Happy Hogmanay 2013!

 Happy Hogmanay!  

I've got haggis to turn into sausage rolls and my parents have steak pie and roasties ready for dinner.
Here's to 2013, may it bring only good things.

Have a fabulous year!

Bye 2012!

2012 has been a wild year for us, and it has flown by in the blink of an eye!  Life has been so busy I didn’t even get to mail out Christmas cards this year but don’t worry, I have them all ready for next year and will have them to the post office by December 1^st (which sounds like a lifetime away!).

2012 started slowly for us, Royal Ribbons was doing well and picking up after the holidays.  I filled my calendar with lunches and book club and Civic Awards meetings as well as worked on plans for the Business Excellence Awards night – I was asked to join the committee and since I had the time I agreed to help out.

February was spent working on big changes to the Civic Awards program and ceremony.  We spent almost a year revamping the entire event so we had lots of meetings to discuss bylaws, logos, scripts etc.  Fortunately we had a very mild winter so getting out and about was easy – I don’t think I wore my boots once!

March was busy with committee meetings as all of the awards nights were coming up quickly.  I also turned 41 and seem to have firmly crossed the Rubicon.  I was invited to a volunteer dinner in town and it was nice to be the one being waited on for an evening.  It’s always great to see so many people dedicated to their community gathered in one spot!

The Little Prince turned 4 in April and amid the flurry of events we had a nice little family party for him at home.  A few of my friends came by for cake and champagne…and photos with the Thomas mural!

May found me on a plane, on my way to Scotland for a week.  I had a great time staying in Stirling and got to see lots of cousins.  In true Scottish fashion, it rained all but one day but that’s alright, I had loads of fun anyway.  

In June it was time to get back to business…Royal Ribbons was a year old and I was enjoying meeting new people and making lots of great contacts.  I also provided lunch for my Rotary Club while they worked at the Habitat for Humanity site which is such an amazing experience.  I got to meet the woman the house was being built for and can’t think of anyone more deserving.  At this point I ended up with some sort of stomach flu, which is a great weight loss program…after about 10 days I managed to get out on my wobbly Bambi legs to attend a monument dedication, in the sun and heat…I didn’t last long!

July is when everything changed.  Policing in our town was up for debate and the people didn’t like it.  I attended a council meeting that made me so angry I offered to join forces with the biggest curmudgeon in town to fight town hall.  We were at risk of losing our police force and a committee was formed, I was named chair and within 24 hours we were on the front page of the newspapers, money was pouring in and the town know they had a fighting chance.  6 weeks of fundraising, meetings, flyers, newspaper and radio advertisements, sign blitzes, interviews, letters to the editor, t-shirts, a march led by our local pipe band, a rally, and my speech to council in front of a packed gallery – the vote was deferred until December.  It was supposed to happen on September 11^th – the irony did not go unnoticed – but we were faced with having to wait more than three months to find out if we would be able to keep our police force.  

In the middle of all of this, my parents moved to town – just in time to see me in the papers each week, I was presented with my Chamber of Commerce plaque, the Little Prince attended a teddy bear picnic, we went to a Big Band concert in the park, the Little Prince played on a soccer team for the first time, our Danish exchange student arrived for a year, we found a new school for the Little Prince, dropped the ceremonial puck at the local hockey team's opening game, attended the fall fair, I took up shooting, provided the meal at a weekly poverty dinner, took the Little Prince to a Wiggles concert, went to a wine tasting (and was poured into my house at the end of the evening), celebrated Thanksgiving with our parents and our exchange student, and did a flight in a fellow Rotarian’s private plane with the exchange student so she could see the area in the fall from the sky.  I was also juggling other committee commitments as well…sometimes having to work with the politicians I was fighting against – life is nothing if not complicated!

