Special Day

For the few of you wondering where I have been - I am still here. I committed to a blog between Devil Doll and myself while she is away at university and It is too difficult to keep both up. I could not let this month pass without posting as I want to remember the moment I crossed the finish line for the first time with Mr. Bobo - he is such an awesome kid and always makes me proud to be a mom. To add to the joy, we were joined on the course by a very special member of my family, and our inspiration for running in the first place...... thanks for being by our side C.... we love you so much!

Just Me

I know I rarely post photos of myself, but I want to remember everything about the day, the week, the month, it was taken.

My Devil Doll

In three more sleeps she is off to university... away from us. It feels like I blinked and suddenly she was grown up and packing her bags. I will miss her more than she knows. It has been an emotional week for me watching her dismantle her room and knowing I won't have her with me in the mornings with my latte. I sense a real sadness with her baby brother too. We did not spend much time together over the summer. I was away and she was busy with friends and work. We did get 4 glorious days together in NYC and for that I am grateful.

I know she will be great and do just fine on her own.....

True Love

I love that P. was able to capture this moment at his cabin last weekend. At the very second the shutter went off, it was just me and Mr. Bobo, - suspended on the water without a care in the world.... This little man is so precious to me.

It all goes so fast....

Viral

My teenaged daughter got her first 15 minutes of fame this week in the form of a photo in our national newspaper which accompanied a very provocative article about my sister's business. I took a surprising amount of flack for it, both in the form of jabs at my sister, and my lack of outrage for the photo. I would like to stop talking about it now so here are my final words.

a) I thought Princess photographed very well and it was a nice shot of her. She herself was not offended by any of it, so to me that was what was most important. She took a bit of heat for it, but hey, she has a lived the past 17 years of her life with a pornstar last name so her skin is thick. She laughed and said she felt a little like Miley Cyrus on the front of Vanity Fair. She did not see the big deal.

b) My sister has a great sense of humour. I understand it. We were, after all, raised in the same house with the same set of parents. They are also wickedly funny. So no, I am not offended by my sister's actions.... not ever. She works harder than most people I know. She gives back to her community and treats people with respect and that will always be good enough for me.

And for those cynics who think she exploited my daughter.. she did not. If you need to point a finger, point it at the journalist.

We now return to our regularly scheduled program.......

Broken

Some bells cannot be unrung...

Share

It is officially a New Year which is always exciting. Exciting because you can never know what it will have in store for you. You may think you do, but at the end of the day we must just take whatever comes our way. 2009 was so special to me for so many reasons. I was fortunate enough to share in the most beautiful wedding on earth. I was able to visit my friends in Eastern Canada and make new ones. I shared many wonderful runs with friends. Some in the heat, some in the cold. I shared a finishing line with my son, another with 3 girlfriends, and yet another with a very dear neighbour. I conquered Mordor with M. and A. and survived the war wounds that came with the battle. I shared in some very special milestone birthdays. I learned how to share my daughter with a her boyfriend. I shared a special moment in Ottawa as I watched my father thank so many folks who have made his life the success that it is. I shared in a moment with my mother and aunt that will be shared with generations to follow. I shared meals, concernts, sports events. I have shared memories, secrets, success, renovations, wine, tears and laughter. I shared a wonderful vacation with friends and came home with a new home in the east which I cannot wait to share with all of you. I shared another year with a man who makes my heart flutter each time he enters a room. All and all, a very good year.

So I bid 2009 a fond farewell and thank all of you who shared it with me - I am so thankful for your generosity of spirit and time. May 2010 bring you all health, happiness and many moments with the folks who mean the most to you.

Photo Booth

I don't normally post photos of Princess, but she signed off on this one for me. The snaps on the left represent the very first time I crammed her into a photo booth - she was months old. The photo on the right was taken just a few weeks ago when we landed at the mall for a few hours for some shopping therapy. More than 16 years passed between these two shots, but I remember that first photo like it was yesterday.

Magic

I am officially on vacation for the next month and it feels great. In three more sleeps I will land on the rock and be back with a wonderful group of friends that opened their homes and hearts to me last summer. I will never forget my very first visit and the joy I felt leaning over the edge of a tall ship and watching two whales splash and play beside me. This year I will share that bliss with my son. Over and above the beauty of the coastline are the amazing individuals that inhabit the island. I thank myself daily for my Newfoundland friendships and for everything they have brought to my life. Now, if my friend John would only let me drive his jeep, my life would be complete!

