The More We Get Together The Happier We'll Be

A woman in London is collaborating with people from all over the world to create a unique music experience. Another example of the internet making the world a nicer place to be.

12 songs hundreds of remix possibilities, Calendar Songs.

When The Party Girl Matures

It’s been exactly one month since we moved here from Vancouver.

We left the small 2 bedroom downtown condo that my husband and I bought when I was pregnant with our oldest. We left Stanley Park. We left the hustle and buzz of streets that never sleep. We left prolific, cheap, tasty sushi. We left the 2 block walk to the spectacular views of English Bay. We left the uncompromising, unabashedly beautiful diversity of the West End. We left the rain. We left our standing super-fun family outing of taking the little taxi boats across the mouth of False Creek to spend the afternoon shopping and eating and bird feeding/chasing at Granville Island. We left our amazing friends. We left the home my children were born in. We left our community. We left the only place in the world until now that I ever really called home.

I miss Vancouver.

But I am very happy and at peace with our choice to move to Vernon. I love it here. The peace and quiet. The happy and friendly people. The slower pace. The lakes. The mountains. The wineries and orchards. The freedom that comes from not having to worry about what the neighbours are thinking as my kids leap off the coffee table and thud onto the floor for the 16th time thus rattling loose what I am sure are huge chunks of ceiling from above my very patient and tolerant former neighbours' heads.

I'm as surprised as anyone to hear myself say this but, life is good here.

A Peek Into My Psyche

This game will never get boring.

Somethings You Just Can't Explain

My boys came running out of the computer room this afternoon, eyes brimming with tears, terror on their faces, "momma, momma!!" as they tried to wriggle behind my back, seeking protection. I could hear strange noises emitting from the computer speakers.

"What have you two gotten into on the computer?"

"Nothing!" my older son declares. "We were just watching cartoons and we found something too scary!"

A blood-curdling scream comes from the computer. What the heck were they watching?

Turns out they stumbled on some cartoon Michael Jackson parody and it Freaked. Them. Out. (It didn't help that the other cartoon characters were also terrified of the creepy Michael Jackson caricature popping up from behind the couch asking about the children; ha ha ha). The boys were horrified by the image of this ghostly, rhinoplastied presence with the inhumanly squeaky voice. I tried to comfort them by explaining that the cartoon was a joke, poking fun at a famous singer. But this only seemed to make matters worse.

I spent the rest of the afternoon fielding question after question regarding Michael Jackson’s career, childhood and decent into madness. Why did he make his face look like that? Why did he go crazy? Is he a good crazy or bad crazy? My five year old repeatedly wanted assurances that Michael Jackson lived no where near us and that he had no plans to leave his palatial estate in Dubai and come here to Vernon.

I tell you, explaining the mental stability of a former super star who disfigures himself, pays women to bear his children and may or may not sleep with young boys to a 5 and 3 year old takes a lot of creative, round-about explaining.

After all, I don't want to give the kids nightmares or anything...

5 Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Children Do

Two weeks ago I saw this clip of Gever Tulley, founder of the Tinkering School, talking about the need for children to challenge their environment and earn a few scrapes and bruises in the process.



I couldn't agree more.

Why I Am Loving Living In A Small Town

1. When in line at the supermarket, people actually offer to let me go ahead of them when they see I'm wrangling 3 boisterous children with my left hand while balancing the cantaloupe, jug of milk and deli bbq chicken with my right.
2. I can drive my oldest to kindergarten, my younger son to preschool, my husband to work and get home before the babe realizes it's been a whole 20 minutes since she last nursed.
3. When we go to story time at the library there is actually room for my kids to sit and participate without having to elbow the smaller and weaker children out of the way.
4. People are actually friendly, no kidding, for really and truly, sincerely friendly.
5. A flock of quails meandered down our street... like they belonged there.