up at 7am
Starbucks
On the water at 7:45
Heavy fog on the bayou. It has a garlicky-salty smell - like something cooking that might taste really good (or really bad). The sun is huge and yellow in the east. The fog burns off quickly as I go up the Anclote. I paddle out to channel marker 5a (7km) without seeing anyone although the factories along the water start their thrumming promptly at 8. No joke - it's like some heartbeat that you gradually forget about the longer you're on the water. Not sure what's in production. This town seems to be slowly dying.

Beautiful, amazing paddle. No wind for the first time since I've been here. Still though, completely flat (=boring). I'm actually thrilled when a fishing boat goes by at low speed and creates some wash.

I came back in and hit Starbucks again. It's a two coffee day. I meet up with Jess and we have breakfast at Danny K's. Restaurant food is starting to wear on me and I leave half my breakfast uneaten. We get our gear together and paddle out to Sunset beach (I had to ask a server in Santorini's what the name is since we never go in from the road where the sign is.. They show movies on the beach there at dusk on Saturdays.

Jess had to get back early for a camper bbq but I lay there until 4:30 or so before paddling back in. Fun. The tide was coming in and I caught a ride on the wash of two commercial fishing boats - if I fell off the wash of the first one, I used the second one to catapult me back onto it again. I leapfrogged like that all the way back in and the 4km ride in went by in a second!
Random, a guy on a stand up paddleboard appeared out of one of the canals.  As I passed him, he asked if I'd like to swap. I laughed and said I was surprised to see an SUP out here. He said he lives here and finds it a great way to get around the river. I was having so much fun wash-riding that I waved goodbye and kept going. He seemed like an interesting guy though so I'll stop if I see him out there again.

After showering off the sunscreen, salt and sand, I walked into town and found a place with real coconut ice cream - mmmyyyy favourite. I don't actually like ice cream so I guess you could say it's my only ice cream flavour. Is everyone in this town a character? The ice cream guy asked where I was from and, when I said Toronto, launched into an epic tale of how his great-great-great grandfather was the original owner of the native-contested land in Caledonia. But, did I know it actually started in 17-hundred & something in Pennsylvania...when William Wallace (?!) begat someone, then this women blah blah, this indentured servant.....and so I said I'd love to hear more but was on my way to meet friends, had to go, thanks so much....random history lesson!

It's such a nice evening,  I wandered around town, picked a greek salad up at Santorini's and ate it in the park by the bayou, watching the manatees bob up and down again.

Excited for another early morning paddle tomorrow. Now that I'm halfway through my trip, I'm beginning to realize how much warm-water paddling I'd better squeeze in. We're in for another thunder storm on the weekend, unfortunately, so I may use that as an excuse to go to Tampa for the day.

All of my devices (GPS & iPod) are on low battery so I'm killing time on the motel office computer while they recharge.

This morning I woke up at 7am but instantly fell back asleep until 7:45. Within that 45 minutes I had a crazy, anxiety & anger-filled dream that was incedibly detailed. (it was about having to finish the swimming leg of a relay but I was frustrated by forgotten equipment, rescheduling of the relay, no transportation and someone strangely trying to stop me from racing). I put it all down to the residual, smushy pain I was feeling under my left shoulderblade.

Anyway, By the time I woke up, I knew Pete's group would just be gathering at the boat ramp for the 8am workout so I decided to go to Starbucks before my paddle

There's nothing like motel living to make you appreciate Starbuckers and the like. This particular store has their comfy furniture arranged for single visitors with a couple of tables scattered around. Anyone who frequents the PC Starbucks can tell you they'd do well to follow this model. I've been in there many times (usually in the afternoon and evening) when every table has only a single user who is taking advantage of the free wireless, reading or just loitering. Actually, I shouldn't complain. I once met a guy because we shared a table there and started chatting. We went on a few dates but it didn't really go anywhere. Anyway, the point is I'm so happy to have somewhere out of my room to enjoy my coffee and book in a comfy chair. I'll often go over to the park at the bayou but those benches are hard.

Around 9:30, I headed out in my boat, going up the Anclote River instead of towards the Gulf. The tide was going out so I hit the bottom around 3.5kms and had to turn around. I worked it up to 9km by paddling up towards the Gulf a ways.

As I was passing under the final bridge, Jess ran by overhead. She wanted to go for coffee in a half hour - after her run, but I'd made plans to ride down to Dunedin and declined. I had my afternoon pretty much mapped out.

I made good time and decided to stay for lunch. The patio at Kelly's was hit and miss with the sun but I didn't mind. You can tell the Canadians - we're the ones wearing short sleeves and no jackets. I'm still blown away by how good the service is in the US compared to Canada. Servers are polite and attentive compared to our surly and bitter ones at home (or is that just T.O.?)

I wandered a bit and bought a wooden mermaid as a souvenir. It's similar but not identical to the one below - painted white, she carries a star in outstretched arms. I really like it and am excited to find a place for it at home. (oh my god, I'll be wearing a purple hat soon). Since I was riding my bike, I had to tuck her into my bike bag with her tail sticking out about a foot. It looked like I was bringing fish home for dinner.

I took it easy in my room for awhile but when I got ready to go out again, the door wouldn't close and lock. It's been doing this all week - I have to slam it in order to get it to lock. However, today it's hit the point of no return. I had told the maintenance guy about it before just because housekeeping didn't always make sure it was locked when they left the room. He kept putting me off but this time he had to fix it.
Just noticed the time, hopefully my GPS & iPod have enough charge for the next paddle. I was hoping the wind would die down a bit by evening but it's looking pretty strong. Doesn't matter...sun is shining.

Oh man. I went out for half an hour to grab a sandwich and when I got back there was a massive takedown going on at the good old Tarpon Inn. 5 police cars. I just locked myself in my room but I could still hear the drama. Anyway, there was some yelling but it's quiet now. I'm going to go out to see if I can move my car. I had to park down the block because the sheriffs' cars were all over the parking lot.

Nope, still a mess out there but I moved my car anyway.

Yesterday it poured rain with lightning so Jess and I had breakfast at Danny K's and then went to the Gulf View Mall in New Port Richey (or Port Richey, I can't keep them straight plus their about 1km apart). I wasn't really in the mood for mall shopping but it was a distraction.

After I dropped Jess off at their place, I hit Panera's for a sandwich. Later, I walked over to Walgreens and took the long way home. The sky had cleared and there was a great sunset over the Gulf. I painted my toes with OPI's Hearts and Tarts and watched trashy tv for awhile. Early night since I wanted to get on the water as soon after sunrise as possible.

Woke up at 7:15, ate some yogurt and headed to the bayou. There was the usual headwind adn, when I picked up my boat to carry it to the ramp, a gust caught the boat sideways. In turning it intot he wind, one of my ribs popped out. I thought I might be able to work it back in with some long easy strokes but it didn't take long to realize that, yep, it's was popped out good. I couldn't take a deep breath. I paddled 10km anyway just because it feels good while you're paddling.

