I just bloggy makeovered myself!!
I even bought the url and am now self-hosting a wordpress blog.
So come on over to www.glidingthroughmotherhood.com and check it out. And change your rss readers if needed, because I will set this url to autoforward there in about a week.
Let me know what you think!!
My iPhone broke. It was bound to happen - I think something about my inner core slowly electrocutes electronics - my computers, phones, etc always go nuts way earlier than everyone else's.
It also doesn't help that there are little people who abscond with our electronics even when we try to keep them away from them. Or that I thought it was ok to give the baby the iPhone (harmless right?) until Quinn sucked on it and did something to it and it start making this horrendous noise instead of vibrating (all who heard the noise can attest to a) its horribleness and b) its bizareness ;)
It went to a crazy white screen of death about half an hour after Eric left for a business trip and our house fell to the plague. It took me a week to get it in to be repaired. In all I was without an iPhone for 20 days. It was awful.
In those 20 days I would bemoan all the missed tweets, the difficulty of looking at a map BEFORE going somewhere, and at least 5 times a day I would take out the loaner flip phone, open it, and gaze at it - willing it to do SOMETHING, ANYTHING interesting. It never did.
I have a new iPhone now - still a 3G (which is just fine with me) but BRAND NEW. No more crazy buzzing and maybe another year before it starts acting up. And I think I may invest in the Applecare because OBVIOUSLY despite my love of electronics, they don't seem to love me.
And I am very very happy to have it back.
Paper, stationary to be more specific, has always been a bit of an indulgence for me. I love pretty notebooks and writing paper... they call out to me.
Seems more than a bit odd for someone who does 99.9% of their writing on a computer (or iPhone when it isn't busted!) doesn't it? But really, I buy them; I love them; I don't really use them.
Recently paper and I have had a bit of a reunion - partially with intent, partially due to circumstance. In a combination of being more thoughtful in my writing, and trying to keep grimy little paws from banging on my laptop, I dug out some old notebooks. And I quickly realized that not only are my kids not particularly interested in my notebook (no buttons, pffft!) the exercise of putting pen to paper is almost magical (we're in that lovey dovey stage ;)
What it does is slows down the whole process. I can type so much faster than I can hand write. I spend more time pondering and less time verbal 'diarrhea-ing'. Then, I have to type the post, giving me a chance to rethink again. (My posts may still seem written off the cuff, but I'm actually trying hard to craft the thoughts behind them ;) Another bonus? I find the act of writing on paper calming. It's a way to focus, something I need to do more of.
In the process of rediscovering my love of writing on paper I felt inspired to write some letters. REAL letters on paper - mailed and received in a mailbox. I was nostalgic for the days of the 20+ page tomes I used to receive in the summers from friends away or just from a different town (I lived in a rural area as a teen and went to a regional highschool). And I remembered all of the notes written and passed back and forth between classes, folded into pinwheels and arrows. Do kids still write each other notes all origamied up or do they just text now?
I wrote two letters, letters full of all kinds of information I usually forget to write in emails or just don't take the time to put to paper. And then I realized what one of the big pitfalls to letter writing is. Getting it into the mailbox. Those two letters have been sitting for two weeks on my bookshelf - they aren't even addressed yet. But the thought was there and the exercise was still nice.
Paper and pen - I am using it more and feeling good about it. I don't want it to become a lost art. I plan to write more (lucky me I have so much nice and fun stuff to write on! :) What about you?
I'm shy. Really shy.
Oh I know, I don't always seem shy. But sometimes the thought of speaking up, in front of people (!) paralyzes me.
In highschool, whenever I was called on in class, regardless of topic or my knowledge on the subject, I had a canned answer "I don't know." Far better to appear to not be paying attention or care than to be WRONG. Or be EMBARRASSED!
I'm much better now. I speak my mind quite a bit in public - if it's on a topic I feel comfortable on. But even then I worry people think I'm a blabbermouth at the end (*cough cough* brain drain events *cough*)
But in a situation where I feel out of my depths? If you tell me I HAVE to talk, I may start to cry - at least on the inside. Or leave.
