Maple Leaf Mommy

I have been feeling utterly horrible for weeks now. Bad headaches, dizzy spells, pain in my chest, feeling like I am going to black out, unable to focus. Just feeling like utter crap. It started just before Halloween. It was almost midnight on a Sunday. Hubby and I had just finished watching TV for the night and were heading up to bed. I made it as far as the kitchen, when I felt a pain sort of in my underarm. My hand went numb and I felt like I was going to pass out. I thought I was having a stroke. I was terrified. I stood shaking in the kitchen, scared. I drank a glass of water. I went up to the bedroom and poked my half-asleep husband and told him I didn't feel well. He told me to either call Telehealth Ontario or to go to sleep. I wondered if I should go to emergency, but I dreaded having to wake the kids and bring them with us. I tried to lay down and go to sleep, but ironically feeling like I was going to pass out made me unable to calm down and sleep. I got up and paced the room. I went to the bathroom. Paced. Panicked. Tried laying down again and eventually fell asleep. I woke up in the morning and I felt... not like I had the night before, but just off.  I felt utterly exhausted. Lifting my arms was too much work. I just felt completely spent. I thought about going to the walk-in clinic when my husband got home that night, but I didn't want to ruin Halloween for the girls. I was supposed to take G-Girl out Trick or Treating this year, while my husband stayed home with Baby-G and handed out the loot. I begged him to swap spots with me as I didn't feel up to trekking up and down the street. 

The next morning I woke up and I felt fine. My husband came home from work, expecting to take me to the clinic and I told him not to bother. I felt silly. I felt like it was all in my head. I felt like I was being a hypochondriac. This continued for several weeks. I'd have a bad spell, and while I was feeling like I was going to pass out I 'd be scared, and think "Wow, I definitely need to go see the doctor.", but then it would pass and I'd fell silly again. However, it happened enough times that I realized it couldn't just be in my mind. My husband had the day off, so I tried to call and get in to see my family physician but she was booked solid. Would I like to come in next week? Working out how to get there, how to watch the kids, ugh. No, thanks. I'll call back.

The next morning I had a really bad spell. It was a Saturday morning, and I was supposed to be taking Baby-G to her Kindermusik classes. My husband asked me why I wasn't ready to go, and when I told him how I felt like I was going to black out he insisted I head to the clinic. Prior to leaving I spoke to my Dad on the phone.  My Dad's a diabetic and he thought I might be experiencing low blood sugar. Following his suggestion I drank a big glass of apple juice before heading out the door. My husband dropped me off at the clinic. It was busy and the wait was long. While sitting there waiting I quite suddenly felt better. It felt as though someone had thrown a switch.The roomer was brighter and in better focus.  I felt like someone had laid a cool cloth on my forehead. I still felt lousy, but  I no longer felt like I was going to immediately pass out.  It was actually a bit frustrating, as it would have been great if I had been feeling truly about-to-pass-out-lousy when I finally got in to see the doctor.

Once they took me in, they tested my blood pressure, which was fine. They tested my blood sugar, which was four-point-something, aka in the normal range for fasting sugar. I hadn't had breakfast, but I did have that glass of juice. So I wondered how accurate the reading was, but didn't get a chance to ask. They gave me an EKG and told me my heart checked out fine, which was a big relief.  Then they gave me a form, instructed me to have blood work done on Monday and told me to report back to my family doctor.

Monday I went as ordered, having fasted since the night before. Peed in a cup. Gave several vials of blood. Felt perfectly fine. Then I had to wait a week for the results to come in. Booked an appointment with my family doctor for the following Monday and waited.   I was feeling progressively lousier. I was now spending part of each day feeling like I was going to pass out.  There didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it. Was it always in the morning, or always at night? No. Always after certain activities? No. Right after meals? No. After certain foods? No.

I was hoping maybe it was just fatigue, lack of sleep.  I have been trying to go to bed "early" each night, rather then stay up late blogging. The house is a sty. I am about twenty blog posts behind. I am grumpy as hell. The majority of the time I feel lousy, just off. I can't describe it. Maybe 10% of the time I feel like a normal human being. And the rest of the time I feel like I am about to lose consciousness.  And my tongue feels weird. It feels like I scalded it on hot water, but I don't remember doing that. My tongue feels dry all the time. It feels like I should stick it out and hang it in a bowl of water.

Yesterday I finally went and saw my family doctor. I explained how I've been feeling. She looked at the results for the blood work, and said everything looked fine except my cholesterol. Iron fine. Blood sugar fine. Cholesterol high, which is not good, but not what would be causing me to feel like this. She still thought it might be my blood sugar and ordered a three-hour fasting glucose tolerance test.  She said if I felt like I was going to black out, that I should drink some orange juice, lay on my back and elevate my feet and that it should pass within 15-30 minutes. Try this, and if she's right, if it's the blood sugar, it should help. I left with a warning against eating eggs and red meat, a form for the test, and a sheaf of photocopies, suggesting what my new low-cholesterol diet should be.

I head home. I'm hungry. The girls are hungry.  I am searching the fridge trying to figure out what the hell I can eat.  Not too much carbs, carbs are bad for the blood sugar... Must be low fat, low cholesterol. I guess this meat and onion pasty I picked up from the Market on the weekend is not going to cut it. I end up making a bag of Life Choice Multigrain Broccoli Cheddar Pierogies. I just boil them and skip margarine, skip the onions and the frying.  I give some to G to eat and munch on the rest between peeling carrots and parsnips for dinner.  I have dinner (whole chicken, potatoes, carrots and parsnips), ready and roasting in the oven by 1pm.

I feed the baby her own dairy-free lunch and then get the girls ready for nap time. I am starting to feel rather lousy. By the time I finish getting G-Girl down the baby is awake and yelling something from her room. I head in to find that she vomited on her sheets. I clean her, change the bed, and toss her poor stuffed doll in the wash. I rock her and nurse her and she falls back asleep. I am now feeling decidedly lousy. So I try and take a nap. 20 minutes into naptime the phone rings, telemarketer calling. G-Girl wakes up, makes a ruckus and wakes her sister. I want to kill her. I want a nap damn it. I wake up starving, so I eat the two pierogies G-Girl didn't finish up.  I tell her she has to play quietly in her room, and I try and calm Baby-G down.