Fortunately another councilor decided December was too long to wait and asked that the vote be on October 30^th.  This left us 6 weeks to fill so the police committee got to work on a few information brochures and I spent my time gently lobbying a councilor and the deputy mayor.  Coffees, phone calls and talks in the hallways of town hall have become the norm.  Fortunately, when the vote came down, after an hour of debating in council chambers, one of the councilors decided to listen to the people who elected him and changed his vote.  Town hall erupted in applause as it was finally decided we would be keeping our police force.  I felt like I could breathe for the first time in months!  We all went to the pub for champagne, speeches and to hang out with the cops.  I turned to address the police chief at one point during my speech and saw him wipe a tear away.  This is how important the fight was for our town.  

In November I reconnected with friends I have missed for a few months, got to work on choosing next year’s outbound exchange student for the Rotary club, started plans for the 2013 Christmas committee and started thinking about the holidays.  We saw the holiday train go through town and I’ve decided to try to get it to stop here next year.  We attended the candlelight walk through town and the lighting of the park, and the Santa Claus parade.

In December I worked a lot, took the exchange student to Toronto for the Christmas Market and dinner at my favourite spot, met with the head of the poverty coalition to talk about forming a board in January, organized a pot luck dinner for the Rotary club, rang the bell for the Salvation Army outside the liquor store (I knew I would see most of the people I know), went to the Little Prince’s school pageant, took a stuffed animal for the hockey team’s annual Teddy Bear Toss and wound up in the paper again for helping out…and then everything came to a screeching halt when the Little Prince got sick, then fell down and did something to his ankle that has left him in a cast for a few weeks.  He spent more than a week in bed and I wasn’t sure he would manage Christmas…but the little guy rallied and managed to smile while opening his presents and got to see his grandparents.  I took a few hours away on Christmas day to serve lunch to the poor as a friend of mine organizes it each year.  It was lots of busy, fun work and quite a few of my friends did the same, donned an apron and provided a nice meal for people who wouldn’t have one otherwise.

I have been busy getting Royal Ribbons back on track; I added a few new products and have plans to add more in 2013.  The latest is custom mugs which I spent a day traveling all over the city to prepare for and in one day got enough orders to put me in the black – I’m calling it a success!   Life is still all about meetings and lunches – I get calls from all over the place from people asking me to help them take on their own town hall – so I keep busy, which is fine with me!

The Little Prince is doing well in Montessori school and he is making lots of friends there.  The Suburban Prince has been working away , doing his thing, and I have taken a part time job at a local funeral home, as well as joining a few more committees.  

I am exhausted just proof reading all that!  Yes, I tend to bite off more than I can chew but isn’t that what makes life fun?  2013 will be another wild year I’m sure – and I am looking forward to it!

From my family to yours, all the very best for 2013! 

2008 was the worst and hardest year of my life.
2009 was about picking up the pieces and survival.
2010 was about figuring it all out.
2011 was meant to be epic but I can't remember much of it!
2012 was my year.  I found my stride, proved what I am made of and plan to take that into 2013 to accomplish more, bigger, better things.

Look out world! 

Happy New Year!
Happy Hogmanay!


 
Have a fabulous day!

Happy New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

HAPPY HOGMANAY!

From my house to yours...all the best for 2012!

Have a fabulous year!


PS....Update on Hermes Scarf Friend...she was moved from ICU to a regular room yesterday afternoon.  She is feeling poorly and just wants to get home to get a decent sleep but is generally ok.  She is waiting for an MRI so we don't know when she will be released but hopefully it's soon!  Thank you all for keeping her in your thoughts - keep hoping for a clean MRI!

Bye 2011! Hello 2012!

Happy New Year!

Have a fabulous 2012!

Ps... Please keep my friend Hermes Scarf Friend in your thoughts....she was taken to the hospital yesterday after having seizures and we have no idea what is going on with her. 

Forgotten Christmas Photos

I am already thinking ahead to Valentine's day but I realised I hadn't done anything with the photos from the Christmas season!  Oooops!  So here is a quick little visual recap...

