long time no see

It seems as though the friends we have the most fun with are the friends that we see the least.
A year or more will go by and there will be people we haven't been able to get together with because life just gets in the way.
Well that, and for some reason all of our favourite friends live on the other end of the city.
I know..Toronto isn't that big, but still, proximity often becomes one more obstacle to overcome.

Then again, we have friends two streets away and we still haven't seen them in ages. (yes you henny ;)
But the nice thing is that when we finally do see one another, it's as though it was yesterday and we all just ease into fun conversation and plenty of laughs.
It's always so easy and effortless.

There are a few different couples (now families) that big daddy & I have been friends with for years and this always seems to be the case.
It's so hard to get everyone together, but when we finally do, I always say- we really have to hang out with you guys more often. It's been far too long!

Then another year or more will fly by...

It's difficult to find families where everyone gets along and that you feel a genuine kinship with.
So when you do, you appreciate it all the more.
Speaking of which, we had dinner at some friends last weekend and had such a lovely time.
The kids had a blast, the food was so delicious and the company was well...as mentioned above...easy and effortless.
My kind of night.
Life does get busy but it should never be too busy to get together with the ones who make you feel the most like yourself.

Thanks again for a great night Leila. so much fun..xo

Lisa & Janet hope to see you lovely ladies soon too.
we miss you guys!

current events

I'm not sure exactly when it happened, but I feel like I'm completely out of touch with the latest news and current events.
I have no idea what's happening in the world and to be completely honest, lately, I'm not even sure I want to know.
I stopped watching the news on a regular basis when Lulu was a baby and I still try to avoid it whenever possible- save for the weather or entertainment stories.

The top headliners are always so depressing.
With the exception of Prince Harry naked in Vegas- giddy-up...
But in all seriousness, I know it's important to stay informed, but things like scattered body parts found across the city, movie theatre massacres, busy shopping mall shootings, world financial crisis and horrific car crashes just scare the crap out of me.
I really don't want to know about that stuff.
It's all so alarming.
Being a mom is scary enough at the best of times.
Things like West Nile, H1N1, creepy child predators...there's just too many things to worry about already.
Not to mention all the regular day to day things to fret over, like is she getting enough fruits and veg in a day, is she reading and writing at the appropriate level, making friends and navigating social situations properly.
Is she happy and content?
Hell, am I happy and content?

Anyhow what I'm trying to say, is that I do enjoy reading the paper and catching up on things, but in small doses.
And to be completely honest I usually go straight for the Arts & Life section if I actually have the luxury to sit down to read the weekend paper.
So many things to read so little time..damn blogosphere...

That's not to say that I am completely living in a bubble, I do try to check in on line in the morning for a few minutes just so that I can be somewhat in the loop, but I confess to skimming over anything too political or controversial.
I just can't be bothered.
Sometimes no news is good news.
And sometimes ignorance is bliss.

How about you, do you read the paper cover to cover or better yet what's your favourite section?

thinking inside of the box

One of the best things about summer is all of the fresh local fruit available.
I just love all the fuzzy Niagara peaches, juicy nectarines and sweet cherries.
But there's just something about fresh, crisp, cold watermelon.
I just can't get enough of it.
I know, you can pretty much get it all year long, but there's just something about eating it during the summer months.
The other day I came across this though and it really got me thinking.

When you really put your mind to something anything is possible...
Sometimes a watermelon isn't just a watermelon.
Or maybe it is?
Anyhow it is quite interesting what can happen when you get a bit creative and think a little outside of the box.
Or in this case, inside the box.

I Wonder if I have to go all the way to Japan to get some of those square watermelons though?

Hello..I said cheese already

I read this and had a really good chuckle because I can certainly relate.
The main difference being that big daddy doesn't fish or hang with the By's- said with my really lame Newfoundland accent.
Though I really wouldn't have a problem if he did.
In fact I would LOve it if he went out with the guys and did "guy stuff".
But that's not really his thing.
And in all fairness he's always so busy working that he rarely gets the chance.
So no photos of cans of beer or his daily catch on his iphone. (only super models, killer location shoots and fabulous catered meals.)
Oh the poor guy..
But what I could relate to, was the lack of images of me kicking around.
He never thinks to grab a shot when the light is right, or when I might look half decent.
Unless I tell ask him to.
Not that I'm an easy person to shoot, always wanting to delete 95% of the photos of myself.
I'm pretty sure I was an editor in a former life.
That, and I'm super self critical and am not the easiest person to photograph.
But heck, I'm not getting any younger and it really is pretty much downhill from here in the bags-under- the-eyes department so I really think he should step it up a bit.
When I'm eighty I would like to look back at my forty year old self and say- "damn I looked pretty good for a middle aged mom."
So it's now or never.
The worst thing is that he is a super talented professional photographer and we have zero portraits of our whole family. Nada.
Nothing of just Lulu & I or maybe even the three of us. Zero.
And no, as cool as they are, magazine spreads don't really count.
I'm this close to heading over to Sears for a family portrait session.

