Uncategorized

Yesterday was the last of my birthday celebrations … or was it? A few weeks before my birthday my moms asked what I wanted this year, and I couldn’t think of a thing. In fact, I’ve struggled for the last few years coming up with something, as I can pretty much just buy whatever I want myself … well, within reason, and I don’t think my parents would be so keen on buying me a cute little house on the cute little street in cute little South Vancouver … or maybe they would 😉 And so this year, instead of asking for a present, I asked for their time: One day, just me and my moms and pops, and Vancouver foody shops. We hit up the Gourmet Warehouse, and Williams and Sonoma, (and a little Anthropologie sneaked in there) and lunch at Granville Island too of course. I walked away […]

Over the last few months I’ve been thinking a lot about the power of teachers. Some say teachers have no power, they’re just glorified babysitters, and to them, I spit in their face I say they’re wrong. A teacher is incredibly powerful. They have the ability to positively impact a child, to change their life really. They also have the ability to scar them. Power! For me, 12 years in School District 34, I was lucky enough to have had four unforgettably incredible teachers, two in elementary school (back-to-back) and two in high school. Today, I give special thanks to one of those teachers. Bradner elementary. Grade 5. 1987-88. Ms. Duma. It is because of Ms. Duma that my dear husband runs from the room every time I start singing. Not only was she my Grade 5 teacher, she also taught choir and handbells. And it didn’t matter how loud,

Happy Father’s Day! That’s my pops (and moms)! I woke up this morning with a massive headache – thank you 4 a.m. low blood sugars! – it was a post-low migraine that hasn’t happened in quite a long time, probably since getting my insulin pump fitted 1.5 years ago. And when I stumbled out of bed, I most definitely was not prepared for the sheering pain that had me trying to hold my head dead still, and my hands cupping my ears to block out all sound. I used to get these post-low migraines all the time and would be forced to lock myself in a dark, quiet room for hours until they went away. Drugs were pointless. So instead of going on a road ride (which was pretty much out of the cards anyway given the cold grey skies hovering above) Mario went mountain biking and I crawled under my covers,

Dear idiots of B.C., From the jam of my toes, I’d like to thank you for turning back time. Seeing as how most of you looked rather young, or maybe it was just your idiotic actions that made you look so young, you probably don’t remember the aftermath of the ’94 riot, so let me just take a moment to fill you in: 16 years of being called the “no-fun” city; 16 years of listening to broken record newscasts fearing another riot every time a big, or even small, event came to our city; 16 years of trying to scrub away the darkest, nastiest, toughest stain our city ever endured. But last year, finally that stain had come clean with the Olympics. We showed that we could handle a huge event, that we could have fun, be respectful, not destroy our city, that we could actually be a fun city.

Seriously, what was I thinking? Scheduling a dentist appointment? The morning of an infusion set change? The morning of the Royal Wedding? How could I have possibly overlooked such things? Yes, I am that girl! I love weddings – love them! – and there was no way I was missing Wills and Kate tie the knot, no way I was missing her gown.  And because I had such a busy morning ahead, the alarm clock started blaring at 4:50 a.m. (thank heavens for PVRs ;)) And look who came for tea, flew all the way over from London, to have tea with me: I loved the wedding, loved the intimateness inside the chapel, loved Kate’s dress which looked so much like Grace Kelly’s, loved the lace, loved that she kept her hair down, loved Harry’s red cheeks, and the bishops unruly eyebrows, and the runaway horse, and the beautiful and crazy fascinators