Snow Flakes

Weekends ... you never really know what they're going to be about. This one was full of surprises ...

Like snow on Friday night ... lots of it ... so a snowlady was born on the front yard ... Mrs. Flake, actually. But today the rain, melted her into a small heap of slushy ice, her discarded mittens, scarf and hat frozen to the ground.

We awoke early this morning (Stefani, Kyla and I) ... Stefani had an audition in Burlington. I promised Nicole and Ali that I would solve their transportation problem and pick Ali up and bring him to Guelph today so that he could escort her to the "prom" / formal. But we had three hours to burn ...

So ... we walked through IKEA and made wish lists ... stopped for 50 cent hot dogs on the way out. Headed to PetSmart where we watched a few really smart dogs being trained.

Back into the car and we headed to Hamilton to pick Ali up ... but not before stopping at Cupcakes to pick up a red velvet cupcake for Nicole and an "N" candle to stick atop the most delicious icing I've ever tasted!

We got to Ali's house ... but he was in the shower ... so Stefani proceeded to create a tiny version of Mrs. Flake for his front stoop.

Off to Guelph. Once there we chatted and watched Nic and her roommates get all dolled up ... enjoying the break from being in the car. An hour or so later, we were back on the road home.

Time for some hamburgers ... a quick change into pj's ... and then snuggles on the couch to watch "Coraline" and "Where the Wild Things Are".

I am Canadian, eh?

It's a wonderful time to be Canadian. Sure we've hosted the Olympics before ... but perhaps we were too young of a country to appreciate that patriotism and pride were not "impolite".

As a Canadian who spent close to 10 years in the good ole US of A ... and witnessed patriotism first hand (heck, my eyes used to water on July 4th at the unified spirit of pride around me) ... Canadian's self-effacing nature was that much clearer in my mind.

It seems we've always been a country ready to say "excuse me" or sit back and let another go first. Well mannered, to say the least.

Maybe the country has grown up ... or maybe the Vancouver Olympics organization has to be commended for sparking a fire in the hearts of all Canadians that goes beyond medals and athletes. The brilliance of a torch relay that started months ago and that touched every small town and large city across Canada was a stroke of genius. We have begun to "believe".

Like oh so many Canadians, we watched the relay ... and then through serendipity found ourselves at a sport arena with an Olympic torch. Stefani was awe-struck ... and so proud to have her picture taken holding a torch that had held the flame.

We're glued to the television set ... watching, cheering ... and swelling with pride. We won't win the most medals ... but our medal winners have heart and soul ... they're pure Canadian!! We don't help our athletes in the same way as other countries ... we can't ... we're too small. 33 million Canadians ... that's practically the population of NY state.

Let's just hope that this pride and patriotism and appreciation for the uniqueness of our fair land continues ...

It's not a bad thing to be proud of who we are ... it's not a bad thing to be different from our neighbours to the south ... let's embrace who we are for who we are!

Go Canada Go!

the flip side

Survived another weekend as a "stage mother" (the good kind of course). Stefani was on set half of Saturday and all day Sunday ... and us parents, along with makeup and hair were crammed into this tiny bedroom in the rented house ... no TV, a tiny window and two beds to sit on for well over 7 hours. And people think that shooting movies is glamourous!! Well, maybe the big Hollywood movies ... but even then, I know crew from The Incredible Hulk, Saw, Resident Evil etc ... and the conditions weren't much better than this.

But there's always a flip side isn't there? And the flip side here is that friendships are quickly forged when you're in a small room over four days with the same people! I've met so many nice people (and of course, some not so nice) ... and constantly am amazed at how much people share when there's nothing else to do!

There's another weekend of shooting on this film ... so next weekend is booked solid again.

Nicole's birthday is tomorrow but we're not celebrating until the weekend.

Not much else to say today ... the "to-do" list is far toooo long!

Friday is a state of mind, isn't it?

Another mild day in Toronto ... still no snow to speak of. Was quite surprised at the snow banks in Guelph! Made me remember what winter used to look like! What a l-o-o-o-ng drive that was ... we hit a snow belt somewhere close to Milton and it snowed the entire way to Guelph (and vice versa, on the way back). Soon discovered that I absolutely must change the driver's side wind shield wiper ... there's two strips right across the windshield where it doesn't touch the glass!

Just got Stefani off to school ... she's been under the weather lately ... a bit of a stomach bug that I think she picked up from Maija combined with stress-related grumblings.

Dave's off to sell a car ... and then we're going to see Big Tim's girls this afternoon play hockey ... or is it ringuette? I'm not sure. Either way, we'll have fun!

Got all my "to do's" done yesterday so I'm kinda feeling like not putting together any kind of "to do" today ... what a rebel I am!!

Happy Friday!

Time management

Just another day ... checking things off the "to do list". Which strangely enough never seems to get any shorter. Wouldn't it be great to actually find yourself with nothing on the "to do list"? I guess that is what retirement might be about.

But then again, having absolutely nothing to do would get boring ... and I for one, seem to enjoy making lists mentally or on paper of the things I would like to accomplish ... today, tomorrow, within the week, the month, the year ... making order out of chaos ... or a semblance of order, at least!

