Weekend round-up

What a weekend it was! So much to talk about, so many pics to post best get started.

Friday Marc and I babysitted for some friends and I am a complete convert to highly regulated sleep-trained babies. First I mocked then saw it for my own eyes. This baby who doesn't know us from a hole in the ground went down like a lead balloon. In all of my years babysitting, I have never seen a baby go to sleep so easily -- especially with a stranger!! Kudos to Shannon cuz clearly her months of hard work have paid off. Yay sleep training!

Saturday was a trip to the theatre with my 2 nieces and their little friend for "Cinderella" and a fun time was had by all. There was laughing and giggling and borderline delirium when they got to meet Cinderella and get everyone's autograph. Sometimes you forget how cool it was to see live theatre when you were a little kid. The scene changes, fancy lights and all the stage trickery and costumes -- through the eyes of a 6 year old is pretty darn cool. It was nice to be reminded of that. And then the buckets of questions that followed went something like this: "Are you guys really sisters? (to the ugly stepsisters)," "Does that guy really have a tail? (about the guy who played Maurice the cat)," "Were there really horses backstage? (about the big pumpkin carriage)," "Is the fairy godmother really magic like for real?" Etc, etc, etc....

Saturday night we used a gift certificate for The Keg that we got as a wedding gift. Now Marc and I aren't Keg people. We really aren't chain restaurant type people at all. But this card has been gathering dust in my purse since the summer and after a day at the theatre cooking was out of the question. So off we go. Now in addition to not being Key types let's also remember that I only started eating red meat again this past year and even saying that I've "started" is a stretch. So this restaurant is a big step for me. I order a filet mignon because when in Rome right? I haven't had filet mignon in easily ten years. I almost died. It was buttery and delicious and the baked potato was probably the best restaurant potato I've ever had not to mention the exquisitely cooked asparagus. Colour me surprised. Yes I felt like cattle the whole time I was there, the volume of noise was deafening, my waitress acted like my best friend when in actuality I prefer my waiters to be borderline icy and when our table was ready, instead of being fetched like civilized people we were summonded by something that beeped and flashed. But the food was, in fact, delicious. So I suppose it was everything I hate about chain restaurants but with a pleasant surprise.

Sunday was breakfast with the folks and our 2nd annual foray into the bush for the gathering of fallen boughs to decorate my windowbox. Off we went down old logging roads and finally found a glorious fallen down tree with boughs a plenty. Bailey even found a big pile of old deer bones to roll around in. Fun for him, kinda gross for me. It was good to get out into the almost eery quiet of the bush and it was a beautiful day for it. It was snowing that kind of snow that feels like it's coming down in slow motion and being released one snowflake at a time.


As a result of this weekend I think we are almost completely decorated for the holidays. Tree is up, lights are up (except for one wayward strand awaiting an extension cord) and festive spirit is in place. Here are some pics of my favourite corner in the house.