Favourite Quotes

“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” ~ Nelson Mandela "I've heard of denial ... but I don't think it exists." ~ Unknown "With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion." – Steven Weinberg “Wishing to be friends is quick work, but friendship is a slow ripening fruit.” ~ Aristotle "When tampons are considered more dangerous than loaded firearms, I think it's safe to say Texas Republicans have gone completely off the deep end." ~ Rachel Maddow "It was nice of you to let him (GWB) have a go, because, in England, he wouldn't be trusted with a pair of scissors." ~ Russell Brand "There is little in this world that can't be fixed with a yoga mat and a bottle of Baileys!" ~ Rob Morris "You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life." ~ Winston Churchill "I think the fact that I’m standing here receiving this award actually says more about Canada than it does about me." ~ k.d. lang "Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't." ~ Margaret Thatcher "Religion is excellent stuff for keeping common people quiet." ~ Napoleon Bonaparte "Your mind knows only some things. Your inner voice, your instinct, knows everything. If you listen to what you know instinctively, it will always lead you down the right path." ~ Henry Winkler "A developed country is not a place where the poor have cars. It's where the rich use public transportation." ~ Mayor of Bogota "What the mind doesn't understand, it worships or fears."~ Alice Walker "Bad grammar puts me in a comma." ~ Unknown "For our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers, and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts. Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law -- for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well." ~ President Obama, January 21, 2013 "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." ~ MLK "Candy Crush is just JAM vs. jelly." ~ Montyjam "When carrying a concealed weapon for self-defense is understood NOT as a failure of civil society, to be mourned, but as an act of citizenship, to be vaunted, there is little civilian life left." ~ Jill Lepore "I'd rather regret the things I've done than regret the things I haven't done." ~ Lucille Ball "We must stop thinking of the individual and start thinking about what is best for society." ~ Hillary Clinton "You can choose your friends but you sho' can't choose your family ..." ~ Harper Lee "If Canada is to survive, it can only survive in mutual respect and in love for one another." ~ Pierre Eliiott Trudeau “A healthy person has 1,000 wishes - An ill person has but one.” ~ Unknown "Nothing is impossible to a determined woman." ~ Louisa May Alcott "Maybe it's like it says in the Bible - I felt bad because I had no shoes, but then I met someone who had really bad shoes." ~ Karen Walker "When I say religion is a mental illness, this is what I mean: it corrodes your mental faculties to the point where you can believe in tiny ninja warriors who hide in vaginas and lie in wait for bad people's sperm." ~ Bill Maher "Good girls go to heaven. Bad girls go everywhere." ~ Helen Gurley Brown “Say what you will about the sweet miracle of unquestioning faith, I consider a capacity for it terrifying and absolutely vile.” ~ Kurt Vonnegut "Man cannot live on chocolate alone; but woman sure can." ~ Author Unknown "Wear something cute and don't take any crap." ~ Clinton Kelly “For me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married.” ~ Barack Obama “The Bible contains six admonishments to homosexuals and 362 admonishments to heterosexuals. That doesn’t mean God doesn’t love heterosexuals, it’s just that they need more supervision.” ~ Lynn Lavner "You cannot live to be 60 years old, using, manipulating and hurting people without expecting a return on your investment one day." ~ Cheryl Periman "When men get pregnant, they can decide." ~ Pam Alexander "Living well is the best revenge." ~ George Herbert “My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.” ~ Jack Layton "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way in which its animals are treated." ~ Mahatma Gandhi ‎"Never confuse fashion and style. Fashion relies on unattainable looks on women with unrealistic bodies. Style is about utilizing the best aspects of you". ~ Stacy London Prince Harry to Prince William ~ "Wait until you see her!" "Living in two countries is not for weenies." ~ Mary Sue Morris "Well-behaved women seldom make history." ~ Laurel Thatcher Ulrich "Fool! Don't you see now that I could have poisoned you a hundred times had I been able to live without you!" ~ Cleopatra VII "For me there are only two types of women: goddesses and doormats." ~ Pablo Picasso

You Are DRIVING Me Crazy!