Today's list includes: remembering to buy toilet paper, taking Nic out grocery shopping, finishing the alterations on Nic's formal dress (only got half done yesterday), driving Nic back to Guelph ... and that's just the highlights.

Stefani had a great audition yesterday. Absolutely wowed their socks off. I get a kick out of watching her change adults' preconceptions of "child actors". And there's no greater compliment to me or Stefani ... than hearing an adult blubber on about how "professional" Stefani is. As soon as that word leaves the tip of their tongues, I realize that prior to their Stef-encounter, they figured "child actors" were just awkward, big dreamed kids ... you know, snotty nosed and undirectable. In this case, Stefani may have just convinced them not to write the daughter role out of their script.

Anyways ... Stefani loves auditioning ... so nothing lost. Though we did hear back about "Dream House" ... and the role went to a young Hollywood actress. Not a Canadian actor in the bunch. Oh well ... at least she got to audition for an A-list casting director ...

I think we're going to cheer Big Tim's girls on Friday night ... they're down from Sudbury for a hockey tournament (northern Toronto ... well, almost Aurora). Stef loves Brianna and Alyssa ... so that should be fun!

Saturday she's on set all day ...

Okay ... enough chatting, time to get working on that "to do list"!

seems like I'm always updating

and not "writing" ...

It's snowing big fluffly snowflakes ... just like I ordered!!

Crazy weekend ... what with Olympics-watching and cheering on Canadian athletes ... feeling national pride (which by the way doesn't come easy to us Canucks) ... falling in love with Alexandre Bilodeau and his brother Frederique as did the rest of the country ... then Valentine's Day and Family Day (which was oh so important to Maija) ... throw in Nicole home for Reading Week with assignments due every day ... and Dave on a rampage. Explosive doesn't even begin to describe the weekend.

This is not the place to rehash events ... that will be done elsewhere. Suffice it to say, there's a truce in place at the moment ... let's see how long that lasts.

Stefani has an audition this afternoon ... I've got to finish altering Nicole's formal dress ... and oh so much more.

What's new in your world?

Metal rat

According to my Chinese Zodiac yearly prediction chart (I'm a metal rat) ... I'm emotionally and mentally restless. Hmmm, there could be some truth to that!

... and no ... I don't really read and follow that shit. Just every now and then, when I'm feeling a little blue, I amuse myself by reading a horoscope or two, looking for some piece of positive garbage that I can hold on to and make myself feel better momentarily.

It's been a weird couple of days ... like everything's just a little out of sync ... like "normalcy" jumped a track. Everything seems to be rolling along as always ... but everything's off. Conversations don't flow the way they "should" or did just a few days ago ... everything and everyone seems to be vibrating, tense and wary.

I'm in a "power struggle" with Dave again. And I'm not going to let the "used car salesman" part of him, exhaust me with his endless sales pitch. Neither do I really care who's right or who's wrong. I simply want some peace and quiet. No games. No pretending that all is well and then being blind-sided by the same shit. Sometimes it feels like I'm dealing with a 3 year old. Ever tried to reason with a toddler? I should be apologizing to Maija for that comment ... reasoning with a toddler might actually be easier!

With years comes wisdom, or so they say. True, in this case ... as I have the wisdom to know that "issues" are never one-sided. This "off-ness" may be my creation ... or at the very least, half my issue. But I'll be damned if I allow the "double standard" to reappear ... and that's what has me restless and uneasy.

Now ... according to that Chinese Zodiac chart ... if I were a Tiger ... I'd be laughing!

More of the same ...

No snow storm to speak of ... just a few flurries so the ground looks like there's snow on it ... but don't be fooled, it's just white crispy ice. However, it's bitter cold today ... like that's anything new. This will be the winter to remember as icy and bitter cold.

Had to run downtown last night as Stefani was asked to shoot an extra line for TheScore.com commercial. We also took the opportunity to hit up a couple of Value Villages looking for period clothes for the short she films over the next three weekends. Most wardrobe people hate buying for kids ... so it's left up to us parents to try and find what they require (we get compensated of course).

It kinda' was a trip down memory lane ... the short is set in the fifties. So okay, I was just a twinkle in my mother and father's eyes at that point ... but geez I'd forgotten how everything was so different. It was fun watching Stefani's reactions to some of my memories: how I never wore pants, let alone jeans until I was about eleven (jeans weren't a reality for me until I was 14 and it caused quite a raucous amongst the family ... I think one of my aunts actually disowned me for a decade or so), how black was considered a colour that should never be worn by children, how every girl had a "sunday best" dress) and those were just some of the "fashion" related memories.

Anyways ... we found some outfits that were perfect including cardigans to go with each dress. We'll see on Saturday if I did as well as I thought.

Finally picked up cleaning supplies and garbage bags etc ... and I'm going to tackle the fire mess downstairs in Nic's room today.