I'm working on confronting these fears. I don't actually leave, even though I really really want to. But just for the record, if you are in a group and you tell everyone they HAVE to speak up individually or do something individually in front of a group of people, you probably just really upset someone. Maybe that's OK, but know that it happened. And be really supportive of the girl in the back who looks like she's about to cry. K?
The last while hasn't been easy - it's hard to remember to note the good when your patience and energy are sapped.
But despite the rashes and the dripping noses; the hacking coughs and the nearly incessant whining there has been much laughter and joy.
Laughter as the babies have really discovered their love of dancing and music.
Laughter as the babies hug their older brother, while also trying to walk around the room.
Eyes lighting up and great big waves and HIs! for their big brother when they first catch sight of him in the mornings.
Invented games funny to nobody but themselves.
Caring and concern from an older brother
Sibling bonding has been strong around here lately - and it is definitely a joy to behold.
Lately I don't want to get out of bed. My children (whom I love very much) have been sick and whiny and clingy and have pushed me the very end of my sanity.
I feel inadequate as a mother; a a friend; as a wife. I am ready to curl up on the floor and give up, wishing I could be alone for... a week. Or a month or two. Maybe then I wouldn't feel such melancholy; so lost and out of control.
And then I thought "fake it".
So today that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to pretend the whining and clingy-ness doesn't feel like nails on a chalkboard. I'm going to pretend I feel confident enough not to let others get me down. I'm going to pretend I have the energy to go for a walk to the park when I really want to huddle on the couch while my kids trash the house.
While I'm at it I'm going to pretend to be organized and efficient, pretend I don't hate cleaning, pretend I like exercising and pretend I don't feel like I'm living life on a hamster wheel.
And if I fake all those things, even for just a day or two, maybe some of them will start to feel true.
It's going to be a good day. A GREAT day! (are you feeling it? :)
Tonight, after a thoroughly lovely day, Eric and I went out for dinner. My dad babysat and we decided to go out for Indian food - something we haven't had in a long time.
We arrived at the restaurant and found the front door locked but could see someone inside. She opened the door for us and I asked if they were closed and she said "no no, come in."
The owner then came to serve us and he explained that he and his family had been invited to visit with some friends so they were going to close the restaurant early, but he had called them to tell them that they would be late because customers had arrived. I apologized and he said no no, he was happy to do it because God wanted it so.
He then launched into a bit of a religious/spiritual explanation but the core message of it just felt nice to me.
If the Universe (God) wants things a certain way, who am I to fight it? Go with the flow and everyone will be happier.
It felt like a lesson I need to live by more often, and also kind of like a breath of fresh air.
Eric is in New York City for three nights this week, and apparently one of us going to NYC for any reason means that people will fall ill and be miserable. WOO!
Kiernan almost never gets sick. When he does, he's sick for 24 hours and then we're good to go. Until last week he'd only ever had antibiotics once, for an ear infection just prior to him turning two. In the last three weeks I've kept him home from school 7 days. The poor kid is miserable. He was home for a week with pink eye and a double ear infection. This time he's had a fever, been throwing up, and got A MYSTERIOUS RASH (no, it doesn't look anything like Juliette's rash).
Quinn is teething. In the two nights since Eric left I have slept by myself in my own bed for a total of 45 minutes. Between the two boys they woke up 6 times just last night, and that was after Kiernan was up until 10 because he napped all day yesterday. At one point last night I dealt with two FREAKING out boys by nursing Quinn in bed with Kiernan in his single bed. In was snug - to say the least, but at least I didn't need to worry about anyone falling on the floor....
The ridiculous night rolled into a ridiculous day as I've wasted at least an hour and a half going to see doctors only to leave (line too long, forgot wallet, etc) until I finally managed to see a doctor. Who's diagnosis was of course "hmmm probably just some virus... maybe fifths." So we're staying away from pregnant and trying to keep on keeping on. I managed to get Kiernan in bed by 9:30 tonight and then am staying up to watch Glee because as tired as I am, this mama needs a bit of mindless tv time.
