PROOF IS IN THE PUDDIN’

As you know, today’s the first day of spring. So, with the blinds open before 8am and the sun beaming in, my day got off to an earlier than normal Sunday morning start. With the side & back yards becoming the place where world famous mud pies could be made, I knew that I needed to wash the floors. An expected dog maintenance task that will happen a couple of times a week until things dry up.

Puddin' rocking the downtown Bracebridge drive!
TAKEN: MARCH 20th, 2016

Shortly after noon, with my chores complete, I needed to run a couple of errands. Because my husband didn't want to miss out on the fun, we decided to take the dogs. He drove and I managed the behaviour of my three pups in the back seat. 

We are currently looking to replace our Ford Explorer that we sold, so if you can envision two adults and three larger than average sized dogs in my wee Mazda 6... It’s pretty hilarious.

How funny? Today I noticed with everyone out and about, that they had a general expression of joy in their faces as we passed; walkers, runners and even riders. As the dogs hung out the windows of my glamourized upholstered skateboard, total strangers instantly felt a 'spring has sprung' connection. Some waved, some yelled hello, most just simply grinned from ear to ear as we passed them by.

I don't know about you but I absolutely love when spring is in the air. For me, it’s like a switch gets flipped. Each and every year I brace myself to get hammered by the time change, then a week later I pack up my happy lights and tuck them away until the fall. As silly as it sounds, the natural light that spring provides me is right up there with really great sex.

...It’s simply euphoric.

SHE's BACK ON THE BLADES

For those of you that are new to this silly little electronic journal, I use to figure skate. I’d like to think that my parents kept me so heavily involved because of the sheer raw talent I possessed but that would be a lie. They kept me at the rink and on the road as much as possible, so that I had absolutely no time to focus on boys and dating. You see, my mother had a deep seeded fear that I’d get pregnant. I remember she use to always say to me, “you know Rhondi, once you start doing that (meaning sex) it's not like you’re just able to stop...” Guess what, she was absolutely correct!!

My skating carnival character 'Cookie'
(Appearing in Bracebridge Herald Gazette)
TAKEN: APRIL 1982

As I sit here giggling, I couldn't help but reminisce yesterday as I decided to once again lace up my skates for a Fire & Ice Festival we were having in my wonderful little town. Rummaging through our storage to locate my custom made John Knebli skates, I was trying to remember exactly when the last time was I had laced them up.

I decided that it had to of been one of Jukeboxes’ February birthday parties. If I had to venture a guess, I would say it’d been a little over a decade ago. I could still jump and spin back then but I fear those days are gone. No worries. Because at the end of the day, I am all about life experiences right now and the fact that I wanted to at least try and skate's considered a feather in my proverbial skating cap.

When I was growing up, figure skating and hockey were something that everybody had the opportunity to participate in. I'm not minimizing the expense but it could generally be handled by a one income household. Now, parents almost need to sell a  less talented offspring, as well as a viable organ on the black market, to see the amount of ice time and year round training I received. That said, I always knew from a very young age that I was on a journey my mother never had the chance to take.

The last time I skated, I mean seriously competed, was at an audition for the Ice Capades at Maple Leaf Gardens. We hit the dressing rooms after the show, then officially hit the ice close to midnight. Again, it was my mother that had discovered the opportunity for me and she bullied my oldest brother in to putting us up in the city, coming to the show, then driving us back to Muskoka in the wee hours of that Saturday morning.

After my skate that night, I was offered the ability to apply to appear with their second tier show that toured smaller cities across Canada and the US. All I'll say, is that my skate at Maple Lead Gardens was the last time I truly skated. I gave it up cold turkey about a week later and never looked back. I had finished high school and was working full-time to save. Let's just say the years of being a rink rat had run their course.

I vividly remember that time and the moment I decided to pack my skate bag up for good. I suspect if my mother were alive, she'd attribute the extremely bad decision I'd made to stop figure skating, to all the really great sex I'd ultimately yet to discover. For those of you reading that knew her, you know first hand that she was never wrong.

Peeps, relax. Thirty plus year later, ya most definitely just gotta laugh about it!

THE END OF A FAMILY ERA

Heading home from work this afternoon, the Sweeney-Miester mentioned that she’d like to stop by the grocery store on the way home. We knew that one in particular was advertising 25% off everything store-wide, so we thought we’d check it out one last time. 