I have a sponsored post that I have to write for a deadline. I have guests coming over to my house at 7pm to game. Well, at least dinner is in the oven. My husband gets home and I coerce him into watching the girls while I write my paid post. I grab a coffee and lock myself in the computer room for an hour and a half. As I am finishing up I am starting to feel like I am going to black out. I am trying to send in the link for the post I just wrote and I can't focus on the screen. It's hard to read.  I find myself shaking my head trying to clear it. Right. I'm supposed to drink juice. No orange juice in the house, so I pour myself a big glass of apple cider. It is after 6pm. Our guests will be arriving soon. I don't have time to feel lousy. I stand in the kitchen, shaking, drinking juice, trying to de-bone a chicken and get dinner on the table.

We sit down to eat, and I am feeling absolutely lousy. I can't focus. The baby is upset and wants something, but I cant' figure out what she is trying to tell me. I turn my head to answer a question from G-Girl and I try and focus on her face. She looks like she has three eyes. I can't do this. I ask my husband to take care of the baby and I go and lay on the floor in my daughters bedroom. I am laying with my feet up, in the dark room, staring at the ceiling. I can't focus. the ceiling fan looks like some sort of exotic flower. I feel like I am going to pass out. I feel like all the blood is rushing to my head. I feel like, rather then lying flat on the floor, I must be lying upside down with my head hanging off the bed. Then I quite suddenly feel better. Again it feels like someone flipped a switch. I no longer feel like I am about to black out. The ceiling fan is just a ceiling fan. I feel better, but still incredibly lousy. I am no longer in a panic, feeling like I am about to lose consciousness, but I still don't feel right. I lay on the floor in the dark room for a few minutes more. G-Girl comes into her room and I help her get into her PJs. I cautiously get up off the ground and turn on the light. I have a headache. It feels like my eyes have been straining to see, and now my head aches. I feel a bit nauseous.  When I turn on the light I realize that my vision is clouded on the right side. I can see perfectly fine through my right eye, by my left eye is like someone smeared Vaseline on my glass lens.

Ok, this I recognize. Sometimes I have spots in my vision, followed by a migraine headache. Classic migraine syndrome, my optometrist tells me. Nothing to worry about. Quite common. Normally, this happens to me a few times a year. But lately it's been far more frequent. This is probably the fourth or fifth time in as many weeks. Knowing I am in for a migraine I head to the bathroom and take my doctor's suggested cocktail of one ibuprofen, one acetaminophen. I pour myself a second glass of apple cider, thinking the juice might help some how. I put the leftovers away and head downstairs to say hello to my friends who are sitting in the basement waiting to roleplay.

I try and play the game. I can't focus. My head feels like it's imploding, and I just keep feeling more and more nauseous. Twice I hurry to the bathroom thinking I am going to vomit, but it's a false alarm. Finally around 9:30 I apologize and slink off to bed. I feel like a jerk for walking out on company.

Is this diabetes? Is this what it feels like?

I had gestational diabetes with my first pregnancy.  I don't really remember what I ate. What I remember most is the inconvenience of the diet. Not the food itself but the damn schedule. I absolutely had to get up, take my insulin and eat by 7:30am. I had to have snacks at various set times throughout the day. I couldn't nap in the afternoon because I had to have a snack at 2pm. I couldn't go to bed early at night because I had to have my 10pm snack, wait and take my bedtime insulin shot at 11:30pm.  I hated that the damn meals dictated when I could and couldn't sleep. I had to test my blood sugar all the time. I followed the diet they gave me to the letter, and no matter what I did my sugar levels continues to climb. So I took insulin for the final weeks of my pregnancy. But through out it all I felt perfectly fine.

This lousy feeling I've been having... is this what having diabetes feels like? Is this why my dad was always so darn grumpy? Ugh.

I am trying to eat right, but I don't really know what right is. Despite the fact that my father is diabetic, he wasn't diagnosed until after I moved out of the house, and  I have little or no clue what the proper diet really consists of.  Google search of diabetic diet leads me to all sorts of recipes. I'm overwhelmed. Trying to work out who is going to watch the girls so I can go for this three hour glucose test. And then 10 days later back to see my family physician. In the meantime, not much I can do but wait and see.

WagJag is one of my favourite daily deal sites. It's also the perfect spot for doing your holiday shopping.  This year WagJag has launched a Holiday Shoppe section, which is full of great holiday gift ideas.

Now you might be thinking that giving something like a discount coupon for dinner doesn't sound like much of a Christmas present. Think again. Last year my mother-in-law gave us a bunch of daily deal vouchers for Christmas, and that stack of printer sheets was definitely one of the best gifts we received.


That said, Wag Jag's Holiday Shoppe section has way more then just gift vouchers available. There are tons of fantastic they'll-never-know-how-little-you-paid deals available. It's a great way to stretch your holiday budget, or give a little more.

Here's just a couple of the holiday deals that caught my eye:

For the kids:

$19 for a Set of three "Let's Make a Mess Cookbooks"($39 value)
(These books look like so much fun! Aimed at kitchen helpers ages 3+. Learn to make cinnamon buns, chocolate cake and perogies.)



For her:

$24 for a Pair of Earrings from Nicole & Lauren (a $55 value)  
(I am so getting this for my mom, um... you're not reading this, right mom?)




For him:

$25 for a Rock-It Speaker System from OrigAudio (a $50 Value)
(Any techie geek is going to be all over this gadget. It turns ANYTHING into a speaker. A cardboard box, your printer. Anything. How neat is that? And you can get it here at half off.)


There are lots of other interesting deals available. I really had a hard time just picking a few to share with you guys. One of the nice parts about the Holiday Shoppe section is that the deals run a little longer then your typical WagJag offer. As of when I'm writing this, the holiday deals are available for another 24 days. They are available in limited quantities though, and they do sell out. I was browsing through the deals last night and there were several offers for theatre tickets that had plenty of days left on the count down clock, which I have to assume sold out as they're gone today. Darn it. Teach me to shop faster! Then again, I'm looking through the deals today and seeing things I swear weren't there yesterday, which means they are adding more deals as the days go by. Definitely worth checking back in now and again.

So, the Holiday Shoppe section rocks. But I have to tell you, the part of the WagJag website that makes my fingers twitchy and has me reaching for my credit card is Jaunt.ca.

Dear Santa,
Please head to the Jaunt section of the WagJag website. Once you're there buy me anything. Week long cottage rental in Muskoka? Romantic Couple's Retreat in Toronto? Whatever awesome travel deal they launch tomorrow?  Seriously, I'm not picky.

This holiday season Wag Jag has a rocking contest going on, you can win everything you buy on WagJag. Every purchase you make on WagJag between now and December 25th is an entry into the contest. Then on January 3rd they will draw one lucky winner, who receive a cheque to cover the amount in cash that they spent on WagJag deals during the contest period. The WagJag offers are already fantastic deals, this is just the icing on the cake. Though you have to admit, getting cash back for all of  your holiday shopping would be pretty sweet. Check it out here....


