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 I have a much better understanding now than I did one year ago, I still have so much learning to do. … [Read more...]
What I learned about Ottawa this weekend
May 31, 2010 by 5 Comments
This weekend I had the good fortune of attending the Odawa Festival of Aboriginal Culture. I'd like to learn more about Canada's Aboriginal cultures, so I jumped at a suggestion from a friend to attend with her and her family. (Everyone -- Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal -- is welcome at these events.) One of the first things I learned is that Ottawa has a campground smack in the middle of the suburbs, and this is where the festival was … [Read more...]
Bike safety: More than just a helmet
May 28, 2010 by 13 Comments
We've had some really horrific and tragic bike accidents in our city as of late. People have always commuted to work by bike in Ottawa, Canada's capital. In fact, I distinctly remember my father biking to work every day from our family's westend home in the suburbs to downtown. But, now more than ever, we need more cyclists. The environment needs it, our bodies need it, and our children need the role-modelling. Unfortunately, our city … [Read more...]
The Joy of Reading: The Lion, the Witch and the Bathrobe
May 24, 2010 by 19 Comments
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 that is beautiful has taken place recently. When it comes to reading, Stella is now “Mommy’s little girl.” Just as the … [Read more...]
On feeling itchy
May 17, 2010 by 11 Comments
On Friday night, I went to a neighbour's vernissage. (I like using this word "vernissage" because it makes me seem all cultured-up, doesn't it? Okay maybe not. But I still like it! I used it with my brother on the weekend, but he didn't seem half as impressed as I was. "Verni-what? What word are you using?") Um. Where was I? Ah yes, I was at a vernissage. Which is the opening of an art exhibit and it's the fun part because the artist is there … [Read more...]
Skin cancer doesn’t happen in Canada, does it?
May 4, 2010 by 8 Comments
When you live in Australia, as we did just recently, you very quickly realize how seriously they take their sun protection. The combination of a light-skinned population with prolonged sun exposure leaves Australians at real risk. The risk is so high, in fact, that according to its Cancer Council two in every three Australians will develop skin cancer before the age of 70. More than 440,000 Australians are diagnosed with skin cancer every year … [Read more...]
Thinking aloud about envy (with Andrea)
April 21, 2010 by 6 Comments
Just as I happened to be reading an article titled "Envy at Work," my friend and fellow blogger Andrea at A Peek Inside the Fishbowl published a new post titled "Thinking aloud about envy." The article I was reading had initially intrigued me because envy isn't a common topic for Harvard Business Review, or business research in general for that matter. Also, I work in the area of organizational change management and I wondered if envy played a … [Read more...]
Confessions of a Former Gleek (part 2)
April 20, 2010 by Leave a Comment
In the first season of Glee, I found that Will (aka Mr. Shuester) shared many of my feelings of lingering doubt … Why did I never chase my dreams? What might have happened had I actually auditioned all those years ago? Now, let me tell you, I did not relish the thought of being like Mr. Shuester. Quite the contrary. He seemed like a loser. A wanna-be who just never made it ... [please click here to continue reading!] You won't want to miss … [Read more...]
Sharing stories
March 29, 2010 by 5 Comments
There's been a great deal of interesting and intelligent debate -- as well as some yelling, screaming and posturing of course -- about woman and blogs as of late. In one situation, some "mommy" bloggers were put under the academic microscope, while in others, the mainstream media snickered at mothers and their interest in blogging and, strangely, pronounced that women didn't blog, only men. People I know who don't read my blog often ask me … [Read more...]
I’m still thinking about hyper-parenting
March 23, 2010 by 6 Comments
Hyper-parenting. You might remember that a little while back, I wrote a post sparked by the CBC documentary Hyper Parents and Coddled Kids. And I'm still thinking about it. The whole concept of hyper-parenting is never really far from my mind, actually. It's something that I consciously, actively want to avoid doing to my children. And yet, it seems we live in a world where hyper-parenting is almost becoming the norm. Or at least that's how I … [Read more...]
If you were an Algonquin College Advertising student
March 8, 2010 by 18 Comments
I'm going to be stopping in to Algonquin College as a guest speaker tomorrow. I'll be speaking with students in the Advertising Program and the particular course is Professional Practice, which is described like this: Attitude, communication, and human relations are the key to surviving in the ever-changing world of advertising. This course helps you prepare for workplace success by providing practical expectations and useful tools to make a … [Read more...]
