Ladies Who Tea!

Last week I got to do something different, something totally fun and best of all: I roped a couple of my dearest friends into it.

We went to high tea. And not just any high tea, a Princess Kate High Tea! Yeah, this had ‘me’ written all over it.

Of course hats and fascinators were encouraged so the moment I saw that on the invite I was in. Yes, ‘they had me at fascinator’.

We arrived (me late due to people who don’t know to drive on wet pavement) and were seated in the lovely Streetsville Tea Room with the Union Jack’s hung on the wall and a gorgeous Wills and Kate flag adorning another.

Of course I wore my Kate-esque dress and overly exaggerated faux ring too. My darling friends were all dressed up too with Caroline sporting her made-by-her aubergine chapeau and Pin wearing her new (could have been made to match her outfit) emerald green fascinator. It was all very regal and excting.

And delectable too!

Our lovely little tiered trays of treats arrived and oh my! I am now all over scones and devon cream for treats! The trifle in the china tea cup with a lavendar shortbread cookie was the perfect finish to the perfect experience.

The best part of the whole ‘tea’? Spending time with my darling friends. Will we ‘tea’ again? You bet! And fascinators are not an option, they’re a requirement .

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Review: Kre-O Enterprise from Hasbro

Ok, not a surprise to those who know me, but yes, I am a huge fan of Star Trek. My friend got me hooked in middle-school and I’ve loved it ever since.

Hubby is a fan too (recipe for a good marriage? LOL) and we were the people who went multiple times to the exhibit in Vegas and I was the one texting frantically to my friends back home that I was being served dinner by a Klingon under the Enterprise and had picked up a Tribble to bring home (thankfully it behaved going through airport security too….that would have been fun to explain LOL).

My wonderful friends who I adore at Hasbro let me know that their creatives had come up with a Kre-O construction set for the Enterprise based on the new movie (that I’m still dying to see…love Benedict Cumberbatch) and I did literally jump with excitement.

I jumped and screeched again when the box arrived. Hubby was slightly hyper too.

Then the BBM’ing, FB posting and of course construction began. I had a running commentary going for a few friends (Chris & Greg) on my BBM which was far too much fun let me tell you..

I learned quickly that my hubby is a construction set geek with his own code for building…it was quite the discovery too. He asked me for a ‘flat six’ and I paused and stared at him to explain. I was taught quickly and he just went to town on the set. I assembled the Kreons. FAR TOO CUTE! My only thing is, and hubby agreed, we need a ‘red shirt’ Kreon, the search for one is on.

Hubby grabbed the instruction booklet, and this set is for age 9-14, and the diagrams were great and easy to follow and the ship came together pretty quickly overall. It even has lights! Of course I was hyper about that too. Hubby did the dish section, I did the top of the dish and the Kreons and then I finished the nascelles.

The level of detail on the ship, right down to the actual pieces used to build it, is awesome. We were very impressed.

I was also very impressed at the price point for it at about $80. That’s not bad when you look at the prices of other sets for equivalent in popularity ships/themes. And the carrying case is also handy. I’m about the details, and I like that.

If you have a munchkin who loves to build, or a hubby like I do (and I know there are a few cause they all found out I had the set and wanted to take it home with them LOL), this is a great one to assemble and treasure.

Oh! And it also shoots a missile. Tee hee!

Live long and prosper!

That rollercoaster called life

Wow! I think the title of this post says it all, life has indeed been a rollercoaster lately and it doesn’t look to be stopping anytime soon either.

I’ve been busy working non-stop (literally), and while I promised myself I would NEVER EVER be ungrateful for work, a few hours here and there are definitely welcome to visit me anytime.

What have I been up to? Well, I have a post coming this week for you all on the new Kre-O Enterprise set from Hasbro. As I am a Star Trek fan (LOVE IT!) I jumped at this one and to be honest, assembling the ship was really quite the treat and meant some fun with Nondad too. I had no idea he was such a fan of the sets…note to self that his birthday is coming up and now I have ideas .

I’ve also been wearing my various hats for work and running around with that non-stop and trying to get some training in for next year’s big goal of the Disney Princess Half Marathon. After an amazing race, which you can read about here, I managed to do something to my left leg/knee/hip and have been trying to get back to pace ever since. The weather has also not been cooperating with this…but I digress. At least last time I was out, despite the leg feeling a little off (it got better as I moved more) I managed to get a km that was back on my old pace…and that felt pretty darn awesome.

I made a promise to myself too that I would take more time for me and my hubby and we’ve been working on that. We made the tough decision to not go away for a big trip this year and have both been burning the candle at both ends but have so far taken one mini-break and are planning on another one or two coming up. They may be single-night trips, but at least they’re something and we both need them. We’re also planning on a 4-day road trip at some point this summer to Gettysburg! We are both history fans and seeing some of the Civil War sites has been something we’ve both been intrigued by for ages. If you have tips on that, we are welcome to them!

Well friends, I better get back to it. Wishing all of you a wonderful week!

 

Semi-Wordless Wednesday Minnie Style!

