just percolating...
When I told you about my New Year's Resolution, I also said I'd tell you how I planned to achieve it. I have three steps in my success plan. #1: The FitBit My goal is to hit 8,000 to 10,000 steps a day. So, naturally, I needed a way to track how many steps I'm doing. For this task, I chose a handy dandy gadget called a FitBit (I bought the "Ultra" now replaced by the "The One"). I had been eyeing this fancy version of pedometer for a while … [Read more...]
Stella is my 10-year-old daughter and on Saturdays, I let her rent this space from me because she thinks blogs are cool. It is her hope that her writing will appeal to kids her age as well as to the adults who read here too. For the intro to Saturdays with Stella, click here. source Fredrick Banting and the Great Idea: A Life Story You may have heard of Fredrick Banting, but not necessarily know what he did. You may not have even heard … [Read more...]
Stella is my 10-year-old daughter and on Saturdays, I let her rent this space from me. For the intro to Saturdays with Stella, click here. Ottawa is the capital of Canada so it is only natural that we have all the national museums right here. These museums are the best ones in the country and are the big cheeses of all the rest. In this post, I will tell you about my three favourites. The Canadian Museum of Nature is quite the impressive … [Read more...]
My quest to use safer cosmetics is progressing slowly (but surely). In contrast, changing over the family's shampoos and conditioners can be done in one quick and easy swoop. Since day one, I've been more careful to read ingredients on the products I used with the kids, so I've had some years to try quite a few brands. … [Read more...]
For a second outing during our Ottawa staycation (you can read about our first outing here), we decided to head up to the Gatineau Hills for a cross-country ski. It would have actually been a sin not to go cross-country skiing with all of the snow we had over the Christmas season here in Ottawa! Everywhere around us, as far as one could see, the world had a bit of a magical gleam to it with mounds of fluffy snow hanging upon the tree … [Read more...]
We rarely do a "staycation," but last week our whole family stayed home in Ottawa on holiday. It did involve chores around the house (like mountains of laundry) and items on the to-do list that never seem to get tackled (like organizing the kitchen cupboards), but we also did some really nice outings to break things up. Plus, lots of hanging out in jammies all day too, of course. One of these outings was to the Canadian Museum of Nature. We've … [Read more...]
Hello! I’m back again! I can not express how happy I was to see how enthusiastic you all were about my new column! (My mom and I have agreed that we will post by noon every Saturday.) I have a topic I hope you will find interesting! I’ll tell you what, if you live anywhere that has a handful of kids (it’s an expression, because it’s pretty hard to carry kids in your hand) and a few yards full of snow, I can guarantee there will be a ton of … [Read more...]
Our family was visited by not only Santa, but the stomach flu over the past few days. As a result, our Christmas dinner was delayed from December 25th to today. 10 adults and 4 kids will be arriving in a couple of hours! It will be so nice to have everyone here. We have the new dining room table set up pretty for all the adults, and a separate "kids table" for the four cousins (I always loved being at a kids table when I was a kid, didn't … [Read more...]
If you celebrate Christmas, then please accept this big huge "Merry Christmas!" right at ya' -- from me to you! Wondering what's the inspiration behind this lovely and oh so terribly tasteful Christmas vignette? It's our "special" family holiday tradition! Well, technically speaking, it's not actually a tradition yet, because this is the first year we've done it. But I was interviewed and asked what "special holiday traditions" I celebrate … [Read more...]
This post is a continuation. To read Part 1, click here. As I was telling you in my post yesterday, I went to an Arbonne party. I had fun. I tried stuff. I bought stuff. Arbonne is different from a number of other products on the shelves of my drugstore because they are formulated without: Parabens Formaldehyde donating preservatives The following petroleum-based ingredients: Benzene Mineral … [Read more...]
