i prefer the hotel.
the musician? not so much. but the thing is this – i actually think the guy is a riot. when he’s not annoying me with his ultra-nasal and what i can only describe as forced-low-tone. like, it sounds like he’s pushing his vocal cords in an unnatural way. actually, it sounds painful – and i often envision him downing some hot water with lemon and honey after a concert… maybe sucking down some fisherman’s friend, as well.
he seems to have a really pleasant personality – down to earth and even quite funny.
but his music – his voice! ugh!
i tolerate the one song he sings with rihanna (‘take care’ – the deep house vibe influence brings back good memories for me from my clubbing days).
yet, he’s famous. people love him – the kids love him. i don’t get it, but he’s obviously doing very well for himself.
i just want some one to explain to me what it is that’s made him so famous. really – i want some one, and i’ll be very open with seeing things from a different perspective, as to what it is about his ‘talent’ that’s made him take off.
i want to like this man. i really, really do. i want to be supportive of his music career.
but… i just don’t get it!
you know you’re going crazy, not when you start talking to your stomach, but when it starts talking back… (it was a very short conversation, though)
it was a strange weekend – not a bad weekend. just one where i never felt i could get enough sleep even though i had at least two nights of solid sleep. but come afternoon, i would be ready for a major nap. not just a power nap – but i’d be down for at least an hour… or more!
i’m thankful chaeli’s at an age where she knows to play on her own and be quiet while we’re snoozing. it’s essential – with doug’s 24 hr shift work, he sometimes (like this sunday) comes home completely zonked after going to a few, or even several, fire/medic calls overnight. he doesn’t sleep the whole day away but needs a couple of hours on the couch in order to make it through to night time.
but around all the sleepiness, we had a good weekend.
since doug was at the fire station all day saturday, i took the opportunity to do a bit of shopping for chaeli. mainly, she needed some summer, casual sandals and a new pair of aqua socks. i needed to do a bit of grocery shopping and as a treat, i bought myself some lovely, sterling silver hoop earrings – and i also bought a pair of sterling silver ‘s’ (for ‘shy’) shape earrings. i’m wearing the ‘s’ shape one right now. just one on the middle hold of my right ear. it’s small and hugs the ear but very cute. chaeli enjoyed picking the ear rings out with me.
i also bought chaeli some new capri tights and a couple of t-shirts on sale at the children place – but i notice that i don’t enjoy buying from there anymore. it was great while chaeli was growing up but honestly, that place seems to stay close to the same styles year after year, only changing colours and patterns. i think i need to explore more junior stores for chaeli. the only reason i go back to the children’s place is because they do have both basic long/short sleeve t’s and graphic t’s, usually, when on sale, at a decent price.
sunday morning, we went to our friends’ house – P & L – and left hobbes with their dog in the kitchen. we stayed for a bit to let hobbes get comfortable and then my friend, P, gated them up in the kitchen.
we then headed out for a sunday brunch at ‘the old mill’ (it’s an inn famous for weddings, showers, has an inn and a spa and well known for it’s sunday brunches) to use up these gift cards we both had. anyway… as we drove off, i look back and what do i see? hobbes’ face pressed up against their living room window.
that’s right. the little monkey jumped the gate (the kitchen is at the very back of the house) and ran to the window to watch us leave. i was a bit nervous of what he would do during the 2-2.5 hrs we were gone but when we got back, all was fine.
though i felt sorry for their dog. all that time, he was stuck in the kitchen while hobbes, the guest, had free range of the whole house.
our egg-art for the year
Easter egg hunt was good this year but I think this is the last year Chaeli believes in The Bunny dude.
A couple of nights before easter, Doug was tucking Chaeli in for the night. She said, “Daddy, I don’t know if there’s such a thing as the Easter Bunny.”
Doug is thinking, ‘Oh crap! I just spent $50 on chocolate!’ (And when he told me this part, I was like, “Oh crap! $50??? I asked you to help me this year, not empty the bank!” I usually spend about half that much – I think he was compensating for the first Easter Sunday he has to work.)
He played along with little miss and said, “Why do you say that?”
“Dad… It’s a RABBIT!” But you have to picture this 8 year old girl, going on 25, like she was saying, “Dude… Come on. How the hell can a rabbit, one TINY rabbit, do all that?”
pausing to inspect her loot
The morning of the egg hunt, she paused for a moment and asked, “Mommy… Is this from the Easter Bunny? Or from you and daddy?”
