Thursday Thirteen (in pink?!?)

Thirteen Things on Speakeasy's Mind 1. I seem to post more Thursday 13's than other posts because I'm too busy reading some excellent blogs (listed on the side of my blog), namely; UrbanMummy, Penelope and Bumblebee, Haley-o, Shroom-Monkey and the now in hiding Magic Carpet Ride. Keep up the great writing ladies! 2. After the airplane landed Monday night from Newark, NJ to Toronto, my son, the Happy Boy - still awake at 11pm decided to wave and say "bye bye" to every passenger leaving the plane. Almost all of them gave him a huge smile and wave back. That kid is so friggin cute! 3. Poor, pregnant, tired, worn out UrbanMummy! She needs to rest. A lot! But she has a paper to complete for school that she should be working on right now, rather than reading this post. Only 7 weeks to go, and she's beat. Although I am now looking forward to some home-birth stories from Penelope. 4. Why is it so hard to find people to take all the wonderful business ideas I/we have and put them into place? Doesn't anyone want to make money anymore? Or I guess everyone is making too much money that they don't want to have to put in an effort to make more. Why bother? 5. Last week we stayed at a family resort about 2 1/2 hours north of Toronto, in Haliburton, called Wigamog. It was at this resort that the Happy Boy slept in a crib in the bathroom, clearly not ready for a "big boy bed". And boy did he sleep well. 6. It was also at this resort that the Happy Boy ate and ate and ate. His vocabulary grew as big as his tummy. He communicated better than ever, and ate his weight in cooked veggies. All this while still finding time to throw chunks of watermelon at the table next to us. 7. At Wigamog, UrbanMummy and I played Bocce (she was awesome), tried archery, and I played croquet. The real "highlight" for me was limping off the tennis court after some idiot Dad with a really bad dye job stuck his hockey under my foot resulting in me rolling my ankle. It was during a ball-hockey tournament, and after scoring our teams only 2 goals, I had a breakaway to send our team to the finals when this happened. He thought it was great that I couldn't play (or walk). They scored seconds later. My ankle/foot is purple and black. Thank goodness I'm already on nuproxin for the sciatic pain. 8. Again at Wigamog, we took the Happy Boy in a kyack for the first time. He loved it. I loved having the family there on the water. Relaxing. Even funnier was listening to him quack at the ducks, and watching him grabbing at the Lilypads. 9. What would be an awesome baby-gift for UrbanMummy for baby number 2? Number one was an eternity band. Need help with number 2, though. 10. Why am I not in bed? It's late and I need to be at work - as usual - before 8am. Hmmm. Schedule needs re-adjusting again. 11. Just thinking about my wife's Uncle David who died very suddenly in New York on Friday. It was from the Wigamog, that we went to NY for the "viewing" and funeral. See www.urbanmummy.com/journal for more detailed info. He was a gentle man. Always very quiet and very nice. He'll be missed. 12. At the BINGO hall after the funeral I ate baked beans, sausage, and some crazy-ass breaded chicken wings. I avoided the ambrosia salad and other pork products. I was shocked that there was a reception after the funeral, and that the BINGO hall was standing. It was a decrypted old building in a not-so-nice part of NY where they lived. I felt like I was in the mid-south, like Craplanta. LOL. Seriously, thought, it was a once in a life-time experience. I don't often get to hang out with white trash. When the phrase "youse guys" is uttered, I cannot help but to make a face. I'm very expressive. 13. Only 5 more days until my next class begins. Organizational behavior and the Canadian Securities Course will be keeping me plenty busy. Oh, and the coming child. Links to other Thursday thirteen's! 1. (leave your link in comments, IÂ’ll add you here!)

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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. ItÂ’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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You smell that???

Can you?

Maybe it's just a Toronto thing, maybe not. For the past couple weeks, when I walk from the house to the subway, I get overwhelmed with this horrible smell of, I think, garbage. It's really bad. I've had to hold me breath. Maybe some of my local blog buddies and bunnies can let me if they've noticed it too. Might be time to call the City Councillor - a friend - and see what can be done. I don't want to wish for summer to be over so I can breathe, but I might have to.

