and of course my own family. So yes, good hubby Terry, all of these changes are for you!!

One way for me to be a healthier person is of course to eat healthier. I am not going to go on a particular diet but rather just eat healthier and smaller portions. In the past I would go on a restrictive diet only to get frustrated (and hungry) and blow it all and binge on all the wrong things.

One strategy to ensure a healthy diet was to join the Food Network’s Healthy Eats Brown-Bag Challenge. http://blog.foodnetwork.com/healthyeats Beginning September 1^st I am going to pack a lunch each and every day.

Gone are the days of slipping out to Timmie’s for a sandwich (and a cookie). I have seen the last of the Golden Arches or my pal Harvey. No more skipping lunch entirely only to come home and eat the entire fridge worth of food before supper. The challenge is to take a healthy, nutritious lunch every day.

Does anyone have suggestions for some nutritious but tasty lunches???

Deep ......Dark........Secret!

2011-08-29T18:24:00.000-07:00

I have a deep, dark secret.

I don’t floss regularly.

Oh, after an evening of popcorn at the movies or a big juicy steak at dinner I might dig out the container of floss at the back of the medicine cabinet, but flossing has not been part of my regular routine.

Each time I go to the dentist I must go through the painful process of the hygienist’s unspoken disgust with me as she painstakingly cleans my teeth. Each visit seems to take longer and is more uncomfortable than the visit before. I don’t even know what the hygienist looks like since she never takes her mask off during my visit. Yet, she knows my secret, I am a floss failure. Each dentist visit ends with a new tooth brush and a lecture about the benefits of flossing.

My last visit to the dentist was in July. As I left I had a flash back to the dental visits of my youth. When I was a kid there was no hygienist, no fancy equipment, just the actual dentist looking in my mouth with this tiny little mirror at the end of his silver pick. Every visit ended with Dr. Thurston saying “Keep up the brushing. You’re doing a great job!” Dr. Thurston built up my self-esteem.

Now my dental visits only remind me of my built up plaque!

I decided after the visit in July I was going to become a flosser. With very few exceptions, I have flossed my teeth every night. I have become much more adept with the floss and the routine has become faster and has in fact become routine.

I have to wonder……am I the only one out there not a regular flosser? Is it really going to make a difference? More importantly, at my next dental visit am I going to wipe the look of disgust off the hygienist face? Will I be able to tell under her mask? So many questions created by one piece of waxy string!

What are your dark hidden secrets????

Summer Concert Series

2011-08-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

This summer I was able to attend a number of concerts.

My summer concert series started with a free concert in Art Park (Lewiston, New York). It was Peter Frampton on his Frampton Comes Alive anniversary tour. He played his iconic album exactly the way he did all those years ago. Many times I felt transported back to the wood paneled basements of many of my friends during the summer of ’75 when Frampton Comes Alive was the only album we ever played. The audience was pulled back to the present however when Peter explained that during instrumental sections during the original tour the band would run off the stage and do some drugs behind the scenes before they ran back on for encore numbers. Peter then added the only drug he does now is Viagra!

A few weeks later we enjoyed a special concert at Jackson-Triggs winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake. We indulged in a dinner at the winery where each course of the gourmet meal was paired with a different wine. As there were five courses and then of course the before dinner wines and the wines during the concert, there was a lot of wine drinking at the winery that night! Between glasses we also got to enjoy the solo performance of Gord Downey from the Tragically Hip. (For the record, my friend Diane was designated driver for the night…….just saying)

There was also a Northern Pikes concert at Polson Pier formerly known as “the Docks” in Toronto. It is a fabulous location where it feels you are at a resort in Muskoka when you are actually on the shores of Lake Ontario beneath the shadow of the CN Tower. It was at the Northern Pikes concert I met “Eddie” from Love It or List It.

While it would not come under the classification of a concert, the most fun and outrageous musical events of the summer was the Friday evening performances of the One Man Electrical Band at Hogan’s Alley in Port Dalhousie. The location is superb as it is a few blocks from our home. There is no cover as the talent of this one man band is questionable, but his choice of songs is impeccable. He always seems to know the right song to sing for the crowd. Within a few minutes it turns into bad karaoke, embarrassing dancing and a lot of fun for a bunch of middle-aged Friday night drinkers. I believe we are good entertainment for the 20-something kids heading out for a night out to their bar of choice “My Cottage.”

In some ways my summer concert series was a rediscovering my youth but in more ways it was confirmation my youth is long gone! My youth may be gone but middle age is actually even better! No curfew!

The Shopping Spree

2011-08-23T15:12:00.000-07:00

We have spent the last three months purchasing new appliances.

Greg moved out of his apartment into a house so his dog could have a backyard. The house came with appliances except a dryer. I offered up our dryer for Greg so we needed to buy a new one for ourselves. Of course we then had to get the matching washer. While we were at the appliance store the fridges looked very enticing. We ended up getting the washer-dryer set, a new fridge and the matching range, microwave and dishwasher.

There was a problem with every appliance.

Washer/Dryer: In our laundry room there is only one way to install the stackable washer-dryer which means it has to be vented to the side. We needed to order an additional side vent kit.

Cost: $50.00 + 3 days for delivery.

Range: We bought a “slide-in” model which means it is supposed to fit into the counter top a certain way. Since our counter top did not fit that certain way we needed to purchase a kit for the back of the range.

Cost: $50.00 + 5 days for delivery.

Refrigerator: The fridge is HUGE. All of the doors etc had to be taken off in order to get it into our unit. Once the doors were all put back on and the delivery guys were gone, I discovered a huge mark on the stainless steel. Customer service said they would send a technician. Three days later the technician arrived to tell us, yes there is mark on the door. He made a call and found out a new door would cost $500.00 and would take three weeks to arrive. After having to explain this is a BRAND NEW FRIDGE and we wouldn’t be paying the $500.00 he returned three weeks later with a new door. After he installed the new door he discovered a scratch in the door. He made a phone call and our new, new door should be arriving mid-September.

Cost: Loss of my patience

Microwave: The microwave came with a chart on the inside of the door which tells you what buttons to push for the different kinds of foods being cooked. Unfortunately the microwave didn’t come with a magnifying glass to read the chart. Now I have to always keep a pair of reading glasses in the drawer near by.

Cost: My dignity.

Dishwasher: While emptying the dishwasher one hand was needed to hold the door down while the other hand took the dishes out. Unfortunately the dishwasher didn’t come with a third hand which was necessary to actually get the dishes into the cupboard. Terry took the dishwasher out of the cabinet and reinstalled to ensure the legs were level. Problem solved.

Cost: Having to listen to Terry once again gloat about his handy man skills!

The brief Sunday afternoon shopping trip snowballed into many frustrations along the way, but each time I look at my shiny new appliances I have a sense of satisfaction.

Cost: Priceless

Anyone else have a story about shopping sprees out of control???? Jennifer how about you????

The Boys

2011-08-20T17:44:00.001-07:00

Terry and I spent the week babysitting. No, not our grandchild, but our grand dog.

Tyson is Greg’s year old lab with more energy than could ever possibly be imagined. Since we were heading up to the cottage for a week and Greg was busy at work and then a week-end wedding, it was decided instead of Tyson being left alone he would join us at the cottage for the week.

Tyson is about 75 pounds and our little shihtzu Journey is about 14 pounds. They are not good friends. They barely tolerate each other. Whenever Tyson comes to visit he eats all of Journey’s food and then wants to play like a year old puppy wants to do. Journey is not a puppy, and frankly I don’t think he ever was a puppy. His existence is about sitting pretty and getting cuddles. He is not amused at Tyson’s invitations to wrestle.

During the week at the cottage we began to refer to the two dogs as “the boys”. Tyson continued to eat Journey’s food no matter how hard we tried to keep it in the closed bedroom. Journey starved the first two days as he never had a chance to eat his food before Tyson wolfed it down. By the third day however, survival instinct took over and 14 pound Journey pushed 75 pound Tyson aside and ate all of Tyson’s food. Tyson left Journey alone after that.

Speaking of leaving the dogs alone……..one day Terry and I left the dogs alone. We made sure all of the doors were shut tight to ensure no dog escaped and headed off to Minden for some groceries. About an hour later as we were approaching the cottage on our return, we noticed a minor backlog of cars on the highway in front of our cottage. Traffic jams are very rare for cottage country. It didn’t take us long to discover it was a dog blocking the right hand lane stopping traffic. I jumped out of the car and ran past several cars toward the dog….yes it was Tyson and yes I was so upset I really was running!

Tyson had escaped by climbing up on the kitchen counter and jumping through the screened window over the sink! Tyson had been stopping traffic for about 45 minutes and was refusing to leave the roadway until our return. We found out these details from Eric our neighbour across the way who had been trying to convince Tyson to get off the road but to no avail.

Luckily he was safe and sound. By the look of this soaking wet coat I think Tyson had gone for a bit of a swim in our absence as well. When we got inside the cottage Journey was sitting in the very same spot, in the very same position as he had been before we left, totally oblivious to the commotion outside.

Hopefully if we ever get a chance to baby-sit grandchildren it won’t be as eventful as this.

Celebrity Sightings

2011-08-11T09:27:00.000-07:00

The last few months have been a period of celebrity sightings for me.

At the Cottage Life Show in March I met Ed Begley Jr from St. Elsewhere fame. He looks exactly the same as he did in the 1980's. When I pointed that fact out to him, he told me he loved me! We had a great discussion about the longevity of St. Elsewhere and what a unique show it truly was. Ed also talked about his personal experiences in making the earth a greener place. He is very passionate about environmental issues.

A few minutes later I ran into Bob Mackenzie from TSN fame. (That's the Canadian version of ESPN for those American readers) We talked briefly about the great play-off run the Leafs were having. The talk was brief because his wife seemed annoyed at me intruding although Bob seemed to enjoy the attention.

A few weeks later I attended the Juno Awards (think Canadian Grammys). On our way to the ACC we ran into Dallas Green of City and Colour as well as Alexisonfire fame. I was Dallas' grade seven teacher as well as vice-principal when he was in grade eight. He actually spotted me before I saw him and he tried to explain to me what he was doing at the Junos as if I didn't know! We had a good talk about the importance of teachers encouraging students to follow their dream but Dallas was quick to add....as long as they finish school first. I wrote about Dallas previously in my blog.

http://canadianmothermusings.blogspot.com/2009/06/fulfilling-dream.html

In May I went to a conference in Toronto and I got to meet Joy Behar from The View. She spoke about her journey from a wife, mother, teacher to a comic and then being on The View and now her own show on CNN. Basically her message was she was too naive to realize getting into comedy was hard and she just did it.

