No More Pencils! No More Books!

My kids are done school in two more days and I'm figuring out the logistics of childcare for the next two months. I'm not sure if I'm AS excited as they are to see the end of Grade 2 - but I think it might be close. Don't get me wrong. The Wonder Twins were very happy Grade 2 kids this year.

I loved how much they loved their "madam" - she was engaging and encouraged them to achieve goals. When you compare the attitudes of the kids last year (read: NOOOOOOOOOOO! I don't WANT to go to school on a daily basis) vs this year (Madam says we're going to [insert activity here] today to help us with our math), I know their experience was a pretty fantastic one. That said, the daily grind of waking up early (really early for my kids - I bring them to work with me for 7:30) and getting everyone dressed with brushed hair and teeth etc. is um... overdone. I'm ready to not worry about reading all 4 books for a total of 30 minutes each per kid, making sure the "plan a travail" is done, asking them to count by 2, 5, 10, 100 while asking math questions at traffic lights and/or when they're trying to tie their shoes.*

This Mom, Jen Hatmaker, writes a blog I have only recently discovered, and she is my new favourite person.  There is a recent entry where she laments lunches and dials in the required reading time. This woman is a professional writer that I imagine takes things like reading very seriously - and for her to tell the rest of us that she has officially gone on "summer vacation mode" makes me think it might just be okay if the rest of us have done so on occasion as well.

I wrote (and did not publish) a whole crankypants blog post the other day about how I'm obviously not as organized and/or fantastic as some of the other moms out there who have time for all the activities and who create flowcharts to track progress and award stickers made from organic glue and sparkles they made by mincing natural rock formations in their Vitamix blenders - but it was a little too bitter and I'd hate for you to think I weren't a sunshine and lollipops kind of girl. Suffice to say, I'm glad to be done for the summer - and while I understand we'll have to reintroduce school-type activities soon, I'm going to let my kids be on vacation for a few weeks...

*I discovered the other day that my kids don't know how to tie their shoes. It is a skill they didn't master because I never bought them shoes with laces. I'm fairly certain there's a special place in hell for parents like me.

Not Quite A Year - Ramblings of an Errant Blogger

I keep thinking there will be more time. People with lives WAY busier than mine blog regularly. Regardless, I have been an errant blogger. I suppose it is just not my thing? In the past year I've agreed to and taken on three other writing jobs and have taken on a personal (and insane) project to write a novel in a month... starting in June. (If I blog again this year, I'll let you know how it is going.)

In addition to this pitiful blog, I also have an equally sporadic food blog I write. Yesterday, I promised a post on Facebook and I do always try to honour my promises. The Lunch Tramp (my truly fantastic moniker) Cooks is my food blog. I suppose it is a bit of an inside joke which may not translate well to strangers - but those who do know me know that before I opened Dish Cafe and Food Shop, I took a year off work - and I lunched with people as often as possible. I like to think that since I feed so many people lunch these days, my lunch tramp ways continue in another form.

In any case, I'm trying to figure out if my blogging suffers as a result of my frequent use of Twitter and Facebook. I can't say for sure - but I definitely spend more time "writing" there than I do blogging.

What do you think peeps who blog in addition to having a social media presence? I think if there were some sort of app that combined my Instagram pics with my Facebook posts and tweets (if there isn't already), I could have, at the very least, a weekly post!

I daydream about having a job where I got paid to read blogs, books, magazines, talk to friends while eating and drinking delicious food. I suspect there ARE jobs out there like that - for people who have a bit more of a commitment than a bi-yearly blog entry. Perhaps if I spend a few more moments blogging and doing all of the things I mentioned above, I could convince someone to let me do these things as a job. (she says wistfully)

Weekend-tastic

Even though I was at work for a few hours this weekend, I'm a pretty big fan of the last 48 hours. We had friends over for dinner (and a cocktail or two) last night. How fantastic that their kids and our kids got along and basically let the grownups hang while they played with Legos, bubbles, water guns, Barbies, not necessarily in that order.