When I got back, I tried to find somewhere that sells foam rolls. Walmart sells them but only online - 3 to 5 days express delivery but they don't carry them in-store. I thought I'd found a fitness store really close by but when I got to the location, the street existed but didn't have the same name as it did on the map (every other street in the area was right). Also, there was a sign-making store at that unit number. However, just as I was making a u-turn, I saw a Cross-fit location. I went in and talked to the guy running it and he let me use on of their foam rolls to see if I could pop it back in. I wasn't able to there but it felt a little better after 15-20 minutes.

I decided to try Walmart anyway - you never know - so headed back to Port Richey to the Supercentre. They didn't have the proper foam roll but they did carry oversized pool noodles. I got one of those and cut it in half. I rolled on it a bit - no results but still felt a little better. I ate some lunch and had a bunch of water then tried again. On the first roll there was a huge crack and - HURRAY - I could breath without pain again. It's still tender but I went out this afternoon and had a wicked 12km paddle - 6 were in that killer headwind but the 6km back were pure pleaseure with the tailwind and tide bringing me home.

Now I'm doing laundry and will probably go for a run or bike ride tonight. I enjoyed my sunrise paddle so much this am I'm going to do it again tomorrow. This time I'm going to get up a little earlier and get a thermos full of Starbucks to enjoy on the beach at the halfway point.

The Kolo Memorial Biathlon this am. The kids came down from their camp. 10am start - paddle then run. Keir won for men's kayak, chris for men's canoe, Courtney for women's kayak. I won for womens canoe. Haha no, just kidding. There were no women's canoers racing :(

after loading the boats, everyone went to Muzzies for the famous sandwiches. I got Attila & pete to order mine so i wouldn't have to wait once the mass of paddlers got there. (the staff at Muzzies didn't know what hit them when 20 kids showed
up at once!)

in the afternoon, jess and I paddled out to the beach for the afternoon. Lots of dolphin action. Also lots of boats coming into the Anclotte river when we were paddling back in. Like the 400 on a summer weekend!

Dinner was the second half of my Muzzies sandwich (impossible to finish a whole one at a single sitting). We rented Little Miss Sunshine and watched it at the house. I uploaded my photos from the day to Peter's laptop but the Internet was down all night so I couldn't put them up on fb.

I left the house around 11pm and asi rounded the curve on Centrewood, my lights caught two deer just standing on the sidewalk. They didn't seem spooked and I was tempted to stop & try to get a photo but decided they'd probably take off if thecar stopped. Plans to meet for breakfast at 10am tomorrow.

Watching snl.

Stuff.
Ian found a seahorse. We can't tell if it's dead but it moves slightly when u pick it up so we put it back in the water

I went for a hard paddle this morning and then a bike ride out to Howrd Park and all around Tarpon Springs. Had a quick lunch then went out for another (easy) pAddle. Ther was a stiff headwind and the tide was high. Saw a trio of dolphins and hoped they would come and swim with me but just then the Spongeorama boat came by and they jumped on it's wash. So fun just to watch them having so much fun.

Had dinner at Crabby Bill's with Peter, Attila, Jess, Ian & Alicia. We were going to go back to the house & play poker but I could see everyone was tired and winding Dow (me as well) and bailed.
My tv remote had stopped working and the front desk said they would send someone to reprogram it. Clearly they forgot but I just googled the tithe tv brand along with the remote brand and model number. Brilliant interweb coughed up instructions for bypassing the code. I am once again prone and flicking through the channels instead of crouchng on the floor in front of the tv. Done & done.

My main interent access is on my iPhone and it's not the most convenient for blogging so posts will be infrequent.

The day I left for Florida, Ian Howes decided to come down as well so I had someone to travel with. It also meant we could drive straight through instead of stopping overnight. Suhweet!

The weather was amazing for the whole time I was driving but when Ian took over it started to pour and, since we were up in the mountains by this time, foggy too. It rained off and on pretty much until we got to Tarpon Springs.

The first day, Jess and I went for an easy paddle, talking the whole time. We hit up Panera's and did some other stuff and then went for another paddle in the afternoon.

On Sunday, I went for a paddle and then a run and got back to the ramp in time to see Daddio, Olga and Tamas jr as well as Sarah's parents. I met up with Jess afterwards and we paddled the 6km out to the Gulf and then headed to the beach. We hung out there for an hour or so and then paddled back in. The weather has been perfect since we arrived (which, th locals tell us was theturning point of a 7 or 8 week freezing, rainy stretch)

On Monday, I jumped on my bike and rode out to Dunedin - i think it's about 25km but will have to check on G-Earth (or Girth, as I like to call it). I arrived before anything much was open so went to Kelly's Chic-a-Boom-Room for brunch - so good, eggs benedict with turkey and chili-lime hollandaise. Seriously delicious!

I rode back, packed a dry bag, jumped in my boat and headed for the Gulf against an insane headwind at high tide. I hung out at the beach for about 40 minutes, then paddled back in. It wasn't too bad - even thought the tide was going out, the wind was at my back.

I grabbed a coffee at starbucks and then walked over to the sponge docks. It was PACKED with tourists so I only went into one store. One of the sales clerks started talking to me and then, because of my "accent" asked where I was from. Turns out she's from Alberta, has lived here for a little over a decade and wants to move back to B.C. (has a horror of raising her new little baby in Florida). I mentioned that I might start looking for a place in the future and, since she doesn't want to move until a year or so from now, I'm going to go check out her place. It's a little further south than I was considering but it's right on the Pinellas Trail and about 1km from the Gulf - 1920s bungalow finished in red oak. We shall see!

I decided to grab dinner at the Lime 'n Coconut - ceviche and shrimp. Ahhh perfect day!

I dropped by Pete's house on my way out that night - I was on a hunt for a decent book store (a rare animal, believe me!) Howe's is convinced that there are no stores dedicated to selling books anywhere in this area (although we think there might be many book-burning stations in teh state). They suggested I hit Target. I did and found two aisles of books - one of which was completely dedicated to youth literature (read "Vampire Stories") and the other to biographies of american personalities. however I did find something I've been meeding to read so was satisfied with the trip. I went to bed early which turned out to be a good thing since the people in the room above mine came in at 4:00am and banged around for awhile.

A couple lost hours in the middle of the night meant I slept in until about 8:30 and spent longer than usual drinking my starbuck's coffee. I felt great as I headed out for a paddle - 12 km (6 hard into the wind and against the tide and 6 amazing!! with both tide and wind at my back....
I was so starving when I got back that I decided today was the day for a Danny K's (aka Helen's South) breakfast. I was just on my way out for a run but stopped by the motel office to replenish my toilet paper stock (no housekeeping here) when I saw the interent computer was free. Bonus. So now I'm all caught up!

Today is Eve's last chemo treatment. Over the next few days she will feel progressively worse but, given the positive attitude she's maintained throughout this process and the fact that she is D-O-N-E, she will be happy that it's all over. If you know her, drop her a line to cheer her up! I know it means a lot to her to hear from us.

going for a run and then my afternoon paddle. Cheers!

*Spoiler alert* - this post contains content about personal bikini waxing. May spoil your appetitie, your day, your desire to read my blog.