Last week I was at a Northern Pikes concert and ran into Eddie Richards, the contractor from the Love It or List It television show. He is married to Martine Gaillard, a sportscaster with Sportsnet, so I met her as well by default. Eddie was so excited he was getting attention from a fan instead of his wife getting all of the attention he sent me over a drink!

The one thing I learned from all of these celebrity sighting is I am very happy I am not a celebrity. Having someone like me constantly coming up and interrupting my life would be very annoying!

Any readers out there have any celebrity sighting stories????

I'm Back..............

2011-08-10T19:06:00.001-07:00

After a prolonged absence from blogging, I have suddenly become inspired to start posting again. So here I go….a quick recap of the last year.

Went to some concerts
Went to a lot of hockey games
Bought new appliances
Became an empty nester again, then not, then again
Got lucky with some contests
Met some celebrities
Turned 50!!! (and survived)

This is a very brief list for an entire year of my life. I will write in more detail about each topic at a later date....not too much later, I promise!

I am hoping there are still some people willing to read the blog and also willing to leave some messages for me!

The Reason We Put Up With the Idiosyncrasies of the Cottage.

2010-07-16T20:30:00.000-07:00

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away.

Entertainment

2010-07-16T20:25:00.000-07:00

Aside from the trip to the dump, there are always a lot of things to do at the cottage. There are the traditional outdoor activities like:

Swimming
Fishing
Boating
Hiking
Camp fires
BBQing

For indoor activities we often turn to a deck of cards to keep us busy. We have a giant hand crafted Cribbage board given to us that seems to attract lots of attention from guests. Feel free to take it off the wall and use. There are also lots of board games and puzzles on the shelf.

We come to the cottage to get away from it all. One spring week-end many years ago during NHL play-offs, I broke down and bought Terry a new TV to watch the game. It was the the first brand new thing we ever bought for the cottage. Unfortunately I did not realize we do not get any channels up here without satellite. We have hooked up a VCR and DVD player to it. The 25 year old VCR works fine. The 2 year old DVD player is rather sketchy. We did get satellite hooked up one summer but it never worked properly. I thought it was a sign from God telling us we shouldn’t be watching TV at the cottage, so we canceled it. We still have the useless satellite dish at the end of the drive way.

The ancient portable TV in the bed room does get two channels with the help of the antenna. It gets very fuzzy CBC and it clearly gets CTV from North Bay. I love the CTV station news as we get all of the kitchy news from the northern station. News stories about bear attacks and community events. I have yet to hear of a gang related shooting happening in the north.

Climate Control

2010-07-16T20:22:00.001-07:00

We have a propane fire place. It heats the place up great in the winter, spring and fall. In summer we use the electric fan on top. Very high tech.

When we first bought our cottage we had a wood burning stove. It was fabulous. In no time at all it would heat up the place. Unfortunately our insurance company thought in no time at all it would burn down the place. We no longer have a wood burning stove. The remnant is a hole in the ceiling. Like all good Canadians we have covered the hole with duct tape.

Sleeping Arrangements

2010-07-16T20:17:00.000-07:00

We have a double bed that originally belonged to my brother when he was a kid. He is now 51. The mattress is old. It is uncomfortable. But sleeping at the cottage is still better than in the city. Aside from the Bunkie, we have additional sleeping spaces inside the cottage.

The blue love seat opens up and sleeps one comfortably, or it works for two if they REALLY like each other. When we first bought the cottage we had five kids in a tiny two bedroom cottage. There was no Bunkie and no room for anyone. Our old neighbour mentioned she had seen a “perfectly good” couch up the street put out for the garbage. Her son and Terry ran up and grabbed it and now it is the focal point of the cottage. Everything at the cottage has a story.

Terry has two speeds. Fast and stop. This is where Terry stops.

This flip chair came with the cottage. It flips open to be a very long single bed. To my knowledge, no one has every slept on it. It is perfect for holding our clothes which we are too lazy to put away in drawers.

The Pantry

2010-07-16T20:14:00.000-07:00

The purpose of the pantry is of course to store food. Last summer I went out and bought some plastic bins. Prior to the bin purchase, on a quiet evening you could hear rustling in the cupboard. I was always unsure of what the sound was but upon further inspection, I found nibble marks on the chip bag, gnawing marks on the potatoes and little round black things on the shelf. My diagnosis was MICE!! We have installed mouse traps and/or mice poison through out the place but just in case I now keep food in the mouse-proof bins.

Our Recycling Centre

2010-07-16T20:12:00.000-07:00

Underneath the counter are several bins. They are hidden by wicker blinds. Terry and I fight about these blinds all the time. Bicker is probably a better word. I think they are perfect to hide the mess of garbage etc. Terry just thinks they are a pain in the ass because they don’t work properly. I make them work to suit me. Each bin has its own unique purpose. There is a bin for plastic and cans. There is a bin for burnables, and of course there is a garbage can for the rest of the stuff. We need to take our garbage to the dump. There are a couple of dumps around with the closest being the Little Hawk Lake Land Fill. The hours and locations are posted on the inside of one of the cupboard doors. When you arrive at the dump you have to show a special card which indicates you have paid your taxes for the privilege of using the dump. You are also mandated to recycle. The garbage must be in clear plastic bags so you can’t sneak any recyclable stuff into the land fill. One of the events of the cottage is to take guests to the dump. First stop is the “cottage mall.” There is a shed you can put things you no longer want but are in good working order. The old adage, one mans junk is another man’s treasure is proven at the dump. You never know what treasure you will find and like the best things in life, it is free! The other dump attraction is the bears. Last year electric fences were installed but the baby bears still manage to find a way in. They are very adorable but remember where there is a baby bear, not too far away is a Mama bear!! Just saying………..

Telephone at the Cottage

2010-07-16T20:07:00.000-07:00

This telephone pictured on the top was the original in the cottage. It does not work. The telephone pictured on the bottom is my Blackberry. It does not work.

There is no cell phone reception at the cottage unless you stand on one foot in the middle of the highway pointing north with your tongue sticking out. We do now have a regular telephone hooked up. Just last year we also got 911service. The number on a sign at the end of our driveway indicates our location for 911 purposes. Again….just saying……hopefully you won’t need to use this number.

Appliances

2010-07-16T19:53:00.000-07:00

This four-slice toaster also came with the cottage although I cannot attest to its age. It also works perfectly fine if you call toasting one side at a time fine. My only advice, don’t put a knife into it when it is plugged in!! If you have to ask why, you shouldn’t be renting our cottage!

This is our fourth “new” refrigerator at the cottage. We have very generous friends and family. As a fridge is being replaced for reasons of aesthetics, they donate their “perfectly fine” refrigerator to us. It is very much appreciated as we often have lots of company at the cottage and we need as much fridge space as possible. Unfortunately, it seems as soon as a fridge arrives at the cottage it decides to not be “perfectly fine.” One actually broke within one week of ownership. One week-end we had a new to us fridge we were excited about and the next week-end we arrived to a stench that was shouting …..the fridge is broken!!! The fridge we have now works perfectly fine except for the horrible sound it makes.

The beer fridge dedicated to liquid refreshments does work perfectly fine. It is the fridge that came with the cottage and is approximately 60 years old………………really. We have to defrost it about once every week or so but that can be a fun thing, if you call throwing snowballs at people in July fun.

Drinking Water

2010-07-16T19:44:00.000-07:00

As mentioned, our water comes from the lake. We have been told it is safe to drink and we do use it directly for cooking and washing dishes as it is boiled in the process. Just to be on the safe side we have a water cooler for our drinking water. It has two tabs, the white one is room temperature and the blue one is for refrigerated water. There are extra water jugs in the pantry. When they are empty we go to Halls Lake- 2.2 kilometres up the road. A natural spring is there beside the road-side Fish and Chip stand. A tap beside the picnic tables will fill up the jugs. The water gets tested regularly and all that is asked is to make a donation of a loonie or toonie in the little wooden box.

The Shower

2010-07-16T19:41:00.001-07:00

The cottage shower works great. It is however meant for one at a time. It is small. Make sure you adjust the temperature before you enter the shower as I mentioned before, the water is HOT. Also, we have not one, but two hot water tanks. They are both small. If you intend to take a shower lasting more than 5 minutes, the one tank will empty and the other tank will kick in. You will be notified because the water will become suddenly VERY COLD and then just when you adjust to the sudden change in temperature it becomes VERY HOT. Just saying. A message for the city folk: If you think you are having a shower apres swimming to get rid of the “lake water”…….the water in the shower is lake water!! That is where all of the water comes from. A pump underneath the cottage brings the water from the lake, through the hot water tanks, up to the sinks/tub in the cottage. As the water level drops throughout the year we do have to keep on eye on our water intake hose to make sure it remains in the water and not in the sandy bottom of the lake. Just another one of those cottage details.

The Sink

2010-07-16T19:39:00.000-07:00

The bathroom sink works perfectly fine. Warning, the water is HOT. We have a hot water tank underneath the cottage. For the first five years of cottage ownership we did not have hot water assuming the water tank was broken and after actually purchasing the cottage did not have money to do any repairs/renovations. As time went on we saved a bit of money and discovered hot water tanks weren’t that expensive after all. We headed to the Home Hardware Store in Minden to price them out. We met a very helpful man there who informed us the problem with hot water tanks is usually the element. Sure enough, after paying $5.99 for a new element we have HOT water. Five years with having to boil water to wash dishes and bathe kids and for a mere six bucks we had scalding hot water. Which is the point to my story, the water is VERY HOT. Use with caution.

We have a wide arrange of toothbrushes because guests seem to leave them behind and I am afraid to throw them out in case they come back looking for them. I would advise the renters to bring their own toothbrush……or not……your choice.

The Outhouse

2010-07-16T19:35:00.000-07:00

Our outhouse underwent a minor renovation a few years ago. I actually wrote a piece in Cottage Life Magazine about the experience. In one week-end a bunch of girls changed it from a run down ugly outhouse to a run down sunflower themed outhouse. My husband still prefers the outhouse to the inside bathroom. By keeping the door open while you are doing your business your eyes are drawn to the beautiful view of the lake instead of the cobwebbed corners of the outhouse, which to be honest does not get cleaned frequently. It is a great place to go when you want some privacy away from the madding crowd.

