Milestones...

We've had a few milestones in the last week. My husband turned forty and strangely enough the earth did not stop spinning. This is a good thing, it means that I may just survive turning forty next year. My son graduated from grade eight and is off to high school in the fall. To make all of this extra special my best friend was visiting from Australia and got to be a part of all of it.

The Mardi Gras Birthday party I threw for my husband's 40th Birthday went well. I'm not sure it was a grand slam but I think he enjoyed himself and I think that everyone that attended did as well. The food was awesome and they served my signature martinis. What could be better?

Note to self, to rethink the music at an event if you expect people to dance and party. I hired a blues / jazz band to play and they were very good. Just not the type of music that people jump up and dance to. It made for great background music and I think that the jazz lovers in the crowd appreciated the accomplished expertise of the band. But the most important thing was that the Birthday Boy (Man, I suppose at forty) enjoyed himself.

This week the kid graduated with stellar marks and received two awards at the graduation ceremony. There he is, thirteen and surrounded by an entire gaggle of girls. I'm not sure if his popularity is due to his extroverted personality or simply due to the fact that, at this age, most of the girls are taller than the boys and at 5'6" he is one of the few that can look them in the eye. Regardless of the cause it is difficult to find him anywhere except in the middle of a female entourage. He's not complaining and due to the fact that he still has the ability to think clearly and logically when surrounded by that much estrogen I'm not complaining yet either. Any day now the hormones will kick in and all logic and common sense will flee my child's brain. Until then I choose to simply enjoy my thoughtful, level-headed, sociable child.

So it's been an eventful week...here's hoping for many more to come, especially if they are all as memorable as these ones were. Thanks to everyone who made the trip to my neck of the woods to be a part of our celebrations.

The Woes of Party Planning...

My darling husband turns forty at the end of the month and I've been planning a party for him. We are having a mini Mardi Gras, complete with a live Blues Band and custom made masks.

The party is this weekend and I still haven't heard from almost half of the invited guests as to who is attending. I had forgotten how frustrating this can be. I need to finalize the menu with the caterer tomorrow and I still don't know if there will be forty or sixty people attending!

The party should be a blast, but I have to say that I will be very glad when it is over.

We are also in the middle of a major renovation of my kitchen/living room/ dining room. Which is why the party will take place in a rented space rather than my home.

Some days...I eat stress for breakfast...but lately, it feels like stress is eating me for dessert at every meal.

Here's a small prayer to the Gods that I survive until the end of the month.

Update on Life Stranger than Fiction...

I guess someone at "Fairyland Retirement Village" had a moment of clarity and decided that maybe it wasn't the best name for the place. It might have been after they heard the rumors circulating in the area that it was either "owned by" or "a place for"(depending on who you talk to) retired gay people. Leave it to a homophobic moment to make someone change their mind about the name of their company. Then they immediately had a brain fart and decided that "Golden Pond Retirement Home" was a much better choice.

One has to ponder whether they have an ounce of original thought in their tiny little minds. Everyone (of an age) remembers the movie "On Golden Pond". But what you need to appreciate about this place is...

a) they do have a pond, but it's completely enclosed by a four foot high chain-link fence. We wouldn't want any of the residents to wander and accidentally drown. The pond is an oval about half the size of a skating rink. (Let's just call it "Mosquito Haven" or "Boggy Oversized Puddle". It does not remind you in any way of the vistas seen in the movie.

b)there is another retirement home in the area called the "Golden Plow" (don't ask me...I don't know what genius came up with that one either) and they do run the risk having people confuse the two.

c)and lastly, I don't know about you, but when I hear the words"Golden Pond" in relation to a residence for the elderly the only image that comes to mind is a large puddle of urine. Sick, insensitive and politically incorrect but none the less true.

Maybe they should call it "Incarcerated Pond" or "Pond View But Don't Touch". I don't know why they couldn't come up with something a little more sensible and appealing like "Fairview Retirement Home". Hey it's not very original... but I still think it's an improvement over anything they have come up with so far.

The only thing I know for sure is that just about anything is better than the original "Fairyland" but the do seem to pushing the envelop to see what they can come up with that is equally atrocious.