That Just Happened!

The final day of Happiness week.  The things that have made me happy so far are Angus (my pug), going to the theater to see awesome shows (like Wicked), flowers for no reason (especially daisies) and winning things.  There are so many other things that make me happy.  Sunny days, decaf-grande-non-fat-no-whip-mochas from Starbucks, going to the bookstore…  

I recently realized I need to start appreciating the things that make me happy and that means actively seeking them out, so this week I did Happiness week.  These things all made me happy in the last 5 days.  Now, I am not a natural optimist, or cheery person, like Mille.  I am not a busy, call-it-like-it is new wife like Stephtastic.  I’m not an amazing, plethora of fun-filled facts of book and film like Kricket.  I don’t have the ability to create magical worlds like my bloggie friend Blond Duck.  I am not a hilarious mom like Jenners (whose blog is one of the first I ever read and started following). But I can learn from each of them.   

Day 5 is about friends and family.  People that are always there to laugh with, leave a supportive comment, or share experiences with, whether they are in the real world or in blogland.  MPW, and The Art Owl (formerly known as Jamo!) are two men in my life who I can always count on.  I have an extensive family and dear friends who sometimes get featured on the blog, but always let me know they read it.  Friends and family are always there to lend a helping hand and to offer kind words of wisdom and advice.  Friends and family are really why I started this blog just over 1 year ago.  

I’ve been blogging for a year (as of October 5th) and have 189 posts (this is my 190th) and 794 comments.  It’s those comments that keep me coming back for more.  The sharing of the craziness that can sometimes be life and all the reads along the way.  I’ve talked about work, family, weddings, engagements, books, challenges, friends, my life at home, and shoes.  Thanks for sticking around through my first year, I hope you are here for the second.   

Not my 1st Bday, but I AM wearing a tiara.

Bender, Aimee.  The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake.  Doubelday (2010).

On the eve of her ninth birthday, unassuming Rose Edelstein, a girl at the periphery of schoolyard games and her distracted parents’ attention, bites into her mother’s homemade lemon-chocolate cake and discovers she has a magical gift: she can taste her mother’s emotions in the cake. She discovers this gift to her horror, for her mother—her cheerful, good-with-crafts, can-do mother—tastes of despair and desperation. Suddenly, and for the rest of her life, food becomes a peril and a threat to Rose.

RandomHouse.com

My Mom has always said, “Never  bake cookies when you are angry.  It shows in your cookies.  Your cookies will be hard and give people tummy-aches.”  Growing up, this was the general rule and one that was strictly enforced.  Looking back, it was probably because my Mom didn’t want to have to deal with my sour attitude (I swear I got teen angst at 8  ) or fights between Stephtastic and myself. 

When I came across this book I knew I had to read it.  (I usually give credit where credit is due, but for some reason I didn’t make note of which blog I saw this on first, so if it was you, thank you very much.)  Rose can taste people’s deepest, darkest feelings in anything they cook and it makes eating very difficult, especially when faced with eating stuff made by her family.  I thought this was a really well-written book.  There was a few pages there near the end that I thought were a little bit of a stretch, but I liked the overall feel to the book.   The ending is bitter-sweet, but I think it was perfect for the story.

I just made apple pie over here and as I waited for it to bake I couldn’t help but think about this novel.  I think it will probably be at the forefront of my mind each time I bake now, along with my Mom’s cautionary words.  I tried to think happy thoughts, but if Rose were to taste the pie it would probably taste like anxiety.  I always worry too much about what it will taste like and if people will like it.  Thank goodness I made two because now I can taste it before I give one to Stephtastic…in apology for all the tummy ache cookies from my youth. 

I say this book is a Must Read.  It had a great premise, was well-written and I enjoyed it overall.

As mentioned previously, Sunday was a very special outing.  As you may have guessed from the post title, we went to the Toronto Zoo!  What fun!  MPW, my mom, Stephtastic, KB, Jamo, and my cousin’s husband Tim and their little Timbit.  Unfortunately, there won’t be any pictures of Timbit because his parents don’t really like him being on the internet, but trust me when I say he was adorable!  So cute and vocal.  He laughed and laughed and laughed and flirted and flirted and flirted.  Seriously, at 1-year old he has more game than most guys I know.  

I can, however, show you some pics of the animals.  We saw lions and tigers and other animals.  You thought I was going to say bears, didn’t you?  Well I saw polar bears, but not grizzlies because you have to walk down the steepest hill ever to get to them.  Seriously, coming back up I have seen parents pushing their strollers with their backs because it is so steep and strollers are suprisingly heavy!  Plus, it was H.O.T!  

Yes, the theme of the last week.  It has been really, really hot here in Toronto.  It’s not the temperature that is killer, it’s the humidity.  Honestly, it is 30 degrees celcius, but feels like 42 with the humid factor.  Which means it feels like 107°F.  Walking around the zoo was hot and the indoor exhibits don’t have air conditioning.  Even the tiger was in the water!  Near the end of the day it clouded over, which was a temporary relief.   Temporary because it started pouring! Luckily, MPW were 10 feet away from the car.  If we had decided to see the grizzlies, we would have been soaked, so I think it was a good decision to leave when we did.  

I like the Toronto Zoo and think it is so educational, but I must admit, seeing the animals in their cages makes me a little sad.  However, I know they get the best care and the Zoo is fundraising like crazy to update their exhibits.  In addition, there are extensive programs that help to reintroduce endangered animals into the wild.  Without further ado, here are some pictures from our outing.   

One final pic for you, the following is a tongue-in-cheek commentary on global warming.   

Yeah, That Just Happened!