Plumbing at the Cottage

2010-07-16T19:32:00.000-07:00

The Toilet
The first rule of any cottage is the toilet. While we do have indoor plumbing, our toilet is very particular. To keep our septic tank running as long as possible we have invoked the old cottage adage “If it’s yellow let it mellow, if it’s brown flush it down.” You can’t just push the handle and walk away like in the city. With our cottage toilet you have to hold the handle down until it is finished flushing. Sometimes that is not enough. When we have a crowd at the cottage the toilet gets used many times in a day. The toilet does not like this and sometimes gets tired. We keep an old bucket in our bathtub for such occasions. Fill the bucket and empty it in the toilet bowl quickly…………and it will all disappear.

Cottage Life

2010-07-16T19:03:00.000-07:00

Well we did it. We rented out our cottage. Terry’s work schedule has changed and we wouldn’t be able to come up as often as we would like and the place was just sitting here empty. As we still have to pay extraordinarily large hydro bills (Why? Why?) as well as property taxes, we thought we would let the place work for us. I placed an ad on Kijiji which linked to my facebook page and before I knew it I was inundated with emails. We were finally able to make arrangements with a group from the Sarnia area.

We have never done this before and to be honest we don’t know what to expect. We want the renters to love the place as much as we do. As every real cottager knows, a cottage has its own character and there are special rules to be followed. I thought I would put together some notes for our renters so they can enjoy the place to its full potential, as well as prevent any surprises.

Baby Ryder

2010-06-19T20:05:00.000-07:00

I am a grandmother.

On Friday morning at 5:34 a.m. I became Grandma Sue. I can’t believe it. I picture grandmothers as grey haired women who like to bake cookies. I don’t fit that description at all.

Terry’s daughter Ashley became mother to gorgeous baby Ryder. While he was a hefty 8 pounds, 12 ounces, he is a tiny wee baby that looks like an ideal combination of his mother and father. I believe it was Dad Warren who picked out the name. Ryder is a perfect name for a baby boy who will most likely grow up riding dirt bikes and snow boarding, just like his Dad.

When Terry and I arrived at the hospital to greet the new-born, we arrived at the same time as Bev, Ashley’s mother. Immediately we congratulated each other and Bev asked me what I wanted to be called. I was very pleased with that, because as a step-mother/grandmother, I feel I am always treading water as to what my role really is. It was very generous of Bev to let me know immediately she was taking on the role of “Nana” but any other name was mine for the taking. Terry and I have decided on Grandma Sue….I hope that works for Ryder.

To be honest, I am not really a baby person. Even my own three children, when they were new-borns, I never felt this instant “bond”. Not until they start to display a real personality did I feel a real connection. I imagine it is the same with Ryder. When I held him, I knew I had in my arms the most adorable baby ever born, but I knew it would still be some time until I could really enjoy his company.

I just hope Ashley will be OK. As a new mother, everything changes. Gone are the days of hopping in the car to go wherever. I hope Ashley and Warren will take advantage of all offers of help they get. As our cottage is within an hour’s drive of Ryder and his family, it is my hope we will be able to spend lots of time with him as he grows up. Our cottage has been missing something these last few years……the joy of children laughing and screaming. We are ready for Ryder to learn to swim in the lake and to hang on to Terry as he bombs around the lake.

Thank you Ashley and Warren!!!

Psychic…..psycho????

2010-06-06T05:40:00.001-07:00

We held our annual Fun Fair at my school the other night. It is so much work on the part of so few volunteers but the entire community really enjoys it.

There is one part of it I enjoy as well…..I think.

We have our community “Fortune Tellers”. While I know the identity of these women, I am sworn to secrecy to tell. They dress themselves up in scarves etc and really look the part. They tell all of the children exciting things about their future. They are going to be the mother of twins and be an astronaut and other exciting things. It is made very clear it is only for fun. However….maybe not.

The first time I met these ladies I was in the middle of trying to sell our house and I was getting frustrated by the length of time it was taking. I desperately wanted them to tell me it was going to sell soon. But no, they said it was not going to sell until September and then we would move in October. I was disappointed in what they had to say but at least it relieved stress because I knew our house would sell eventually. Yes, as you can probably guess, they were exactly right!

Last year they told me I had better set some money aside because we were going to have some major household expenses. Wouldn’t you know it that summer we ended up having to spend twice as much as planned on our little reno project.

This year I asked specifically about Kaitlin. Is she going back to school? They said yes but not until second term. I asked where and they said University of Toronto. While I am pretty sure they got the second term part right (much to my disappointment…I was hoping for September but Kaitlin wants to wait until February), it is the location I am sure they got totally wrong. Kaitlin is hoping to go to law school in Australia. University of Toronto law school (Osgoode Hall) is out of her academic reach. So, these so called psychics really don’t know anything.

Kaitlin and I are heading off today to an information session about law schools in Australia. It is being held in Toronto - University of Toronto to be exact! Hmmmmmmmmmm…………………….

Here we go again………

2010-06-02T15:13:00.000-07:00

On the first of June Kaitlin’s roommate moved out and Kaitlin couldn’t afford the rent for their house alone. She doesn’t know for sure what her plans are for September, so she couldn’t commit to a lease somewhere else on her own. So once again, Kaitlin has moved back in with us. We are no longer empty nesters.

Kaitlin is a recent graduate with a Bachelor of Business Administration. She has applied to law school and we are patiently waiting for an acceptance letter. The realization she panicked and bombed the LSAT exam thus limiting her chances of acceptance is causing me stress. Kaitlin not so much. She is young and to her the future is so bright she’s gotta wear shades. On the other hand, I am very impatient. I want to know where she is going to school next, where she will be working, what her life will become. OK…..I want to know when she is going to move out!

Since Kaitlin has been living here, a total of 48 hours, I have been harassing her about her plans. Terry calls me “the badger”, my friend Diane says I am a dog with a bone. Kaitlin has been very vague about her plans, outwardly displaying her annoyance with my interest in her future. Today, on June 2nd, her second day of living back with us, I gave her an ultimatum. She had one week to come up with a plan for her life.

Within five minutes Kaitlin revealed to me her love life is going in a totally different direction , she is changing summer jobs and she is heading to Australia in February. How is that for a plan?????

Flyers vs. Blackhawks

2010-05-29T16:57:00.000-07:00

The first game of the Stanley Cup finals is about to begin. I have no idea which team to cheer for. On one hand I want Chicago to win because it has been since 1961 since they have last hoisted the cup. 1961 is the year of my birth but it also means it has been longer than my beloved Leafs since they have won the Cup.

I also have a sentimental thing for the Philadelphia Flyers. I remember clearly the first time they won the Stanley Cup in 1974. It was the May long week-end and we couldn’t believe NHL hockey was still playing. I remember my Dad taking us all out to Sauble Beach for a tour of the beach before heading back to watch the hockey. It was very exciting the Flyers were in the finals as they were the first “expansion” team to make it that far. Until then only the original six had ever won the Stanley Cup.

In 1975 the Flyers won the cup again, beating the Buffalo Sabres. That was the first time it was an all expansion team final. It was also the last time the Stanley Cup championship team was comprised solely of Canadian-born players.

So, I still haven’t decided which team to support. It is almost June. It really should be time for me to be thinking of the cottage, not hockey………..but I can’t take my eyes off of the TV waiting for the game.

Well which team is it going to be?????????????

Bonding Week-end

2010-05-24T15:27:00.000-07:00

Today I woke up and the first thing I did was check my Facebook page. I would like to say this was an unusual occurrence, but pathetically this has become my normal routine. One of my facebook friends, although actually she is more of a facebook acquaintance has the same astrological sign as me. I am afraid to sign up for certain “apps” as I have enough spam sent to me as it is, so I was very excited to discover a few weeks ago that through Pamela, my Cancer sign horoscope gets posted each day. Today stated:

Family is what is really important today. Some of your family members are feeling a little neglected. If you've been a bit too busy to give your family the time they deserve, take today to give them the attention they deserve. Catch up on what's happening in their lives. Let them know what you're up to. Do something together. An outing to the beach or park picnic or nice family dinner would be enjoyable for all.

I immediately thought of my daughter Jennifer as I have been feeling guilty lately that I have not communicated with her enough. As she is living three hours away and is busy with her life, and I am busy with mine, it has been hard to connect. However, today who should appear at my door, my middle child Kaitlin and we spent a glorious day together.

It was fabulous weather, being the May long week-end and Kaitlin and I spent the whole day inside on opposite couches……….. on the internet. It did not take long upon her arrival for Kaitlin to admit the reason for her visit was because I have internet while her internet was cut off when her roommate moved out last week. The nerve of Bianca to move out just prior to the week of all the season finales!! So while Kaitlin caught up on Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill, I watched a few episodes of “Nurse Jackie”. Can you feel the emotions of the mother-daughter bonding????

The icing on the cake of this sentimental visit was when Kaitlin asked me what song I wanted to be my ring tone when I called her on her iphone. Of course I immediately said…….a “Backstreet Boy song!!” We listened to a medley of BSB songs while we reminisced about the concerts we saw together when Kaitlin was in grade 7 and 8. Good times remembering Howie, AJ, Kevin, Brian and Nick at Darien Lake and Copp’s Coliseum………..when she still thought I was kind of cool………..times have changed!

The ATM

2010-05-22T17:39:00.000-07:00

I was on my way to work the other day when the guy on the radio said the man who invented the ATM had passed away. Apparently back in 1965 or so, John Shepherd-Barron devised his ATM machine while lying in his bath. The grandfather-of-six had arrived at his bank too late to cash a cheque, and wondered why banks couldn’t operate a system more like chocolate vending machines. The first ATM was installed at Barclays’ Enfield branch in north London on June 27, 1967.

I remember clearly back in the late 60’s and early 70’s when banks were open from ten in the morning until 3 in the afternoon. A short day was referred to as “Banker’s hours.” Money was something you planned. If the week-end was coming up you had to get to the bank by three. Once you were out of cash, you were done. Things were much simpler then. There were no debit cards, no PIN numbers and the only credit card I ever heard of was “CHARGEX”. Credit was used by “those kind of people”.

In my first year university I opened up a bank account at the Royal Bank because it was the only bank close to campus. It was actually right across the street so I am sure all of Wilfrid Laurier were their clients. I remember having to have your pass book with you or you could not deposit or take out any money without it. Let’s face it, I only remember taking out, I have no recollection of depositing. Then near the end of the school year I distinctly remember a bit of construction going on at the front of the bank. Within a few days this machine has appeared. It was a cash dispenser! I can’t remember what we really called it; I know the letters ATM didn’t come along for awhile later. I just remember the thrill of being able to take out $5.00 to go to the pub at the last minute even if it was late at night. The fact five dollars was more than enough for a night out is a topic for another blog.

