Category Archives: Playtime

Very Random November Observations

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Everybody Dance Now

The other day Gonna Make You Sweat came on while I was working out, and I realized that I cannot hear that song without immediately picturing the dance scene in Old School. That movie is stupid and problematic, and neither the story nor the timeline make any sense, and yet I will never not find it funny. Back in the day when I worked on a trade floor, my work group were all guys, and one of them lent me his Old School DVD, which led to us all quoting from it all the live-long day. Not an hour went by without someone saying “It has three speeds,” or “What my friend is trying to say is that love is blind,” or “HE’S GONNA DO ONE!” or “Once it hits your lips it’s so good,” “Denver. The Sunshine State,” or my personal favourite, “EARMUFFS!” I realize that none of these statements would make any sense to anyone who hadn’t watched the movie ten times, but imagine, if you will, that each of these statements were considered by us to be a satisfactory answer to almost any request or comment. Nicole, are the prices in yet? Bring your green hat, let’s go. (Translation: yes, the prices are in, and I’m running the numbers right now.)

There is a scene in the movie where Frank goes streaking, by himself, and that made me think of my late father-in-law, whose greatest regret in life was that he didn’t go streaking in the 70s, when it was semi-popular to do so. Remember the song The Streak? The 70s were a magical time. Regrets, we all have them. I have one in particular.

Flash Flash Flash

Remember when flash mobs were a thing? I wish I had been part of one. I regret never being in one because I don’t think flash mobs exist anymore, and even if they did, how would I get myself involved? In any case, my enthusiasm for dancing far exceeds my talent for dancing. I am like one of the twins in the Charlie Brown Christmas, bad hair and all.

Maybe one day! Maybe one day I will have the opportunity to dance in a flash mob, and if the universe is listening, I will dance to anything but Everybody Dance Now would be amazing.

Those Are The Fax, Ma’am

I don’t know what made me think of it, but I realized that, like flash mobs, fax machines are a thing of the past. Isn’t it strange and kind of sad to think of all these completely obsolete items, probably residing in landfills? I mean, who would use a fax machine these days? I asked my husband about it and he said he thought his office still had them, but no one uses them. RIP fax machines.

Speaking of things made obsolete by the internet, remember Adult Video Stores? Or the Adult Video Section in regular video stores, that was cordoned off by a curtain? I mean, since video stores no longer exist, I assume that neither of those things exist as well, but did something else take their place? I have, it should be admitted, never set foot inside an Adult Video Store but now I’m wondering if they just became Adult Stores, the kind of places that sell – I assume – different lubes or costumes or what have you. But then again, all those things are available on the internet and one wouldn’t have to risk running into That Guy From Church while perusing the Naughty Nurse costumes or flavoured lubricant or something really awesome that I don’t even know about*.

Lettuce Pray

I’m going to address the elephant in the room: the lettuce shortage! My friend Hannah (HI HANNAH) mentioned it to me early last week, and I was completely surprised. The week before, I hadn’t noticed anything amiss in the produce section. WELL. Things change, roll with the punches; I went to Superstore on Wednesday and while they did indeed have lettuce, it was insanely priced. Iceberg was $5/ head, which, as Hannah said, is a lot to pay for crunchy water. Romaine was $8 for a three-pack of hearts. I ended up buying two bunches of kale for our Sunday night dinner; I always make a salad to go with that particular meal, and kale Caesar is a very popular choice in our house. I mentioned the shortage to my Thursday morning yoga class, and one of the ladies said that when she was young, they never had salad in the winter, only potatoes, turnips, and canned vegetables. I mentioned frozen vegetables and how great they are to reduce food waste, and she said that frozen vegetables were brand new when she was a child and they never had them. This probably indicates to you the demographic of my students.

Although I don’t tend to notice the price on produce that much, a few weeks ago cauliflower was something like $7/ head. This past week, Superstore had them on limited special:

Whatever you do, don’t go over the limit!!! That’s my two cents, anyway.

Girls, Girls, Girls

I am very sad to say that Pippa the ornamental pepper plant has died. I was weirdly devastated by this. Apparently ornamental peppers are very easy to grow, as long as you live in a warm, humid climate, which is the opposite of the climate in which I reside. I kept looking sadly at her rapidly dropping leaves and wrinkly fruits, and then took matters into my own hands. Pippa ended up in the compost, and I ended up in the garden centre, and how I didn’t come home with a van full of gnomes, I will never know. Wow, the garden centre has a lot of Christmas gnomes. Anyway, what I did end up bringing home were two lovely plants that will hopefully not die in my chilly, dry house. Meet Eva and Stella!

Is my life goal of becoming a Crazy Plant Lady hampered by the Death of Pippa? I hope not. Actually, given the probably outsized nature of my sadness about Pippa, it probably escalates me firmly into Crazy Plant Lady Territory. Particularly since I refer to the plants, including Noelle the Christmas Cactus, as The Girls.

Weekly Reading

We All Want Impossible Things. Oh. You guys. I have been reading Catherine Newman since 2004, back in her Babycenter days, and, as I have surely mentioned, her writing was one of the inspirations to starting this blog. Her writing speaks to me so much, and I almost feel like I have one of those parasocial relationships with her. Anyway, this is her first novel, and I absolutely devoured it and didn’t want it to end. It is a novel based on her actual experience, of her best friend dying in hospice of cancer. The way she writes about hospice is beautiful and heartbreaking and also weirdly hilarious. It’s Signature Catherine Newman, that mix of wrenching and hilarity.

I listened to an interview of her on a podcast – I am not going to say which one because I DEEPLY dislike the podcast, but I made an exception for her – and she said that because this was her first novel, she read a book about how to write a novel, and I found that incredibly reassuring and inspirational. I mean. There is hope for all aspiring writers! And this book is about hope, and grief, and finding beauty in the most painful situation possible. There is also a scene in which she is plucking chin hair for her incapacitated friend, and I would like to tell my dear friends who in the terrible event that they are similarly incapacitated, I will offer my chin-hair-plucking-services. May that day never come, but I found that to be The Testament in Ultimate Friendship.