And if that wasn't enough, they've also got a cool holiday contest on their Facebook page where you can win $500. Head to the WagJag Facebook page and give them a like, then look for the contest tab. Good luck!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post brought to you by WagJag, but you know I wouldn't write about them if I didn't genuinely think that their site rocks. As always, the opinions stated are my own and were not influenced by the free product received.

The grand prize winner will receive a trip for two to Las Vegas, and a BISSELL PROHeat 2x Upright Deep Cleaner, along with one year's worth of cleaning formula ($5000 value). As well each of the weekly runner ups will win a BISSELL PROHeat 2x Upright Deep Cleaner, along with one year's worth of cleaning formula ($420 value).


It's really simple to enter, just tell BISSELL, in 120 characters or less, your Dirty Little Secret.  From spills to dirt and pet stains, BISSELL wants to hear what you have hiding in your carpet. The answers are posted anonymously, tacked onto BISSELL's nice white carpet. I have to admit I actually enjoyed reading through other peoples answers, and knowing I'm not the only one with a few dirty secrets hiding in my house.

Contest details:
Ends January 5th 2012.  
Open to residents of Canada excluding Quebec. Age of majority required. 

Head over to BISSELL Canada on Facebook to enter your Dirty Little Secret for a chance to win.

Disclosure: I will be receiving a BISSELL PROHeat 2x Upright Deep Cleaner, just like the one you can win in this contest, which I'll be reviewing. As always, the opinions stated are my own and were not influenced by the free product received.

The Clementine Art Natural Paint Set  is a boxed set of six all natural tempura paints. Coloured with Mayan mineral earth pigments, these paints are free from chemical dyes and petrochemicals. Good for finger or brush painting, they are non-toxic, completely natural and washable.

The set consists of six colours, orange, yellow, red, green, blue and purple. Each is housed in a squat wide mouthed container, that frankly just begs for finger painting. The jars are easy to open and close, and the paint is easy to access.  My four year old and I had a lot of fun with these. As G-Girl hasn't quite mastered the fine art of cleaning her brush between colours, I spooned a tiny bit of each colour onto our palette ( a white china dish from my kitchen, and yes it washed up quite nicely afterwards).


The Clementine Art Natural Paints are currently available on the Grassroots website or $17.99 Grassroots also carries the rest of the Clementine Art line. Having tried the paints, I am now quite eager to try out the all natural soy crayons. Overall I was very impressed with this set and would definitely recommend it to others.  I think the $18 price point makes it perfect for gifting, and this set would definitely make a nice present for some little person in your life.

Check out the Grassroots 2011 Green Gift Guide for this and many other cool green gifting ideas.  With over 170 eco-friendly suggestions I'm sure you'll find something for everyone on your gift list.

Disclosure: I was provided with items from the Green Gift Guide, as described above. As always my thoughts and words are my own, and were not influenced by the company or the free product received.

I had a chance to check out a few items from the Grassroots 2011 Green Gift Guide, and one of the first things I picked out was a pair of Preloved Betty Mitts.

I love the concept behind the Preloved Betty Mitts. Preloved is a Canadian company that operates out of Toronto, creating one-of-a-kind clothing from reclaimed vintage fabrics. Their Betty Mitts are made from remnants of old sweaters, which have been felted to make them extra fuzzy and warm. Each set of mitts is constructed from three reclaimed wool sweaters.

Preloved Betty Mitts, as featured on the Grassroots website.

My first reaction upon seeing these was.... they look nothing like the ones pictured in the gift guide. The ones in the photo in the guide are patterned and quite festive looking. The pair I received are far simpler looking, made from solid coloured sweaters, and are a mix of pink, burgundy and chocolate brown (those of you who know me know how much I dislike pink). If I had my dithers, based solely on looks alone, this is not the pair of mittens I would choose.

Here's the pair I received.

Ok, so enough about looks. How do they feel? They very are soft. I always worry something made of wool will be picky. These are really quite soft, probably because they've been felted. They are warm, though they are a little thinner then I expected. The seams where the pieces from the three sweaters are joined together are nicely done.  They are well made, and look like they will last well.

Overall, I think they are pretty darn cool. I love the reclaimed sweaters into mitten concept. Though I do think that this is an item I would prefer to pick out in person, as there are going to be tons of variations in colour and style, and when buying a pair online you have no say in what colour or pattern you'll receive. I would recommend looking for these if you were planning on shopping in person at the Grassroots storefront in Toronto.  Though if you're buying them as a gift you might not care as much what colour they are, and I do think they will make a lovely Christmas present, say for a teacher or co-worker. Which is where this pair is heading, as I've decided to set them aside as a gift for my daughter's teacher.

Check out the Grassroots 2011 Green Gift Guide for this and many other cool green gifting ideas.  With over 170 gift suggestions I'm sure you'll see something that catches your eye. So be sure to check back here in a little bit, as I've got something exciting brewing.... a special giveaway for a $100 Grassroots gift card!

Disclosure: I was provided with a pair of mittens, as described above.  As always my thoughts and words are my own, and were not influenced by the company or the free product received.

Since Google+ came out this has been my grail quest... to figure out how to post a single status update have it show up on Google+, Facebook and Twitter. I think we can all agree -  It's a pain to have to log into all three sites to post something. (though most folks have Facebook synced up to post to Twitter or vice versa, which is pretty easy to do.) For months now I've been trying to figure out how to add Google+ to the automated mix, and tonight I finally got it to work. Exciting stuff, right?

So here is how to post one status update to Google Plus and have it automatically show up on your Facebook Fan Page wall, and/or also Tweet it out.

You need to use a site called If This Then This (ifttt.com). This is a super nifty website that can be used to automate all sorts of tasks. For example; If I post to Google+ also put it on my Facebook wall. If the local weather calls for rain email or tweet me a reminder to grab an umbrella. If I post a photo to flickr also create a post on Tumblr about it. Etc etc. You can create your own tasks or use other peoples recipes. It's powerful, simple and open-ended. I recommend playing around with it, but for the moment you just need to make an account and use two recipes that I have set up to share with you.


So the first step - head to http://ifttt.com/ and open an account. Once you're set up click the tab at the top right hand side that says Channels. You need to activate Facebook Pages, (RSS) Feed and (optionally) Twitter.

Head here and activate the required Channels.