The full realization that I'm going away on holidays just hit me last night so on my way home from work, I spontaneously dropped into the sweatshop at the Loblaws plaza for a pedicure + wax (no vajazzling for this girl's lady bits).

This nail place has always been a little sketch but I go there because it's one of the few in our area that does a proper brazillian (and it's on my way home from the canoe club). However, it's hitting a new low which makes me think they've already given up the lease and will be closed by the end of the month.

The place was empty of clients and only one esthetician - who I'd never met & looked about 12 - was on duty. The pimp was there, of course, guarding the cash register but no one else. That should have tipped me off but I figured 5pm on a Thursday is not peak mani-pedi time.

Anyway, you know how they usually cover the waxing table with paper sheeting? This time the girl only put down a 1'x1' square at ground zero. I thought huh? but was already standing there with no pants on and wasn't about to start questioning their cost-saving measures.
I was sceptical - anytime you ask a nail shop worker if they know how to do a brazillian they always "Oh yes" -  but she actually did a good job.

Okay, so since this was a spur-of-the-moment thing I didn't have two key pedicure items with me: my own nail colour and flip-flops for the trip home. I wasn't worried though - salons provide polish and paper sandals. I'd carry my shoes and wear the paper ones home.

Unfortunately, their nail polish carousel only had a limited colour choice. I selected a light pink but it had been thinned to the point of opacity so I had to pick something else - something I wasn't too crazy about. And when it came time to dry them, she pulled out a pair of regular flip flops!??! They were new/clean but reusable flops are so not cool for multi-use... but there I was with wet toes so there wasn't much I could do.

I paid, returned the sandals and walked barefoot to my car. It wasn't so bad but they had used rock-salt for the sidewalk throughout the winter. That, along with the staring from plaza patrons, was only mildly uncomfortable.

The really dumb thing about all this is that there are like a bajillion spas in Clarkson. Okay, three, but you'd think I'd just go there instead. But the truth is brazillians hurt - they hurt whether they cost $40 or $80 so I choose to pay $40. However, this experience has made me rethink thriftiness and when I get back from Fla, it'll be first class all the way!

Sick of basking in the glow of the Vancouver Olympics yet? Tired of the self-love, the aren't we wonderful stage? Well too bad...

While writing a post about how great it is to be part of a country that comes of age during an Olympic celebration rather than wartime, I came across this video I've been searching for for years.

I originally saw Atomic Cafe around 1982 at the old Roxy Theatre.  I loved that place! It was at Greenwood-Danforth and everyone went there (or The New Yorker) to see the cult classics - 2001: A Space Odyssy, Reefer Madness, Rocky Horror, Pink Flamingos, The Song Remains the Same...

Maybe that's why my dream is to open a similar venue in the Port Credit Town Hall. If only I had unlimited cash. (Let's face it, if I had unlimited cash, I'd move somewhere tropical).

Anyway, if you have a chunk of time on your hands and are interested in seeing how much we evolved over the second half of the last century, watch this documentary. It has all kinds of cold war goodness.

Here's another entertaining bit of statistical trivia from the winter Olympics. Canada had a fantastic result but Norway was amazing if you look at medals per capita.

Many of our athletes who didn't win medals were just fractions of a second behind the gold medal winner. Check out the Ny Times comprehensive illustration of just how close that can be...

...because nothing says "I love you" like a good vajazzling !

I'm a big fan of the Old Spice Manmercials. Especially the ones featuring Isaiah Mustafa...

Just caught a couple minutes of American Idol and now I need to scrub my ears with some Gil Scott Heron.

On Sunday morning, I walked up to the coffee shop in Clarkson for breakfast and a latte. It used to be called Creamdales but it's under new management and I didn't note the new name. They're planning to go all organic. Anyway, I grabbed a table in the window. It was an amazing, sunny day and I wasn't in any hurry to leave. Fortunately I'd brought a book - a cover for what amounts to pure laziness. You can sit around forever if you're reading.

When I got home, I checked email and took a look at my blog stats. I noticed that someone had come to my blog by searching a friend. This is actually really common and the way that lots of people end up at my blog. What caught my attention was that the search was done from my friend's own office network server at 10:13 on Saturday night. I sent her an email saying not to be creeped out but she was so I sent her the name and position of the person (for those of you who think your visits are anonymous...well, they're not.) Anyway, don't know yet if she asked the person why they were doing a search on her. Intriguing!

Cool, go to Google Maps to do a virtual run on olympic courses...Skeleton!!

So tired this past week. And for no reason. Anyway, I've booked my vacation and have something to look forward to in March.

Carrie and I co-hosted the book club at my house on Tuesday. It was so great to see everyone after a particularly long break between meetings. Co-hosting worked out really well too - Carrie brought the food, I bought the wine. I thought most of the women drank white so bought 3 white, 3 red. As it turned out, I should have just picked up 6 bottles of red. Through the entire night I only poured one glass of white. And boy, did these ladies need a night out! They're all young mothers and I forget how restrictive their lives are. Actually, Lee Anne brought her new little girl - just 7 days old (can that be right? I have to check). And Lisa brought her little girl who must be 6 months or so. Both left early. We took longer than usual socializing but did finally get around to discussing the selection - Book of Negroes --by Lawrence Hill.

I was so tired the next day, I skipped my usual spin workout and went to bed early. Still tired on Thursday and skipped SST as well. I hope this is just a seasonal thing. Maybe I've just become lazy (lazier).

For Friday, I reminded Chanda to show up early for paddle pool so we could jump in with the kayakers but unfortunately their workout was switched to the morning. Rumour is that someone in the paddlesport group complained about them overlapping into our time (btw, the masters called & they want you in their program). It's actually so much better to do the workout with the kayakers but whatever. I'll be in warm, sunny, salty place soon.

On Saturday, Excel gym hosted a spinathon for Eve. I did an hour at 11am (which means I got out of bed at 10:25 - shameful). I believe it was organized by Carrie's parents but I got requests from different people to fill bikes so I'm not sure - maybe it was a group effort. I hadn't been there before so it was cool to check out a new facility in the neighbourhood. They ran the hour like a spin class and it was fairly tough. Bonus - oranges and Starbucks coffee were provided!

Since there were a couple of slots open in the afternoon (the spin ran from 7-7) I promised to see if the paddlesport group wanted to take part. There were only 3 of us but one really wanted to do paddle pool.

I went home and slept for an hour before heading back to the canoe club for Rachel's wig party. Tons of people turned up - wearing wigs - it was completely awesome. I also had the winning bid on the Crayola silent auction package. Guess what your kids are getting for presents...Pics are up on fb.

One of my favourite guys contacted me on fb last night. Bob Craymer was every girls favourite crush all through junior and high school. He was super cute...as in David Cassidy cute, which in the early 70s was the best kind of cute. Actually, the first time I saw Ashton Kutcher on That '70s Show, I thought "OMG, Bob Craymer!"


All through school our classes and locker assignments were alphabetically determined, so - Craymer-Curry - we were always in the same home room with lockers beside each other. The fact that he'd frequently pull the back hem of my dress over my head during hallway rush hour never changed my opinion of him. He had the best attitude: always positive, sweet, he charmed everyone and crossed over the boundaries of adolescent cliques. In all of my memories, Bob is laughing.