Any bets on how much sleep I get/got on night three? ;)
I'm trying to blog here more. I want to change this space into something that feels more "right" for me, and I think you'll slowly notice some subtle changes. And in time notice some bigger ones (stay tuned). But I do a lot of other things, so I'm going to try to post updates from time to time, in case you want to go and have a look at some of the other things I'm doing. Kind of like the Bloggess' wrapups (except for the part where my blog and other stuff is nothing like what she does ;)
While I'm at it, I'm going to point out a few links that I've recently seen that I think are worth checking out.
Happy Sunday!
Where have I been?
Did you know that Kids in the Capital has something called Social Media Mondays? Brie and I love social media so much we want to help people figure out how to get more involved themselves. I've been writing about Twitter - the whys and the hows and the whos. If you're interested, go and check out the posts, and give it a try yourself!
Losing it Ottawa - I briefly lost 20 lbs! Woohoo! I'm not there any more, but I'm also glad I'm no longer bedridden with bronchitis (you win some, you lose some, right?) But I have started Booty Camp Fitness and I'm going to be talking about that over the next few weeks. Go cheer me on - it helps me stay focused :)
Where should you go?
This kid - hilarious. Worth watching 4 or 5 times to cheer yourself up. :)
Tis almost the season, check out Dani's post on all the Santa parades and make your plans now!
This is a football video, and even *I* was amused.*
*my husband sends me funny things. He gets the credit for finding them in the first place.
UNLESS you are Juliette.
Juliette a.k.a. the QUEEN of the mysterious rashes.
The first time she got a weird rash, I panicked. We were on our way to Montreal for an overnight trip and it was AWFUL timing. We ended up calling telehealth, answering a ton of questions and then being reassured that it didn't sound dire and we could still go to Montreal; if it wasn't gone in a day or two to head to the doctor. And by the next day it was gone. No explanation, but a lot of relief.
Since then, it has happened three other times. Each time, the rash looked different. A couple of times we've gone to the doctor.
Once, it was hives. Hives from what? Nobody knows!! But it was scary looking! And then they went away.
I was a rashy kid, so I thought I understood rashes. They're itchy, you generally need a lot of cortisone type creams, you can take medication to help with it sometimes, it's uncomfortable, etc. I get it. I am obviously well suited to deal with rash issues in my children. It's almost like my specialty.
So this week when a new rash appeared, I wasn't about to get all worked up about it. Did it look like any of the other rashes she's had? No, but no two have looked alike. I figured it was just another one of her mysterious rashes, what the doctors like to say was "probably just a virus that appeared as a rash for her".
Thing is, this rash didn't start going away after a couple of days... it was kind of spreading...
And I started feeling guilty about having her out and around other people. Maybe it was something bad? Maybe I was wrong to just assume it was another crazy Juliette rash?
So yesterday afternoon I made an appointment with the doctor and I brought her in. I was lucky enough that Vicky was able to stay with Quinn while I quickly ran to have this rash checked out. Thing is, there was nothing quick about it. The doctor saw her rash and immediately looked "concerned". And then he sent us to CHEO. With a do not pass go (as in you can't go home first and get stuff, go STRAIGHT TO CHEO NOW!!) order. Because apparently this rash was actually burst blood vessels which could be a sign of something much much worse.
Much much worse turned into all kinds of terrible and horrible outcomes in my head on that drive to CHEO. Fortunately Eric works at CHEO so I picked him up on the way. We got to emergency and guess what? Everyone there was ALSO very CONCERNED. Concerned us right into isolation where all nurses and doctors had to don all kinds of protective gear to look at her. Fear and guilt levels were sky rocketing by this point. Oh, and I had to figure out what to do with my other kids in the meantime! (I am so grateful I have friends and family that can help out in times like these!)
The doctors and nurses asked us a zillion questions about how she was doing, but our answers were always the same. She was completely and totally fine, except for this rash. And it became apparent fairly quickly (to me) that whatever it was that they thought she had... she probably didn't. Because if she'd had the TERROR rash for three days (instead of whatever it is she had) she would be deathly ill, and not running laps around the isolation room, climbing on the chairs, and spinning in circles for the thrill of getting dizzy.