Startup. Speaking of parasocial relationships, I kind of feel like I have one with Doree Shafrir, who cohosts my current favourite podcast, Forever 35 (“a podcast about the things we do to take care of ourselves” – ladies, you are speaking my language). This is a novel about three women, whose lives become intertwined in the tech startup world. It’s a statement on toxic masculinity in tech culture, and I am here for it. It’s so smart and readable! The characters and their issues are so real; I dove into this book and did not want to come up for air.

So many random things to talk about! I have many more topics to touch on but that will have to wait for another day. Have a beautiful week, friends. Happy Thanksgiving week to all my American beauties! xo

*if you understand that reference, you have watched a lot of Old School. Not to worry, you’re in the Trust Tree with me.

Three For Thursday: The One Month Rex-aversary Edition

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Today marks one month since the day Rex came into our lives; within only a day I couldn’t imagine NOT having him in our lives. He is an incredible gift to our family and has been a source of unmitigated joy and happiness. Every morning I wake up thinking “We have Rex!” Thinking about seeing his fuzzy face and petting his giant wiggly body is even better than the feeling I get when I wake up and think happily about the cup of coffee I’ll be consuming in short order, and that is really saying something.

I was surprised at how quickly he adapted to the rhythm of our household and to our daily schedule. I didn’t really know what to expect, but within a day or two he was perfectly in tune with our lives. We have had zero behavioural issues, and he has been perfectly delightful. I often look at him, marvelling at how perfectly suited he is to our family and how incredible it is that he became ours.

So it’s a Three For Thursday today, and it’s all about Rex.

  • Rex Gets Steps. When my husband first broached the idea of having Rex, he said it will be nice for you to have a dog to go on your walks with, about which I weirdly got my back up. I am not lonely! I said snappily. I don’t need anyone to go with me for walks! I’m perfectly happy by myself! Well. That was true but also, walking Rex is so much fun. He really is a great companion and he’s very fun to watch at the offleash, as he plays and runs and rolls like a maniac in the snow. As a matter of fact, he’s actually changed my exercise priorities a little; usually at this time of year I would start running on the treadmill, not wanting to break my legs running on ice, but I find I’m not interested in that at all. I’d rather get all my cardio from the Peloton and the elliptical in my basement, and then save my hips and knees for extra-long walks in the heavy snow. We go a minimum of 5 kilometres a day, and I feel joyful throughout, just seeing his happiness. It’s true that I didn’t need the motivation of a dog to go for long walks, but I really like the motivation of a dog to go for long walks.
  • Rex Scratches The Itch. I had made an appointment with the vet this week, as Rex was due for a few shots, and I wanted him to meet his new vet and transfer all his files from the old one. When I get up early to practice yoga, Rex is still sleeping in his crate; I had noticed in the past couple of days that he had been scratching a lot at that time. Well, dogs scratch, and I didn’t think a lot about it. The vet asked me if he had been scratching, and immediately he went into Scratching Overdrive. It was uncanny; right that moment he scratched and started biting at his fur. As she examined him, she said “Oh! That’s a louse!” People. It is amazing I didn’t faint dead away, as she grabbed a tiny comb, put the louse on a slide, and showed me. REX HAD LICE. My immediate question was CAN I CATCH IT, thinking of all hugs and pets and having my face and hair close to his body that has happened in the past month, but the Very Reassuring Answer was No. Lice doesn’t go between species. Just as I breathed a sigh of relief, I had my second question, How do we get rid of this? I imagined having to shave him bald in the midst of winter – would I need to find him a giant dog sweater? – or having to go through his fur with a tiny comb. IMAGINE. Fortunately, neither of those things are necessary; instead, he ate a special chewable treat that, as the vet says, kills the lice almost immediately and then he has another Very Special Treat in two weeks. My third question was HOW DID THIS HAPPEN. The vet said it came from another dog, of course, but I couldn’t imagine how. It has been so cold and snowy that we have hardly seen other dogs at the offleash, and besides, he didn’t have “extended physical contact” with any of them. The vet mentioned that it would likely come from a doggy daycare or similar, which we haven’t put him in, so it’s possible he had lice eggs this whole time – shudder – that just started hatching now – SHUDDER SHUDDER SHUDDER. Anyway, he’s treated, he isn’t scratching anymore, and I find it a bit amusing that I have gone through my entire life, including having two children in schools that frequently sent home Lice Notices, and I have never had to deal with it until now. Dog Lice is much preferable to People Lice, from what I have observed.
  • Rex Is My Shadow. Rex is very affectionate to everyone in the family, but he seems especially attached to me. He just cannot be close enough. If I’m making dinner, he lies in the kitchen, forcing me to showcase my flexibility by stepping over him in gymnastic ways. If I go to sit in my reading chair, he will get up from 20 feet away to lie at my feet, because 20 feet is Just Too Far. If I’m on the Peloton, he lies beside it, and when I am in the bathroom, he will sit at the door until I open it. It is very cute, but it does make me feel low-level guilty when I leave the house. My husband was working at home and texted me this photo of him waiting at the back door, taken while I was at Costco.

I never thought I could ever love another dog, but Rex has proven otherwise, and every day I am so grateful to have been so very wrong. xo

All Creatures Great and Small

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It has been quite the week! We just got back yesterday from a whirlwind visit to my mother-in-law; we flew in on Friday morning and were home yesterday before noon. I am a wee bit exhausted by this; I am used to having weekends being more restorative, and to be honest, I am a bit scrambled. I’m glad we went, of course, my mother-in-law isn’t getting any younger, and this trip was in lieu of our usual Thanksgiving visit. Flights on Thanksgiving weekend were more expensive than, say, flying to Europe or Hawaii would be, and so we went this weekend instead. Not that we are flying to Europe or Hawaii, but the thought of paying upwards of $700 per person for a flight that is less than one hour in duration feels very wrong.