I have to be honest. When I walked in the front door, I wasn’t prepared for the scene that unfurled. I wandered in and looked around, then turned to my girlfriend and said... “There’s a lot of personal history here."  Seeing the shelves empty hit me like a ton of bricks.  I instantly held up my phone. 

After I snapped this pic, walked the entire store one last time, bought nothing and quietly ventured home. My point is that we have/soon to be had, a Metro grocery store in our town. You see, it's closing to re-open in mid-March as Food Basics. I understand why they are transitioning but in all honesty, it's quite sad. 

Don't you find it that your life flashes in front of your eyes
...at the oddest times?
TAKEN: JANUARY 28th, 2016 

Gone will be the days of the Fresh To Go and Bakery divisions that employed both my boys through their high school years. Not to mention a legendary group of gals my husband playfully labelled the "Metro Queens" that were my daughters' former cashier coworkers; but that's not our only family history within my post.

Working in that grocery store (then Dominion, eventually A&P, now Metro) was the first full-time summer job I ever had. It was the summer of 1984. 

Large brown paper bags were what us hard working cashiers were then packing in, and ice cream most definitely had to be heavily wrapped twice. Paid in cash via a bank envelope every Thursday, it was a much smaller store back then, and ours was still the largest in our town of a little over 9,000 year round residents at the time. 

As I strolled through the empty store tonight, I couldn't help but think of those shifts when all of my children were scheduled and working in store together. I absolutely loved it. Over those four or five years, Metro was the best teen tracking mechanism any parent could've ever hoped for.

I'm proud they earn the opportunity to work there to save for post secondary life. That said, I know for a fact I never shopped anywhere else all those years, paying more than above average for most items in an effort to support them as well as their employer.

I guess the moral of my post is that I find it very sad, that Metro never put any of those high priced extra profits (that our entire town contributed to) back into a store in dire need of good management.

Shame on them!

HOW'S YOUR 2016 GOING?

Have you ever had one of those days where you'd ask yourself..."What's the date today?"

I have no idea where the time goes. I know it's been a couple of years since I've submitted a timesheet, yet, for it being only the 20th of January, it feels like the past three weeks have lasted three months. Not in the arduous sense of time passing, more... I've accomplished so much, how the hell can we only be three weeks in?

Ringing in 2016 with my Mama-in-law!
TAKEN: DECEMBER 31st, 2015

I had/have great hopes for 2016.

As you know, in 2015 I made some major life changes, both personally and professionally. To put things right on the table, I cleaned house. I honestly feel that sometimes we keep certain people in our lives for all the wrong reasons. Not that I'd have a friggin' clue... My shrink was a personal cost cutting measure that was endured when I quit my job in 2013!

Shrinkage jokes aside, all I'll say is that 2016 will be the first year of my life known for it's simplicity. Why? Because, believe it or not, for the first time in a lot of years, I have nothing to fix and nothing to prove.

Might sound like a nice word, simplicity, all wrapped up neatly with a big red bow. But for an over-achiever, that's a much bigger task to accomplish than it may read. Especially when your hardwired like a five and a half foot ball of yarn, determined to get everything untangled and quantify the reason for every silly knot. For me, simplicity is something I look forward to.

Anyway, generally too round to try yoga... for my 2016 Birthday I have officially booked a trip and decided to learn to surf. (Like those skills are going to take me far, or that I'll ever use again). I've also decided join a choir and to learn to really cook. Though I am A-OK on the singing front, to go to the next level, I could use some help in the kitchen. They offer lessons in town but that's not where I'll learn to hone my craft. I want to study in my Mama-in-laws' kitchen. She's an amazing cook, just ask my husband... and anyone else she's ever cooked for.

Truth? The fact that Ivy ensures the best tunes rock her kitchen when she's cookin', will only compliment our lessons, as well as my ability to learn. I wonder if she'd like to come to choir with me?

Guess I'll simply have to ask. Lord knows... She can sing circles around yours truly.

So, tell me....How is your 2016 going?

Z IS FOR ZERO-ZIP-ZILCH

NOTE TO SELF: Email GARY! 

Well, I made it!

I survived my 3rd AtoZ April Blogging Challenge and my hyphenated words reflect the stored ounces of energy I have left to create even one more post. To say it's been a very long and emotional month, would be an understatement.