The doctors were obviously figuring this out too, since one doctor popped in through the main door instead of the isolation chamber to tell us someone would be with us again soon. I told her everyone else was using all the isolation gear and she said "that's because they think she's sick, but they briefed me and I don't think so". So slowly they all relaxed. They were still perplexed, but they relaxed. And so did I.
Juliette didn't get to relax though as they drew blood, put in an IV (just in case they needed to give her medicine later - I would fight this in the future fyi, it was a waste of time and not worth the incredible grief that came with it. lesson learned) and generally poked and prodded at her. And 5.5 hours later they sent us home.
Diagnosis? "Probably just a virus that appeared as a rash for her." I am telling myself "better safe than sorry. better safe than sorry." and not "oh for crying out loud, I KNEW IT!"
But just in case, if you ever see a rash that looks like this, head to CHEO quick, because it could be the sign of a really dangerous blood infection. Or, it could be nothing. But, better safe than sorry. :)
When the babies were new and I was out with them, I would get often stopped by mothers of twins (there are more than you realize) to be told "it gets easier, I promise!"
Sweet relief to be told it wouldn't be as hard as it was forever. By 2-3 months old, it would be easier - and it was. (I can't imagine it will ever be as hard as those first few months).
Later, twin moms would approach me and I would say to them "it gets easier right?" Except by then, at about six months, it wasn't THAT hard any more. I had things rolling, I had a system, we went out, we did things, we knew how to manage at home, and we were doing just fine. I even had my 3 year old home with me two days a week and for the most part, we were OK. So when I asked twin moms at that point if things got easier many didn't give me the response I expected. "Well... I guess... I mean, it gets different," they all seemed to hesitantly answer.
Now, at 18 months, I totally understand. It has been getting progressively more difficult since about 12 months. In exchange for the advantage of two kids of the same age who can play together, I also have two kids who can fight (Juliette bites, a lot. sigh) I also have two kids who can split up, making me decide if I need to stop the kid splashing in the toilet, or the one banging on my laptop. When we go out and they both want to walk instead of staying in the stroller, I can't just jog along behind them, because there are two of them, and they don't both want to go in the same direction.
(If anyone knows of any places to take young kids where you are in an enclosed space, please let me know! The more places I can go, the better (Cosmic and Kid Kaf are my two go to places for now)
Twins. They are amazing and wonderful. And SO exhausting.
This year we had three little trick or treaters to handle... and tricky it was (3 kids going in 3 different directions aie aie aie ;)
We had a beautiful butterfly, who, true to nature wanted to go where she wanted to go, wanted to walk, wouldn't let go of her candy bag for anything, but who also had a very good time.
And a cute little knight who wasn't so sure about being dressed up and walking around outside until he realized he got to keep going up to doors. "DO!" "DO?!" "DO!" (Quinn loves doors)
Kiernan loves to trick or treat, and this year was no exception even with the cold temperatures and SNOW!
Buzz was happy as anything, especially with his buddy Woody by his side. They made quite the pair, everyone thrilled to see their matching costumes!
The whole trick or treating gang.
Hope everyone had a happy halloween. I'm still (slowly) enjoying the fruits of our labour (I don't look forward to them getting to the age where we don't get to snag our own share of the loot ;)
And thanks for getting photos Vicky when my hands were never free enough :)
Thank you to everyone for their comments on my last post about my voice. I want to clarify that the work I want to do on my blog is not because someone told me I needed to make it better, but because I have been feeling uninspired lately.
By working on it, by figuring myself out, by talking these things through with friends and with you, I am hoping to improve this space not only for you guys, but mostly for me. So you see, I'm being totally selfish here :)
Here is some more post-Blissdom stuff:
***
During Blissdom Canada there was a discussion about branding and self-branding. A recommendation was made to try to pick one word that describes yourself. I forget who made that suggestion but I do know that Catherine suggested five words and nobody but me seems to have heard that ;)
So the internets are all trying to choose their ONE word. And they're doing a great job. Annie asked for help and in the end chose evolving. Sara picked a word that has a lot of meaning for her right now: change. And if you can ignore the rap references there are a lot of other word choices listed in this twitter feed. I'm loving reading about it all.
