...Mind... To me, it's a real chicken-egg problem. Which one is in control? Mind or Body? Neither? Both? For me, it alternates and feels out of my control. And actually, I'm not sure I even know which one should be in charge. See, if my mind is in control, then when I get stressed, or emotional, or down, well...then I eat to fulfill an emotional need. Therefore, MIND IN CONTROL=BAD. But then again, there are days when I just outdo myself in the kitchen. Not to brag (much) but I am - when I put my mind to it -... More »

My kid eats kafta. Yup, that's right, in a Lebanese restaurant: kafta kebabs served in a pita with lettuce, onion, tomato and raita (the sauce). And she wolfed it down. My six year old white-bread, Canadian kid sat down in Aida's Mediterranean Bistro in the trendy Mission district of Calgary, and ate a whole Kafta sandwich. And when she got tired of fighting with the pita, she put it down on her plate and dug out the kafta to eat with her fork. Side note: we were lunching with the sweet and delightful Amreen of The Balancing Act on... More »

A great big smoochy thank you to all you wonderful urbanmoms.ca readers for your heart-warming response to my last post. You know, it's at times like these that I marvel at the support and encouragement we women/moms can offer each other. Just when I was down low in the deepest of doldrums, you came and offered me words of encouragement, acceptance and understanding. And I thank each and every one of you for it. And not only the peeps who wrote comments, but those behind the scenes who came and read and empathized silently. To update y'all, I have been... More »

I hate myself. Officially. I have issued myself a certificate of self-loathing. Why? Well, it's a bit of a painful story. Kinda convoluted and complicated and tangent-y. Still wanna hear it? Ya sure? Okay. Well, you know how my scale switches between pounds and kilos, right? So I stepped on it this morning - after far too long of a scale-hiatus - and weighed in at 76.5 kg, (despite the switch being toggled to the "pounds" setting), which translates to 168.65363 (just to be precise, you know). ARGH ARGH ARGH ARGH AAAARRRGGGH! Now, 168.65363 is still 48 pounds less... More »

It's camping season again, and that, to me, means both good and bad things...all wrapped up into one messy package! Here's how it shakes out: One of the best plusses of camping is all the outdoor activity. As a family we definitely get our full share of fresh air and exercise when we go camping. Whether it's a fossil safari in Dinosaur Provincial Park or an alpine hike in Jasper National Park, we always spend hours and hours outdoors when we go camping. And that's a plus on so many levels! Dinosaur Provincial Park Fossil Safari             ... More »