Coulda Woulda Shoulda

D and I checked out this fabulous date night place last night. Perfect. The best kept secret in Parkdale.

There are so many thoughts and stories I WANT to share...and yet, I'm not quite in the headspace to articulate them properly yet. Inspriation always seems to come when I got hands full of groceries or house keys or lets face it, a nice cold G&T. And yet, there's never a laptop nearby when the feeling strikes. I do carry around notebooks. But sometimes I feel like THAT STUFF just ends up sounding like a dramatic drunken ramble, regardless of whether I've been sipping any of the devil's poison. I have talked about feeling inspired by typing. And I suppose this is very 'uncreative' in a way but hey, we've all seen Carrie on Sex and the City. That girl's not hunting down her Moleskin. I think maybe that's the voice I hear in my head. Not Carrie's voice, but a version of that voice that is less "oh-who-should-i-love-today" and more "which-patio-has-the-best-sun-for-reflection-and-of-course-alcohol". But it's that same vein....

It has been the best two days I've had in awhile. I was treated to dinner at my favorite Toronto restaurant. Can you say views of CN Tower and sunset all at once??? I hit the spa for my usual pampering - just a mani-pedi so I can save the facial for next month - and had a lunch BBQ on our sunny rooftop. I got to spend the day with family. My sister, bro-in-law and the Mellow came over. I got to entertain in my house, use our BBQ, sit on our patio and drink lots of wine. Oh and also become quite verklempt over a card that 'Marshall' got for me. That perhaps was everyone else's highlight. I'm actually off today to see more family. Spend more time with little buddies and enjoy more verklempt moments. Although there was no norebang or Belfast pub or Turin restaurant, it actually is turning out to be one of my favorite birthdays. You can really only thank people for that. And FB has allowed for so many more people to help make me feel special on the one day of the year t...

A few videos circulated at work. A bit ridiculous but the kid was cute... Only in a man's head...

I think I may have been out of the North America too long because when I saw this commercial, I was certain it must have been 11:33 on a Saturday night and I was about to watch SNL on Global TV. Something was building... I've just watched this commercial again and can't tell you if it gets funnier after the second line because I can't stop myself from laughing ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE REST. People, really, is this how far we're come in advertising? One step away from a SNL skit? MasterCard, here is another priceless.

This year is quite a special Mother's Day because we've added two new mothers to the mix. Both my sisters joined the special land of motherhood this past fall and will look at this day a lot differently than they have in the past. In honour of all the mothers in my family, I thought I would write a few words about what each one has taught me. My father's mother has taught me not only how to make a great pie or some super canned jam and chili sauce, but also how to stay young. Surround yourself with young people, journey around the world as though you're 25 and always be the last one to leave the kegger. My mother's mother has taught me the importance of honest hard work. As a teacher when not many women were out in the workforce, she spent tireless hours educating children, just like me, to go out into the world and conquer. And always with a smile on her face and a positive outlook on life. D's mom has taught me patience. Patience with your children. Patience w...

We've had some new exciting news in the A-D team. I've shared with many people personally but thought it does need a spot here as well. I've recently taking a job as a technical writer and could not be more excited about this opportunity. I will be able to flex my writing muscle in this new way, mostly in writing, but also in the creation of a product, which is also exciting for me. In an effort not to dooce myself, I won't be writing about it here. Just wanted you to know the next phase of the re-entry plan seems to be coming together. I also wanted to share some wonderful words my good high school friend K shared with me. Her and I used to swing on swings at Lion's Park in the early years of high school, talking about boys and thinking about our futures. "It is soooo nice to have you back in the province. Isn't it crazy how some of our most cherished friends are those who knew us before boyfriends, husbands, kids...before half of our adventures even exis...

We've all had a 'beer goggles' moment, one where something just looked SO DAMN GOOD that you leapt in feet first or lips first, in awe of your chance encounter with some kind of greatness. I ended up clicking on an ad link in Facebook today about teaching in Korea and I was quite impressed by the video for its 'beer goggles' way of presenting Sparkling Korea. Sparkling Korea For most of you who don't know, Sparkling Korea is actually Korea Tourism's slogan for the place. It was quite a funny inside joke of all us teachers about how 'Sparkling' the place could be. The cities had their own slogans, usually with really ridiculous adjectives placed in front of the town's name. Unfortunately none come to mind however when I saw this video, I thought for sure the makers could work for Korea Tourism. A few things they are correct - you CAN save $1000 a month and YOU DO get a bonus when you leave. You can also stress for the duration of your contract abo...

You may know I'm a bit of a Facebook addict, although I can't say I know anyone who has tried it that doesn't check it on a regular basis. I was never someone who got into any other communities - ie MySpace Bebo etc - and I've always said (to the chagrin of my friends who must LISTEN to my ramble) that Facebook was just..well..easy. It' all about interface, sir. Although I'd like to pretend in my fairy tale word that I am VERY web savvy, I'm certain I don't know everything there is to know about it. Then again who does? My excitement today, however, stems from comments made by an ACTUAL web geek. And I'm glad because this means I'm not a crazy person talking out of my ass - at least, not when it come to Facebook. Read it and weep...or cheer...whichever, just read.

Right now I'm sitting at a computer in my HOME OFFICE. Yes, that's right I have HOME. A nice, 3 story HOME that is ALL MINE. Well, I share it with D but he's easy to share with. Over the past 6 days I've enjoyed relaxing on MY OWN couch, staring out the construction from MY OWN window and getting in some exercising running up and down the 3 FLIGHTS OF STAIRS in the space which I now call my own. D and I fell luckily into this place which a friend of ours owns and is kindly renting to us. It's given me a whole new outlook on things. Just having your own space has never seemed so important. I guess it feels like almost 2 years since I've had my own space. We had a great place in Korea - huge 3 bedroom, great for parties - but, in hindsight, it was hard for me to feel completely at home there because I knew I would be leaving. The Belfast rentals always felt instantly like home. I suppose since Ireland is very much Western like Canada, it didn't take much. But ...