Who has gone to the CNE? I really wanted to get out to the EX this year, but I know that the UrbanMummy would never be able to trek around the grounds and doubt that the Happy Boy would like to walk through the buildings and watch Daddy rule the "Whap a Mole" game. I win EVERY time!!! Unless the game is fixed - and they usually are at the CNE. This is the same reason we didn't make it to the zoo this summer. :(

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Things to do before the baby is born - ETA October 13, 2006.

1. Set up the bedroom for the impending home birth items as requested by our mid-wives

2. Set up our room for the new addition and move the rocking chair from the Happy Boy's room to our room so bedtime routine will change before the baby arrives

3. Make sure all the baby supplies are here for the new addition, like the smaller size cloth diapers and diaper wraps. Find the miracle swaddle blanket too.

4. Make sure the EI office is aware that both of us will be in need of their services, and that my employer makes sure to pay me too. Love my job for that reason alone.

5. Go over my weekly procedure with my boss and colleagues for when I’m away for 3 months.

6. Make sure I have a baby-gift for the UrbanMummy as a small token of my appreciation for all the pain and discomfort that this pregnancy would have brought her. I think a little home made something from the Happy Boy would be nice too. :)

7. Make sure all the numbers of importance are written down together so I can call whomever I need to, such as Midwives, Moyel (if necessary) Parents, friends, etc.

8. Relax … sit back and enjoy the pseudo-calm that we now have. It will be over soon.

9. Get some sleep before going back to the three-hour schedule.

10. Install the infant car seat into the car

11. Prepare for either a baby-naming (girl) or a bris (boy). List of people to invite, food, etc.

12. Put aside all the infant sleepers and one piece clothes that he/she will live in for the first 3-6 months of his/her life. Make sure they are clean, and organized and in the right place.

13. Pictures, lots of pictures of UrbanMummy and the Happy Boy before, during and after the new baby arrives. Make the schedule inclusive for the Happy Boy and hopefully, he wont want to get rid of the newborn once he realizes the child isn't leaving.

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen foods I have (re)introduced my wife to 1…. Cherries - We bought some on our honeymoon in France and I tought her to spit the pits out of the window. "Pit-spitting" became a trip tradition from there. 2. Peas in a pod - Yummy. Bought a basket at the farmer's market in St. Jacobs, Ontario, and then another basket, then another, then a bushel. When in season, they are irrestible 3. Cammembert - Also from our Honeymoon. When in France, do as the French do. Baguettes, fresh veggies and cammembert. At first, the UrbanMummy would cut off the rind, the best part, but after a while she grew to love it. 4. Beef - This was a tougher one. When I met UrbanMummy, she bas basically a vegetarian and had been for almost 12 years. Me, a carnivore, had to do something about that, so every date we had, I would eat some sort of meat (or flesh, as she likes to call it) and offer her some. It all culminated the night before our wedding, during the out-of-towners dinner when she ate my entire steak from The Wildfire Grill. 5. Chicken Wings - for someone who does not / can not eat flesh off a bone, this was a big challenge. At first it was only the drumstick, leaving me with the crappy wing part. But now, she eats them all. Phew. Now the list changes a little to include foods that I have not eaten that UrbanMummy introduced to me that we eat. 6. Indian Cuisine - I shudder to think what I was missing by not knowing of this delicacy until about 5 years ago. Now, i can't get enough of it. 7. Ethiopian Cuisine - see number 6. 8. Tofu - is actually quite good and very versatile. I like the way it takes the flavour of whatever you are cooking it in. 9. Sour Cream with Taco's - Being Jewish I grew up not mixing meat and milk, so whenever we ate tacos at home, we would have real meat in the tacos, so no sour cream, and tofu cheese. But after marriage, UrbanMummy introduced me to fake meat, and then cheese AND sour cream on my tacos. YUM. I'll never go back. Previously, I only ate sour cream on my french toast (try it!!) and potatoes. 10. Dim Sum - went from being an odd food to a mainstay. My wife loves Dim Sum. It might even have been her first food after baby food. lol. 11. Cookie Crisp - back to a food I introduced to UM, I remember stores pulling all the cookie crisp (probably due to poor sales) and only being able to find it in these kosher-only stores because, well, it was kosher. A few months ago, my sister brought me / us back 3 boxes from the US and it seemed to hit the spot for my expecting mate. She devoured the boxes. I need more !!! 12. Balsamic Vinegar - yuck. Hated it. Everything about it, until I found that UrbanMummy likes to cook with it. Now, a salad isn't a salad, unless it has balsamic vinegar dressing on it. 13. Rolaids - Whatever would the UrbanMummy have done without Cherry rolaids?? Pregnancy heartburn can be a killer. Poor thing has gone through 3 bottles so far this pregnancy. 5 bottles last pregnancy. 2 months to go, and 2 bottles shy. Go Nay Go. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Hell's Kitchen

