When to talk to your teenage girls

I've noticed something lately. It seems that every darn thing that comes out of my mouth is unbelievably ridiculous or ignorant. Has any other moms noticed this about themselves? No one else in my life has noticed this strange phenomenon, nope not my husband, nor my friends, family or co-workers. No one except my daughter and step-daughter. Weird eh! Example: "Hey girls how about an omelet for supper?" Cue the first face down there. There are varied responses that go with that face, here's a sample....

"Omelets for supper, gross, don't feel like that!!!!"
                                                      "Yuch, I only eat fried eggs!!"

That face also says "And you're talking to me because???" Inevitably, I keep saying those 'disgusted face' inducing pronouncements, EVERY SINGLE DAY. I keep talking to them because I do remember way back to those hazy lazy preteen years...those lovely days where the girls giggled at things I said and sometimes after eating they would say things like, "That was soooo good, could you make it again tomorrow??" Just brings a tear to my eye. It's getting kind of tricky to make exactly what they want when they want it. There are a couple of tips I can pass along that I've learned. Don't talk to them in the morning, that's just foolhardy. You may get a sneer if you're lucky but usually the door closes, I wouldn't say it's a slam but it's getting close to that. It's better to bring things up at supper time, just a tip to all moms out there who find themselves saying ridiculous things like me and getting either look A or Look B. Morning just ain't a good time. Period.
For some reason you make much more sense in the evening....maybe hormones are on stand-by at this time....or I  just make more sense as the day goes on. Keeping this reasoning in mind, by midnight I should be waxing poetic don't you think. When the girls tell me they're going for a walk in the evening, I could say something back like:

The moon has a face like the clock in the hall;
She shines on thieves on the garden wall,

Not bad eh, okay I have to own up,  that was borrowed from Mr. Robert Louis Stevenson.

One more tip, talking in the car works really well, important stuff does get discussed. So, go for a long drive and chat away...you'll be amazed at what you'll learn. Something about sitting in close proximity, no eye contact, the wind in your hair and Hot 89.9 (you won't hear one personal iota if you fight over the radio stations, or worse say something like it's my car and I'm listening to CBC). Conversation killer and you're back to square one with those faces from below, so just for the sake of communication suffer through one more Katy Perry song and you never know what bridge you will gap, literally and figuratively.

Con ♥

                                          

 

 

Pledge to my girls

I have three sisters and we gave our mom a run for her money and probably had mood swings to rival my girls, that's putting it mildly, we were probably certifiable some days. Okay men don't read the next sentence if women's periods just freak you out, but ladies consider the following. Imagine if you will four girls (teenagers) having their periods at the same time in the same house!! Just think of Sybil times four...whoa!!.. I can hear the collective gasps..I read somewhere that women living together eventually all have their periods at the same time, something about the moon and tides and okay, I'm losing you so will save that subject matter for another time...okey dokey? There is nothing to say about that except I wouldn't have been terribly surprised to see my dad with one of those sticks and personal items hanging off the end walking away from our house on those special days. Wow dad, no wonder you built your own washroom downstairs, home way from home eh....
We were four against one and my mom never had a chance against us. We once tried to get her to admit to doing ANYTHING like having a smoke, a drink, staying out late etc., all the normal activities in Quebec, well there was other stuff but we were focused on the stuff you get into trouble for.... But no, she said she didn't do anything like that, and you know what? I believed her, and why? Mainly because I remember grandma and she scared the bejeesus out of me and that's probably the reason mom told us she nearly became a nun.When we visited for example and it was getting close to dinner time, grandma would come into the living room and flippantly tell us the TV was going off, supper was ready! Then she would turn it off and walk out.  Excuse me, but have you ever been in the middle of a Brady Bunch or Bewitched and someone just turns it off. "Geez, what's going to happen with Jan and her braces!!", or "Why does Samantha's cousin look exactly like her, but in a dark wig? and (same show) "Why does Darrin look so different :D?" What's up with that?? Joking aside, how could the woman just turn it off. Unbelievable!!  It was one frustrating experience because back then it was a huge source of entertainment for us....grandma in no way shared our love for 70's TV.
My sister had a Camaro at 17 and I was her sidekick and we grew up in Quebec! As I said in a previous blog we all smoked (I know BAD!!) but I think it was the law. I have been a non-smoker most of my life and if my girls smoked I would kill them, but my excuse is that we all did it until we moved away and got some sense. Okay I smoked a bit in Ontario as well and some in British Columbia but that's another story, another province. You don't need to know, doesn't pertain to this blog.
Once Grace was born, those odd (only at the cottage) smokes went by the wayside. If my sisters are reading this blog, just go with me on this fact and remember I know stuff about you as well...
I had to be a healthy mom, and it's the best thing I ever did. But it's not about me, stopped being about me approximately 16 years ago when Gracie Rose was born. Maggie didn't come into my life until much later...I'm doubly blessed now ♥
So to sum up this blog, my mom never had a chance with us and our silly behaviour. We outnumbered her and were bigger than her to boot. That's not to say we didn't come around and start acting responsibly later, just not in those teenage years.
I have one daughter and one step-daughter and I have pretty good stamina and can't see them wearing me down to give permission to do anything that could harm their health. I simply won't allow it, I'm a stubborn redhead and I go to the gym and they don't.
Basically they can die their hair red, white or blue (that wasn't a go USA PLUG) and one has died her hair a fiery red, but that's okay. I'm a ginger myself but more of an sitting in an Irish pub kind of ginger. But no piercings or tattoos while your living with me and your dad. You can write on your arm with a marker the odd time(and they do??), or suck in a helium balloon the odd time (which they both have done??), but I have to agree that how else can you sing a Chipmunk's song properly??
So there you have it, I will stand strong and firm because I know firsthand about the mischief you can get into, but I think if I stay loose about the odd marker tattoo and the helium that they'll behave.
Eternally optimistic,
Con ♥

