A New Look

I have had the same look for so many years now I finally went for a change yesterday . It is the dark underneath light on the top look .
Comments ?

What's New Pussycat ?

The cast of The Vagina Monologues .
Free Vino for V-Day .
Free Fish for V-Day.. how apropos .
Over sized platinum clothes pins are also artwork .... who knew ?
Niko's artwork speaks for itself .
Niko , the artist , and one of the beautiful people , both in tights and boots .
Eva and her boots .
N@ reading about aging foo foos .
Patsy Gallant woo hooing .....
Beautiful Sandra , beautiful Alice , and moi tickled pink .
Twiggy , N@, Scottypants , and Kittycakes .

Whoa , whoa whoa .. what's new was my virginal time hearing "The Vagina Monologues" at the Galerie MX in Montreal last night . As most of you already know my baby N@ was reading a part in the play . In my day ( and believe me I am well aware of how parental that sounds ) , we would have called it the "The Down There Monologues " or " The Pee Pee Monologues " . Heck , I am a grown woman and I can certainly say it now . All proceeds went to V-Day which is dedicated to stopping violence against women in our society . That is precisely the reason that N@ did the reading . As I hobnobbed with the beautiful people , it did not take me long to realize that I was behind the fashion times . I was wearing black dress pants . Most of the ladies had left their pants at home and just wore black tights and knee high boots . I must remember that . I ran into Eva Avila ( of Canadian Idol fame ) posing for photographers . We chatted for a bit then she booted it out in her black thigh highs . I strolled around with my free glass of chardonnay viewing the paintings on exhibit by an artist called Niko . All of the the art work featured paintings of women with huge red collagen lips . You could interpret that a few ways .
Niko was generous enough to give 15% of all her sales to V - Day . When the show started I wedged myself between the Global and CTV cameras and took my own pictoral. Natalie did a fantastic job of reading the old woman part . When Patsy Gallant went on and on mouthing guttural sounds about the little man in the boat , I thought there might have been a few guys in there who were anxious to get home and park the porpoise .
It was a fun night out and I learned a lot about art , fashion , and tacos . The best part of all was actually making new friends with the real beautiful people of the night ... Sandra , Alice , and Twiggy ...and of course , Scottypants and Kittycakes .
.... yes Virginia , there is a vagina and it is permissible to say it out loud .

Birth and Rebirth

These beautiful babies were born March 10th to a friend of mine . I remember last summer when this friend had agonized over how she would ever care for two babies when she already had a one year old son . God gives us only what He knows we can handle . As time went on and her belly grew and her twins developed inside the comfort of her womb , she came to accept the miracle growing inside of her with a grace and strength beyond her years . The birth is over but the labour is just beginning . Life is about labour .. and love ... and how we all deal with it .
It seems to me that life is forever a birthing process for each and every one of us ... of ideas , of circumstances , of places , of music ....of everything and anything .
The seasons of life are much like the seasons of the year . Spring is our time of rebirth and renewal . We celebrate Easter and Spring . We celebrate our rebirth .
Happy First Easter Jaden and Jasmine .

Cha Cha Nah

"Dancing with the Stars " premiere episode almost put me to ZZZZZZZZZZ.... oh wait , it did . I had 2 glasses of white wine and a slice of boredom on the side with crackers . Tonight I will switch between American Idol 's hopefuls and Prissy Presley 's mannequin dance .
Oh well , there is always "Lost " to make up for it all ....

Kiss Me I Am Irish

Excuse me but isn't today St . Patrick's Day ??

A Bit Of Blarney

Happy St Paddy's Day to all !! May you all be blessed with the luck of the Irish .



"I'm looking over a four leaf clover
That I overlooked before
One leaf is sunshine, the second is rain,
Third is the roses that grow in the lane.
No need explaining the one remaining
Is somebody I adore.
I'm looking over a four leaf clover
That I overlooked before...."

Beautiful Day

I am not a winter person . In fact , the older I get the harder it is for me to like the snow and ice . I yearn for the newness of spring and the warmth of summer . But today , I saw the beauty of a winter's day . I saw the peacefulness that only nature can bring . I saw the winter with a new born perspective .

" The woods are lovely ,dark and deep ,
But I have promises to keep
And miles to go before I sleep ,
And miles to go before I sleep . "

Robert Burns .

Breaking News

Make that 34 ...
One of these was won at our Riverside Tim Hortons this morning . Ma will be blessing cups for all of you caffeinaholics that she meets on a daily basis .

Imagine David Archuleta

Remember this name . He is a star in the making .
With all the strife and pain in today's world , we still ...imagine ...