Our day today started with a bacon breakfast (a staple around these parts) and took us to my parents pool AND included sangria. Sangria is my summer "thing" and after tweeting about it recently, I'm beyond thrilled that some friends are tweeting me pics of their sangria, paying homage to my "go to" drink. Last night alone, two different people sent pics and another told me he'd switched up the recipe to be a white wine alternative. (Happy sigh)

I made a commitment to be a more dedicated blogger - but have discovered one of the things that will surely impair me is my lack of ability to remember to take pics of cool things as they are happening.

One of our guests had the foresight to take this picture shortly after I delivered her first margarita.

As we began to eat (Fajitas!!!), it occurred to me I should have taken a pic. But then I started making a fajita and the moment was gone. 

I see the "kids these days" taking a zillion photos and subsequently post them on facebook for all the world to see. (Seriously - all the world. It seems that young people don't care to have privacy settings on their profiles... Why would they not?)

I have a serious lack of photographic evidence from the last decade or so, my kids notwithstanding. My sister-in-law was our official photographer at a family trip over the Christmas holidays which is a good thing because I took less than a dozen photos - and half of them were crap. So... I shall endeavour to be a more consistent photographer. I suspect it will make my ramblings that much more readable. It is sort of imperative for my food blog (but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Babysteps.).

Lunch Tramp

It seems like it was longer ago that the Lunch Tramp was born. An impromptu lunch with 3 lunch dates - and there I was...

I've taken another luncher into my fold. There will soon be another Lunch Tramp to call by name. I won't tell you her name yet. (We're in the process of designing her card!)

I promise to have more information soon - and more talk of food - and more blogging about food. Pretty soon it will be part of my job description. (Details to follow)

In the meantime, I googled "Lunch Tramp" tonight and my card came up as the first image. It made me so proud!

What I SHOULD Have Said

BizFest is winding down tonight with a performance by Graham Greer and Tyler Kealey. The week was full of workshops and presenters, including Gerry Visca and Dennis Van Staalduinen (or DenVan as he, thankfully likes to be called). Last night BizFest put on BizShow, a twist on the Trade Show, featuring local businesses and entrepreneurs in the community. In addition to their booth spaces, exhibitors were encouraged to come up to the podium and speak to the group about why they're awesome. Gerry, and event organizer Joey Gault dared me to tell the crowd about "my brand" which for those of you who may not lunch with me, is The Lunch Tramp.

Never one to back down from a dare, I did venture on over to the microphone and in a minute or two, I did tell everyone who was listening that I was known in the #CornwallTweetup world as The Lunch Tramp. (Feel free to follow me on Twitter at @keithatweets.)

What I SHOULD have told the crowd was that the Tweetups are important, both for the social element but - and more importantly, in the way they bring people who would never know people otherwise together. There are AT LEAST a half dozen people I didn't know a year ago that I consider my friend now - all because they were following me on Twitter - and came to the table one day.

Not only that, I've learned things, connected with people who've helped me in many ways, including giving website advice, where to find really delicious coffee beans, donated door prizes for charitable things I'm involved in and more. The Tweetup is important - and if I get a title from it, so much the better!

I'm not going to pretend it is any sort of official meeting nor do we go with the intent to "network" - but that's what makes it better. There are no expectations and when something cool comes of it, well, to use @iamjoeygault's favourite hashtag, #awesome.

Get out there and be SOCIAL with the people in your social media circles. You never know where it'll take you.

What I Did(n't) Do During My Summer (non) Holiday

For those of you who may not know, I spent my summer managing the Cornwall Farmers' Market in downtown Cornwall. Of course, I had intended to do a tremendous amount of blogging, both about the experience of being part of the market as it was in grown stage and also about meeting the vendors etc. That didn't happen and I'm not writing today to dwell about it. Instead, I'm going to take a few minutes to ask to the blogging universe for suggestions slightly more convincing than "just do it" to get me off my (ahem) procrastinating behind.

Until then, I shall just say I attended BizFest today. It is the first annual event put together by Cornwall's Chamber of Commerce. The speaker today, and in fact, for most of the event, is Gerry Visca. I'll write more (I'd say I promise but well...) about my experience shortly but first I promised some people I'd actually update my also errant foodblog.

