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December 21st, 2011

Christmas Gift Wrapping

I never would have thought of using paper doilies for anything except snowflakes (remember making those as a kid?). But I happened to have seen Guilia’s wrapping and then happened to see red doilies in the dollar store. So here is how I’ve wrapped Stella’s teachers’ gifts this year. I love how they turned out!

If you want to try it, you’ll need:

Brown paper bags (Michaels)
Paper doilies (The Dollar Store)
Glue for sticking the doilies on the bag (The Dollar Store)
Ribbon (Michaels)

I had the day off as a vacation day to attend Stella’s Christmas Concert at school, and since it got cancelled with the freezing rain, I got some wrapping done and watched season one of Californication on Netflix. I was bummed out about missing the Christmas concert, but it turned out to be a nice relax.

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November 9th, 2011

Multi-tasking is the bane of my existence and also my life bread

It’s all the rage these days to talk about how multi-tasking isn’t really a good skill to apply anymore. That you are better off focusing all your attention on one task and in doing so, you will actually get it done quicker. In other words, you’ll save more time and get more done if you just line all your tasks up in row and knock them down one by one.

That, my friends, is not how multi-tasking works. As any mother knows, multi-tasking is not about getting things done quickly or more effectively by doing more than one thing at once. In fact, we’d love — more than anything! — to be able to devote all of our focus on one thing at a time.

Multi-tasking is not a choice. It is something that one must do, if one expects to actually get anything done at all.

As Exhibit A: My work day is now done and this is how my evening is going to play out …

Supervise a short homework period with one child (nagging as needed)
Drive over with above noted child to my Gram’s residence and pick her up for dinner
Drive over to Swiss Chalet, because both Gram and child will eat there
Drive over to Chapter’s where I have a meeting scheduled with out daycare provider at 7pm
Deposit Gram and child into Chapter’s. Let them browse for an hour.
Discuss other child for one hour with daycare provider to share tips and sync-up
Re-group with Gram and child and drive Gram back to her residence
On the way home, stop at drugstore to pick up some face cream and toothpaste
Arrive home, usher child into bedtime routine (nagging as needed)

Now, why am I doing all this at once? Well, because I had scheduled a meeting with my daycare provider for this evening. But I am also long overdue in taking my Gram out for dinner and she is in the same neighbourhood. I also promised child to a new book, and this is in the same neighbourhood too. And I also promised my face that I would finally get a refill on skin cream since the last one has been sitting empty for too long.

And if I didn’t multi-task all of this into one evening, then I would still be feeling terrible for not taking Gram out in ages and not fulfilling my book promise to child and having dry, uncomfortable skin! There is simply not enough time to not multi-task.

Please tell me this is normal. In the meantime, I will try to get a half-dozen things done ineffectively and check back for your answer.

p.s. Despite all the practice I get at multi-tasking, I still fail at it. Frequently. Case in point: The day got so busy that I forgot to do the draw for the $50 Mark’s gift certificate. So you now have until 10 am tomorrow to enter!

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October 26th, 2011

“Month of Me” post #11: Time with My Hubby

When this whole crazy “Month of Me” concept started to solidify, I started to consider “what exactly would I want to do if there was no one else influencing the decision?”

At first, it was easy: I would accept an invitation to She’s Connected even though that would mean booking time off work that I wouldn’t be spending with my family and even though my only real reason for wanted to go was curiosity and a bit of “fun factor.” Same for the Blissdom Canada conference: sure, I love blogging, but how could I possibly justify two blogging conferences in one month, requiring time off work and time away from family? But then I remembered that I shouldn’t need to justify how I wanted to spend my time.

And the easiest part of all was New York City. I adore visiting New York — the buzz, the broadway, the shopping! Even before the wine-infused idea of “Month of Me” took form, Hubby had already suggested that I take a trip to NYC for my 40th. And without my knowledge, he had secretly squirreled away money from the family budget to help make it happen. Then, when Kerry mentioned she was heading to New York, it just all fell together.

But there was something big missing from all this excitement — my Hubby! It was possible that I could book off a day or two from work on my own, but it was impossible for us to take a trip as a family during October. So I set about trying to find a way for us to get some “couple” time. Camping, since it had been our first love, seemed like the perfect thing for us to do together. My mom and dad offered to take the kids overnight, so it was booked and put in pen (“Camping with my Honey!”) on the calendar for Saturday, October 22nd.

But on Friday, October 21st, we still didn’t have any plans for where we would go. We had been running like mad this autumn season. And frankly, the thought of packing and un-packing again after I’d already done so three times already in the last couple of weeks made me droop.

Then I remembered, it’s “Month of Me” — me! No guilt and no justification was part of the deal I had made with myself. So I told Hubby that we weren’t going to go camping. Instead, we’d have some adult time to ourselves, doing things we love and just plain enjoying each other’s company. With the decision out of his hands, his shoulders visibly lowered.

