Photo Wednesday

This week's photo is of darling daughter pretending that our new green bin is a shopping cart. "Shopping cart, shopping cart," is what I heard come out of her sweet little mouth as she was trying to push it around the house when we got it on Monday afternoon. The "shopping cart" is now at the curb, waiting to provide a deposit to the organics truck.

Weeks late, but it has arrived

There it was, glittering in the June sunlight, sitting quietly outside my front door, waiting for a warm welcome to its new home.

Finally, my green bin.

In the last week, I was losing hope that I was getting a green bin from the City of Ottawa. The letter from the city that stated I could order a green bin seemed like almost like a dream. And the email that arrived in my inbox stating I would be receiving a green bin in four weeks almost seemed like a farce. It was a farce. I should have known that you have to double any time allotment the city gives provides you.

But there it was, in all its green bin glory. A 47-litre green bin, waiting to be filled with organic waste.

Looking around the neighbourhood, I saw other green bins. I’m glad to know that I’m not alone in embracing the program, but I’m a bit disappointed that my immediate neighbours haven’t jumped on board. Really, if your tax dollars are paying for this program, you might as well use it.
I immediately grabbed my camera to document the moment. Yes, I may sound over dramatic, but I’ve been waiting for this moment for nearly three years now. I remember during my childless years when I was working for a community newspaper in the city where I wrote a column, praising the green bin program. I didn’t get a good response, as one reader thought it was ridiculous that people couldn’t use compost bins instead of the city rolling out an organics program. (Sorry dear reader, but not everyone can use a compost bin).

Unfortunately for the green bin, I had nothing for its inaugural deposit of organic waste. By late yesterday afternoon, all that was in the small organics bin is a plum pit, an old slice of pizza and a banana peel. Fortunately for the green bin, we eat a lot of fruits and veggies, including watermelon which creates a lot of organic waste.

The first pick up of my green bin is Wednesday. I’ll be excited when I see the garbage truck roll by my curb this week.

Why I run

Since running a 10k race more than two weeks ago, I've slacked off on running distances longer than 3k. And I've really slacked off on hill running. I haven't ran hills in nearly five weeks. But as I pointed out to dear husband this weekend, I'm still running. For the most part, I try to update my sticky note running journal. Every time I run, I write the date, distance and time on a sticky note and post it on my kitchen cabinet. It keeps me motivated. There are nearly 80 sticky notes on this one cabinet.

I thought today, to keep me motivated, I'd write the reasons why I run. So in no particular order, here is why I run.

Why I run

I run because I can release stress and frustration in a positive, healthy way.

I run because it helps me keep my sanity.

I run because sometimes it is the only "me" time I get during the day.

I run because it is fun.

I run because of the endorphin high.

I run because it helps me mediate and clear my mind.

I run because I can prove to myself that I can run.

I run because it gives me confidence and strength.

I run because the greatest feeling in the world is crossing the finish line.

I run because it keeps me in shape.

I run because it challenges my mind.

I run because it is very cool experience to run in a crowd of 7,500 people.

I run because it makes me sweat.

I run because it helps me to build stamina and endurance.

I run because not only does it motivate me, it motivates others.

I run because I breathe better afterwards.

I run because I can. And if I can do it, anyone can.

Going to the movies in the middle of the day

The following tasks are on my things-to-do list: buy knitting needles, drop off items to Goodwill, do laundry, cut up veggies, see a movie.

I haven't seen a movie since New Moon came out in theatres last November. The other day, dear husband was talking about his busy Friday, which included going to an Italian restaurant for lunch. The day before, he had a pork pulled sandwich at a chicken and ribs fest happening on Sparks Street this week.

Where is my Italian lunch? Where is my pork pulled sandwich? Where is my lunch hour? (Actually, what is a lunch hour? I can't remember what a lunch hour is. But I'm sure it doesn't consist of my child begging for food or brazenly stealing food from my plate, minutes after she's finished eating.)