I was in need of a restorative weekend as it had been a busy week, what with the preparation for my son going camping and then all the necessary preparation for this, albeit brief, trip. We are still flying carryon only, which is not a big deal for only two nights away, but was a little bit tricky as the plane we were on was a tiny prop plane, and so a larger carryon item wasn’t going to fit very well. I didn’t want to be THAT person, jamming an oversized carryon into the overhead bin, only to have it taken away and checked. It took some finagling, but I managed to squeeze everything I needed into the tiniest carryon we had, and the guys ended up taking their changes of clothes in their gym bags. I had the foresight to leave all necessary toiletries, other than my makeup and night cream, at our vacation house, so it wasn’t too bad.

I’m sure I could travel with fewer products, but which of these can I do without? Well, no matter, they fit in the bag.

My son got back from his camping trip on Thursday, and he had a great time. You will all be happy to know that the water pump was shut down for the winter and so they had to haul fresh water; no one got any kind of explosive diarrhea, which I think is an accomplishment. My son loves camping and had the best time; one of his teachers took a group of kids on a midnight walk to a bear breeding ground. No bears were seen, because what bear would be within five kilometres of ninety teenagers? Funnily enough, on the weekend my older son spotted this guy right off of our deck.

Speaking of wildlife, we have had a few strange scenarios with the woodland creatures around our house. I was putting my hair up in my room and I idly looked out at the tree in our front yard. There were two squirrels, one chasing the other, and just as my brain formed the thought oh, cute, one squirrel mounted the other and started just going to town. Squirrel porn, right in my front yard. I averted my eyes but I could still see frantic, fuzzy activity in my peripheral vision. Then the squirrel popped off, and seconds later, remounted. Wow, that was a quick recovery. This happened TWICE MORE and honestly, god bless. I was confused, though, because I didn’t realize this was Squirrel Mating Season. Is it Squirrel Mating Season? Who can say. I’m not up on my squirrel reproductive habit research.

Shortly after this amorous display, I was having coffee in the kitchen and I saw a squirrel curled up in the backyard. This is the time of year that they are digging and gathering grass for their winter homes, and so I figured that was what this squirrel was doing. As I sipped my coffee, staring out the window, I realized that the squirrel hadn’t moved for the duration of my Out The Window Staring. Uh oh, I thought. I have never seen a stationary squirrel that hadn’t been run over by a car or something, so naturally, I feared the worst. I opened the back door and clapped my hands loudly, thinking that if that didn’t get the squirrel moving, then we had a problem.

It didn’t move.

For the first time since Barkley’s passing, I was relieved my fuzzy friend wasn’t here to discover death firsthand. Imagine prying that out of his mouth.

My younger son was having breakfast and I informed him that he would have to be a squirrel undertaker, as it were. That kid. He’s game for anything. He grabbed a garbage bag and the garage key to get a shovel, but came back immediately asking for help from my other son, who was getting ready for work. It turns out that the squirrel was not intact, and I’m not talking about that weird scene with Charles in The Crown where he refers to Camilla as such. I’m saying that it was apparent that the mythical neighbourhood bobcat, who I’m always hearing about on our neighbourhood Facebook page, was in our backyard, and the squirrel was not, as I thought, just curled up under its tail. It didn’t exist other than its tail and a small amount of rear end. I texted my neighbours with cats to let them know, to which one of them replied that that explained the half-eaten rabbit found in their front yard.

What is HAPPENING in my neighbourhood? Is it not enough that I cross paths with coyotes on a weekly basis when I’m out running? Well, between squirrel mating and squirrel dismemberment, I guess it’s the circle of life.

Another little life came to an end, and it was my fault, I’m afraid. Before I get to that, I must explain to those who don’t know about Superstore, the grocery store that receives most of my patronage and a lot of my time. One of the ways that Superstore keeps its prices low is by not having grocery baggers; shoppers bag their own groceries. Bags are available for purchase, but I have some plastic bins I use for the purpose, as well as a number of cloth bags. Generally I leave these bins in the garage before popping them in my car on grocery day, and here is where my story begins. I had just finished unloading my groceries on the conveyor belt and I zipped over to the other side of the cashier, to pack them up. I grabbed my bins and a little spider scrambled out of one of them, right onto the conveyor belt, probably surprised it wasn’t in my garage anymore. Listen: I live in Canada, not Australia, and any spiders around here are completely harmless; in fact, they are beneficial as they eat all manner of irritating insects. I did think, though, that as not everyone shares my view I should move the spider somehow, but as I was puzzling as to the how, it disappeared before my very eyes. Okay then. I started packing up my groceries at the same time the cashier started shrieking. She grabbed several tissues and made panicked grabs at the conveyor belt, telling me that THERE IS A SPIDER! WHERE DID IT COME FROM! And although I do think in general honesty is the best policy, in the face of this hysteria, because hysteria it was, I was not going to be truthful in this situation. I awkwardly said “Oh,” while the cashier smashed her tissues on the conveyor belt, and then showed me the successful result of her spider hunt. All this – from the spider’s appearance to its demise – took place in under sixty seconds, but honestly it felt a lot longer. The cashier let out a deep breath and said “Whew, that was a close one,” as if we were in mortal danger and moments away from shuffling off this mortal coil.

On the topic of mortal danger, I had a dentist appointment this week. Mortal danger may be an overstatement, but the dentist, even for a run-of-the-mill appointment, is never that pleasant. Unlike many people, I don’t get anxiety about the dentist, nor do I find it particularly painful. I just dread the dentist because the appointments take so LONG. Here’s the thing: I can often expect a long wait at the doctor’s office, and so I always take a book with me. That way, if I’m waiting 45 minutes, it doesn’t feel like a waste of time because I’m reading. When I’m at the dentist, the appointment is – and this is just for cleaning and a checkup, so nothing invasive – at least ninety minutes. Ninety minutes of lying on my back with my mouth open, and let me tell you, in the best of scenarios – and you know what I’m saying here – I don’t want to be lying on my back for ninety minutes. With my mouth open. I think you know what I mean, let’s circle back to Mating Season.

