Go Henderson Go!

And I don't mean my child.

Today is the 35th anniversary of the goal that changed Canada. Paul Henderson was a pretty good Leafs player back in the day but when he scored the winning goal in the Canada/Russia Summit series with 34 seconds to go, he became a Canadian legend. A total hero. Every Canadian kid wanted to grow up to play hockey after that day. He scored on the best goalie on the planet. A Russian who's name still strikes fear... Tretiak.

Everyone in the country was watching that game. When we won, every Canadian felt like they were on the ice helping the team. I was only 5 but I still remember my dad watching the game and screaming with joy. He had taken the day off to watch it. Our neighbours poured out onto our street to clap each other on the back and celebrate when it was over.

After that series, Canada became a force in hockey. We expect a lot from our players and we're rabid and possessive about our game.

Henry just started playing this year. I'm trying to get him to choose jersey 19. And today I'm calling him by his full name Henderson and telling everyone that we named him after Paul.

kxx

Ack! A new blog

I have to get the 2/3 of the kids ready to go and I have to get ready for a staff meeting. I also have yet to blog. I'm running a bit late this morning as you would imagine so a throway blog is in order. Sorry everyone.

Would You Rather

Would you rather have a terrible, rank smell in your nose constantly--or--Have your nose perpetually stuffed up?

Think about that smell. It could be like stinky cheese or really bad BO. Enough to make you nauseous. Eternally following you. What about having a stuffed nose? We've all had colds. You can't taste foods and you talk funny. Your head feels cloudy all the time.

So which would you rather?

I'm interested in this one. I've had both this week due to hay fever and I can't decide. Both sucked.

Gotta go,
kxx

This seems to be ad week

Okay, two days ago I was crowing on about how much I love this Kinks song. I put it in my profile and I absolutely can not resist moving my shoulders to those first 6 notes. Then I get up and dance. Not unlike the ungainly hippo in Fantasia but that's neither here nor there.

Well, the lovely folks at Joe Fresh Style have responded to my email (and tons of others, apparently) and put the ad on their website. I've got one word for theose people. Yay. You wouldn't believe from this stellar commercial that these clothes are only available at a grocery store. You heard.

So here's the link to the ad I love right now (click "Emmy Awards Spot: Happiness"). I want to promise that this is the last you'll hear of it but I can't. And you know I'm going to be shopping there. After all, I am an advertiser's wet dream.

kxx

Why I hate politics

I don't like politics. Frankly, it's a case of I'm-bored-with-what-I-don't-understand. Politics are complicated and I have a very short attention span. We have a provincial election coming up and I usually vote Liberal. I know there are shades of grey in everything but my thoughts on Liberals vs. Conservative are black and white. Easy. Right-to-choose vs. Anti-abortion. Immigration vs. closed borders. As a female black child of immigrants, how can I vote any other way but Liberal?

And the TV ads are so irritating. Remember how yesterday I told you all how I loved commercials? Well not political ads. All overexposed with men (usually) smiling smiles that look like they'd happily take a bite out of your cheek. And don't get me started on negative campaign ads. They drive me nuts. As an uninformed voter I'm so not interested in the terrible crime the other guy committed or geriatric he didn't help across the street. I want to know in chewable byte sized nuggets, what you will do for me. And in that respect the Liberals win again.
Dalton tells me that he will invest money in education every single night. Hey, I have kids in school. That's good. All John tells me is that Dalton pretty much sucks. Um.. yeah. He's a politician. You all pretty much suck.

Look, I'm no idiot. I know they all promise me things to get my vote. Things that they back down on when they get into office. But attack ads just irritate me and make me want to vote for anyone but the attacker. Thank goodness the "good guys" aren't doing it. Maybe they don't do it because they can't. Anyway, I don't get too excited about it. I just shut up and tick the Liberal box.

kxx

Get the frug out of here

I've said it before and I'll say it again. A good ad is like a little piece of candy from the Pot of Gold tray or a little shot of adrenaline. A good commerical can make you laugh or cry (sometimes both) in less time than it takes to make a sandwich. With Cheez Whiz. I've even been known to stop and play ads that look unfamiliar as I'm fast-forwarding through the dreck.

Lately I've been discovering music on ads. Did you know there are websites out there dedicated to helping you find elusive ad music? I'm so delighted by this. Because now instead of dancing while the ad is on and looking like a complete fool, I can download it and play it on my mp3. I discovered Bedouin Soundclash and The Snitches this way (thank you Zellers). Telus has good tunes too. Now I've discovered... wait for it.... The Kinks.

