Monday, April 24, 2006

All that you can't leave behind

Charlie and I are off to the MIL's tomorrow. HS is joining us at the end of the week for a family friend's 90th birthday party. My MIL is making nine birthday cakes, one for each decade, so I am totally psyched about going. (Just an aside, I never used to care about sugary snacks, but I've found that since I had Charlie, I crave sweets. I was always a salt/grease kind of girl, but I found that while I was breastfeeding, the only thing I wanted was SUGAR. Specifically, my mom's awesome ginger snaps. She gave me the recipe, and I've tried to make them, but it's just not the same.) And my MIL agreed to take Charlie overnight so I can make a quick trip to Toronto to go out with my friends. Because I do have friends! Just not where I currently live. I am leaving for Toronto on Wednesday morning and coming back on Thursday afternoon, and here's what I would like to accomplish:

1. Colour hair.
I have yet to find a decent colourist in Ottawa. So JF (who is a make-up artist and knows these things) recommended a guy. Let's hope he understands what "I'd like to stay as close to my natural hair colour as possible means." My natural hair colour is dark brown. When I said that to a colourist in Ottawa, she gave me bright blonde highlights. They were verging on orange, it was that bad. Luckily they've faded somewhat. And if the June Plan goes ahead, then I'm gonna need something to cover the grays for at least three months. Hey, there's something else about me: I'm going gray. Seriously gray, and I blame my dad. He went silver at 22 for crying out loud.

2. Get a hair cut.
Done! I have an appointment on Thursday.

3. Pick up new bras at GapBody.
Why did it take so long for me to figure out that you only need flesh-tone bras? I really could have used that advice many years ago! The Gap makes a lovely, lightly padded (so key nowadays) plain bra in the perfect shade of nude. Gotta stock up!

4. Get a jerk chicken sandwich at Food Savvy.
So, so yummy. And the eggplant sandwich is delish too.

5. And some butter chicken and naan bread from Rasoee.

6. And while we're at it, how about a chocolate croissant from Bonjour Brioche?

7. And definitely some proper bubble tea. You can't find good bubble tea in my 'hood.

8. Meet former colleague for breakfast.

9. Drop by H&M. Mommy needs some new clothes. Oh, and Charlie could use some shirts too.

10. Hit Carrot Common for some organic baby bodywash and bubble bath. The parabens in my bubble bath are giving me the heebie-jeebies.

11. Oh, and while I'm at Carrot Common, drop by Erietta, just to take a look.

12. And I really want to see what's new at Hardware, Kol Kid, and Bergstrom.

13. Maybe someone from book club is free for coffee?

14. Or my friends from work might be available for lunch?

15. Or I could squeeze in a drink with JF, AW, DW, KB, or KH before my event on Wednesday night?

Sigh.

I miss Toronto.

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Portrait of the blogger as a hairy, double-jointed, magazine addict weirdo from the grocery store

I've been tagged by scarbie doll over at Martinis for Milk for a meme that reminds me a lot of a drinking game I used to play, y'know back when I used to drink socially instead of gulping a glass of whatever's handy in front of the computer after Charlie goes to bed. We called it the Shame Game. Get a group of people together, drink, and each person has to reveal something that is a teeny bit embarrassing, but not illegal or disturbing, to admit in public. For example, one of my best guy friends admitted that his favourite TV show was Gilmore Girls. Another friend copped to getting his rights and lefts confused on a regular basis. Fun, no?

But anywho, since I loves me some memes, here are the rules as per MFM.

1. Reveal six weird facts/things/habits about yourself and then tag six people. (SIX!)

2. Leave a "You're Tagged!" comment to let the people you have tagged know they have to reveal six things (or the entire blogosphere will explode and it will be their fault).

