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Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Dollar dollar dollar


So I have signed up for the Easter Seals and I need to collect $1500 in order to do it. So I have decided to collect $1 from 1500 people! Actually it will only be $1450 that I need to collect (thx Dad & Bev). I plan to keep a list of each of the 1450 people who donate. Do I know 1450 people? Maybe not but together we do!
If you would like to donate your dollar please message me bretondaphne@gmail and we will figure it out. And no worries if you wish to donate more...I will not stop you.

www.easterseals.org

www.thedropzone.ca

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

He is so not a Gongshow!

So Breton's favourite clothing line is Gongshow! We usually get it at Play It Again Sports. It is a local company, all about hockey! @gongshowgear
www.gongshowgear.com
Where they are in Ottawa:
https://maps.google.ca/maps?rlz=1CDGOYI_enCA633CA633&espv=1&hl=en-US&um=1&ie=UTF-8&fb=1&gl=ca&sll=45.3808996,-75.7451908&sspn=0.0002136,0.0004055&q=www.gongshowgear.



He mainly has hats.




This is his collection:


I even joked with his teacher Mr.Rose that he would work and get paid in Gongshow Gear!

He has worn the black/red/white baseball cap and the blue/white/black one so much in a year that the straps at the back have broke:( 
Could be Breton's big puff of hair that caused them to bust!
:p

I am campaigning for them to make women's briefs a la men's tightie whities but in cool colours (purple plz!)

My favourite shirt of theirs is "Son Of A Beauty!"

....cuz Breton is!!!! Hahaha;)

PPD

WARNING: This might be hard to read.  Everything is OK now.

Hindsight is 20/20.  I know this now but when you are living it, pride, lack of knowledge and denial can get in the way.

I have become an emotional person since having my first child.  Thank you hormones.  Crying as I told my friend we were expecting, to the point she asked if I wanted to be pregnant?  Of course I did,  it was just thinking about the huge responsibility of raising a new human of my own... WOW!  I cried at TV commercials, during my baby showers and during the ride home from the hospital.  

"I am ok." I sobbed from the backseat as Breton's Dad drove us home for the first time.  I cried as the first visitors came to see him.

Wikipedia :

Postpartum depression (PPD)Symptoms include sadness, fatigue, changes in sleeping and eating patterns, reduced libido, crying episodes, anxiety, and irritability. Although a number of risk factors have been identified, the causes of PPD are not well understood. Many women recover with a treatment consisting of a support group or counseling.
My crying was later saved to the privacy of my own home.  
I can remember being depressed about my lack of weight loss.  I wouldn't eat anything but mints and drink tea all day, then eat dinner when Breton's Dad got home.  He didn't know.  But he did know I cried about it.  He saw me cry a lot. 
I irritated easily, I wasn't happy.  I loved Breton, never did I question that or neglect him. It came in waves to.  Good days and then sad days.  I worried about money and the future.  My unhappiness, my inability to express what was going on lead to frustrating fights.  Our frustration and fights lead to a hole in our bedroom door, me launching a chair to the floor...
I remember spending a lot of time soaking in a hot bath...relaxing?  During my soak I thought of just going under and staying under.  But I wouldn't leave my new son without a mom.  Living without my Mom since I was 24 was hard, how could I do that to my son on purpose?
I survived, obviously.  Never did I seek help because at the time i didn't know any better.  Looking back I realized it and upon becoming pregnant with my daughter I was prepared to ask for help if I saw the signs.  I never did.  
Hindsight is 20/20



Your what is pierced?

So I have dated.  Plenty Of Fish has helped with that.  I have dated a fireman, someone who didn't match his profile pic, boys who are the same age, a man who had the same name as me(!?), one who was six years younger, a guy who alluded his penis was pierced, some have been five plus years older and some never even made it to an actual date, just texting. One first date lasted 45 minutes. The longest lasted 12 hours.  I have tried to date local, Kanata being the furthest but I did see one from Kingston.  Oh and the texting relationship, gone bad, was with a teacher from Brockville.  Staying local means I have dated a few Dads from Barrhaven.  Barrhaven is NOT big.
I admit some did not end well.   Many were at a time when I was hoping for more and have made some mistakes from the past, ignoring red flags.  Recently I listened to my gut(she is so smart) and called the dating done after two weeks.  Still a disappointment.  There is a reason the relationship gets going and leads to a second and then another. We did have much in common, yet not enough to keep it going.  Best advice I got from a boy, "Slow down".  Yet we aren't 20ish and after the crap I have been through I now know what I want.
Then the flip side...
I have dated a couple of men who look great on paper but if I am not attracted to them... I can't make anything happen.  It put me in the other position... 
A few have remained friends.

I have perfected the first date.  It is like an interview. Ask them a bunch of questions. They sure do like to talk about themselves:). 
Online dating has been a surreal experience.  Very very different from the last time I dated.  
I can recall months before getting divorced watching an eHarmony commercial thinking I couldn't even imagine dating at my age.  Fast forward six months and I am writing my profile for Match.com!
Online dating is very catalogue like.  Scroll through your "matches", wink, smile or wave at one of them and maybe they will do the same back.  Or you can message them asking questions based on their profile. You can choose to message many or just a few.  Message a bit via the website and then it usually moves to texting and then perhaps a date.
I am guilty, at times, of reciting the next dates name over and over before getting to the coffee shop or restaurant.  Not good if you call him the wrong name!  Ya there have been a few dates. 
Also there is the experience of dating someone and you go back on your dating website and you can see they are online too.  Still looking? I have learned to multi  task  in this area of my life too.

Obviously, none have "matured" into anything more then a month of dating.  I am currently frustrated and taking a break from the online dating world...but not done with dating!
My next profile pics?!?!