Yes, a little up and coming band with a 60s vibe that has me off my frugging couch every night. Yay Joe Fresh fashions. Seriously... I'd never heard this amazing song before and I had to search like crazy before I found it and where do you think? Right under my nose, here at MySpace. It's my new profile song and I love it more than cake right now.

Go listen. You'll love it. It's Monday. Trust me, you'll need the frugging break.

kxx

The mantle has been passed

There was a big spider in the bathroom this morning. I wasn't in freak-out mode (yet!) but I was keeping one eye on it and the other was looking around for something in room to squash it. It was quickly and steadily coming down to where I could hit it with a shoe but I was in the bathroom in my jammies. No shoe and if I left to get one, it would be gone. And my imagination would have it in all sorts of places from my toothbrush to my towel. Ugh.

Suddenly my saviour arrives. Not Scott but in the form of an 80 pound, gangly 11 year old. When I told Elliott about the spider, he calmly took a kleenex, mashed it between his fingers and calmly dropped the kleenex in the toilet. With none of the shaming, teasing or humiliation that would have been heaped on me by his father. Looks like I have a new go-to guy in terms of spidercide.

kxx

AUDREEEEEYYY!!!

Uck! What a way to wake up in the morning.

Remember all that complaining I do about my dreams being boring? Well I take it back. Just before I woke up I dreamt that Audrey and her friend Jasmine were playing hide-and-seek in the yard. Jasmine came up to the house saying that she couldn't find Audrey. We searched the whole house and neighbourhood calling out to her before the alarm clock went off. You know that feeling you get the first few times you call out that you'll find whoever it is... that everything's fine? Well that feeling started to melt away into panic and thankfully the clock went off before I got into full-on freak-out mode.

When I got out of bed I went straight into her room and gave her a hug and kiss. I even told her to watch out for that Jasmine. And you know I'll be keeping a close eye on her for the next little while. Maybe the dream was my subconsious telling me to do just that.

kxx

Ohhhmmmm....

Yup, looks like another stream-of-consciousness blog. I've got nothing going on but the rent. Sorry guys...

Let's see:
*The radio's on. I'm listening to the rock alternative station Live 88.5. They just played "Timebomb" by Beck. Cool song.

*My back is sore since I paddled right on the dragonboat last night for the first time ever. It was weird. Like writing with the wrong hand.

*I just called out to Audrey to remind her to brush her teeth... wow, this is boring. I'm not burdening you all with today's blog anymore. See you tomorrow.

kxx

I’m biking to work again today

On nice days I like to bike in to work. It's a 30 minute ride and it's one of the prettiest rides in town. Now let me clarify that I ride my bike and not race my bike to work. Because on the way I'll pass Greg LeMond wannabees (or Lance Armstrong for you kids out there) dressed to the nines in their tightest Tour De France sexywear and riding $1200 racing bikes. To commute to work. Whatever.

In case you didn't get the pretty part of the ride above, let me explain the best part of the route. It starts at Andrew Haydon Park then goes east through to Brittania beach. The trail on both sides is lined by trees. Through the trees to the north I can see the Ottawa River just a few metres away. I see ducks, frogs, Canada geese, gulls, and even great blue herons on the shore looking for breakfast. On this part of the trail I've seen rabbits, groundhogs, chipmunks, squirrels and snakes. So amazing. And I see at least half these animals each time I go out. It's truly amazing.

I think it's so gorgeous and I'm so privileged to see this stuff that I often get off my bike to take it all in. I'll get off when I see a heron which I find huge and beautiful and once I got down to watch a snake slither across the path. I dutifully pull my bike off to the side and sit for 5 minutes. When I'm done I'll get back on my bike and dorkily (I admit it) call out to the people I pass that there's something cool ahead. I always get roundly ignored and sometimes I get looks like I'm a nutjob. Why? Because I enjoy my bike ride and want to share it with people? Because I don't wear a speed suit and ride my bike with my head down ignoring the gorgeousness around me? And I'm the kook? Alrighty then. Sign me up for a double helping of crazy, please.

kxx

Whew! Thank God it’s Monday

Weekend Recap:

Friday: After work I got measured and fitted for a new bra. I had to rush as I didn't want to leave the kids alone for long. Got a nice one, though. BTW, its a 38C.

Saturday: Scott took 50 plastic airplane models (a drop in the bucket that is his "hobby shop/office", really) to a trade show to try to sell them. He was there most of the day. The rest of us did groceries at the store where I feel the least embarrassed to drag around 3 indifferent children. Of course it's the most expensive as well. No problems, I'll gladly pay for the privilege. And the free cookie to keep them quiet. Later we took Audrey took her to her horse-back riding lesson and at night Scott went to see Genesis.

