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Things that make you go “hmmm”

I have a new post up over at Life As A Human titled "Air travel and things that make you go hmmm." Why not click on over and be my BFF by leaving a comment? Either that or watch this video. Or both. It's a free world, I guess. … [Read more...]

Saguenay series, Part 5: How I learned to let go and love my hiking boots

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In Part 2 of my Saguenay series, I lamented spending my hard earned money on hiking boots instead of super-cute shoes. I also wondered aloud: "...what age the other women would be on the trip? And what level of fitness would they be? Or if maybe I am over-estimating how “rough” the trip will be and they will all be wearing cute yoga pants and flip flops while I stand there like a dork all outfitted up. And mostly, if I looked this ridiculous in … [Read more...]

Pelvic exam without my consent? No longer!

Photo credit: The Globe & Mail Back in January, I wrote a bit of a concerning post titled "A pelvic exam without my consent?" The concerning part is summed up quite well with this description from a Globe & Mail article: Imagine that you are undergoing a fairly routine surgery – say, removal of uterine fibroids or hysterectomy. During or right after the procedure, while you are still under anesthesia, a group of medical students … [Read more...]

Glamping?

In the tradition of Bradgelina (the nickname given to the celebrity couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie), jeggings (a pant that combines the fit of leggings with the look of a jeans) and tweeps (your “peeps” on twitter), we now have “glamping.” Glamping, or glamorous camping, is where one pays the equivalent of a 5-star hotel rate to sleep in a tent. Are these people mad? Maybe ... but I'm one of the converted! Find out why I'm willing to pay … [Read more...]

Winter: If you can’t beat’em, join’em!

Photo credit: Jean Tanguay

Photo credit: Jean Tanguay I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but winter is just around the corner. My husband thinks this is fantastic news indeed and has already equipped the kids with snowsuits and good hats and mitts. You might recall that I, on the other hand, am not quite as fond of winter. In fact, I spent most of last winter trying not to hate it. And although I still don't love it, to say the least, I did find that joining in … [Read more...]

Saguenay Series, Part 4: Vive le Québec! Vive le Saguenay!

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Okay, so! My trip to Northern Quebec! There is a lot to tell; I almost don't know where to start. But I guess the beginning is always a good place ... I was invited by Quebec's Ministry of Tourism to attend a press trip which would share with me six different family travel ideas from the Saguenay--Lac-Saint-Jean area. But in reality, the trip was so well-organized and the area has so much to offer that I've come home with countless things that … [Read more...]

Mark is a very popular boy

It looks like I'm not the only one who fell in love with Mark's for women's clothing! You can check out other outfits and opinions at the following Ottawa blogs as well: Andrea at a peek inside the fishbowl has turned out to be my twin sister (albeit a 5' 10" twin sister with supermodel cheekbones!) with the almost identical outfit. Christine, on the other hand, over at Coffees and Commutes is likely in the petite sizes and I'm sure you'll … [Read more...]

My new BFF is named Mark

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When I was younger (and er, smaller), I loved clothes shopping. But now, I only like (love!) shoe shopping. Everything else leaves me feeling very, very grumpy. It is simply not fun to try on 10 pairs of pants just to find one that looks "okay." Not "great" and "fabulous" -- but just okay. And when you have very little spare time, I think you'll agree that this is pretty much the last way you'd want to spend it. To add insult to injury, you … [Read more...]

This Year’s Pinata: The Angler Fish

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The pinata is a bit of a birthday tradition around here. Each year, Stella gets to pick a favourite creature and then she and her Dad create a pinata in its likeness. I'm not sure if we started making them because that's just the way Hubby likes to do things or if it was because we could not find pinatas that appealed to Stella's eccentric unique taste. Either way, this year we have The Angler Fish. Apparently, this is now Stella's favourite … [Read more...]

Saguenay Series, Part 3: The Trip Just Got A Whole Lot Less “Rough”

I've pretty much done everything possible to avoid packing for my Saguenay trip. I really don't know why I do this. I just do. Once, I left Canada for a whole year and didn't get around to packing until the night before. With school coming up it's been really easy to procrastinate. There are hundreds of thousands of other things to distract myself with. Like labelling. Oh, how I have labelled today! You name it, I've labelled it. Hubby was … [Read more...]

Saguenay Series, Part 2: Getting ready for my adventure

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I'm the kind of girl who packs the night before. Okay, sometimes even the morning of. So hubby reviewed the itinerary for my upcoming adventure to Saguenay, Quebec on my behalf and suggested that I'd better buy some hiking boots. And also, some waterproof pants and proper rain jacket. Seeing as how I don't think I'll be heading out on lots of adventures involving lots of rain over the next few years, I told him I'd buy some boots, but that … [Read more...]