Back to School/Back to Blog

Okay... so errant blogger implies that at some time there is actual blogging that occurs. I'm beyond errant. If I were still in school, the truant officer would be after me.

I just blogged about food and now I'm heading over here. Two blog posts in one day. Hopefully that doesn't mean it is the end of the world.

This short and sweet post will, I hope, lead to some conversation about what I've been up to. The Cornwall Farmers' Market has taken up a lot of my summer. I've been a stay-at-home Mom this summer too and we embarked on a lot of adventures I hope to capture before I get too caught up in homework and the fall.

We're approaching my favourite time of year - leaves turning, harvest coming in from the fields and I hope that'll be the inspiration I need to share my (erratic) musings with you.

Until then, I hope you're as excited about back to school (and my blogging intentions) as I am.

(Not a) Snow Day

As I was getting the kids ready for school this morning I heard the boys on the radio say repeatedly that the buses were running and that they'd let us know if they got any news. I'm always slightly annoyed when I hear that people are calling in, as though the radio personalities who are entrusted with passing along important information would somehow forget to tell us this little tidbit.

And then I looked outside. AS IF the buses were running! My dh and kids had shoveled the driveway yesterday down to the pavement and there was A LOT of snow on our driveway this morning. Long story short (so as to avoid swearing on my blog), the bus had still not arrived 20 minutes past the pick up time and five minutes after school had started so the kids got a ride in. When we got to school, fifteen minutes late, seven of the buses had not arrived. Seven.

The roads looked like what I would imagine you'd find in American cities where it doesn't really snow and they have some sort of apparatus that they attach to their garbage trucks "just in case."

That the sidewalks at the school had yet to be touched was a whole other annoyance - but perhaps that's just me.

Long story short, the last snow day had a minor sprinkle - and today's barrage was not bus canceling-worthy. Oh well...

Birthdays

February and March are busy birthday months for me. My mother-in-law starts the celebrations near the beginning of Feb. and she's followed by one of my best friends, my father, another 2 friends on the same day (today), my husband (tomorrow), another friend next week and then my mother mid-month.

What I love about having so many celebrations so close together (aside from the cake) is the fact that just as we're beginning to be very tired with winter, I'm forced to remind myself of all the great people I have around me (and, let's be honest, the cake). I'm still very much looking forward to the disappearance of the snow and ice - but I can acknowledge that if for no other reason than my awesome people, the end of winter has some good stuff going on as well.

Tomorrow is Friday, my official Lunch Tramp day. I'll be taking some more pics tomorrow so I can show you all how great lunching can be!

Guest Blogging

My friend Denise is a regular blogger - and writes a blog I actually take the time to read. When I do read her blog/look at the fun pictures/read the comments from fellow readers I'm inspired to do more writing of my own. View From the Glen is the kind of "normal person" blog that reminds me that there are other people out there who have busy lives, sometimes have messy houses but who find ways everyday to appreciate their kids, their dogs (okay, I don't have a dog), their husbands - and all the good stuff that is not quite as huge as these things but still make a difference.

It doesn't always happen - the writing, I mean. I tend to have a slight obsession with digression and strangely, that translates into meaning to write but getting distracted by a thousand other things. Sometimes at the end of the day, I'm discouraged that I didn't write more; I'm disappointed that I let a lot of other things (like sub-par television, my strange obsession with the entertainment page of Huffington Post) get in the way of something I love to do.

Why don't I write more? I'm sure there's an answer but, just for today, instead of letting myself digress, I took a few minutes to blog.

Quick Dinner Party Help

A girlfriend sent me a text this morning asking what she could cook for a last minute dinner party that was impressive but really easy. My recommendation (sent over several texts):

Pork Tenderloin
Rub with rubbed sage, thyme, garlic, salt and pepper
Combine Balsamic Vinegar with Honey (and some optional olive oil)
Marinate if there's time
If not, use an oven proof skillet
Sear tenderloin on all sides
Place in 350 oven for about 25 minutes
Let rest about 5-10 minutes
Slice and serve

Serve with rice pilaf and steamed veggie of choice - oh look! There's dinner. :)

My Girl

I'm pretty lucky when it comes to friends. I have funny, smart people that are a text or fb message away and great friends who can talk to me on the phone for hours. But in this day and age of global careers and opportunities, not all of my people are close enough to go for coffee dates.

