Take all the clothes out of the ottoman and place them on the floor.
This is what Baby likes to do.
Husband has been working on his Vespa for over a year now. It’s taken that long considering life has always gotten in the way. And he finally got it in running and took it ’round the block.
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| Husband and my step-Dad finish on the Vespa and walk it out for the big test run. |
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| Hoping it’ll work. |
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| Husband comes ’round the corner. |
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| He’s so happy! |
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| It’s adorable! *ahem, ahem* I mean it’s so manly. |
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| Post race debrief. |
They really are like little boys aren’t they? But that’s why we love ’em.
Father’s Day is not a good day for me. So for most of my life I just kind of ignored it. But today was the first day that I actively pursued celebrating it. Because today I’m celebrating not my own life, but the life of my daughter. Today I celebrated her Daddy! And in order to do that, I bought him an intensive RPG computer game. He may be a Dad, but he’s a little boy at heart!
My in-laws are here and we spent the day with family….
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| Her Grandpa tried to put a hat on Baby… |
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| But that didn’t work, so he just put it on himself. |
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| Then Baby changed into one of her B-day presents. |
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| The sights along the Humber River. |
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| This is how the day felt. Overlit, relazed and a little hazy. A very good day. |
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| Baby loved looking at all the people in the park. |
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| Husband’s parents enjoy going for a stroll. As do we! |
Yesterday was Baby’s first birthday party. We kept it very small and made it a simple BBQ. And that was absolutely perfect!
My friend and Baby’s godmom, tried to give me an angry face…
Baby ended up shirtless because the chocolate cupcake that was her “cake” was on her face, all down her arms, in her hair, and of course down the front of her shirt as well. She didn’t seem to mind.
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| Goofing off with Auntie Emily. |
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| Me and my Mommy! |
One of my favorite gifts was a book that our friend got ‘her’ entitled “Go The F@$k To Sleep.” It’s hilarious and says exactly what every parent thinks sometimes.
I can’t believe she’s one already!
Baby and I went for a walk to the bank today. It’s a simple and rather mundane walk, but today I went out focused on trying to see the fun and pretty things on the way.
The first thing I saw was this awesome cement truck, No, you’re not imagining it – it’s pink!
Then I noticed a cute habit that Baby has developed. When we’re walking, instead of leaning back and enjoying the sights, she always sits straight up in her stroller and holds onto the tray. This is her go-to walking position – perched on the edge of her seat. She’s gonna be a go-getter that one!
I also noticed some fun building art.
And finally, after our walk, Baby shoved herself into the smallest, most awkward place in the room. Why? I don’t know.
Sometimes, I don’t get that kid. But I love her.
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| The beautiful roses in bloom in my backyard. |
Baby is sleeping. She’s been tired a lot lately – lots of activity, the heat and not sleeping well at night. I’d love to go run right now, but alas it’s only 8am. I feel that out of respect for my neighbor, who shares a wall with my house, I should wait until at least 9am. The treadmill is in a part of the house that isn’t at all attached to them – it’s in the extension – but I’m sure some noise and vibration gets through. So here I sit. I want to run. But I can’t. I should probably go shower and get dressed. But I don’t want to. I kind of want to online shop. But I won’t.
I did have a production meeting/read-through for a project I’m working on. And once again, I’m going to be put in a pretty dress and locked in a cage, and tortured and abused. Yup, it’s a suspense/horror. Why do I do this to myself? Oh right, I love acting. Boy am I dumb!
As I mentioned, today is Baby’s one year birthday. This morning as I cuddled Baby on my lap I was complaining that she’s no longer a baby, she’s a toddler now. And I’m lamenting the fact that she’s no longer a baby. But then Husband immediately informed me that she’ll always be my baby. So Baby she is and I’m sticking to it.
As a family we all headed out and bought a gluten-free cupcake that we shared over iced tea at Starbucks. She loved the yummy lemon icing and the dough, but after a while I think she had enough of the sugar. So Husband decided to valiantly *ahem, ahem* finish up the cupcake for her.