As expected (& as I do every year) I've gained readers, while others fell by the wayside. I was sad to see my buddy Gary go during the writing process this month. He quit reading at PEEPS; which was fitting I suppose.

Lastly, I would be remiss if I didn't thank each and every one of you for reading my silly thoughts until the end. With this, my 506th post under my belt, this years challenge has once again proved to be a very personal journey... Of both reflection, as well as of self-discovery.

Cheers ~ Rhondi

N IS FOR NOSTALGIA

Jukebox, Goob, Sweetie & Me... in South Carolina
TAKEN: APRIL 1993

I IS FOR IMPOSSIBLE

Here’s the deal. I was born at ten thirty in the morning.  

How do I know that? Well, when I was little, my Dad use to tell me that he dropped my mother off at the hospital on his way to work and he got the call on his first coffee break that I had arrived.

You're only as old as you feel...!
TAKEN: APRIL 9th, 2015

That story was shared in the sun yesterday as I traveled with three other Canadian couples to Bacardi Island. We had met them on the first day and instantly bonded over the love of humour and six degrees of separation. Seriously, as our day unfurled yesterday, we realized that we had even more very mutual long term friends.

With an email arriving last night (asking ‘how my adventure was’) and no ability to return it, and as I began to write this morning, I struggled to pick my word. So many emotions kept going through my head. 

Just for fun, here's my short list!

Internet: The service here sucks better than a two dollar hooker with a turnstile!

Insane: In reference to the boat ride that almost killed us yesterday!

Incredible: The way the 8 of us laughed said boat ride off & enjoyed our day.

Inspiring: The new friendships you can nurture and completely embrace when you step out of your comfort zone.

Impossible: That at 10:30am this morning I officially turned 29!

Yes, without a doubt… I IS FOR IMPOSSIBLE!!!

D IS FOR DIGITAL

Part of my creative process is having a picture accompany my posts. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree because my mother was a shutterbug too. The only sad notable was she always positioned herself behind the camera, so when she passed, there was no evidence of a family photo to be found.

As a result, my children have always been comfortable in the presence of a camera; taking pictures has always been a part of what we do as a family. My daughter, like my mother and myself, gravitates to the process as does my oldest son. 

Staccs & I rockin' Toronto Harbourfront with her new iPhone!
TAKEN: AUGUST 3rd, 2012

Because of my word choice today, I had the glorious task of searching through a bazillion Kodak moments to accompany my just as many of my passing thoughts. I chose this particular pic because it was a first for me personally. 

Staccs and I were in the City for the long weekend visiting her twin when she asked to take our picture. I had my Fugi digital but she had her fancy new Iphone. 

The photo I am sharing is the very first picture she took of us using a reverse function camera so we could see ourselves on the screen. A fun little ditty that will forever reminds us both of a memorable summer staycation.

I personally have no interest in getting an IPhone. As a die hard Blackberry girl, I'm totally giddy that the new Classic Blackberry has brought back the rollerball. I'll take that function over a 'switch camera' function any day. What can I say, all of my camera's may be digital but my thumbs most definitely rock ALL of my buttons.

....On my phone silly!!

MY REALITY CHECK BOUNCED!

I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t think I have experienced a smear of what the majority of  the successful people I went through High School with have. I’m not complaining. I chose to return home to care for my Mother, as well as get married and start a family at a young age. Nope, no apologies here; much more importantly no regrets.

Working at the Mike's Mart downtown the winter before I left for school.
TAKEN: March 1984

Out of a sad set of circumstances, I came face to face with one of my closest high school friends today. We had only seen each other once (at a wedding) since graduating. Suffice is to say, seeing each other after all this time was a tad surreal. 

Once he noticed me, he instantly made his way through a crowd of people to wrap his arms around me, greeting me with a very heart felt hug. Though glad he'd remembered me, I immediately felt myself in uncharted waters. You see, I simply couldn't identify with the person that was standing in front of me.

It might be because I don’t think I have really changed. Sure, I’ve evolved but I think the core of my personality is still the same. I guess I am just disappointed that I can’t say the same for the person whose locker was a “do you need a ride home” holler away.

Makes no matter. We're never going to see each other again. Which is clearly my loss, based on how he focused on chatting about his financial success. Though I'm happy for him, I really did want to stop him and point out that it doesn't take much money to have it better than a gal that loves living in a Town where everything is a five minute drive and a fifteen minute walk away. Didn't bother, I just told told 'em to 'take care' and went on my merry way.