Monday, July 20, 2015

My Favourite Place On Earth

Besides my house... Today we visited my favourite place on Earth.  For some people that may be Disneyworld but for me it is:

PARC OMEGA
www.parcomega.ca

It is in Montebello Quebec and takes about an hour and 20 minutes from Ottawa to get there.  Now HWY 50 Est/east goes all the way there (last time I went you had to go through a bunch of small towns including Thurso hometown of Guy Lafleur and a stinky paper mill).

I bought a Groupon for $13 for each of us. Normally it would have been $23 for me.  The Groupon is good until March and was most likely put out to attract winter visitors.  We lucked out with this spring like weather so it didn't matter that we had to have the windows open for most of the drive through.  Keep that in mind if you do purchase the Groupon.

You drive through and the animals come right up to your car!  Some animals like the moose, black bear and Arctic Wolves are fenced in but there are plenty of animals to come up to your car.
Don't forget your carrots!  That is what you feed the animals.  

There are several types of deer, boar and bison that come right up.




He was blowing and whispering sweet nothings in my ear:)


There are also a few trails you can walk on and the whitetail deer will come up and eat right out of your hand.


This walk lead to a lovely discussion about deer poop and the consistency of the poop and also how the deer were feeling when they were pooping!



The newest feature at the parc is lodging!!  Yes you can sleepover at the parc!!!! Checkout their website to see the unique cabins/tent/yurts you can stay in!

Maybe this spring? For my birthday...

My happiest place on Earth:)








My Secret Beneath


My Secret Beneath: Men's Briefs

Men's Underwear are More Comfortable Than You May Think!

by Robyn Smith

I wear men's underwear.  Only two people know this secret; my husband and my coworker. 

And now you. 

I'm not talking about a pair of men's boxers worn to bed at night, but men's tightie whities worn during the day. Although I actually prefer coloured as opposed to white. This is not so shocking as a man wearing women's panties; right? Or is it? Are you disgusted or revolted?

Why Men's Underwear?

It began during my first pregnancy when I discovered they covered my expanding belly and the ample rear I had developed. Truth be told, my backend has always been ample which could be why I continued wearing the underwear after my pregnancies.  And for the record, no my husband and I do not share the underwear, he just happened to buy some that did not fit right for him and now they are mine.

Here is why I continue to wear them:

The briefs cup my cheeks ever so nicely and because they fit provide such a nice fit under my cheeks, I have no panty lines. This makes them great to wear with athletic pants.  And as a mom I spend a lot of time in athletic wear even when I'm not working out.

They are thicker; so they add a little more warmth when needed during the winter months.

Along with the coverage and warmth; they are oh so comfy; especially when you are relaxing at home after a hard day of work.

Is wearing men's briefs for everyone?  No, probably not. If you enjoy your g-string and thong; then don't try them. While I can't wear briefs with all my pants, I have worn them under a skirt. I have even thought of submitting a more girly; sexy design to a major Canadian athletic company for other women who wear briefs beneath.

Even after announcing my secret to the world, I will probably continue to wear men's underwear but at the same time, in the back of my mind, I always wonder what would happen if I got in an accident and they had to cut my clothes off. 
What would they think?

But then I remember the old adage and know that it doesn't matter...so long as they're clean.

 

Kerplunk, bam, bam, boom

"Lift from your belly button" my ballet instructor says as we do our plié.

I think I am. There are only four of us in the class.  She has said it more than once.  I know she is talking to me.  Two of my classmates have been doing this class and the other has a bit of dance background.

I have none.  Unless you count the ballet I did when I was five.  I had mean princess walk but when I got in trouble for not putting my hair up...I quit.

"Look in the mirror. Make sure your bum is moving down not sticking out."

I have chosen the one spot in the room where I do not have a mirror in front of me. And I like it that way.

I have to say I thought I was flexible with all my yoga classes but we hold stretches for a looooong time.  Oh and the splits...just not there yet:) don't think I will ever be there.

But the whole time I am smiling.  I love the challenge.  I try to get my arms to move at the same time as my feet.  I usually only focus on my feet...oh and lifting that damn belly button!  

We prance, princess walk, leap...
Feet are in 1st position, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th etc position
I am learning many technical ballet terms.

The class is an hour and it goes by really fast.

I am havin fun!!

The music it is pretty good too.

Kerplunk, bam, bam, boom

Those are my ballet sounds when you do it Robyn style;0)

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

This is a ring!



This is one of my favourite pieces of jewelry and it is an actual ring:) see last blog;)

I purchased it in Aruba. It reminds me of a melted marble. 

That's what I am wearing.


Monday, July 13, 2015

Beautiful treasure? Or a brass washer:(

I reached for it and finally got the brass ring! Ok I reached down and picked it up.

Found this "ring" one morning at Mama T's High School, while walking Ruby.
It is nice and dainty. But I am thinking it is just a brass washer that has fallen off something?
Did a search on Home Depot and found nothing similar...
Do you know if I have found a beautiful treasure or hardware?
It fits perfectly!

Sunday, July 12, 2015

Have you ever...

Have you ever....

Slapped someone across the face, movie style "How dare you!"
Paid for the person behind you in the drive thru
Poured a drink over someone
Sent flowers to someone just because...
Got in the car and just drove, having no idea where you are going
Pick something out of the garbage (1) to reuse (2) to Eat!!!!
Gone alone to the movies, a restaurant, a concert, a sporting event, a bar
Flown first class
Eaten caviar or frogs legs
Literally played with fire
Peed your pants as an adult
Got buried up to your neck in the sand
Skinny dipped
Not gone on Facebook for an entire day
?????????????????????????????????