My Russian friends / Мои российские друзья

When I started writing this blog I just wanted to write about what made me chuckle, and didn't think of the people other than my friends/family reading my ideas on life, love and the way I see it. I can see that there has been a few Russian friends reading my blog (THIRTY of you in all, Holy Smokes!!). I wonder now if you have a saying in Russian like Holy Smokes?? Give me your top five sayings? What do you say when you stub your toe? Or when you see something beautiful? Or when you have an amazing meal? Or when someone gives you the perfect kiss ♥ ? Or when you are sitting around with your friends after a long work week and are sharing a cold one? We're kind of boring, we say Cheers!! Or if we're really fancy, Cheers Eh! .
It makes me think, and you can tell me if I'm wrong, no really tell me, that I may have hit on a subject or two that you can relate to, and that's kind of cool. You're around the world from me but we connected through my Canadian Blend, and that makes happy.
BUT, it ain't all about me. I want to share my limited knowledge of your wondrous country, and wish to hear back from you. I have the utmost respect for you all, but you have to understand that I have learned about you from many different situations in my life, some stereotypes along the way for sure, and some were experiences by a ten year so give me a break eh!
I would LOVE to know what you think of our fine country of Canada? What do you know about us? What do you think about us?
Okay here's some of the things I have learned (true or not) about your fine country...since I was a young girl, many years ago :D Warning: Go easy on me, some of these Russian connections are pretty cheesy, don't judge me too harshly, it's just an honest view of my history. It's not everything I know now, but the Russian connections I have made along the way....

1. Dr. Zhivago. This made a huge impression on my mom, it was a little before my time (1965), but I do remember Omar Sharif (he's the one who did all the movies with Barbara Streisand right?) and Julie Christie. It was an epic love story with a war torn backdrop and I remember seeing clips and thinking that Russia had such cold landscapes that were both vast and breath-taking and yes, it reminded me of Canada in the winter. Just to let you know, we have some steamy hot summers here in the north as well, today being a good example

2. Russian/Canada series 1972. This is HUGE is my past. In school they wheeled in these TV's on big stands for us to watch in class. There was nothing else that ever interrupted our learning EVER, but this series. Do you guys remember when Henderson scored the winning goal?? Hmm, maybe not as clearly as us Canadians eh??  Canadians will never forget that moment where he scored..it united all of the country. It was amazing? I think you guys were amazing too, you nearly had us...how would we all feel if you would have beat us, how would our sports history be so different?

3. My sister was always enamoured by your country, your language. She even went to the University of Victoria to learn how to speak Russian. We all teased her that the real reason she wanted to learn Russian was to be a translator for Russian hockey players. I still believe this would have been her dream job, yup, no doubt. She loves hockey and Russian (lots of those guys in the NHL). Put those two together, dream job!!