For this to work you will also need your Google+ ID number. If you do not already know your Google+ ID number, open your Google+ profile page and look at the URL in the nav bar.  It will look something like this: https://plus.google.com/u/0/117154639677525338686/posts. That long number that I've highlighted is your Google+ ID number. (It's the same process to get the ID # for your Google+ business page. Just go to your page and take a look at the URL to pull the ID#)

Cut & paste to grab your Google ID# from the URL bar.

Then head to this recipe I've created - http://ifttt.com/recipes/9185.
In the text box where it shows the Feed URL you need to replace the long number at the end with YOUR Google+ ID number.  You can use the number from your personal Google+ page, or your Google+ business page. Either one will work.  Now scroll to the bottom of the recipe and click on "Create Task".

Be sure to edit this number right here, or else you will be publishing MY feed.

There you go. Now whenever you post a new status update to Google+ it should show up on the wall of your Facebook fan page.

If you already have your Facebook status set to forward to Twitter, this will trickle down. If not, or if you would like just your G+ updates to go to Twitter, check out this second recipe - http://ifttt.com/recipes/9186.  Again, in the text box where it shows the Feed URL you need to replace the long number at the end with YOUR Google+ ID number. Scroll to the bottom and click "Create Task".

Now whenever you post a new status update to Google+ it should also show up in your Twitter stream. 

You can tweak whether IFTTT is forwarding your posts to just Google+, just Twitter, or both. On the Task Screen you can view your list of IFTTT tasks. Next to each one is a row of icons, Trash, Power, Recipe, Inspect.  You can turn the tasks on and off by Toggling the "Power" button. If you leave both of these tasks set to "on" each time you post to Google+ it will also show up on both Twitter and your Facebook Fan Page.

This is what it looks like when set to repost to Facebook and not Twitter.

It's important to note that if you are posting a status update that includes a link and you want the link to appear in your forwarded posts you must place the URL within the status text box, instead of properly linking to it with the link icon.

URL for link goes in the status update  text box, like so.

Not seeing anything yet? Don't panic. If This Then That only checks for new "triggers" every 15 minutes. If you want to see instant results click the last icon in the row next to the task, the big blue "Inspect" arrow, and then click on "check now".

Feeling impatient? Click here.

It's not perfect. I haven't figured out a way to get an image associated with the update to show up on the Facebook wall. Also, if there is a URL involved Plu.sr adds a liitle "brought to you by" line that I can't get rid of.

G-Girl LOVES dress up time. She informed me this outfit transformed her into a Chinese frog.  Though she does sort of look shocked to find the hat on her head on this photo.

A little while back I posted my review for So Good soy milk.  Well the same company, Earth's Own, makes a rice milk called ryza. Despite the fact that I have a dairy allergy and have more or less followed a dairy-free diet for thirty-some years, I had never heard of rice milk before so I simply had to give this a try.

We tried out the original "plain" ryza, there is also a vanilla flavoured version. As with soy milk, for me the draw isn't in drinking a glass of this straight, but in using it for cooking. I love that by subbing ryza into my recipes I am sneaking in a serving of whole grains. As I've mentioned before my toddler is following a dairy-free diet, so I often have to make separate dishes for her at dinner time. I make mashed potatoes fairly regularly, and she ends up with a small portion of plain boiled potatoes. For fairly obvious reasons it's not something she's crazy about. I've been experimenting using either So Good soy milk or ryza rice milk to prepare her potatoes. She likes both, so I've been leaning towards using ryza as I like sneaking in the whole grains. I also like that there is no added sugar. And, personally, I enjoy the taste. Ryza mashed potatoes? Not bad at all!

* ryza is free of gluten, wheat, dairy, lactose and soy
* ryza is rich in whole grains and low in fat, sugar, sodium and cholesterol
* ryza contains natural sources of several essential nutrients including thiamin, riboflavin, niacin and phosphorous.
* ryza is fortified with added Calcium, Vitamins A + D
* ryza is the only non-dairy beverage with a full-serving of whole grains per glass
* one cup of ryza contains one full 16g serving of whole grains
* ryza is made right here in Canada by a Canadian owned company - Earth's Own.

You can use ryza in all of your recipes in place of milk or water to make them dairy free or to add in some wholesome whole grains. Ryza does have a naturally sweet taste, so it doesn't always work in savoury dishes, but it's perfect for baking.(Feel free to experiment and report back. I'd love to hear how others are making out with subbing ryza into recipes!)

Also be sure to check out the ryza Facebook page for a $1 off coupon!

In what is probably the most exciting, life changing news, I've had the pleasure to share since starting this blog... I am proud to announce that thanks to Young Drivers I am going to learn to drive. Wait, you say.  Learn to drive? Yes, here is where I have to confess to you all that I am 36 years old and I don't have a drivers license.

When I was 15 I couldn't wait to learn to drive. Like most other kids in my highschool I was eagerly awaiting my 16th birthday, when I would run out and get my beginners permit. Then I pulled some stupid teenage sheenaignas that had my parents rightfully grounding me until further notice. Which meant I missed the sign up date for the next set of Young Drivers classes, it also meant my parents were no longer willing to pay for me to take drivers ed. I was welcome to get my license, provided I took training classes, and paid for them myself.  I had missed the window of opportunity, so I decided I didn't care. I was in no hurry to get my license, it was something I would get around to eventually.

Graduated licensing came into effect, which made me feel like what was the point.... get my license and I still wouldn't be able to drive for two years? Wow. I wish I had gotten it back when I was 16. Ah well, whatever. I went to college, got a job, moved out, attended University, and started my own business selling vintage toys online. I occasionally flirted with the idea of getting my license, but I was 25 now, I was 30 now, I had made it this long without one. Money was tight, and the cost even just to apply for a beginners permit had really gone up. Man, I wish I had gotten my license when I was 16. But it's not that big of a deal, my husband drives, my parents drive, his parents drive. There's public transit. When I need to get somewhere I make arrangements.

I moved from a tiny apartment into our house, got married, finished University, had two kids. All this time has slipped by, I am in my 30s, I have spent thirty-some years as a passenger in a car.  The idea of getting behind the wheel is now a bit terrifying. On the other hand, I'm a mom now and I have this nagging guilty feeling, I know I should probably get my license so I can drive my girls around to classes, parties, all those events that come up.  So getting my license is constantly on my mind, but I keep putting it off. When my husband is working strange hours because his shift at work got swapped again my mom swings by and brings the girls and I for groceries, when I need to take the kids to the doctors my mother-in-law gives us a ride, when I need to get out to a particular store to pick up a gift for my husband my Dad brings me. We make do, and to be honest, I enjoy the company.