Promised Stefani I would take her to WalMart after school tonight ... she's dying to have a pair of Olympic mitts. They're having a big Olympic celebration at school tomorrow! Today, her class is going ice skating. Poor thing tried everything to stay home (she hates skating) ... but I figured she's already had enough "mental health" days this year ... and it won't hurt her to try and get better at skating.

Okay ... gotta go clean!

Storm watch

I really don't like watching the news ... there's just too much bad news. Or if it isn't bad news ... it's some kind of celebrity trivia or worse yet, celebrity bashing. Seems we're a culture obsessed with tragedy (other people's of course) and titillation.

So how do I stay in touch? Well, sometimes frankly, I'm not in touch at all. Other times, I get tidbits here and there from others or I read a few blogs or an online version of a newspaper that doesn't cater to the lowest common denominator.

However ... every now and again ... as today ... I am reminded that the news does impart some useful information. Like weather reports. So ... that's how I found out that there's a snow storm brewing for afternoon drive time. I'm sure everyone else has been talking about this for days while I'm still debating whether the commitments I made for this afternoon in downtown Toronto should be kept or rescheduled.

Sure ... the weather people have predicted a storm ... but they've been known to be wrong. There's no telling if this will be a fluffy few or the "real deal".

As I sit here pondering the unanswerable ... I'm practically cursing having listened to the news on the way to Stef's school. Because ... had I not listened to the news, I would be clueless as I was earlier today ... and would have to make my decision come the time to leave. Now it's going to bother me all day. Go figure

Close call

So we managed to give our small neighbourhood something other than TV to watch last night ... two firetrucks and a couple of cop cars ... and the accompanying drama.

Started innocently enough ... Mel and I decided to dye our hair ... and during all that, Melanie used the blow dryer in the bathroom and blew a fuse. Stefani ran downstairs to ask J to turn the fuse back on ... and he switched two fuses on by accident.

Little did anyone know that the second fuse was for the stove in Nicole's room (it's an "in-law suite") that we all believed to be unplugged. Add to that ... the fact that a month ago, Nicole and I had been cleaning out her cupboards and had stacked a whole pile of pictures and papers on the stove for sorting at a later date.

So ... Mel calls out to me and says, "Mom ... how come it smells like burnt toast?" ... I don't really notice anything and neither does Dave who's watching sports in the bedroom. She mentions it again ... and I get a whiff of something burnt. My first thought? That the furnace had finally kicked the bucket ... so I go down into the furnace room to investigate and come upstairs to shut the furnace off for good measure.

By this time, Dave is up ... and says ... that's no furnace smell. He races downstairs and discovers the fire on the stove. The kids and Peanut Butter go outside ... and Dave's calling from downstairs but I can't make out what he's saying ... but I do notice that the smoke is thick and black billowing up the stairs. What do I do? Call 9-1-1, of course.

While I'm still on the phone ... Dave comes up to say that the fire has been extinguished ... but the fire department has a duty to come regardless (you can't "uncall" a 9-1-1 call). So ... it took them about 1 1/2 hours to blow out the house ... but the house still smells like the bottom of a campfire.

We all feel incredibly lucky ... as we realize that we were seconds away from not having been able to put out the fire ourselves ... and in the time it would have taken the fire department to set up and get in ... the house would have sustained some serious damage.

As well, the time that all this happened is traditionally Dave's "gym time" ... I mean, everyday ... but he'd gone earlier because we were planning to go visit Leanne at the hospital who was just recently diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer. Had Dave not been home ... I would have probably shut the door to Nic's room ... called 9-1-1 ... and been lamenting the damage sustained.

Couldn't get over Dave's reaction last night ... he was really shaken. Would you believe that our house insurance had lapsed and wasn't going to be in "re" effect until February 15th?

So no monetary help for the smoke damage ... though that's really no big deal ... I'm sure I'll find some way to clean the house.

Wow ... it was a close call ... so how was your night?

Dreams

I dreamed that I was blogging ... creating new blogs ... one which I might even follow up on as it will give me the satisfaction of writing writing (as opposed to haphazardly recording tidbits of history in a semi-robotic fashion). Guess the old subconscious is trying to tell me that I'm actually getting some kind of mental health benefit from adding blogging to my daily routine.

Stef had her callback yesterday ... feels pleased with her "performance" ... now it's the waiting game to see if she actually booked it or not. There doesn't appear to be any rhyme or reason behind choices most of the time ... so we don't really hold our breaths or anything like that.

Mel had a rough night last night ... actually called me around 1 AM, having woken from a very vivid, nightmare (which ironically is a side-effect of the drugs she takes to get her bi-polar symptoms under control) ... wasn't much I could do for her besides try and calm her down and comfort her.

Think she's coming over to spend the afternoon.

Just heard from Nicole ... her and 2 of her current roommates (Laura and Holly) are signing a lease today for off-campus housing for next year ... which means she'll be trying to find work in Guelph for the summer as the lease runs May to May. :( Bittersweet ...

It's cold as a witch's teat ... with an icy wind that just cuts through all your clothes and ices your bones! Doesn't help that there's no snow ... and unless it gets a tad milder, there will be no snow anytime soon.