4 I have never been there (yet) but St. Petersburg is the such a beautiful city and the culture and history makes it a dream destination for many people. I remember when Paul McCartney went to St. Petersburg, I think it was was in 2004, and it made quite the impression around the world, and it looked to me that many of you were serious Beatle fans. Am I right?

5. I HAVE TO INCLUDE THIS ONE! I do believe one of my sisters (and she will go un-named) had the following guy on her bedroom wall. Okay this is my cheesy connection, but there was a Russian character in the Rocky series that captured all the imagination (okay mainly the women's imagination) at one time way back in 1985, and his name was Ivan Drago and was played by Dolph Ludgren (OMG)
Now, I know what you are thinking....how pathetic it is that she has a Rocky character in her knowledge of Russia, but it made a huge impression (he had to of been at least 6 foot 5 inches :D ) I'm just saying he was an impressive looking man, and he had a deep voice (and we all know how I feel about deep voices). Did I mention I'm a huge movie buff and although action is not my forte, I have a sentimental soft spot for the Rocky movies....and the Ivan Drago was very popular with us Canadians. I bet there was a few groups of women taking some flights over to your fine country looking for their own Mr. Drago. Too bad he was Swedish (yikes) in real life eh, they were flying to the wrong country to find their dream man.  :D We all thought he was Russian, had the accent, had the wife with the fur hat (cue Dr. Zhivago), and he was so TALL. And all those vast barren cold landscapes, so familiar to me, felt like I was stepping outside in the winter bringing my Lucy (beagle) for a walk. But no, he was Dolph Ludgren, what ever happened to that guy, didn't he date Grace Jones, but I digress??
So there you have it, not much but it is a starting point for conversation between me and my Russian friends...I would love to hear about your impressions of our fair country and be honest eh.
Con ♥

Fans With Benefits/Dave Matthews/Toronto/June/2012

Okay here goes..BEST weekend so far 2012, second only to my week visiting my sista in Victoria in the freezing month of January. Have to admit that my birthday in Victoria was pretty sweet, but I digress. ♥
I was a lucky recipient of a concert ticket from my friend Nancy that she had won through Amex and Facebook contest "Fans with Benefits".
OMG, what an awesome contest!! Don't judge me for saying OMG and awesome in the same sentence. It was the most exciting thing to happen to me so far this year okay!! I'm sure there is more in store for me, and when it happens will let you know....
Here is what happened:
1. We arrived at the concert..in this particular case it was at the Molson Canadian Amphitheatre in Toronto June 2nd, 2012 at around 6:00 pm.
2. We got out of our cab and no word of a lie, the rain stopped and the sun came out (Dave apparently has power).
3. We walked over to the Amex entry, they noticed our 'Fans With Benefits" winner badge and checked Nancy's name and the magic began :D  Did I mention we were winners?
4. We were whisked through the grounds to the Amex lounge. Our picture was taken (say what sista!!), and we went to the bar for our free drinks...so we ordered Canadian beer :D (because that was free and we were happy)
5. Then we decided on eating so had a fabulous buffet (if there is salmon, I am a happy girl), and lots of goodies and desserts. There was even a candy table...my girls would have been so jealous...and more drinks.
6. Oh yes they also interviewed us and that was hilarious...they spotted us posing for pictures with our 'winners' badge saying "Oh yah who's a winner??"and came over and asked to interview us about our experience. We talked to them, posed again, told them my favourite Dave Matthews songs, was given another drink and sent on our ways...
7. The magic continues throughout the concert..Mr. Matthews continues to be the most amazing performer and pretty darn sexy to boot. (sure loves his plaid eh)
8. The only sour note was the drunken stoned woman behind us who spilled her beer on Nancy's head....who the f%^k dances with a full beer?? We avoided getting hit for most of the concert with one eye on the stage and one eye on her, but she finally got us! We both said in unison, "You can freakin dance, just put your beer down!! We've been dodging you for over an hour with the dancing and holding your beer in the air!!", and she actually said, "Why would you not say anything for an hour??" Is there an answer to this question??
OMG, are you fu*&ing kidding me!! I'm a lover not a fighter but this drunken woman wore me down...
Back to our wonderful experience ♥  Dave played "You & Me" so I was a happy camper, great tune.
Dave Matthews is Mr. Peace and Love..don't want to get into a brawl so we left our seats and watched the encore with security..in the aisles.
9. BUT, this didn't dampen our spirits..we went to the after party and watched "Blind Pilot", it was apparently the lead singer's birthday, "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you!"
10. We found an after hours cab driver to drive us back to our hotel and called it a night..
And what a night it was....pictures should follow :D
Thank you Amex....count me in next time, and what a fabulous idea for your fans....
I'm a huge fan of one of your fans, but seriously thinking of becoming one of your #1 fans. You really know how to treat a lady....
♥ Con

How to survive a garage sale with your husband.

