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.

She Found Me Again

Last year Nic went to the movies and thought I looked like Cinderella, now she thinks I am an astronaut. I appreciate the job promotion and the fact that all it takes is eyes and eyebrows to have my likeness.

Lifestyle Challenges

I read a lot of Buzzfeed, something that I got from Nicola and Kristen. I even have the app on my phone, which I definitely got from Nicola. I decided around New Years that I would try a bunch of their "Lifestyle Challenges" this year and see if I can gradually improve some of my habits.

I am going to start slow, since I am feeling too lazy to tackle any of the getting fit ones or even the one about becoming a morning person. I signed up for the 5-Day Inbox Cleanse, which promises the following:

Only five days to a better email inbox? With our new Inbox Cleanse, you’re going to take control of your email. It’s not about getting rid of all of your email completely — it’s about optimizing your inbox to highlight important messages, improving your communication over email, and cutting down on unnecessary clutter. Each day, we’ll give you a simple tip that you can act on, improving your inbox in only 10-15 minutes a day. And the positive skills and habits you learn will help you maintain your inbox’s sanity for long after the challenge is completed. Because your inbox deserves good email, and so do you.

I am using it for my personal Yahoo Mail account, since I am pretty good at organizing and sorting my email at work. What sucks is that the daily tips and instructions (which include app suggestions) has been created to work best with Gmail, which I don't use. However my personal account currently has 977 emails sitting in its Inbox, so any help is better than nothing.

It is a daily email course, so I had to give my email address and they will send me a message each day, starting tomorrow. I will report back at the end of the week to let you know how it went.

We Look Like The Movies

A friend at work said that this reminded her of Jason...

The actor, Scott Eastwood, doesn't usually look like Jason, but I can totally see the resemblance in this poster.

A few months ago, right before they started watching the movie, Drew told Nic that the lead in the live-action Cinderella reminded him of me - and then that was all Nic could see. The titular character is played by Lily James, who does look a bit like me. We have the same brow line? Or maybe face shape?

NYC Romance - III

One major tourist activity in NYC that I had never done was go to the top of the Empire State Building. (Jerrica and I did Top of the Rock.) So, seeing that it is such an iconic thing, Jason and I decided to add it to this trip. It was beautiful from the top, but to get there was intense. There was line up after line up, actually multiple rooms of them. It wasn't a stand still, which was nice, just a long slow shuffle that killed my back and feet. It was loud and crowded at the top. Nic and Drew got engaged up there, but they went much later at night and had the place almost to themselves.

Empire State Selfie!

Jason and I - Viewfinder and a view.

Waking Up Early

The guidebook says that we should leave Paris at 8:00am to get to Versailles in time for it to open. Christine is returning to England/Wales today and wanted to see the palace before catching the train; so, we need to get as much time there as possible. It also gets very busy. Last week Nicola sent me the following video:

My cats have never done this to wake me up - which I am pretty happy about actually. While I love how cute it is, I love sleep more. However, we didn't get any cute wake up this morning. And, for some reason the Boulangerie isn't open until 10:00am on Saturdays so there was no morning walk to go get fresh croissants. (Mom went and picked some last night in preperation, so we will still have them for breakfast but they were made yesterday.)

Not Yet A Lucky Outfit

This is my new interview outfit. I think it is a lot more feminine than the suit-style that I normally go for. I am so thankful to Nicola who was able to rush out to the mall with me at the last minute, late at night, to help me put something together for an interview I had last month. I tried finding something to wear myself and was having a terrible time. I started getting more and more stressed and Nicola totally saved me, she showed me an amazing store - Loft. When I get my dream job, I am going to buy lots of great work clothes there. (Nic sent her a husband a picture of me, his response: "Tell her she looks like a fox, a business fox.")

I found out this past week, that I didn't get that job. However, the job hunt continues and I hope to soon call this my lucky interview outfit.

Photo by Tessa

I Have Said These Things

Buzzfeed is an amazing site if you are looking to waste a lot of time on the internet. For the past couple of months I have been borderline addicted. Nicola was the first of my friends to really check the site and she got Kristen going and then it was only a matter of time before I too would be regularly reading their funny lists. Whenever I see a good wedding-related list I forward it onto Teri, and whenever Kristen sees things about cats she forwards them to me. She sent me the following list last week and I thought I would share it today as part of Caturday:

22 Conversations Every Cat Owner Has Had With Their Cat
 My favourites:
"Am I allowed to pet you now?"
"What the fuck are you doing?"
"You know, I was reading that."