He did some modelling while we were in school and for years after was the lead singer for the moderately successful band, Trixie Goes Hollywood.

I guess we all assumed he would continue with one of these careers or move into acting. Instead, he's now designing green furniture and interiors in Los Angeles.

Check out his website: robertcraymer.com

It's really too bad that he doesn't deliver to Canada because he's done some beautiful work!

I was having drinks with a friend recently and, while discussing a particular situation, they observed that I was “really good friends with so-and-so”. I didn't say anything at the time because I was caught off guard. Since I’ve never considered the person in question a friend, the idea that others might think we were came as a complete surprise.

Later at home, I thought about my relationship with this person. Did they think we were friends? They'd definitely been calling me a lot lately to vent about something or someone. It's not a conversation, more of a hostage taking. ***Note: I'd like to apologize to the people I've forced to suffer through my imagined, personal dramas*** Anyway, when they call, I have no choice but to listen. (And, shameful as it is, I have on occasion put the phone down and walked away. They're always still talking when I come back.). Eventually, I have to get back to work and end up cutting them off mid-sentence.

Have I, simply by answering the phone, contributed to their misperception that I'm "there for them"? Just when I've decided to start distancing myself from them, I suddenly feel this crushing burden of responsibility.

From this, I'm sure you can figure out that the friend is female. Guys don't care if you're friends. While they may have one or two really close buddies, for the most part they care more about maintaining beneficial relationships. That can mean anything from a person who makes you laugh to someone who can get tickets to a basketball game. Women it seems, are hardwired to declare their friend status all over the place and demand proof– we're best friends, BFFs, whatever. Crap. Did this mean I would have to declare that we were not friends?

Okay, here's the thing. In my life, I've made major alterations to my opinion on what constitutes a friend. Pre-divorce, I thought everyone was my friend; my boyfriend's roommate's girlfriend, the guy who spins videos at work, the cafeteria lady or the convenience store guy.

After I got divorced and all my female friends abandoned me for the single guy my husband became, I got an education in the definition of friend. The field narrowed considerably. It was further diminished when the guy I considered my failsafe, my mentor-in-single-life declared that we were definitely not friends.

So like we do, I adapted and refined my perspective on the world. Going forward, the people I consider friends are defined by...what? Shared history? Similar worldviews? A sense of loyalty. A feeling that I could call on them in an emergency. The pleasure I feel for them when something good happens adn the heart-squeezing when  they or one of their children is sick or hospitalized.

The result is that at 50 I have far less friends than I did at 40 but considerably more acquaintances.

Unfortunately, I still feel responsible for people who call me friend. Reciprocol or not, I guess I'll just have to suck it.

Marisha's birthday weekend & Nordic Fest at the Scenic Caves in Blue Mountain.
Marissa, editor of Get Out There magazine, took this pic of (L-R): Scott, me, Marisha, Eve, Liz, Wai Ting (Jonathon's friend from Taiwan) & Fred.
We stayed at Nancy M's biatch-pad and went snow shoeing & x-country skiing at the Scenic caves.
Karen & Chanda arrived shortly after this photo was taken. I headed back to the house and the girls did a x-country loop.

The night before, Marisha, Nancy and I had dinner and drinks in Blue Mountain. I had a cold and bailed early on the night.

Spare me the analyses and comparisons. Are we going to relegate ourselves to playing never-good-enough, little brother to our square-jawed, over-achieving, all-star, older sibling forever?? My opinion: the Olympic opening ceremonies were as Canadian as it gets.

Gretsky's long truck ride in the rain to light the outside cauldron? It may have made for bad tv but for the fans who ran alongside the truck cheering and waving, it was an unprecedented opportunity to be part of an Olympic Games opening ceremony (not to mention brush with greatness!!)

Anyway, here's one of the guys I can't wait to watch. Yeah, he makes something like 7.5 mil a year but he clearly isn't some overpaid, mtv prima donna. Here's his winning performance from the X Games last month. Look at the way he comes back from an unintentional spinal realignment...

It always happens...the more I have to write about, the less I write. Lots has been on my mind though and I wish I had the time to blog it; Eve's treatments, current affairs (Olympics, George Bush's "Miss me yet?" billboard. Sarah Palin writes speech crib notes on her hand, the urrbandictionary defines that aid as a Redneck Teleprompter), what to do this summer, what to do in March (anyone know of a good rental in Florida, Gulf side? Fred gave me a contact but the guy hasn't gotten back to me) and so on. I definitely need to replace those clocks up top (must have been copyright issues but the Vancouver one will be down to zero in a couple of days)

Right now I'm feeling dehydrated and tired. Have to get up at 5am so I'm shutting it down.

Ever since I saw it mentioned on United States of Tara, I've wanted to get my hands on some Miracle Fruit. In the show they talk about how it messes with your tastebuds so everything tastes like something else - something sweet. So Tabasco sauce tastes like a hot crispy creme donut. Tara drinks a beer after swirling one of the berries around her mouth and exclaims, "It tastes like a chocolate shake!". The effects last anywhere from 15 minutes to a couple of hours.

To scientists, this West African berry is known as synsepalum dulcificum. It contains the protein miraculin which binds to the sweet receptors on your tongue and makes them activate in response to sour/bitter tastes. Apparently it's really successful in making foods palatable to chemotherapy patients by counteracting the metallic taste they get while undergoing treatment.

There are lots of websites dedicated to the fruit and where to obtain it but from all reports, those offering mail-order are sketchy at best. The most reasonable option seems to be purchasing a plant. I'll let you know if I'm able to work it out - I'll have a tasting party!

Hey, you know how funny and animated Kaylynne is in person? Well now you can enjoy that dynamic personality 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! Follow the KP chronicles (link at right). Good luck on the internship, Kaylynne!

Paddlers in the news;

Nathan’s coming home! He's retired as Head Coach of USA's canoe/kayak sprint team.

Congrats to Morty! He's Ottawa's Male Athlete of the Year.





Banook paddlers, Brian and Dennis, are heading out west to watch the Olympics.


Check out Angus M's video for the twins...



Olympic canoer Ken Lane passed away this week. Ken and C2 partner Don Hawgood won Canada's first medal at the '52 Olympic Games in Helsinki - silver in the C2 10K

Work-in-progress

Mid-winter madness seems to have hit the canoe club. Nothing specific but people are relaxing slightly - they've settled into the winter program and plans for training camps are being finalized. In other words, there is light at the end of this bleak winter tunnel and people are getting a little goofy.

Last night I was warming up on the bike while the kids were boxing at HUF. On Friday nights we do paddle pool with the girls kayak group which works out perfectly. Chris E. came in while I was on the bike, he and Dana are down to do some weights and p-pool with Kyle. Eric came in shortly after that and the 3 of us chatted about whatever; training, balancing student and athlete life, etc...Chris filled me in on what kind of stuff he's been working on at school. It's so interesting and he's really innovative. He'll do well wherever he ends up working. He also mentioned Dana will be an engineer in 3 months! And on a further Morgoch note, Melissa is now a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, D.V.M.!