It just feels like such a waste of time, and I know, I know, it isn’t. Dental health is very important, etcetera, etcetera, but the appointments are JUST SO LONG. And there is nothing for it but to lie there, turn your head when asked, and use that gross suction thing to suck up excess saliva “whenever you need to.” I really like my hygienist, she is an absolute dream of a hygienist, but I find myself having weird open mouthed conversations between suctioning and scraping, and that doesn’t make my appointment any shorter, either. Fun fact: telling someone that you are a yoga teacher leads to extensive conversations about what can be done about tight hamstrings, sore knees, and anxiety. Our conversation about knee replacement surgery and also what I did this summer probably added a good fifteen minutes to my appointment, god bless whoever had the slot after mine. But, and this is a fault of mine I am sure, I have no idea how to stop conversations that have gone on too long. When having an earnest conversation about someone’s bone health, I’m not sure how to say can we just get on with the appointment. Well. It’s fine. It will be another six months before I have to worry about this, I guess.

Weekly Reading

The Startup Wife. You know what is enraging? Women who do all the work while men get all the credit. This book is exactly about that. It was a sharp, satirical, and very fast-moving story about a woman who starts an app with her husband and their friend. She does all the work, all the coding…but her charismatic husband gets all the adulation. Things start to get weird, because it’s an app about rituals and spirituality. An interesting, albeit enraging, read.

The Dead Moms Club. This author is the cohost of a podcast I enjoy called Forever 35, and because I enjoy her so much so I picked up this book. What a wonderful book about grieving and loss – it is warm and funny, but very thoughtful and informative (how to help when someone is grieving, for example). A beautiful book and I look forward to more by this author. 

It doesn’t look like it will be a very relaxing week around here, but I am hoping to make it to Friday when I can get a bit caught up on sleep. I hope you all have a wonderful week! xo

Almost Paradise

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Well, I have certainly had to hit the ground running after coming home from vacation! Note to self: the end of August is a busy time of the year. My older son, who is taking a gap year, starts his new job today, and my younger son starts school on Thursday, with the requisite day before taken up by textbook acquisition, locker assignments, and all that. I had to swing back into meal-planning-grocery-shopping mode after five days of Very Easy Living, and I found it a bit tricky. What is food, what are meals, what do we eat. Happily, my new freezer arrived, and so all is well in my frozen food world.

A few people mentioned to me that they were surprised I went to Mexico as I never brought it up it in our conversations; that is because after so many cancellations I didn’t really believe it was going to happen. I guess I wasn’t letting myself get too excited in case it got cancelled, again. I haven’t been out of the country since March 2019, which feels like A Very Long Time Ago. But the trip did happen, it was lovely, and, to be honest, purely indulgent. Weather-wise it’s a bit of a bold move going to Mexico in August, but it was wonderful, if hot and humid.

We went to Secrets Los Cabos; we had actually visited that resort five years prior, in August as well. Cabo San Lucas is a relatively short, direct flight from Calgary, which is the reason we chose it, and although it’s hot and humid, it’s not rainy, which is a big plus in my books. We have stayed in a few Secrets/ Dreams resorts, and I am not going to lie, they are Very Luxurious.

This is an all-inclusive resort, which I really like. I love not having to think about anything at all, I love that people come by to ask if I’d like a refreshing drink or if I need another towel, I love that the biggest decisions I need to make are where to eat dinner and which pool to lounge by.

When we got there, we were told that cabanas were available for rent at the Regular Pool, but cabanas were included in the Preferred Pool, which we had access to, because We Are Fancy. The only catch was that the Preferred cabanas were first come, first serve; as a person who is regularly up before the sun, that was not a challenge in the least. We had a cabana for two days, which was a nice respite from the heat.

One thing I legitimately love about being at a resort is meeting all sorts of new people. It feels almost like summer camp, with its instant friendships and constant Getting To Know You chatter. I know a lot of people prefer to keep to themselves on vacation, but there are apparently many people like me who want to talk to everyone surrounding them. An interesting thing I noticed was that no one I met – and I met a lot of people – was from Canada. Every single person was from the Southern or Midwestern United States. Our flight from Calgary was full, so I’m not sure where all my compatriots went, but it didn’t seem to be Secrets. In any case, with only one exception all the people were lovely and a lot of fun to be around.

Dawne from Arkansas: Y’all are so nice, I wish I had a Polaroid to take a photo of you!

Me: Well, we have cameras on our phones…

The one exception was a kind of miserable woman and her husband who a) immediately told me, in graphic detail, about her colon surgery and what that meant for her digestion, and b) complained incessantly about what food was or was not available at any given time and what kind of drink she had which wasn’t the drink she wanted and that the service was not up to her standards. I easily could have tolerated a, but I have no patience for b. These resorts were hit really hard by the pandemic, and in talking to the employees, I got the impression that they personally suffered a lot over the last two years. Besides which, look around, look around, how lucky we are to be alive right now. Here we are, in actual paradise, and someone is bringing you a cold beverage, and you are going to complain about the ice levels or the actual brand of liquor used? I’m pretty sure that woman didn’t tip at all, not that I noticed, anyway, and I kind of hoped that her drink was spat in. I’m sure it wasn’t, but if it was, well. No jury would convict the poolside concierge, let’s put it that way. But that couple was the exception, everyone else was lovely and fun. One guy was a little too fun, as he had to be escorted out of the pool by security, due to extreme drunkenness, at three in the afternoon. Poolside drama!