This post is part of a personal quest to find and use face and body products with fewer toxins. To catch up on this series, you can start here. So have you heard of ARBONNE? I hadn't heard of this company until just recently, and now it seems all my girlfriends are mentioning it of late. Like Tupperware, Stella & Dot, and other direct-to-consumer businesses, Arbonne is sold at parties in people's homes. I'm sure you've been to similar … [Read more...]
I love piles of books--waiting to be read, half-read, already-read, or just looking pretty. Hubby jokes that the pile get so high on my bedside table that one day he's worried he'll find the pile collapsed on top of me. (I figure there are far worse ways to die!) Because of my book-collecting affliction and the long rectangle shape of the master bedroom, he thought BIG bedside tables were in order. No more tall, toppling piles. These tables … [Read more...]
Stella goes through books like I imagine most kids go through cheerios. You'll find four or five hoarded under her pillow case, others scattered about on her bedside table with an overflow pile on the ground beside the bed. Her massive, double-sided bookcase is already filled and she's reluctant to part with any of them. I used to indulge her taste for books with constant trips to Chapters. But between the cost and the sheer volume of books … [Read more...]
We have a beautiful addition to our neighbourhood gang -- a new baby! In trying to explain to Max, who is 4, that his friend has a new baby sister, some questions arose. Yes, *those* kind of questions. Stella, our 10-year-old daughter, immediately jumped right into this and offered that he could borrow her book It's NOT the Stork. "Um, I'm not sure Max is ready for that book," I blurted out. You see, Stella is like a walking encyclopedia. … [Read more...]
Sometimes it feels like one should just throw in the towel when it comes to blogging. There is always someone funnier, more poignant, cooler, or quirkier. I've seen bloggers lament this before, and admit to their own feelings of inadequacies. But really, I can't be bothered with that. I spent most of my youth feeling insecure. So I'm totally over it (or drank it out of my system in university years. Whatever). I don't see my blog as … [Read more...]
Back in April, I had told you about Hubby's plans to build a dining table. We wanted something BIG ... big enough to host our whole family easily at any time. And he has a strong affection for modern, crisp clean lines. It was a labour of love my friends, but it is now complete and I am thrilled! It is over 9 feet in length, so we'll be able to have 10-12 people around it for sure. After the jump, you can check out some more photos. … [Read more...]
So, yesterday, I started to tell you about my visit to the Ottawa store Terra20. My goal was to go in to the store and learn a bit more about commonly used chemicals in cosmetics, try out some of Terra20's safer cosmetic brands, and then share it all with you. At the Terra20 store, like most other large department stores, you are welcome to come in and receive a complimentary makeover. I've done this before at other makeup counters ... … [Read more...]
So, usually, we have some kind of theme running throughout the year. One year it was Pokemons, another year it was the Angler Fish. But this year? Nothing ... nadda. Hubby and I are running on empty (and yet, we are still running at full speed!). The result is that this year's jack-o-latern is .... well, it's called "Untitled." Sometimes life just works out that way, but that doesn't mean it isn't pretty darn good anyhow, right? … [Read more...]
I suspect that many of you are like me ... with their children's photos sitting around as electronic files on a variety of devices -- phones, tablets, laptops. Digital photography has its reams of benefits, but it makes me cringe just thinking about all the unorganized photos I have hidden in every electronic device I own. … [Read more...]
Saunders Farm is a bit of an "must do" experience in these parts. While our family almost always makes a visit during the Christmas season to pick a tree, the Fall Festival is actually the Farm's most popular time of year. This festival has been running for 21 years and during this season Saunders Farms has up to 165 employees on board to help make it happen. Despite the rainy day, we made the drive out to Saunders Farm yesterday and met up … [Read more...]
A few months ago, our neighbour had a large appliance delivered. The big cardboard box that it came in was brought out for all the kids on the street to play with. Despite having a garage full of fancy ride-on toys and other delights of suburbia, the kids just never tired of the cardboard box! I suppose then that it's no surprise that my kids were so intrigued when the "My Pretty Playhouse" arrived to our house. This playhouse is produced by … [Read more...]
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