The cool thing about the list linked to above is that it is a 'community post' which means instead of the staff at Buzzfeed, it was put together by someone who just likes to make lists.

A Useful Machine

After a weekend with Jason's nephew's I have some thoughts on children/babies: For example, one should probably not have them until one is living in a place that has a dishwasher (and probably also easy access to daily laundry.) I am pretty sure that I am one of the last remaining people, of all my friends, still washing my dishes by hand. Thinking about their various houses and apartments the only people that might also be in a sink-only situation could be Nic and Drew, Erin AH, Anna, and Danielle - even them I am not totally sure, maybe they do have the very useful machine that is a Dish Washer.

You Will For Sure Die

This is very funny. (Thank you to Nicola for sending it to me):

Sad Cat Diary

"I would like to receive two rubs exactly, a third one and I will bite the shit out of them, as per protocol" Unfortunately with Two, this desired number/protocol changes constantly so we never know how much she would like and, well, then she bites us.

Money Challenge - Week 4

COUPLE CHALLENGE
Time Frame: One week. Monday April 8 to Sunday April 14, 2013
*Dinner: No ordering in, getting take out, or going out to eat.*
Notes: I am not terrible about making dinner any more and I am cooking a lot more than usual. However, there is still usually at least one night where I eat dinner out, either because I am meet friends, going on a date with Jason, or need to grab food before some evening activity. Then I also, out of laziness, order in a couple of times a month. Groceries and cooking is always cheaper, there are great deals in restaurants and fast food places but they are never better then making your own food.
Insight: Nicola said that her and Drew did this and quit cold turkey for an extended period of time. They also hadn't been eating out or ordering in very often but thought that it would be a good cost saving measure to stop altogether. At first she said it was really difficult and they felt deprived. But then they got used to it and this past weekend they got home late and were tired but there wasn't really any food in the house. So, Nic went to the cupboard to figure something out, "We have a can of tuna, I could make something with that?" Then Drew suggested ordering in a pizza which Nic had actually forgotten was even a possibility for dinner. So there is hope! 

Pop At A Movie Theatre

So, early in the week I posted about Weekly Money Challenges that Jason and I are trying to do and that the first one was to stop buying pop at restaurants/bars. Well, today we went to go see a movie (with Cailin, Nicola, Noah, and Kristen) and we couldn't determine what to do about pop at the movie theatre:

Jason's Side: Seeing that pop is over priced at movie theatres, it shares in the spirit of the challenge and therefore should not be purchased.

My Side: The challenge was only for restaurants/bars and a movie theatre doesn't count and therefore it can be purchased without breaking the challenge.

What do you think?

In general, those with us were split on the issue but Kristen did point out that free water is not served, I gather she has tried to get tap water in the past and they charged her for the cup. I really like the popcorn and it is so salty that not having a drink would be torture. On the other hand, when growing up my parents definitely never got movie food for me because all of the snacks are over priced and later on when I was in high school and university I would just sneak food in, so buying popcorn, candy and pop at the concession stand is a relatively new thing for me. I think it would be best to go back to sneaking food and drinks in, since that would save money and not change the experience, however it would take more thinking/planning ahead.

Found It

Item Lost: My black pair of glasses
Time Lost: End of December 2012
Last Place I Remember: Drawer in my bedside table
Place Found: Bottom of grocery bag that held my bridesmaid's dress from Steph and Dave's wedding and some other things from Nic and Drew's wedding that I never unpacked

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!

What A Beautiful Family!

Family Shot from Nic & Drew's Wedding

December 28, 2012

By Karlie and Steve from We're Photography

Lovely Mushtashioed Men

It is almost the end of Movember and I wanted to remind everyone one last time to be sure to donate to this great cause! (Movember raises funds and awareness for prostate cancer, mental health, and other male health issues.) Jason has been participating, please see the picture on the right. These are my Mo Bros this year so please give generously on behalf of one of them or split your donation between them. Thank you so much!