I also distinctly remember the pressure of choosing a suitable PIN number. It had to be four numbers but not your birthday and you weren’t allowed to write it down anywhere. I remember thinking it had taken me all year to remember my new telephone number and now I had to put another number in my head to memory? That’s when I decided to just use my telephone number as my PIN. So even to this day the last four digits of my telephone while living in first year university is still my PIN number on my personal banking account. I can remember details of so many things, birthdays of people I knew in Kindergarten (Gail Whitendorf – June 6th) but I can’t remember my cell phone number. Now my new credit card has a PIN number assigned with it. I went to use it the other day and it was declined because I couldn’t remember the number. The sales clerk over-rode the system so I was still able to make my purchase – I hope she didn’t get fired for that one!

So while we marvel at all of this technology and the convenience, maybe my mind would be less cluttered and my bank account much fuller if Mr. Shepherd-Barron hadn’t had a bath that night!

Say It Ain't So

2010-05-20T17:09:00.000-07:00

The NHL play-offs are in full force. My beloved Leafs did not even make the play-offs this year…..again. With the Maple Leafs out of contention I had to pick a new team to cheer on. I chose the Washington Capitals because in a six degrees of separation sort of way I kind of know the coach. (Although he wouldn’t have a clue who I am any longer)

So along comes the Montreal Canadiens. This is a team that only made the play-offs because they managed to tie the Leafs in the final game and then relied on New York losing their final game! When you only make the play-offs because another team is even worse than you, you don't really deserve to be there.

Everyone assumed it would be a short series with the Capitals having an easy time of it. But as any kind of sports fan now knows, the underdog Canadiens came through and some how beat the powerful Capitals.

All through the series as it became apparent Montreal might some how win, you could hear the thumps of everyone jumping on the band wagon……..including my dear Jen living in Kingston. Because of her proximity to Montreal I can almost forgive her for becoming a Habs fan, but not quite. As much as I always like to cheer for the underdog, I just cannot bring myself to cheer for the Habs.

The next round brought on Pittsburgh. As last year’s defending champs, everyone was saying, the Habs somehow beat Washington but there was no way they could beat the Penguins. Well you guessed it………that is exactly what they did. It took a game seven win in the Penguins arena but they did it! There was literally a riot in Montreal that night in celebration of the victory.

That band wagon is getting very crowded right now. But I still can’t do it. No way, no how, can I cheer for the Habs. Now they are playing the Philadelphia Flyers. They are down in the series two games to none. They are definitely the underdogs. They are the only Canadian team left in the play-offs. But they do have GTA boy Mike Cammelleri who is really cute. Can I do it? Can I actually start cheering for Montreal?

Me….a Habs fan? Say it ain’t so.

80's Video Tribute

2010-03-27T11:20:00.000-07:00

Thank you Reactive Candy for putting this great video on facebook! It was a 10 minute flashback of my life. As the video started, with each snippet of song I was transported back to some place in my past. Each song reminded me of some part of my youth. The memories are very specific about a certain party, a particular person, a perfect moment in time.

Until 1986.

I remember all of the songs but after 1986 I don't have a memory of an event to match up. 1986 was also the year when I became a mother. Is there a correlation?

Was motherhood the cause of this stoppage of song-related memories? Too busy with children to have a social life? I really do believe pregnancy zaps your memory (otherwise who would have more than one child?) Was I just growing up and my interests changed from music to other more cerebral things? What is the explanation?

Maybe the music in the late 80's was just too bad to enjoy with a memorable event. Whose idea was the whole big hair thing?

wake me up before you go go......

http://www.livestream.com/reactivecandytv/video?clipId=pla_f8290939-8180-45bd-8291-cc478210b2df

Let me know your thoughts of this video...thanks Candy!

March Break

2010-03-19T21:06:00.000-07:00

It is now officially over. The annual week off from work scheduled to let us rest up to regain our strength to make it through the sprint of the last term of the school year. During my career I have spent March break in one of three ways:

traveling

hockey tournaments

sleeping on the couch

In the past I have travelled to a variety of places. There was the Carribean cruise I won in a contest. My father actually bought the ticket for me. I still remember the moment my mother called to tell me I had won the big prize and I was upset because I owed my father $10.00 for the ticket. I realize now the biggest prize wasn’t actually the cruise around the Carribean but the fact my parents agreed to baby sit the kids for the week. There were only two kids then, Greg was 2 and Kaitlin was 7 months old……I STILL owe my mother for that one. Years later, thanks to Terry staying home to look after the kids, I traveled to Italy and another year Greece with my colleagues.

Then there were the many years of spending March break in arenas throughout Southern Ontario and Western New York. Greg and Kaitlin both played travel hockey so there was lots of time spent watching kids play hockey at the arena and more time watching kids play mini sticks in hotel hallways. (Ed, do they play mini sticks in Germany?)

Then there were the last few March breaks spent sleeping on the couch recuperating from those years of travel, hockey, parenting, working and, and, and, and, and………As the kids aged and I wasn’t needed as a taxi driver any longer I finally had the opportunity to catch up on my much needed sleep.

This March Break was different. As an empty nester I was finally rid of parental responsibilities and I had enough energy to actually do something. While many of my colleagues were heading south I was most excited about the opportunity to DO NOTHING. I did not achieve my goal but I am quite pleased with all of the things I was able to do.

Here is what I did this last week:

went to a 30^th birthday party and rediscovered my youth
cleaned and reorganized the walk in closet so I can find my clothes in the morning
went for Sunday afternoon drinks at Scorecards even though football season is over
celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with style at the Lions Hotel in downtown Port Dalhousie (see picture above)
went for five early morning walks (OK, not that early, but during March Break anything before noon is early)
interviewed 3 people in preparation for an upcoming article I am writing (improving your business through Social Media.....August edition of Business Niagara magazine)
networked and made contact with an editor of a new national magazine
confirmed two new articles to write -anyone know anything about eco tourism?
rented out the cottage for a couple of weeks this summer (certainly mixed feelings about this one)
hostessed a real grown-up dinner party (our neighbours are so much fun!!)
learned to make tea (don’t even ask why I didn’t know how to do that before!!)
gathered up all my stuff to get my taxes done (With a father as a CA this one wasn’t very hard)
had lunch with colleagues (three times)
visited with Kaitlin
visited with Greg and my new grand-dog Tyson
messaged Jennifer through Facebook to arrange her new apartment in Kingston
went on a bunch of walks with Journey because the weather was absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!!!
Shaved my cactus winter legs
Admired Terry’s new glasses he bought without my help (yes, that was stressful)
had breakfast with colleagues (OK, technically that hasn’t happened yet…but it’s scheduled for a few hours from now

The only problem is, in one short week I was able to restructure my lifestyle but now how am I ever going to fit going back to work into my schedule????

It's A Small World After All

2010-03-18T09:25:00.001-07:00

The other night Terry and I went to a birthday party for someone turning 30! Initially I was a little reluctant to go as the last time we hung out with this crowd I didn’t think I kept up. After awhile there was only so much I could contribute to any conversation as they all work together, they are single, no kids and did I mention in their 20’s? (Just for the record I haven’t seen 20 in 25 years......OK its 28 years)

Something happened since I last saw this gang. They went from 20 something to 30ish. They are all now married with kids, and more on the way. I should have clued in things had changed by the time and location of the party. It started at 4:30 at Boston Pizza in the Falls. This is the BP with the bowling alley and tons of video games etc. Upon our arrival I quickly realized this was not going to be a party where I can’t keep up with the drinking, it’s going to be where I can’t keep up with the little kids in attendance! The party didn’t last long as the toddlers got tired and had to get home for bedtime. While earlier I was nervous I couldn’t make it through the party it turned out Terry and I were the last to leave!

While the young moms and dads were starting to pack up a woman Terry works with arrived with her new fiancé. Well, he wasn’t exactly new. The story is they dated for a few years as teen-agers and went on their separate life paths. As they became single once again, now in their 50’s, they have reconnected and are planning to get married! It was such a sweet tale.

As I asked millions of questions, which I am told is what I do, I discovered her fiancé and I were from the same hometown! Yes, we both grew up in Owen Sound, went to the same high school, were taught by the same teachers. Denis is a few years older then me but knew all of the older brothers and sisters of the kids I hung out with as a teen-ager. Names and places I hadn’t heard or thought of in decades came rushing through our memories. We had a great time connecting and remembering similar stories of our youth.

What a small world!

So while I thought I was spending the evening with a bunch of “young kids” I ended up reminiscing about my life when I was even younger.

Out House Renovation

2010-03-16T11:07:00.000-07:00

As part of our annual girls’ week-end at Saskatchewan Lake, it became tradition to present me with hostess gifts. I did appreciate the gesture of a good guest but felt it was unnecessary for any more scented candles and other girly things at the cottage. After much discussion around the camp fire it was decided for the next girls’ week-end, instead of traditional hostess gifts, each guest would bring an item more appropriate for the cottage – specifically the outhouse.

The next summer guests arrived with their contribution. Unbeknownst to me, they had secretly decided upon a decorating theme, sunflowers. Before I knew it my sister-in-law Jenny was cutting through the outhouse wall creating a new window and my mother-in-law was on the roof tearing off shingles older than her. The outhouse redecorating project had become a full-fledged renovation! This was not a week-end of pampered woman indulging themselves; it was liberated women using power tools.

Suddenly the modern women image evaporated when everyone began screaming all at once. With the removal of the final ancient shingle, mice had appeared! Small innocent rodents were able to send six strong women off running in different directions.

Once we regained our composure we were able to finish the project. Our outhouse now has a new leaf-proof roof, a window to provide ventilation and much to Terry's chagrin, lots of sunflower paraphernalia.

While we were proud of our accomplishment, our subsequent girls week-ends have returned to the previous agenda, which does not included power tools.

The Hamster

2010-03-14T19:29:00.001-07:00

In an earlier post I mentioned a pet sitting adventure where Terry failed miserably, although I give him kudos for trying.

Jennifer was in about grade 7 and decided she wanted her own pet hamster. With her babysitting money she purchased the hamster as well as all of the paraphernalia associated with hamster ownership. To her credit she did a good job looking after it since I proclaimed loudly to anyone who would listen a hamster is just a rodent with a cute coat. Jennifer became a good hamster caregiver………..until that fateful day.