On December 22nd we went to High Heeled Life's house for the day.  When we arrived we got the tour, cracked open a bottle of champers and had a snack while the boys went out for a mini hike.  HHL had these amazing little cupcakes that were so good I couldnt stop eating them!  I dont normally like buttercream but these were just amazing!  YUM!  I keep thinking about them!  Fortunately I had pills for my tummy and didn't suffer from my wheat allergy.

The bakery had lots of cute designs on their cupcakes!

High Heeled Life had lots of food out to nibble on!

I am hoping HHL will let us know what these are!

HHL gave us a box of cookies made by a friend of hers.  How cute are these little mittens?!  The baker did a lovely job with them and the details and packaging were beautiful!  I studied them to figure out how she made them!

On New Year's Day we went to my inlaws for Hogmanay dinner...or so I thought.  There was nothing traditional on the table or served and I left feeling a bit let down.  I think if someone is going to insist on hosting everyone for a dinner someone else usually hosts, they should stick to the traditional menu.  The flowers were beautiful tho!  And perfect colours! 

There is something to be said for the perfect simplicity of a pink carnation.

Have a fabulous day!

Goodbye 2010

It has come time to say goodbye to 2010.  It feels like the year that never was...where did it go?   I was looking through blog posts from the past year and realised things I thought happened in the summer actually happened in January and February - how strange is that!?  Why was I so apathetic about so much of it?  Just thinking about this Christmas I could've easily skipped over it and gone on with my life without regret...I am surprised at how many people I know feel the same way.  Most people I know didnt bother with presents, decorated out of obligation, and have opted to pack up their decor early.  Perhaps we squeezed all we could out of 2010 by Halloween and just needed to get on with new beginnings, fresh starts and the big plans we have for 2011.

It's not that I didnt enjoy 2010....it just seems like it was more a time of laying groundwork for bigger things.  It is the year I had my midlife crisis.  It shocks me but I spent a good chunk of the year trying to recapture 1985 and everything I felt, learned and cherished that year.  My ipod has been playing a lot of Phil Collins, Miami Vice, Van Halen and Def Leopard - I keep finding myself closing my eyes and I can almost transport myself to a high school dance or party.  I can conjure the way my locker smelled (a combination of Finesse and Wind Drift) and the way the cafeteria sounded every day at lunch time.  Suddenly, while writing this, I remembered my grade 9 crush.  I wont say his name here, I havnt seen him since and for all I know he has google alerts and will crawl out of the woodwork to shatter the memories - I prefer to keep him tucked away as a handsome teenage boy in jeans, topsiders and a rugby shirt rather than a 40-something, balding, out of shape, peaked-at-eighteen middle aged man who will no doubt be wearing short sleeved dress shirts.  I will remember him as the boy who, while knowing I had a gargantuan crush on him, stopped to make sure I was ok when he saw I was crying in a secluded hallway.  A simple kindness, but one that might've shaped my view of men from from then on.  Perhaps my husband owes him a beer.

2010 was the year of the most amazing Olympics I can remember!  Canada put on an awesome show and many incredible performances!  I've never been prouder to be a Canadian and we showed the world how it's done!

2010 was a year of perspective.  One friend was airlifted to the city while going through a heart attack and another lost her home to a fire.  I stopped more than a few times this year simply to count my blessings.  I told the Suburban Prince that a friend always says 'She's rich' when she is asked what I do for a living.  His response?  We are.  We are?  Huh?  Yes, we are rich.  We have our health, a roof over our heads, cars in the driveway, food in the fridge, electricity, running water, heat and the means to enjoy a nice life.  And, each other.  What more does anyone need to be defined as rich? 

Remember waiting for months for the new Sex and the City movie?  I had such high hopes and left the theatre feeling a bit let down.  Sure the parties and antics and outfits we fun, but isnt Charlotte's conversation with Miranda what we really walked away with?  Even when we get everything we want, life can be hard sometimes.  Children certainly show us what we are made of and who we really are.  Sometimes mommy just needs to get away and be her old self to be able to appreciate (and tollerate) what she has at home.  And that's ok.

