Holy Thunderstorm Batman! Or is it...??

Just as I was getting ready to settle in onto our deck for an evening of reading and writing...this is what started to creep up into sight...

Talk about putting a damper on one's evening of outdoor enjoyment!! We stayed and watched the sky change for a good twenty minutes and eventually the winds picked up and the smell of rain took over however, as of yet, it appears to be all bark and no bite!

We will keep you posted though if it manages to live up to it's creepiness!!

Pathways to Peace...

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God."
- Matthew 5:9

www.pathways-to-peace.com

Cubs or Pork Chops...

I just received this recently from a friend via email and thought that it was too amazing not to share...

In a zoo in California, a mother tiger gave birth to a rare set of triplet tiger cubs. Unfortunately, due to complications in the pregnancy, the cubs were born pre-maturely and due to their tiny size, they died shortly after birth.

The mother tiger, after recovering from the delivery, suddenly started to decline in health, although physically she was fine. The veterinarians felt that the loss of her litter had caused the tigress to fall into a depression. The doctors decided that if the tigress could surrogate another mother's cubs, perhaps she would improve.

After checking with many other zoos across the country, the depressing news was that there were no tiger cubs of the right age to introduce to the mourning mother.

The veterinarians decided to try something that had never been tried in a zoo environment. Sometimes a mother of one species will take on the care of a different species.

The only "orphans" that could be found quickly, were a litter of wiener pigs. The zoo keepers and vets wrapped the piglets in tiger skin and placed the babies around the mother tiger.

Would they become cubs or pork chops???

Happy Summer Solstice...

When the sun came up at 5:14am this morning...it became the Summer Solstice of 2006 and as far as I'm concerned...a day that is highly overlooked and under rated by the those living in North America. June 21st (TODAY!) is the day in which the sun's rays strike one of the two tropical latitude lines, marking the beginning of summer in the northern hemisphere and simultaneously heralds the beginning of winter in the southern hemisphere.

Traditionally, we would get between 15-20 hours of sunlight today depending on where you are located in the world, with the exception of those residing north of the Artic Circle, who will get 24 hours of daylight and those south of the Antartic Circle who will have 24 hours of darkness (ouch! That's what you get for living so far away from a Starbucks!!!).

"Solstice" is derived from two Latin words: "sol" meaning sun, and "sistere," to cause to stand still. This is because, as the summer solstice approaches, the noonday sun rises higher and higher in the sky on each successive day. On the day of the solstice, it rises an imperceptible amount, compared to the day before. In this sense, it "stands still."

The Summer Solstice has been celebrated worldwide for centuries and being the longest day of the year, I think that everyone should take advantage of such a special day! Pagans celebrated the Solstice with bonfires in hopes of generating sympathetic magic: giving a boost to the sun's energy so that it would remain potent throughout the rest of the growing season and guarantee a plentiful harvest. In Sweden, a Midsummer tree is set up and decorated in each town. The villagers dance around it and women and girls would customarily bathe in the local river because it's a magical ritual, intended to bring rain for the crops. In ancient times, people used to celebrate the solstice by sacrificing their pets but, I suggest opting for a more laid back means of taking in the occasion!!!

When I was a little girl we used to celebrate the summer solstice by staying up way past my bed time to enjoy the added hours of sunlight but now that I'm a big girl...the novelty of staying up past 8 o'clock just doesn't have the same thrilling effect as it once did! However, I would suggest maybe getting up at dawn and having your eggs sunny side up or making a quick visit to Stonehedge if you happen to be in the neighborhood!!! Or how about taking the day off work to lounge in the sun (but don't forget your sunscreen!)?!?!?

Whatever you choose to do...you have until 8:54pm tonight to enjoy it! So, Happy Sunshine!

photo credit: London Heritage

Congratulations Matt & Kate...

One of the many very fun plans that we had during "May Madness" (as we laughingly call it!) was to attend Matt and Kate's wedding in Chatham. Not only was it such an honour to be invited but, few fairytales truly match up to the story that these two have in their back pocket!