Grandpa Horton

" Shhhhh ... I have sabotaged Ma's site today to let all of you know that RRRROLL UP THE RIM starts today ! I don't know much about computers but I do know I love my Tim Hortons coffee and I love to win free stuff . Who doesn't ? This year they have 35 Toyota 2009 Matrix cars, 100 Bayliner Boats , 5,000 GPS Navigation packages , 20,000 $50 Tim cards , and over 31,000 food prizes . Heck , I get excited just winning a donut or a coffee . I take anything as long as it is free . Don't tell Ma I was here ."
Always Fresh ,
Grandpa Horton

"Just Remember ...."

"When you let it all go ......
.... what happens down in Mexico ...
...stays in Mexico ".

Food and Drink

Champagne mornings.....
......and tequila nights .
" Hey , Mom .. you think we over indulged a bit too much tonight ?" Yes , they are her own teeth .
Mango mousse in a white and dark chocolate edible dish ...and we ate the dish too .
We did NOT over oink on this ... in fact , it made me ill just looking at it .


One thing I can say without a doubt is that the Mexican people are great chefs and bartenders . We tried to stay on the straight and narrow and not over indulge ... just because it is all inclusive does not mean you have to make a pig of yourself .... right ?
..... oh ...and I found out that I love guacamole .

The Mexican People

A smile is universal .
Roberto was always joking and our favorite waiter .

He said his name was "Joe Canadian " but somehow I doubted that .
Fresh juice and a smile every morning .
Mexican musicians serenading us at dinner .
A bartender who made a mean margarita .
Guadalupe had a smile that lit our mornings . She worked 12 hours a day 6 days a week .
He was short and sweet and a very good waiter .

I realize a lot has been said lately about Mexico and its lack of safety for Canadians . Where ever you may go in this world , you have to be careful . Crimes take place in our own backyards every day . Every traveler must take certain precautions and use common sense when visiting other countries . The laws are as diverse as its country . The staff at the Palladium were always courteous and always had a smile for us every day . Their work days are long and tedious for little pay but it is a known privilege to work in a fancy resort hotel . We left as many tips as we could and each day left a small gift and money for our chamber maids . These are the faces we remember .

The Spa

The fitness queen and my motivator ..which is like the terminator but nicer .
As if I was not sweating enough . Laugh if you must .
The "river " to the hot tub areas .
Some people in one of the hot tubs who said "cheese " for me .
Waiting room to the treatment areas .
Dawn in the yoga room .

Entrance to the Spa

The spa at the Grand Palladium is an amazing facility where you can enjoy the tranquilty of the pool which leads you down a "river " to the secluded enclosure of the hot tubs . We spent a few days there just relaxing and enjoying the moment . One night we took in a Mexican yoga class . Although we could not understand our instructor , words did not seem to matter as the scenery was so peaceful . Dawn worked out in the gym twice and I did once ( okay , it was under mild protest but I did it . ) We booked ourselves a stone massage and a facial together . The stone massage was a comforting warming therapy but not like a deep ,muscle massage . It was my daughter's first massage and my 3rd . We also had our facials in the same room together . Both our Mexican skin specialists were men . Mine was Felipe . We were having different treatments. While Dawn could stay fully dressed , I had to undress from the waist up . Hmmmm. It was a very odd facial for me as Felipe not only massaged my face but my neck , shoulders , both feet , and left thigh as well . I assumed the left thigh thing was for the blood flow of some sort . ( Mine not his . ) I have to tell you Felipe did an awesome treatment . Dawn and I both left with dewy and glowing complexions . I think my skin was glowing for a different reason than hers . Oh well , at my age , you just accept.

Days of the Iguana

The big guy .
"Rock me Amadeus "
The little guy .
"Cry me a river ... "
These* crocs * you definitely do not want on your feet .

Forget Richard Burton and " night of the iguana ", these reptile guys are sun worshipers and are everywhere basking on the hot cement walkways . No wonder they have such dry , wrinkled up old skin . Some of the barbecued tourists should have made note of that fact . Although the iguana may look like a fierce looking , miniature , prehistoric monster , they are , in fact , herbivorous and quite harmless . One gets use to having them around in climates like this . If they feel threatened by you they puff themselves up and bop their heads like they belong on your car dashboard . The resort also had their bigger cousins , the crocodile , secluded in a fenced in sanctuary . The crocs do not have to puff up to scare you ... one look at the jaws and teeth will do it for you , no problem .
On the beach , you could often find the staff carrying one of the biggest iguanas for a peso, picture taking session . One evening going out for our dinner , I had mentioned to Dawn that I wondered where all the iguanas went at night . I surmised that they must bed into holes in the ground and I pointed to one who had stuck his head up to watch us pass by . My daughter nonchalantly stated that was an underground sprinkler coming on and not an iguana .
My eye check up will be forthcoming .

How The Hola Do They Do This ?

.....using the towel origami to say Happy Valentines Day !!!