2013 Mo Bros
- Jason Woods, my lovely boyfriend, Jason's MoSpace Page
- Drew Stewart, an Aussie friend of mine, Drew's MoSpace Page
- James Harris, long-time family friend, James' MoSpace Page

Christmas Song Showdown

Every year, the WOTS office plays a game with Christmas songs - they listen to CHFI (an easy listening station in Toronto that plays exclusively Christmas songs around the holidays) and keep track of the number of times certain songs are played. If the song picked gets played the most over the duration of the season then that person is the winner; each empolyee has a dedicated song.

Last year was even more intense with a 'special work-out song' that when played the first person to jump up and start working out (lunges, squats, jumping jacks, etc.) got an extra point put on their song tally. Also the whole office would then work-out for the duration of that song. This year that isn't happening since the players are too scattered and some of us are in offices where jumping up randomly would not be as appropriate.

Other specific rules include a two person verification and a specific version of the song declared. Kristen, from her office downtown at her new job, and I are playing by proxy and just hoping that those in the WOTS office a properly keeping track.

Here are this year's songs:
Nicola - "Do They Know It's Christmas" by Band Aid
Cailin - "Jingle Bell Rock" by Bobby Helms
Kristen - "All I Want For Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey
Me - "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" by Bruce Springteen

Happy Holidays!

I hope you have started to listen to Christmas songs too...

SC - A Private Health Club

We stole this idea from Heather, but had been tossing around similar concepts for a while - The WOTS girls and I have created a 'Salad Club'. Each one of us takes a day and we make a large salad to serve at lunch for everyone. It is such a fun and healthy idea. (I have Thursdays, starting next week. I need to start thinking of fun salad ideas.)

This is also going to be the start of a new feature on Always Standing - each Thursday I will post the recipe for the salad that I make for SC (Salad Club). Stay tuned!

Book List 2012

I'm not going to give myself a time limit, but I do want to move through the following list quickly!! Canadian authors are identified.

ONGOING (2):
- My Future Listography: All I hope to do in lists by Lisa Nola. Gift from Erin AH.
- Mind Over Mood: Change How You Feel by Changing the Way You Think by Dennis Greenberger & Christine A. Padesky. Purchased from gift cards from Uncle M and Aunt E, my cousins, and Kristen's Mom.

FINISHED (4):
- When Parents Text: So Much Said... So Little Understood by Lauren Kaelin & Sophia Fraioli. Gift from Kristen.
- Bossypants by Tina Fey. Gift from Teri.
- How Shakespeare Changed Everything by Stephen Marche (CanLit). A gift from Kristen.
- Various Positions by Martha Schabas (CanLit). Gift from the WOTS office.

READING (4):
- A Life of Pi by Yann Martel (CanLit). Gift from Uncle Simon.
- A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare: 1599 by James Shapiro. Gift from Mom and Dad.
- The Happiness Project: Or, Why I spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean my Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun by Gretchen Rubin. Purchased from gift cards from Uncle M and Aunt E, my cousins, and Kristen's Mom.
- Ruska: The Novel of Russia by Edward Rutherford. Borrowed from a friend.