2010 brought us the follow up to The Official Preppy Handbook and I know I was counting down the days leading up to it's release.  The silence was deafening.  Dare I say it?  True Prep wasnt all we hoped it would be?  It followed the format, stayed true to the ideals and certainly helped us through the fleece minefield!  But what was missing?  Lisa Birnbach told me she had no idea we were looking for an update....I told her we could've used some help through the 90's.  I dont know if we learned anything new but it certainly reinforced, for most of us, we were going in the right direction.  For those of us who weren't born American, to a legacy, near a country club or sailing school, we need the reassurance from the prep of all preps and for that, Lisa, I thank you.

In 2010 my blog went in every direction...maybe this year it will find it's place - much like my life.  I spent this year 'finding myself' but let's not get to deep, I like to find myself at cocktail parties and charity events.  I often wondered if I am writing a lifestyle blog - I write about my lifestyle so who knows.  Do I think I am writing a preppy blog?  It never occured to me to define my blog that way as I couldn't imagine writing only of preppy things.  My preppiness is a natural state so it's not like I think it is anything special.  Certainly not special enough for me to put thought and typing into it.  I just blog what I like, what I observe and what I think is funny.  Whatever my blog ends up being...please dont ever call it a 'mommy blog'...there are enough of those out there as it is!

For the first time in my life I actually considered being a party planner.  I dont know how I fell into this except that I have a small child who has birthdays and I have a big ego.  I have never done anything half way and dont like to be outdone by anyone.  Perhaps not my best character trait but without people who go over the top, the rest of us might not know the bar is set high and at least make an attempt to reach it.  I love throwing parties and with my blog I have had a chance to showcase what I do.  So many people are gracious enough to think (or at least say) I do a good job and the suggestion came up many, many times, 'You should be a party planner'.  Maybe 2011 is the year for this.  Maybe now I feel the time is right.  Maybe now it will all come together.  Maybe now I know what I will be when I grow up.

When one goes through a midlife crisis, one has to confirm their worth.  One needs to know the last 25 years meant something, that one learned something and in a sense, has cast a shadow.  As I entered the 40th year of my life I kept asking 'What have I accomplished?' and struggled to find the answer.  Im not a captain of industry, hadnt become famous, hadnt created anything, left my mark on anything, changed anyone's life or path and I certainly didn't feel I had done much but float through life, easy peasy, on a pink cloud, never really needing to put much effort into anything.  But 40 loomed.  Waiting.  Daring me to prove something.  Anything!  I started thinking my life over and realised I had learned an awful lot.  So many people had come and gone, so many places have been visited, relationships ended, loved ones died and through it all I listened to people...so many wise people, but I also listened to myself.  I dont consider myself a very deep person but somewhere inside I had something to say and it started pouring out, onto my keyboard and into the blogisphere.  I took the most important things I have learned over the last 25 years and turned them into a book.   A book!  While I was dancing through life, unbeknownst to me, a book was brewing.  It isnt a big book nor it is my last book, but it will always be...my first book.

While I was busy trying to perhaps define myself I was invited to join Rotary International and tagged along with a friend to a few meetings.  Smartest.Decision.This.Year.  Suddenly I was where I belong!  Surrounded by fun, ambitious, energetic people who are dedicated to bettering our community.  I suspect this is my big chance to make a name for myself in our little town.  To show them what I'm made of.  I see a step-and-repeat in my future!

In 2010 I met my dear friend High Heeled Life.  Who knew anyone near me would ever read my blog and find a connection!  From the moment we met we have been great friends and I am so grateful for that first email she sent me that started it all.  I know my life wouldnt be the same with her and MrG in it and I love knowing the Little Prince has an auntie and uncle who dote on him and have become a part of our family.  Without HHL my book would still be sitting on my laptop waiting for someone to believe in me and for that I will forever owe her a debt of gratitude.