Today is a daycare day. They've been happening rather occasionally over the last couple of months. Sometimes they happen once a week. Sometimes twice a month. The last daycare day I spent a good two hours washing down walls. Not exactly fun. I could have washed more walls. I could have started the shredding of a pile of personal papers that have accumulated in my recycling bin. I could have done laundry. But instead I got my purse, grabbed a sweater out of the closet and went to the movies. It was a nice distraction. I saw Killers. (Who knew there was so many assassins in suburbia?) I ate a bag of popcorn and laughed.

I've never been to the movies alone, but if think about it, seeing a movie is one of those activities you can easily do by your lonesome. Plus, it is cheap! I only spent $6. Obviously, not everyone can sneak out of the house or office to go and see a flick in the middle of the day. But if you have the time and the means, I highly recommend it. Two hours by yourself, with no demands being made of your time, that is priceless at a fairly reasonable ticket price.

All shook up (not really)

Yesterday, everyone seemed to be riled up about the 5.0 earthquake that hit the West Quebec area. The downtown building that dear husband works in was evacuated. Reporters covering an NDP news conference scurried out of the room. A man I met on a street hours later told me he immediately left the building he was in when the ground started to shake. Everyone seemed to be talking about the earthquake.

At the time of the quake, I was reading my blog roll, reading recent posts. Moments before sitting down to my laptop, an electrical inspector popped by to inspect the electrical system. At first, I didn't know what was going on. I thought it was a big truck driving by because there was a loud rumbling and the house started to make strange noises. Either that or the electrical inspector was doing something really weird to my air conditioner. I don't remember any shaking, just noise. I figured it was an earthquake as when I looked out the back yard, I could see my back neighbour's picture window shaking. Nothing fell or got broken.

Once it was over, I peered outside. There were some people looking confused as me, wondering what the heck went on. After double checking that darling daughter was still asleep (and she was) I went back to reading blog posts.

The following makes me sound like a bad wife, but it never dawned on me to call dear husband to see if he was okay. This is likely due to the fact I didn't realize how big the quake was. Apparently the cellphone system jammed as people tried to contact loved ones. He called later, saying his building had been evacuated and he was waiting to go back inside.

It is weird that so many others felt the quake. I didn't. I just heard noise. So that's our quake experience. Not anything earth shattering. I'm just thankful no one was hurt or seriously injured.

Photo Wednesday

There are two photos this week, both of which feature darling daughter's posse. At the current moment, she cannot go anywhere without her beloved Care Bears and baby. They go with her for nap time, bed time, play time and snack time. In the above photo, she insisted that they come up with her as she got changed for the day. Below, they are lined up, watching her eat breakfast.

The Golden Age

I think I’ve hit a Golden Age with darling daughter. She’s at an age where everything is new to her. Bugs, sticks, sand, rocks, trees, birds, clouds, and even splash pads brings her pure delight.

We were unable to enjoy splash pads last year as she wasn’t walking until the end of August and I wasn’t about to let her crawl on concrete. Yesterday we got together with my friend J and her little boy. She suggested we head to a nearby splash pad to cool off and enjoy the beautiful weather. I won’t disclose the location of said splash pad because it may be the best splash pad in the entire city of Ottawa because it is so darn cool and quiet. And my gut tells me that not many people know about said splash pad so it is best keep it a secret.

Darling daughter had the time of her life, dashing in and out of the jetting water, squealing and screaming in delight. Her little friend was a bit cautious, likely due to an unfortunate incident where he was frightened by a big stream of water hitting him unexpectedly. He had great fun running through the splash pad when the water stopped, tempting fate so to speak. Regardless if they were getting wet or staying dry, I looked at darling daughter and her little friend having fun and concluded that this may be one of the Golden Ages of their childhoods. They are just getting to know the world around them. They aren’t exactly set in their ways because they get distracted easily (and depending how you look at it, that may be a con). And the simple things, like running or avoiding running through rushing water, brings pure joy into their lives.

As darling daughter ran in and around the splash pad, I documented her experience with my camera. Some of the photos are priceless. She has a huge grin in most of the photos, delighted with the rushing water gushing from the sprinklers below and above her.

There will definitely be more Golden Age days in darling daughter’s life, but the day when she first discovered the splash pad has already become a fond memory in my mind.