Another way the resort felt like summer camp was the amount of activities scheduled for every hour of the day. I was pretty happy to just hang out by the pool, dip in and out, read my books, and talk to my neighbours, but had I been so inclined I could have done any number of fun things. To be honest, it felt too hot to even attempt water aerobics or table tennis or even beachside yoga, but I appreciated the opportunity. The only activity I participated in was Karaoke Night.

I love karaoke. I have feelings about karaoke. Some people refuse to do it because “they can’t sing,” but to me, that means it’s an opportunity to increase your stage presence. What I lack in vocal talent I more than make up for in showmanship, if you know what I mean. I would much prefer hearing a subpar singer belt out a song with gusto and include the crowd in the chorus than sit quietly and listen to an earnest, heart-felt rendition of some emotional song no one has heard of. My songs were Material Girl and Before He Cheats, the latter being a huge crowd favourite with the majority of the participants from the South and Midwest. There was a lot of country that night, and the crowd was really fun. It was more like a giant dancing singalong than a karaoke performance.

Over the past six months I have been learning Spanish with the Duo Lingo app. I had some doubts that it would come in handy; I mean, when will I ever say Mi gato es muy grande y bonito (my cat is very big and pretty)? Wait, let’s not answer that. LET’S NOT ANSWER THAT. Anyway, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to converse in Spanish but YOU GUYS, I DID! People understood my very rudimentary Spanish and I understood them! I felt like if I had spent more time there, I would have really improved my vocabulary. I used the phrase “I am learning Spanish” a great deal, and the staff was very patient with me, even spending time teaching me new words and phrases. The moral of the story is that, like with karaoke, it’s the effort that counts.

Well, after all that luxury, it is back to reality for me. It’s time to jump into the new week and the new schedule. I have books to talk about, but that will have to wait. Here’s to a fresh new week! xo

Nicole’s Favourite Things: The Carryon Only Edition

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I have noticed throughout my life that whenever I secretly judge something, it always comes back to haunt me. I’m not talking about things I judge loudly, like not returning a shopping cart, but things I silently think that I will never do myself. I have long since abandoned such thoughts about parenting in particular, because I have learned that all I have to do to curse myself is to think I would NEVER let my kid do that or similar, and the thing happens.

One thing I have silently judged for as long as I can remember is people who travel with only carryon luggage; not the people with slim and light bags, but the people who take the maximum size possible and then jam that suitcase into the overhead compartment, leaving no room and no little inconvenience for the people around them. For god’s sake, I would think, meanly and with great resentment as I was forced to squash my tiny bag under the seat in front of me, Just pay the $25 and be done with it.

Well, here we are, in the summer of 2022, and the resounding chorus from anyone who has travelled is that a) their luggage got lost and was never found, b) their luggage was lost but was returned to them on the last day of vacation, rendering it essentially useless, and c) they waited for an hour to get their luggage at the airport terminal, while exhausted and already late due to a delayed flight. C is the Best Case Scenario.

My husband and I just got back yesterday from a long-anticipated trip to Mexico. We had a family vacation there planned in March of 2020, which turned into – after vaccines became available and we were so optimistic for the future – one for March of 2022, which would have coincided with both our 20th anniversary and our older son’s 18th birthday. We cancelled that trip in January 2022, what with everything going on, and it was lucky we did, as my son tested positive for Covid the day before we would have been due to leave. We decided to turn it into a vacation for just the two of us, and I have much to tell you about. First, though, luggage.

I am a notorious overpacker. For one thing, we have the kind of credit card that gives free checked luggage with every flight, which exposes my just pay the $25 thought process as privileged and tone-deaf. In any case, even before the free luggage benefit, I’ve never given it a second thought. Six black tank tops? Why not! Five pairs of shoes? Sure! When we travel by car, we take my minivan, which is generally stuffed full. But I will tell you this: the only thing that makes me feel more anxious than travelling without a giant suitcase full of my favourite things from home is LOSING that giant suitcase full of my favourite things from home. Therefore, given all the Lost Luggage Drama that has been a trademark of this summer’s travel, and with a lot of encouragement and tips from my friend Janet (HI JANET) I was determined that I could do it. I could do it! I could! I could go Carryon Only. Here’s how a terrible, spoiled overpacker ate her own words and went to Mexico with only a carryon suitcase and a smile.

Nicole’s Favourite Things: The Carryon Only Edition

Hold Me Closer, Tiny Toiletry Bottles

The biggest thing holding me back from taking only a carryon is, of course, toiletries. It will not surprise anyone to know that I use a wide variety of liquid-form toiletries and hair products on a daily basis, and, of course, that is something that is very restricted in carryon luggage.

Aside from the fact that I have an environmental issue with those tiny plastic bottles of toiletries, they seem to be following in the footsteps of lemon juice and popcorn, in that they are very hard to find right now. I don’t know what the Trial and Travel section looks like in your local drugstore, but I have visited a few in the past month and mine are largely empty swaths of space, interspersed with the occasional basket containing tiny bottles of Pert Plus and mouthwash, a few brands of tiny toothpaste, and, strangely, mini-spray-deodorants.

Janet clued me in to companies that sell little refillable bottles for exactly these purposes, and so of course I bought a few sets. I even found one that had little tiny SPRAY bottles, so I could fill them with my hair products. I did buy couple of tiny toothpastes, because what are you going to do, but most of my other products I just squeezed into the little bottles. Sunscreen was the biggest challenge but my favourite Ultra Sheer Neutrogena sunscreen is in a smallish bottle anyway, and I figured we could probably just buy sunscreen, if push came to shove.

My husband is a person who can travel with almost no toiletries; he’s happy to use whatever the hotel or resort supplies, which feels like a risky business to me, but which also meant that he could take a few of my things in his luggage.

I couldn’t decide between the pretty little silicone bottles or the ones with the case, so I got both. But check out the labels that came with them:

Are we bringing our own sauces with us? If so, it’s good that there is a label for it; we would hate to confuse a condiment with a body wash, and vice versa.

