I got that off-black Cadillac

I found my 7 year old son sitting by the window after school one day trying to read my copy of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.  I have nearly all my University English course books shoved in the built-in bookcases in the livingroom and once in a while, along with my coveted Archie Comicbook Collection, something escapes the shelf.  Lord help one of the kids if it's my first edition Cheryl Blossom!

Anyhow he asked me to read it and thinking he'd get tired of it.. really, who can compete with video games?  also, his claim to fame around here is the world gold medallist for dawdling/huh what did you say mom? I'm too busy playing Lego to hear anything you just asked me to do.  So, the unabridged Lewis Carroll verson with very few black and white drawings.. not the best version I expected any kid would be interested in, regardless, I started to read it.

He was totally into it and I couldn't believe it.  I got to Chapter 2 before he got too sleepy and wanted to make a fort before bedtime.  This has nothing to do with my post tonight but upon re-reading the words myself I drew some parallels to my story I just told of getting lost.  Alice and I apparently have quite a lot in common.

What a silly girl.

This post though is about my running routine and how it went off the rails due to weather, and being back now to every single day which I haven't done before.  4 things that changed for me and I am adapting to mentally:

1. I do not have a running partner, that's ok
2. I do not use C25K or any other training program
3. I'm a night runner so random people on a side street can make me certain I'm about to be murdered.  A lot.  They already know I'm tired!
4. Finally been using my Nike+ and apparently Lance Armstrong himself congratulates you after you have your longest run.  With all that's going on in his life.. I appreciate the support man.

I also adjusted my entire runs to The Heist album and now I can't run without it.  I may or may not (I may) think I actually am Macklemore and it probably looks ridiculous even at night.

My fave cool down song. Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!

May your past be the sound of your feet upon the ground

When I was 16 I took a month-long trip to Italy with my grandparents.  I saw a bunch of the Rome airport and Venice airport (it's actually called the Marco Polo airport, and I thought that was great!), but when we arrived in the town we were actually staying called Valdagno and within the first hour of being there I had been 'let out' for a walk and gotten carried away with the neat video camera I had (it was the 90s....) and subsequently gotten myself completely lost.   The moment I realized this I do happen to remember very clearly because it felt like although I should have obviously kept it in mind the whole time I had not thought of it until about 20 mins after I was supposed to be back from my travels.  Like it didn't even matter.  Overwhelming advice after the fact was that I should have just looked backward at the video I shot, and perhaps I would have if I hadn't been found soon after.  True story, my cousin Maurizio that I had never met before is the one who found me and I had just trusted that since he knew my name, he knew me, and went with him.  If we were in Mexico? ya maybe not.  

“When you're lost in those woods, it sometimes takes you a while to realize that you are lost. For the longest time, you can convince yourself that you've just wandered off the path, that you'll find your way back to the trailhead any moment now. Then night falls again and again, and you still have no idea where you are, and it's time to admit that you have bewildered yourself so far off the path that you don't even know from which direction the sun rises anymore.” 
― Elizabeth Gilbert

Threes & Ones | 31 on 03.31.13

The last time I shared my birthday with Easter I was 9.  I believe my parents put me in a nice dress and took me to Chuck E Cheese by myself.  I watched the creepy animatronic giant character band, ate pizza, and slowly sunk into the ball pit wondering why no one was there to play with me.

Don't worry, I'm fine now!  

Holiday birthday kids let me just say I feel for you, as your competition is usually Jesus and who wants to say they are more special than Jesus?  I get it.  This shared Easter birthday was not bad at all though and I even wore a nice dress just because.  All the egg hunting and egg dying festivities in the morning were pretty fun.  

This is where I mention that Easter dinner at my grandmothers is almost bigger than Christmas so what else could I really ask for?.. and she even blew up a bunch of balloons for me.  She's up there in years so that's a real effort; plus, there was Turkey and nothing is better than Turkey on your birthday.  Dare I say not even cake?

I have a fancy cheese and fancy wine I was gifted (separately) and planning to have but honestly I was way too full by the time we got home to even enjoy it, so I'm saving it for another night.  In fact the holiday might even have worked in my favour since it's made it so my birthday is 5 times as long as everyone wants to take me to dinner all week and we planned a Champagne girls night out the next week.  Hmm.. maybe I should say thanks Jesus!  

An 11,323 day old Me.