What I think is lovely about asking for help in this exercise (which many people have been doing) is that people will tell you the things you could never say about yourself without sounding egotistical. Kind, lovely, supportive, magnetic, strong - these are words you don't say about yourself, but are nice to hear that others think of you.
But I can't even start to figure out what one word I would use to describe the core of who I am. What words can I use to describe myself? Mother, wife, friend - good words to be, but certainly none are all encompassing.
Honest (mostly), friendly (mostly), thinker (always), sarcastic (too often), funny (in theory) - nothing even close to describing me completely.
Tired (always), unfocused (lately), shrinking (yay), learning (so much!) - more words I totally relate to.
But ONE word? To describe the core of me? I can't do it. I won't do it! (I'm not sure I'm going to be able to bring it down to just five!)
Unless of course my one word is : stubborn. :)
I got to spend four days at Blissdom Canada last week and it was amazing!
I learned so much and my to do lists are now immeasurably long, but what I learned - gold.
Except this: Apparently stream of consciousness blogging is SO 2008. Oh. Crap.
What it really made me realize is that I need to figure out who I am (so philosophical!) My personal blog, this blog that I started over four years ago, it's floundering. I have no direction. The tone is nothing like it was four years ago which was a straight journal: Kiernan is eating solids! Kiernan slept through the night! etc etc etc
That tone no longer feels like what I want my blog to be, but I also miss having that record of milestones and stories for the twins. And I rarely write any more because nothing really feels right.
I have been trying out different voices in the last few months. Some I like, some ring untrue. Another clear nugget from this past week - BE AUTHENTIC. If what I write feels like I'm not being myself, I shouldn't post it.
Scott Stratten started off the conference with a very inspiring speech that was wonderful but left me a bit.... stressed. He told us to "only write amazing."
Thankfully I heard not everyone agrees, knowing full well that that might only happen twice a year. And maybe that's where I'm getting stuck "Why write if it isn't going to be amazing?"
They told us to try to suck less. To be aware that sometimes you will suck and to be ok with that, but that there are ways to put effort into sucking less. EDIT, go over and cut out the crap (which reminds me of a tip I once heard that suggesting cutting out the first and last paragraph of anything you write because they are probably unnecessary).
Suck less.
Be amazing.
Know your voice.
Be authentic.
Stay true to yourself and your brand.
Inspire your readers to connect with you.
Be creative.
No pressure or anything!
So I sit here and I wonder how to find the voice that feels real and right. I wonder how to define the purpose of Gliding Through Motherhood. Does Gliding Through Motherhood even apply anymore? How can I bring that name to a new place that is nothing about rocking babies?
I struggle with these questions. The writing that I do on other blogs is so clear - the topic and the voice. Here, I question most everything.
I welcome your feedback. Are the experts right? Do you want to only read well crafted posts and not the mindless ramblings of my mind? Have you noticed my attempts at different styles? Have they rung true? What are your favourite posts that I write. No holds barred - give it to me straight.
Because I need my voice back.
We've been watching Treehouse almost exclusively since Kiernan was born. We have been spoiled by the lack of commercials.
Suddenly, he wants more. He wants to watch shows he hasn't seen before and we've been letting him watch a lot of the Retro stuff - Inspector Gadget, Smurfs, Loony Toons. He likes it and we're happier with these options than a lot of the other stuff on (ie Sponge Bob).