I don't know the details well enough to brave telling it but, let's just say that after being asked who amongst his friends Matt would most like to marry...he said Kate (and they weren't even dating at the time)!! Honestly, they are just too cute for words!

Personally, I don't know either Matt or Kate very well but, after spending time getting to know their friends and family at their wedding, I can confidently say that both of them are people of very strong character and integrity. They are both just so lovable and kind, and above all things, not only are they very faithful people but, they are very faith-filled people. It was just so beautiful to watch.

Kate looked extraordinary...truly one of the most beautiful brides ever and their entire wedding exuded grace and class. Aside from watching them exchange their vows and the twenty-six (that's right...twenty-six!!!!) different desserts they offered after dinner, their absolutely amazing "U2-rock-the-house-bring-you-to-your-feet" version of Amazing Grace was merely one of the many things that made their wedding so memorable.

Thanks for the great time guys and Congratulations!!

Matt & Kate Korpan

May 27th, 2006

Happy 29th Birthday Steve...

Stay Tuned...

Okay...I admit it...I've been slacking on my blogging responsibilities. Not only have I not quite gotten over the Senators loss in round two (again!) but, our schedual has just been so full of summer time funness that it has left limited time for blogging about all the funness.

But fear not, I have come to realize that the summer fun needs to be shared with the world in order to fulfill it's blogging destiny!

So stay tuned for updates on the many 2006 excursions to date:

• Alexander May 2-4 visit
• Family Trip to the Detroit Zoo (with some overly frisky animals and curious young nieces and nephews!)
• Korpan wedding (dum dum da dum..)
• Anniversary/Birthday night out at Cirque du Soleil

So much to blog about and so little time...

Another Year Gone By...

Dear Ottawa Senators:

I love you...you know that I do. You know that I will always be a fan and I will always be willing to sit in a room full of Leaf fans so that I can cheer you on however, you and I need to have a little chat! I would have written this sooner however, it has taken me a little while to accept the defeat that we encountered on Saturday night. You know that you are a terrific team but, you really have to get over this whole "curse of round two" thing...it's really starting to frustrate me!!!

I'm starting to notice a pattern in which if you lose the first game of the round, you end up losing the best of four. For a team that performs so strongly during the regular season, I'm always so puzzled as to how your confidence is so easily rattled when it comes to the playoffs. Now, I'll admit...I'm certainly not one to give any advice on how to play hockey...God knows that you guys play it a lot better than I ever could but, ultimately, this obviously comes down to a matter of consistency and confidence when it really matters.

I certainly don't think that you should listen to anyone that tells you that this has been another "playoff disaster" because really, every team but one is going to lose when it comes to the end so the word disaster might be a bit of a stretch. I will say though that when it came to round two, nothing upsets me more than watching an important (aka. overtime) goal coming for five seconds (especially a short-handed one at that!). There are errors and then there is the error of forgetting to play defence for five games in a row. What's that about?!?!

All this to say that I am a little disappointed right now. I don't mind losing as long as you've played your heart out and made it anyone's game. It's much harder to accept though when you've been eaten alive!

Fear not though my Senators...I still believe! I will wear black for the next week and pout around town as we no longer have games to look forward to but, I will be there come the start of next season ready to cheer you on yet again. Your day will come but, for now, I think that we should just take the baby steps of trying to get past round two.

Till next season!

Dear Toronto Maple Leaf Fans:
(especially those who live in the Chatham-Kent District!)

Before all of you starting ranting about the fact that we lost the series (which I know you are all anxiously sitting there waiting to do!), please allow me to remind you that the Ottawa Senators beat you seven out of the eight times that you played this past year and that you didn't even make the playoffs. I'm also fairly certain that I haven't seen you guys holding the Stanley Cup any time recently so really, your track record isn't a whole heck of a lot better. Hence, I do believe that means that your right to lecture us on our weaknesses has officially been revoked until you make the playoffs once again! Once that happens, then we can talk, but until then, I believe all bragging rights of any kind will have to be repressed until further notice!!

