It's A Bit Like A Party

I hosted my third Virtual Trivia Night last night and it was busy! There were 19 teams! It is a big collection of people: from close friends to extended family, friends of friends and more. I have covered up their names but you might recognize some faces among last night's trivia crew:

Participants for Covid-19 Virtual Trivia Night

Hosted by me on Zoom

March 31, 2020

So Many Babies

I am always slow to get out congratulations, and this past spring has seen a whole pile of babies. So here are the new humans in my life (not alphabetically, not chronologically, literally in no particular order):

Nic and Drew have expanded their beautiful family one further, bringing Canada a new little wombat. I have only met her once but Rosie is just the sweetest. They are all renting The Cottage next week so can show the new little one their 'Beach House'. (Photo Right)

Christopher keeps bringing us Canadian content and just a few weeks ago became the proud father of Elliott. He lives, with his lovely wife Heather, just a couple of doors down from James and Mike so Elliott will be able to spend lots of time with his cousins Ava and Aiden. And the grandparents are around the corner too - such a cool city family - it is the Toronto dream.

Canada Day celebrations were even more special than usual for Pat and Michelle, who spent the entire day in labour. Fitting date - as they have been known to host an epic pool party on it in the past. Liam arrived in the early hours of July 2. I am so happy for this little family and the many adventures they will have together. (Photo left)

I can't believe how much Henry looks like his dad Marc. Marc and Christine are up in Ottawa. Henry was born in March, quite a bit early I believe. But he is doing wonderfully, even if Marc is going to have him cheer for all the worst sports teams (Boston? Really?)

P and E also named their little boy Henry, who was born a few months ago. At the moment he is keeping a very quiet social media presence. I have had the chance to see him and can report that he is super cute.

Babies are going to keep on coming with Lauren due any minute and JennD expecting her second little one in the Fall.

Welcome Aiden

Last month, a day before my own birthday, Ava became a big sister! Her new brother, Aiden, also has the best birth announcement / newborn photo that I have ever seen. It is basically a baby infographic (and I love me some visual representations of data.) Contrats to James and Mike - all my love!!

The only thing is that I can't tell from the picture if he was born at quarter after five in the morning or evening.

Dogs On A Caturday

Jason and I are looking after 3 dogs this weekend. (The littlest one is James', the black one is her brother's, and the larger one is her parents'.) Instead of invading Two's space for three days, we are spending most of the weekend up at James' parents' cottage near Collingwood, which they have graciously lent to us so we can look after the dogs somewhere that has a good yard. It is really quiet and relaxing.

Improve The Day With A Mani And A Musical

Today was a pretty disappointing and upsetting day on the job front. However, with what was perfect timing, I had actually set up the day as a little mini, Toronto vacation with my mom. In a surprise, spontaneous email a few months ago, Aunty-Cindy gifted me with tickets to go see The Lion King. So mom came into the city this morning and we went over to James' house to see Ava, who also happens to be Aunty-Cindy's grand-daughter. We then went to Lucy's Nails for mani-pedi's, which is THE best place to go in Toronto. It is also only $25, which is so cheap. The owner is also super charismatic and funny, today she asked, "How are you today and tomorrow?" However, my mom's favourite thing that Lucy ever says is still, "Happy feet!" And it was true, felt good to treat ourselves.

Then, it was off to the theatre after grabbing a quick dinner at home. The Lion King is astounding! It was my third time seeing it and this production still knocked my socks off. The huge opening, with Circle of Life and amazing staging gave me shivers. It was an amazing night, a great way to cheer up after feeling discouraged.

Turning 30

It is Steph's birthday today! She is turning 30, and is the first of my friends (not counting Jason, Jeska, James, or JennD) to do so. Okay, so she is the first of my friends who I think of as 'the same age as me' to do so, and who's name does not start with a J. (Sucks to be born at the start of the year sometimes.) She is calling it her 29+1 birthday, which is a bit like Anne saying she is 5'13". On her blog she did a bit of a recap of her year and included a photo collage, which Jason and I are a part of! (We are the kissing couple in the sparkler heart.) I hope the Steph had an amazing birthday and the her 30's are as great as her 20's were.

Happy Birthday Steph, I love you!

Meet Ava

Mid-Week Friend Update - A Wednesday feature that provides a small update on what is happening with the incredible people that I have in my life.

One of the two most important babies in my life - just had a baby! I would like to introduce you to Ava and she is beautiful.

I can't wait to meet her in person, I have been dealing with this stupid cold so have been staying away for now. While I want to get better, I get to look at pretty baby pictures on Facebook. Here are her baby details: Born on Feb 27th 2014 at 3:21am; 8lbs 2oz and 22" long to James and her husband.

The reason James is one of the two most important babies in my life (the other being Jeska) is that without her birth and subsequent adorableness my parents may never have had kids. My Dad didn't think he wanted children but when Jeska and Jamie were born he changed his mind. So a year and a bit later, I was born. And now Jamie has a baby! (Who I hear is perfect, and sure to inspire many to change their minds about having kids.)