But now we have commercials. And I am amazed at a couple of things
1) How quickly he went from "I don't like commercials!" to "I want one of those!" "Can I have that thing?"
and
2) How very gender specific his choices are. He ONLY asks for the "boy" toys. I don't think we have a lot of gender specific toys at our house, most of the stuff is pretty neutral, blocks, musical instruments, shape sorters, etc We do have quite a bit of kitchen stuff, and also workshop stuff. I hadn't really noticed until lately how much Kiernan mostly prefers the workshop stuff (but I HAVE noticed how much Juliette ALREADY enjoys the kitchen stuff) but every ad on tv that's about cars and superheroes and I don't even know what else, but obviously for boys gets a "Can I have one of those?" and all of the swimming puppies and barbies get a blank look.
I don't really care either way. He can like what he likes and he can ask for all he wants but he'll get a few choice things for Christmas and his birthday, but it's all struck me as really interesting.
The end ;)
As a rock climber reaches the peak after a particularly well executed climb, or as he feels the wind whipping by as he repels back down the rock face feeling the thrill of speed, he probably doesn't remember his first foray into the world of thrill seeking...
But I bet his mother does. She probably watched his little face full of joy and excitement, triumph and thrill as he went up and down his first real climb.
And she was probably glad, that for now, watching him climb up and slide quickly down the stairs 50 times a day was as risky as it was going to get. At least as long as she kept her eyes on him as HE eyed the far riskier climbs all around him with great anticipation.
Juliette has several favourite words. They include hi, maaeee (it was mommy at one point - she's gotten lazy), no and OW!
Most of the time, she uses OW incorrectly, or at least, very liberally.
We'll be driving along and we hit a pothole and I hear "OW!! OWW!"" from the backseat.
The stroller goes over a curb "OW!!"
Not really OW Juliette....
That being said she does use it correctly and very cutely a lot of the time. She bumps herself on something (no matter how lightly) and she clutches her injury and proclaims "ow! ow! ow!" the whole way over to me before leaning in for a kiss in the afflicted spot.
Or on her big head, or on her toe or on her hand....
"ow! ow! ow!"
Kids in the Capital - not only is it going very well, we've got a new look and we moved to our own domain!
My babies couldn't be more different. Passive, cuddly, sweet vs boisterous, independent and assertive.
She is significantly smaller than her brothers, but she never lets that stop her from believing she is the boss. And she is willing to do what it takes to ensure herself as alpha dog of the pack. She bites, she pinches, she pushes, she hits, she shoves.... and her two much larger brothers? They fall to the ground in tears, the picture of pitiful.
She will be my biggest challenge, this girl. She is also my comeuppance.
Thankfully she doles out the hugs and the kisses in good measure too - her brothers love and adore her.
But sometimes I think we might just want to keep seats like this inside for all the time. Much safer.
I didn't know there was so much work involved in this Kindergarden/school thing - for the parents!
Every day Kiernan's bag comes home - with work for me. And... I wasn't really doing it all.
And then the teacher called me out with a note! Ok, it was a note to everyone reminding them what they need to do - I must not be the only one who was emptying all that those papers out of his folder every night? I wasn't the only one who didn't remember to label EVERY. SINGLE. clothing item before he went to school?
Sigh - totally dropped the ball on Terry Fox run (really? he's 4. It's the first month - I have to fundraise for him? :P) and we lost (and found) one coat so far. I need to remember to return library books, and to pack a healthy lunch every day (unless I bought him a hot lunch, then I need to remember NOT to pack him a lunch that day). They have pizza mondays - I got them for him sometimes, but not all of the time. Then the guilt sets in when he tells me everyone but him had pizza because they ran out. sigh. Really? EVERYONE in the class is having pizza EVERY week?!
There's the added stress that my written French isn't great and I ought to write the notes in French. I think I'm saying less than I would have to avoid figuring out how to say it. That's a FAIL for effort Lara!
It'll get easier right? By the time I have 3 in school, this will be old hat?? Ugh! Was starting school hard for you? Thank goodness Kiernan is transitioning well! :)
Juliette won't trust you when she first meets you - and you'll be able to tell.
Maybe she'll scowl at you or maybe she'll just look really skeptical.
When she's not being wildly surprised or shocked...
But she'll realize again, she's not so sure about you.
