February: The Month in Review

Considering we only had 28 days to work with this month, we sure saw a lot of celebratory days!…Ground Hog Day, Valentine’s Day, Family Day and let’s not forget The Olympics! March is going to be a bit of a letdown (esp personally, as we are not in Aruba this year, too bad, so sad). BUT…Spring should arrive this month – at least a few days here and there should let us know that we have passed the worst of winter. And it really was a great winter locally this year, don’t you think?

Here is the stats summary for the 1970 Kiki Project (since January 9th) as we wrap up February:

“40 Reads” – we are at 15. It’s been very easy to achieve this number.

“40 Movies” – we are at 3. Eeeck ack!!! I am placing the blame on the Olympics – would have been very un-Canadian of me to bypass Olympic viewing for a movie. I do intend to make an effort to see movies in March – in fact, will be going this coming week – it’s on my agenda!

“40 Recipes” – right on track at 7. I am aiming for 3-4 per month and we’re squarely in that target zone.

“40 Cereals” – best achievement to date with 18 different types. Easy. Should hit 20 by the end of the first week of March. Yea, baby!

Canada – US Olympic Gold Medal Hockey Game today, and the Olympic Closing Ceremonies. What a festive way to say good-bye to February!

A Snowy Friday Photo

Wow, this week may have been the snowiest of the winter yet! But I for one am not complaining. This really has been quite an easy winter to bear. And since March is right around the corner, you can’t really get down about a bit of a snowfall (esp when you live in a condo and don’t have to worry about shovelling – haha!).

Here’s today’s Friday Photo. This is the scene in front of our condo unit. We have a perfect view of the construction for the Balsillie School of International Affairs. Winter has not slowed progress at all – I don’t think they’ve missed a day yet. Every morning, the pickups arrive between 5:30 and 6:00 a.m. and BING! right on the nose at 7 a.m. they start to work.  Good thing I’m an early riser- if you’re hoping for a sleep-in, you will not get it, what with all the heavy equipment noise and traffic!

no stopping these workers

Who can complain about going outside when it’s snowy and blowy when this construction crew spends at least 8 hours per day in wintry conditions? Inspiring! (And makes me want to drink a hot beverage just looking at this scene!).

Friday’s Photo

I am going to try to do a weekly photo on Fridays. Just a short sharing of what strikes me on that day.

Today:

Sunoco at Westmount & Father David Bauer

Sorry for the poor quality – I was in my car and if cell-phone talking and driving is illegal, surely photo-taking and driving would be frowned upon, too! Anyway: the point is … when I walked by the gas station this morning about 10 a.m., the price was 96 cents or so. I resigned myself to paying a high price today, given I need a full tank of gas for a drive to Toronto tomorrow. When I pulled in at 11:30 a.m. to fill up, the price had dropped to 84.1 !!! (merky numbers in the photo). Score!! Gotta love when karma like that happens…

Schmoopy Weekend x 2, Part 2

This whole Family Day Holiday today is pretty amusing. Schools are closed, stores are closed, there is no local paper…but if you are a Federal Employee, you do not have the day off (sorry about your luck, bro). And we do have mail delivery. I realize the holiday coincides with Family Day in other provinces, President’s Day in the States etc, but I can’t help thinking: will it be rescinded when we get another political party in power, provincially? perhaps.

Here are five highlights of a Warm n Fuzzy Family Day, 2010:

#1: I finished my current knitting project –

these cardigans are fun to make - Koigu yarn is fab to work with and the results are always pleasing

check out the buttons - wild animals!

#2: I decided to turn the Valentine’s Sugar Cookies project (see #6 of “40 Recipes”) into a Cookie HappyGrams type-thing – I made up notes and cookies for a few couples and some friends in our building: a couple who just moved in this weekend, our Super Super, our neighbours just back from a trip south etc.

cookies, notes n plates, ready to go

it was fun to be the Cookie Santa!

don't worry, I didn't give away all the cookies - still some left for B!

#3: Mom, Dad and I met for a coffee break at the Huether –

yes, this IS the same table from brunch yesterday!

I had a complete belly-busting laughing fit trying to get a "good" photo of dad + cookie - thanks for being a good sport, dad!

#4: HARVEY’S!!!!

how better to celebrate a holiday?

yum + fun!

#5: …OLYMPICS!!! 🙂

A second silver medal today – that’s 1 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze so far…rah rah rah!!!

And that’s the end of the Schmoopy Lovey Long Weekend. Really, who can complain if the Powers That Be want to give us a day off in the dregs of winter? We’ll take it!

Schmoopy Weekend x 2 – Part 1, Sunday

Happy Valentine’s Day! This is a very “warm and fuzzy” weekend: Valentine’s Day today (brought to you by the makers of Hallmark moments) and Family Day tomorrow (Mon Feb 15), kindly delivered to you by the Gov’t of Ontario. Here’s how we are festively marking both days…

We’ve got the spirit!!! I pull out my heart hair elastic that dates back about 20 years, a long ago gift from mom:

it's in good shape since it only sees the light of day once per year....

And I decide to kill two birds with one stone by wearing my Canada Hoodie: red for Valentine’s Day and CANADA for the Olympics:

This hoodie isf from the Roots Olympic Collection (when they were the "Official" clothiers) from 2002, Salt Lake City

Brad gets into the Valentine’s spirit by dehydrating some salsa just because it is RED and today is VALENTINES. If you believe he specifically chose this food for this day….well, you need to get to know B better!

preparations are under way for the John Muir Trail hike this summer

Brunch is our idea of a nice Valentine’s outing, so we headed out to the Huether this morning, our favourite brunch spot:

much prefer a morning celebration to an evening one! that's our style!