It was one of the first beautifully warm Saturdays in June. The pool in the backyard was freshly re-opened for the season and Terry was tending to the gardens. Just as I was leaving to get groceries for the week Jennifer put the hamster into one of those round toy hamster balls to let him roll around the backyard while she cleaned out his cage. She asked Terry to keep an eye on the hamster while she cleaned out the cage. He said sure….how hard could it be? OK, maybe that’s not what he said but I bet that was what he was thinking!

A few minutes later Jennifer returned to the back yard and asked Terry where the hamster was. So intent on trying to determine the difference between weeds and flowers Terry did not notice the hamster had rolled into the pool. Terry quickly took action and fished the hamster ball from the depths of the water. There were no vital signs. Terry desperately tried to save the rodent’s life. He started CPR on the hamster. He put the hamster on its back and gently pushed on his chest to try to bring him back to life. Jennifer was the one who convinced Terry to “call it” and the time of death was approximately 15 minutes after I had left for groceries.

While Terry was very upset his first attempt to safe a life did not succeed, Jennifer dealt with her grief quite well.

Less than an hour later I arrived back home with a trunk full of groceries. In the meantime the hamster had been buried in the garden, the cage and all hamster belongs had been washed and donated to the kids Jennifer babysat around the corner. Any signs of hamster life in our household were completely gone.

While I was the one who never wanted the rodent in the house in the first place it did take me aback that a “family member” could be so quickly and easily discarded. Let’s hope Jennifer never has to make the decisions if we get put on life-support!

Jennifer and the Jessicas Follow Up

2010-03-11T19:56:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned a few posts ago, Jennifer and the Jessicas spent a few days of their Reading Week here in Port Dalhousie. We live in a condo right on Main Street, a very brief walk from all the action ……..in the summer. During the warm months Port is the place to be for all of the university aged kids. There is a small strip of bars where all of the kids hang out which includes “My Cottage”, an indoor-outdoor bar which holds up to 2000+ kids doing whatever kids do at that age…..I’m not sure if I really don’t remember, or I am desperately trying not to remember because my kids are now that age.

Anyway……..the point is Port Dalhousie is a fabulous place for young people to hang out in the summer. Reading week is not summer.

Jennifer and the Jessicas arrived on a Sunday evening in time for me to prepare a roast beef dinner. I was trying very hard to be a Beaver Cleaver mother but I am sure I didn’t fool anyone. Fortunately someone gave us the game Cranium as a Christmas gift and the girls kept themselves busy while drinking Pepsis and red wine. The girls then took off to do a tour of the Falls. Living so close to Niagara Falls we often forget it truly is one of the Wonders of the World. February in the dark is probably not the best time to view the Falls. The girls had a good time however doing the touristy “Clifton Hill” thing and I have to admit I enjoyed the pics of their visit to Madame Tussade’s wax museum. They got there near closing time on Sunday night and were the only ones in the place so they got to pose in various positions with the waxed celebrities.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=153959&id=512862694

I believe it was after the museum visit they did the famed visit to Boston Pizza. All I know I woke up in the morning and the fridge was totally empty except for beautifully packaged left over meals from Boston Pizza. Having no prepared breakfast, no lunch to take to work, I pried open one of the packages and found these little morsels of food. I swear I only took two little bites…it was quite good for left-overs. But I realized it was not my food so I only took TWO bites, assuming it hadn’t been counted and weighed. I was wrong.

When I arrived home from work I was sharply accused of eating HALF of the meal. I did NOT eat HALF of the meal……..I wanted to, but I didn’t. So until this day I have ignored the question about the mysterious disappearance of Jessica’s food. (I don’t know which one of the Jessica was missing their food, I just know according to Jennifer it was the crime of the century)

So instead of Jennifer and the Jessicas having a nice visit drinking red wine playing Cranium, touring St. Catharines, Niagara Falls, Kilt and Clover and the Chili Pepper, shopping trip to the States, and all they can remember is that some of their left overs got eaten……hmmmmm….….why is everything always blamed on the mother??

My Happiness

2010-03-11T07:46:00.000-08:00

I came across an article in the Globe and Mail regarding "Happiness". One thing led to another and I ended up getting in touch with someone compiling a book of essays about what makes people happy. She invited me to submit my own essay. I'm not sure what will come of it but in case the book doesn't become a best seller I thought I would share my essay here.

My happiness depends upon my cycle. No, not THAT cycle….. my happiness cycle.

After much reflection I have determined what really makes me happy. I had the AHA moment. I realized nothing makes me happy. I realized everything makes me happy. What makes me happy today will not make me happy next week. My happiness cycle is a gentle ebb and flow of thoughts, feelings and reactions to life’s events determining the degree of my happiness.

My family makes me happy. My children have grown to be independent, successful young adults. I believe my biggest achievement was the day they all moved out to be on their own. Yet I miss them. I miss the days of phones ringing and being needed for rides and food and mom advice. Now I look forward to their texts, their phone calls and their visits. Their arrival back home makes me happy. I bask in their energy and their youthfulness. But then I begin to feel the shift. I start to tire of being the responsible one, the one who is expected to know the answers to their life questions, especially when they choose to do what they were going to do anyway. When the door shuts behind them as they leave, there is peace and quiet and I am happy again. But a few days go by and I yearn for their return.

My job makes me happy. My job makes me feel successful and respected. It is a reason to get out of bed in the morning. I have a purpose in life and a pay cheque to almost pay for my lifestyle. But after too many days in a row of everyone needing me and having to crawl out of bed with too little sleep, I yearn for retirement. The stress starts to wear at my body and mind. The holidays always seem to arrive just as I think I am about to break. Much needed time off allows me to unwind and relax, but before long I feel once again the pendulum begin to sway and I long to be back to work, back to being needed.

Our cottage makes me happy. The first time we arrive in the spring we are welcomed by smells of nature and the view of the overflowing lake. The broken pipes and mice droppings don’t dampen my happiness at all. Nothing is as perfect as the first trip to the cottage in spring. Our time there in the spring is short, snippets of time we grab on week-ends between long weeks of work. Then summer finally arrives and I spend endless weeks at our lakeside retreat. As two weeks becomes three and four, my love affair starts to wane. The slowness of the lake begins to bore and I yearn for the return of work and routines of the city. The pendulum begins to swing back, marking my happiness cycle.

So what makes me happy?

Everything, until it doesn’t.

Until it does again.

The Good Ol Hockey Game

2010-03-08T17:44:00.001-08:00

The withdrawal has been much tougher than I expected. After all, it was only an addiction of two week before I was cut off. The Olympics. I still find myself rushing home to turn on the TV only to find Oprah and Dr. Oz. No Olympics….although there is no Dr. Phil either, but that is OK….whatever happened to Phil….alright I am digressing.

Anyway, I am sitting here watching a new episode of House, working through my Olympic withdrawal pains and I hear the “ding” of my email. It is an email from Terry who is sitting just a few feet away. What could he possibly be sending me he couldn’t just tell me? When I read the email I quickly understand….he is enabling my Olympic addiction!

It is a link for a you tube video of the entire Canadian men’s hockey team gold winning Olympic run. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. What is a video worth? The words to the song, the great pics, this is a video worth watching.

Click on it fast…..the copyright people will yank it any time now….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8PfX4VS_Lo&feature=player_embedded#

Just when you think you are out, they pull you back in.

OH CANADA!!

Pet Sitting

2010-03-05T18:46:00.000-08:00

The kids have all moved out and got themselves pets. Jennifer has a cat named Sidney and Greg just got a new puppy named Tyson. Kaitlin could not be left out of the picture so she got a pet as well, a fish named “Fishy.” I don’t think Kaitlin’s business degree taught her much creativity.

Kaitlin went to the Dominican last week. She was afraid her roommate might not look after Fishy properly so she hired Terry and me as fish-sitters. She carefully explained to me the importance of feeding him each day and night with only 4 granules of fish food. She told me the fishbowl was freshly cleaned so it wasn’t necessary to be cleaned again until she returned. Unfortunately Terry wasn’t home when she left the directions about the feeding and care of Fishy.

The second day we had Fishy Terry decided to feed him. He put in about 4 pinches of fish food which equalled about 40 times what he was supposed to get. By the time Terry got home from work that day, the bowl was filled with cloudy water and Fishy was not moving at all. Terry decided to rectify the situation by cleaning the bowl and starting over. Terry somehow got Fishy out of the bowl and put him in a cup. He emptied the water, washed the bowl sparkly clean and re-filled it with fresh water. Terry realized the cold tap water might be a bit of a jolt for Fishy so he was even kind enough to wait a few hours until the water reached room temperature. Then the fun began.

Terry was working without a net.

Terry tried to fish Fishy out of the glass with his bare hands. Fishy was startled and jumped out of Terry’s hands and wriggled all over the floor. After a few minutes of flopping around, Terry was able to finally catch Fishy and return him safe and sound to his bowl. While everything turned out OK, there was a few frightening moments, although I am not sure who was more afraid, the fish or Terry.

Kaitlin returned a few days later and was pleasantly surprised Fishy was still swimming around. I don’t think she had much faith in our fish-sitting abilities as she still remembers the last time Terry babysat a pet. There was the time Terry tried to give Jen’s hamster CPR. But that is a story for another post.

Olympic Withdrawal Pains

2010-03-02T18:24:00.000-08:00

I am going through Olympic withdrawal.

Yesterday once again I rushed home to turn on the TV only to remember there was no Olympic coverage. I miss it.

I still vividly remember the rush of the hockey game Sunday afternoon. Canada had been on a gold medal rampage and we needed one more gold to create a new record for the most records won by any nation in the Winter Olympics. We also had to win the game not just for the gold medal, but for our nation’s pride. We had to beat those Americans at our game!!!

I have to admit it was close. Too close for my comfort. The tying goal in the dying seconds of the game was a definite let down but it had to be. The hockey gods made it happen in order to allow Sid the Kid to become he next Canadian hero. His winning over-time goal is now the most historic goal of all time. Move over Paul Henderson.

The closing ceremonies were great……better than the opening ceremonies. My favourite was the revue style show led by the one and only Michael Buble. There was every Canadian stereotype imaginable. (I hope Americans did get the joke) The flying moose, dancing lumberjacks, the beavers and even the mounties made BC Place look like a giant gift shop on Clifton Hill (Niagara Falls). I laughed so hard when I saw everyone in the audience wearing their own personal moose antlers. Only in Canada, eh?

