Tuesday Thoughts

Time Flies
I mentioned in a recent post how I know time flies, but I would like to reiterate that time really does fly.

My husband gave me a mini digital frame to bring to work so pictures of our son could surround me, and I just saw a series of photos of my guy when he was just born out. The day and the time leading up to that wonderful day is so clear in my mind. I can’t believe he will be two in October.

I was thinking about how incredibly lucky I am to have this little guy in my life and how happy I am to watch him grow and learn. And while I am close thankfully close to my niece and have watch many cousins grow, it’s not the same thing as having your own bundle of joy.

Time Flies 2
On Aug. 5, it will be a year since we put Sylvester, our cat, down.

I am looking at pictures of that beautiful creature and I am still sad he is not a part of our son’s life.

However, despite the work, the loss of skin and the 2 a.m. wakeup call by a licking tongue, a purring body and a batting paw, I am happy my son and Cosmo, the crazy kitten, are getting along so well.

How much can you get into a Mini?
I am not sure if this happens where you live, but often there is a fundraiser that involves seeing how many people you can cram into a traditional Volkswagen Bug.

I am reminded of that because of how much stuff my cousin could cram into her Mini Cooper.

My cousin, who is getting married in August, was at my parents’ house for her shower in June.

She drove five hours with her best friend and her mom in her Mini Cooper. She had to get everyone back, plus her gifts, in that same Mini Cooper.

I had my doubts, but she was successful.

Of course, I felt sorry for the person who picked the short straw and had to sit in the backseat, but the point is she did it.

Vacation time
Finally, traffic has improved. I guess enough people are on vacation.

I am looking forward to my two weeks off. I plan to do a whole lot of playing, colouring, swimming, colouring, stacking blocks, painting, colouring, playing with playdough, and camping where I will be doing the above-mentioned activities.

Rather Ridiculous

Smart Cars are ridiculous.

Each time one of these mini vehicles pass me, I wonder why people would buy one.

They must be one of the most inconvenient vehicles around. Who are they good for?

You couldn’t own one if you had children or a dog bigger than your lap.

If you scuba dived, biked or did any other sport that required equipment, this car wouldn’t be for you. And if you would like to pick up more than a couple groceries after work, where do you put them?

But most importantly, when everyone else around you is driving pickup trucks and SUVs, do you really want to be driving a smart Car?

I don’t care how much of Mercedes-Benz safety features are in this mini-car, if you are driving one and you get hit by a one-ton pickup, the pickup is going to win.

Rich for the weekend

There was a Ferrari parked in my work’s parking lot yesterday morning.

After I stopped drooling after the black beauty, I had a giggle – there is no way the owner works in editorial – and a suffered a small twinge of jealousy.

Wouldn’t it be great to be rich?

I am sure the rich have their share of troubles, but I want to be rich – and worry-free – for one weekend.

One weekend of buying what I want simply because it struck my fancy; of stocking my cupboards and freezer with enough great food to keep us fed for months; of going out for breakfast and dinner at our favourite restaurants; and of deciding to go on a trip and jetting off to some destination, bringing my entire family along for the ride.

Someone suggested once you got a taste for that kind of lifestyle, you couldn’t give it up.

I think if I had one weekend of carefree living, I would grab that chance, enjoy every moment and then be content in the life I am leading now.

Two New Taxes On One Day – Happy Birthday, Canada

Wow, Canada’s governments sure know how to make a birthday a happy one.

By your birthday, you have to fork out about $75 to get your sticker renewed for your car.

On Canada’s birthday, July 1, the Ontario government stuck us with the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST), which makes the tax on a number of things 13 per cent, and a second tax, the Eco Tax, was slipped in quietly as well.

According to a Toronto Star report, Amanda Harper Sevonty, a spokesperson for Stewardship Ontario, the agency that is overseeing this lovely new tax, said the organization would rather spend the money dedicated to telling people about another tax grab on education rather than warning people it was coming prior to July 1.

“Our message to consumers isn’t about the eco fees. Our message to consumers is about here are the materials and what to do with them,” she told The Toronto Star.

And that makes so much sense.

Unfortunately, I only heard about the eco tax on a headline news station. The articles in Toronto’s dailies don’t have much information either, particularly in the why department.

And sadly I can’t get on either the Stewardship Ontario website nor the makethedrop.ca website, which is where you can get a full list of taxed products.

I read one story the eco fees are being passed along to the consumer from the manufacturer who is being charged to dispose of these products.

Pardon?

Why is the government allowing manufacturers to get their money back from the consumer when I am sure the same companies are already increasing the price of their product to make up for the shortfall?

I am trying to be eco-friendly. I am trying to green my life, eat sustainably, buy locally and combine trips to use my car less.

I am doing this for the environment as well as to save what little money I have.
How am I supposed to stay a float when my income is staying the same and everything else is going up? How are people supposed to manage?

I appreciate I live in a country that offers ‘free’ health care and education, and I realize these things actually do come with a cost and we do have to pay for them, which I am happy to do, but adding more taxes to people already struggling doesn’t seem right.

I don’t know what the solution is, but sneaking in a second tax on top of the HST may have just broken the proverbial camel’s back.

Hot, Humid – Delightful

It is going to be hot and humid this weekend.

I was speaking to a man this morning who is dreading the weekend weather. He said he can’t breath when the air is heavy and full.

