Bad, Bad Things

It's been a tough couple of weeks, seems like I'm always struggling to find my groove. Today I may have bottomed out.

All of my dog walkers are on holiday and Tom has a gig in the Queen Charlotte's - which means I've been rushing home every afternoon to walk the dogs.  Today was the first sunny day in a week - so I decided that we'd take a longer walk and soak up some Vitamin D. 

One hour later, I realize I had walked around Granville Island with the back of my skirt tucked into my tights.  Which explains why all of those people were smiling at me. I thought the smile said "cute pugs" instead of "you poor idiot, your ass is hanging out".

The real burn is I stopped and chatted with neighbors along the way, gave our handy man hell for not fixing my door, bent over several times to scope poop. 

Life, you do have a way of humbling me. 

Blast Off

This morning started with a bang.......literally.  

While making breakfast, I had a "Houston we have a problem" moment - resulting in my white kitchen cabinets and ceiling being covered in green smoothie. Oh well, at least this time both pugs managed to survive the ordeal relatively unscathed.

 

So, start your day with a bang with Mika's favorite green smoothie:

Frozen  low fat vanilla yogurt 

banana (when bananas start to get too ripe, peel, wrap in foil, freeze - good as a frozen snack or in smoothies)

matcha tea powder

ground salba (south American grain, rich in Omega 3)

1 hand full of almonds

low fat milk

3 -4 ice cubes

honey or dark chocolate chips optional

Throw ingredients in blender and blend. Don't be afraid to experiment - and for god's sake, do not, under any circumstances, forget to put the lid on the blender.

Busted

This evening I was startled by a knock on my door. Imagine my horror at finding a group of neighbors,  there to inform me that my lights were shining during earth hour. A polite way of saying "get with it sister".

 I'm a hippy at heart -  Tom even goes so far as to call me "Mother Nature in the making" -which makes what I am about to tell you all the more embarrassing. You see I knew it was earth hour, but made an executive decision to ignore it, as I really wanted to watch the telly. What can I say, I have a thing for British Mysteries.

How did it come to this? Used to be Saturday meant a night on the town, for the past few years it's been more about comfort food and really bad TV.  Even my family and friends have a hard time understanding how I can spend hours watching slow paced, British dramas. Hell, at the rate I'm going it's just a matter of time before the Queen and I are one.

I tried to rationalize the earth hour dilemma by convincing myself it would be okay to keep the home fires burning, as long as I turned them off at some point. Like maybe 3 am, which works better with Tyler's time zone anyway. Yea, that's the ticket.

You'd think being confronted by the neighbors would have been a "come to Jesus moment". Instead, I found myself hiding in the woman cave, curtains drawn, hoping nobody saw the luminous glare of the TV.

One side note: Having  the lights out did prove one thing, unlike cats, pugs do not have an innate ability to see in the dark. 

Moments of Grace

It’s been a crazy week -  too much work and too many politics......... exhausting.

In-spite of feeling like a hamster, running like mad on my little wheel, three beautiful moments stand out. Reminders of all that is important in life.

Words of Wisdom 

While confessing to gal pal Darlene that I’ve never had a life plan - comparing my journey to floating down a river, always going with the flow, but never really steering- she assures me that knowing what you don’t want, is just as important as knowing what you do. Thank god, at least I’ve got that covered.

The Beauty of Youth

Seeing two rough looking teens helping an elderly woman who’s taken a tumble off a curb. In spite of being at an age that most of us remember as being awkward, their calming voices and gentle manner seemed so full of grace. Maybe the next generation will be more aware and mindful then we’ve been.

Birds of a Feather

Coming upon a wet pigeon while walking down the street, poor little dude was all feathers and attitude, with such a small fragile body. Now that I think about it, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a wet bird before, and wonder what they do when it rains? He was hanging out with his posse / flock, who all seemed to be dry, which made the whole thing seem all the more mysterious. How truly amazing life is, a reminder that even the life of a pigeon is a wondrous thing.

Mac Happy

This week I took a big step, going from PC to Mac user. Not only do I love my new computer, aka Mac Daddy, but I kinda feel like a high school geek who has suddenly been allowed to hang with the cool kids.

