Pedal Pusher

I'm taking part in the Heart & Stroke Big Bike again with my colleagues from work. Your donations are welcome and greatly appreciated. Click here to donate online.

Here's how we did last year...

Checkmate

Connor is a part of the Ashbury Chess Club. The club decided to take part in a chess tournament against nine other schools in the city. Not only did Connor make it onto the team but he won 8 out of 9 chess games and tied the last game. His school won the whole tournament. I am a very proud mama. Props to Dad, Brian Booth, and Gong Gong (i.e. my dad) for teaching Connor how to play chess when he was little and instilling in him the love of the game.

Run Piggy Run!

This is so much fun to watch. I really appreciate the creative thought, planning, and time that went into producing this. You can't help but cheer for the pig.

Retribution

There's something to say about being polite and being rude.

The other night while I was waiting in line at Costco (Sheldon wandered off somewhere), I noticed that the person in front of me had left his cart and the line was moving forward. I looked around and didn't see anybody close by so I decided to move in front of the cart. The abandoned-cart guy came back and noticed I had moved in front of him. I kindly said that I didn't know how long he would be, if he was coming back, and instead of holding up the line I decided to move up. I was expecting him to be a gentleman and let it be but he looked really put out, and I mean really put out! I made the conscious decision to be extra-nice and polite to this guy to see if it would change his mood so I moved my cart out of the way and said he could have his spot back.

At this time, Sheldon came back and in my mind, I was thinking he was going to jump in and make a scene but he didn't (thanks, sweetie. I can fight my own battles). He said he wanted to but something told him to let me handle it in my own polite way.

The abandoned-cart guy had the nerve to lean closer to me and whisper, "Next time, you should just move the cart up." I kindly apologized to him again and said that I didn't know how long he would be gone for. I waited for him to move his cart up to take his spot but he stood there like an idiot. I repeated myself that he can have his spot back a few times. Finally he moved up.

A couple seconds later, Sheldon noticed that the lineup a couple cashes over was shorter so we changed lines. By the time we paid and was ready to leave the store, abandoned-cart guy had not moved at all in his lineup because the person in front of him was having issues with her items.

I'm not for gloating but I can't help to think that if abandoned-cart guy would have been more of a gentleman instead of a jerk, Sheldon and I wouldn't have been laughing our way out the store.

Anyways, I've put together a little list of what I think is line-up etiquette. Let me know if you have any more tips or any experiences to share.

If you're standing in line and realize you forgot something...

1. Take your cart with you.
2. Ask somebody that came with you to stay with your cart.
   
3. If you're alone and you want to keep your spot in line, let the person behind you know that you forgot something and you're coming right back. Chances are they are more than happy to let you keep your spot in line.
   

31

Here are the highlights from my birthday. Thanks to everyone who took part and made it memorable.

• Birthday shopping
  
• All-you-can eat sushi lunch at Sushi Kan with my three favourite guys
• Was totally zoned out during the sushi lunch because I overdosed slightly on antihistamines
• Napped for 2 hours to sleep off the antihistamines
• Dinner with the girls at Chez Lucien; one had a confrontation with the waitress
• Listened to some great music at the Grace Over Diamonds show at Greenfield's Pub
  
• Took the party to Denny's and didn't get home until after 3am
• Our friend Jon (who is an amazing cook) brought over a birthday dessert the next day...a delicious chocolate roulade.

Yup, I am spoiled.

Birthday Shopping

Work gives everyone a day off for their birthday so today I spent mine shopping (thanks mom for the b-day money). It was pure bliss with 4 hours of uninterrupted shopping and to top it off, I got some great deals too. Some people at the mall were staring at me because I was carrying so many bags. I felt like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. I had to laugh when I got home and laid all my purchases on the bed. Everything I bought was black except for one pair of white dress pants.

Earth Hour

Earth Hour is where people around the world makes an effort to turn off all their lights and any unecessary electricity for an hour at the same time. This year, our family took part in Earth Hour. In order to make it really fun, we built a fire in our woodburning fireplace (none of that gas fireplace nonsense), roasted marshmallows by the fire, and read stories. One of the stories we read was "Where the Wild Things Are" in preparation for the upcoming movie adaptation. We also read a Choose Your Own Adventure book and we let the boys decide which paths in the story to choose.

At first I was worried that the boys would think this was too "babyish" for them but the next day, the were asking when we could do it again. I guess when it comes to family time, it really doesn't matter what you do as long as you do it together.