For this week, a pic from my slowly growing other blog where I talk about (with my teammate) our ‘Journie’ to the Disney Princess Half Marathon next year. You can check it out at: www.AMinnieJournie.wordpress.com

But here’s us in all our ‘Minnie Glorie’ a couple of weeks ago.

Happy Wednesday!

 

Wordless Wednesday in Purple!

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#Review: The Forgotten Secret by Scott Clements

Simply wow! The follow up to Gasparilla’s Treasure by middle-grade author Scott Clements absolutely did not disappoint.

A great mix of history and adventure, this one is certainly a page turner (or slider if you have an e-reader). I could not put it down.

The story resumes with our favourite trio of treasure hunters basking in the victory of finding Gasparilla’s Treasure and living life a little bit better than before.

Trip, Sarah and Josh are quickly approached by a new character to the mix, Gonzalez, who has an air of mystery to him but presents the intrepid treasure hunters with an offer they simply cannot refuse. I’ll leave it there, I do not want to spoil it for you, but it’s fantastic with twists and turns and a lot of laughs too.

Full of fun ‘Easter eggs’ of references that us adventure movie loving fans will pick up on and page-turning action for the younger readers, this series is fantastic for making kids (and adults) want to read more.

Clements is a genius when it comes to writing visually. You really can ‘see’ the book as you read it and I just love that.

If you are looking for some great reading material for the kids this summer (or sooner!), that will hold their interest and get them excited about reading, check these out. They will not disappoint.

All of Clements’ books are available at his website here: www.HappyBrownDog.com

Migraine Awareness Month Interview with the Experts Part 2

And now Part 2 of my Migraine Awareness Month interviews. This time I interviewed Mary Ellen who has suffered for years with chronic migraines. She offers some wonderful insights and positive messages for those who also have to add coping strategies to their routines.

1. When did these chronic migraines start for you?

At age 21 ( 33 years and counting)

2.  How long do they last and how do you cope?

They could last up to 3 or 4 days. I took many different kinds of pain killers in the beginning – primarily Tylenol 3s. Then I began taking Imitrex and Tylenol 3s. I would isolate myself in a dark room with an ice pack and then when the pain was too great and there was no relief I would call my Doctor, a GP who has been my doctor for the past 22 years, and she would give me a shot of Demoral/Gravol and then I would return to bed and wait for the migraine to end. Now I have a different pain med routine. I take Indorol everyday and I use a 5 mg nose spray of ZOMIG and have regular BOTOX migraine treatment every 3 months.

3.  When you feel one coming on, how do you start prepping for it so that it impacts minimally on your life and work?

I start with liquid Advils right away and then wait about a 1/2 hour. If there is no relief and the headache is progressing into a migraine, I take a nose spray, ZOMIG, and try and lay down if I can. Many times I wake up during the night with a migraine and I spray right away. If the pain continues I take Tylenol 3s as well.

4.  I read that your migraines come on when you are relaxed, oh my, what strategies do you employ to deal with this?

There really isn’t a lot that I can do except I know that one of my triggers is lack of sleep, if I know that there is an special event that I want to attend then I try and get some rest before hand, but most of the time when the stress has subsided it can trigger a migraine. Unfortunately I have had a few challenging holidays where I have been unable to completely enjoy them as I have been suffering from a migraine. I no longer will take a red eye flight as I know that I won’t sleep and I will increase my chances of an attack.

5.  How does your family and workplace cope with your chronic migraines? What advice do you have for others in explaining and dealing with this with their workplaces and families?

I have an extremely supportive family. My older sister suffered, so my siblings and parents were always there for me. I guess I decided a long time ago to tell people what was wrong with me, that this is what my life is, that I cope as best I can and since Botox  I have had very few attacks, my life has changed considerably. I don’t hide it from work either, I tell people what it is like and what I do to try and manage but I have had to miss work I have also attended meetings and had to travel with a migraine but my colleagues know and are as supportive as they possibly can be, they usually want to help in whatever way they can. I have found that when I tell people they understand, they often have a friend or a family member who suffers and they are quick to tell me about their situation. My children have always been aware of my attacks and have been so supportive, they see how much of an effort I make to not miss anything that they are involved in and I know that they both understand the pain as they have each experienced one attack in their lives. Luckily it has only been one attack but it was enough for them to realize what I have to deal with.

6.  As I asked Dr. Shapero, what is your message to sufferers?

To not give up hope, to keep trying, that no two migraine sufferers are the same, our triggers are different, our symptoms can be different and what works for one does not always work for other sufferers. I would tell them to educate themselves, to read and research what is out there about migraine and to talk to their Doctor and keep pressing them to get them the help they need to refer them to migraine specialists. I have been seeing Dr. Rose Giammarco for 1.5 years and have been given a new life. I have travelled, worked and lived almost completely migraine-free since my first visit. Migraine may always be a part of someone’s life but with the proper support and medical care I believe we can live a good life.

Thank you Mary Ellen for your candid answers. You are an inspiration. For more information on Chronic Migraine’s, check out the website: www.mychronicmigraine.ca

As part of this series for Migraine Awareness Month I am also having a giveaway as mentioned in Part 1 of this interview with Dr. Shapero. You can also enter by doing the same things here, leaving a comment and liking on Facebook!