Sincerely,
Gen

Brighter Days...

MEMORANDUM

To: The Universe at Large
From: Gen & Steve
Date: Thursday, May 11th, 2006
Re: The Oh So Famous "Light"!

Dear Universe,

Due to recent emotional restraints, the light at the end of the tunnel has been temporarily turned off until further notice.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause!

Sincerely,
G&S Management

The Vice or the Versa...??

With the beautiful and inspiring summer months upon us...I've decided to use all of this natural energy for good and not evil! I've decided to challenge myself to overcome by biggest vice...!

The same way that we all have our little secrets, we all have our vices that more times than not, tend to get the better of us every now and then. For many people it's the obvious ones...smoking...eating...drinking... shopping ..boys...you name it!! I, however, have always had a rather tumultuous relationship with...numbers!

It doesn't really seem to matter what it is but, the numbers always appear to be out to get me! It's the numbers that don't add up on my math test, the number on the scale, the numbers on the clock, the numbers in the bank, the numbers we owe the bank (!!!), the number that you come to be at the end of a race, the number of kilometres it took to get there...whatever it is, somehow "X" plus "Y" never seems to add up to "enough".

All of this is a challenge at the best of times but, unfortunately for me, I also have a passion that is less than conducive to a dislike of numbers! For three years now I have been "on the run", training for 10kms., half marathons and marathons. As great as running is, like most sports, numbers are often the measuring stick by which you judge your successes; the number of kilometres you run, the speed at which you run them, the number of minutes it takes you to get to the finish like, the number of times that you run in a week...and so on and so on. One's obsession with numbers (namely mine!) sometimes has a habit of taking on a life of it's own and taking away from the pure joy of being in motion.

So, this is where my summer challenge comes up! I have decided that for the next four months I am not allowed to associate any numbers to the activities that I do. I am not allowed to take our GPS out with me when I run (so I can't keep track of my distance) and I'm not permitted to keep track of the number of times that I run or the time in which I run. This summer...running will be done solely for fun!

I guess the idea is to give my body the opportunity to find its own balance and see what happens when it's active for different motives. Although this challenge somewhat intimidates me (because I write EVERYTHING down...aka. I ran 673.28 kilometres in 2005!), I am looking forward to spending some time listening to what my body needs as opposed to listening to what the training schedual needs. Though I'm sure that it takes far more than just four months to change of lifetime of "vices"...I do have faith that four months is atleast enough to put the "versa" in motion!

-Gen

Best Deal EVER...

Well folks...it's likely that I have just come across one of the very best deals that ever was. Better than surprise sales at the GAP...better than shoe sales and dare I say it...better than the big summer sale at IKEA. We were doing our weekly grocery shopping yesterday afternoon at Loblaws when low and behold...we found a sale on the best ice cream ever made.

I feel fairly comfortable calling myself an ice cream expert...I've worked with ice cream...I eat ice cream...and frankly, I just down right love ice cream and in my professional opinion, Haagen-Dazs beats all other ice creams.

On any given day, this guilty pleasure would cost you about $6.79 for a container of 500ml (and about 250 calories a spoonful!) or $11.00 a scoop in the U.S. but, not on this day! On this special day, God bestowed on us the gift of $2.99 a container OR (that's right...it does get even better!) a box of three ice cream bars.

Now tell me, how can anyone walk through this life not completely full of joy when unexpected surprises like this come along?? Of course, such sales is also cause for caution as yumminess of this nature is also like playing with fire (especially for women!). Really, let's be honest, once it's in the house, all sense of self-control goes right out the window! In light of this, we managed to contain ourselves somewhat and settled for a container of Vanilla Swiss Almond and a box of the Milk Chocolate Vanilla bars (let me just say that choosing a flavour was a challenge enough for a Sunday afternoon!).