Neil Young sang as the Olympic flame slowly dimmed. Then the party got started!

Nickelback, Avril Lavigne, Alannis Morrisette, Simple Plan, Hedley, k-os, (yes, we do have black people in Canada). http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1254585/Winter-Olympics-2010-closing-ceremony-Michael-J-Fox-helps-mark-end-Games.html#ixzz0h4khFs4M I quickly turned to NBC to get their reaction…..but no, they had cut out of the most glorious moment of the evening for…..wait for it……..”The Marriage Ref”. What the …….????????

I did get good news today. My new best friend in Vancouver, Josh Rimer was able to reconnect the camcorder he found to its rightful owner. Bill from Seattle was so thrilled to get his camcorder back because it had the last footage of his father who recently passed away. Bill was so grateful he told Josh to keep the camera! An affirmation for my belief……what goes around, comes around!!! Do unto others…. http://www.joshrimer.com/using-youtube-to-find-the-owner-of-a-lost-camcorder/

Help me recover from my Olympicitis.

Any ideas what to do with all my time now that the Olympics are over?

Vancouver 2010 ~ My Favourite Things

2010-02-27T21:59:00.000-08:00

WOW! Canada has had a fantastic Olympics!! Not only have we won a record amount of medals…..especially those gold ones…..we have brought the world to Vancouver to check things out the “Canadian way.” There are so many things I have loved about the Olympics. Here is my partial list:

The daily debriefing in the hallway each morning at work as we all discussed the previous evening’s Olympic performances. Especially Carm’s colour commentary of the curling. I think the St. Patrick staff is now ready to take on new jobs as commentators for TSN (That’s the Canadian equivalent of ESPN)

Living the Olympics vicariously through my cousin Jane’s face book page. Jane headed out to Whistler a life time ago and we lost touch. Through the wonders of Face book we have been reunited just in time for me to see the Olympics close up and personal through her photos of the locals celebrating the Olympic Spirit at Whistler.Way to go Jane (and Ged and Jack!!)

Speaking of Whistler, everyone has to love, love, love gold medalist John Montgomery!! After his epic win he strode down the streets of Whistler with a jug of beer in one hand and his beloved turtle painted helmet in the other hand. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/22/jon-montgomery-celebrates_n_471642.html The stereotype is true, Canadians love our beer.

Keeping with John Montgomery (Did I mention I LOVE that guy) I love his Olympic story. Eight years ago he decided he wanted to go to the Olympics and tried to find a sport he was good at. He tried speed skating. After one practice he knew speed skating wasn’t for him so next he tried the skeleton. (that small little sled thing where you go speeding down the course 100+ kilometres an hour head first) Who would have guessed two Olympics later he would be winning a gold medal?

Another guy that caught my fancy was Dr. Greg Wells. He was the doctor that explained in CSI fashion the pounding the athlete’s bodies take with each particular event. Since I needed ACL repair surgery from my own skiing accident some years back, my knee was sore all over again when he showed how Alex Bilodeau raced those moguls. Check out the Super Bodies collection of videos. http://www.ctvolympics.ca/video/collections/collectionid=45845/index.html

Watching the Olympics with Jen made for interesting conversation. She informed me 400,000 condoms – 14 per athlete - were available at the Vancouver Olympics. In Torino there were only 40,000 and there weren’t enough. Those athletes certainly have cardiovascular endurance.

Fashion…..you had to get to Zeller’s early to get your own pair of red Olympic mittens. And those America outfits? What were they about? A big advertisement for Ralph Lauren on an snow suit that looked like someone threw up stars all over it?

Watching on TV became an athletic endeavour. All of the shouting and jumping up and down as we reacted to our wins as well as the crashes and falls….OW!!!

Through the Olympics I came across a new internet person (character) I am fascinated with. Josh Rimer posted on You Tube a fabulous video trying to reconnect a lost camcorder with its American owner. You have to check it out. http://www.joshrimer.com/blog/ Another Canadian stereotype confirmed, we really are nice people, eh?

A great way to end the Olympics with a tribute to Vancouver and all of its international guests for the last 17 days.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bU7tZrKZq3s

This internet thing tells me there are lots of people reading this blog…..leave a comment…let me know what you're thinking…what was YOUR favourite Vancouver 2010 Olympic moment?

The Summit Series

2010-02-24T17:43:00.000-08:00

I am sitting with Terry watching the Canada-Russia game.

The pre-game talking heads described vividly the rivalry between the two countries. As Canadians we all believe it is "our game." The first recorded history of our game was described as occuring in Kingston, Ontario where Jennifer now lives. It was first written about in the early 1800's by Lord Haliburton so the Europeans back home could learn how people actually pass their time in the great cold barrens of the new world called Canada. Haliburton named after this man is where our cottage is located. Again I am able to relate our cottage to another blog entry, even in the middle of winter, in the middle of the Olympics...which is where I was actually heading when I first started writing this.

Many people are comparing tonight's game to that game in 1972.

Any Canadian who is old enough can tell you exactly where they were on September 28th 1972. I was in the library at Strathcona Senior Public School (grade 7) where they crammed all of us in to watch the final game between Canada and Russia in the Summit Series. I can still hear Foster Hewett yell "Henderson has scored for Canada!" This was a hockey series which included so many emotions for so many hockey fans and Canadians who weren't hockey fans (if such a person actually exists)

Everyone assumed the Russian national team coming to play an all-star team of CanadianNHL players would be interesting, but Canada would not have any trouble winning. The trouble was, this was before the time of the internet or other communication "behind the iron curtain." Communism was some dark unknown thing but we were confident they certainly could not play hockey as well as we did. We were wrong.

Game Results	Canada Wins Series 4-3-1
Game 1	USSR 7 - Canada 3
Game 2	Canada 4 - USSR 1
Game 3	Canada 4 - USSR 4
Game 4	USSR 5 - Canada 3
Game 5	USSR 5 - Canada 4
Game 6	Canada 3 - USSR 2
Game 7	Canada 4 - USSR 3
Game 8	Canada 6 - USSR 5

While we obviously eventually won the series we came to realize hockey was no longer just our game.

It took more lessons to really understand.

Nagano, 1998 -professionals were allowed to participate in the Olympics. We believed a medal (certainly a gold medal) would be an easy thing to attain for Canada. We were wrong....again. A lacklustre performance and once again underestimating our opponents meant we lost in the Bronze medal game to Finland. The next Olympics in Utah 2002 we got our revenge by beating the host country's team -USA!

This history lesson is really just reminiscing about how hockey has changed so much during my life time. Once viewed as the ultimate Canadian past time, it has emerged as a game played around the world (even in Dubai). There are just as many players registered for hockey in the US (465,975) as there as in Canada (499,695).

OK.....enough of the statistics. ...although statistics are an important part of our game of hockey. The stereotypical Canadian is polite at all times, we never brag or make our guests uncomfortable..... except tonight in Vancouver!! YES! We are going to win this game against the Russians and we ARE going to win gold Sunday night against those braggart Americans!!

Sorry if I offended any American or Russian readers out there. You know I am Canadian, eh?

King Tut

2010-02-20T19:18:00.001-08:00

Several weeks ago Jennifer called me to make arrangements to pick her up in Toronto for a visit home during Reading Week. She also mentioned she had an assignment to finish for one of her Art History courses which meant a visit to an art gallery of some repute. Apparently in previous years the professor took the class to the art gallery in Ottawa but budget cutbacks meant the students were on their own to visit a suitable art gallery. Jen and I decided the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario) qualified for her assignment and we made a date to attend today. I even put the event in my calendar in pen which meant there was no way we could change our plans…… even if Jennifer did get invited to Melissa’s birthday party in Kingston.

Jen took the bus from Kingston to Toronto; I drove from St. Catharines to Toronto. We met at exactly the same time. The wonders of texting each other along the way made it so easy to meet up without any stress. We then walked a few blocks to a great Thai restaurant and then headed to the AGO.

Jen’s assignment had to do with comparing three pieces of modern art. As we headed to the contemporary art section and looked around with lost faces, a docent approached Jen and asked if she needed help. She looked at her assignment sheet and said she had already helped three people today with the same assignment. Who knew so many students from Queens were actually going to go to Toronto to finish this assignment instead of a gallery in Mexico or some other country with warm weather? The docent told us exactly where to go (4th floor) and to come back if we needed any help. I wanted to ask her to just write the assignment for Jen but Jen said I was embarrassing her (once again)

Jen found the appropriate art work and took notes while I found the washroom and took pictures of the CN tower and other scenery through the window of the stairwell. (Photos in the art gallery were not allowed, but check my facebook page for the pics)

Jen said she had all of the info required so we got in the line for the King Tut exhibit. We waited and waited and after about 40 minutes finally got admitted to the exhibit…. which allowed no photography. It was a great exhibit in spite of the fact it was so crowded including crying babies.

I was very impressed with the exhibit but the most philosophic part was the reason why King Tut had become so famous. Because he died so young and so unexpectantly, tomb robbers did not know where his tomb was and therefore his tomb was left in tact until discovered by Howard Carter in 1922. Jen and I were also impressed it was Lord Carnarvon supporting Carter in his dig. (Carnarvon is a little town just south of where I cottage is located, named after Lord Carnarvon.) No matter where I go, there is always some connection to our cottage…………..

A pharaoh that was really insignificant during his time became the best known pharaoh 3000 years later. Hmmmmmmm…maybe there is hope for me to be important, if I am willing to wait 3000 years.

Reading Week.......or, Jennifer and the Jessicas

2010-02-18T14:21:00.000-08:00

It is that time again. Reading Week. University students are given a week off from classes to get caught up on assignments and readings, hence the name Reading Week. In all of my university days as well as the time my kids have been in school, I have yet to meet one student who actually read during reading week.

I distinctly remember my reading week trip to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. That was the cool place to be at the time. I went to Florida with one girlfriend and when I got there I met almost my entire University there. Everyone had flocked to the shores of the Atlantic for one wild week. I thought it was wild at the time but it definitely was not a “Girls Gone Wild” week. Honest.

Kaitlin has just left today for the Dominican. It is hard to believe she will be staying in a five star, all-inclusive resort while a mere hundred miles or so away in Haiti there are millions of people living destitute. This is definitely an example of our haves and have not world.

I will be picking up Jennifer at the bus station on Saturday morning. We have agreed to meet downtown Toronto and then take a trip to the AGO, (the Art Gallery of Ontario). There is currently a King Tut exhibition going on. I remember the excitement of King Tut his last visit to Toronto in the late ‘70’s. There was King Tut mania. Steve Martin even had a hit song on the radio.