I have always loved theatre and for some reason saw more shows this year than I have seen in the last 10 years.  I can only assume it is because when mommy finally got back into life and out in the world, I decided I was leaving no stone unturned, no cork unpopped and no show unseen!

The Little Prince found his voice.  At last.  After months of work, classes, an amazing school and the never ending efforts we put into him, he has surpassed the level expected of him and at his 3rd birthday will be tested for kindergarten.  A whole year early!  My heart overflows with pride everytime he runs down the hall yelling 'Mommy, mommy, mommy!!', a word I thought I would never hear.  I am brought to tears every time I think of how far he has come and know he is destined for greatness.  The love I have for this child is unfathomable, indefinable, overflowing, unending and every time he puts his hands on my face and comes in for a big sloppy kiss I am brought to a place of peace and I know where I belong.  At two and a half he can count to 100, spell his name, recite our phone number, name every animal we have ever shown him and repeats everything I say...the good, the bad and the not so pretty.  The best Christmas present was hearing him sing Frosty The Snowman.  I guess we both found our voices this year! 

2008 was the worst and hardest year of my life.
2009 was about picking up the pieces and survival.
2010 was about figuring it all out.

2011 is going to be epic.  Huge.  My year. 
It's the year I simplify, minimize and take everything I prepared for this year and make it happen. 

Happy New Year!


Have a fabulous day!

Happy Hogmanay!

Being Scottish, today is an important day! Hogmanay is the last day of the year and the Scots take it very seriously! My parents have lots of stories of wild nights spent going from house to house celebrating with their friends and neighbours! These days we spend New Years Day with my parents and have Hogmanay dinner with all of our parents. The menu ALWAYS includes steak pie (my Gran's recipe) and roasted potatoes. My mum makes shortbread and I make the haggis pastries. It is a great way to start the new year!

**There are many customs, both national and local, associated with Hogmanay. The most widespread national custom is the practice of 'first-footing' which starts immediately after midnight. This involves being the first person to cross the threshold of a friend or neighbour and often involves the giving of symbolic gifts such as salt (less common today), coal, shortbread, whisky, and black bun (a rich fruit cake) intended to bring different kinds of luck to the householder. Food and drink (as the gifts) are then given to the guests. This may go on throughout the early hours of the morning and well into the next day (although modern days see people visiting houses until 3 January). The first-foot is supposed to set the luck for the rest of the year.

Although it is acceptable in many places for the first-footer to be a resident of the house, they must not be in the house at the stroke of midnight in order to first-foot (thus going out of the house after midnight and then coming back in to the same house is not considered to be first-footing). The first-foot is traditionally a tall, dark-haired male; a female or fair-haired male are in some places regarded as unlucky.

The first-foot usually brings several gifts, including perhaps a coin, bread, salt, coal, or a drink (usually whisky), which respectively represent financial prosperity, food, flavour, warmth, and good cheer.

Auld Lang Syne was written by Scotland's National Poet, Robert Burns and literally means "old long since", but a more idiomatic English translation would be something like "long long ago", "days of long ago", or "olden days". "For old times' sake," or "to the (good) old days," or "To days(or times) gone by" may be modern-day expressions, in common use as toasts, that capture the spirit of "for auld lang syne". Although the song begins with a question whether old times should be forgotten, the song is generally interpreted as a call to remember long standing friendships.**

**Source - Wikipedia**


Have a fabulous day!

My New Year's Eve Table!

I decided to set the table early so I dont have to rush tomorrow! This gives me time to find anything I realise is missing!

Gold napkins nestled in crystal wine glasses are a cozy spot for chocolate champagne bottles! I decorated in all gold and silver this year with gold chargers and lots of confetti in the shape of diamonds, wrapped presents and snowflakes! The diamond tea light holders were a Christmas present from a friend!

I put NYE party hats up the middle of the table - they add some height but arent so tall that we wont be able to see each other! I should've put the cutlery out properly before I started taking photos!

Lots of sparkle, glitter and candlelight!


Have a fabulous day!