2011

BOOKS I COULDN'T PUT DOWN
Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter by Adeline Mah
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton


COULDN'T WAIT A WEEK FOR THE NEXT EPISODE
Vampire Diaries


BEST MUSIC FINDS
Adele
Florence and the Machine
Young the Giant
The Joy Formidable


FAVOURITE FOOD DISCOVERIES
Cows Ice Cream
President's Choice Peanut Butter and Chocolate Ice Cream
Miss Vickie's Balsamic and Sweet Onion Chips


BEST NEW RECIPES I TRIED
Thai One On (sweet potato, coconut, and curry soup) from Eat, Shrink, and Be Merry
Garam Masala Devilled Eggs from Epicurious
Old-Fashioned Chicken Noodle Soup from Epicurious
Beef and Avocado Fajitas from Epicurious
Diane's Six-Spice Oatmeal Raisin Cookies from Epicurious
Potstickers from Epicurious
Lemon Layer Cake from Epicurious *bonus - it's gluten-free too!


SOMETHING I NEVER LIKED AS A KID BUT DISCOVERED I WILL EAT NOW THAT I'M AN ADULT
Celery sticks


COOL, INEXPENSIVE, CREATIVE IDEA I HAD
Frame patterned stationery, gift wrap, or scrapbooking paper like abstract art


SOMETHING I ADMIT I WILL NEVER BE GOOD AT
Go-karting. I'm too scared to go so fast that I lose control.


WHAT I WISH I HAD MORE TIME FOR
Volleyball
Travel and see the world
Sleep

Bliss

A quiet house, pyjamas, chocolate, tea, and Jane Austin.

Loan

ME to SHELDON: We need to save money for a new furnace, fix the cracked windshield, remove the rust on the car, etc.

SHELDON: I don't know if we'll have enough money to do all that and replace the broken laptop and tv.

CONNOR: I could loan you the money with 5% interest over 2 years.

SHELDON: Only 5%? That's really low. You should tell people 10%.

CONNOR: I'm giving you the family rate.

What Joseph Could Have Been Thinking

In one scene of The Nativity Story movie, Mary has just returned from her visit with her cousin Elizabeth and you see everyone's shocked expressions when they realize she's pregnant. When they show Joseph's expression, Aidan promptly exclaims, "Damn, girl!"

I suppose Joseph could have been thinking these exact words if this happened in our time and he lived in the projects.

The Christmas Story

Little kids with accents are always cute. Love how the star was "shining" at the end. Didn't know they threw a rave after Jesus was born. Cool.

Mystery Solved

13 years ago, a tiny 6lb baby boy joined our family. Over these years, he has grown into a creative, musical, generous, caring, hard-working, smart, inquisitive, independent young man who loves to be silly. Happy 13th birthday, Aidan. You have brought so much joy to my life (even though you didn't take the soother until you were 5 months old) and I can't wait to see what the future brings you. I am truly blessed to have you as my son.

Aidan spent his 13th birthday at his first Ottawa Senators game.

Blessed

Lately I have been amazed at the amount of strength, love, and support that my family and friends give me. I am so thankful to have them in my life.

You don't have to wait for Thanksgiving to reflect on what you're grateful for. What are some of your blessings?

"Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves."

- Carl Gustave Jung

Huh?

ME [randomly over 10 min.]: Time to wake up, Connor. Come on, turn on your light and wake up.

CONNOR [after ignoring me for 10 min.]: No, I can't. I don't know where the light is!

ME: What?!

Two Years of Movember: A True Story

I work with this guy and can testify that this story is true. Well, maybe not the women throwing themselves at him part, but the rest of it is true.

More Wins

Boy, today is just a banner day at our house. After coming home from Aidan's championship football game, we received a letter from the school informing Connor that he has been awarded the Chris Perry '06 Memorial Fund for Music. Congratulations, Connor!

My boys make me one proud mama.

Champions!

Aidan was on the junior football team this year and their team went undefeated all the way to the championship. Because it was his first year and he's one of the smallest guys on the team, he didn't get a lot of game time but he'll be ready next year. Great season, Colts!

Remembering 9/11

Yesterday was the 10 year anniversary of 9/11 and while we were driving to church, the boys and I had a discussion about what happened and how it changed the world. Aidan was not quite 2 years old so a lot of the details we were talking about were new to him.

He asked if the terrorists had guns or other weapons on the plane. He asked how they were even able to get them on the plane. He chastised airport security. That was when I realized that my children have always grown up with high airport security; that the only world they've known is one where the word terrorist is a part of their normal vocabulary and the possibility of being attacked in their own city is real.

I realize this and I hold my children a little closer to me.

Aidan's first music video

McMillan Celebrates 15 Years

Check out what we did at work to celebrate our 15th anniversary and to promote the launch of Canada Dance Week. If you missed this awesome show, there'll be an encore performance on Canada Day after the fireworks on the corner of George and Sussex. See you there!

Aidan's First YouTube Video

The Handsome Men's Club

I haven't laughed this much in a long time. Ladies, enjoy!

Christmas Break Wrap Up

I didn't accomplish my goal during the break. I was only able to watch all 6 seasons of How I Met Your Mother during the break and catch up on Mad Men before the break. Being sick for the last few days of holidays helped me to focus and push to the finish line. I'm not going to give up though. Now that we have to get back into our daily routine, I'll just watch an episode or two from my list on the weekends. With a little perseverance, I know I can accomplish my goal. Slow and steady wins the race and when I do, it's going to be legend...wait for it...dary.