Monday Mishmash

 My trusty Google Calendar tells me today is National Chocolate Milkshake Day. I have questions:

• Isn't that every day?
• What nation? Can anyone participate? Who is policing this?
• When was the last time I had a chocolate milkshake?
• Are these celebratory days getting out of hand? 
• How can I get a milkshake, like, right now?
• Remember when Belle worked at McDonald's and had to dress in the Grimace costume during a heatwave? Where is that pic? Will she murdalize me if I post it? Would it tempt her enough to get on a plane? Cost/benefit analysis? 

Yeah, I just threw all that out there without really trying, after a little four-word prompt. There are more. There's always more. Hence, the attempt at a book. Speaking of, I received a nice surprise in my email yesterday... 

A book!! Of course it was a book. It's my favourite sort of prize and I am delighted. When it arrives, I'll post more about it, but this particular one has already gotten me back in touch with so many memories about my childhood and the peacefulness I found in books. It feels like a good omen. Thanks again to the sponsor, Lilac, of Pausitive Living. For very good vibes, drop by her site or Instagram and show her some love. She shares giveaways along with crafts, recipes, and lifestyle content and has brought many smiles to my face in the past few weeks. And, she's Canadian, eh?

The stars descended on my hometown over the weekend for the annual Toronto International Film Festival -- I remember when TIFF was a wee start up -- my, how you've grown! Steven Spielberg choose #the6ix for the world premier of his new film, The Fabelmans, and he doled out some high praise for my Turranna. 

The latest issue of LCBO's Food & Drink is out, and omgoshyouguise, the recipes are awesome. If anything is going to jump start my fall baking buzz, it will be Burnt Honey Pie. Rawrrr.

As it's nearly impossible for me to exist without mentioning cats, I'll use a loose LCBO connection to drinking to falling over to flopping over and TAH-DAH! We're there. I highly recommend you check Floppy Cats for love of Ragdolls and general information about our furry feline friends. I prefer keeping my furbabies indoors, but have had housing where it was impossible to keep them (all) in consistently. Many a time has found me out in nature, shaking the Temptations can and annoying my neighbours, incessantly calling for Fluffy. What a relief it would have been if Fluffy had a GPS collar, right? You could win one for your Fluffy, or Mittens, or a very, very small child. 

My mind, she wanders. When I saw this pic, my first thought was, "Yo, chaps, I'm the Prince of Wales now! You can doff your cap at me here. Come, peasants." While I'm cognizant of the historical significance we are witnessing, I did make myself snort when I typed the tag WpOw and realized it sounded like the whipped sound effect. 

Finally, an update on the persistent Sebastiano: 

That's a lot to ask of pasta, amore mio. Is it too soon to call him my internet boyfriend? Ciao for nao! 💋

Long Weekend Middle Child

The following was previously published on another site on September 4, 2022.

Poor Sunday. Sunday always gets the least attention of the long weekend days. Saturday is wildly celebrated. Monday is sadly lamented. Does anybody give the middle child, Sunday, it's proper due? No, they do not. Sunday is perfection on a long weekend. We should all rejoice in these glorious days, when no #sundayscaries are to be spoken of, but we all just tra-la-lah along, doing our thing. Stop. Feel it? Take an ahh moment, for Sunday is the Holy Grail, and you are smack dab in the middle. Enjoy! 

How is it already the fourth day of September? Elle Magazine has their September horoscope out, and I'm here to tell Elle to both back it up and peek over my shoulder to check if they're spying on me. It's not paranoia if they are watching you.

Alright, so it's dead on. Skeptics say you can read anything into a printed horoscope, but I'm a strong believer in signs. We just have to be open to recognizing and accepting them. This felt like a shoutout from the universe that I'm on the right track. Maybe horoscopes are just the placebo effect. Doesn't matter to me. I'm happily going with it. Let's just make one thing clear. I gots integrity, okay?

What I also gots is a funky problem with my eyes. It started a couple of weeks ago in my right eye and flared like hell last week. Years ago, I had a tumour behind my right eye that caused proptosis. It was kinda traumatic, and NGL, the pain was worse than childbirth or migraines. For months I had decreased vision, a delightful Gorgonesque appearance, a battery of tests, surgery, and finally, regularly scheduled cortisone shots behind my eye. Yeah, he would pull my eyelids back and go in behind the eyeball. You haven't sweated getting a needle until you see it coming in hot, right up close like that. Since then, anyone could give me a jab in the arm. I'm just like, "Go ahead and stick me, I don't GAF. "

Circling back around, it's why I'm hyper vigilant when something feels off in the peepers. These aren't the same symptoms. I thought it was a stie. Then I wondered if it was pink eye. Yesterday, I grudgingly spent $24 on Polysporin antibiotic drops. Don't believe what we tell kids. They burn like Lucifer's spit. Today it's in both eyes and it feels awful. When my daughter got home from work she said I looked wayyy worse. I tried not to feel ugly, but maannn, I am ooogly right now. Currently, I'm waiting to see if Benadryl will help. I'm also a tad foolish because I'm stubbornly refusing to let it interfere with my refound love: contests.

Like any other hobby you may pick up, contesting can be overwhelming when the bug first bites you. Once you start, it's easy to get into the weeds. Don't Go Into The Weeds. Nothing good happens there. When I went through a "phase" years ago, I won quite a few nifty prizes and made some friends. Life threw some things at me, and I had to give it up, but now it's #metime all the time. I answer to none. It is easy to get discouraged. Patience is key, but damn, I'm waiting for that first win like:

There's a very nice community out there for anyone who's interested. There are etiquette rules to follow and it's good to know what flies or will land like a rock. For the most part, contesters are welcoming and celebrate others' wins almost as much as their own. They come from a diverse pool of humanity. Statistically, men enter contests more than women and I've seen empirical evidence of that for what it's worth. So, stereotypes be damned. This is a shoutout of thanks to all those who have been kind, shared, referred for bonuses, and do the hard work running reputable sites. I appreciate you!

As for building the socials - whew! Even someone hidden away in a cave like Moi knows how women are treated on the internet. All I can say is I'm very happy I'm not lookin' for love. Hats off to those who are trying to meet people and date online. I applaud you.

Note: I'm in a battle with Blogger called EMBEDTHEDAMNVIDEO and it's not going well. Don't let that stop you from enjoying two of my favourite things:

Lizzo & The Aristocats! Really, you have to go watch that video.

The DMs. Lorty, lorty, lorty. For the most part, I do what common sense dictates, chuckle, and carry on my merry way. Yet every now and then, my mischeivous side SCREAMS, "Why ignore it when you can shut him down with a l'il poke???" Also, I'm 100% that (sarcastic) bitch.

That answer deters most quite quickly.

However, Sebastiano è un ragazzo tenace, si?

Oh, my. I think he's using Google Translate. Maybe he wants to make me Principessa of his Tuscan villa? I've relocated for lesser men.