TO READ (51):
- Sarum: The Novel of England by Edward Rutherford. To be borrowed from the library.
- London: A Novel by Edward Rutherford. To be borrowed from the library.
- Social Media 101 by Chris brogan. To be borrowed from Kristen.
- Idoru by William Gibson (CanLit). Gift from Uncle Simon.
- Making Pictures: Vision, Imagination, Skills & Techniques in Photography by Julian Calder. A gift from a family friend, written by his son.
- C'mon Papa: Dispatches from a Dad in the Dark by Ryan Knighton (CanLit). Prize won at WOTS 2010.
- Left Neglected by Lisa Genova. Gift from Aunt Dan.
- Fruit: A Novel About a Boy and his Nipples by Brian Francis (CanLit). Purchased on sale.
- Bridge at your Fingertips by Amalya Kearse. Stolen from Dad.
- The History of Love by Nicole Krauss. To be borrowed from Kristen.
- Buzzmarketing: Get People to Talk About Your Stuff by Mark Hughes. To be borrowed from Kristen.
- The Worse Thing She Ever Did by Alice Kuipers (CanLit). To be borrowed from Kristen.
- The Fictional Career Change of Jim Kearns by David Munro (CanLit). To be borrowed from Kristen.
- Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey (CanLit). Gift from WOTS office.
- Nicholas and Alexandra by Robert K. Massie. To be borrowed by Kristen.
- Peter the Great by Robert K. Massie. To be borrowed from the library.
- The Romanovs by Robert K. Massie. To be borrowed from the library.
- Mr. Playboy: Hugh Hefner and the American Dream by Stephen Watts. To be borrowed from Kristen.
- The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown. To be borrowed from Kristen.
- Quiver by Holly Luhning (CanLit). Gift from WOTS office.
- The Age of Persuasion: How Marketing Ate Our Culture by Terry O'Reilly & Mike Tennant (CanLit). To be borrowed from Kristen.
- Pop: The Genius of Andy Warhol by Tony Scherman & David Dalton. To be borrowed from Kristen.
- The Fallback Plan by Leigh Stein. To be borrowed from Kristen.
- Once Every Never by Lesley Livingston (CanLit). Gift from WOTS office.
- Writers [on Writing] edited by the New York Times. To be borrowed from Kristen.
- A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. Gift from Uncle Simon and Aunt Dan.
- The Fine Art Of Small Talk: How to Start a Conversation, Keep It Going, Build Networking Skills -- and Leave a Positive Impression! by Debra Fine. To be borrowed from Kristen.
- The Daily Coyote: A Story of Love, Survival and Trust in the Wilds of Wyoming by Shreve Stockton. Gift from Mom and Dad.
- The Withdrawal Method by Pasha Malla (CanLit). To be borrowed from Kristen.
- The Cat's Cradle by Michael Ondaatje (CanLit). Gift from Teri.
- The Tower, the Zoo and the Tortoise by Julia Stuart. To be borrowed from Kristen.- The Brain that Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science by Norman Doidge (CanLit). To be borrowed from Kristen.
- Earthgirl (Advanced Reading Copy, uncorrected proof) by Jennifer Cowan (CanLit). Gift from university Fiction Workshop instructor.
- A Guidebook to Contemporary Architecture in Toronto by Margaret and Phil Goodfellow (CanLit). To be borrowed from Kristen.
- A Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (CanLit). To be borrowed from the library.
- Weight by Jeanette Winterson. To be borrowed from Kristen.
- The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. To be borrowed from Kristen.
- 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. To be borrowed from the library.
- A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby. To be borrowed from Kristen.
- The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. To be borrowed from Kristen.
- Jpod by Douglas Coupland (CanLit). To be borrowed from the library.
- Microserfs by Douglas Coupland (CanLit). To be borrowed from Kristen.
- Eleanor Rigby by Douglas Coupland (CanLit). To be borrowed from Kristen.
- How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. To be borrowed from the library.
- The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas. To be borrowed from Kristen.
- Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi. To be borrowed from Kristen.
- Canon EOS Digital Rebel: Digital Field Guide by Charlotte K. Lowrie. Gift from Uncle M.
- The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. To be borrowed from Kristen.
- The Story of Jane Doe: A Book About Rape by Jane Doe. To be borrowed from Kristen.
- The Everything Guide to Social Media by John K. Waters. Gift from Noah.
- Writer's Gym by Eliza Clark (CanLit). To be borrowed from Kristen.

WOTS Was Wonderful

After a very very long day, I am sitting down and reflecting on the last 17 hours. It was an amazing experience to witness first-hand the inner workings of a huge Toronto festival. I was on site starting before the break of dawn until well after sunset. There is great news to report: The Word On The Street went off without a hitch, and thankfully got treated to a beautiful sunny day.

I have been writing reviews for WOTS Blog and I go into the office to visit, hang out, and help Kristen on occasion. However, I was actually hired for the day as Kristen's production assistant. I was given a walkie-talkie, which made my week. The area was divided into zones so our team had 6 other walkie-talkies and our own channel to communicate on - which was good because we (I) had no trouble filling the air time. I also got to drive around in a golf cart for a couple hours which was quite a relief after walking back and for across Queen's Park seven times within the first hour I was on site.

Being a production assistant meant that I was the direct line for the 24 volunteers Kristen had for the Exhibiting team, so that I could screen questions and concerns. This meant that Kristen had to coordinate all the large issues and spent the day trying to work her way around to personally checking on each of the over 250 exhibitors. She did an incredible job. I have watched her work on/with this festival for over a year now and she is obviously very dedicated and very talented. However, today I got to see someone who I feel rose beyond intelligent, elegant, and hard working and became almost superhuman. There are no words for how well she did today. Everyone involved should be very proud, it was a truly magnificent event.