Home Is Definitely Wherever My Heart Is

A few years back I made the difficult decision to walk away from my life in the Land of White Picket Fences and subsequently found myself unpacking my earthly treasures slightly further down the food chain, in a place I affectionately refer to as "the ghetto".

My first stop was a 2 bedroom apartment my friends and I proudly dubbed "Casa Loca". It was a sight to behold. Mmmhmm. Right out of the pages of Better Homes and Gardens, I tell ya. BH&G circa 1957, that is. I'm not sure which I fell in love with first - the robin's egg blue tub, matching sink and mis-matching yellow, black and pink tile in the bathroom OR the 'push button' stove top (you know it's bad when your 60+ yr old parents have no frame of reference for such an appliance!). I'd include photos, but that would inevitably lead each of you to covet my good fortune and I simply can't be responsible for anyone (besides myself) breaking one of the 10 Commandments on a Sunday.

If all the *ahem* one-of-a-kind fixtures weren't enough to sell me on the place, I soon discovered that my new home also came with an around the clock watchdog service - namely unemployed 'Toothless heart transplant guy' in the unit above and 'Pajama pants grandpa' in the unit below - no fearful nights for this newly single-again gal!

As much as it pained me, after a year of livin' the high life in Unit 6, I set out in search of something a little more spacious and a whole lot more soundproof. Leaving remnants of my glamorous new lifestyle at the curb (sadly, not every piece of 2nd hand furniture is built to survive multiple transitions), I hit the jackpot AGAIN (what are the odds?!) and moved the remainder of my worldly goods *read Tupperware* into a 2 bedroom townhouse in a fabulous neighbourhood (why, just today we had police cars roaring down our street at 8 am - talk about tight security!). It's my self-proclaimed "Castle of Fun" where - you guessed it - the thrills are cheap, and anything goes.

While I haven't yet discovered any rare and unique amenities in Unit 7 , I'm pretty sure it still qualifies as ghetto livin' and that suits me just fine. There's been something humbling, but also liberating about calling these places home. It's my space (as long as I keep dropping those cheques in the Superintendent's mailbox each month) and it's filled with an abundance of laughter and love (not to mention my $13 TV *cha-ching*) ... that's my idea of prime real estate. No white picket fence required.

Fronti nulla fides.

Fair Warning ~ to Men Everywhere!

There are only 73 shopping days 'til Christmas, guys ... use 'em wisely!

*Special thanks to the BWSRN for sending me this link last year; hmmm, wonder why that was?!*

Caveat emptor.

Be Thankful

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that

the highest appreciation is not to utter words,

but to live by them."

~ John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Acta non verba.

Faith Restored

I really dig my lawyer. He wears dress shirts with monogrammed french cuffs and each time I'm in his office he's sporting a new pair of whimsical cuff links. He uses a tortoise shell fountain pen that I covet (and, come to think of it, probably paid for) and shares my belief that watches aren't just timepieces, they're a reflection of your personal style (and you neeeed more than 1). If all of this weren't enough to make him one of my favourite people - he has Latin on his letterhead, and (despite his accessory savoir faire) he's a guy's guy who loves my Montreal Canadiens.

Today I'm especially fond of my lawyer - not for any of the above reasons - but because he's proven once again that he's the ideal advocate for me. Over the past 10 months he's given me a virtual cuff to the back of the head when I was tempted to sell myself short, chastised me for crying cuz I'm "stronger than that" ... and acted both wisely and efficiently to secure my interests. Yes, it is a job I pay him *coughbillionscough* to do, but of his own accord he's played fair and he's played clean. I really dig that.

Fortiter in re, suaviter in modo .

Cara Mia, Leandra ~ Con Amore

"If there is anything that we wish to change in the child, we should first examine it and see whether it is not something that could better be changed in ourselves." ~ C.G. Jung

I see in her both traces of my strengths and echoes of my weaknesses ... my darling lioness cub. I should have known when she entered this world with a roar that she would be capable of not only bringing me to my knees in utter desperation, but also moving me to tears of immense pride and adoration.

She's fearless, strong-willed and unyielding ... while simultaneously deeply compassionate, generous and loving. My job as her Mama is to help her strike that delicate balance between the extremes - a job for which I feel woefully under qualified. Moderation and shades of grey have never been hallmarks of my character; further indication that she is indeed my flesh and blood!

While she challenges me daily and forces me to look inward at my own inconsistencies, I see evidence of the woman she has the potential to become ... one whose strength of character and unshakable resolve will leave an indelible mark of greatness on her world. (That is, of course, assuming we both survive her childhood intact! lol)

Dulcius ex asperis.

"Bittersweet October"

"The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause
between the opposing miseries of summer and winter."
~ Carol Bishop Hipps