I went downstairs when I heard the girls clattering in and stood there for a minute watching them set up. I was waiting so I could pick a spot where I'd be splashed the least but ...what the? They were setting up facing each other. Lauren and Robin faced the window while new girl #1 and Hayley faced the wall. Krista and new girl #2 stood at the end of each channel with a C1 paddle. (so sorry, I don't know the new girls' names yet). They informed me they were playing "the game", something Derek had made up. He had a meeting upstairs and told them they could use the game as a warm up before starting the workout.

It's pretty good actually. The two girls in the middle are like centres and have a blade on the ball to start(they use the smallest of the stability balls). The object is to smack the ball and hit the deck behind your seat - so they're actually using a kayak motion. The goal-tender stands behind the opposing team, facing their own players and tries to keep the ball away from the deck. It was pretty entertaining and the boys crowded in from the weight room to see what all the squealing and cheering was about - gosh, the untapped power of a girl-squeal...

Courtney, Erika and I were patiently warming up on the other rail and eventually we started the workout. By this time, it was 6:00pm and the rest of our HP paddle group came in.

One of the guys dropped his wedding ring into the paddle pool - it slipped right off his finger, fell through the wood slats of the deck and slithered to the bottom of the outside tank. He offered $10 to whoever would go in and get it. Right away, most of the girls said "no way" so someone told the guys in the weight room. For the second time in 10 minutes the midget boys swarmed into the paddle pool.

The offer of $10 just for diving into the paddle pool may seem like a good deal but most of the kids were more interested in seeing who would be crazy enough to do it. The water is frigid and nasty and over-chlorinated. Tymek brought his swim goggles and said he was going to do it but new girl # 1, encouraged by the older guys, was running back and forth like a spaniel. Everyone was pointing and yelling directions as to where the ring had gone through. Eager to please, she dove right in and slipped under the deck before Tymek could even get the goggles on. #1 doesn't know it yet but, without taking a stroke in a boat, she's just shown her potential as a war canoe paddler.

As the older guys stepped back to watch the show, the rest of the girls rolled their eyes and got out of the way. Ok, I don't know if the paddle pool water is actually colder than it has been in past years but it definitely feels like it is. #1 came up from her first pass dripping and gasping from the shock from the cold water. She said she had her contact lenses in and couldn't open her eyes underwater. Tymek, who had already tested the water and decided it was too cold, handed her the goggles. It took her about three dives but she eventually came up with the ring. Kyle immediatley sent her upstairs with instructions to have a hot shower.

After that we were able to get into our workout. By now it was too late for the kayak girls to continue but there were still 6 canoers (2 of us doing outrigger). It was a good workout - Kyle called out stroke rates, gave feedback on our technique and took heartrates. We can do all these things ourselves but we're just so much more motivated when there's someone there watching.

So... I guess none of us are really that different from #1.

Life is pretty active - especially for mid-january.

Even though I've wrecked my foot, I have a couple of weekends planned in Collingwood. Doing lots of repair work around the house - fixing broken shower & broken toilet, hanging new shower curtain rods - yes, the bathrooms need to be gutted and replaced.

I'm also hoping to start tearing out those ugly kitchen cabinets installed in the laundry room so I can set up my silk screening stuff and possibly put in a darkroom. god, I have no idea where I put the enlarger when I moved.

the weekend wasn't all work - I did some fun stuff too. Among other things, Tammy and Greg had another party - this time for their birthdays - Tammy's was Jan. 2 and Greg's was Jan 15 (I think). There was also a retirement party for Kyle at the canoe club but I had another committment after the Seckos' and didn't make it over. I'm sure it was great. Several people stopped by the birthday party on their way over to the club. And Mike R. actually brought his new girlfriend, Kim. It was nice to finally meet her, she didn't say much - just let Mike do all the talking.

The earthquake in Haiti is obviously on everyone's radar. I was just watching the Golden Globes and it's NBC's focus for the night. Ribbons abound. Maybe trying to take the spotlight off their late night foul-up. People in the community definitely have strong opinions about NBC trying to shove Conan out so Jay Leno can have his old slot back at the Tonight Show.
It was raining as celebrities walked up the red carpet. Billy Bush asked Tina Fey if she minded the rain and she deadpanned, "That's not rain, god is crying for NBC." And did Julia Roberts just say "NBC is in the toilet!"?? I think she did.

I like the GGs - they are generally less formal than other awards shows and the actors seem more relaxed and happy. Both John Lithgow and Michael C. Hall won for Dexter - awesome (and don't be dissing Michael's hat, it's a cancer treatment-related accessory).
Nicole Kidman was a presenter but holy crap, her nipples were sticking out so far, I have no idea what she was saying. I spent the whole time trying to figure out if they were hers or one of those bras with the built in nipples. To top it off, she was wearing a blush pink dress of sheer satin so not only were they at attention, they showed really dark through the fabric...and one was pointing slightly skyward.
Anyway, after watching Drew and Meryl babble-stammer through their thank you's, I decided I'd watch the highlights on CH131 tomorrow.

Back to work for the last three days of the year. We did paddle pool this morning. It's always cold in there but the temp dropped to -13 last night. I kept my Lifa on throughout the workout and my feet were frozen like spring training by the time we were done. There's slightly more snow at work than at home but it's the sifted icing sugar variety. A city worker used a leaf-blower to clear the sidewalks and paths around the Etobicoke city centre.

So on Christmas day Ryan and I ended up seeing Sherlock Holmes - great movie! We had planned to see more than one but took too long eating breakfast, then I still had to wrap a bunch of presents. That set us back a bit. We saw the show at the AMC near my place, then had about an hour to kill between the movie and leaving for dinner. We watched half of 500 Days of Summer back at my house.

When it was time to leave, it was pouring rain and the temperature hovered around the freezing mark. Ryan offered to drive to Laurel's and then bring me home again but I didn't want to make him drive two hours out of his way in these conditions. The rain would turn the roads to black ice if the temperature dropped even half a degree. Ryan lives about 10 minutes from Laurel's place. Since Greece, I'm much more aware of my son's safety. I don't ever want to be responsible for putting him in danger again - age doesn't come into it anymore - so I decided we should take our own cars.

Dinner was great, as always. My sister is a really good cook. Tara & Melissa helped with a couple of the side dishes but Melissa didn't leave her wing of the house the entire time we were there. She's nineteen but has apparently been having a tough start to 2nd year at Queens which has resulted in "issues" when "dealing" with people. Every family has their way of coping with eating and/or anxiety/stress disorders but from my observation, money becomes a buffer against common sense. I am so confused about what's going on, the story changes, so all I can do is sit and wait for the dust to settle. We left shortly after exchanging gifts with the rest of the family. I think I've finally convinced my sister that we should all go away somewhere warm and beachy for next Christmas.

Boxing day, I stayed in bed until 9:30, getting up for paddle pool at the last possible second(seriously, none of us could remember why we decided to go but all five of us were glad we did!). Afterwards, everyone had to rush off but I had time to stop at Starbucks for a coffee.