Guess today proved to me... once and for all... that I have missed yet another boat. 

At my age, here's hoping the next one that happens along is wheelchair accessible!

BIKINI BIRTHDAY BLOG!

Like most kids growing up, I went to a boatload of Birthday parties. The downside to my point was that my Mom didn’t necessarily believe in the whole Birthday Party scene. Because her claim to fame was that she could consistently make a dollar from a dime, I suspect it had something to do with the overall expense that had to be incurred. 

Actually, that's not entirely true. I do have several photos from my very fan-tab-u- lous seventh Birthday party she threw for me. I think every single girl in my class attended. I should clarify that it's not like she had some big plan to throw me that party, it was simply the first birthday that arrived after we’d moved to Town and I enthusiastically announced (at school) that I was having a party. It was the last one I ever had.

So, in an effort to experience something I never did, I've always over compensated when it came to my kids birthdays. Well, after much discussion and contemplation, I broke my piggy bank and gave myself a gift. I officially booked my 29th Birthday trip yesterday!

Unpacking my very colourful 'Blogging Suits' in La Romana...
TAKEN: NOVEMBER 16th, 2014

Happy we’re leaving on a jet plane & headed to the sunshine; while making dinner last night, the hard reality set in.

For the second time in as many years, I'll be away on vacation while participating the in annual A to Z Blogging Challenge.

The last time I had to juggle both events, I was on a road trip down the coast, so I could Blog at night after I took a hotel. This time will be very different. To throw a fly in the ointment, right in the middle of the trip it's my Birthday.

Because I absolutely and unequivocally hate surprises, I just did the math, and my Birthday day letter will be the letter "I". In 2013, I chose to my mothers name (INEZ) and in 2014, I chose the word IDEA. I am honest when I say that I don't try to pre-plan my posts but there's really only one word that immediately pops to mind for my 2015.

I'll be in the Caribbean, in a bikini, basking is the sun, swimming up to the bar and celebrating my 29th Birthday. What would be a more celebratory Birthday word for me to choose... than the word INEBRIATED?

You're absolutely right. INTOXICATED  may be an extremely viable word option as well!

It's An Executive Decision…

Going through some legal and financial papers this afternoon, I realized that it’ll be two years this upcoming May 2-4 long weekend, that I moved to the cottage (and lived there) for the entire summer. Where the hell has the time gone?

Personally, I know that in that time I've worked my fecking ass off.  Matter a fact, there are patches of time in the above mentioned lapse, that I barely remember what I did with my spare time. Most likely because I know I rarely had any.

That said, this summer will be different. As an independent contractor, I'm not expected to deal with the day to day drama of disgruntled customers. It’s been an adjustment but truthfully one of the reasons I left my old job. Turns out, in my search for a solid challenge & truly happy customers... I hit the mother load !

My new home office view.
My old buddy Don gave me this flower last summer
... Proud to say he was the BEST co-worker EVER!
Taken: August 8th, 2013

Happy happy happy, I have decided to once again move back to the cottage for the summer. Truth is, it's been in the back of my mind since the very minute I changed jobs.

It seems like such a waste for me to sit in my downstairs office, when I can be working in the sun where my pups are happy, and my domestic skills are sharp. 

Believe it or not, the one things I've been struggling with is the installation of high speed internet. Today I made the executive decision to ignore those silly little voices and just get it installed.

With so many other stresses removed from my life, installing the internet is just going to make me that much more efficient. For instance, I know I will be able to handle a far bigger workload if I'm smiling AND have great tan. KIDDING!

The fact of the matter is that with over 300 DVD's in inventory, I can stop buying them out of the bargain bin and just use Netflix’s. That right there justifies all of this as a solid money management decision. 

Keeping this cat out of the WalMart video section?

Just paid for the installation of the Primus dry loop!

GIDDY UP.....

She's On The Move ~ LOOK OUT!

There are five or six fridge magnets that have been in full view at our cottage since we bought the place in 1999. My very favourite reads... The only place where SUCCESS comes before WORK is in the dictionary. Today my daughter proved the purchase a worthwhile investment!

Here's the deal. Bright and early this morning (less than a week since starting her search) Staci began her very first full time job. It's located an hour south of here, and the plan is that she will couch surf in her new home. Couch surf until we move and unpack her belongings (while she attends orientation for her second part time job) this coming Sunday afternoon. 

