Love and other good stuff

On Valentines Day, and on as many other days as I possibly can, I try to be thankful for the love of family and friends. Its not hard to imagine that this is not always something I am successful at, but I do try.

Today, on Valentines Day, I spent some of the day feeling frustrated with the constant (and when I say "constant" I really do mean "constant") arguing between Sophie and Bridget. I also spent a good part of the day, loving my children, loving my husband, loving my family and loving my friends.

When my husband and I dropped the girls off at their grandparents this evening so that we could have an overnight to ourselves, I was reminded of how amazing grandparents are. (Our family has the added bonus of having three sets of wonderful grandparents!). I know I am gushing and this is a little sickly, but, "Its Valentines Day" and its all about the love everyone!

And Seriously, you know that grandparents are Rockstars in disguise when you arrive at their neat, tidy and orderly house with their granddaughters and on the table are 10 naked cupcakes and bowls of icing, sprinkles, cinnamon hearts and mini MM's for two small girls to go crazy with. Within five minutes of arriving, the kitchen had taken on a whole new look, the girls were covered in icing and most of the cupcake "decorations" had been consumed by Bridget.

And through all of this, Grandma and Grandpa had done what only loving grandparents would do. They had remained seated, tea in hand, smiles in place and watched...

That is love, and that is something that I am most grateful for.


Happy Valentines Day!

Morning Face

It is only 9:34 in the morning but it seems that I have a bundle of things to talk about already. However, today, I feel like talking about how people look. How I look.

Each morning I have the same routine and I manage to get myself ready in all of 10 minutes while my girls are eating their bowls of cereal. Yesterday, however, I had a meeting downtown with a consultant and knew that for the first time in a LONG time, I needed to really pay attention to how I was presenting myself.

Since my job came to an end (last week) after 10 years, I find myself plunged back into the world of job interviews and meetings with people who will form an opinion, very quickly, based on just how I look. How scary is that? It is VERY scary and that is why I am writing this entry.

You see, we all get comfortable in a routine, whether that routine is our job, our marriage, our relationship with our own parents/siblings, or with how we dress, wear our makeup or style our hair. A shake-up in our world of routines can actually be a "glass-half-full" in a very surprising disguise and certainly does not have to be a crisis. A shake-up, if you will, creates strong feelings. Strong feelings create energy. Energy = Action.

Here is where I link this whole blog back to the title of this entry. When one routine in ones life gets "rocked" it sure is nice to have other, familiar routines to hang on to. One of my routines that I take great comfort in, is knowing that I have five things in my "Scrumping Bag" (this is my English Grandmothers description of a little bag that contains all the necessary makeup items one needs) that I use every day to make myself feel like I can face the world.

It is my belief that there are 5 makeup/tool essentials that each and every person can use to create a natural, sophisticated look; and for your reading enjoyment (insert smile here), I have listed them below.

1) Everyone needs a little pot of cream concealer. Concealer is your best friend. According to my husband (and said in the most loving way), when I get up in the morning it looks like "a raccoon sat on my face". Nice. Basically, this means that I have very dark pigmentation around my eyes. All the way around. Guess what takes me from Raccoon to "wide awake and ready to go?"Yes. Concealer.

2) Blush. A really good blush (pay a little more and get something that really works) combined with your strategically placed concealer creates the ultimate "fresh face". Personally, I like blush products by NARS.

3) Lipstick. A neutral, warm lipstick that can be used every day, is a must. My lipstick of choice and one that I cannot live without is Viva Glam V by MAC. It is very natural with a little shimmer (please, please opt for something with a whisper of shimmer. Matte lipsticks should be outlawed and look like you applied TREMCLAD to your mouth. Not flattering on anyone, at any age).

4) A great mascara. Everyone has their favourite and there are actually some interesting ways to apply mascara to create different looks (ie. sweeping lashes with mascara to the side to create more of a cat-eye).

5) A really, really good pair of tweezers. To me, tweezers, used properly, are the ultimate tool (threading, waxing, electrolysis all work too). I am just a huge fan of well-groomed (not over-plucked) eyebrows and how a persons face is altered by the look of their brows. This is a whole other Blog though...

On that note, I am signing off and heading to MAC to replenish my lipstick supply (Viva Glam V)...

Pickle Nuts

I always find it interesting to listen to people and the words that they use. As an adult, the way I speak has been influenced, of course, by the people around me and by the work that I have done. However, I still use words that prompt people to say "that is totally something you would say" or "that so sounds like your kind of word".

I often think that the "colour" found in our conversations can be found in the words that describe, perfectly, what we are talking about but cannot be found in any dictionary. I like that we can still find ourselves able to inject colourful and descriptive words into our life and that we are not so "herded" and "moulded" that we can't use the occasional "shnick or niggle or dingle"

Children clearly take the cake with the colour of their chatter and I LOVE it...I have taken to writing down the things that both of my children have said so that I can remember, forever, the way our minds work before we hear "this is correct, this is incorrect". Some of my favourites are:

1) Dogpipes - This is what Sophie called Bagpipes; and why not? They do sound similar to some kind of animal being squeezed gently (or not so gently)

2) Yarden - This is what Sophie calls a yard that also contains a garden. This couldn't make more sense to me and I have now absorbed this term into my own vocabulary.

3) Pickle-nut- This is what Bridget calls the pickled onions you find in the jar of sweet pickles - and what a great sounding word that is. "I love those pickle-nuts"

4) Chickmunk - Of course it should be a chickmunk and not a chipmunk. What is a chipmunk, anyway?

I think I will take some notes when I am talking with friends and figure out which words really make me think of them. What colour do they play with in their conversations?

Comfort Food

As with many people, when things are feeling a little uncomfortable or my expectations and hopes are being challenged, comfort food takes a front seat for me. Right in front of "getting-as-much-sleep-as-I-can-possibly-get-
with-two-young-children".

I was thinking today about what makes "Comfort Food" Comfortable? Seriously? Is there a universal list of food that, without trying, makes us feel comfortable or is it different for each individual? Since the 2009 year has not really been anything to celebrate thus far, I seem to be yearning for all that makes my tummy feel like it is sitting in front of a fire, in a cozy chair with a cat, a cup of tea and a good book.

I was thinking about what comfort food is to me and here are a few things right off the top of my head:

1) Beef stew
When I was growing up, Sunday nights seemed to be beef stew night. My Mum would start to make the stew in the afternoon and by 3:30 - 4:00 the house would be full of the most delicious smell of simmering beef, potatoes and veggies. I knew that we would have heaps of mashed potatoes to put our stew over and that following dinner it would be time for a bath, pajamas and Disney on the big, old TV set.

2) Cinnamon Buns
When I was growing up, my brother and I would be beside ourselves when we would find out that there was a big bowl with a damp cloth draped over it, sitting near the furnace, since we knew this meant that cinnamon buns with tons of sticky brown sugar and raisins would be in store for us the next morning.

3) Spare ribs and Caesar salad
When I was growing up, it was a special night when my mum would spend the afternoon preparing the most delicious, falling off the bone, spare ribs and her homemade Caesar salad. Not a word would be spoken at the table on spare rib nights. Which, if you knew our family, was not something that happened very often (as some of us kind of like to talk).

I am sure that by now you are seeing the pattern that is developing here. For me, anyway, comfort food, along with comfort sounds, comfort smells, comfort touches, seem to be intrinsically connected to my childhood; to my early years.

I am making it my goal, this year and for every year, to make sure my children have a very full list of comfort to draw on when they too are adults and finding that life needs a little "pick-me-up"