I'm always wondering if I'd be happier in a downtown condo but on days like this, with time to just sit and take in the view, I love where I live. I sat at the north-east corner table, looking across at the lighthouse with the river in behind. A group of runners went by in their Running Room penguin jackets, chatting and laughing. I watched the lake swell push tiny crests up the river. Very relaxing, kinda hypnotic.

Surprisingly, Port Credit still has that small town atmosphere. It's too bad there are so many condos going up along Lakeshore. (Which reminds me that there are a few more photos to take for my boxing day, year-end wrap-up.). Things will change dramatically over the next few years. But today I could still believe that PC is just a small, harbour town. I watched a man walk up the public boat ramp from the river leading some sort of waterfowl parade. A long line of geese, ducks, a single swan and one or two seagulls followed him across the parking lot and gathered around the back of his pickup truck. Clearly this was a regular thing. He scooped and spread birdseed like a pro. My guess is he's spent some time in a barnyard because these weren't the actions of a weekender. They come down to the river to entertain their small children and get rid of their stale bread. This man clearly felt responsible for the birds' upkeep.

On Sunday, it was ridiculously warm with some weak sunlight.
I've wrecked my left foot somehow and can't run so, desperate to get some exercise, I went for a 25km bike ride. I doubled up on the layers and wore my x-c ski gloves. Perfect temp (although my earlobes were exposed).

I'd started my ride by heading towards Oakville. I ran into Stringer and his two kids on my way out of our neighbourhood. We chatted for a bit - they're heading to Mexico - but he's been sick and was feeling a little chilled so I kept it brief.
At the foot of Winston Churchill, I decided to head north. Damn that hill up to the QEW is tough when you haven't been training. I wish I'd worn my heart rate monitor. I doubt I've gotten it that high in awhile. And I don't think I've ever used the full range of gears - especially those smaller ones! Once you pass the QEW though, it flattens out completely so the rest of the ride was just pure pleasure.

I stopped at Chapters on Dundas @ 403 on my way home and picked up The Book of Negroes, for our next book club along with Surfer and Bicycling magazine.

One the way home, I decided to try a different route and came across a trail system I didn't know about. It runs along the south side of the QEW. I came to a fork and since one path swung back northward, I took the other which carried on in a south-easterly direction. I came out at Truscott near Southdown and cut across to Clarkson road and home.

I enjoyed the ride so much that I pulled my old indoor trainer out of the garage and set it up in the basement. There's one bolt missing so I'll have to get to Canadian Tire once it's open.

I had my camera in the car so took some snaps around the neighbourhood. I've been meaning to do it for a few weeks because so many things have changed. I think I'll try to do it at the end of each year to track changes. So here's a look at Clarkson-Port Credit on boxing day 2009.


Even though the rest of Southern Ontario was blasted by snowstorms a couple weeks ago, the grass remains green along this stretch of the lakeshore. The rose bush by my front steps actually developed buds until the freezing temps put a stop to that.
The first blizzard arrived about 3 weeks ago. I set my alarm to go off a little earlier, expecting a gnarly drive in but when I looked out the window...nothing. However, as I drove the 11km north to work, it got progressively worse. Half the guys who live in Scarborough, Markham and all points north and east, didn't even bother coming in. They were buried.

Below is Jack Darling Park looking southwest from the driveway, toward the leash-free. It's been torn up for several years now. They worked on it, put it back together and then tore it up again. I don't even remember if they had a toboggan hill last year.

Since I don't have dogs anymore, it doesn't affect me but it has displaced a lot of people & pets. And I noticed the Southdown dog park is gone entirely. When I was dog-sitting Lola, it had a sign saying it was just closed temporarily and to use a newly created leash-free near Sheridan Nurseries. I believe the old one along the lake is the site of the new power plant that everyone's protesting.

The Tim Hortons at the QEW-Mississauga Rd exit has been selling coffee out of a trailer for the last half of 2009. This photo is taken from the west side. I pulled over on Indian Grove which runs south off of the service road. The trailer is invisible because it's tucked in along the east side of the building. Anyway, I'm sure you figured it out because the structure itself hasn't really changed except now it houses a Select convenience store where the garage bays used to be. I think the gas pumps are operational but not sure when the rest of it will open. I thought they might be making it into one of those giant service centres that has ramps directly off the hwy but I guess that's too much to do in an urban area.


And finally, here's a look at the river. It was frozen out to the harbour just a few days ago but it has opened up with all the rain and warmer temps. Still, as much as open water usually makes me want to get out on it, it's too cold. I'm happy in the paddle pool (that'll change by mid-february) .


Oh wait, I almost forgot. I snapped a few pics of the lighthouse just because the sun came out as I was walking back to my car. I didn't plan to post the pic but then I realized it shows the new stop signs at Front St. and John (I had to look up that street name). Basically there's now a 3-way stop right at the Dons' driveway. I don't know when it went up. It just suddenly registered one morning as I blew past, half asleep on my way to morning practice.

And I might as well post this other photo of the lighthouse. It got a complete makeover this fall. It took weeks!

Fairytale of New York, for some reason, is one of my favourite Christmas songs. In spite of, or possibly because of, it's gritty and melancholy nature, this song defines the season - I feel happy, sad, wistful and hopeful all at the same time.

And although Shane MacGowan is one of the ugliest fuckers in the business, an habitual abuser of drugs and alcohol, his songs are well-crafted, insightful and thoughtful works of genius. It's difficult to pick just one favourite but this is a standout in his and the Pogues repertoire. The addition of Kirsty MacColl is just the proverbial icing on the cake.
I've never seen this '80s era video before and it sucks as much as you would expect it to. I actually prefer the 2nd one I've posted, shot live on St. Patrick's day in 1988. Either way, the song evokes any number of personal images to populate my own internal slideshow.

wow. Christmas day 2009. Already.

I'm having a great day! Ryan arrived around 9:00am and we opened our presents. He hit it out of the park again this year. He got me a brand new, updated book of Bruce Trail maps. I've had my current one for over 20 years and have given away or misplaced many of the pages. We plan to hike the whole thing next year.
He also got me a snowshoe backpack/carrycase - something I've really needed ever since I got my snowshoes. Also, a high end 'automatic' corkscrew. He doesn't know about my plan to quit drinking wine but that's okay, I'll still get lots of use out of it when friends drop by.
I made eggs benedict for breakfast, which has put us on the hunt for a superior hollandaise recipe. The recipe I have was less than impressive. Besides the obvious, one of the things I love about my son is that we can sit through a long breakfast without running out of things to talk about. And that he loads up the dishwasher while I write in my blog!

Now we're heading down to the Scotia Theatre cineplex to see this movie and then whatever else is on until 6pm. Then we'll head to my sister's for Christmas dinner.

I hope everyone has a fantastic day.

How fun is it to have a Christmas baby!?

Baby boy Hara - born December 23 at 2:30pm - 8lb 1oz

Lots going on . The Olympic torch arrived in Toronto on Thursday. Got stalled along the way by native protesters but they took a detour and arrived at Nathan Phillip Square on time for the big party.

On Friday, Seb got the amazing opportunity to carry the torch up in Newmarket. I didn't know about it or would have been there! Luckily his entire training group went up to cheer him on...