Waterproof Mascaras and the Wipes That Love Them

I don’t wear waterproof mascara very often, but it’s a must in Mexico, what with the humidity and the swimming. I recently bought the waterproof version of Maybelline’s Great Lash mascara in a fit of nostalgia; I used that mascara exclusively in my junior high years entirely due to an article in Sassy magazine about the Fancy Hollywood Makeup Artists who swore by it. You know what, it is a really good mascara; there is a lot of bang for the buck here.

When I use waterproof mascara at home I use a liquid remover with a microfibre cloth, but that seemed like a ridiculous waste of liquid packing space, so I decided to buy makeup remover wipes. I know! I know. They are environmentally terrible, but this is a special occasion and I promise I won’t do it again. It is well documented that I love Neutrogena everything, and so I bought these wipes and gave them a trial run before I left. They do the job perfectly; not a trace of mascara was left on my lashes, and no irritation around the eye area either.

Gleaming The Packing Cubes

My friend Kim (HI KIM), who travels a lot, mentioned packing cubes in a Facebook post as being “life-changing,” and so of course I investigated, and bought myself a set in a very pretty blue. Kim was RIGHT. Such a simple thing and yet it kept my little suitcase perfectly organized; I don’t tend to unpack when we are in vacation, choosing instead to literally live out of my suitcase, and these cubes made it so easy to find what I needed each day. Swimsuits in one cube! Dresses in another! Underwear in a third!

Plus, the set came with a dirty laundry bag and a little makeup bag, which I used for my very-pared-down-for-the-trip makeup items.

Compression Digression

If you have known me for any length of time, you know all about my circulation issues. If you’re new, hi! Welcome! Also, I have circulation issues! These issues crested into “the worst case of varicose veins I have ever seen on such a young woman,” as the surgeon who stripped them back in 2011 said; that stripping should have been the end of it, but I am a special flower who has developed new ones, to the alarm of my current physician. Too long, didn’t read; I wear compression stockings or calf sleeves a lot, but particularly when travelling to ward off blood clots and, I guess, death. The compression stockings I wear for flying are pretty hard-core; they take significant effort to put on and take off, and they look exactly like something my grandma would wear. Thick, “nude” stockings, what could be more stylish?

My husband: You can barely tell you’re wearing them!

Me: silently wonders if my husband is losing his vision.

The ones I wore for the flight to Mexico were thigh-high, as opposed to my full-on pantyhose stockings, which I wore on the way back, because I wanted to be able to easily (or, “easily”) peel them off in the airport bathroom to shove into my bag when we got to our destination. Wearing a skirt meant this was easy to do, and as a bonus the skirt also hides the invariable bulge at the top of the stocking. Vanity should have no place in this situation but it does.

Canadian friends: I have found it to be a terrible pain to buy medical grade stockings here. If you want anything more than light grade knee-highs, a prescription is needed, which I have, but then it’s a matter of getting measured at a pharmacy, and ordering them, and it’s just a pain. Easier and cheaper – even given the exchange rate – is ordering them from the US; I like this website.

Kindle The Reading Fire

I am going to preface this by admitting that I used to say I would NEVER use an e-reader, never. I like books! I like pages! My husband bought a Kindle back in 2012, and it has sat unused for the past several years in a drawer. Last year, a very lovely friend (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE) sent me her very wonderful manuscript to beta-read, and the best way for me to read it was on an e-reader. It turns out that, like many other things I said I would never enjoy, I really liked reading that way. Don’t get me wrong: I still much prefer paper books. But with limited luggage and also reading outside with sunglasses as opposed to reading glasses, the old Kindle (with large font) was just the ticket. I loved how I could load it up, and pop it into my bag.

The only problem is that a ten-year-old piece of technology is very SLOW when it comes to uploads. I think if we are going to travel more I am going to put a new Kindle on my Christmas list.

Safety, Measurements

When flying, there are so many safety measures in place, and those two words made me think of the two posts that I read this month that really stayed with me, but in very different ways.

Erin (HI ERIN) wrote an incredible piece about the meaning of safety in childhood, drawing on her own experiences, and it is very powerful and moving. I found myself holding my breath while reading, and reminding myself to breathe through the difficult parts.

As I thought about people, myself included now, I guess, shoving their carryon luggage in the overhead compartments and maximizing every last inch of space, this hilarious post about the meaning of an inch popped into my head. I think we can ALL relate.

I have so much to talk to you about! The flight! The trip! The books I read! The leaving of my teenage children to their own devices for five days! But those things will have to wait, as I have much to do to catch up on life! Soon. I promise! xo