Kitten Tomorrow

Mom is coming to Toronto tomorrow because we are going to James' shower. She is having a little girl and I am so excited for all the pink. Everyone has boys (Taylor, Kiyomi, Kristen's sister, Jason's sister has 3). So happy for James and her husband and looking forward to seeing lots of tiny girly baby clothes tomorrow.

I know that it is Caterday but tomorrow Mom is also bringing Rasta! So, I will get some good pictures of him, hopefully introduce him to Two and report back next Saturday.

New Tag - 'Real Estate'

I have reached the point in my life when my friends are starting to buy houses. Actually, my brother bought his first house soon after he finished high school, in the mid-2000's when he was only 19. Around that time, Taylor and Mark bought their first house as well. They have since upgraded to a larger house and are renting out the first one. Mike sold his first house, moved to Edmonton, and rented for a while. He then bought a condo with Aimee and they have since started renting it out as they have bought a house nearby to live in. James and her husband had a loft, sold it, and now own a duplex in Toronto. Steph and Dave got a house in Barrhaven a couple of years ago. Teri and Greg are looking around in Oakville. The list goes on.

I realized that I didn't really have a tag on Always Standing to commemorate the large and exciting event that is home (or apartment or cottage) ownership; so I have added 'Real Estate' and went back and tried to tag any past articles that may be relevant.

Shut It Down

After weeks of excitement, chat, thought, and early prep, I am closing down my 'almost company' before it even begins. I had wanted to start a baby product subscription box service in Canada called Baby Crates:

I had been researching daily, learning about the market, business model, etc. I was sure that this was not avalible in Canada yet and that I could start something fun and unique here. Well, today I ran across LittleEcoFootprint which is starting this very month. LittleEcoFootprint is a new Canadian subscription box for new moms focused on healthy, natural and Eco-friendly products, which wouldn't have been my slant but is close enough to cancel my plans. However, I still love the subscription box business model and don't want to walk away from the idea of starting my own business, but Baby Crates is over.

I want to thank all my friends and family who have talked with me about this over the past month. Your support and ideas have been so wonderful and helpful. Thank you!

Spreading The Word

I don't really follow the news as much as I would like. Also, I'm not on Twitter. However, I'm shocked and upset at the different things that the following implies; censorship, that Twitter is that powerful, that access to internet is denied. At the same time I don't know the whole story...
But this is from James and was her Facebook status today:
If you're on Twitter, set your location to Tehran & your time zone to GMT +3.30. Iranian security forces are hunting for bloggers using location/timezone searches. The more people at this location, the more of a logjam it creates for forces trying to shut down Iranians' access to the internet. Cut & paste & pass it on.

A Star In The City

I got to spend most of this past weekend in Toronto. Each and every time I visit it I fall deeper and deeper in love with the city. I spent the first night with James. I hadn't seen her new place yet, which is literally across the street from Casa Loma in a beautiful neighbourhood. The key thing though is that she is super close to the subway, the subway is part of what makes Toronto so great. It was so good to catch up with her and hear that she is doing so well. Besides the awesome apartment, she also has a wicked job and really seems to be enjoying life. I also got to catch up with James's Little Brother, we all hung out at this amazing bar near U of T. The student life in Toronto is really cranked up a notch. I spent the next day wandering the area around Young and Dundas while I waited for Teri and her crew to show up to start the birthday celebrations. Ter's plan for her birthday was to go to a movie at the Toronto Film Festival but it didn't really pan out, mainly because of the rain and us not wanting to wait outside in lines. The group of us ended up having a quiet dinner and then some drinks at a pub. We stayed over at a big hotel downtown, 5 of us piled into a pretty small room with two double beds. Myself, Teri, and Teri's Little Brother spent some time the next morning in the hotel pool which had the coolest and scariest waterslide I have ever been on. Toronto tops it all, I have decided that at some point in my life I will have to live there, it is calling to me.

Toilet Humour

If Women Controlled The World.

I took this from an e-mail sent by James' mom. This is so true as I now share a bathroom with two male roommates, who somehow seem to always leave the seat up and use all the toilet paper, which makes no sense cause..... well never mind.

Friends With A Star

She is tall and lean and goes out in tight dark jeans. I got to spend last night with an long time family friend, James. James (along with Jeska) inspired my parents to have me. Only a year older than me, she was a sweet baby that made my parents want one of their own. We have been close friends since birth but hanging out with her still feels like spending time with a celebrity. She is all over the board, she is such a multifaceted person, a bright sparkling diamond. Lives in Toronto and loves being downtown in the big city, yet often party's in small town Ontario. We can go from talking about our love lives to what it is like to write the LSAT. James is a realist and a hopeless romantic, can explain her ideal wedding but also how much she loves being single and independent. She travels to Paris for the art and culture, comes home only to head to the south to drink for a week. An intelligent academic with long blond hair and heels. James can show a daring sense of adventure by getting her belly button pierced in Amsterdam, only to also be seriously determined with her work out routine. Loves to cuddle, likes her martini's strong and her pasta rich. She loves and owns designer fashions like Juicy Couture, Seven Jeans, and Louis Vuitton but hopes to one day work for a non-profit. James feels like a vibrant walking contradiction at times, and is the most versatile person I know. When I'm with her I have stars in my eyes and a smile in my heart.