Then disaster strikes. My dad has a mild stroke, his vision and short term memory are affected, and he loses the ability to drive. Then a few months later my mother-in-law also has a mild stroke. Her experiences are pretty much identical to my father’s, and she also has her license revoked.  My father-in-law is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s and had his license revoked the year previous. In a very short period of time I switch from having a family support network that I can rely on to being the one that is needed for help. Now my Dad is the one that can't make it to his doctor's appointment without help. Now my mother-in-law is the one who needs a ride to go pick up groceries. My husband does drive, but he also works long hours, and his shifts constantly change.  I really feel like I need to step up and help out by getting my license. I am still nervous, down right scared when I really think about it, but it is time to put on my big girl panties, act like a grown-up, and learn to drive.

However, I can't do it on my own. I need help. And that's where Young Drivers comes in.Yeah that's right Young Drivers isn't just for teenagers (though yes, I do wish I had taken the course back when I was 16!).

Young Drivers of Canada is Canada’s largest driver training organization.  Established in 1970, YD has grown to over 140 classrooms nationally and has taught over one million novice drivers.  YD is committed to teaching the skills needed to keep drivers safe on the road through its proprietary Collisionfree! ™ Approach. 

I am super excited to have Young Drivers on board. They are providing me with classes, which is just the impetus I need to get out there and actually Do This.

I could also use a little help  and encouragement from you guys. How old were you when you first got your drivers license? Any tips for getting over the jitters?

I hope you will join with me as with Young Drivers help I set out on my big adventure and learn to drive. Over the next few weeks and months I will be posting about each stage on my journey. Next up - applying for my beginners permit.

So here's something to do with all those cute photos of your kids... Frame 'em. Kinder Canada has a really cute Facebook app that helps you add frames to your photos to make adorable* shots like these:



The idea is to share your special moments. They have frames to help you celebrate visits from the Tooth Fairy, or first haircuts, vacation shots, or just every day moments like these. You have the option of adorning photos that you've already put on Facebook, or uploading new pics from your computer. The app is very quick and easy to use. It's a fun way to share pictures with your friends and family!

The best part? Every photo you frame is an entry into Kinder Canada's monthly contest, and they've got awesome prizes. Last month they gave away a $500 giftcard to be used towards purchasing a new Fall wardrobe, this month they are giving away a $500 digital camera. Fantastic prizes, right? The app is called My KINDER Moments and you can find it on the Kinder Canada Facebook page.

If you're like me you have a folder choke full of pictures of the family, that you've been meaning to upload so Grandma and Great Aunt Gert can see shots of the kids. Here is the perfect excuse to get some of those photos onto Facebook. You end up with a cute framed pic, and a chance at a great prize!

Good luck and have fun!

* You may or may not actually find these photos to be adorable, I'm biased.

Disclosure: I’m part of the KINDER® Mom program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Some of G-Girls' latest photos...




It's always a little freakish seeing the world from her eye level, and this serves as a wonderful reminder of just how not child safe the hobby area at my house is. Time to get on that.

We just finished up watching Jamie Oliver's School Dinners, followed by Jamie's Return to School Dinners, on Netflix. If you've never seen the show it's a rather captivating documentary that follows Jamie Oliver as he tries to change the free government provided British public school lunches from questionable chicken nuggets, "turkey twizzlers" (you really don't want to know) and chips (a.k.a french fries), to hot healthy from scratch meals. He comes up with recipes that will provide meals for the same cost per student as the junk food, and then works with the lunch ladies to try and teach them how to cook from scratch, with various set backs and victories. It's pretty interesting stuff.

Last night we watched the final episode of the four episode original series, followed back to back with Jamie's Return to School Dinners, which checks back in to see how things are progressing two years later. In the original series our biggest complaint was the "reality TV drama". Why did they need to show Jamie Oliver's home life? It seemed a tacked on way to make things more sensational. Yet when we watched the Return to School Dinners my husband and I asked each other, "Where is his wife? He must have gotten divorced. Why isn't his family in the show?", which is sort of funny.

So being the curious cat that I am, today I did a Google search on Jamie Oliver and checked out the Wikipedia entry on his personal life. Looks like he's still married to his ex-model wife Jules (Juliette Norton). Four kids now, two more then were featured in School Dinners.  Oh my, and get these names:  Poppy Honey Rosie Oliver,  Daisy Boo Pamela Oliver,  Petal Blossom Rainbow Oliver and Buddy Bear Maurice Oliver. Poppy Honey? Daisy Boo and Buddy Bear? Apparently Jamie Oliver is indeed famous, and is right up there with the other Hollywood types in weird child naming practices.

While being nosy searching about for info on Mr. Oliver's home life, I  ran into a couple of interesting things...

Having tackled the diet of Great Britain's children, Jamie moved on to attempt to take over a town. Jamie's Ministry of Food was another 4-part BBC mini-series which came out in 2008. In it Oliver aimed to make the town of Rotherham, South Yorkshire "the culinary capital of the United Kingdom" and tried to get the town's inhabitants to learn how to cook fresh food and establish healthy eating as part of daily life. The townsfolks were taught recipes and asked to pass them on to family and friends.


Apparently there is this entire movement, The 'Pass It On' campaign, which launched from this series.  There is a Facebook group, and a fan-website, of folks trying to work together to teach others and to learn to cook healthy homemade meals. Pretty cool.

Finally, I found mention of another interesting TV series that I would love to see, Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. It's an ABC spin-off of School Dinners in which Jamie attempts to bring healthy lunches to kids in Huntington, West Virginia (Season 1) and Los Angeles, California (Season 2). From what I read the show was cancelled before the second season was brought to a close. Too bad. I would so love to see the North American version of School Dinners. I'm hoping both of these shows will make it to Netflix sometime soon.

Oh and well I'm thinking about Jamie Oliver I might as well share with you a contest I happened upon today - you can win a bunch of his cookbooks and his cookware line, as well as a $3000 Bay gift card (not too shabby, eh? If I had any sense I'd keep quiet about this one).

So have you guys seen any of these shows?  What did you think? Particularly if anyone has watched the ABC Food Revolution series, I'd love to hear your views.

Disclosure:
I started to write up an email to my husband sharing all the Jamie Oliver info I read up on today, and then decided to make it into a post instead. So this post is brought to you mostly by my husband's unending love for food based television, and a tiny bit by the free Father's day Netflix subscription which we received back in June. Which, BTW is ending this month and we are totally renewing. Netflix rocks. So does Jamie Oliver. I believe this from the bottom of my heart, and have not been paid to say so.