Tom is supportive, but also pointed out that I've been a Mac-pain in the Mac-ass since getting it.

I personally think this will be one of those life changing moments, and wouldn't be surprised if this is the start of really big things. Who knows, now that I have the Mac maybe I'll write the great Canadian Novel, produce award winning movies about the struggles of urban pugs, eat mac and cheese everyday without gaining weight, or even become a talking head / mac expert.

Trust me people, this is going to be big.

The Things We Do

This week I was surprised to find out that my friend Carol is taking her daughter to Disneyland. You have to know Carol to truly appreciate how BIG this is. Like Halley’s Comet – this is something that most human beings won’t likely to see in their lifetime.

You see, Carol usually goes to exotic locales like Provence or Tuscany. Disneyland or Vegas? – well, not so much.

But that’s the thing about having a young child - most of us find ourselves doing things we never imagined.

Such as:

• Tom, who dressed up like big bird and strapped on a pair of roller skates for Tyler’s 4th birthday party.


• Cindy who spent the entire night in a Toy’s R Us parking lot, going elbow to elbow with hundreds of other desperate parents, determined to get her daughter a Wii for Christmas. (She was successful).


• Heather, who shares her life with her step-daughter and a life size stuffed pony named Butterscotch.


• Chris, who builds P-kitty a tent every morning before he heads off to work.


• My brother David, a manly man from West Texas, who knows all the words to “The Wheels on the Bus” and “Baby Beluga”.


• All of the fathers who let their daughters paint their toenails (you know who I’m talking about).


• Not to mention the fact that I’ve been to Hell and back making sure Santa was able to deliver Ninja Turtle Action figures on Christmas morning.
  

Before you have a child, you imagine a perfect world. A place with no sugar or junk food, where everything comes from an organic garden. A world that isn’t commercial, and families manage to make meaningful Christmas and Birthday gifts out of wonderful little things found in their backyard. A place where boys don’t play with toy guns or soldiers. A world without TV, one where we are never too tired to read and sing happy songs to our children.

The truth is - reality is far more interesting than the dream.

Dog House

Okay, so I'm not a photo shop wizard. Without naming names, there's a certain someone who just happens to be in the dog house with the Ryan women.

Today he took Maggie to the vet and subjected her to all sorts of indignities (and yes, pugs do hold the odd grudge) - and topped that off by hiding all of the diet cokes.

Hell hath no fury........

Roomates Wanted

I’m not a huge fan of reality television, but lately I’ve been following a show called “The Week the Women Left”. The premise of the show goes something like this; you take a small town in Canada – send all the woman on a luxurious holiday for a week – leave the men in charge of the kids, house, pets, work, etc – and of course total mayhem ensues.

Truth is, when I’m out of town Tom runs a tight ship - and Tex and Maggie are well loved and cared for, other than being subjected to hours and hours of CNN and cable Sports channels.

What I find most interesting about this particular reality show, however - is how the women of Tatamagouche, Halifax react to a week of freedom.

Even though I adore my family, there are times when my downstairs "woman cave" just isn’t enough. The show got me thinking, maybe I’m not the only woman who needs an occasional break. What if a group of us like-minded girls got together and split the rent on a downtown loft or apartment? Think of it as the ultimate chick pad.

All I really need is a few days every month. Just some time to catch up on my sleep and recharge my batteries. It wouldn’t have to be big or swanky, just a refuge for the weary.

In case anyone reading this would like to join me, I’ve taken a stab at listing our requirements:

• Kitchen is not essential, the closest thing to cooking will be ordering take out and heating it up in the microwave.
• Fridge is a must - cold champagne, selection of cheeses and chocolate dipped strawberries should always be close at hand.
• Emphasis on a beautiful bed with soft, comfortable and clean linens.
• BABT (big ass bath tub)
• Rather than a well stocked pantry, lots and lots of beauty products – or even better, close proximity to a spa.
• DVD’s of chick flicks, good books, and a big stack of fashion magazines.
• No phone, Internet, or access to blackberry
• Maid service provided daily
• And most important of all.........a lava lamp and clap-on fireplace

What do you think, ladies. Are there any takers out there?

Yes We Can