Okay, this is kind of misleading and you're probably thinking that I have all sorts of examples of why you shouldn't go to the 'mother of all garage sales" with your husband, but no I strongly advise you take him...There are many reason like the conversation along the way, the small knowing jokes you both share....okay, who am I kidding, he's really great at carrying all the heavy stuff and doesn't seem to mind, AND, when the bags get too heavy he treks back to your car to drop it off and gets new empty bags to start over again. I know, it brings a tear to your eye. Garage sale 101, made easy. Also I discovered a gem smack-dab in the middle of the sale. I cannot divulge the name of the school because well I'm not giving it up, but let's just say that's it's been a pain in the arse (yes, I'm Canadian) looking for a bathroom each and every year when I go to the sale. You have to go into a restaurant and hope they'll let you use their washroom, and this can be inconvenient when you are not around one...so in the past, I usually went into one of the churches, but by the time you get in there, there is a line-up and NO toilet paper. So the genius of the school I discovered is they have a donation jar and I believe this alone keeps out the delinquent scallywags that use up all the toilet paper and throw garbage on the ground, and let's face it sometimes have difficulty getting their bodily fluids into the toilet! So this donation loo has volunterers stocking it all day and it's a beautiful thing, I gave them three donations to be honest, kept going back. Six hours into it and this bathroom is still stocked and clean!! If you're a girl you know the importance of a clean available washroom....I'll be back next year, don't you worry. It's my new loo away from loo ♥ If you're really nice to me, I may tell you where it is. The garage sale I'm talking about is the annual Glebe neighbourhood sale where all of Ottawa descends on the Glebe. We're talking all of Ottawa, their dogs, babies, puppies, birds(I took a picture of a beautiful parrot )although I can't see the reason to bring strollers and young toddlers, when those Glebe streets get so congested it would be one stressful day just keeping track of the little ones.
My husband enjoyed it, , and he was a great Glebe garage sale virgin(geez, someone has to break him in), but I think he's a convert now. We got down there at 7:15 am, found my favourite parking spot,  and were going, going, going for 6 to 7 hrs (two energizer bunnies). Well, we had to have one beer break (twist my arm) and then got our asses back out there on the street. We were hard-core, it was the best. This is one of my favourite days of the year, why you ask? Well how many time can you go shopping and spend $2, $3. and $4. for each purchase and the negotiation is the fun part. Come on, everyone know that most items are overpriced to compensate for the haggling that's going to happen. We all try to get a better price!! The most we spent was $30 (yikes) for hubby's golf clubs...it was a good deal.
My garage sale pet peeve are those people who won't haggle(a rarity), or the ones who have things that are over-priced. I don't care lady that you spent $400. on your boots, and think $175. seems a fair price. You don't get the philosophy of the garge sale. It's someone else's used items or garbage(so to speak), so I'm not spending over $10 for a clothes item, it's USED for crying out loud!!
My favourite quote and this is not a lie was two fellows walking by a seller of duvets and there was a sign, "Touch me, I'm super soft". One guy didn't miss a beat, he looked at his friend (or hmmm, maybe more than friend) and said "I have that Tattooed on my behind" His friend laughed and said " Better than having it tattooed lower than your belly button. A hardy laugh was had by all. What did he mean though??  :D
I'll be there on the mean streets of the Glebe next year. Hope to see you there...we'll high five in our loo, okay?

Con ♥
* Here's a friend I met at the garage sale.

Losing a sister is bittersweet.