Update

Mr. Bobo's bad haircut has finally growing out and he no longer looks like Suri Cruise's identical twin.  I am pretty sure he is ruined for haircuts for the rest of his life.  D. should still be wearing the ass hat for that one.

Phucktards....

I know this word is politically incorrect, but hey, when you are surrounded by them it is just too hard to resist.

Soon I will be on a beach and it just won't matter!

Member since 1989

I discovered this on the American Express website while looking at membership rewards.  I kid you not.... for 14 million points you can get a Lotus.  Screw the flights, I'm going for the sports car.

Great Wall Of China

This week I walked the Great Wall Of China with my daughter.  I don't think I have ever seen her happier - and at that very moment it was one of the the happiest times in my life too.

Loved.....

Sixteen years ago next week, I gave birth to this sweet thing.  She is my eldest.  Nothing in my lifetime prepared me for the depth of love I feel for her.  I remember seeing this face for the first time like it was yesterday.  I guess as a mother you never forget those moments.  She has been such a gift to us and I could not be prouder of the beautiful young woman she has grown into, both physically and spiritually.  Tomorrow we shall drag our backpacks to the airport - our target is Beijing, but due to circumstances we may land in Paris.  Either way I don't care, I'm just happy that she is mine and blessed to have her by my side.  Always.  Sweet 16 Princess.

Bobo On Ice

Mr. Bobo is playing ice hockey for the first time.  He is embracing it, which is somewhat surprising since he doesn't really like organized sports.  It is so much fun to watch him.  I did not go to today's game as I had to see a pesky client.  He called me on my cell on the way home and was pretty much hyperventalating.... he got his FIRST GOAL.  Not the take away from the assist he also got moments earlier.  It was pretty exciting.  Um, he also went to school this week (spirit week) on sports day dressed as a ballerina.... and no, he did not get beat up.

Read.....

I am in a book club several of us girls in the hood put together 13 years ago.  The dynamics of the group have morphed from year to year as the group has grown and changed.  There are periods of time when I don't go for several months when I am just too busy, but I always go back.  I like to read, I just can't always find the time.   I had the occasion to visit with a few boys tonight I haven't seen in a while.  The conversation turned to books and one asked me what my thoughts were on "The Brother's Karmazov".  I mostly remember I read it during one of the most difficult times in my life.  To begin with, it was a tough read (at least for me).  I remember a horrific father and of his convoluted relationships with his sons, wive and those surrounding him.  It was so much more than just one story.  I remember the suffering, but mostly of my own.   It was a depressing experience.

Sometimes music can take me right back to a single moment in time.  I was surprised tonight that a mention of a book could as well.  I should re-read it and see what it may mean to me now.  I used to read Dead Souls over and over again, but outside of that, I have shied away from Russian literature  - preferred the french.  When I was younger, I read some Flaubert, but then zeroed in on Zola.  The Drunkard was the first of his books that I consumed.  And I mean consumed.

Now my daughter is consumed with a series of books the same way I was with Zola.  I wonder how she will feel about those books if/when she re-reads them as an adult. 

Today is nothing short of a struggle for me

Mildred's Temple Kitchen

There used to be this great restaurant in town called Mildred Pierce. It had been around for years, but shut down last year with the promise of something new.... Well, it is back. The reincarnation is called "Mildred's Temple Kitchen" and it is located at 85 Hanna Avenue in the west end of Toronto - basically just a stone's throw from the old location. I happen to know both the owners and was invited there on the weekend for a test brunch. I think their actual opening is this week, but check the official website to be sure (www.mildredstemplekitchen.com) The food was pretty much as I expected - great. But the new look? Oh boy it is fantastic! Totally modern and ultra cool, right down to the bathrooms. Do yourself a favour a check it out. You will not be disappointed.

Progress

I have not posted for months but felt I should today. This is a photo of a sign on my neighbour's lawn. I've had quite a few inquiries about this as I live in Canada and it is a U.S. election sign. My neighbour, however, is American and favours Mr. Obama. In truth, so do I. I am a news junkie so I stayed up late last night to watch the election. By the time Mr. Obama arrived at Grant Park, it was just my daughter and I sitting on the couch to witness this historic event. I am hopeful he will be a better President than the last.

Segregation was alive and well the year I was born. I was raised in a fairly white-bread neighbourhood and it didn't seem out of place to tell an off-colour joke involving race, religion or sexual orientation. As I got older, I learned the errors of my ways and the hurt that can be caused by even the smallest of prejudices. I am now raising my children in an urban area that is a melting pot of cultures and colours and it is a whole new world than the one I was born to.

I still harbour some prejudices, but only towards assholes.