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| Only after this pic was taken did I informed him that he had lemon icing on his mouth. *tee hee* |
We then headed over to the park where Baby had a swing. It’s a recent discovery for her, and every time I put her in it she cries for a split second unsure of whether she likes this. But then she grins and giggles and enjoys herself. Every time.
At the park, Drake the Dog made quite the impression on the ladies. Not only did he attract the attention of the female dogs, but he also had quite the groupie following of little girls on the playground. The kid is a chick magnet!
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| He’s such a player! |
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| Reading light, remote controls, Drake the Dog, and a piece of wood. |
Toysrus? Forget it! Walmart? Who Cares! These are Baby’s favorite toys: a reading light, remote controls, the dog, and a piece of wood. The Wii remote is especially alluring since we usually keep that out of her reach; so, on the off chance she sees it lying around she bee-lines straight for it! She loves the swirly nature of the light and the dog is fun to pull, poke, prod and generally annoy. As for the piece of wood? Your guess is as good as mine on that one!
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| This is the beautiful sight that allows me to enjoy my morning cup of tea/coffee. |
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| My living room after just 3 minutes. |
Sometimes people ask what it’s like to be a mom. It’s messy. It’s tiring It means that the living room *and every other room* is always messy. It means I don’t always get a chance to clean. It means I don’t always get a chance to shower. It means being pulled, poked and prodded all the time. It means having to be patient when you don’t want to be. It means no more sick days. It means no lazy Sunday afternoon spent in front of the tv.
But.
It means unconditional love – both for and from you. It means hugs all the time. It means kisses. It means a sweet smelling, smooth skinned baby nuzzled into your neck. It means hearing ‘Mama’. It means seeing sparkling eyes light up at the sight of you. It means giggles. It means looks at you to make sure you’re watching those proud discoveries because they mean nothing without you seeing. It means daily amazement at this beautiful creature destroying your living room. It means a new sense of importance, a new sense of meaning, and a new purpose. It means your heart swelling in ways you never thought.
It also means you become a sap who talks about things like ‘heart swelling.’
Oh well, the bad with the good I guess.
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| An article hanging on the board at the school. |
As you may know, I’m looking for a new place to train, and to that effect I’ve been trying lots of places to see where my new home will be. I tried a Muay Thai place around the corner from me a few days ago. My experience was colorful to say the least.
When I first arrived the secretary was completely vacant. She seemed like she was either stoned, bored, or just didn’t care. Right away I was turned off the place by this lack of a welcoming attitude. She wasn’t helpful at all in helping me figure out where things like change rooms, washrooms, and waiting areas were.
The place itself was like a rough and tumble boxing gym, which is kind of what I expect since this is Thai boxing. And it’s actually an atmosphere I enjoyed, so for me this was a plus. The workout was simplistic, but effective, and again I’m not necessarily one who cares about finesse in conditioning – as long as it get the job done I’m happy. But the thing that turned me off was after that. The art itself consists of very few moves. It’s very much a hunched in, simple stance boxing art. I’m not knocking boxing. It’s cool and great to watch and definitely hard to master. But it’s not what I’m looking for. When you’re looking for art, you don’t oil painting, you don’t sign up for football. It just wasn’t what I wanted. Too much brute force, not enough creativity and complexity in movement.
Then on Saturday, I tried a Tai Chi school near me. I’ve studied Tai Chi before. As a result I was skeptical of whether I would like a school that focused entirely on Tai Chi. But I went. The class was challenging in the mental and artistic respects. I had complexity of movement but no brute force. And frankly I need both.
I’m not a yoga lover simply because I need to kick and punch and be aggressive. I need the endurance training and high energy conditioning that the martial arts provide. And frankly, sometimes I just need to hit something. So neither of these places would suffice in themselves.
The ideal would be to join both and get my fulfillment that way, but I have neither the time nor the money. What I need is a place like I had before. I place that provided more. And everyday I’m angry about the betrayal that forced me to leave.
