The greatest time of a night out has to be the moments of anticipation before the festivities actually get under way. It's when the events of the evening have yet to be revealed, when anything is possible and even the most mundane evening has a world of possibilities.
Last night I was out with friends, new and old. They had invited me out with the lure of "wanna see a band at a bar?" That's all I needed. It was a great opportunity to catch up between sets and enjoy good music over a couple of pints.
It doesn't take much to get me excited these days... My life, as I have mentioned repeatedly, is quite filled with work and work (but that shows very positive signs of easing up lately, ya for that) so a diversion is welcome. I noticed yesterday as I made my ritualistic Saturday morning coffee and reached into the fridge to the cream, that this was the first time since the last weekend that I had opened my refrigerator. How can this be possible, you ask? Simple. I work and work so when I finish I usually grab a bite of something on the way home. And I have a bar fridge where I keep beer & wine. Easy peasy.
So, as mentioned, a diversion is most welcome. I called a taxi and when I jumped in, the driver had an 80's music station tuned in. Interesting choice, I thought since my initial assessment would have pegged him more of a Motley Crue or Metallica type of fellow. Shame on me for judging. Imagine my surprise when the majority of the ride was spent with me smiling in the back seat as he sang Gowen's Strange Animal. Word for word. Start to finish. Strange animal indeed.
The evening delivered all good things that were hoped for; great conversation, lots of laughs and the bonus of (my most favourite) dancing to some great funk soul tunes. Who could be happier? And as I sit here writing this, drinking my ritualistic Sunday morning coffee I make a mental note... Cream is almost gone... I should go shopping this week.
That'll shake things up.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Snap out of it!!
What on earth is wrong with me???
After declaring publicly and clearly that my focus was changing, that I was redirecting my attention and energy away from a non-stop work, home, sleep, work, home, sleep, work, home, sleep rhythm that would drive the most sane person in to a state of instability, here I am in the middle of the third consecutive week of work, home, sleep, work, home, sleep.
I exhaust myself.
Added new New Year's Resolution... Accept invitations.
Ok... first new New Year's Resolution, behave in a way that encourages invitations but then, accept invitations.
That sounds like a good thing to put on the "to do" list.
Workaholic is starting to ring too true.
Must fix.
After declaring publicly and clearly that my focus was changing, that I was redirecting my attention and energy away from a non-stop work, home, sleep, work, home, sleep, work, home, sleep rhythm that would drive the most sane person in to a state of instability, here I am in the middle of the third consecutive week of work, home, sleep, work, home, sleep.
I exhaust myself.
Added new New Year's Resolution... Accept invitations.
Ok... first new New Year's Resolution, behave in a way that encourages invitations but then, accept invitations.
That sounds like a good thing to put on the "to do" list.
Workaholic is starting to ring too true.
Must fix.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Table for One
Back to the grill I went today (well, to the panini press to be exact but grill sounds so much more poetic).
I love to cook, love it. But I rarely (I would say never but that would be at least a slight exaggeration) cook for myself. Cooking for one is no fun. Cooking, no matter how inspired and delicious it is, requires an audience for appreciation. I can tell myself as many time as I want that the dish I took the time to prepare was yummy but is that enough? Don't we all seek confirmation and congratulations from others, even if it's for the more mundane things in life... In fact, don't we need it for the mundane things more than anything else?
But today I decided to shift the focus just a bit. I thought, why put off what is becoming a delicious and joy-filled tradition, just because I am alone? In fact, maybe I should savour the moment alone so I can appreciate it even more when it is shared. And on top of all that, I deserve a yummy grilled cheese on a winter's Sunday afternoon. Absolutely!
So create I did... Inspiration this week came from my favourite granny smith apples, tart and sweet at the same time. Coupled with aged cheddar and caramelized onion jam with egg bread as the host of the epicurean party, this was another delightful combination.
I enjoyed every bite at my table for one. Lucky gal I am.
I love to cook, love it. But I rarely (I would say never but that would be at least a slight exaggeration) cook for myself. Cooking for one is no fun. Cooking, no matter how inspired and delicious it is, requires an audience for appreciation. I can tell myself as many time as I want that the dish I took the time to prepare was yummy but is that enough? Don't we all seek confirmation and congratulations from others, even if it's for the more mundane things in life... In fact, don't we need it for the mundane things more than anything else?
But today I decided to shift the focus just a bit. I thought, why put off what is becoming a delicious and joy-filled tradition, just because I am alone? In fact, maybe I should savour the moment alone so I can appreciate it even more when it is shared. And on top of all that, I deserve a yummy grilled cheese on a winter's Sunday afternoon. Absolutely!