On Monday the real excitement of reading week will begin with the arrival of the Jessicas. As you may recall I mentioned in an earlier blog about how Jennifer met the Jessicas while going to school in England and they made her year. Once she met the Jessicas she suddenly transformed from homesick Jen to party animal Jen. They spent the year travelling across Europe and apparently doing some studying. I am definitely looking forward to officially meeting the Jessicas. The trio have become known to me as “Jennifer and the Jessicas”, they just belong together.

After Jennifer returned from England and moved officially to Kingston to finish her degree at Queen’s, she rented a house right across the street from campus. Jennifer and the Jessicas became room mates. After a year of living with the Jessicas, Jennifer decided she wanted to stay friends with them so she moved out on her own. Again, I don’t know details but I have learned not to ask. I just know the Jessicas are moving in here with me for two days and I am waiting with great anticipation. What will they do here in the Niagara Region that could possibly compare to trips south, or for that matter, travels across Europe? What about food? (Always the mother worried about what they will eat) I wonder what they have in mind for activities? I am sure there will be much to tell about their stay with us. Stay tuned………

The Olympics

2010-02-12T17:30:00.000-08:00

Here it is, February 12^th. We have been waiting for this date for so long. The beginning of the Olympics……back again in CANADA!!! As I type this there is less than an hour before the opening ceremonies begin.

Terry and I went to see the Olympic torch as it came through St. Catharines just before Christmas. It was a great community event. It was a cold, sunny Sunday down in Market Square. There was lots of music and fun and excitement about the arrival of the torch.

We held our own torch relay today at school. One of our grade eight graduates from last year was lucky enough to have been selected as a torch runner and he brought his torch for us all to see. He did a great job letting all of our kids realize how thrilling the moment was. His torch carried a flame that originally came from Greece and now, tonight in less than two hours it is going to light the cauldron at BC Place in Vancouver.

There is so much speculation about tonight’s cauldron lighting. Who is it going to be? Many people are saying Wayne Gretzky. Some people are suggesting Nancy Green, former gold medal winner for skiing and a BC native. There is also lots of talk that Terry Fox in the form of a hologram will some how light the cauldron.

My former rowing coach, “Swede,” is a former Olympian (men’s heavy 8 rowing, Montreal ’76.) Swede was able to take part in the rehearsal of the opening ceremonies yesterday. He had to sign a confidentiality agreement to keep the opening ceremony secret but he did post on his facebook page there will be lots of surprises and we will be proud to be Canadians!!

Right now I am driving Terry crazy once more with the TV remote. I keep flipping between the Canadian and the American channels broadcasting the “pre-show”. It is interesting to see the differences between how the two countries cover the event.

I have found a video blog of a guy who is working for NBC as part of the Olympics. In his blog he records his thoughts about Canada. It is hilarious. Check it out. http://vimeo.com/user1106672 Make sure you start with Day 1 and work your way through. Does he really think you need to become a mountain man to live in Canada?

Gotta go……have to get my beer and chips ready to take part in the Olympics!!

Hillcrest Terrace

2010-02-07T17:51:00.000-08:00

Greg is our oldest child, our only son.

He just moved into his own apartment as of January 1st. As with all real estate Greg learned the importance of location, location, location…..his place is located directly across from the Beer Store and a ten minute walk from the bars downtown. His place even has a beautiful terrace.

The first week of living there on his own, Greg invited us over for supper. I arrived not really knowing what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. He gave us a quick tour of the place. It was quick because the place is only about 850 square feet, but just perfect for Greg. I was so proud of Greg when I went into the bathroom. Not only did he actually have a shower curtain, he had gone out and purchased matching towels, bath mat and bathroomy things. It actually looked great!

Greg had gone on Kajiji and managed to purchase a number of used items relatively cheap such as an oak dining room table and six matching chairs (perfect for poker Greg said). He also got a love seat from our upstairs neighbours (free to a good home). A new microwave from Grandma at Christmas time, a new bed and “bed in a bag” set from us and he was basically all set.

For supper he served us a stir-fry….with vegetables and everything. He is actually a good cook since the Food Network is his favourite station when there aren’t sports on the TV.

Speaking of TV that was the one thing Greg had to buy new. He already had a 27 inch TV, but that wasn’t enough. Not just any TV would do…… it had to be plasma, LCD mega hertz, high definition whatever….I don’t know all of these new fangled criteria. All I know is it takes up an entire wall of his apartment (55 inches) and the picture is unbelievable! As his mother I lectured him about the waste of money because I thought that was what I was supposed to do.

Did I mention how fabulous the picture looked? I think I am going to move into Greg’s place for the two weeks while the Olympics are on TV.

Jennifer

2010-02-02T14:56:00.000-08:00

Jennifer called last night. For those new to this blog she is daughter #2, child #3 (youngest) who is attending Queen’s University in Kingston. She is finishing up her Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in Art History. OH….you say, she must be an artistic individual, a student with an artistic flair? Absolutely not! Jennifer is more the pragmatic type. What courses will get me through this B.A. stuff the fastest.

Jen had the opportunity to take her first year of university at a castle in England. Sounds very cool, right? She begged and pleaded to go so far away her first year. I was swept up in the excitement of such an adventure truly wanted for myself , I encouraged her to go. My mother, the one who has the pragmatic genes, thought it was ridiculous. Those that know my mother can hear her say that right now. She warned Jennifer it was too far away to go to school for the first time out of the house.

My mother was right………..as always.

The week-end before Thanksgiving (that is October here in Canada) the emails starting flying about how much she hated the castle and couldn’t stand another minute of it. I was away at a conference in Toronto for the week and couldn’t get in touch with her except to read her emails saying she was living in “hell on earth.” What was I to do? There was no way she was coming home. I had told so many people my daughter was attending school in England there was no way I was going to be embarrassed and have her return 4 weeks into this. What would people think? (OK…some things from my mother did rub off on me)

So I did what any insane mother would do. I flew over to England for the week-end. Twenty-six hours actually. Jen met me at the airport. We had a lovely lunch, went to the art gallery in London (they’re all free there) and even witnessed a protest against the Iraq War. We rode the “Eye” so I could see everything in one fell swoop since time was tight and then we took the train to South Sussex to the castle.

I took one look around at Jen’s residence and school. I sat her down and told her she was NOT coming home with me. I told her three things:

1. The castle was not hell on earth but home would be if she came home before finishing her first year.

2. If she came home none of her friends would be there anyway because they were all attending university all around the province and she would be stuck night after night with me.

3. She had to join three clubs or activities in order to meet people

In the end she did stay.

Jen travelled to Rome. Jen traveled to Paris (twice) Jen went to Vimy Ridge for Remembrance Day. Jen went to Scotland. Jen went to Liverpool. Jen spent untold week-ends in London. Jen went to Milan. Jen went to Poland….just because it was only 25 pounds to fly there………..I am sure she did lots of other things mothers just don't need to know about.

What a terrible mother I was to make her stay.

The most important thing Jen did was meet the Jessicas……now there is an interesting story!! Till next time………….there is soooooooo much more to tell!!

The castle pictured really is where Jen went to school Herstmonceux Castle, South Sussex, England

Am I Crazy???

2010-02-01T16:15:00.000-08:00

On the week-end I was checking my regular sites on the internet when I discovered I could not access one of my favourite blogs. The site suddenly, inexplicably had password protection! Why did she ban me? Did I leave one too many comments and now she thinks I am a stalker? Did I say something to offend? A woman I have never met and never plan to meet blocked me from her site. What did I do? What could I have done to prevent this? I took this very personally

I blame Terry for me over reacting to this situation. (I have to blame someone….isn’t that why people get married?)

This week-end Terry went away ice fishing with a bunch of guys for the first time. This left me with way too much time on my hands. They drove five hours north, to spend a lot of money to live in a plywood shack on top of the ice. I suggested the guys just rent a room at the Holiday Inn up the street. It would be cheaper, warmer and they wouldn’t have to drive so far to drink lots of beer and tell lies to each other. Also, if they really had to they could stop at the Superstore and buy some fish on the way home.

With Terry away it gave me lots of time to dwell on the fact I could no longer access one of the usual sites I visit each day. My internet routine was totally ruined. I kept checking back onto the site over and over again and each time the computer told me I was “unauthorized.” How could this be?

As it happens, I have connected with the blog writer’s father through the internet as well. I know, it sounds creepy when I say “I met this guy on the internet,” but through one blog, I discovered another and I think Ed and I have developed a friendship, albeit a very distant one as he lives in Germany. We are both educators and parents and we have that in common to comment back and forth a few times a month. No, relax; I am not heading off to Germany any time soon.

I lamented to Ed about not having access to his daughter’s site. Today I came home from work and found an email from Ed. He was gracious enough to supply me with the information I needed and I logged onto my beloved site right away. Can you believe it? There is someone out there saying nasty things about the blog writer and she decided to keep her personal site a little more personal. It had nothing to do with me!!

Suddenly I realized I was being ridiculously paranoid. In fact, as I re-read my own writing today I am tempted to put my own password protection on so people don’t realize how crazy I really am. But then I realize the people that really know me, already recognize I am crazy!

Cultural Differences

2010-01-21T16:47:00.000-08:00

In preparation for the Olympics the Associated Press put together a list of words/phrases unique to Canada. Other than “eh” at the end of our sentences I never really thought much about the linguistic differences between Canada and our neighbours to the south. (Although I do insist upon Canadian spelling…..it is neighbour with a u not neighbor) If you are interested in the list, here is the link…

http://www.canoe.ca/Travel/Canada/2010/01/20/12541491-ap.html

The article got me thinking about (not aboot) other differences between our two countries. The first thing I thought of was vinegar on our French fries. I learned early on in my travels to never, ever order your French fries with vinegar in the States. They put on this gawd awful cider vinegar stuff. Everyone knows French fries (not liberty fries) are best doused in white vinegar. You have to be careful ordering iced tea as well…..not that I drink the stuff. I remember traveling companions ordering Ice Tea in the States and getting a tea bag in hot water with ice cubes in it. Now what is that all about?After we eat our meal we wipe our mouths with a serviette.

Don’t get me started on American beer……I am sure everyone has heard the joke about how American beer is like making love in a canoe…….they’re both like f#@$%ing near water!!! (I know, I should be old enough to actually type that word…but what if my mother reads this one day?) After enough beer Canadians go to the washroom or sometimes the bathroom…but we don’t take a bath in there.