Here's the story synopsis:
“Mumble (Elijah Wood) the penguin, now called the Master of Tap, has an unusual problem: Erik, his son, is reluctant to dance. Erik runs away from home and encounters the Mighty Sven (Hank Azaria) – a penguin who can fly. Poor Mumble can’t compete with Erik’s unusual new role model. But, when the world is shaken by powerful forces, Erik gets a chance to see his father’s true colours as Mumble gathers all creatures great and small to set things right again.”

The last film my husband and I saw in IMAX we caught a trailer for Happy Feet Two, and I have to say I was impressed. The computer animation and the 3-D effects looked stunning on the big screen. Penguins ruffling their feathers, snow flying everywhere, it was very cool.

So what do you think guys? Have you seen Happy Feet? Are you planning on watching number two?  If you're at all interested in this film, I'd say it's worth catching in 3-D on the big screen.

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One lucky Maple Leaf Mommy Reader will win an Every Step Counts IMAX prize pack which includes: * a set of two Happy Feet Two Talking Plush Dolls (Atticus and Erik) * Happy Feet on Blu-Ray (ARV $14.98) * a set of Happy Feet and Happy Feet Two IMAX-version posters * four IMAX ticket vouchers

To enter to win, just answer this question: What sort of music gets your happy feet moving? If you could sing one song on stage with any star what would it be, and with who?

The Arts Council Windsor & Region is working together with the Riverside Library to host a series of art sales. The first is tomorrow. To quote their blurb:

"Whether you're interested in paintings, photography, greeting cards, pottery, jewellery, fabric arts or beeswax candles, you're bound to find these and more at our exhibit and sale of unique, handcrafted and locally-made gifts presented just in time for holiday gift-giving."

I attended a couple of these last year, and I'm guessing tomorrow's sale will be similar. The sale was small, with about a dozen vendors, but it was high quality arts and crafts with decent prices. The vendors switch up from week to week, so it's worth it to try and make it out more then once. Since it's free to get in, you really can't go wrong taking a moment to stop in here.

Important info: Don't get discouraged if you walk into the library and don't immediately see art. Assuming it's being held in the same spot as last year, you need to go down into the basement, and down a wee hallway to find the sale.

The Riverside Library is located two blocks east of Jefferson at 6305 Wyandotte Street East. The show runs from 10am till 4pm and will be on every Saturday in November.

A while back Disney Junior sent us a "screener", a promotional DVD featuring an upcoming episode from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  This is a show that G-Girl has watched when she's stayed over at my mom's house, but it's not something I've personally ever seen. So G-Girl was pretty excited to sit down and share an episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse with me.

As you'd expect from something produced by Disney, the animation is solid. All the usual Disney gang is here, Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Pluto, Daisy, and this episode even featured Mickey's rival Pete.  I couldn't help liking the catchy song they close each episode with, "Hot Dog", which was written and performed by a favourite band of mine, They Might Be Giants.

The audience is invited to chime in Meeska Mouska Mickey Mouse, to help the magic clubhouse appear.

From what I saw I am guessing that there is a recurring framework to each episode, Mickey and his pals have a goal, and there are puzzles to solve along the way. After consulting the Mouskadoer (a sort of special computer) Mickey receives a set of Mouskatools. The Mouskatool are stored in Toodles, a sort of Mickey head-shaped flying thingy that appears on command. Mickey directs questions out to the audience, and tries to get the kids actively involved. By calling out, "Oh Toodles!" Mickey summons his pal to pop on to the sceen so that viewers can help pick which tool Mickey needs to solve the current problem.

As this was the first time I've seen Micky Mouse Clubhouse my daughter enjoyed introducing me to the running characters, like Toodles. For me, this whole framework was a little too dumbed down, I found it boring and predictable. This is not a show that this mom wants to sit and watch.  However, I'm not the target audience, my four year old daughter is, and she was appropriately entranced, chiming in on cue when Toodles needed to be called on stage.


So overall, not my personal favourite Disney Junior offering, but my girl sure does like it. I guess that just makes it perfect for her to watch while I'm tied up with other things. You (or your little one) can catch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse throughout the day on Disney Junior.  It airs at 8:30 a.m., 12 noon and 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday. On Friday it only shows at 8:30 a.m. and 12 noon. While on the weekends it airs at 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 6:30pm.  (Air times are subject to change. You can check out the full up to date Disney Junior schedule online.) If you're curious to see what Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is all about the Disney Junior website even has a few full episodes available to view as online video.

Disclosure: I was provided with a DVD containing one episode of Micky Mouse Clubhouse. As always my thoughts and words are my own, and were not influenced by the company or the free video received.

I love coffee, cappuccino, espresso, you name it, so I was pretty darn excited to have a chance to test out the Nescafe Dolce Gusto. It makes both hot and cold drinks, with a 15-bar pressure system that is comparable to coffeehouse machines. You can also customize each drink you make; as you can adjust how strong that particular cup will be, as well as how frothy.

Introducing the lovely Nescafe Dolce Gusto Circolo.

Nescafe sent me one of their higher end machines, the Circolo. I actually think it's sort of neat looking, particularly when it's lit up, but my husband thinks it's silly and ostentatious. My biggest complaint is that it takes up a fair amount of space on my tiny kitchen counters.  I think I would actually prefer the lower end, Piccolo model, or perhaps the Melody which I've been told is functionally identical, because it is a much slimmer sleeker design, and not a counter hog like the Circolo.

This machine was incredibly quick and easy to set up. Nescafe knows you're going to be eager to try out your new coffee machine, so they included a handy quick start instruction sheet. Basically you give it a good rinse by running water through on hot and then cold for about a minute total, and then you're ready to try out your first capsule.

The Circolo - It's a bit of a counter top hog.

When you hit the button to turn it on, it takes a few seconds to warm up before turning green.  It's not a long wait, just long enough to grab your cup and get set up. You then pop in the capsule, press the handle down to pierce it, and then flip the top lever and watch your drink immediately pour out. Now you can't just turn this on and walk off. On the other hand, it's really fast.  So while you do need to stay put with your hand hoovering on the lever, it's only for seconds.

Circolo in action, producing a near instantaneous latte.

It feels like a high quality machine. There is a heavy, solid, feel to the components. I love the way the round metal handle on the capsule drawer feels when you pull it out to put in a capsule. When you push it back in, the drawer slides in firmly and sort of snaps into place with the aid of a magnet. Then you use the solid metal lever to press down and puncture the capsule. And finally, you flip the lever at the top to the right to make a hot beverage. Again, the lever is metal, smooth and solid, and pleasing to both hand and eye.