One of my best friends lives a longish plane ride away from me. She comes home much less frequently than I'd like but things like life, money, jobs and family tend to get in the way of weekend jaunts, casual mini vacations and the like. So, when she came home for a week-long stay due to a family emergency, I was concerned for her family member but grateful that she was able to spend time with me and my family. Our visits, however infrequent and brief are always filled with the kind of conversation I don't have with any of my other friends. They're full of laughter, horoscopes (?) and usually things I'd forgotten all about but which come flooding back to my consciousness while she's here.

Example: "Hey, did you ever finish the cookbook you were almost done last time I was here?" (Um, no - but in my defense, my hard drive crashed and it is still there "waiting.")

Example #2: "Hey, remember you were going to start a book club - whatever came of that?"
(Um, nothing - I still think I COULD start a book club - I just haven't actually done that yet.)

The thing that strikes me each time she gets back on a plane for her new tropical home is how much I miss having her here when she leaves. While she's visiting, all of these things seem possible and likely. All of the wine we drink is slightly more delicious and appreciated. She sees qualities in me I tend to forget exist without her gentle reminders and I love how she thinks I'm so much more "everything" than I suspect I actually am.

Years ago, when we lived together, she was still that same staunch supporter of everything I am/was - but in a constant dose I believed her more of a dreamer than an "inspirer." It was like a constant ego stroke. I made the best chocolate chip cookies (not even close), the best chicken and dumplings (which ironically, she couldn't eat because she was a vegetarian back then), the best exaggerator (which I sort of still am) and a million other things.

She got on a plane this morning and will most likely be gone for a long time. I shall do my best to remember how great she thinks I am while she's gone. I suspect she'll still be a better supporter of me than I ever can be.

The Errant Blogger?

Here we are with a new year - and a new blog post. Once a year sounds about right doesn't it? (sigh)

Blogging is clearly not my strong suit. I've begun making reading them more of a priority, except that even then I tend to stray or neglect even the ones I like...

I've been reading more books. Perhaps I'll actually blog about some of them. When I was pregnant some time ago a cousin told me to read all I could while on bedrest because that would probably be the last I read for quite some time. When she said it, I dutifully nodded - but thought - pfffft - as if I won't read with the same voracity as I do now - and then my kids turned two and I began reading again... (sigh again)

Regardless, I have to tip my hat to all the serious bloggers out there who entertain me and others. There's a lot more to it than it seems...

Officially Autumn

I was supposed to have plans this morning and had arranged for a babysitter. The plans did not materialize but I didn't want to cancel the sitter as the kids were very excited to have a "playdate" - so here I am at my favourite coffeehouse with a grande house blend and a laptop.

I've been reading other blogs and accidentally stumbled back on my own pitiful blog - with three posts in 3 years. Not exactly indicative of all thing things I "intend" to say.

As I walked out the door this morning I immediately turned back around for my wrap - and realized that if I were chilly enough for a wrap, it mean autumn had finally arrived. I'm not complaining; I love the crispness in the air and the smell of the falling leaves, even if my perennial brown-eyed susans are now in need of being cut down for next year and the remnants in the garden need to be pulled.

It also means there's new soups to try and crock pots to dig out.

Fall is here. Let the comfort food cooking begin!

Once a year?

Wow - I just decided to try to remember what the title of my blog was so I could post something new. Several of my friends and acquaintances have begun working on new blogs and I thought I might join them.

It was somewhat disheartening to discover that I've posted twice in the last two years. Sigh.

I wonder if I'll have a better track record now that I'm putting the kids on the school bus each morning.

Let's Try Again

More and more of my friends have begun to blog. Some of them write really wonderful blogs (Alyssa, Denise, Betty) and others are only in the "thinking about it" process.

I'm particularly intrigued by Alyssa's blog based on the Day Zero Project. (I'd post the link to her blog but she isn't ready for the world to see it yet.)