I am so tired of explaining to people how I can be a strong, independent woman WITHOUT a driver's license. I am also tired of being discriminated against by the government, banks, etc. because I don't have a driver's license to use as ID. I had to go and wait for hours to get a provincial ID because I was so tired of shit-kicking I got everywhere without a driver's license. But it is the comments about not being "strong" or "independent" because I don't drive. What the FUCK does that have to do with my personality? Makes me spitting mad!!! Living in mid-town Toronto, we do use public transit whenever we can. Thankfully, my husband is also a city boy. What I should have said was "When is the last time you went to Istanbul? I didn't need a driver's license to get there!" LOL

Unbelievable ...

This is a letter I wrote to my house-sitter which I did not send. It was simply an exercise designed to help lower my blood pressure, which is already down a couple points this morning! I decided not to send it to her but still want it out there, in cyber space, so Karma can get a whiff of it and make her own decision on how she wants to handle it. I leave it up to her ...

*NOTICE* ~ This is not a nice letter but I needed to say it and I feel better now. :)

I still can’t believe what you did. Every time I turn around here, I find something else missing, broken or soiled. We entrusted you with our HOME and yet you found it necessary to treat us like this? I guess I will never understand people like you. I thought we were friends and relied on you to be an honest, caring and competent person. I still can’t believe that (1) I misjudged you so completely (2) you think you did nothing wrong.

Your attitude throughout this entire ordeal (and believe me, it was an ordeal for us being thousands of miles away, wondering what the hell was going on here) has been condescending and evasive. Frankly, when you cancelled the housekeeper the first time, I had the fleeting instant of fear that you were hiding something. It seems I was right. We paid over $2,000 for the piece of furniture that you broke.

If you had been honest with us when it happened, we would have told you to call the manufacturer (their showroom is a mere two blocks away) and arrange for them to come in to look at it at our expense. If it needs to be taken away for repair, wouldn’t it have made more sense to do it while we were still away? As it is now, I will probably have to live with clothing all over my beautiful bedroom due to your artifice.

Thank you so much for your note. It was such a wonderful surprise to read it upon our return close to midnight after a long arduous day of travel. I was up until 3AM, trying to put my house back together. Frankly, it was smart of you to leave before we got here. I would not have hesitated to put you out on the street for what you did to our home.

Oh and thank you for totally RAPING the fridge before your departure. Unfortunately, I wasn’t quite sure how to make a breakfast the next morning using only mustard and capers. Was it really necessary to take almost everything and not even have the common decency to leave us a crust of bread? Please don’t try to tell me that you went through an entire 1 kg jar of garlic in 12 weeks. Open your fridge. See it there? Jesus Christ.

Given the way you run your life, it really should not be such a surprise to me that you did all this but I still can’t believe it. And since you obviously go to great lengths to avoid confrontations of any kind -- refusing my phone calls, not answering my emails and removing me as a friend on Facebook (what are we, in high school for fuck’s sake?) -- I advise you VERY strongly to avoid me at all costs for the foreseeable future.

Need to Blog

I don't know why but I feel the need to blog again. Not that anything exciting is happening in my life at the moment other than tornado warnings. Fortunately, the storm has passed and the sun is setting beautifully judging from the view from my window in JAMland. Something is taking photos with a flash from the tall apartment building on J Avenue (two blocks north of us) and I keep seeing it out of the corner of my eye, thinking that the lightning has returned. We were worried somewhat about the large maple tree in our neighbours' front yard. It's big, old and gnarly, with large branches reaching out over top of our house. But it has survived another storm and we are extremely thankful for that.

I'm hot and I'm full of spaghetti with homemade meat sauce so I'm going to hit the shower to rinse off. Keep watching this space for more updates, coming soon. I don't know what I'll write about but I'm sure I'll find something. Life in Toronto has a way of pissing you off or delighting you -- it all depends on the day!