Good thing she warms up with some beautiful smiles eventually :)
This morning Brie wrote a post for Kids in the Capital about cutting her kids' hair and I was inspired. I've been wanting to try it for awhile and I Kiernan was BADLY in need of a cut. Very badly!
Then we wet it and made funny faces.
I started with scissors. This did not work well. He wiggled, he thought everything tickled, he would get up and leave, he just about made me insane.
With half his hair cut I got really ticked and threatened to take him to a barber. Instead I brought him upstairs, stripped him down and stuck him in the tub and used Eric's clippers.
In the end that worked really well - although I wouldn't do it naked again. Made him very itchy and I felt bad about that. Maybe outside would work better.
I'm pretty happy with how it turned out and am sure I'll do this again - cheaper than going to a barber! And I think he looks pretty darned handsome!
It's not often Eric comes home talking excitedly about a restaurant he's heard about, but what he heard about Atelier Restaurant immediately intrigued him. He started watching the youtube videos and reading the blog and would tell me all about the interesting things they were doing.
The restaurant is pricey so we couldn't justify it for just any occasion, but our fifth wedding anniversary seemed worthy. And for this night, Losing it in Ottawa did not enter into my head :)
I wasn't going to bring my camera in... I get shy taking photos in public. But once I saw someone with their point and shoot taking flash photos of every course I figured I could take some subtle photos without the flash. :)
The food at Atelier is a work of art. Each piece of each meal is carefully thought out in terms of look and taste and how it all works together. Each course as in all 12 of them! Atelier has what they call a blind menu - essentially you eat what they're making that night. They do ask if you have any allergies, dislikes, etc before you start. We decided to just go with whatever came at us.
We started with Down by the Bay - it not only had "sea foam", an oyster and was served on a river rock.... there was grilled watermelon (which was a HEAVENLY mouthful). Genius start to the meal.
The presentation was divine and there were so many flavours that I am usually not the biggest fan of that just WORKED when put into these combinations.
This course was called cocktail party and you ate them in a specific order. Each piece was on a piece of cheddar and ranged from "french onion soup" to a jalapeno popper with dehydrated bacon, and apple pie.
What's a tomato salad with a dehydrated tomato chip on top?
I don't really like goat's cheese. Eric doesn't like sweet potato. I've never had duck before. All three things together was one of the most pleasant taste experiences of my life. Drool.... drool!
This was squab. I'd never heard of squab. It was cooked using this method of cooking called sous-vide that Eric has been telling me about for a long time. Again, I'm obviously no food writer because all I want to say is OMG DROOL DROOL SO YUMMY!
Three dessert courses my friends! This one was called high five.
This one came out smoking :)
I didn't take a photo of every course, but every course was divine. The wine pairings were a highlight for Eric - I chose to just have a couple of glasses of white because red gives me headaches.
The meal isn't cheap, but it was worth every penny - and we intend to go back for Eric's birthday! :)
I was lucky enough to be one of the people who knew that Mark's Work Wearhouse is more than just boots and uniforms and clothing for working outside. I've shopped there for myself a little (one of my FAVOURITE pairs of PJs is from there) and Eric has quite a bit of his clothing from there.
I like them enough that a month or two ago when I drove by two stores and their signs were coming down I was in a bit of a panic and ran to twitter to find out what was going on!! Fiouf - just a rebrand... their signs quickly went back up as Mark's.
Because really, Mark's Work Wearhouse really isn't the right name any more. Their store is full of fabulous and fashionable clothing for women and men, on top of their workhorse clothing.
And Mark's is all about innovations that are handy for everyone! Hello? Ironfree clothing - count us in! Salt resistant boots for Ottawa is pretty much genius, and so is their tmax insulation, because sadly we live in a city that often goes to very depressingly low temperatures. Also, shape retention and 100 wash clothing - fabulous! A few other cool things I didn't know they did - you can get an appointment with a personal shopper to come and help you pick out clothing FOR FREE! And you can have at home shopping parties where they bring the clothing to you, and like all at home parties, the hostess gets some extra goodies for themselves towards their own purchases.
They also have fun stations around the store to test out their clothing and... entertain the customers :)