I am not quite so over the moon with the water reservoir. It seems too small. It feels like I am filling it too often. Perhaps I just drink too much coffee. You can't fill it up while it is still attached to the machine. You must remove it. To remove it I find I have to pull the machine out and turn it to the side. Again, taking up a lot of my kitchen counter real estate. I also find snapping the reservoir back into place doesn't always go smoothly. I'm willing to admit, this might just be me as I'm a bit of a klutz. I really wish I could just top the water tank up without removing it from the machine.

I find the thin water tank a little awkward to get in and out.

There is a definite learning curve with this machine. You can make incredibly tasty drinks, that are customized for how strong you like them, but it does take a little practice. The instructions show how many ml each beverage should be. When you turn the lever to on your drink starts pouring out. It's not automated. There is no timer telling it when to turn off. You need to watch and decide when it should stop.

How long do I leave it running for?  How much is x ml?  How do I eyeball that in my coffee mug?  It's nice to be able to make the drink weaker or stronger to taste, but it's also nice to have some idea of where the baseline is. After a couple of false starts, I ended up using a measuring cup to figure out how full my coffee cup should be. So now that I've got it measured out coffee is relatively simple, but where things get tricky is with the two capsule bevvies, like the Cappuccino and the Latte Macchiato I tried out. When do you stop the milk? Did I leave enough room for the espresso? Again, it took me a bit of trial and error before I  figured out exactly what the milk to coffee ratio should be.

There are fifteen different types of capsules available for the Nescafe Dolce Gusto. The Circolo comes packaged with two mixer packs of capsules, which included various roasts of coffee, hot chocolate, latte and cappuccino. The mixer packs did not include the Caramel Latte Macchiato, Vanilla Latte Macchiato, Mocha, Peach Ice Tea, or Ice Cappuccino, which I've yet to try.  I've been attemptng to hunt them all down, particularly the Mocha which I am just dying to taste test, but haven't had much luck thus far. It's not that the capsules aren't readily available, it's that each of the local grocery stores I've checked has the same three options:  Caffe Americano, Caffe Grande and Cappuccino. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that no one is stocking the Ice Cap in November.

One yummy Latte Macchiato coming up.

Having pretty much given up on local venues, I took a look at ordering capsules online and discovered that Amazon.ca has a good selection, at slightly lower prices then the Nescafe Dolce Gusto online store, plus free shipping (which is something the Nescafe store doesn't offer).

Overall I am pretty impressed with the Dolce Gusto. You do need to stay with the machine while it's running, but it makes drinks ridiculously fast. There is also a definite learning curve, but once you figure out how to eyeball the right portions, you end up with some darn tasty beverages. I have enjoyed each of the capsule varieties that I've tried thus far. The Cappuccino is a favourite with both myself and my husband, as is the Caffe Americano. The various coffees are good, but the lattes and cappuccinos is where the machine really shines. The frothy milk on the cappuccino has a slight hint of sweetness to it, and comes out just the right consistency.  Is it coffee shop good? Not quite, but it's pretty darn close and I can make it for a fraction of the cost, at home in my kitchen, in under a minute.

The Dolce Gusto line is available at most major retailers, such as Best Buy, Future Shop, The Bay, Home Outfitters, Sears, Amazon.ca, etc. The Circolo retails for $160 and the Piccolo retails for $120. (Hey, I already did some comparison shopping for you. As of today the best prices were - Amazon has the Dolce Gusto listed for $117 and Walmart has the Melody II for $66.) Disclosure: I was provided with a Dolce Gusto Circolo.  As always my thoughts and words are my own, and were not influenced by the company or the free product received.

Lately whenever I pull out the camera Baby-G immediately charges and tackles me while signing and yelling Baby!!  She wants me to show her Baby In The Camera. The one that lives on the preview screen, and looks an awful lot like my daughter's other good companion Baby In The Mirror.

Out last photo session went something like this:
Ok. kiddo, I haven't taken any photos yet.
You have to wait.  Stop climbing on me.
If you want to see Baby In The Camera then you need to go - over - there!

I had a chance to review My Monster Burrufu by Alberto Corral and Alessandra Sorrentino.  It's a cute and unique kids storybook put out by a new independent publisher, Petite Grande Idée.

The first thing I noticed upon arrival? This book is beautiful! I love the look of it, the paper they used, and the awesome illustrations. This is a well made book.  Keeping in mind this was produced by a small independent company, I'm really impressed!  It's just a softcover paperback sort of thing, but the binding seems well made and it's printed on thick creamy paper (yeah I'm a bit of a book snob, and I'm a sucker for nice paper). It's a chapter book aimed at 8 to 12 year olds. The book is 85 pages long, broken into 10 easily digestible chapters, with numerous illustrations throughout.

Here's the book alongside a couple of lovely promotional images they sent me.

So it's physically a nice book, but what about the content? Well, where this book really shines is in Alessandra Sorrentino's illustrations. They are simply fantastic! My only complaint is that they are in black & white. A deluxe full-colour version of this book would be a treat! They also played with the fonts a bit throughout the book, making the text small when Olivia is whispering, and extra large when she's yelling for example, which I thought was a lovely touch.

As far as the story, I have mixed feelings.  The suggested age range of 8 to 12 seems spot on. I however was reading the book to my four year old. I didn't think it would be much of an issue as we've been reading chapter books for a while now at bedtime. Having just finished The Hobbit we started on My Monster Burrufu. At first I thought the book was simply adorable. I loved the plotline of a little girl befriending a novel writing, cookie munching, monster who lives in a secret attic within a rambling old house.  The young girl, Oliva, was cute and totally believable. Overall the characterizations were strong all around. Cute book.

Then halfway through the flavour of the tale took a turn.  I went out of town for the weekend, which means my husband had bedtime story reading duties for a few days.  He read a couple of chapters to G while I was gone, but she had him carefully bookmark our spot so that she could re-read them with me when I got back.  "Cute book, eh?"  I said to my husband as he showed me the marked spot, so I could resume story-reading.  He looked at me like I was crazy, "Um, not really. I definitely wouldn't call it cute."  What the heck?

I started reading, and quickly understood where my husband, who hadn't read the first half of the book, was coming from.  I don't want to give too much of the story away, but basically things took a monster movie Godzilla/King Kong sort of twist.  Suddenly there were tanks, guns, scientists and grumpy generals to contend with.  So, not as cute, no.  And here is were the age-appropriateness also came into play.... It's not that the book was too violent per-say, it's just that these things were so far outside of my four year old's realm of experience that she had a hard time following and understanding the story from this point forward.

