Attention Kids: Fun is now OUTLAWED

News of late has been this big thing about helmets for kids who toboggan. Yes, you read that right, kids who go down hills on plastic carpets/wooden sleds/garbage bags/snow racers/cafeteria trays/cardboard boxes or anything else that slides should be mandated to wear a helmet according to one city councillor in Vaughn.

My coworker and I have been laughing about this lately because this came up in one element of our jobs. We saw all the news coverage and have been finding most of it quite humourous.

You see, I used to be a tobogganist (thanks Andrew Coyne National Post) as a child and the worst you had happen to you was a few cuts or scrapes when you went off track and ended up hitting the fence around the pool beside the hill we went to. No scratch that, the worst that could happen to us was my mother getting angry should she discover that you were indeed going down the side of the hill that ends at the road and upon reaching top speed (not too difficult to do) you ended up in the middle of the road with cars approaching at high speeds. Not that my mother was a child abuser or anything, but it was preferable to have a punishment from her rather than a hit from a car.

But I digress.

This whole matter about requiring kids to wear helmets seems to be a bit out of hand. While I agree that helmets should be mandatory for kids riding bikes, snowboarding, playing hockey, playing any type of sport where head injuries can happen for that matter, and for jumping off of a ski jump and flipping through the air, I do not think helmets should be mandatory for the kids on the hill going down on a magic carpet. I think the worst thing that happened to me as a child enjoying the fun of tobogganing was frost bite on my face. And the aforementioned grounding for ending up in the street.

Really, if we do this? What's next?

No, the best answer to this whole thing is found in Mr. Coyne's article in today's paper. In which he states: "But a sane approach to life understands that some risks are inevitable, and that if there is anything worse than death it is to spend every waking moment consumed with the potential for mischance. Accidents will happen, our parents used to say, as they pushed us out the door to ride our bikes unchaperoned or play shinny till dark. Were they child abusers?" Lock the kids in the basement then, because it's unsafe for man or tobogganist.

The Joys of the Internet

Web cams can be great.

Web cams can be fun.

And if you knew that the sound that goes with this photo below involved my niece telling me she was sitting on the couch thinking of something to talk about and to just look at the couch to see her, you would understand why sometimes, web cams can be downright hilarious.

New Year, New Me?

While it may sound like I'm always on a diet, it's more of a "healthy eating" plan that I try to follow. I read about different things and I try to implement them into my life. Last year I tried Weight Watchers but it was so hard to plan out everything and eat everything properly and count all the points and then the worst thing was having to step on that scale once a week and find it has only moved a couple of ounces.

So I decided that not only would I start to eat healthy this time, I would try to stick to something else. Enter the "Lose Shape in Eight". It's this plan that a friend introduced me to through her trainer. It's relatively simple. Follow a certain way of eating: no white flour, no sugar, no breads, no pasta (except rice pasta), eat the big three (healthy fats, carbs, protein) in balance at each meal, no eating three hours before bed, exercise, and drink half your body weight in ounces of water.

It's actually not that hard. Except for the no caffeine part. Imagine this. No. Caffeine. None. Nada. Zip. Zilch. My sweet blessed caffeine is left in the handy little tea bags in my desk drawer. Where it calls to me lovingly during the day as I drink 80 ounces of water. Devoid of caffeine. No tasty tea flavoured water.

And if you think it's sad that I'm focusing on that, imagine what it's like not being able to eat chocolate.

Best Damn Show Exclamation Point

Apparently I'm not the only one catching up on 24.

After five sets of dvd's, one of them rented (thanks Rina your dvd's will be in the mail on Monday), I am finally caught up on 24. It only took me three weeks but I did it. And boy, have I been missing out!

This show is so good. Aside from the fact that it's pretty well written, they add just enough thrill and excitement without being too over the top. Added to that, they tend to resolve stuff in the episodes which makes me happy. I hate "To be continued". It bugs.

And Kiefer Sutherland? Is excellent in this role. He was made to play Jack Bauer.