Let me just end this post with all the stuff we had at dinner for 8 adults, 3 little children.

20lb Turkey

Stuffing

Ham

Sausages

Breaded Veal Cutlets

Lasagna

3 bottles of wine

Breaded Artichoke hearts

Corn on the cob

Rapini

Broccoli

Mashed Potatoes

Gravy

Cranberry sauce

Homemade bread loaf

Birthday Cake

Ice Cream

Watermelon

It happened one night

There are some times in life that we might call 'boring' .. it is nobody's favourite.  The same alarm-angry moment we were wrenched from sleep, same breakfast, same commute to work, the 'this or that' in your day that needs your tedious attention.  The same basic routine.  While lots of people claim to hate this kind of boring part of life, we rely on things being just so sometimes for a few reasons.  One is that it's pretty much impossible to be a regular person otherwise.  I'm just saying, the funnest person you know on Earth still has to grocery shop alone sometimes.  As a mom of three boys I actually DO consider doing anything by myself exciting, especially shopping!! but I'm making a bigger point here.  Two is that we cannot emotionally handle life being out of sorts all the time; specifically.. there will also be times in life where way too many exciting things will happen all at once and we need the boredom to go back to when it's over.

This week is such a time where unexpectedly we'll have had a wedding a funeral and a family birthday party all within a literal 7 day period.  The world just keeps on teaching you lessons, but we all know that already.   However it must not think I am paying attention enough to ever do so in a subtle way.  Like ever.  Or perhaps like a buffet Life just wants to give me everything it has available!  

Since the week started off with a celebration I will keep it on that note and say that my cousin's wedding was the most fun day I've been a part of in a while.  It was long and at the same time went by so fast and made so many memories.  I wish I could sum anything about it up for you all dear readers but all I have are photos, favourite stories and new friends.  

What's a phone booth?

Exactly 2 weeks until my 31st birthday.  Checked out some tiaras? Oh helllllls yes I did.

So for the last day of March Break my friend Brooke and I took her nephew Liam and my oldest son Ethan, who are little friends, to BrickCity in Niagara Falls for a day of fun.  I also kept referring to it as a day of fun, like that episode of Friends' Joey and Janice's Day of Fun!! 

We had an amazing day, especially the playland afterward where we shot at balls together Gladiator gauntlet style.  I just loved the whole day so much.  There was however an astonishing moment that I did not think I'd reach so soon in my lifetime.  BrickCity has a neat little I Spy game in their massive installations and when I asked the boys to find 2 phone booths Ethan said 

"What's a phone booth?"  

Uh..  wow.  This is the world I am living in.  Ethan actually calls himself "The News" because he likes to report on everything.  "This just in, Gabriel is throwing things down the stairs.. more at 11."  He knows everything about everything but a phone booth NO that's just weird technology.  I remember not having internet, guys!  Anyone recall getting their info from Encarta '95?  I feel like I'm turning 105 not 31.  

But nothing from Titanic

I attended a 40th birthday last week, hosted at a neat pub with some live music etc.  I won't even get started on how troubling it was to see the lead singer outside smoking as she had an amazing voice!  Annnd I'm even SOUNDING old now aren't I?

At the same time it seemed like there was also someone's 50 or 60th birthday being celebrated at the pub so the band played mostly older tunes like We Belong Together and Earth Angel etc.  Suddenly, I felt the urge to go watch the movie La Bamba again!

There was a point in the night where they played Build Me Up Buttercup and a friend and I are singing along, it was a little incredible that I knew the whole thing as though I heard it yesterday!  She on the other hand did not.  The weird part to me was I couldn't explain afterward because I don't remember how I know all the words.  At all.  It's like there's just a black hole where that information was.  It actually bothered me so much that I went home and googled it for references that made sense, and I came up with the movie There's Something About Mary.

Anyone remember this at the end??





I guess I really liked it???  Now I've been singing it all week long!  Man I love that super tanned old lady.  I feel like this is a 90s maybe music movie marathon night waiting to happen because of all this.  Ok let's make a list!

1. La Bamba
2. There's Something About Mary
3. Empire Records
4. My Cousin Vinny for the accents
5. That Thing You Do
6. Pulp Fiction 
7. annnd let's put My Girl in there just for the heck of it.  I like mood rings.

Did I miss anything???

Cure for a Rainy Monday

What's up, lousy smarch weather!?