Five For Friday: Nostalgia

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  • WILMA! I’M HOME. I floored to see this display at Costco; I didn’t know that Fruity Pebbles still existed. I have never eaten them in my life, so I have no opinion on the taste or quality of the cereal, but it seems like such an incredibly dated item. I mean, The Flintstones? Is this still part of the cultural zeitgeist? I used to love that show when I was a kid, but there weren’t many other options at the time, and I feel that if I watched an episode now I would be absolutely horrified. However, that doesn’t mean that seeing Fruity Pebbles didn’t give me a nice feeling of nostalgia; I remember watching commercials for such cereals on Saturday mornings while I ate my unsweetened Shreddies or Cheerios, or, if my mom was feeling especially indulgent, my Honey Nut Cheerios. The commercials would be for things like Count Chocula or Boo Berry cereal, items that my mother would have died before purchasing. Last Christmas I saw Elf cereal at the grocery store, and although I have followed in my mother’s footsteps when it comes to virtuously healthy cereal purchases, I bought a box, thinking it would be a fun snack. Reader, it was not. Even my teen boys couldn’t eat it, and I feel like that speaks volumes.
  • Twinkie Twinkie, Not A Star. Speaking of my youth, I loved Archie comics, and I would read them cover to cover, including all the advertisements for things like Sea Monkeys and Twinkies. Sea Monkeys, I have since learned, are dehydrated brine shrimp. Twinkies, though. They looked so delicious, along with Hostess Cupcakes and Ding Dongs; I longed for such treats but at the time they were only available in the US. Any other Canadian women of a certain age remember how you had to “cross the line” to get such things? At the time I’m remembering, the Canadian dollar was pretty much on par with the US, and things like clothing and shoes were so much cheaper “down south,” so we would often drive down to Montana or Washington to do some shopping for back-to-school clothes. It was on one of those trips – where we ate unsweetened but still exciting cereal from those tiny boxes that came in a multipack, in our motel room – that my mom bought Twinkies AND Hostess Cupcakes. No Ding Dongs, but no matter. I was so excited to finally try these long-anticipated snacks, and let me tell you, never was a child so disappointed. I may have accepted that no matter how much cherry Kool-Aid I consumed, the Kool-Aid Man was never going to crash through my kitchen wall; I may have come to terms with the fact that a giant sentient bubble would never appear and hang out with me in my Mr. Bubbles-filled bathtub, but I truly felt like a Twinkie or Ding Dong or Hostess Cupcake would deliciously transport me into the world in which I was shiny-haired Veronica Lodge, snacking while Archie fawned over me and my incredible wealth. I can still remember eating the weird spongy cakes with the flavourless creme fillings, and feeling like my world lost a little bit of colour. Now they are widely available in any Canadian grocery store, and I give them the side-eye every time I see them.
  • Pop Culture. My husband remembers, on a similar childhood trip Across The Line, being able to buy A&W Root Beer IN A CAN and that was as good as it got for him. That was also only available in the States, but since I have a strong aversion to root beer, it would have been wasted on me. My parents used to buy pop from The Pop Shoppe, and the glass bottles came in plastic cases that, along with the bottles, would be returned to the store. I remember one time that they definitely would have foregone the five cent bottle deposit. Generally they purchased cola and lemon-lime, but every once in a while there would be an orange or grape pop bottle in the case, and that would be a huge treat for me. I was told I could go downstairs and bring up “my” pop, but I was so excited I dropped the bottle on my foot; it shattered and I had to go into urgent care. The fourth toenail on that foot is still a little deformed to this day. Despite the fact that those drinks would be a treat for me, my number one favourite beverage at that time was the uncarbonated Orange Drink that came from McDonalds, and that was featured in every single Sports Day during elementary school. Along with the admittedly-probably-watered-down Orange Drink, it would have been considered extremely lucky to receive a little Dixie Cup of vanilla ice cream, the kind that came with a wooden spoon. I am pretty sure the Orange Drink is no longer in existence, and I would probably spin off the planet on a sugar high if I drank it now, but I wonder if those little ice cream cups are still part of this world?
  • When You Wish Upon A Wish Book. One thing that is not part of this world that I genuinely miss every fall is the Sears Wish Book. I have loved the Wish Book for my whole life and was bereft when Sears went out of business. I loved the “gifts for under $10” section, and I always wanted a Snoopy Sno Cone Machine. I’m sure it would have never worked and would have been at least as disappointing as the Twinkie/ Hostess Cupcake experience, but still. Something that was NOT disappointing was the Christmas morning that I opened up my very own Cabbage Patch Kid, named Kora Candi. I did not realize it at the time, but it was a HUGE deal for my mom to get one for me. She had to have her name on a list at Zellers (remember Zellers? Remember grilled cheese sandwiches with fries and gravy at the Zellers “restaurant?”), and when the time came, she was taken into a back room where the staff triple-bagged the box, so that no one would know what she had and would try to rob her in the parking lot. The things moms do to make Christmas magical! The things that happened in the 80s! Let’s not mention that Xavier Roberts completely stole the idea from a little old lady at a craft fair and became very wealthy in the process; I loved Kora Candi and I still do.
  • Your Mom Has Got It Going On. My younger son told me that, in his friend group, the response to “Anyone want to hang out?” is “Your mom does.” I didn’t know guys still insulted each other via “your mom” jokes anymore and, strangely, since I am apparently one of the butts of the joke, it made me happy. Ah, the circle of life. Frequently the question will be reframed as “Anyone want to hang out? Not with my mom.”

We have been having the most gorgeous summer with the longest stretch of absolutely perfect weather; I do not want summer to end. I guess that is why mid-August tends to be a nostalgic time of year for me; this year I’m thinking not just about when my kids were small and we’d be prepping for school, but when I was a kid myself. How about you, are you also feeling nostalgic these days? Is there anything from your past that makes you smile? Tell me everything. xo

A Week of Summer Outfits

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With only a couple of exceptions, we have had the most beautiful summer weather over the past few weeks. In fact, we even had a HEAT WAVE. Now, before my friends in the southern part of the US start to feel sympathy for me in this heat wave, let me show you the warning from Environment Canada to give some context:

For those of you who think in terms of Fahrenheit, let me translate: the daily highs varied between 82.4 and 89.6, with overnight lows in the 50s. That, friends, is what constitutes a heat wave in Calgary. The entire city starts to melt and shrivel in such crazy hot temperatures.

Have you finished wiping away your tears of laughter?

As I’m going through the process of loving and appreciating all the clothes I have, as per The Big Project, I wanted to share with you a typical week’s worth of summer outfits; the week includes our Heat Wave but also a day or two of cooler temperatures, because it’s all about volatility in this city.

As previously discussed in A Week of Spring Outfits, the Curated Closet encourages the idea of a “uniform,” and my Summer Uniform for hot (or, “hot”) days is comprised of a skirt with shorts attached (a “skort”), and a shelf-bra yoga tank. Non-hot days call for a uniform similar to the rest of the year: fitted pants with a yoga tank or a tee, sometimes layered.