Yup, she’s totally onto us.
she wasn't able to reach this high last year
i have to blog about easter but need to sort through the photos and upload them first.
i use to be more devoted to my photography – lately, i just haven’t been inspired. which is fine. when we go on our vacation this summer, it might hit me then. so a break is not a bad thing.
for now, i’ll blog just about yesterday. it was easter monday and while i had to work, doug and chaeli both had the day off. i wish i was with them, of course, but didn’t mind so much because when i got home, due to the lack of homework and the absence of the after work/school rush, it was a peaceful evening.
in fact, its what i look forward to during our summer months. there will still be the drop-off and pick-up with chaeli’s summer camp. but not having to dedicate time for homework makes a huge difference in one’s daily schedule. i look forward to the day where she’s doing homework more on her own, though i know (or predict) that we’ll still have to push her to just hurry up and get with it – the earlier she can get it done, the more time she has for leisure activities (this is what we’re trying to teach her now – it’s a never-ending struggle). and it’s not that i don’t appreciate the homework she’s given – obviously it has its value. but still – when you don’t get home until close to 6pm and you want your kid in bed no later then 8:30pm because she has to wake up around 6:30am the next day, it’s a very, very tight schedule.
this is when i get why it’s easier for one parent to stay at home. or why people hire a nanny.
thankfully, on days doug does not have to work, it’s made the schedule a little easier. for one, he will do the drop-off and pick-up. but still… the rush hovers over us. maybe not as greatly, but it still does.
anyway, yesterday was not like this type of day and i was very thankful of it. i had time to create an antipasto spread while we had some yummy, mixed spring greens, bococcini and procuitto salad (honey-lemon dressing) and some leftover roast beef from easter dinner. i sipped my red wine – one we bought last fall when doug and i went on a bit of a self-guided wine tour in the niagara region (aged for several months now, it definitly tastes better then the day we taste tested it) – and indulged our generous spread. no one was really served anything – all was just put in the middle and up for grabs by fingers both large and small.
doug also took chaeli to dim sum earlier in the day. i admit i was a bit jealous but at the same time, was glad to hear they did a father-daughter thing. just the two of them. in fact, they had a great day together which made me feel content. they have been spending some of their spare time painting miniature war game soldiers and yesterday, had enough to start a game (no idea how it’s played but it seems to involve rolling a dice and measuring out distances – this is doug’s geeky guilty pleasures).
it’s always a challenge to entertain a kid all by yourself and i admit i wasn’t at my best this weekend. friday was not so bad – chaeli and i went to the dog park then i treated her to mc d’s for lunch. we spent some time geeking out on sci-fi movies like transformers and star trek (2009 release). but on sunday, my stomach was bothering me and i had very little sleep the night before (late night + snoring husband) so she was left on her own with her nintendo while i took a couple of naps. doug made up for his by doing a lot with her yesterday.
my latest tune on repeat (thanks to opening credits from ‘rescue me’):
well, i will say this…
in an episode where an apartment with a weed grow ops went up in flames, the crew went in and came out pretty much high. they were all giddy and laughing like little school girls.
and laughing at the word ‘bong.’
i asked doug, “could something like this happen to you?”
his response was, “of course not. we put on our o2 masks BEFORE going in.”
“oh.”
that pretty much sums it up.
tv does not equal reality. at least in this case.
another weekend come and gone and once again, plans to sit down and blog just never happened. on one end, i’m sad that i’m not blogging as much. but on the other side of the coin, i’m glad i’m living my weekend to the fullest.
we didn’t do anything major this weekend. saturday was rainy so we stayed in. except for saturday morning, when i went shopping at costco to replenish some supplies and ended up coming back with a ps3 game – mortal kombat vs dc universe.
needless to say, we geeked out all afternoon on the ps3. chaeli was in love with our new combat game. and then we ended up watching the last half of bullet proof monk (we saw the first half before – never got to finish it). i asked her if she liked watching these types of martial art combat movies. and she nodded with enthusiasm. it totally reminded me of my own childhood – i grew up watching b-rated kung-fu and karate movies with my dad.
so i looked up mortal kombat and streetfighter dvd prices. they were awful movies but i can’t help it. any chance to educate my child’s geekiness in the world of video game characters and comic books is pretty much a priority for me.
i know – they were bad movies. but the cult following was pretty big and yes, i admit – i’m one of the numbers that make up that cult.
we ended saturday night with some very thick AAA rib grilling steaks (thank-you, costco), garlic mashed potato and steamed brocolli.
sunday was a nice sleep-in morning, followed by a pancakes and sausage brunch – and some fresh blackberries to go with my pancake (it’s my latest thing – i’ve been buying them almost weekly). after some more geek-out time between doug and chaeli, i asked that we stop before the rest of the day gets wasted away.
we got ready and headed out for a walk in a nearby park with a fenced-in dog park. before leaving, we caught the ice cream truck and enjoyed a treat – even hobbes.
sunday evening, doug made a dry pasta that called for string beans, soy beans, asparagus, grilled chicken cubes and sausage – with a garlic and lemon, oil-base sauce. he sprinkled it with some toasted bread crumbs and parmesan cheese. best home made pasta i’ve had in a long time.
in between all these low-key activities, i have been watching Rescue Me – i’m near the end of season 2 and am totally hooked. what is it about denis leary’s character? i love him and hate him – sometimes going back and forth. it’s definitely the bad-boy image. sometimes, he is like a hero but then he’s a scumbag.
and yet – he gets all the women. while it’s fiction, lets be honest. this happens in real life pretty much all the time.
