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David Sedaris is Worth It

Late this afternoon, I got my dirty little paws on tickets to see Mr. David Sedaris (!) tonight at the National Arts Centre. But really, the timing couldn't be worse ... our house is torn apart and we're in the middle of painting it, the kids have stuff going on tonight that requires taxi-driving, and I can barely think straight from the insomnia I had last night. In case you are wondering who he is, which I suspect you might be, because … [Read more...]

An Ottawa Giveaway! Tickets for two to the National Arts Centre

EDITED TO ADD:  WE HAVE A WINNER!!!! The winner for this giveaway was determined using random.org and it was PB Addict. Congrats to a fellow peanut butter lover and I hope you have a fabulous time! (Come back and tell us all about it!) Warm wishes, Julie Great news! The National Arts Centre has generously offered two tickets for Coffee with Julie readers to see a really interesting show that's coming to town. The performer is Patricia … [Read more...]

#Blog4NZ: New Zealand never leaves you

Blog4NZ is a grass-roots effort on the part of the international travel blogging community to promote all that is good about travel in New Zealand from the 21st to 23nd of March — the one-month anniversary of the quake. Tourism makes up approximately 10% of New Zealand’s GDP and it is essential for the world to know that New Zealand is open for business. So ... New Zealand! Where to start? Well, it was 1993, I had a one-way ticket and a one-year … [Read more...]

Are you guilty of labelling people?

I think it's safe to say that we've all been guilty of labelling someone -- consciously or subconsciously -- according to a stereotype or just simply out of ignorance. So it's precisely for this reason that I found this video created by Mabel's Labels so valuable. It gives me that reminder to constantly challenge labels ... of those that come to mind when I meet someone as well as those that I place on myself. In the video, which was made … [Read more...]

Dragons

Dragons A Poem by Stella   Sometimes I see something that makes me think: "Was that a dragon or a blue bellied skink?" Some people say they are not real. But when I see something like that, it's not the way I feel. Maybe when I grow up, they will be known. But right now, as I said, many people think they're dead! … [Read more...]

Winning.

Yes, Charlie, you sure are winning with those two hookers goddesses and your crack-fested tiger blood. But, hey, us Canadian bloggers aren't doing so bad ourselves, actually! I'm really honoured to have received nominations for two categories (Family & Parenting and Life) in this year's Canadian Weblog Awards. The 2011 Canadian Weblog Awards are a juried competition with nominations open in 36 categories between January 1st and October … [Read more...]

Admiring the Tiger Mom

I have been sitting back in fascination for some weeks now watching the scathing reaction that has continued to out pour towards Amy Chua, aka the "Tiger Mom," for some weeks now. In case you missed the brouhaha, Chua is a Yale professor who recently released a memoir titled Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom. The flames were first fanned with an excerpt of the book shared in the Wall Street Journal. The WSJ titled the article "Why Chinese Mothers … [Read more...]

Ghost stories

Photo credit: Stock.xchng as found on HowStuffWorks I had a great night last night. One of my brothers invited the whole family over for pizza and a hang-out. Not only does seeing the little cousins together melt my heart, but we have a ton of talented storytellers in the family, which virtually guarantees a few belly laughs (or in this case, some chills!).  While I was there, the topic of a dog-sitting incident came up. A week ago, we were … [Read more...]

“Party Favorites” in Parent & Child magazine

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In the March issue of Scholastic's Parent & Child magazine, you'll find an article inspired by a blog post of the old fashioned party games we put on for Stella's birthday! It's a fabulous magazine and I feel really honoured to get a few of my words into ink for such a top-notch publication. So if it's in your home or you see it on the news stand .... check me out on page 12! … [Read more...]