So create I did... Inspiration this week came from my favourite granny smith apples, tart and sweet at the same time. Coupled with aged cheddar and caramelized onion jam with egg bread as the host of the epicurean party, this was another delightful combination.
I enjoyed every bite at my table for one. Lucky gal I am.
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Wake up whispers
Life has a funny way of giving you a nudge; the proverbial wake up call... Whether it comes in a soft whisper in your ear as you are still groggy in your realizations of who and where you are in your life or an amplified message, delivered via megaphone to break through your complete obliterated fog of non-reality-based reality.
Today I had a couple of them... I would call them more whispers than megaphone calling cards but wake up calls they were.
The first came unexpectedly from my oldest son. We were just catching up on the phone this morning, sharing the experiences we had during the week and commenting on the minutia of life when this came through the phone to me...
"So... Big year this year, huh?"
I stopped cold. What could he be referring to? And in what was probably a split second, the following passed through my consciousness...
Is he talking about buying his house? No, realistically that happened last year so that's not really a "this year" big thing. Me finding love? No. Definitely not something my oldest (or any of my sons) would say... What son would ever have that kind of conversation with his mother of all people. Hmmm.... What could it be???
Wait. A. Minute.
50
I turn 50 this year.
And there it was... On a beautiful winter Saturday morning with the sun shining and a fresh pot of coffee brewed and waiting for me. Smack. 50. It's like we may as well skip the formality of living this year out, you are already 50. My dad used to say "If I died now, they would say he died in his [enter year of choice here]th year." And if I died today, my obituary would say, "In her 50th year." But it would also say, "she looked fabulous and acted not a day over 35" so I guess you take your victories where you can. My boy seemed to find great glee in my angst and laughed and laughed at my ranting. Then he said, "It's ok Mama... I'm old too... Remember I'm turning 30."
Oy.
The other wake up call came from, ridiculously, Facebook. As I scrolled through my news feed catching up on what my friends and family are up to, there in the middle was a "recommended link" for meeting "mature men in your area."
Really? First, how does Facebook know I'm now single? And second, who are they to say I'm interested in a "mature man" or for that matter, a man of any kind (I know I know, that part is a bit obvious but allow me to vent would you?).
Mean spirited. That's what that is.
So, there they were. Two cosmic whispers from the great out there reminding me of where I am. So what to do?
There are two options, as I see it, when life gives you any kind of wake up call... One is to hit the snooze button and the other is to get on up and get going.
So, up I go.
Today I had a couple of them... I would call them more whispers than megaphone calling cards but wake up calls they were.
The first came unexpectedly from my oldest son. We were just catching up on the phone this morning, sharing the experiences we had during the week and commenting on the minutia of life when this came through the phone to me...
"So... Big year this year, huh?"
I stopped cold. What could he be referring to? And in what was probably a split second, the following passed through my consciousness...
Is he talking about buying his house? No, realistically that happened last year so that's not really a "this year" big thing. Me finding love? No. Definitely not something my oldest (or any of my sons) would say... What son would ever have that kind of conversation with his mother of all people. Hmmm.... What could it be???
Wait. A. Minute.
50
I turn 50 this year.
And there it was... On a beautiful winter Saturday morning with the sun shining and a fresh pot of coffee brewed and waiting for me. Smack. 50. It's like we may as well skip the formality of living this year out, you are already 50. My dad used to say "If I died now, they would say he died in his [enter year of choice here]th year." And if I died today, my obituary would say, "In her 50th year." But it would also say, "she looked fabulous and acted not a day over 35" so I guess you take your victories where you can. My boy seemed to find great glee in my angst and laughed and laughed at my ranting. Then he said, "It's ok Mama... I'm old too... Remember I'm turning 30."
Oy.
The other wake up call came from, ridiculously, Facebook. As I scrolled through my news feed catching up on what my friends and family are up to, there in the middle was a "recommended link" for meeting "mature men in your area."
Really? First, how does Facebook know I'm now single? And second, who are they to say I'm interested in a "mature man" or for that matter, a man of any kind (I know I know, that part is a bit obvious but allow me to vent would you?).
Mean spirited. That's what that is.
So, there they were. Two cosmic whispers from the great out there reminding me of where I am. So what to do?
There are two options, as I see it, when life gives you any kind of wake up call... One is to hit the snooze button and the other is to get on up and get going.
So, up I go.
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