We're Baaaacck!

You know what they say, "A bad day in the Bahamas is still better than a good day at home..." At least from now on, that's what I say... Despite all of our outgoing flights being cancelled at the last minute due to the snow in NYC, despite driving nine and a half hours to two different airports to catch two cancelled flights, despite dropping an extra 400$ on unexpected hotels rooms in cities like Syracuse New York and Nassau, when we finally arrived on Tuesday morning rather than Sunday afternoon, Lochabar was a tropical oasis unlike any any we had ever seen....The water was as clear as a swimming pool for miles and our view was only ever impeded by the sunlight reflecting off the water. The locals complained all the time about how cold it was (we were there during a cold snap), but the coldest day was probably about 20 and by the end of the week I am sure the temperature was up to almost 30, but there was always a nice breeze which made getting a scorching sunburn a cinch! When we did venture into town for groceries or island fare, the people were very warm and kind and with the exception for hundreds of roaming goats and sheep, there was almost no "wildlife" to speak of. Sadly, on the way home we lost our camera which was full of great pics, so I only have these three two show you. Its probably for the best; I hear the weather here was one of the coldest weeks this winter...

So Long Baby!!

After what seems like several winters of being pregnant, having babies and selling houses, we are finally off to the sun and sand of glorious Whistling Duck Cottage, Long Island, Bahamas. My fantastic mother and my wonderful sister-in-law have generously offered to look after our adoring children for the week. (if there is a word that reflects generosity to the umpteenth power, please let me know so that I may replace the understated "generous"). Stay tuned for many, many pics of us lounging, sipping, swimming, snorkeling and all around lounging, that will make you mouth water.

Hi-Ho-Hi-Ho...

Well, I am at the end of week two. So far so good. It was somewhat disappointing that the same jokes are going around (we sell a lamp called 'Colon') and the bloody photocopier in our office hasn't been heaved into the compacter, but otherwise, a very smooth transition. I won't pretend like I am not exhausted. Between classes at Ottawa U and trying to keep up with my working out (six mornings a week, swimming, running, gym, just to brag a little), I am pretty pooped by ten o'clock, but I am extremely fortunate to have the support of a wonderful family and the services of a fantastic Nanny. Stay tuned for humorous Swedish anecdotes...

The Final Countdown

Six days and counting... How 55 weeks will fly by when you're changing diapers and counting stretchmarks! On Monday January ninth I will reunite with my coworkers for the first time in over a year. I have some seriously mixed feelings about this, as you can imagine. On the one hand, I do love my job (most of the time). I like the people I work with (most of them). And I know it won't be much longer before I go completely stir-crazy staying at home. But on the other hand, the baby is so darn CUTE and she seems to be exceeding her daily cute record every day!!! (see photo) I have really enjoyed taking walks with her, baking and cooking with Simon (which may explain why my pants keep shrinking...) and all the wonderful home-maker type things that I would never EVER have done before. (cooking for my man and cleaning the oven to name a few). But the fun has to end sometime right? I have a wonderful Nanny who will look after the kids and I will be home on Fridays, so its not like I won't ever see them, sniffle sniffle... but I will be sad to leave on Monday morning just the same.

Merry Christmas to ALL!

Living in a diverse city like Ottawa can be tricky during holiday season. I had a bit of an awkward situation last week when I wished the Pizza-Guy a Merry Christmas. It was evident that Christmas was not one of the holidays observed by this man, but being a friendly person who was not brought up in the age of "PC", I have been throwing around the "Merry Xmas-es" like they were candy canes at the Santa Claus parade. He gave me a blank look for a second and wished me the same, but I could tell I had made him uncomfortable. While I gorged on my pizza, I took some time to reflect on what had happened and I have come up with this solution to what seems to be a problem plaguing department stores and consumers, Christian and Non around the world. Whether you celebrate or even observe the same holidays and anniversaries as I do, I will still continue to wish you a happy "whatever" regardless. I do not feel that I should curtail my enjoyment of the season or my desire to spread joy simply because you do not share in it. I would not be offended if you wished me a "Happy Hanukkah" or a "Merry Eid"; I would be thrilled that you thought to welcome me to your celebration. I think it is sad that someone would take offense to being wished a happy anything for that matter. "Happy Pride Week" to all my gay AND straight friends you will hear me say this summer. I will accept a "Merry Columbus Day" from my neighbors to the south next fall. We should all accept a wish for a nice day from your waiter, neighbor, bus driver and give one in return this year. There are plenty of people wishing ill to oneanother, lets wish something pleasant and be happy when someone wishes it to us!

Student ID 2715440

Its official; I have been admitted to University of Ottawa's Business Admin program! Look out world, pretty soon I will have a license to kick butt all over the map! (up until now I was relying solely on my authoritative tone and good looks). Stay tuned for exciting tales from "Adventures in Macroeconomics 1101"; Coming soon to a blog near you.

You know you have become a true Ottawaian when...