3. Leave me a comment letting me know that you have completed your mission (if you have chosen to accept it!).

Here goes:

1. I'm addicted to magazines. Yeah, yeah, sure, sure, you and everyone else. No really, I'm crazy addicted to magazines. I adore shiny paper. So addicted, I gave up buying them for lent. That was hard, but not too hard because I already have 11 magazine subscriptions (lucky for me I have many enablers who buy them for my birthday), and I buy about four others per month. When I'm not buying US weekly. Or mooching O magazine and People from my mom. Or saying, Yes! Please send me the new Blueprint magazine! Oh, and I know when they will hit the newsstand too. Yep, it's getting a bit out of hand.

2. I have double-jointed thumbs.

3. I was so hairy as a baby that my aunt told my mom she would get me a case of Nair for my 16th birthday. I still battle the hirsute factor, but thankfully the tufts of hair on my shoulders, that my mother likes to fondly describe at family gatherings, are gone. Alas, poor Charlie, it looks like he takes after his mom in the shoulder hair department.

4. I met the man I married when I was 18 (he was 16!). And we've been together ever since, if you ignore a couple of month-long breakups back in the mid-nineties. I guess this isn't so weird, but whenever I tell people this fact, they usually look totally gobsmacked.

5. I have a weak spot for top-40 pop songs, especially anything from the 80's-90's. And I will sing along to said cheesy music in the grocery store and even dance. I make excuses like, "I'm just keeping Charlie entertained," but I used to do this before he was born.

6. If I have a dream and HS is in it and he's being a jerk, I'm always a little mad at him even after I wake up.

Since I know of only one other blogger who reads my site, I'll tag Mommy Abroad.

Monday, April 17, 2006

I must be out of my mind

HS and I were at the hockey game, so I thought, what the heck. Here's a fun way to shake up your husband. I leaned over and whispered seductively, "Speaking of hockey, what would you think if we pulled the goalie?"

Ok, so we haven't pulled the goalie. Yet. We've merely traded him in for the back-up player. Besides, there is no way I want another winter baby, so I still have until June to really make up my mind, sort things through, and obsess. We'll see.

I have a longer rambly post about the whys/why nots that are continually fighting it out in my brain, but Charlie is waking up from his nap, so in the meantime, here's a link to a dead easy recipe for tilapia that I made last week. So yummy! And so good for you! And you don't even need the herbs they call for. I sprinkled on some dried basil and smeared a few of those frozen parsley cubes (my sister uses dried parsley flakes) on top, and ta-da! Something other than pasta for dinner! Whee!

Check it out at Everyday Food.

Thursday, April 06, 2006

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

The best of the best of bridge

You know what? Baking isn't all that hard. I'm not talking about homemade truffles or petits fours here, but in my pre-SAHM life, homemade baking seemed somewhat magical and spoke of things that never made it into my shopping cart: butter, flour, vanilla extract. But after a few wedding showers (a somewhat embarrassing seven), I am rather well equipped to whip up all sorts of sugar-laden goodies. (That and I got one of those fab KitchenAid mixers from a guilt-ridden HS soon after we moved here from Toronto. Alas, no matter how well a mixer can whip, stir or mix, it doesn't really make up for the isolation of moving to a new city. You can't bake away depression people!) In addition to the requisite cookware, I received a lot of cookbooks, including one of my mother's favourites, The Best of the Best and more!. This book is part of a series of cookbooks from The Best of the Best of Bridge, sort of the penultimate collection, spiral bound and 313 pages of recipes from my childhood that bring to mind cozy blankets, fluffy pillows, and hot chocolate: pure comfort. So after snagging a bag of overripe bananas for 99 cents, I decided to make the "Best-Ever Banana Bread" for HS's coworker who just had twins. And she already has a two-year-old. Basically, my nightmare -- what would happen if we decided to go for a second baby -- come to life. But, um, well, HS and I couldn't resist, and let's just say I'm going to the grocery store for more bananas to assuage my guilt. She has twins! And a toddler! And she had a c-section! How could we? Because it is the Best-Ever Banana Bread! And it wasn't hard! And Charlie could even "help" a bit until he tried to stick his hand in the mixer. So delicious with a melty pat of butter. And even better the next day! Such dense, sweet goodness! But really, if your recipe starts with a cup of butter with two cups of sugar, you know it's gonna be gooooooooooood.

Here's the recipe.