Even aside from the whole age-appropriate violence/confusion factor, I just personally liked the flavour of the first half of the book better.  It didn't end up going where I thought it was leading, and I found it a tiny bit disappointing.  It's not bad by a long shot, just not quite what I was expecting. In the end, my daughter still enjoyed the book and I have set it aside for her to read again once she's older.

The book it peppered throughout with illustrations both large and small.

Now, perhaps it was because of the lovely illustrations, but I found the story very easy to visualize, and the whole thing felt like an animated movie brought to you by Dreamworks or Pixar. Which isn't surprising considering that the writer, Alberto Corral, works at Dreamworks Animation, and the creator of those wonderful drawings, Alesandra Sorrentino, is also an animator, storyboard artist and illustrator.

Overall, I think this would make a great choice for the suggested age range of 8-12 year olds. My Monster Burrufu is a touching story, with firm moral grounding, housed in a physically lovely book.  Alberto Corral's writing is solid and the illustrations by Alesandra Sorrentino are superb, simply not to be missed. It's reasonably priced, and is available for sale on Amazon ($9.85) and Amazon.ca ($11.14). 

Disclosure:  The publisher provided me with a free copy of this book for review purposes. The opinions expressed are my own and were not influenced by the publisher or by the free product provided.

I have been feeling particularly stir-crazy the past few days. The Baby-G tornado has been on a constant path of destruction, and G-Girl's hearing seems to be worsening again.  In short - the kids are driving me bats, and the walls of this house are closing in on me.  So I asked my husband to take me out for coffee, one of my favourite treat activities. Since we didn't have a sitter lined up we decided to make it a family affair this time, and it actually worked out okay.

Second Cup is our favourite coffee chain by far. The nearest one is a 20 minute drive away, out in Tecumseh, but totally worth it. We occasionally stop by, and one of us sits in the parking lot with the girls, while the other runs in to pick up bevvies. However, this is the first time we've been brave enough to bring both of the kids into the Second Cup.

One of the first things I noticed - I was really please to find they have kids drinks on the menu. For a very reasonable $1.15 a piece, I was able to get a hot apple cider for the dairy-free toddler, and a steamed milk for the four year old.

For myself, well I absolutely love Second Cup coffee, but today I decided to splurge and get a real treat, a chocolatey moccaccino with plenty of whip cream on top. So let's see; drinks for the kids, a moccaccino a piece for myself and my husband, and three biscotti. Total? $19 something, plus a tip for an even $20 spent.  Okay, not cheap, but this was our big treat night, right?

We grabbed a cozy bench seat at the back and settled in. I broke the low-fat lemon poppy-seed biscotti in two and handed it over to the girls.  A normal cookie would have been inhaled in under thirty seconds. The thick crunchy biscuit was just the thing to keep them occupied, as they were forced to nibble. They both enjoyed the treat, which managed to last a good fifteen minutes.

While not quite the same as a kid free night out, I really can't complain when I get to look across the table and see how happy Baby-G is chillin' with her Dad.

Unfortunately the drinks weren't such a big hit with the girls. The 20 month old didn't think much of the cider. We waited for it to cool off, and then put a straw in it and offered it to her. She took one sip and pulled a terrible face, pushed it away and said "All done".  I have a feeling she just didn't like that it was warm.  She kept asking for more, and then complaining after each sip. It was almost comical.

When the barista was creating the milk steamer she gave me my choice of flavour shot, and I went with vanilla. I also had to decide whip cream, or no whip cream.  As this was supposed to be a big deal treat for the four year old, I went with whip cream. So G-Girl dug into her milk steamer with gusto.  That is until she managed to make her way through all the whip cream. Then she said she didn't like it, and wanted to drink her sister's apple cider instead. Since the little one didn't like the cider it worked out ok, but I was really shocked that G-Girl didn't want the steamer. Her father and I both tried it and it was really yummy.

Now that she's got that pesky cookie out of the way, G-Girl digs into her whip cream.

My husband and I both enjoyed our drinks. Though the large mocaccinos were bigger then I remembered, and hubby had a hard time finishing his off. I think next time I would go with medium sized drinks for he and I. Oh, and the girls weren't the only ones with cookies. Hubby and I each had a dipped double chocolate biscotti. Delicious!

Now that's a treat!

It's been a while since I've had the chance to enjoy a drink in the Second Cup, and I was pleased to note that they are now offering free Wi-Fi. Sort of made me wish I had grabbed the netbook... but it was also nice to be unplugged and concentrating 100% on my family.

We didn't stay for long, as we didn't want to push our luck with keeping the kids occupied. We were only there for a little longer then half an hour, but it was just the treat that I needed. It helped that the kids were well behaved. The girls really enjoyed the classic rock music that was playing. Between that and the biscotti they were well distracted, and even stayed put in their seats. Everyone enjoyed their treat, and G-Girl asked me when we could come back.

Particularly since everything went rather smoothly, I was considering this my scouting mission for future outings. For one, discovering they had kids sized drinks on the menu was a pleasant surprise.  Also on my scouting check-list was to discover whether or not they carry Equal Sweeteners. Personally I drink my coffee black, but I've been trying to bring my sugar loving double-double husband around.  After taking a look at the milk and sugar bar and noticing that they didn't have Equal on hand, I asked the the girl behind the counter if they had other sweeteners available. She pointed out the one artificial sweetener they had displayed in the baskets. When I explained that I was looking specifically for Equal, she then said that did have one other option stowed away in the cupboard. She opened the cupboard, pulled out a few boxes, and unearthed the second artificial sweetener, which was also not what I was looking for. I let her know I was disappointed they didn't carry Equal and called it a day.

So, I've got to ask; Would you open the cupboard below, looking for more options?

I have to say, I really didn't think it was an adequate sweetener selection. Particularity if you take into consideration the fact that the coffee gal had to dig into the back of a cupboard to find one of the choices. Once I was back home I headed off to the Second Cup website thinking I would be able to fill in a digital comment card and let them know I was disappointed in the selection, but I couldn't find a form to contact them. However, I did notice an invitation to "share your Second Cup story with us" along side a link to their Facebook page, so I clicked through and posted this on their wall: "Had a lovely time at your St.Clair Beach location this evening, however I was disappointed to see that there was only one option set out for sweeteners for my coffee. I would love to see Equal sweeteners made available. Thanks!"

It was getting dark out by the time we were leaving.... Farewell Second Cup, hope to see you again soon!