For those of you who know me, you may be aware that I get to watch very little TV due to my hectic schedule which includes; a very pregnant wife, and wonderful son, and recently moved into house, MBA courses, and a small business or 2.

This leaves me little time for, well, sleep, but TV too. I do try and watch a little sports here and there, like the Blue Jays in the summer, and I try and catch a little RAW or Smackdown to appease my wrestling fix. I have found myself oddly attached to cooking shows and to those shows where they fix up houses either as a favour, or to re-sell.

But recently, I found a show called Hell's Kitchen, and decided it was as lame as all these other reality shows, so I ignored it, until one night I turned on the TV and it was on. I was hooked! I then sought out every minute of every episode I could find and found the concept exciting. I loved the ending and thought Victoria was going to win, not that I wanted her to. I liked Heather better. That idiot Tom, that cut himself on purpose was such an ass. He got what he deserved. "I can't take orders from women", he said. Hello... Loser... it's 2006. I hope that sweaty fucker never gets laid again, unless it's by his own hand. Grrrrr.

Can't wait for season 2.

And for hockey season. GO LEAFS GO.

Ouch...

Just what I needed to go along with my achy back, was to step on a big hunk of broken glass in my backyard, only to have it plunge deep into my heel.

This was my Thursday night adventure while showing my father-in-law the newly cleared back garden, and explaining when the fence was going in. I was barefoot, and stepping out of the garden to keep my son from coming in and wham... pain in the heel.

Bled so much the shower looked like someone had died in there.. Who knew there was so much blood in ones heel??

Nonetheless, after some polysoprin and bandaids, I spent today trying to figure out what hurt more, my back and left leg, or right heel. I'm really not this injury-prone. Well, yes I am. I play hard. I just have a very high pain threshold. Fortunately, the swelling is coming down and I suspect only a few days of limping before going back to, well limping. :)\

Some thoughts for a Tuesday morning...

Pamela Anderson is reportedly pregnant, prompting rumours that her marriage to Kid Rock was pushed ahead due to the unexpected surprise.

Who the fuck cares??? Why is this front page news??? There are wackos in the world blowing each other up over religion but Pam and Kid make front page news, and even worse, there is a picture of Plastic Pam, in a skimpy (sorry, your not natural or 21 anymore) bathing suit and white trash Kid Rock with his bathing suit hanging from his hips with a bottle of beer in his hand and a cigar in his other. This is what happens when money falls into the wrong hands...

Message to children: Want success? Money? Fame? Fortune? Try plastic boobs. Try pretending to sings, or "release" a sex tape, and don't forget to swear a lot, drink, smoke, do drugs... Why not. You'll be famous and the world will bow at your feet.

Why oh why if the earth were to ever open up and swallow anyone whole could it not be these two on their "honeymoon", or maybe the reporters who cover it, or maybe all of us for not sending emails to the media telling them to focus on real news and not this crap.

I hate my stupid Ipod...

I can't figure out how to get music on it.

I don't have administrator access on my computer (it was a hand-me-down laptop, and the password was not) so I cannot install Itunes.

Since UrbanMummy added her version of Itunes for her video Ipod, mine no longer shows up on her computers.

So I have about 135 songs, of which I like about 15 of them, and have been listening to them 5 days a week for almost 3 months.