I do believe it makes sense for this to be my new blog project - and will, coincidentally, be the first thing listed on my 101 when I sit down to write it.

As I read through the previous posts on this blog, I note the first post noted that I was about to start a new job. I did start that job - but I left it just short of a year in. I'm in month 4 of my new job - I'm pretty sure I'm not allowed to discuss it as per my agreement - but I have a feeling some of it will work into the words found here.

More On My Fifteen Minutes

So, in the current issue of O at Home magazine, just a few pages in, down at the bottom of the page you'll see a photo of me beside some comments I made about tips for home decorating. (For the tens of you out there - and I realize tens is most likely an exaggeration but I don't know a smaller version with which to make fun of myself - this might indeed be the only photo of me you'll see.)

This is ironic for many reasons. The first reason, and the one that those of you who know me will have seen firsthand, is that while I can certainly speak intelligently about home decor, my own home is not, well, decorated. I have a square footage of a small space and I have the stuff of a big one.

The irony does not end there Dear Reader. One must take into account that one of my childhood dreams (which I have to think about because although I wrote in a diary back then - journalling was not yet a word coined - I no longer have those diaries) was to be a writer and have people reading the things I wrote. Clearly, I was not specific. As an adult, I had begun to make lists or to itemize the things I wanted to attract. I told the Universe that I wanted my words in Oprah Magazine. Less than a year after I said this, I got a call from an editorial assistant at O at Home who wanted to use my words and who asap needed a head shot of me.

I did not happen to have an 8X10 glossy on hand, nor did I have the jpeg version she required. I needed someone to take my picture that day. I needed a photo on a white background with "normal" hair and makeup. Was she kidding? My normal hair, the stuff that was on my head was not international magazine ready! I had just finished a day of cooking and humid frizz was a fairly accurate description of the style I was wearing...

I decided authenticity was going to have to work and I drove to my husband's office where he snapped a couple shots. I sent them off with my fingers crossed that their photoshop specialists would make me more international magazine ready than my Sony Cybershot camera could present. (They did - sort of.)

Anyhow, all of this long-winded post is a preface to this: I had put out my intention that I wanted to be in an Oprah magazine. Within a year, I had achieved the goal. The specific goal would have been to have an article I'd written appear in O, The Oprah magazine. That is my new intention. Let's see how long it takes.

15 Minutes Counting Down

I guess there's no easy way to start a conversation that ends in "...and that's how my picture ended up in O at Home magazine..." but it is what I plan to talk about next. That said, I just looked at the clock and realized I'm late with a meeting with my production team for the TV show I'm working on. Such fame (but not really). Details to come

New Job?

Well, I guess all sorts of things are about to change. I'm off to a job offer for something that is totally new for me. I'm fairly excited but will possibly share more in the next day or so (if I say yes).

In the meantime, I have become somewhat obsessed with Vanity Fair and especially their website. If you would like to become similarly obsessed, check it out.

What you may find here

So again, it would be safe to say that there is almost no topic that is safe on this blog. I get rant-y on many topics, though I do intend to ramble more than rant.

Today, I'm still Youtubing a lot of George Carlin and, strangely, Tim Russert. I say strangely because I cannot recall ever once watching Meet The Press. (Being Canadian and therefore not closely following American politics might explain this somewhat.)

I feel like I SHOULD have watched more Meet the Press in light of the fact that Russert seems like he may have been the nicest person alive, let alone on a political talk show! Certainly, the clips I've seen of those who feel his loss more than I ever will have nothing but the utmost respect for him and, perhaps because of this, I feel like we've truly lost a gentleman newscaster. :(

But onto George Carlin. Of course we all remember the Seven Words, but there was sooooooooo much more. (When I say we all, I am excluding my friend, who shall remain nameless, who somehow confused Carlin for George Burns - a true genius in his own right but COME ON!!!!!!!)

Vanity Fair put up a really great HBO special yesterday. What Am I Doing In New Jersey was a great sample of his ramblings and rants.

Of course, there's more, but for today (or at least for now), that's what I have going on in that space between my ears.