Sunday: I had another dragonboat competition. I got a ride and the kids couldn't come since Scott had to take them to hockey sort-outs. Poor Audrey had to go too but it couldn't be helped. Oh, and we came in 5th out of 10 boats. Hey, we weren't last. At night I did laundry since Elliott needed clean gym clothes for today. At least he didn't tell me this morning. And laundry is no longer a chore, anyway. I can also do other things while it's running now. Because I no longer get hypnotised by the spinning drum.

And that was our weekend. I'm so glad it's Monday so I can rest.

kxx

What do you do with your photos?

My poor kids. I was looking at a photo album of them the other day and realised I have no photos in it from the last 3 years. Why? That's when I got my digital camera. Oh, I take photos, don't get me wrong. I have hundreds of them. Thousands, maybe. But they're all on my computer hard drive. I email them to people, I gaze at them on my computer screen, I post them here and on Facebook but I have nothing to put in an album. This came up because when Audrey had her first horseback session last week, Scott wanted to take "good" photos so he used his film camera with the big lens. He then asked me if I passed a developing place on my way to work. I seriously had no idea.

Then there was the birthday call to my elderly aunt Bernice in New York last week. She told me she had no recent photos of the kids and could I send some. I checked myself before I asked for her email address. Elderly aunt... lives alone... ergo, no computer. She actually wanted me to mail her hard copies of the photos! Do people still do that?

So I had to ask her snail mail address then get a tutorial from Scott on how to print off photos from the computer. And you know how I get when Scott tries to teach me something. Not pretty. Then I had to cut them out of the computer paper, put them in a little album, buy an envelope that fit the thing, buy postage and mail it. It would have been easier to have bought the woman a computer, had it shipped to the States then emailed them to her. The whole process took all weekend.

So what do you do with your photos? Are they all on your hard drive? What if the computer crashes? It really is a new world. A speedy new world. A new world of people with no photos of their kids in their wallets. A better world. Right?

kxx

Still having logistical problems

Since school started, our mornings have been going well in terms of getting the kids ready. The problem lies with Scott. He's absolutely incapable of self starting in the morning then grumps at me when I wake him up during the kid getting ready lull at 7:15. Look. We have a dual alarm clock that rings or buzzes like crazy at 6:45 but he won't get up unless I nag and poke him. And frankly I can't do it for another 30 minutes. Then I have to hear about how he's stuck in traffic because he's late. Um, I've got an idea. Get out of effing bed when the alarm rings. Geez. Like I need another kid to get ready every morning.

Okay, vent over. And no, mummy and daddy aren't breaking up. Mummy's just pissed off at daddy right now. She grudgingly admits she still loves him. Sigh.

kxx

Stupid Myspace

I usually blog before work so I can avoid the high traffic/high demand computer time everyone in this house demands. That and the fact that I have supper cook, homework to help with (times 3), various cleaning/laundry chores to contend with and the fact that I just don't wanna blog so late. I couldn't today because MySpace was down this morning. So now I'm blogging now. Here it is. My blog. Ta DAAAAHHH!!!!

kxx

I’m such a geek

Really. I like both Star Trek and Monty Python. Although I am a Jean-Luc Picard fan much more than Captain Kirk. Set phasers to "hot".

Anyway, this video makes me makes me giggle like a little girl.

kxx

Poor Britney

I know the internet will be buzzing about this but I had to add my $0.02.

Last night I watched the VMAs. It was to have been Brit's "comeback" performance. What she's coming back from is beyond me as she's been in the news every day for ages. Anyway, she performed first last night. A special spot for awards show performers since it's before the dreaded halfway "falling asleep time" for any awards show for both kids and adults. Anyway, the results were... err... less than stellar.

She lip-synched. Not a problem if you are dancing your ass off and are winded. Unfortunately Britney danced like I would have. Like a middle-aged mother of 3. And since she's a quarter-aged mother of two, that's saying something.

She should have fired her stylist. Whoever that may have been put her in a sparkly bra and panty set, making her look like, well, a middle aged mother of three. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Truly. I live with my pudge every day. But I would never ever want to be seen in my undies by anyone let alone millions of people, no matter how sparkly.

She looked tired. So very tired. As tired as a... well, you know where I'm going with that. And unhappy. I just wanted to put a blanket around her, escort her off the stage, give her a nice big cup of tea and a motherly hug. She looked like she needed it. Poor little thing.

kxx

What am I?