BORING!

I need new tunes!

I hate my stupid Ipod.

Very Powerful Speech

I had to re-post this speech because it brings up the injustices being launched against the people of Israel, all of them, the Jews, Arabs, Christians, etc.

July 31, 2006
Ladies and gentlemen, leaders of the world. I, the Prime Minister of
Israel, am speaking to you from Jerusalem in the face of the terrible
pictures from Kfar Kana. Any human heart, wherever it is, must sicken
and recoil at the sight of such pictures. There are no words of comfort
that can mitigate the enormity of this tragedy. Still, I am looking you
straight in the eye and telling you that the State of Israel will
continue its military campaign in Lebanon.

The Israel Defense Forces will continue to attack targets from which
missiles and Katyusha rockets are fired at hospitals, old age homes and
kindergartens in Israel. I have instructed the security forces and the
IDF to continue to hunt for the Katyusha stockpiles and launch sites
from which these savages are bombarding the State of Israel.

We will not hesitate, we will not apologize and we will not back off. If
they continue to launch missiles into Israel from Kfar Kana, we will
continue to bomb Kfar Kana. Today, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.
Here, there and everywhere. The children of

Kfar Kana could now be sleeping peacefully in their homes, unmolested,
had the agents of the devil not taken over their land and turned the
lives of our children into hell.

Ladies and gentlemen, it's time you understood: the Jewish state will no
longer be trampled upon. We will no longer allow anyone to exploit
population centers in order to bomb our citizens. No one will be able to
hide anymore behind women and children in order to kill our women and
children. This anarchy is over. You can condemn us, you can boycott us,
you can stop visiting us and, if necessary, we will stop visiting you.

A voice for six million citizens

Today I am serving as the voice of six million bombarded Israeli
citizens who serve as the voice of six million murdered Jews who were
melted down to dust and ashes by savages in Europe. In both cases, those
responsible for these evil acts were, and are, barbarians devoid of all
humanity, who set themselves one simple goal: to wipe the Jewish race
off the face of the earth, as Adolph Hitler said, or to wipe the State
of Israel off the map, as Mahmoud Ahmedinjad proclaims.

And you - just as you did not take those words seriously then, you are
ignoring them again now. And that, ladies and gentlemen, leaders of the
world, will not happen again. Never again will we wait for bombs that
never came to hit the gas chambers. Never again will we wait for
salvation that never arrives. Now we have our own air force. The Jewish
people are now capable of standing up to those who seek their
destruction - those people will no longer be able to hide behind women
and children. They will no longer be able to evade their responsibility.

Every place from which a Katyusha is fired into the State of Israel will
be a legitimate target for us to attack. This must be stated clearly and
publicly, once and for all. You are welcome to judge us, to ostracize
us, to boycott us and to vilify us. But to kill us? Absolutely not.

Four months ago I was elected by hundreds of thousands of citizens to
the office of Prime Minister of the government of Israel, on the basis
of my plan for unilaterally withdrawing from 90 percent of the areas of
Judea and Samaria, the birth place and cradle of the Jewish people; to
end most of the occupation and to enable the Palestinian people to turn
over a new leaf and to calm things down until conditions are ripe for
attaining a permanent settlement between us.

The Prime Minister who preceded me, Ariel Sharon, made a full withdrawal
from the Gaza Strip back to the international border, and gave the
Palestinians there a chance to build a new reality for themselves. The
Prime Minister who preceded him, Ehud Barak, ended the lengthy Israeli
presence in Lebanon and pulled the IDF back to the international border,
leaving the land of the cedars to flourish, develop and establish its
democracy and its economy.

What did the State of Israel get in exchange for all of this? Did we win
even one minute of quiet? Was our hand, outstretched in peace, met with
a handshake of encouragement? Ehud Barak's peace initiative at Camp
David let loose on us a wave of suicide bombers who smashed and blew to
pieces over 1,000 citizens, men, women and children. I don't remember
you being so enraged then. Maybe that happened because we did not allow
TV close-ups of the dismembered body parts of the Israeli youngsters at
the Dolphinarium? Or of the shattered lives of the people butchered
while celebrating the Passover seder at the Park Hotel in Netanya? What
can you do - that's the way we are. We don't wave body parts at the
camera. We grieve quietly.

