November is Crohn’s and Colitis awareness month. Colitis awareness is a topic near and dear to my heart because my husband has Colitis and in the years since his original diagnosis, I've found it to be a disease which many people know absolutely nothing about. Since so many people seem to have never heard of it, I had fallen into thinking that Colitis is a relatively rare … [Read more...]
When It Comes To Vitamins, Mothers (and Daughters) Know Best
My mom has been hounding me to take vitamins. Vitamin D in particular. Family genetics seem to indicate that taking a Vitamin D supplement would be a good idea. That plus the fact that I spend 90% of my time indoors. I've been taking an iron supplement for my anemia (which is getting much better, thanks for asking). Then, because iron can block calcium absorption, my … [Read more...]
The Secret Society of Blogging, What Our Readers Never See
There is a secret underside to blogging, one that our readers never see. A secret virtual room where we all meet and sit around the water cooler and chat. From the outside, there's a lot going on that you as a reader may not notice. We make blogging friends and connections. We meet in person at conferences. We email each other back and forth. We have private Facebook … [Read more...]
How Canadian Men Talk About Our Olympic Athletes
There were these three guys talking loudly on the train ride home the other day (when I was riding home to Windsor from Toronto). I couldn't help overhearing them as they went on about various olympic athletes and how Canada's been making out so far in Rio. I wasn't really paying attention, but it was a constant background noise, and then they started talking about the bodies … [Read more...]
What do butlers do? What would you have a butler do for you?
I was scrolling through my Facebook feed when I noticed a contest to win "a private butler for a week". which got me to wondering... what the heck would I do with a private butler? This is not a sponsored post. I have never tried Boodles Gin. Heck, I don't even like gin. However once I saw this contest in my feed I couldn't get it out of my mind. The idea of a shmancy … [Read more...]
That Time I Went to Sunny Mexico & Used Moisturizer Instead of Sunscreen
I want to tell you guys the story about that time I went to Mexico and I didn't bring any sunscreen with me. A friend had convinced me that it would be better to just buy a container of sunscreen when I got there, instead of worrying about trying to find the right travel sized container that would be okay to bring in my carry-on luggage. However, once I got to Puerta … [Read more...]
At the Sleep Clinic, an Overnight Sleep Apnea Test
Sleep Apnea, is a potentially serious sleep disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts. You may have sleep apnea if you snore loudly and you feel tired even after a full night's sleep. ~ Mayo Clinic Many years ago my mother was diagnosed with sleep apnea and then about six years back my husband also was diagnosed. For several years now I've suspected that I might … [Read more...]
I Made a Connection With a Stranger on Instagram and It Landed Me Back in Oz
Sometimes social media rocks. Sometimes it connects you with other people in unexpected ways, and ends up brightening everything up. The company my husband works for is shut down while Chrysler retools their Windsor plant. The fact that they are reinvesting here in Windsor is fantastic. The fact that they are retooling means they will likely be building automobiles here in … [Read more...]
Living Under a Rock, with Netflix
I'm out of touch with the world. You know that moment where you are staring at someone and saying "How the heck have you never heard of x? What rock did you just crawl out from under?" Yeah well, that person you're staring at is probably me. This isn't a getting old thing. My kid sister has been teasing me about how out of touch I am for, well, as long as I can remember. Pop … [Read more...]
Happy Birthday to You… Eventually
Several weeks back, way back in February, my littlest one turned five. At the time the birthday girl was sick, hubby was sick, I was sick, even my mom was sick. I hadn't had a chance to go shopping for a present. Thankfully I had a few things stashed away in the closet so I picked out something to wrap up just so she'd have a gift to open on her birthday. All the rest of it, … [Read more...]
Fish Who Can Fly & Other Bizarre Christmas Wishes
I sat in the front room helping my daughters write their letters to Santa. The seven year old was busy carefully copying out all the words I had helped her spell, putting in her request for a new Snap Circuits set. The four year old was more hesitant, she didn't know what to write. After asking about whether Mr Claus celebrates Halloween and thanking him for his previous … [Read more...]
Shifting a Shade for Fall with Clairol
Today I dyed my hair. I realize for most of you that's a pretty humdrum everyday sort of statement, but for me it's beyond novel, maybe even just a bit wild and crazy. I haven't dyed my hair since I was a teenager. After a handful of botched attempts at turning my hair red, I settled in for twenty-some years of very long and very brown. I will admit that occasionally over … [Read more...]
To My Dad on My Daughter’s Fourth Birthday
Today was my daughter's fourth birthday, and you're not here dad. You're not here to be her Pipi, or to see her smile and laugh and cry and whine and drive me mad. You're not here to hear the silly story about the funny thing she said. All the funny things she says. You were the one I saved all of my funny stories for. As they were happening I would save them in my mind, line … [Read more...]
Cancer Sucks… And Now Back to Your Regular Scheduled Program or a Closing Recap of This Whole HAIRity Fundraiser Thing
Cancer sucks. According to the Canadian Cancer Society more then 40% of Canadian women will develop a form of cancer at some point in their lifetime. Which means odds are it has touched your life in some way, touched everyone's lives in some way. I have watched as my dad's friend's wife died of cancer. I have watched as my mom's cousin died of cancer. My aunt is a cancer … [Read more...]
The Day I Donated 24inches of Hair to the Pantene Beautiful Lengths Program
So last Wednesday I went for a haircut... I hopped on a train, I traveled to Toronto and I literally shook with a bad case of nerves as a handful of people looked on and took photos, documenting as my hair was cut. I cut 24 inches off of my hair, more or less, and donated it to the Pantene Beautiful Lengths program. I say more or less because silly enough I didn't think to … [Read more...]