I heard about it when I went to practice and he had the torch there! It's cool that torch bearers can purchase their outfits and the torch they carried. Pretty special event to be a part of & Seb's involvement brought it home for everyone at the club!

Starts with G, rhymes with Dr. Malea (don't want google trolls)

interesting ... a sports medicine guy you all know, formerly from the F.I., is under criminal investigation by the FBI and RCMP. He is suspected of providing athletes with performance-enhancing drugs.
Several years ago, one of the national team athletes (one of the good guys) who was doing olympic lifting at that gym, told me that Dr. G had approached him with vague questions about what he'd be willing to do to improve his performance and made veiled references to an innovative treatment he was developing. At the time, I asked, "is he talking about blood doping?" and the athlete said he couldn't believe such a nice guy would be involved in that. After the paddler made it clear he wasn't interested, the doc never brought it up again.

Anyway, one day I was telling one of the other national team guys what I'd heard about Dr. G. and he said that he didn't believe it. He thought he was reputable and that those athletes shouldn't be telling stories about a professional with so many high-profile athletes in his care. I thought, you know, he's right. It's all heresay anyway. I didn't mention the incidents again, even when Dr. G's name came up in conversation (which it did frequently since so many paddlers were members at the F.I.).
So when I was driving home tonight and heard that "a Toronto sports medicine doctor was facing criminal charges" on the radio, even though I guessed it would be him, I was still a little surprised based on all the good things athletes had to say about him.
The thing giving this story legs seems to be that he treated T-Woods at one time. I have a feeling that if Cheatie McCheater wasn't so big in the news right now, this wouldn't even be on their radar but he's December's 9-day wonder and the media is just piling on.

Click here to read the NY Times article.

Invited a few friends to stop by on Saturday. I must be getting better at the planning. I prepared exactly the right amount of snacks and bought just the right amount of beer. The wine, well...usually there are more drinkers of white than red so I purchased a couple extra bottles of Santa Margherita and both are still in my fridge. I made red & white sangria (both were pretty tasty) and lots of people brought wine with them.
The last person left around 3:00am and, except for a brief spell of consciousness around 7:30am, I slept for a solid 12 hours.
I had just enough leftover snacks to enjoy while I watched Amélie - still my favourite Christmas movie...

Lucky me - day off tomorrow. I may just stay in bed for an extra 8 hours!

I've finally found another station so I can dump CFNY once and for all. Like a lot of people from my generation, I've listened to 102.1 since it first started broadcasting FM from Brampton sometime around 1977. Independent and eclectic, they were fab at introducing new and original artist but terrible at making money. Over time they were sold to increasingly larger mediacorps and now play 'modern rock' (a phrase that could easily be replaced by "cardboard" or "beige" or "global warming").

Anyway, these days, I only hear the radio when my alarm goes off, That subjects me to the morning zoo. I just couldn't take it anymore so when I heard that Strombo is doing his show on CBC radio 2, I used it as an excuse to tune my receiver to 94.1.

I'm so glad I did! I'm hearing new and upcoming artists, long-forgotten favourites and exceptional live shows. And I actually enjoy listening to the radio again (I can quit replaying Russell Brand's BBC podcasts from the past 3 years!)

Here's an artist I'm liking at the moment...sadly, too late to catch her at this October gig.





Had another date with George last night. This time Jackie, Eve and Chrissy came along.

The show was okay but the guest was Tony Clement. Typical politician, wouldn't answer questions as they were put to him, danced around other subjects. Entertaining only because GS is such a good interviewer but TC was no Lyle Lovett (who was the other guest but had been pre-recorded). Throughout the breaks, he chatted with someone he identified as a downhill skiier in the front row. I never did figure out who it was.

We were laughing as we walked out of the CBC studios - directly across the road are 3 HUGE CTV Olympic billboards.I guess they're not above taking digs at the CBC for losing the Olympic broadcasting rights.

We made our way up to Hey Lucy where we ordered our drinks and shared appetizers before heading home. We hadn't realized that there was the Bills game at Skydome so everything was an ordeal - finding parking that wasn't special event $30, walking through the entertainment district, getting a table at a restaurant. But don't get me wrong, I love that Toronto is so busy.

I gave Jackie a lift home and went up to see the fam. Syndey and I did a lot of colouring, I played the djambi and fisher price megaphone while Syd danced and, when she went to bed, I got caught up with Blake.

All round fun night out with friends!

Oh dear, this can't be good. I am definitely looking to get into a whole mess of eyebrow-raising 'Indeed'.
Tonight I bought mascara. And not just mascara - I bought eyeliner too. Soft, smeary, bruised violet eyeliner. Ok. That may not sound like much to you but for me that's equivalent to sending out an engraved invitation.
Let me put it this way...Some girls, when getting ready for that defining date, make sure their lucky underwear is (are?) clean, break out a new razor or head to the esthetician for a mani-pedi and wax. I do all those things but I also put on full eye makeup. For me, nothing underlines the first-time romp with a new guy like waking up in the morning, leaning into the mirror as you brush your bird's nest hair out of your eyes, gazing into your mascara-smeared eyes with a twitchy-smirky smile and thinking, "Oh yeah, that's what I'm talking about."

Hey, in honour of the full moon, here's Jace Everett's smoultry ballad, "Bad Things"...

Another full moon - I took this pic with my phone while we were walking through the marsh the other night. The last time around, I found all those lost items - this one just seems to bring a lot of good stuff. The past weekend was so great, this week has been really good and, from all appearances, it's going to be another fantastic weekend. Looking forward to Thursday!

So results are posted on the Chiptimer website and I have to tell you, I'm not completely disappointed. I literally walked or walk-jogged more than half the course, talking the whole time and I still posted a 1:04:46 (6:29/km pace)!
My PB on a 10km is 47:23 and that was when I trained 6 days a week.

CHILLY WILLY!

I am so glad that I signed up to do this year's run. I wasn't ready for it, I definitely didn't have a goal time (I actually spent most of it walking and talking with Doug who was on a bike) but It was so worth it.

My son just started running and mostly I wanted to introduce him to the competitive side. As much as you try to tell someone how fun it is to actually apply your running workouts towards an event, they never really understand. I knew he, like me, needed to just do one to get fired up about running

So there we were at 9:30am, lined up to start the 10km race. Attila, Ryan and I started out running together but in the first 1km I knew I couldn't keep up with their pace. I dropped off and considered how I would get through the next 9km. Oh yeah, ipod >> play.

At about 2 km I ran into Doug and we ran/rode together. Since we were talking I barely noticed the next 6 km. I actually walked quite a bit because I'd get so winded trying to make a point. I haven't done this race in quite a few years so was really pleased to find out that the turn-around has been moved forward to the old aerodrome. Granted, you have to run the island twice but It was awesome to lose that long stretch to the end of Marie Curtis Park.

Doug dropped off when I had 2km to go. I'm not sure what my time was but I doubt it was under an hour.

Anyway, my son did a respectable time - 52 or 53 - and was glad he decided to do it. He had a vague idea of doing the run in 45' so was disappointed that way but now has a goal to shoot for. I hope he joins a running club or something - currently, none of his friends run or do anything athletic so finding a running partner might be tough.