I’m not really a candy/jewellery/dinner/flowers kinda gal – but I do enjoy our tradition of exchanging cards:

Write Impressions has the best selection of cards in our 'hood (sorry, Hallmark!)

Five things I “heart” that were part of today’s agenda:

#1 - our Sunday walk

#2 - baking Valentine's sugar cookies (see #6 of "40 Recipes")

#3 - watching the Olympics! The TV will be on and I will be watching every spare moment til they end!

#4 - have I ever mentioned that I love my Stairmaster? We spent quality time together today, too.

#5 - and don't forget a little knitting!

To cap the day, we went over to mom and dad’s for the Sunday Eve Visit and Yahtzee Match:

Are you ready to rumble?!?!

Mom’s been in a real slump lately. This shake did not make her day…

...something about Yahtzee being the worst game ever invented...

And the victor on Valentine’s??? …None other than…

...the Erv-man, yet again! (doing his PGA Golf point) (???!)

And thus endeth a lovely family day…no wait, that’s TOMORROW, Family Day. Stay tuned for a recap of Schmoop Day #2!

Valentines, Olympics, Long Weekend, NASCAR…and let’s not forget one more cause for celebration! We would be remiss in not wishing our Asian family and friends gung héi fáat chōi as we celebrate the Lunar New Year and welcome the Year of the Tiger.

                            

Since You Asked…

I picked up a copy of MOST magazine this morning (see “40 Reads” for a review). Sprinkled through the magazine, they featured  “Since You Asked” – questions posed to about five local women in total, and their responses. (I even know one of the woman whose response is in the magazine – cool!)I love reading these types of quick peeks into people’s lives. So, I thought I would play along, too. Here are the questions from the magazine and my responses. I invite you to play, too! Just submit your answers in the “Comments” area of the blog – I’d love to hear them!!

FIVE GOALS ON YOUR LIFE’S TO-DO LIST?

1. Ride on a float in a parade.
2. Run a 100 miler race.
3. See a film at TIFF.
4. Sing karaoke.
5. Dye my hair platinum blonde.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE WINTER OLYMPIC SPORT TO WATCH?

hockey!!!!

IF YOU COULD HAVE PERSONALLY WITNESSED ONE EVENT IN HISTORY, WHAT WOULD YOU WANT TO HAVE SEEN?

Prince Charles and Lady Diana’s wedding, in 1981. I adored Princess Diana from her first public appearances until her untimely death.

IF YOU HAD TO BE TRAPPED IN A TV SHOW FOR A MONTH, WHICH SHOW WOULD YOU CHOOSE?

Mad Men. I’d hang out with Betty Draper and become BFF with Joan Harris at the ad firm. Plus, I am just generally intrigued by this era.

IF YOU COULD PLAY ANY INSTRUMENT, WHICH WOULD YOU PLAY?

The guitar. Would be fun to sit on the floor and sing songs with Emmy and Claire, then turn around and wail away covering Guns n Roses, AC/DC, and Johnny Cash tunes.

Gettin’ Ink Done

This was the scene just over a year ago, on Saturday, January 10, 2009. I celebrated birthday #39 by getting a tattoo of a cardinal. It was not a decision I made lightly; I had been considering getting “permanent body art” for several years, and decided to take the plunge for my birthday. The cardinal was an easy choice – some people have a Guardian Angel, I have a Guardian Cardinal.

On that day last year, Brad and I went to Tora Tattoo, here in Uptown Waterloo. This place has a solid reputation, the best in the city. They had been recommended by numerous people, including a couple of friends on the Police Dept. If you can’t trust a police officer, who can you trust!

Bryan was my tattoo artist and I was 100% thrilled with the cardinal design he came up with:

the cardinal

All in all, it was a positive experience all around, and I have not for a minute regretted this choice.

2009: Bryan and the Cardinal

Now let’s fastforward to today, Wednesday February 3, 2010. Another Birthday Tattoo, just a few weeks late this year!

Again, this was not a decision made on a whim. Since last spring I had been contemplating another tattoo. I for sure wanted Bryan to do this tattoo, too, both because of his talent and also so the “artistic style” would match that of Mr Cardinal. I went in to see Bryan a few weeks ago, we discussed my idea, and set the tattoo date.

Whereas last year I had Brad along with me, today I was flying solo. And that was fine – getting a first tattoo is a bit of an unknown, but today I felt confident and comfortable with the process. Bryan had again drawn up a design – we were ready to go!

Bryan at work

I find that the tattoo process really is not painful. If you have ever had your eyebrows waxed (or waxing in any other areas!) or even deep tissue sports massage (yowser!), the pain level of the tattoo is not significant. It truly does just feel like getting scratched with a sharp needle. Today was cool because I could watch the tattoo process. With the cardinal, I was facing the ceiling and could not see a thing.

What I appreciate about Tora is their attention to strict cleanliness and lawful procedure.

the prep area

And the finished product! (The bandage can come off tomorrow – I just did not want to wait to show off Boston Baby!)

to explain: we have the Boston emblem, laurel leaves, and the years I ran the Boston Marathon (with room to add more!)

Am I done? I think so…but then I said that last year, too, after I got the cardinal. Bryan joked, “See you next year” as I was leaving…I don’t think so, but you never know!

Bryan