We do not dance on the roofs at the sight of the bodies of our enemy's
children - we express genuine sorrow and regret. That is the monstrous
behavior of our enemies. Now they have risen up against us. Tomorrow
they will rise up against you. You are already familiar with the
murderous taste of this terror. And you will taste more.

In a loud and clear voice

And Ariel Sharon's withdrawal from Gaza. What did it get us? A barrage
of Kassem missiles fired at peaceful settlements and the kidnapping of
soldiers. Then too, I don't recall you reacting with such alarm. And for
six years, the withdrawal from Lebanon has drawn the vituperation and
crimes of a dangerous, extremist Iranian agent, who took over an entire
country in the name of religious fanaticism and is trying to take Israel
hostage on his way to Jerusalem - and from there to Paris and London.

An enormous terrorist infrastructure has been established by Iran on our
border, threatening our citizens, growing stronger before our very eyes,
awaiting the moment when the land of the Ayatollahs becomes a nuclear
power in order to bring us to our knees. And make no mistake - we won't
go down alone. You, the leaders of the free and enlightened world, will
go down along with us.

So today, here and now, I am putting an end to this parade of hypocrisy.
I don't recall such a wave of reaction in the face of the 100 citizens
killed every single day in Iraq. Sunnis kill Shiites who kill Sunnis,
and all of them kill Americans - and the world remains silent. And I am
hard pressed to recall a similar reaction when the Russians destroyed
entire villages and burned down large cities in order to repress the
revolt in Chechnya. And when NATO bombed Kosovo for almost three months
and crushed the civilian population - then you also kept silent. What is
it about us, the Jews, the minority, the persecuted, that arouses this
cosmic sense of justice in you? What do we have that all the others don't?

In a loud clear voice, looking you straight in the eye, I stand before
you openly and I will not apologize. I will not capitulate. I will not
whine. This is a battle for our freedom. For our humanity. For the right
to lead normal lives within our recognized, legitimate borders. It is
also your battle. I pray and I believe that now you will understand
that. Because if you don't, you may regret it later, when it's too late.

I have real issues with the hyprocracy that is the United Nations and how quick they are to condemn Israel for defending itself, while allowing Hezbollah to fire Iranian and Syrian rockets into Israel from right beside their fucking base. Then when Israel destroys the launcher, they "strongly condemn" the actions. I'm not really surprised, though, the whole security council is made up of terrorist countries or dictatorships. Give me a break. The UN stands for no one.

Thursday 13

Thirteen Reasons to Blog 1. Great way to meet new, interesting and cool people, like your neighbours 2. A place to vent where they may not be others willing to listen 3. Provides a venue to divulge information you've been storing in your brain (or desk drawer). 4. Provides a venue to seek answers and clarification on a variety of issues from other "experts" 5. A way to have an Internet presence 6. Gives experience in HTML and other languages for those willing to experiment 7. Helps put you life into perspective seeing other peoples successes and failures 8. To get out your message as you strive to one day become Prime Minister of Canada 9. Gives you a venue to post picture of your kid kissing the neighbours kid in the playground tunnel 10. I blog to connect with geniuses 11. To make money ($$$$). How else can I promote my now small, soon to be big, promotional business. If you need anything customized, pens, mugs, t-shirts, convention bags, sports jerseys, golf balls, etc. I do it! Drop me and email and let's get it done. Remember, UrbanDaddy, UrbanMummy and The Happy Boy are soon to be welcoming another member into the family and need spare change for non-commercial clothes and Star Wars toys (and to feed the UrbanMummy scrapbook habit). 12. Because vanity plates are too restricting and Play Dough is no longer a viable option. 13. blog to be part of a community of people whom I respect; I want to understand their thinking and I want them to understand mine. I blog to be part of the conversation. I blog to remember. I blog refine my thinking. I blog because I don't think I really understand something until I write about it. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, IÂ’ll add you here!)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. ItÂ’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants