Weekend Roundup

McHeaty gave me permission to use this pic of furgrandbaby, Phoebe, in a contest I'd be absolutely tickled pink to win. Even camping in the wilderness she's dressed to put her best paw forward. What a lady! It was taken during their recent holiday to Muncho Lake, which sounds dreamy and looked gorgeous in the videos he sent me. He's been put on notice that now he'll have to book some time to take me there whenever my visit happens. I'm so happy they enjoyed themselves - he said it was the best vacation he's ever had and considering some of the places he's traveled, that's pretty impressive.

Kitty is struggling to juggle all the new school commitments with work and being a Mom. These are the times my being able to do grandma support are the most important. I can't do the hard work of providing for her and her child or getting the education to better their future, but at least she doesn't have the stress over of the most important person in her life being a latch-key kid. She can focus on what she has to do knowing his needs are being met and that I'll throw a flag anytime he needs extra attention from her. Watching her last night trying to set up a group meeting with the first-year students she has to mentor was a shitshow. They seem particularly stupid. Even the 13 year old was rolling his eyes and snorting. I've always tried to stress to her that she's teaching him valuable lessons about hard work, dedication and overcoming obstacles. He has a huge amount of respect for, and faith in, his Mom. As do I. 

Belle did a quick trip to her new city, signed a lease on the most adorable apartment, toured her new workplace and met co-workers, and is now in the push to pack it all up for the move. Also, as I called, she bought herself a car. It's four years old but the newest car my girl has ever owned and she's already tricked it out with accessories. The car's name is Lilian, in honour of: "The spicy Brazilian I work with right now. She's the grandma of the office, has a Sonata and recommended it to me." Welcome to the family, Lilian, and thanks to the OG Lilian! There's no replacement for the wisdom of mature women.

Cleo tells Moi that Retro Prints are Trending Right Now! Such excitement. How de rigueur. After taking a peek at their current offerings let me say I've worn a worse version of every single item at some point in the past. The fresh take on the vibe really works and deserves the time to shine. Also, kindly note the term 'retro' really is preferable to old lady style and appreciated.

With the holiday season quickly approaching, it's time to find ways to make a dollar travel farther. I love points programs and belong to several. In the past, I've saved my Optimum points all year and then used them to buy Christmas gifts when they're on sale at Shopper's Drug Mart. Adding in coupons made my purchasing power soar and the merging of PC and Optimum means my groceries are also contributing to the tally. This weekend would be a good one to get a free card and start saving on items you buy anyway. 

See what's featured this weekend and start collecting points.

• Earn 20 x the points when you spend $90 on almost anything in the store
• Earn 40 x the points shopping online
• Receive a $20.00 Gift Card when you spend $90.00 or more. 
• Over 2000 products in the Beauty Event 

One of my faves on Twitter is beauty editor and CityLine expert Dave Lackie. He regularly shares concise beauty tips, product giveaways, and is quick to interact with his followers. If you love skincare and all things beauty, head over to his blog for the details on The October Origins at Sephora.ca Giveaway and enter for your chance to win.  How gorgeous is this pic of the prize pack? Delicious.

Until October 2nd, use the McDonald's App or your MyMcDs code at checkout  when you purchase any McCafe hot beverage and you're automatically entered for a chance to win one of 100 prizes of free coffee for a year. Head over to Save a Loonie for more details and then go get your cuppa joe.

Aaaand, yep, I won another contest during the week. It's going to be a Christmas gift so details are hush for now. This is what feeds the contesting bug and turns some into a beast. Rawr. 

Morning Email Check Says...

 

Yeah. I'm going to get nothing important done today. It's Trivia Tuesday for Pet Plus US, the weekly giveaway they hold on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Easy entry on any of their pages - or all for extra entries - for a chance to win a $25 Pet Smart giftcard to spend on your furbaby. 

Have a great day right meow, me mateys!

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! 💋

Hippity Hop

If you've never been on a Blog Hop, it's a fun way to find new blogs that might interest you, while easily entering a lot of giveaways. The hop is sponsored by like-minded bloggers to draw in new readers and the prizes are as varied as opinions. In the past, I've had great luck winning blog giveaways, as the number of entries is lower than a huge campaign sponsored by The Big Boys. This is the latest one I've seen, but there's so much going on I haven't waded in yet. 

You can Enter the Fabulous Fall Hop for a chance to win one of three prizes of Thor: Love and Thunder Digital in the Review Wire's giveaway and continue the hop, or just leave it at that for now. My strategy is obviously hop, hop, hop my tail off - but you do you, bunnyboo. 

Today has been spent trying to organize some  things that were spinning out of control, simply because I let them. This was making my ADHD/OCD brain hurt. I'm feeling much better but am currently in a fight with Blogger called: IMRIGHTYOUREWRONGJUST JUSTIFYIT! 

Mancub made us lunch - shrimp in the air fryer, so delish - and we had a chance to gab while watching cake-decorating videos. His choice, he says he finds watching it satisfying, so it's not like Grandma is making him sit with her to watch the Wheel of Fortune. There aren't enough words to describe how nice it feels when he says, "We make a lot of things together, even when they don't turn out exactly the same, we go with it and it turns out awesome!" If there's one thing I've taught my kids and grandson, it's how to McGuyver almost anything. 

There was a really neat one I think we'll try in the lead up to Halloween: chocolatey goodness covered in orange frosting and gooey marshmallow to look like spider web. Cake pop spiders with chocolate covered pretzels for legs and googly bloodshot eyes adorn it. It's just so camp! That's one reason everything about Halloween is fun for me - there are NO rules. Of course, having a young partner-in-crime makes for hilarious ideas and attempts at baking, crafting, and decorating. Subpar results mean less than the process. There's also a special little kick I get poking Kitten's boundaries through the kid. She won't refuse a cake he's helped make, but she'll be all dramatic about the spiders, and that's funny to watch. I truly believe if it was prepared by me alone, she'd decline. Where does this penchant for drama come from?!? I know. Of course I know. 

As proud as I am of the young women my girls are, they are ridiculously, stereotypically girly about insects, and spiders in particular: two nights ago a praying mantis somehow got into Kitten's room and it sounded like the front line of an alien invasion. Unfortunately, the mantis was decapitated during battle. It defies logic that a grown, very capable, woman screams for Mama to kill an oogely boogely. If it had been an alien invasion, I might have let them take her. This morning I got a text from Belle, with video, about her waking up with a spider on her ceiling fan. As she lives alone, she had to fight that skirmish on her own, but the follow up video of her and the cat snuggled on the couch made me laugh. There is so much love in my heart for that cat, for so many reasons, the least of which is she seemed in total agreement with, "I know. That was scary, right?" 

My Kitten and Belle are not built for the bunny trail.