If I wasn't always so snap happy, we would probably have next to no personal pictures.
I hope some day Lulu doesn't think she was only raised by her dad, as I am almost always the one behind the lens.
But I get it, he is shooting 8+ hours a day 5 days a week (at least lately- halleluja)
so maybe by the time he gets home the last thing he wants to do is pick up a camera.
I will definitely cut him some slack here.
But the clock is ticking and eye cream can only do so much.
Then again, I suppose it's a bit of a bonus that he hires some of the best photo retouchers in the city,
so maybe there's still some hope.

But in all seriousness I would love to get more images of Lulu & I together before she gets older.
I still can't get over how much bigger she looks these days.
It is going by far too quickly.

How about you, who takes the pictures in your house?

oh  and for the record big daddy's brother took the above image.
Clearly we need to hang out with him a little more often.

zombie mama

I'm not sure if I need to up my caffeine intake or it's the hot weather catching up with me, but I have been so groggy lately.
It seems to take me forever to wake up and I have been having the deepest sleeps ever.
I manage to get eight hours + of sleep each night, yet I don't really wake up feeling refreshed.
I feel as though I'm in a perpetual haze all day long.
I've actually started drinking espresso in the afternoon just so I am able to function.

But if memory serves me correct, I get this way at this time every year.

I like summer and all, but with it comes feeling a bit lazy, which in turn makes me feel antsy.
I'm not great when I'm not kicking it into high gear.
I like to be on the go and when things chill out, I have a really hard time embracing it.
It's not like I haven't had to do anything though.
I'm still taking Lulu to camp each day and doing all the regular "fun" domestic stuff.
I guess I'm just caught up in that same old "I should be doing this" or "I could be doing that" state of mind. When all I really want to do is well...nothing.
Oh the guilt.

But it's mid summer and I know I should just take full advantage and try to relax while I can and stop "shoulding" on myself.
It's O-kay to feel lethargic from time to time.
That's what summer is all about.

Anyhow not I'm complaining, because I know just around the corner things won't feel so carefree.

viva las vegas

I love the sound of fresh lake water softly slapping against the side of a canoe, the distant call of a loon, or maybe the buzz of a cicada high on a tree top.
And is there anything nicer than the sound of leaves gently rustling in the wind?
Or maybe the sounds of splashing and laughing children echoing across a lake....
Ahh the sounds of summer.
sigh....

Well not my summer per say.
My summer vacation sounded more like constant ringing of slot machines.
 And **bleep**what the **bleep** I should have doubled down g-d damn it!!!
And the wonderfully intelligent sounds of drunk people.
And the constant dinging of an elevator with Cher cranked inside. Then again I suppose it could have been worse.
I also heard plenty of this which was o-kay, only I could had done without having to hear it 18 times over the course of the weekend.
And the ever present "Dude, tonight's going to be *beeping* awesome dude, let's get liquored up pronto *bleep*" 
Clearly the movie The Hangover was inspired here.
or last but certainly not least "where can I find "premium" Russian prostitute around here?"
Said with heavy eastern European accent.
All heard whilst breathing in lovely clouds of fluffy white marlboro cigarette smoke.
ah...the sounds and smells of my summer....
sigh..

Okay maybe a slight exaggeration.
But if you are looking for a relaxing summer getaway, Vegas is NOT the place to go.
So no great surprise here.
However if you are looking for a place to wear some trashy high heeled hooker shoes, short skirts, and I mean short, tight tank tops, a bucket load of perfume, love 50 degree heat, crowds and plenty of loud music everywhere, and mostly you feel like you wanna just
Par-tay and stuff yourself to the point of sheer gluttony, this is the place to go.

Then again, that's not why we decided to visit Sin City mid July.
I know, hard to believe I didn't want to strut my stuff in 7 inch stillettos...
Though admittedly I do wish I had packed some elastic waisted pants when I bellied up to the all-you- can-eat dessert buffet.
I'm pretty sure that my sweat currently smells like cheesecake..


It was actually Big Daddy's parents 50th anniversary and all the family met up in Vegas.
Definitely not my first choice, but hey might as well go with the flow and everyone is from the west coast so it kind of made sense.
The weekend flew by and despite my complete lack of love for Las Vegas we had a fun time.
Lulu met her new adorable cousin and got to see her grandparents for the first time in over two years.
It is grandma's happy place after all.
We also got to know our future sister in law, who couldn't be nicer.
Yay finally someone I can relate to in the family!
Bonus that it was all very short and sweet.
In on Thursday, home by Sunday.