So, for those of you who can't make it down to the Rideau Street Loblaws and enjoy gluttony at a reasonable price...just go the Haagen-Daaz site and browse through their flavour selector...it's a very passionate love affair just waiting to happen!

The Island of Summer...

Something about summer is rebellious and barefoot and staying up way past our bedtime. Something in our brains goes native, some Bain de Soleil brews in our blood. As the earth completes its transition from chilly monochrome to tropical profusion, we go with it. From beef stew to gazpacho, from layers to linen, from bundled to bare.

Summer's Santa: a lifeguard in a Speedo. Summer's angora: the down on your forearm. Summer's black: white. Shoulders appear, followed by midriffs and thighs. Toes that have spent months inside socks inside boots under wraps and galoshes make their social debut painted coral or cantaloupe or iced cappuccino. Hairdos are cropped, pulled back, piled up. Even with everything we know, the urge to turn a little golden is hard to resist.

We do our best to civilize the summer. We air-condition our cars and offices to suit-and-pantyhose temperatures. We schedule meetings, make appointments, drink coffee, try to act like Monday is Monday and business is business and school's not really out forever. But no matter how we try to keep things running per usual, our souls won't cooperate. Beneath that power suite beats the heart of the girl from Ipanema. Tall and tan and young and lovely and on her way to the beach.

Summer is the season of lounging, the latitude of lassitude. Important exercises to know: Extend arm. Reach for tall glass. Repeat as necessary. Or: Jump in pool. Stretch out on inflatable mat. Hold for the count of 60. Roll over. Bend to fasten sandals; later, remove. To raise your heart rate, have sex. Very slowly.

At their best, the workouts of summer of nothing but fun and games: swimming, biking, rowing at dawn, long walks in the limpid twilight. Beach volleyball, sandlot baseball, golf and tennis and badminton and croquet on the lawn. It's the season of sneakers, baby; won't you come out and play?

No matter how hard they try to air-condition you, steal a little summer everyday. A cool dip, a frozen drink, a home-grown tomato, a lazy hour with a magazine. Nibble earlobes and melon balls. Put sunblock on your nose, put blond streaks in your hair, put sprigs of mint in your lemonade. This is the year you will learn to tie a sarong. Wear tangerine and fuschia, broad-brimmed straw hats, sandals of many straps. Behind sunglasses, we are all movie stars. In halter tops, we are all teenagers. At the water's edge, we are all children.

Summer is here. Welcome to de island.

-Marion Winik

Farewell Fran...

This past weekend, a dear colleague of ours died of lung cancer. Fran was one of the Deputy Directors of the National Gallery of Canada and truly, a very sweet woman. Though I didn't know her very well, I often crossed paths with her on a daily basis and consistently received a very gentle and warming smile from her. She was diagnosed with lung cancer a mere month ago and it took all of us by surprise how quickly her cancer took her from us.

I know that it sounds incredibly cliche but, we so often express gratitude for great family and friends yet, more often than not, we overlook the great people that we spend eight hours of day with. Terrific co-workers are also great gifts and should be recognized as so. Losing Fran this past weekend really enlighten us with a certain perspective as to how valuable the "little things" truly are. As is stated in Fran's obituary, the one thing that she had wished for was more time. More time to make a difference and more time to tell those that mattered to her just how much they mattered. Perhaps it's something that we should no longer wish for and something that we should cherish every moment that we have.

God Bless you Fran...you will be missed.

Frances (Fran) Cameron

1947-2006

Happy Birthday Miss Natalia!

So...our girl Natalia turned the big 29 this past weekend and we had the priviledge of celebrating with her as she rang in the last of her twenties!! A bunch of us joined forces at her place to bring new meaning to the word "cocktail"!! If there is one thing that we all learned from the birthday girl that night, it's that she certainly makes a mean martini!!!!

Exotic really is the only word to describe Natalia! With her european good looks and endless style...not too mention the unbelievable stories that she has to tell...she really is one person worth meeting if you ever get the chance! In fact, make it a goal to meet her sometime...you won't regret it!!!!