The Wisdom of Pooh

Recession? Bah Humbug!

I am so sick of hearing about "the recession". Frankly, my life hasn't changed one iota in the last three months. It is actually cheaper to buy gas and the stuff in stores is marked down before the end of the year instead of after. Another good thing that has happened is all the obnoxious Xmas ads have been somewhat diminished so I am not as annoyed as I usually am at this time of year. So YAY for that!

The media is blowing this all out of proportion and it's becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. People are going into full panic mode and I just don't understand it. Sure the automotive industry for American-made cars is in trouble but they needed self-correction after innundating the roads with below-standard products for years. Don't punish the employees. They were just following orders and doing their job. MAKE A BETTER PRODUCT!!!

I suppose the people who are carrying a heavy debt load must be suffering but really, if you live beyond your means, you have to expect the bottom to fall out sometime. Today is the day. If you bought a big expensive house that you couldn't really afford, you deserve to go down with everyone else who runs their life like a business always in the red.

There are a lot of people out there who have no debt, live within their means, save 20% or more of their income every year. We are all doing just fine, thank you very much. We are not living a champagne lifestyle on a beer budget. We don't drive our cars to work every day and we don't eat out in fancy restaurants every night. And we use the crockpot every once in a while ...

Tis The Season To Kill Trees

We saw several stores advertising “live” trees for sale over this past weekend and when I saw them cut, bound and ready to be transported to someone’s Christmas tree stand for a short stint of celebrity covered in energy-sucking lights and tinsel that would clog landfills for years to come, I felt a little sick. Once the blade hits the trunk of any tree, it is d.e.a.d. :(

How do we get the balls to keep doing this, year after year? I have a great respect for trees and the positive contribution they make to this pollution-filled world we live in. What part of “An Inconvenient Truth” didn’t y’all understand? *sigh*

Anyway, at the very least, couldn’t they call them “real” trees? (Although even that would be stretching the truth in my opinion.). LEAVE THE TREES IN THE GROUND PLEASE! That is where they do the best work of their long, productive lives.

Is Beige the New Black?

I saw three people wearing beige today and I can tell you, I was not impressed.

What is with these overweight businessmen who hang on to their ratty, beige trench coats for years? And they tie the belt around their waists instead of securing it property. Rob ties his belt but then, he's got a 32" waist so it looks OK. Fat men who do this look like a sausage, cut in half.

Then I saw one of our neighbours, enjoying his morning coffee at a local cafe. He was wearing a beige "mock" turtleneck sweater under a chocolate brown sports jacket. I will admit that this man is also rather large but he is tall and carries his weight well. He has white hair and is rather distinguished looking. However the beige sweater simply negated all those good attributes. And why is it called a "mock" turtleneck? Is it a turtleneck wannbe???

Finally, I saw a young, blonde woman on her way to work wearing a beige down-filled, knee-length winter coat with running shoes. *sigh* There was so much wrong with her outfit, I don't know where to start. Frankly, blondes should never wear beige. It wipes them out colour-wise. The bare legs and the running shoes are also a big no-no. And while we're on the topic, wearing running shoes anywhere except the gym is just stupid.

I have yet to meet anyone who looks good in beige. I don't even like the sound of the word: b.e.i.g.e. It sounds icky and it looks icky. I think it should be outlawed in the fashion world and kept strictly for use in hospital morgues.

Honeymoon Hijinks

The cruise was F.A.B.U.L.O.U.S. We were on the Norwegian Gem which is their newest ship -- only one year old. We had a mini-suite with a balcony and I was surprised at how big the bathroom was (we even had a tub!) and how much storage room we had. There were 10 restaurants and 11 bars on board and we only ate in the main diningroom once for dinner. We didn't like it. It was too big and the staff were too harried to make the evening pleasant. They were just moving people in and out of there as fast as they could.