It's hard to believe that this is the third time she's moved out in the last four years. Each time has offered her a new adventure. Each has added a chapter to her life that she'll always draw from. Not gonna lie, this time feels a little odd. There were no tears to be had, and this morning walking into her new place of employment she showed ZERO fear. Instead, just her trademark quiet confidence. A wonderful confidence that has blossomed out of her personal need to keep growing and keep moving forward.

I know better than most that it takes a significant moment in life to change an embedded thought process. Sometimes you might want to question a person's unexpected shift, in this instance we did not. We offered lots of support and openly explained that though we'd never see her go hungry, our paying for her adventure was not an option.

Chillin' (playing SkipBo) in South Carolina
Taken: April 29, 2013
Photo Cred: My SIS

What can I say? She dug in her heels, saved her money, and she showed us an unconditional determination I never knew she had.

She may not be the extrovert that I am, but she's definitely goal oriented & fiercely driven.

If I were you?

I'D LOOK THE HELL OUTTA THE WAY!

READY - SET - JO!

When you truly know someone. You've been blessed.
GO Thelma & Louise... I mean Rhondi & Jo!
Taken: July 23rd, 2013

For my entire life, my cousin Joanne and I have been as close as sisters and stayed tighter than your best tied knot. 

As kids, living over 100 miles apart we were serious Public School Pen-Pals. Then, while I figure skated off season at Double Rinks, we were 'summer roomies' through high school. 

We definitely did the college commute thing to a tee, and she's lived in Muskoka since 1990 when she married (one of my husband's best buds whom she met at our 1988 wedding). 

Harsh reality is that I see her less than my Maytag repairman. Really harsh reality? ALL of my appliances are made by General Electric!

What can I say? She’s one of the hardest working women I have ever known and connecting sometimes seems impossible. We chat and text every single day but because of our very busy lives we rarely make the effort to connect face to face. Our homes are about a mile apart.

Yesterday, on a spur, she and I did lunch. We were in the zone. That very same zone we have known our entire lives. As I held up my phone, I asked her to throw me up a peace sign, and without hesitation she did. It was like we were fourteen years old again riding our bikes down Marshall Park to the Mini Putt. We were together. We were us. Once again ready to rule the world!

What can I say other that this gal has always made me feel I could accomplish anything I put my mind to. She will ALWAYS be my hero. In two words?

Lucky me!

My Quirky Sidekick!

Me and My Quirky Sidekick Tim
Taken: Spring of 2003

I love people. 

Positive people with positive energy, and I always make the extra effort to keep the silly naysayers at bay. Call me quirky.

I am quirky. Always have been. Always will be. 

Appears my point may be moot because I'm very lucky to have tons of family, friends, as well as varying acquaintances in my life. 

All amazing folks but all these years later, I know I am blessed to still be connected to my one and only Quirky Sidekick!

Tim "Timmy Twos" McAllister came into my life after he graduated from the University of Alabama, and relocated into Muskoka thanks to Mr. Palmer. Just like that we were teamed and inseparable from the start. 

Finance (unlike Accounting) compiled the smallest department within the gigantic machine but it made no matter. Let's face it, when it came to being in the trenches with a boss like Dave Grant, we learned quickly that there was safety in numbers. Even if it meant that number was only two! From the get go, we gelled and kicked some serious ass.

Our synergy was the real deal. A rarity in comparison to most work relationships. Just like myself, after leaving the big Corporate machine, he built a successful business from nothing. When the banks fell, like most consultants, I endured a very tough year. My call for heartfelt advice was to Tim; asking a question, that only someone that had endured what we had, could answer. 

My question: If you had to start over and build it from nothing would you do it again? His answer didn't surprise me. It was no. After several lengthy conversations, I knew that I didn't want to do it again either. I knew he understood first hand the journey I had taken. I hadn't slept through the night in five years.

With some serious geography keeping us apart; the last couple of years, the internet has kept us in touch in place of the telephone. Out of the blue I got an email from him at work on Saturday. I apologized for been lax and asked him to text me his new cell phone number so we can stay closer.

This morning, drafting this post, my phone buzzed and blinked. It was from a number I didn't recognize. I opened it to read "Hi Rhondi!! XO Quirky" all I could do was smile from ear to ear. 

What can I say? We will be together forever in quirkiness. That's a promise I know we are going to keep!