Once upon a time, I was an adventurous girl. I travelled with a backpack, I slept in forests unknown, and brought big souvenirs home from countries that I loved (my hubby!). I look back at photos from those times and I don’t recognize that girl at all. Not one bit. If I look around, I can see that most of my fellow [...]
Archive for the ‘Observations’ Category
August 27th, 2010
The Dreams We Have For Our Children
I overheard this conversation last night: Father #1: My kids are going to be on the Yearbook Club. For sure. Father #2: Oh, were you on the Yearbook Club when you were in high school? Father #1: God no! That was for losers. Me: *laughing hysterically*
August 24th, 2010
Like a girl
I grew up in a household that did not tend abide by gender stereotypes. Both of my parents pursued careers. But both of my parents also spent time at home as full-time caregivers. In some ways, I was aware that not all households were like this. That not all Dads took their girls outside to learn to throw a ball properly. [...]
August 14th, 2010
The mandatory BlogHer recap post that never happened. And won’t.
So. BlogHer. I know, I know. I’m supposed to do a recap of my experience — what was great, what was not so great, which blogger idols I met and what swag I lugged back. But I’m not going to. I just didn’t have time this week and now I don’t feel like it. Plus, it’s totally unnecessary, since some [...]
August 5th, 2010
I don’t see sleep anywhere on this BlogHer agenda
I started up this blog just over a year ago as an outlet for personal writing — the kind of writing that doesn’t take place during my work day in corporate communications. I envisioned it as my own little creative and social sandbox for my free time. But what I didn’t realize then was just how much I would enjoy playing in [...]
August 3rd, 2010
Postcard from Bar Harbor, Maine: Humans and the creatures they love
While in Bar Harbor, I took in a tourist attraction to see a much-loved creature. “I stood shuffling nervously. Nervous because I really wanted a lucky glimpse of the creature and also, because I hoped that the motion-sickness pills I had gulped down would work.” The experience left me wondering about the finicky nature of human love … Please click here [...]
July 25th, 2010
Postcard from Jonesport, Maine: Are Fishermen Lonely?
We had had only one criterion for our holiday: an ocean view. So I simply searched the internet for all cottages that met this criterion and then booked the one at the best rate, which happened to be in a small fishing town called Jonesport … [to read more, please click here to read the full post on Life As [...]
July 7th, 2010
Here’s how you can tell if a working mom has a big report due the next day
If you were a fly on a wall, you’d easily be able to tell whenever a working mom has a big day ahead of her in the morning. This is what you’d see: 11:30 pm: Shutting down computer after putting some finishing touches on a report. 1:00 am: Youngest child wakes up. Mom makes sure everything is okay, puts in [...]
June 23rd, 2010
Who wears short-shorts?
Do you dare wear short-shorts? If you’re my age and can pull off short-shorts, all the power to you. If you’re a young woman with long tanned legs you want to show off, all the power to you. But please — let’s not dress our young girls in short-shorts. {click here to see why I’m such a prude about [...]
June 21st, 2010
Commercials are bad for my mental health
Lately, I have found myself watching commercials more consciously. And it seems that pretty much everything about me is simply not good enough — not my skin, my body shape, the way my house smells, or even my own role in my family. This constant barrage of criticism can’t be good for my mental health, can it? Even though I [...]
June 9th, 2010
There are some things I wish she hadn’t had to learn
For a recent grade 2 project, my daughter was to create a poster. In my era, this poster would have been along the lines of “Don’t be a Litter Bug!” or “Help Smokey the Bear and be sure to put out your campfire!” You know, that kind of thing. The title of her poster reads: “Oil Spill: Sea Animal Nightmare” [...]
June 4th, 2010
What makes a novelist, a novelist?
Here I am with Joanne Harris, author of one of my favourite books Five Quarters of the Orange but most famously known for her novel Chocolat, which was made into the Oscar-nominated film with Johnny Depp and Juliette Binoche. I recently had the chance to hear her read from her latest offering blueeyedboy when she came to Ottawa as a guest for Writers [...]
June 3rd, 2010
One year of blogging
This month marks my first-year bloggy-versary. When I first started blogging one year ago, I didn’t — and couldn’t — have known what to expect. But BOLO left me feeling very optimistic about it all. It seems that blogging is one of those things that, like becoming a parent, you just have to do it order to really understand it. And although [...]
May 28th, 2010
Bike safety: More than just a helmet
Keeping your children safe while biking requires more than just making sure they’re wearing a helmet. Give yourself a refresher course on bike safety.
May 24th, 2010
The Joy of Reading: The Lion, the Witch and the Bathrobe
For as long as I can remember, it’s been common for people to observe that Stella is “Daddy’s little girl.” They don’t mean that he spoils her, but rather that she just loves to do whatever he is doing. And as a result, they have now cultivated a mutual passion for the outdoors that is really beautiful. But something else [...]