Happy Birthday Natalia...28 was fun...brace yourself for 29!

Fashion vs. Style

I recently read this great paragraph in a book that perfectly summed up the debate between fashion and style. It was so good, in fact, that I thought it was worth sharing. So I dedicate the following to the one and only, Divine J...the most stylish girl that I know!

Women frequently want to have a mad passionate fling with fashion, but given a choice, most of us would marry style. That's because style, like a good man, doesn't let you down. When fashion seduces you, the affair usually burns itself out before the next season.

Fashion is a show-off, concerned with the cutting edge. Style has seen is all before and knows that the classic tenets of simplicity, beauty, and elegance have staying power. Fashion is a cult; style is a philosophy.

Fashion mocks individuality; style celebrates it. Never forget that fashion, while frequently a charmer, is also a self-centered, frivolous bore. Style is high-spirited and generous, given to touting your best features for all the world to see. Fashion is a provocateur; style prefers to soothe. Fashion is self-congratulatory; style waits for the inevitable compliments. "Fashion can be bought," Edna Woolman Chase observed in 1954. "Style must be possessed."

Fashion guesses, so it can bluff. Style knows. Fashion is impatient and eventually passes away. Style is steadfast and waits for every women's awakening, because authentic style is born of Spirit.

- Sarah Ban Breathnach

Sounds on the Airwaves...

I have to admit that one of the best ways to check out up and coming music is to watch commercials every chance that you get. Some of the catchiest tunes are found in those thirty second clips that we try fast forward through...but take my word for it...advertising is a musical untapped resource!!!

A great example was the Bailey's commercial about five years ago featuring Moby's Porcelain. I used to scan all the channels just in hopes of getting my "Porcelain fix"!!!

As I'm watching bits and pieces of the Junos, I'm also reminded of a recent hit made very popular by the airwaves. Bedouin Soundclash received a great boost in ratings when their hit When the Night Feels my Song was used for a Zellers commercial. Okay...it's not the GAP but still, it did win them a Juno for best new single!!!

My current favourite "airwave discovery" is from Nivea's new commercial entitled "Wherever". They feature a super great song called New Days by a nearly unheard of band called Asher Lane. I believe that they are from Germany and are only just now managing to catch up to their new found fame from the widely received commercial that has been aired in 90 countries worldwide.

Get your hands on the full version of the song if you can...it's great. And watch out for Asher Lane in the future...I think that we will be hearing a lot more from them in due time!!!

Check out more about Asher Lane on their website:
www.asher-lane.de/

Three Cheers for Steve...

As a proud and excited wife, it is my duty and priviledge to brag about my husband every opportunity that I get (and he makes it really easy!).

The latest occasion that I've been given is to announce that my Steve has recently become a published author..a feat that I consider most impressive at any age, none the less at 28!!

Last week his paper on air quality modelling was officially published in the Journal of Atmospheric Environment.

Ahh...he really just gets better everyday...that's my man!!

If you want to check out the abstract to his paper...go here! If you want to read the whole thing...pull out your wallets because even the online version doesn't come cheap!

-Gen

Great Expectations...

Okay, so it's not often that I come here feeling the need to purely vent but, this is one of those days!!

I've always believed that once we graduated high school, relationships would become a bit more sophisticated (a la "High Fidelity" to be more specific!) but, I have quickly learned that when it comes to certain people, that is just not the case!

Personally, I have a huge issue with people who harbour expectations of others without ever expressing those expectations. A certain sequence of events is inevitable when dealing with these people and it usually follows a very similar pattern each time...something happens...person A is disappointed or angry with person B because their expectations (whatever they may be) have not been met and they spend the next three months being secretly resentful with you because you are suppose to know what you have done to make them upset.