One Week Of Summer Outfits

Thursday

The week starts on Thursday, which happened to be the start of what I have been thinking of as Summer Vacation. Because of the Heat Wave, I decided to take the boys up to visit my parents at the lake. My husband was busy with work, so we decided to go up on Thursday after my younger son’s driving lesson and come home on Saturday, and it was the most perfect visit you can imagine.

Behold the Summer Uniform! I have had this skirt since at least 2015, and the tank since probably 2010, but possibly longer. Needless to say, this outfit is a longtime favourite! I don’t wear much colour as a rule, but I do like a little pop in the summer on occasion.

This was a perfect outfit for driving – very comfortable – and great for drinking wine while the boys paddleboarded in the evening, prior to a couple raucous dice games with my parents.

Friday

This day might go down as one of the best days of all time. I will be remembering it forever, I think. It was truly perfect: I went for a sweet run in the morning, and then we spent the day on the boat. The weather was perfect and the water – which only two weeks ago was absolutely frigid – was swimming-pool temperature. The boys and I jumped off the boat and swam a lot, and the boys tried out the Big Mable for the first time in three or four years, and we just had the best time. Many thanks to my dad for being our captain for the afternoon!

I spent most of the day in a bikini and booty shorts, but by late afternoon my look was more Drowned Rat than anything, so I attempted to make myself presentable for Margarita Hour and dinner.

This is an actual tank top – from Jacob, which closed its doors in 2015, so who knows how old it is – and I’m wearing an actual bra, which I feel is notable. The skirt is probably four years old and makes me feel lovely and summery.

Saturday

Sadly, time to go home! I took a solo paddleboard in the morning on the perfectly-quiet lake and then we headed home. I was only away from my garden for a day, but it needed some love, particularly the tomatoes.

Before I get to the outfit, I have to tell you about this watering wand from Lee Valley Tools. It was a birthday gift this year and it’s amazing. You know when you have an old tool that doesn’t work well but it works well enough, and then it’s replaced with a far superior model and you can’t believe how long you put up with the crappy old tool? That was my experience with this watering wand. My old one leaked, so every time I used it my shoes and pants would be wet; this new wand is like entering a whole new world of hand-held garden irrigation.

This tank top, in a subtle camouflage, feels new, but it must be at least four or five years old. Isn’t that funny how that happens? And my black skirt, well, it’s a Summer Staple.

Sunday

It was a lovely surprise that my husband decided to take this week off; something was delayed, work-wise, and believe me, if he has the chance to take time off, he should take it. This is not something that happens with any sort of frequency; more typically he is working on our holidays and weekends, do not get me started on Easter weekend this year. In any case, on Sunday he decided to take the boys out to the mountains to camp for one night. The weather was a bit cooler – no more Heat Wave – and so I wore a tank and these pants, which are the cropped version of the lululemon City Sleek trousers, which you may remember are pants that look like actual pants, with button and zipper, but feel like yoga pants.

They are comfortable for sitting and lounging, which is what I did all evening. When the cat’s away, the mouse will play, and in my case, that means eating Greek salad and hummus while watching an episode each of The Golden Girls and The Muppets. I stayed up late into the night (read: 9:00pm) reading a memoir by Valerie Bertenelli; do not tell me I do not know how to live it up.

Monday

Well, the people complaining about the heat must have been happy, as it was chilly and rainy all day, with a high of only 18 degrees, which is in the low 60s, for you Fahrenheit people. Time for simple jeans and a tee, and an afternoon of reading, laundry, and a viewing of Velocipastor with the boys. Oh, Velocipastor. Not since The Godfather have we seen such cinematic glory. And yet this film about a priest who transforms into a dinosaur was snubbed by the Academy.

Tuesday

I spent a lovely morning with my chosen sister, Janet (HI JANET)

We hadn’t seen each other for a while, so we talked and walked, to the tune of 9.5 km. After that I showered and got a little dressed up for my much-looked-forward-to pedicure. I hurried down the street, which is going through sidewalk refurbishment, so I had to keep zigzagging to avoid the cement trucks and rebar people. I burst into the salon just barely on time, only to find out that my appointment was YESTERDAY and I missed it. I had either miscommunicated or written my appointment down incorrectly. I was so upset with myself; I never make mistakes like that, and it was embarrassing, not to mention inconvenient and a loss of income for a small local business. I was able to rebook myself for today, and I’m hoping a very large tip will make up for my unexplained absence on Monday. The owner looked at me sadly and said “We waited for you, but you didn’t come!” and I felt like a bit of a monster. I wasn’t doing ANYTHING Monday afternoon, I could have been having a pedicure!

Anyway, this is the super-cute outfit I had dressed up for; it dates back to 2016 at the latest, but I think it’s probably earlier. It’s a skort, of course, and an actual bra under my tank top, that’s how dressed up I was.

My older son is my fashion photographer, and he made me retake this photo. “Mom, your face looks really grumpy. Can you smile like you’re not grumpy?”

Wednesday

My older son and I have been talking for years about biking the Banff Legacy Trail, and on Wednesday we did it! We biked from Canmore to Banff and back, and it was really a perfect morning. I knew we would be gaining elevation from on the first half, but it was gradual so I didn’t realize it until we turned around to go back; it felt like we were flying back to Canmore, and in fact we were 15 minutes faster going that direction.

This skirt, which I have had for seven or eight years, has padded shorts underneath, and let me tell you, padded shorts are a must. A MUST. I had a tank top underneath this very lightweight top, which was perfect for the temperature and to keep the sun off my shoulders. There’s very little shade on the path, particularly when we were finishing up near noon. All in all a perfect day.

Lots of summer fun this week and lots to come, I hope. I hope you are having a beautiful summer as well. Tell me: do you have a Summer Uniform? Do you like biking and hiking in the summer, or are you having an Actual Heat Wave, as opposed to a Calgary Heat Wave? Tell me everything. xo