The Winter Resolution series: Bush party! (shhhh … pass it on)
March 7, 2010 by 4 Comments
When I was a teenager, every so often word would spread that a "bush party" was going to take place on the weekend. Unlike the "house party" which took place at some poor unsuspecting parent's home while they were away, a "bush party" involved no house, just a location in the woods somewhere. The two types of parties still shared some commonalities -- no parents, underage drinking and police showing up. The last item on the list being why the … [Read more...]
Extra! Extra! Read all about it …
March 6, 2010 by 3 Comments
Good morning! If you don't normally buy an Ottawa Citizen newspaper, pick one up today to support not only your local paper but this caffeine-needy writer! In today's Travel Section, I have two articles for your morning coffee: #1: What a woman wants: how hotels can cater better to women business travellers and a list of hotels going all out to do so. Women entrepreneurs interviewed for this piece are Penelope Trunk of Brazen Careerist, … [Read more...]
Maybe a puppy wasn’t such a bad idea, after all?
March 3, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Last year, we lost Riley. Riley was our family dog. The puppy my husband and I adopted the summer we moved into our first home together. We had Riley for five years before any children came along. And in total, we had Riley in our lives for a decade. For anyone who’s had a pet, you know what kind of grief I’m talking about here. And my seven-year-old daughter Stella took it hard. She grieved. And then her grieving turned into a guilt-inducing … [Read more...]
The Winter Resolution series: I did it!
March 1, 2010 by 11 Comments
The last item on my winter resolution list was: "Go on winter hike in the Adirondack mountain range." It certainly seemed a lofty goal for a book-worm gal like me, but hey, I put it out there in writing on my blog and while I don't mind being a private wimp, I don't like being a public wimp. So off we went to Lake Placid this weekend! I'd had the weekend booked with the grandparents for months but somehow it crept up on me. Friday was a … [Read more...]
Forgiveness
February 26, 2010 by 8 Comments
My daughter celebrated the sacrament of first reconciliation this week. This is one of a series of sacraments that one progresses through in the life of a Catholic, which start with baptism and continue on to marriage. For this sacrament, one confesses their sins and then one receives forgiveness from God. Although I find myself unable to believe in a God or the church, my husband is a strong believer and we have decided to raise our children … [Read more...]
The “Vacation”
February 9, 2010 by 7 Comments
I’m currently sitting in a beautiful suite in a resort hotel with access to two of my favourite things – but luxury version. The first, high-speed internet access – but in a quiet space that is not full of unsorted laundry, sippy cups and mountains of toys. The second, sleep – but in an enormous bed with high-quality linen and fluffy pillows and absolutely no chance that any little person will interrupt the snoozing. For these reasons alone, I … [Read more...]
Hyper Parents & Coddled Kids
February 5, 2010 by 18 Comments
Did you catch this CBC documentary yesterday? I got a heads-up from Ann Douglas' blog at parentcentral.ca that it was coming and I was intrigued. In her review, Douglas concludes that this "hyper-parenting" phenomenon is largely a thing of the past: The documentary is worth watching, if only as a reminder of where we've been and how far we've come in rejecting the consumerist parenting style that views parents as manufacturers and kids as … [Read more...]
The Winter Resolution series: The Shilly Shally
February 2, 2010 by 3 Comments
Ah, the infamous Shilly Shally. Stella has been raving about the charm of the Shilly Shally for years now. I'm not sure if she goes on about it unconsciously or as a conscious attempt to convince me to go cross-country skiing with her and hubby. Either way, I have always responded with something along the lines of "Have a special time with Daddy, while Mommy does some reading." But that changed on Sunday. Why? Oh, because of that damn … [Read more...]
Life As A Human has launched!
February 1, 2010 by 1 Comment
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So, today is the big day! Life As A Human, the Canadian-based e-zine I was telling you about in my last post has now launched. I really had no idea how it was all going to come together or who the other writers were -- it was a bit of a leap of faith to sign-on as a contributor. As you can imagine then, I was super keen to check it out first thing this morning. The result? I'm thrilled! And honoured. Because the editorial team selected … [Read more...]
A pelvic exam without my consent?
January 28, 2010 by 13 Comments
As you know, I am now bopping around in Twitter checking it all out and making new friends, er, followers. Today I started to notice some tweets about women having pelvic exams done to them while they are unconscious in the hospital. Like many bits of way too information that I let into my day, I let it go into my line of sight and then right back out -- I easily dismissed it as something pulled from a trashy magazine or something. But the … [Read more...]
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