So, although the times haven't been posted yet, I can give you some highlights;

Kaza won his age group and was 5 or 6 overall in the 10km

Tamlyn won the women's 10km

Chris Vincent won his age group for the 21km

Katie Vincent won her age group for the 10km

There was a mini-Andison there (who I think is a second year pee wee) won his age group for the 10km. Tamlyn told me he was with her almost the entire way but hit a wall with just 2km to go...everyone was completely blown away by how fast this kid was

Courtney Stott won her age group and a bunch of the Burloak girls did really well. So did Sarge.

The chili was amazing as always, especially cause there was extra dried chillies and butter on the tables. Personally I don't think chili is the same without a little kick and a buttered bun. Thanks to all the moms who stepped up to cook the meal! I think there were close to 300 runners this year. The rumoured Kenyan never materialized but there's nothing wrong with good marketing.

Ugh, I'm not cut out for this. The latest flirt is wearing me out. No, not like that. I mean, I'm not sure how I'm going to play this. I was supposed to go out with him tonight but came up with an excuse and went to practice instead. Really, I just need more data. The age difference is ridiculous - he's in his 30s - so I'm buying time so I can decide if it's worth pursuing (plus I need to tighten my abs, get into better shape). Who am I kidding ... it's worth pursuing... I just want to be in control of how it progresses and when it ends. Oh my god, how awful is that??

The guys that I've dated lately are my own age - and are easy at first; we have common points of reference, listen to the same music, we "get" each other. Unfortunately, they all have baggage in the shape of divorces and/or disappointment. I don't. I mean, I do but I think I'm past it. I definitely don't want to spend my evening out listening to someone who is bitter. If I wanted that, I'd go out with my married friends (no no, just kidding).

I guess that's the appeal of this one. Baggage? The most baggage Andrew has is a shaving kit. Or maybe just a toothbrush. Perfect. We're about even then. And did I mention his abs? I didn't? Probably for the best.

Okay, I'm going to go watch Alfie and do some situps. I've got a strategy to plan.

My first 10km run in, what - 4? 5? years is next Sunday. So last Friday, day 7 of my super-compressed personal training program, I blew out the heel on my right shoe. I knew my shoes needed to be replaced but was hoping to make it through the run without having to break in a new pair. However, my last two runs were absolute shite - I just felt horrible, weak - so I'm a little relieved that a small part of that might have been the shoes.

So Saturday morning, I was fighting Santa claus parade traffic in Oakville so I could pick up some new 769s at the Running Company.

I tested them out today - day 8. First half of the run felt bad - I'm talking shin splints, leg's fatigued - but about halfway through I could feel gravity loosening it's grip a little. I actually ran further than I normally would without even noticing.

Look, there's no question the CW is going to kick my ass but I might as well be out doing that for an hour on Sunday morning as anything else. Traditionally, I've never done well at this particular event anyway. Well, except for the first year when a group of us just decided (actually, when Schro & Doug decided) to run from the canoe club to the ferry docks in Toronto. We didn't even know how far it was. I ran with Tomi & Attila along the trails while Tamas Sr took to the road. The boys yelled at him to get off the highway but he waved us off, as angry drivers honked and swerved around him, saying he was taking a direct route and we should follow him.

Doug met us about every 6km with water and food - cut up bananas, granola bars. Since we hadn't done more than glance at the trail map before we left, there were a couple of times where we weren't sure of our route. Fortunately for us Derek was ahead. He'd had to backtrack once or twice to figure out the trail so by the time we got to a blind turn, we could see him in the distance and pick our course accordingly. I stuck with the boys until about Queens Quay where I tried to pick it up a bit. I wasn't wearing a watch but knew I was close to the 2 hour mark. Derek had arrived well under 2 hours and called Ian's and then my time as we hit the docks. I'd done it in 2:04. I was disappointed at the time but, in hindsight, am pleased with the result (definitely could have knocked off those 4 minutes though! Just hadn't learned the value of a watch and pacing).

You know, I would never have gotten a gym membership in September if I'd known we'd have this kind of weather so far into November.
I just went for a quick 6km paddle wearing double Lifa & my running tights. So unbelievable!

Also, I stopped by Battaglia's in Lorne Park on my way home and was so surprised to see Tim Tams in the biscuit aisle! As far as I know, we've never been able to get them here before. We sure loaded up on them when we were in Australia. They had different flavours but I picked up the original to take to the club tomorrow. Tamlyn and I were just talking about them last week.



...and below, Natalie Imbruglio shows Graham Norton how to do the Tim Tam Slam...

Jackie's baby shower at Lift Salon

I didn't recognize any of the names on the Evite I received for this surprise baby shower but baby showers are different from other types of get-togethers. Women get used to being at these events where you don't know people. I was a definite yes either way. As time went on though, more familiar friends were added to the invitation and the day of, I carpooled with Amy and Tammy. Tammy, at 8 & 1/2 months pregnant was driving and we were completely prepared for a change of plans in the event she went into labour.

It was the same day as the Santa Claus parade and we caught the worst of it, getting stuck on the Jarvis ramp for about 30 minutes and slowly making our way up Jarvis to Adelaide. At one point Tammy stopped and, looking over her shoulder, kept repeating "Look, potato, I see the potato." After a quick glance at heavy traffic behind us, Amy and I looked at each other with raised eyebrows. Was she going into some kind of hallucinatory labour? Would we have to deliver a baby in parade traffic? But no, she's just been a mom too long - enthusiastically responsible for her childrens entertainment. Driving again she was able to articulate that she'd glanced in the rear-view mirror to see the parade passing by on the cross-street, just in time for the giant Mr. Potato Head.

Of course there was no parking near the salon. Tammy pulled up on the street behind Lift and literally kicked Amy and me out of the car. We were all "what? no. we're not going to make the pregnant woman walk 5 blocks by herself." But she was adamant. And she's right. Why do we let people treat us like invalids when we're just pregnant? Oh right, so they'll do things for us that we don't want to do. Never mind.

Lift is a great Salon on Adelaide that Jackie's been going to for a long time. Today, they'd moved all the stations so that it was this great big white space. The hostesses for the party were the owner and staff of the salon. When we arrived - late - there were only a couple of people there. A couple I vaguely recognized, possibly from HOF parties. I guess everyone was caught in the same traffic.

Amy S. was there looking amazing as always. Casual but so, I don't know, put together. She and Brian are living the fabulous life of young-marrieds. I asked what she's been up to and, expecting a list of extravagant parties and events (don't ask my why I think that's everyone elses lifestyle) was floored when she eagerly told me about her most recent purchase - hockey equipment. She is so excited to have joined Brian's hockey team! Yup, Amy played hockey a lot growing up and is so excited to be playing again. It reminded me that I played in high school and we chatted about the cost of hockey equipment, the difficulty of switching your position on a pick-up team (although I was a goaltender and would have given my left shin pad to play any other position) and the merits of various rinks around the city until we heard the shushing and whispering that Jackie was coming....

Wow for two things - Jackie who always looks so amazing and she was completely surprised! Surprise showers are rarely kept secret. Somehow the mom usually figures it out.