I do feel badly for him. However, the main part of me is smiling broadly at the forecast that is sunny and gorgeous until next week.


Happy Birthday to You
Yesterday, July 1, was Canada’s birthday.

Our great nation turned 143 years old and the Queen was on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, the nation’s capital, to help celebrate it.

I like the royal family.

I know many Canadians think it’s time to sever our ties to England, but I like the history of it and say they should continue to be the head of our country.

Long Weekends
And because yesterday was a holiday, many people are taking today off to have an extra-long long weekend.

For me, it made my commute in a breeze.

I heard some people are suggesting we start celebrating Canada Day on the first Monday of July regardless if it’s July 1 or not.

Ridiculous.

You don’t celebrate your birthday on a Friday or a Monday because you want more time off, you celebrate it the actually day of your birth.

I like having a day off mid-week. And any day you can take off in the summer is a great day.

Happy July 4
Happy Independence Day to anyone who celebrates it.

The Versatile Blogger Award

Alex from Ma, What’s for Dinner made my day Friday when she informed me I was one of the bloggers she recently discovered and think – wait for it – I am fantastic.

Fantastic.

I am truly honoured I made Alex’s list.

So here are the rules:

1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you this award.
2. Share seven things about yourself.
3. Pass this award along to bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic for whatever reason.

1. Thank you again, Alex. I strive to be versatile so this award means a lot.

2. Seven things about myself…
• I am a mom to an almost 20-year-old stepdaughter and an almost two-year-old son. So I know all about how fast time flies.

• I survived a child in the preteen years and have almost made it through the teen years. I will take a teenager over a pre-teen any day.

• I have dreams of being a SAHM, however, reality forces me to get up every day and go to my job as a copy editor/web writer at a Toronto community newspaper chain.

• It has finally happened. I am officially old. I used to be the youngest person at the office and now I am one of the oldest. The music of my youth is now considered oldies. I haven’t been in school in 14 years.

• Blue and yellow are my favourite colours. I am slowly getting the blue and yellow house of my dreams.

• I have been married for five years, with my husband for 11, owning our current house together for nine.

• Baking bread, the smell of flour out of the freezer, fresh-cut grass and vanilla are smells I never tire of.

3. And the bloggers who I would like to nominate for the Versatile Blogger Award are:

http://mz-cellaneous.blogspot.com - From how to prevent sweaty boobs to her desire for a long-horned cow, this blogger always keeps me entertained.


www.honeyandjam.com – This homeschooled girl takes fabulous pictures.

http://lady-mama.blogspot.com - If I wasn’t afraid of becoming a stalker, I would actually like to hang out at this British-Canadian woman’s house.

http://lindyandree.blogspot.com/ - Food, photos and fun wraps up this woman’s blog

http://me-myself-and-pie.blogspot.com - I want to live near this blogger’s house so she can make me breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks, particularly strawberry shortcake.

http://octoberfarm.blogspot.com - If I didn’t have to deal with tornadoes, I would also like to live near this blogger who bakes bread often. Bread. Yum. Besides, she has a countdown to Halloween on her blog. Bread and Halloween. Perfect.

http://rainforestmommy.blogspot.com - This blogger lives in the rainforest with her precious boy and tons of animals. Her life seems quite exciting.

http://thekatherinewheel.blogspot.com - I really like this blogger. Her writing always keeps me reading.

Sue This

I heard on the radio this morning two families are suing a local hockey league for the physiological damages suffered by their 15-year-old boys when the teens were cut from their hockey teams.

I think the boys may suffer from more psychological damage when their friends and peers find out who they are and torment them not being able to handle being cut.

This ridiculous story – and I hope the judge slams the parents for wasting people’s time and money – is part of the problem with today’s kids.

Many of today’s youth have a sense of entitlement, a feeling they should get what they want when they want it without having to work for it.

It makes working with these people difficult and frustrating. It also makes for a tough reality when these children realize some people get what they want and others don’t, and their future isn’t as easy as they expected.

This story also angers me because these hockey parents have made it about them. Did it really cause their children psychological damage or are they embarrassed their sons couldn’t cut it?

If these parents don’t think their children can handle the emotional scarring of being cut from a team, then they should not sign their children up for anything that involves a skill whether that is sports, music, the arts or a job.

Case in point. When I worked a newspaper northeast of the city, I hosted contests. As a fan of Halloween, I hosted a writing contest, asking kids to pen a spooky Halloween story.

I awarded the winner and printed his story in the local newspaper. A parent, whose child did not win, called me and proceeded to yell at me, claiming her child’s story was better and deserved to win. She also went on to tell me the other child (please note, child) obviously plagiarized her piece.

Parents were also known to call the editor to ask if their child could work with us. The editor always politely told the women – note mothers – their children should make the phone call if they were actually interested in a job.

Parents, I understand we want to save our children from disappointment and heartache, however, life is not always a happy place. Sometimes it’s filled with disappointment.

Demanding our children never be cut from a team, always win a prize and get what they want creates an unrealistic world, and one where children haven’t been able to really live.

A Special Thank You
Alex from Ma, What's for Dinner awarded me the Versatile Blogger Award Friday. With the short deadlines because of Canada Day Thursday and this story, I haven't had a chance to properly thank her, which I will do tomorrow.

In the meantime, thank you, Alex, I am honoured.