We were having a discussion at the dinner table yesterday and wondering what our nationalities are. Yes, we all know we're Canadian. No one was disputing that but what about our backgrounds or ancestries?

Scott's great grandparents are Irish and Scottish. They came to Canada in the 1800s so basically Scott is Canadian. But he's some percentage Irish and Scottish isn't he? What percentage is he?

Then there's me. My parents were born in Dominica and moved to Canada as adults. My brother and I were born here. So what percentage Dominican does that make us? What about percentage Canadian? And my kids? Are they Irish/Scottish/West Indian/Canadians? Is there an official formula that is used?

Not that it really matters but I'm curious. When people say they're 1/2 Japanese, 1/2 British, they mean their parents are from Japan and England, right? What if they're born in Canada, though? Aren't they Canadian? As Elliott would say, "I don't get it". Will someone explain it to me?

kxx

So Happy It’s Thursday!

Hee. I just love that.
So today should be a relatively normal day. I'm biking to work then dragonboating later. It's our last practice before the big race on Saturday. I was pretty sad about missing Audrey's very first actually-sitting-on-the-horse horseback riding class (as opposed to the getting-to-know-horses "horseback riding" classes she's had for the past 16 weeks) but when I was told that the team I'm with for this race regularly wins a prize at this event, the sadness evaporated. A medal? Hardware? Accessories? I'm so in.

kxx

Another one of those dreams

Ugh. I have these all the time and I'm fed up.

I dreamt I was late for work. Again. That I helped the kids get ready for school and just forgot that I needed to be at work today. At 10am, I looked at the clock and panicked when I realised where I needed to be. I ran around getting ready to go and took off. When I got there my manager and general manager were both waiting for me. We had a meeting where they both scared me by mock firing me but you could tell by their faces and tones that they were warning me not to do it again.

I hate hate hate these dreams. Where I'm late and panicking and running around feeling stressed and scared. Is it because I'm not that stressed in my waking life? Is it because I'm worried about being fired? All I know is that I'm making sure I'm going to be on time today, shut up and do my work. Okay, the shutting up thing will be hard but the working thing should be okay. I hope.

kxx

It’s done

I'm alone. All the kids are at their respective schools and all is right with the world. I sent Elliott off first at 7:15. We walked together to the bus stop. There were other, older kids there and I gave him lots of outs but he still wanted me to go to the school with him. Cool. Then his bus was 30 minutes late. I knew I still had Audrey and Henry to get ready and Scott had to leave for work so when the bus finally came, I told him I wasn't going to school with him after all. He seemed okay with that. But was I?

Audrey was next and she's a walker. I fixed her hair and off we went to her school with Henry in tow. As soon as she saw her friends Rachel and Thyda she was gone. I hung around trying to look busy and chatted to some parents I knew then I was off to take Henry to his bus stop.
Thankfully his bus was on time. I told him I'd go to his school to make sure he got to the right class so I followed the bus in my van and met him at school. I met his teacher and saw some of his classmates and watched as he rounded the corner out of site as the bell rang. Whew.

When I got back to the car I realised that I wasn't quite as okay as I thought about sending Elliott to face his first day at middle school all alone. I sat behind the wheel and formulated a plan. His puffer. That was my in. He doesn't need it much... only when he exercises but he didn't have it on him today. So I did what any obsessive mother would have done. I brought it to him at school.

Now to give myself credit, I just left it with the secretary at the office and didn't actually see him but I was able to leave a note with the meds telling him how proud of him I am and that I was sorry I couldn't see him off today. So I didn't embarrass either him or myself by getting him called to the office and smooching his face like I wanted to. Win/win.

And now they're all gone and I have the rest of the day off work. I'm going to bake them cupcakes with Terra and do a couple of loads of laundry. It's going to be a great day.

kxx

Labour Day

One of about a handful of dates on the calendar where no one works. Even the malls are shut and that's saying something. You know it's a holiday when even retail outlets are closed. As a result, my store is closed and I'm home. Huzzah.

I'm off, this morning, to my handsome brother's house in Ormstown. We're just spending the day but as it's about 2 hours away, we're leaving soon and I'm not going to blog. I've blogged to let you know I'm not blogging. You heard me. Have a good (non)Labour Day. Hug a union rep when you see one. I will.

See you all tomorrow on what'll be the most hectic morning of the year. The first day of school. I actually should be delighted but I've actually got a knot in my stomach. We'll see how it plays out what with all 3 kids in different schools...

kxx