Okay, I have partially ripped this off of my sister's list and a list that was tabulated in Ottawa magazine, but most of these are my own. Feel free to add yours...

1. You have a great suit for work on, but you have white sneakers or any shoe from MEC on your feet.
2. Your kid is four and you're still breastfeeding it.
3. You complain about the traffic (which is non-existent)
4. You aspire to become a Public Servant
5. You won't spank you kid; in public or otherwise
6. You give up smoking
7. Most of your wardrobe comes from MEC and/or is made of hemp
8. You spend over 20k on childcare every year
9. Over 75% of the people on your party list are Public Servants and Lawyers
10. You have a cottage and it is 12 minutes from your home
11. You shop "organic"
12. You ride your bike to and from work (see point 1)
13. You have a nanny and its not considered a luxury but in fact a way of saving money (see point 8)
14. You are more afraid of the police than the crack-heads
15. You paid over 400k for a townhome in the 'burbs
16. You restrict your highlights to blonde, otherwise its too racy
17. You wait until you're in your 40's to start having children
18. You dress badly (upscale to you is the Bay or Cleo)
19. You have named your child Sienna or Bryce or anything ending in an "ie" rather than a "Y"
20. You have forgotten the words to " O Canada" in French, but know them backwards and forwards in English
21. You know the truth about Max Keeping
22. You are surprised to find out someone is straight.
23. Your boys swim instead of play hockey (I think in Quebec you can actually be stoned for this...)
24. You install floating floor (over hardwood!!!)

This May Alarm You...

As mentioned in my first blog I have started a Neighborhood Watch program for our block (yes, the entire rest of the city can drop off the face of the earth for all I care, so long as the few hundred feet of property around me are okay...). In the last three weeks three of my neighbors have been broken in to (one while they were home no less!), so it would seem we are in the middle of a mini crime wave. Like many of my neighbors, upon hearing fo the break-ins I called an alarm company for an estimate. So the guy shows up promptly the next day to regale me with horror stories about the woman down the street being attacked in her home by her ex husband who is a "pathalogical thief in this area" and how my dog will be killed by a lethal screwdriver weilding man any minute now... He also went on about how scared I was and how scared my children are and how he deeply cares about me and them....At this point I was scanning the room for a screwdriver... I finally managed to get rid of Robert Stack by telling him that my husband would have to make the final descision and we woud get back to him. (for those of you just tuning in, I am not married nor have I ever relied on my husband to make descisions). In the end we have decided to forgo the alarm for now. Maybe it has something to do with my rural roots, maybe its because I hate the thought of driving my neighbors up the wall every two hours because some squirrel has set the damn thing off (I think squirrels have excellent connections on the blackmarket trading front....). Mostly I think the thirty dollars a month could be better spent on dog food for our giant man-eating dog; Killer (seen above)

Book Review...

So I have just finished reading Oprah's latest book club selection, A Million Little Pieces. I was not, as many of Oprah's minions were, blown away. This book seems to be nothing more than a 430-page collection of oddly strung together curse words with the occasional descprition of the authors stomach contents. I admit that I had read it almost straight through without any breaks; it was difficult to put down at times, but only because I kept waiting for something to happen. It didnt. I kept waiting for this little pompass prick to get his ass kicked (which he seriously deserved), but instead I am expected to believe that he kicks the ass of several infamous mobsters and beats this overwhelming twleve year addiction to the worlds most additive drugs by simply reading the Tao of Somethingorother... I didn't and don't buy it. I am happy to report that I now know the difference between crack and heroin. Maybe that will come in handy. Most of the curse words I was already familiar with...

Whats for supper?

Elizabeth's culinary experience.... 

Where's the Beef Store Muma?

CAUTION! This entry may be offensive to some readers (wussy veggies and vegans mostly...) A friend of a friend of a friend sold us a 1/4 side of beef this week. We all piled into the van to go get it at around suppertime to drive to the end of the earth (also known as Bell's Corners) to pick it up. Zip is seriously looking forward to a winter of steaks, roasts and burgers. Aorta, brace thyself.

Simple Beginnings

So I have started a BLOG. (does Blog stand for something?). When I first heard of Blogs (God I even hate saying Blog in my head; it sounds like something you're trying to expell), I wondered who would think so highly of themselves that they would publish an entire website to thier lives? I will save you the suspense; I am not that interesting. I am winding down what has been a fantastic maternity leave, so I have some extra time. What do I do with this extra time you might ask? Well, I cook and bake (quite well I might add). I run and swim (painfully slow, but six times/week) and I have started a neighborhood watch as well as a bookclub. I guess you could say I am that red-head from desperate housewives. (only fatter and with no immediate plans to kill my husband and sleep with the local pharmacist). Where was I going with this?.... Oh yes; So I was thinking to myself that my sister has a blog, my friend Latz has a blog, and numerous other "bloggers" that I dont care to mention have created these egotistical odes to themselves so I figured, why not me? Maybe I could put this on my resume? Anything to fatten that pamphlet... Happy Blogging!