So instead of camping (which would have made a far more interesting blog post), this is what we did:

Hubby dropped the kids to my parents’ house in the morning
He then went out for a long mountain bike ride
I painted my toe nails
Stripped the bed and laundered the sheets
Popped a bag of popcorn and watched a movie on the couch in broad daylight
Then we both drove into Hintonburg and had a coffee
After that, we meandered around a collection of antique dealers’ wares
From there, we drove to the market and had dinner, courtesy of a birthday gift certificate (thanks B & J!)
On the way home, we stopped into the local movie rental place
Laid in bed with glasses of red wine and watched a silly movie
Slept-in on Sunday morning

And? It was fabulous.

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October 23rd, 2011

“Month of Me” post #10: Splatter Paint Party at 4 Cats Art Studio!

Photo Credit: Andrea Tomkins

The Invite:

I’m turning 40 in October, but I sure didn’t get here alone … each of you gorgeous women has played a special part in my life and as a little thank-you, I hope you can join me for a fun get-together!

We’ll be literally be partying like it’s 1984 since we’ll be acting like big kids as we do a SPLATTER PAINT PARTY!

Details: You need to wear old clothes AND shoes! There is a refreshment room so if anyone is up for bring potluck snacks, go for it. Absolutely no gifts, please.

See you there my friends …

The Invitees:

In attendance at the party were women who have all played a special role in my life — from our daycare provider who has kissed countless boo-boos, my first boss (turned forever friend) in the field of marketing, my bloggy-mentor and good friend, and my current marketing colleague who puts up with me daily …. to my “baby” sister, my friend turned sister-in-law, my mom, my nine-year-old daughter Stella, and my faithful friends who in addition to sharing laughs over the years have propped me up and helped me get through some of my toughest times as a mother and woman.

Getting the Party Started:

As I shared in an earlier post, the 4 Cats Arts Studio parties were initially designed for kids’ parties.

But on Friday night, once the last of the scheduled children’s parties was complete and cleaned up, my gang of gals descended upon the place.

Located in an area of Ottawa (1107 Wellington Street) that I’d hadn’t been in for while, I loved the vibe of Hintonburg. To me, it felt like this neighbourhood was really coming together, with lots of groovy little boutiques on either side of the 4 Cats Arts Studio. Also, for future reference, if you’d like to do a party at 4 Cats, a gorgeous new restaurant called Burnt Butter has just opened right across the street from the studio — perfect for a pre-party dinner!

Before the party started, Emaly, our host and Hintonburg studio owner, passed around a sign-up sheet for those who might want to receive the 4 Cats Hintonburg Newsletter. At the top of the list, I am referred to as “the birthday child.” I’m okay with that.

And, The Party!

I think these photos speak for themselves.

Photo Credit: Andrea Tomkins

Photo Credit: Andrea Tomkins

: Photo Credit: Andrea Tomkins

Photo Credit: Andrea Tomkins

The Thank-You:

Thank you to the girlfriends who made it out, and love to the ones who couldn’t. Thank you to my fun twitter friends who followed along and cheered us on. And big, huge thank-you to Emaly Green, owner of the 4 Cats Arts Studio for inviting and hosting this party.

Because, oh, my, did we have fun!

Photo Credit: Andrea Tomkins

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October 21st, 2011

“Month of Me” post #09: It’s my party, so I’ll wear sweats if I want to

“Month of Me” is a little ol’ wild and crazy concept: In October, the month I celebrate my 40th birthday, I will do a whole slew of things that I love. Just because. You can read the kick-off post here.

Hubby: Sweetheart, it’s your 40th. You should have a party. How about I organize a party for you.

Me: Uh, remember, I don’t do fun.

Hubby: But, it’s your 40th.

Me: I’m having an entire “Month of Me,” so it’s not like I’m depriving myself or anything.

Hubby: Oh yeah. But are you sure?

Me: Yes.

Hubby: Okay, well, while I’m away camping this weekend, why don’t you think about it.

Me: But I said I was sure.

Hubby: If you gave me a list of names, we could have a cocktail party here.

Me: I don’t like adult parties.

Hubby: But it’s your 40th.

Me: I prefer kid’s parties. You book a place, you show up with a cake, there is an activity, a host to herd people around, and then after 2 hours, it’s all done and everyone goes home.

Hubby: *sigh* Okay, well, just think about it while I’m away, will you?

Me: Okay, I will.

******************
Hubby: So, did you think about the party thing?

Me: Yes.

Hubby: And?

Me: It’s all organized.

Hubby: What? I was supposed to organize it for you.

Me: Er, yeah. But it’s all organized — all done.

Hubby: Okay, what is it?

Me: You know that place I told you about for Stella’s 9th birthday party: The 4 Cats Art Studio?

Hubby: Yeah …

Me: Well, I talked to the owner Emaly and she said she’d be happy to host me and my girlfriends on a Friday night.