The awesome life of Tasha...

Where will I be this summer? It's only taken 10 years, but I will be boarding AirCanada flight AC1121 at 7:55 am on July 14th headed for Saskatoon, SK with my son, Gus, and nephew, Ethan.  From there we will be whisked away to my mother's idea of paradise near La Ronge, a mere 5 hour drive from Saskatoon. I have resisted visiting my mom, Joan, over the last decade since she moved across the country, but alas, her latest plea (aka guilt trip!) wore me down. My strong, vital mother pulled the old, I want you here while I am still happy & healthy... not when I am sick and you HAVE to come. Geez louise, she really laid it on thick. But, to her credit, it worked. The visits from my mother to Ontario have been plenty in the last 10 years and we do talk daily. My reluctancy to head over to SK was not due to any silly family feud or anything of that sort. You see, my mom lives a different sort of lifestyle. One that I am completely unfamiliar with... a RUSTIC lifestyle!

  50 Million, can you even imagine that cheque going into your bank account? Well, one lucky former Mt Forest resident, doesn't have to imagine. That's exactly what he is doing this week. Lucky son of a .... He claims he "will continue to work"!!?? Really? Why not give up your job to someone one who is not a multi-millionaire! If you want to work, start your own company, hire people to run it. Create more jobs. But, hey, I am not the one with 8 figures sitting in the bank, what the heck do I know? I started to read the article in the paper but, to be honest, I got too angry to even read the whole thing. Silly, right? I guess its not anger, its pure unadulterated JEALOUSY! I feel like he stole my chance at winning. Really, what are the chances that 2 people with ties to Mt Forest would win? Now, my chances have greatly deteriorated. Thanks, buddy. I actually couldn't sleep thinking about this all the night I found out he won. Crap, I thought I had the w

Do you have a bathroom? After years of being in the restaurant business, I cannot express the happiness I feel at the prospect of having a long weekend off! Long weekends in a restaurant mean more work, longer hours and resentful thoughts to all those happy travellers who stop in and ask "do you have a bathroom?" To which you are always tempted to say, no, sorry we don't, there's a bucket out back you can use though. Do you have a bathroom? I am always shocked when I hear people ask this question, what the heck!? Of course, there is a bathroom! Whether you can use it or find it, now that is the real question. "Do you have a menu?" Nope, sorry we aren't that type of restaurant. "Is everything you have on the menu?" No we have a secret menu too, but we only show that to people we like. Last table in the restaurant... "Oh sorry, are we holding you up?"   Would you like something to drink... "No- I'll hav

  May 12th:   Trillium Run, Mt Forest My first experience at any type of a race, run, whatever you would like to call it, was a wee bit of a shock to me. I had no idea the level of competitiveness in these runners. I thought the fact that they referred to the run as the "5km Road Race" was just a formality. But no, it was definitely a race to the finish... for most. I had no intentions of beating any preconceived time or "medalling" in the race, believe me, no intention at all! But much to my chagrin, EVERYONE'S time was recorded for public view and noted by everyone, and later will be published for even more people to see. It makes me laugh at the thought. And the story of my first race, is for sure that, a laugh! We ran... sort of. Gus, Linda & I made a strong start, but it was a short lived strength. We stuck to our plan of running 2 minutes, walking 1 minute for the first kilometre, after that things definitely started to fall apart!

not sure why I said yes.... My neighbour, Linda, came to me last week and asked if I would like to run 5k with her in the Trillium Run. I am not sure why, but I said sure. Ugggh. I am not a runner, never have been and have to say, not very good at it! I workout, and I do own Vmax Fitness... but working out is something of a necessity rather than for enjoyment for me, I get the job done. So, Gus and I began practicing for our first attempt at a "run". We started with a 1km run /bike ride. That went seemingly well. Then I did the same 1k with wee Rocco on a humid day... i ended up dragging Rocco for part of the way. Upon arrival back at home he promptly plopped himself flat out on the kitchen floor. Gus, Linda & I set out to run 2 minutes, walk 1 minute for our next "5K" run.  (I think it actually was closer to 3.5 - 4K.. but let's not get too picky!) This adventure proved to be too much for the 8 year old... god forbid he give up his Sunday evening to

GUS!