As a result, we opted for the specialty restaurants: Mexican, French, Italian, Asian and Steakhouse. We ate at the Mexican restaurant twice we liked it so much! We ate at the Steakhouse for my birthday and it was really, really nice. They even had a cake for me (which we never ate). We also had brunch at the French restaurant (as well as dinner one night) and it was excellent. We had to pay an extra cover charge for the specialty restaurants ($10 to $15 per person) but it was worth it for the intimacy and the very attentive service.

We went to an art auction our only day at sea (the first day) and bought two prints which are being shipped to us in the next month or so. We didn't buy any jewellery or anything else on board except for booze and internet. I bought a few things for myself -- a silver filagreed Maltese cross in Malta, a Murano glass heart necklace in Nice (cheaper than in Italy!), a Barcelona ball cap, Herbes de Provence and Olive soap in Nice, pasta spices in Sorrento (Rob bought himself a new belt). We didn't go too crazy buying stuff because we were pretty close to our luggage allowance coming over and didn't want to go exceed the amount and pay extra baggage charges going back.

Our trips off the ship were great! We booked private tours in Malta and in Naples. The tour guide in Malta, Flora, was wonderful. The tour guide in Naples, Massimo, was a bit of a joke because neither of us could understand him -- his accent was so strong! LOL He took us to Positano and Sorrento, which were lovely and we skipped Naples altogether as we hadn't heard anything good about it at all.

Rome on our own was amazing! We took the train from the station which was about a 10 minute walk from the port. The trip took 50 minutes and then we grabbed a taxi to the Coliseum. The price of the train was €37 and the taxi was €15. The entrance fee to the Coliseum and Forum was €9 Euros each so we did the whole day for around $100 CDN. The cruise ship wanted almost $300US each for the same type of trip on a bus which would have been slower. We did the same thing in Villefranche and caught the local bus into Nice for €1 each way.

The hotel in Barcelona for our first night (Hotel 1898) was incredible and we loved it there! It was right on Las Ramblas which we walked a lot. The apartment in Barcelona was a little shabby but in a great location. We walked everywhere and saw a lot of sights: Palau de la Musica, La Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell, Barceloneta (the beach!) and Plaza Catalunya. We even went into a big department store called "El Cortes de Ingles". I would like to go back to Barcelona and stay closer to Las Ramblas. It is a beautiful city and the public transportation works very well.

By the time we got to Amsterdam, I was ready to come home. Living out of a suitcase is not my idea of fun and there were just too many flights for my liking but we had nice weather and the apartment was better than Barcelona so we walked around quite a bit and got a nice feeling from Amsterdam. I don't know if we will ever go back but maybe. We didn't go to any of the museums so that is something that I would like to do eventually. There are bicyclists EVERYWHERE there and I found that a bit of a pain in the ass, trying not to get run over by them all the time. On our last night, we had dinner in a really cheerful Tapas restaurant right around the corner from where we were staying so that was definitely a highlight.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW 350+ HONEYMOON PICS

Wedding Pics

There are few photos here:

Casa MoMo Wedding Photos

Speech! Speech!

You may have noticed that I am not a traditional bride. :)

When I was a little girl, I never dreamed of having a big wedding with a white dress and sugar coated cake. I dreamed of writing the great Canadian novel, of travelling to faraway lands and doing things that only boys were supposed to do. Although some of you might not believe this, I wasn’t always a “girly girl”; I was a bit of a tomboy growing up. I know, I know – it’s hard to believe with these heels, right?

It is so gratifying to have my family with me here today, to witness my and Rob’s happiness. They loved him and accepted him from the very start. Frankly, I think my Mom is thrilled that I found someone after all these years. When we called her to tell her about the engagement, I told her she had to go buy a new outfit, something she’s been threatening to do since our third date! And Dad, you can stop worrying about me now, if that is in any way possible for a father like you to do. My brother Greg, thanks so much for being here and sharing in this joy with me. Looks like 2007 was a great year for both of us in the love department! :)

My godparents, Marg and Peter, are here, as well as my favourite aunt, Carmen, and my uncle Steve, who was more like a big brother to me and Greg when we were growing up. Thank you all so much for coming. It means so much to me to have you here.