The Associated Press list mentioned we call electricity hydro. Doesn’t everyone call it hydro? Hmmmm. I am sitting in the dark as I type this because of my hydro bill but I will rant about hydro another day.

There are so many other cultural differences but I can’t seem to think of any more right now….I would love if there are any readers out there willing to add some of their own.

By the way......if City Wendy is reading this let me know if you have any questions about surviving your trip to Canada. I can't wait to hear all about your Olympic experiences....I am sooooo jealous you get to go, even if Drew is working crazy hours. At least you are both there AT THE OLYMPICS!!

Advertising in the Age of Blogging

2010-01-05T15:59:00.000-08:00

I am not really sure why I blog but I know I have no allusions of making money at it. Nevertheless some time ago I signed up to allow advertising on my site. After reading the fine print I finally figured out if I blog enough and get enough “hits” over a period of years, I will be able to buy a pack of gum.

I am amazed at the ads pasted to my blog.

When I first started blogging many of my posts had to do with cottage life since it was the time of year when all things in our household revolve around the cottage. The ads for most of my posts were sites for cottage related items as well as cottage rental sites. Because the ads so quickly appeared after hitting each new “send” button, I pictured someone in a dark suit and skinny tie like in “Mad Men” just waiting for me to be inspired to blog and to set me up with a suitable sponsor. Lately however, I have become worried my sponsors have not been as suitable as they once were. Here is a list of some of my recent blog themes and the attached ads:

The Holiday is Over (Terry cutting up our Christmas tree in a million pieces)
Ads:

Toronto Junk Removal

Christmas Hair Styles

Happy New Year! (About finally becoming an empty nester….again)
Ads:

Dating at Match.com

Sponsor a Family Member

Enjoying Christmas Vacation (a list of all the things I did over the holidays including watching the entire Season 4 of Dexter)
Ads:

Explaining Death to Children

If there is anyone out there interested in removing junk from Toronto while sporting a cool Christmas hairstyle with your new date from Match.com all while welcoming your newly sponsored family member here to explain death to your children…….I will share my pack of gum with you.

The Holiday is Over

2010-01-02T16:05:00.000-08:00

Today I gathered up of the decorations and put them in a box ready for storage for another year. All of the Christmas tree ornaments are put away and the lights and garland are carefully stored so they won’t be a massive tangle next year. Although we all know no matter how I tried, somehow light bulbs will be missing and there will be snarls requiring the patience of Job to untangle.

The only thing left to do is to get rid of the tree.

Previously in order to get rid of our tree all that was required was to put it at the curb and wait for the garbage men (now called waste management workers). Things are different now we are living in a condo. I googled “Christmas tree pick-up” and found out the waste management team will be picking up trees on January 9th ……only for single family residences! That means we have no way of getting rid of the tree except to load it into the car somehow and take it to the dump (landfill site). At the rate our tree is now dropping needles I really don’t think that is a viable option unless I want to be vacuuming everywhere for the next six months.

I came up with a plan!

When it gets dark, we will just toss our tree over the balcony and then sneak down to the courtyard and hide it in the bushes until January 9th. Then on the appointed day when no one is watching we drag it to the house across the street! Perfect!

No. Terry would not go along with the plan because he thought we would be bothering the neighbours. I think he is just afraid of getting caught….although what’s the worst that could happen? Terry decided his own idea was much better and there was no changing his mind.

Terry took out a pair of side cutters and spent an hour cutting up our tree and putting into several garbage bags. Then he took the bags down to our garbage room and put them in the dumpster ready to be picked up Monday morning.

Somehow as I watched him cut our tree into a million pieces and meticulously putting every twig and needle into black garbage bags, I had flashbacks of the many episodes of Dexter I watched over the holidays.

Do I need to worry?

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T07:58:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

Today is the first day of the rest of my life……yadda yadda……

Can I start out with any more clichés? How about my New Year’s resolutions? Lose weight, exercise more, get healthy, budget better, peace on earth ……

This year I am not going to disappoint myself by listing a whole bunch of resolutions we all know by January 15^th will be ditched. Instead this year is going to be my anti-resolution year. I am guaranteed not to fail.

Today is the day Greg gets his new place and we are officially empty nesters again. However, Jennifer is graduating from Queen’s this spring and is contemplating moving in with us in May until her future is more defined. I vowed I wouldn’t be those empty-nesters with kids who keep rebounding back in. However, I must admit Greg’s short stay here was rather painless. I am sure Jennifer’s will be the same…..if not ,we will make it painful for her so she wants to move back out. I feel like a terrible parent because I am not more invitational to my children. I believe my job as a parent is to create independent people. Why is it so many twenty-something kids out there have parents who don’t agree with me? No matter how strongly I believe in something, eventually I start to second guess myself when I am the only one who believes it.

As I natter on I realize I really do have a New Year’s Resolution, to become an empty nester on a permanent basis.

Wish me luck!

Enjoying Christmas Vacation

2009-12-29T13:35:00.001-08:00

So it is officially my first day of the Christmas holidays I have been able to relax. It has been a crazy hectic holiday season.

I often liken my job to a marathon race. It begins in August with the prep and the first bell on the first day of school is like the starting pistol. I remind teaching staff we have to pace ourselves or we won’t make it to the end of the June. We can’t sprint the whole way but there are certain times of the year it certainly feels like we are gasping for breath to keep going. The month of December is one of those times. It begins with report cards, followed by parent-teacher interviews which can be very stressful because not every student is above average. (Someone has to be average, some even below average but no one wants it to be their kid) Then comes the Christmas concert and the juggling of the timetable and everyone is out of routine. While it is supposed to be a joyous time of the year, in fact it is one of the most stressful. As the principal I try to hold everyone up while calming everyone down.

So in order to de-stress this is what I have done so far this Christmas:

• Shopped and bought gifts for the entire family
• Shopped and bought groceries for two family Christmases
• Celebrated the Olympic Torch arrival with the rest of the city!
• Picked up Jennifer at Queen’s (8 hour drive…..got stuck in Toronto pre-Christmas 5 o’clock traffic on the way back)
• Cleaned the whole house in preparation for Christmas company
• Entertained my parents for three days
• Hosted the McKelvie family on Christmas Day
• Hosted the Tromanhauser family on Boxing Day
• Posted all of my Christmas pictures to Facebook ensuring our “Creepy” Santa was in every shot
• Cleaned the whole house after the Christmas mess
• Had a great lunch with the neighbours up stairs
• Took Jennifer back to Queens (traffic good, made it in 6 ½ hours)
• Went on early morning walks most days (OK, not that early but considering it was holidays, anytime before noon is early)
• Watched the entire Season Four of Dexter in two days…..OMG!! What an ending!!
• Lunch with my friend Dianne
• Open house with the upstairs neighbours
• Prepared for our New Year’s party

Somewhere in there I also got word from editors of two different magazines for some freelance work I had pitched ideas. So now I have to make time to actually do some interviews and write some articles.

I’m tired.

OK, the most important thing here…..and yes, I am looking forward to some responses!

What did you think of the ending of Dexter?

Christmas Decor

2009-12-22T17:25:00.000-08:00

It has been quite some time since I have posted. It is because of so many reasons. School got incredibly busy with report cards, Christmas concerts and assorted things. We painted the entire place. And………..Greg has moved back home!

But the real reason for not posting is procrastination.

So I am back.

As I have mentioned before, my husband and I recently downsized from a large two-story 4-bedroom house to a small condo. We had to get rid of so much stuff. One of the things I got rid of in the move was all of our Christmas decorations. Over the last few years I have come to detest Christmas. To me it had become just extra work, more expense and too much stress in trying to make everyone happy. It felt good to get rid of all of those decorations collected over the years.

This year I am starting to get the Christmas spirit back. I don’t feel so rushed and I no longer feel the pressure to make it a perfect Christmas for everyone. The kids are now grown, they can take care of themselves……..and they do!!

So this year we got a real tree. I bought new decorations for the whole place. One item I picked up was a little white Santa Claus. I bought it because I thought he would look perfect in front of our fireplace.

As soon as I took him out of the box Terry asked me why I bought a “Gandalf”. Not being a fan of The Lord of the Rings I had to have him explain exactly who Gandalf was. I was not amused.

A few hours later, Greg came home. The first thing he asked was why did I have a statue of Gandalf?

The icing on the cake was a conversation with Jennifer. She was telling me one of the Jessicas enjoys looking at my facebook pictures but wanted to know why I had a creepy looking Santa in all of the Christmas pictures.

So……..in my excitement to bring back the Christmas spirit into my life did I rush in my selection of Santa décor? Is my white Santa really that creepy? Is he really a tribute to a fantasy series which I never enjoyed?

What do you think?????

Vote for me........2189 times

2009-11-11T19:38:00.000-08:00

Through Facebook I have reconnected with a classmate from high school. (His mother was my kindergarten teacher) I was very excited for him when I discovered through one of his postings he had been selected as a torch bearer for the Olympic Torch Relay. When I contacted him to discover how/why he was given such an honour he told me it was because he entered a contest. You know, the same contest I saw advertised by Coca-Cola for months but I never entered because I thought no one “real” ever wins those things. I was happy for my old acquaintance to have the opportunity to be part of the Olympic Games but at the same time I was kicking myself I didn’t enter the contest.

Then along came another contest. The Globe and Mail Journalism Dream contest. Enter an article about sports and you can win a trip as part of the Globe editorial team at the Olympics. It was designed just for me! I have always dreamed of being a journalist and I have always dreamed of going to the Olympics!

So I submitted my 500 word maximum article regarding sports and I completed the entry form and ta-da! I am officially entered in the contest. Now I just have to wait and get enough votes to win.

Currently the article in the lead has about 2200 votes………I have 11.

Originally I thought I would coerce my friends and family through facebook to log on and vote for me. A few kind souls did so and I truly appreciate their support. However, the gap between first place and my eleven votes I have to admit is probably insurmountable. I waffle between giving up or being obnoxious. Being obnoxious would mean wielding my authority as principal and having staff and students at my school log onto the computer lab each day and vote for me. Not only would that be obnoxious but I fear it would unethical as well. I am just going to leave it to fate and hope I get a few more votes.

OK………I will try one more time………shameless promotion! Just cut and paste the link below and vote.......one vote every day!

http://journalismdream.theglobeandmail.com/entry_article.asp?id=817

Only 2189 votes to go!!!

Just think………if I actually did win I could hang out with City Wendy in Vancouver during the Olympics and keep her company while Drew worked!