Anyhow it's good to be home.
Bonus that we are up $100 from when we left.
Maybe we can put that towards a weekend up north before the summer is over...

too hot to eat

The last few weeks have been hotter than Hades here in Toronto.
We have broken all kinds of records.
Fortunately we have air conditioning and haven't had to be outside for the worst of the heat wave.
So glad Lulu was in the shade for most of last week at the Brickworks camp.

I'm okay with hot weather, but it does tend to make me lose my appetite.
And that is not an easy thing to do..
Not always a bad thing once and a while I suppose.
I just don't feel like cooking or even eating when it's 35+ degrees outside (45 with humidity)
Aside from chips and cold beer of course.
I haven't felt like eating out either.
Extreme heat always freaks me out when it comes to food safety in restaurant kitchens.
Shudder...
Besides so few restaurants have seasonal menus that appeal to me in the summer months.
That is aside from side from Vietnamese food.
Vietnamese food is perfect on a hot day.
Maybe not the Pho soup per say, but Bun is the ticket.
Delicious cold noodles, shredded fresh veg, grilled BBQ pork and shrimp on sugar cane.
Yum.
Even better with an iced Vietnamese coffee.
so so good.

What's your favourite food to eat when it's too hot to cook?

camp grandma & grandpa

Lulu has been at camp "Gran & Grandpa" all week and I can't believe how fast it has flown by!
It's the one time all year that I can just completely relax and not have to worry about her.
Well I suppose I always "worry" that she is okay, but I feel at ease knowing that she is having fun and is completely fine.
Though when I dropped her off and said good-bye her tears unhinged me a bit, but I knew that after a few minutes she would be completely okay.
Besides she is lucky that it wasn't at a camp up north like some of her friends are starting to do.
I can't even begin to imagine how dramatic our good byes will be when she starts doing that.
If she ever agrees to do that.
Until then it's Niagara-On-the-Lake for a couple of weeks each summer.
Oh the poor little thing...

She's so incredibly lucky to have such amazing grandparents.
Her week will be filled with swimming, art camp, play dates, tea parties, treats and more kisses and hugs than I'm sure I could possibly ever shower on her in an entire year.
My parents are so enamoured with Lulu.
I wish I had that type of special bond with my grandparents when I was a child.
Unfortunately distance made that difficult, not to mention I had so many cousins that I was never numero uno the way Lulu is for my parents.
She's also lucky that they're still so young and energetic that they have no problem keeping up with her.
In fact, I have a hard time keeping up with them!
When you look up The Perfect Grandparent in the dictionary, I'd be surprised if there wasn't a picture of my folks in there.
They really are fantastic.
Such a lucky girl.

Anyhow with all this freedom we've been trying to take full advantage of our temporary empty nest.
We went out for dinner a couple of times and took the pooch for walks after dark.
Who knew that it would be such a small luxury to go for a walk in the neighbourhood together after 9 pm?
But truth be told, we've both so tired lately that all we really want to do is just enjoy the quietness of the house and relax in the backyard.
G-d we're getting old..
Big Daddy has especially been working like crazy and really could really use the down time.
Bonus that our neighbours and their *daycare* I mean kids, are away at the cottage, so it's super quiet and a nice break to not hear crying, screaming or fighting for a change.
We want to try enjoy all the peace & tranquility while we can.

But once again, as nice as it is to have a breather from being a parent, it goes without saying that we both miss Lulu and look forward to having her back home.
Because as nice and mellow as it is, it always feels like something is missing when she's not around.

Until then, I'll be sitting under the tree in the back yard reading my book, not thinking about anything or anyone for the next 24 hours enjoying the sound of the birds, cicadas, and Chelsea snoring at my feet.
Ah the sounds of summer...

happy belated

Had a very low key Canada day long weekend.
We enjoyed the back yard for the first time all season and came to the conclusion that it might actually be quieter in the city than in Cottage country on a long weekend.
The neighbours were away and there were no trades making any noise.
Holy construction on our street...
We didn't hear any jet skis, power boats or people across the lake "given' r" all night long.
All we could hear were the birds and the crickets.
It seems as though our entire neighbourhood has made the annual pilgrimage up north for the summer.
Fine by me.
There are times when I miss our family cottage and wish my parents hadn't sold it.
And occasionally I'll even miss the boat.
Just a little bit.
But after being able to just chill out and do very little this weekend- especially not having to pack, prep, slather on the bug repellent and be stuck in traffic, I realized that it's really not so bad to be city bound in the summer.

Then again, big daddy was on MLS all weekend "checking things out".
So who knows what next summer may bring?
Until then, just enjoying keeping things simple.

Happy Birthday Canada.
Glad that you are my home & native land..

happy pride weekend

                                                  this about sums it all up.....