And I have gained a new sister today! As you may know, Rob’s sister Jane came all the way from South Africa to attend the wedding and I want to take this opportunity to thank her for making that long trip. Jane, your presence here as the Morris family representative means a great deal to both of us.

By now, you have all seen my gorgeous Maid of Honour, Mary Ann. I’ve known this woman since Grade 4 and I sometimes think she knows me better than I know myself. . We have passed through so many of life’s milestones together – I never had any doubt that she would be the one standing beside me today. Thank you, my dear friend, for being here for me – today and always.

I’ve often said that I measure the richness of my life by the quality of my friends so, as you can see, I am a VERY wealthy woman.

Some of my friends have been a part of my life for more than 20 years. Some are newer friends but no less precious. The fact that you are here with me today fills my heart to bursting. Thank you all so much for your friendship and love over the years.

I also want to acknowledge and thank all of Lynn’s friends who have accepted me as Rob’s new wife and allowed me to share in your tender memories of her. Your love and support will go a long way in ensuring the success of our marriage.

Finally, there’s my Rob -- a “Man of Action” if ever there was one. I’ve been calling him that since our first date when he told me I should sell my condo, move in and marry him. He denies he ever said such a thing but I will never forget it. I didn’t know what to think of him. He was very persistent and seemed sure of everything, including me. We came into this relationship with very different lifestyles and I fought him every step of the way. But he wore me down with his tenderness, his zany sense of humour, his generous spirit and his unshakeable love for me. I didn’t stand a chance.

And look what happened today! OMG! I’m married!!! I can barely believe it myself sometimes. Rob, I love you and I’m looking forwarding to sharing the next 40 or 50 years with you. *wink*

Thank you everyone for sharing this wonderful day with us!

A TOAST TO FAMILY AND FRIENDS!!!

Sadness

This photo on the cover of The National Post brought tears to my eyes today, along with the article about the repatriation of the latest Canadian soldier to die in Afghanistan.

There is something so pure about a child's grief. It has the power to cut through all the polictics and all the rhetoric and get to the heart of the matter: Canadian soldiers are selflessly giving their lives for a country many of us will never see. They are proud of the job they're doing and believe they are making a difference.

The way Canadians in Ontario, along the "Highway of Heroes", are marking the passing of these amazing young men and women, is being noticed around the world.

Love This!

I was sent this today as part of a mass email about National Girlfriends' Week. Frankly, as far as I'm concerned, every DAY is Girlfriends' Day!

I Want A Dog!

Isn't this guy the cutest ever???

The Mysterious Bonds of Friendship

You may not see them all the time but when you do, the time and distance between you disappears and it is as if you were never parted. I have many friends like this (and you know who you are). Friends from grade school, friends from high school, friends met on vacations, friends from old jobs, old relationships and other decades. Friends who knew me as I was then but are excited to see me as I am now. These are my “accepting” friends – my “deep down, buried in my heart” friends.

I have a friend who I haven’t seen for 4 or 5 years now. She pops into my mind at the oddest times. I think of her often this time of year (spring and early summer) because when we met 22 years ago, it was early April. We slept in the same room for 10 weeks. After that we moved and slept down the hall from one another for many months until we finally parted over a year later. I always think about her in June because her birthday is the last day of the month. For the last week, I’ve been thinking about her constantly and frantically searching the internet for any sign of her.

Today I decided to google her email address and discovered her mother using it for a geneology search. I had met her mother a few times and really liked her. When I googled her mother’s name, I found an Ebituary. My stomach dropped. I scanned the listing quickly, searching for my friend’s name. She was listed as one of the bereaved. So was her mother. It was then that I realized her older sister had just died, six days ago. The funeral was held just two days ago. The skin on my arms started prickling the way it does when something unusual happens. I read the online condolences and added my own.