The real kicker about these people (and the very common denominator) is that the only thing they ever really do is react. They never bother to stop and ask questions or have the decency to confront the person they are upset with...they just react to what they think are justified emotions without really having the guts to communicate their emotions in the right direction. To make it worse, they become passive aggressive...they are polite to your face while really, they are an anger ball just waiting to explode (and there is a strong likelyhood that they will lash out in rage one day when you least expect it and get blamed for everything that's ever happened to them since the age of five!!). However, they are never quite polite enough to hide the fact that they are pissed about something and all the while, you are suppose to the spend that time trying to figure out what the heck you have done to offend them this time (and when it comes to this breed of person...it's always something!).

I think that it should also be noted that these people most likely haunt the realms of your email contact list. My theory is that they mostly stick to email so that if an attempt is ever made to confront them...you can easily be thrown the silent treatment or some lame excuse about how you're misinterpreting their one word emails. Hostility can easily be denied in cyberspace!

I am very fortunate to have an incredible group of girlfriends. They are smart, funny, ambitious, thoughtful, beautiful and best of all, they are mature enough to handle their relationships like adults!!! I love that about them!!! As for these "other" people, I'm sorry to say that there have been a rash of them around lately and frankly, I am feeling that they may have pushed me to the end of my rope! For the most part, at worst, I can tolerate these people and the games they play but now, I'm just fed up!!!!

I'll admit that when it comes to relationships, I tend to be the eternal optimist. I am always hopeful that given enough time and understanding, a middle ground can always be found. However, and maybe this is something that has come with age, I am beginning to feel that energy spent on such endeavours can, at times, be a fruitless effort. Life is short and really amazing friends are very few and far between so, why spend so much time just trying to figure out the rules of someone else's game when you can spend that time with the fabulous people that actually have something to offer (other than reminding you of what life was like in grade nine when the extend of most people's communication was leaving notes in each other's lockers)??

Fear not my friends, there is a silver lining to all of this frustration: the season of lent! Though we are already three weeks into lent, it's never too late to find new ways to commit to the season. Personally, I have a tendency towards purging myself of chocolate and all other wonderful foods that make the world go around! I love going out for cheesecake with a girl friend or coming home to chocolate chip cookies but, after a busy festive season of holiday snacking, lent is usually a good time to re-evaluate whether or not chocolate cake is really the breakfast of champions!

It has, however, just occured to me that there is more than one part of us that may require the benefits of detox during lent. Maybe, just maybe, it is just as beneficial to purge ourselves of toxic relationships as it is to cleanse our bodies of our sugar overdoses. Cancerous relationships isn't something that is new to me however, finding the ability to just let go and walk away from them is a bit foreign. So often, we get so easily caught up in the games people play and let's be honest, rejection always sucks. Whether it's our first crush, the bully at school or the girls out there who are always trying to make us feel like they are better than us, rejection is something to be avoided, sometimes at all costs.

This is why I have decided that, three weeks into lent, I am going to endure the ultimate purge...the filtering of relationships (if you can even call them that) of people who are more interested in helping you sink than swim. I have given up trying to understand their motives but, instead, I am going recognize that my happiness is worth walking away from people whose intentions aren't genuine. I refuse to spend another minute trying to make things work with someone who just tries to chip away at my self-esteem!

So how's that for detox!?!?!

I try to think of it this way....since we're all in recovery from something...what harm is there in a little rehab to get us back on our feet?!?! Maybe I'll see you there!

-Gen

Happy Feet...

With the "great thaw" falling upon us (atleast temporarily!), you can't help but feel the natural energy of spring fast approaching. It's just so wonderful how coming out of hibernation puts everyone in such a friendly mood! To celebrate the sunshine and the countdown to spring...everyone must see the best movie trailer to hit theatres in ages.

Happy Feet was being previewed before the latest Harry Potter movie and if you ever need a smile...this is the place to find it!!! Turn up your speakers and join the quest to be "so unintentionally cool"!!

Coming to theatres near you...Happy Feet...November 2006!

It's A Boy!

Ladies and Gentlemen...please welcome the latest addition to the Smyth Family...our new nephew!!

KELLEN JACK SMYTH

Tuesday, February 21st @ 4:35pm

7lbs. 4oz.