Everybody though, is so good. Chloe, Bill Buccanan, and Curtis. Man how could I forget Curtis. Please don't kill Curtis. That might make me mad.

What are you waiting for? Go watch 24!

Don't Bug Me, I'm Busy

I would like to introduce you to my new tv boyfriend:


That would be one Jack Bauer. Saving the world, one day at a time.

His Royal Hotness appears on my television in one weeks time. Unless you count his realness Mr. Kiefer "I'm a badass baby" Sutherland's appearance on the Tonight Show this evening. In which case, step away from my tv boyfriend people.

Apologies to Michael Schofield, Derek Sheppard, and whatever Balthazar Getty's character on Brothers and Sisters name is. Because there's a new sheriff in town.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to the rest of Season Five. I have a lot of "man his butt looks good in those jeans" shots...er....saving the world to catch up on.

And stop judging me...you know you love him too.

Also...Rina, please forgive me, but I may have to fight you for him.

Mount Everest

Today I do the unthinkable. Today I do the extrordinary. Today I attempt something that I have never attempted before:

Today I try to cook a roast beef.

And let me tell you, there are about four hundred bajillion ways on the internet listed to cook a roast beef. So this should be interesting. Which is why one of the things I need to get is one of those basic "how to cook everything from a boiled egg to a pan of brownies correctly" books. Well, I know how to cook brownies. Crap, chocolate desserts seem to be my specialty.

Ok this would be called procrastination. I'm off to cook the roast. I'll keep you all posted.

Or, if you hear media reports of a massive fireball explosion in Windsor, that was me. Cooking my roast.

Please pray for me.

UPDATE: So Julia Childs eat your heart out (yes I know she's no longer with us but go with it anyway). I managed to cook a might fine roast. Potatoes, carrots and all. I seared it at 500 degrees on both top and bottom and then roasted it all at 325 for two hours. Sprinkled a little salt and pepper, onion flavouring and garlic powder and then added a couple of cups of water. AND I made gravy. That worked. AND, as an added bonus, for those who know my cooking skills....I only set the smoke alarm off ONCE! I am a cooking genius!

I'm afraid to say it's winter

January is shaping up to be a pretty good month. And I hate to speak so soon, considering that it's only day 3. But I had to let the dog out this morning and I did so in a pair of crocs minus the socks. And I wasn't cold.

The last few days have gone by in a blur of travel, packing, and goodbyes. I spent New Year's in Toronto with a few of my friends. Which was actually a heck of a lot more fun than you would believe. I swear, the older you get, more simplistic you like things. We watched a few movies, played a few board games, commented on how it's too bad Anderson Cooper's hotness is so wasted. And just had a good time.

My cold has now manifested itself into some sort of infection that has caused me to lose my voice. Which really sucks because overall, I feel fine, I just have no voice. And it was funny for about a day while my niece told me that if I talked to her with no voice she was afraid I was going to die so I was not to talk to her at all in anything but a whisper until my voice came back. It did come back, briefly, while I was yelling at the dog, to which she replied "hey your voice is back, talk to me!" I was sad to say goodbye to them yesterday, it seemed so quiet here once I got home. I miss them terribly. But I'm sure it was nice for them to get back on to some sort of schedule and have everyone go back to normal. My nieces, who shared a room while I was there, were both of different views on sharing. My youngest loved it and missed being close to her sister terribly, the oldest liked her space and enjoys having her room back to herself. Go figure.

I said good bye to them yesterday and headed home. For some odd reason, I had this massive burst of energy and ended up coming home, unpacking, doing three loads of laundry, cleaning up my bedroom, made my bed, and went grocery shopping. Now I'm firmly ensconced in "relaxation" mode and have made it halfway through Season three of 24. Many thanks to Rina for loaning my the last three season!

It's kind of nice to be home, to have some time to myself before I go back to work, and to just enjoy the last of the holidays. The weather is great and I might just venture out for a walk later depending on how I'm feeling. I'm also hoping the infusions of orange juice and tea will help cure whatever it is that is ailing me.