I lost my sister a few years ago and I still miss her so very much....I miss everything, I even have her e-mail on my contact list still, and her phone number on my cell that I will never erase. I don't have them in case I forget (I won't). I have them there so I can include her when anyone sends me stuff and asks me to send to 5 or 10 friends. I include Sheila because even though she isn't here, she can still be part of what's going on....I know, I know, it's not exactly normal, but it helps me feel close to her still, and I like that. I include her because she will always be part of my close 5 to 10 friends that I am advised to send this e-mail to so we can all partake in some good luck...
Sheila and I were only 15 months apart, and opposites in personality, but we had each other's backs and knew things about each other that no one else did or ever will. We had a bond because of our growing up together in the same room so close and our differences didn't really matter.. Maybe that's how she drove me so crazy at times, she knew all my strengths and weaknesses..she was afraid of nothing and I was afraid of everything...she could sleep through everything, but me, I needed a night light and even with the light, I was sure there was something under my bed, or worse, in the closet. Sheila would tease me about that, and at the time I would get mad at her, but when I think back now, I think maybe she just wondered why I was scared when she never felt that. EVER. Maybe she was trying to snap me out of it with her goofy teasing. I used to tease her back and say, "Are you human?" I did really wonder how she could possibly be afraid of nothing. How could she possibly fall asleep in 5-10 minutes after seeing the movie "Halloween", did we not see the same movie?? She could totally let go of it while I relived every scene ad nauseum as I tried to go to bed, and even the music did me in, couldn't get that out of my head either. I was jealous of her that she could just let go of it after seeing it and I would relive it for many nights....God, maybe I had OCD, is that it?? Who knows it was the 70's we didn't talk about why we couldn't sleep, nope we just sweated, put the night light on and put up with the teasing...I don't have that problem now, well that's not the total truth, I just don't watch certain movies okay for example (horror, devil themes, evil kids, zomby movies, evil kids in the corn, weird paranormal themes, weird dolls,  people walking like a spider, should I go on). Strangely enough I'm okay with really creepy movies if they have a rational explanation at the end. So if the movie is plausible and all the weird happenings can be explained and further if I can live with their explanations, if it makes sense to me, hey, it could happen, presto, I can sleep. Maybe it's being Catholic and growing up hearing all about good and evil, this made those devilish movies have a hint of truth to them and then having a friend say to me, "Don't invite the devil into your home", didn't help in my cause. Don't get me started on" the Exorcist". Okay time to change the subject because really, why go down this road and start thinking about this right before bed okay? Let that devil go bother someone else who's less vigilant.

Here's the funny thing...when we hit our twenties we sort of switched and Sheila did become afraid of things, where I finally, okay I compare myself to a chrysalis (can you tell I'm working in a kindergarten class), when I finally let go of things I was afraid of, the same things that held me back, and took off on my own, finally confident in myself and what I could accomplish.

Here's the rub, with Sheila gone it's just not the same when I accomplish something, anything, because she would always say something, not much (she wasn't big on complimenting) but she would say something funny or simple like "Way to go Con!" and I knew she was impressed. She didn't make a big show, although big shows are good with me as well, but that just wasn't her style.
So going through my life without my slightly older sister has made me appreciate all that is good, made all my daily grievances not matter, made me hold on to my family a little tighter (but not quite the choke-hold, so that's okay). It makes me know that when I get out of bed and put my feet down in the morning, I am grateful to be here another day. You gave me that gift. I sure do love you for that.
Here's to you Sheila. Know that every time someone passes me by wearing Patchouli, I'm giving you a great big hug (even though you weren't a hugger, that's just too bad)
Love yah
Con ♥

Ruby Tuesday....love that Kristen Wiig ♥

Did anyone see SNL with Mick Jagger on Saturday? I didn't realize that it was Kristen Wiig's last night, and what a touching send-off they gave her. Mick Jagger singing Ruby Tuesday for her and dancing with her, and then one-by-one all the cast members dancing with her...the best!
She always killed me with her "I'm so freakin' excited" lady who loved surprises to the "Target lady" . I wondered when she was going to part with the show with her movie hits coming, man Bridesmaids was the funniest movie I've seen in a long time, we laughed all the way through... All the ladies in that movie were hilarious, saw it with my co-workers, we were in one long row in an early showing right after work. We laughed so hard, and then relived the scenes throughout our dinner, well, except the bodily functions scene, okay I'm lying, we relived those too. "God, it's like molten lava coming out of me!!" Another favourite was when Wiig was on meds/alcohol combo on the plane and was giving the steward a hard time, calling him "Stove" :) .
Well she's off for bigger and better things...and just when I fianlly got a PVR and could tape all the shows...geez!
One more thing, Jagger was amazing..God he's 68 years old! He killed it with Arcade Fire, Foo Fighters, Jeff Beck and finally everyone at the end for "Ruby Tuesday". He still had the moves and the voice...he must have made a deal with the devil, eh?
At least SNL did it right this time and sent someone amazing off with one classy ending...she so deserved it. Hope you all saw it.
Con ♥