Today at lunch, I will be buying her a sympathy card, along with a birthday card and I will no longer put off writing her that long ago promised letter.

Putting Myself Out There

I've never been afraid to give my opinion, in writing or when asked personally. With the invention of the internet (yes, I'm that old that I can say the internet was "invented" during my lifetime), I have joined a number of forums or online bulletin boards, most which deal with Puerto Vallarta. I met my good friend Colleen on a PV forum way back in 2002 -- I was going on my first solo trip and was looking to hang out with some other single women. She responded to my post and we've been great friends ever since. In fact, I've met a lot of really wonderful people through the internets.

Unfortunately, when you go "public" with your point of view, anyone with a keyboard can take a metaphorical swing at you. That's the risk you take but, as I often say, life without risk isn't really living. I always use my real name and post my email address. I figure if anyone has a beef with something I've written, they can contact me directly. Unfortunately, postings on the internet can easily be misinterpreted (smiley faces can't always save the day!) and feelings get hurt. I've learned that people's interpretations can be grossly different, even with respect to the most simple and inane topics. And writing a blog puts you at risk of anyone taking offence to something you've written.

Oh well!

I received quite a few mean-spirited comments on this blog and the other one I wrote when I lived in Vallarta. Usually by some asshole named "Anonymous" who is big on providing their negative, defamatory opinion but not big enough to sign their name and take responsibility for it. Cowards. Thankfully, the positive feedback usually outnumbers the bad by 100 to 1 which just goes to show you -- if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. LOL

Me

Here is a recent photo of me taken with a huge glass of red wine. Someone remarked that it looked like I was holding a huge knife in my hand (apparently the sleeve of the waiter behind me looks like a butcher's blade).

Whatever ... people see what they want to see.

The TTC

Last weekend, the TTC gave the City of Toronto notice that they were going out on strike on Monday April 21st. Bastards. I think that we should all boycott them for a few days and see how they like when WE go on strike!

Actually, in preparation for the strike last Monday, Rob and I decided to try walking to work. I had no idea how long it would take us but I figured less than an hour. We had a whole week of beautiful weather in which to try our test.

Monday was gorgeous -- mild and sunny. We got up at 6:30AM (instead of the usual 6AM when we used to go the gym) and left the house at 7:30AM, wearing our running shoes with our business attire (not a nice look).

I wore a cotton top because I knew I would be glowing by the time I reached my destination. My Beloved spent most of his formative years in Yorkshire so he LOVES to walk. I had a difficult time keeping up with him!

We walked straight down Yonge Street. There wasn't a lot of traffic and not too many people on the sidewalks. We stayed on the east side of the street, out of the sun. There was a slight breeze. It was quite pleasant! The walk took 45 minutes.

Thankfully, the walk downtown is mostly downhill so it was a relatively easy walk. By the end of the week, I was quite used to it and my legs weren't shaking so much any more. I invested the $10+ I saved in TTC fare to buy a lottery ticket.

If I win, I will never have to take the TTC again!

Why I Don't Post ...

I know I don't post much any more and that bothers me sometimes. My new job is so incredibly busy, I barely have time to check my personal email, let alone blog. My new relationship also keeps me incredibly busy. Rob and I share an online calendar together so that we can keep all of our social and business engagements organized. We are now booking weekend in JUNE which, when I think about it, is absolutely ridiculous.

But we're very happy together and we love keeping busy. We still find the odd evening to sit at home and do "nothing" -- after dinner is made, eaten, the kitchen is cleaned up, the laundry and ironing are done, the personal phone calls and emails are returned, we occasionally find time to catch one of our favourite shows on TV -- like Dancing With The Stars (we can thank my Mom, the former ballroom dancer, for getting us hooked on that one!) and CSI.

Life is good! :) More to come ...

Happy Easter!