Fooling Mommy

Two things: Yesterday was the re-opening of the library closest to my house and it was so exciting! Now I can walk to the library and go every day if the week if I so choose. And the bonus is...they even have a book club that meets every month! Yay! Happy dance! This morning, I sent The Boy out on the porch to get into his stroller. As I shut the door behind me, he ran into the back yard instead. I came around the corner and saw him there and then told him to get into the stroller. He looked up, pointed and said, "At! At!" which is Boy-ese for "Cat" (or "Hat," depending on context). I looked behind me and fully expected to see Abby, once again sneaking out of the house in a misguided attempt to seek freedom. But, there was no cat at all. When I looked back at The Boy, he laughed and ran in towards the house. Curses! Outwitted by a Toddler! I am so humiliated! A CANADIAN FACT! The fact is, I can't believe that The Boy tricked me. He's an evil genius!

Photo Gallery Part A

Last night, The Sopranos was on broadcast TV and they actually said the "F" word, unbleeped! Oooooh, Canada! I'm tell-ing! Anyway, I promised to show some pictures that I took over the last week and here's a few. Here is a mural that is part of a series that were put up this summer. This mural is on the side of a Chinese restaurant that DH and I frequent called, Celline Garden. There are two other murals that I know of, but I haven't taken pictures of one and I the pictures I DID take of the other, were way too dark to post up here. So, I'll try again later. Here is another picture. Can you guess what it is? Well, I can give you a hint. It is not an ear, nose and throat doctor. Have you figured it out yet? The answer to all your burning questions are HERE. A CANADIAN FACT! The fact is, I'm so ashamed for not listing the Degrassi series of television programs yesterday in my list of popular Canadian TV shows. Dummy!

CANCON!

I spent most of last week pulling a Sundry and taking pics of Toronto and I hope to get those up this week. Last night was the Emmys and if you stayed to the thrilling finale, you got to see Canada's favorite son, Kiefer Sutherland, win a Best Actor Emmy for 24. Yay, Kiefer! Of my trio of TV boyfriends, Steph(v)ens, Carrell and Colbert and Jon Stewart, only Jon won his own two awards. Boo! Since the Emmys are over and the new Fall season has sorta begun, now would be the perfect time to explain the concept of Canadian Content and why that means that I can't watch Best Week Ever anymore. What is Canadian Content? Well, according to the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission, "Simply put, it's about Canadian artists and Canadian stories having access to Canadian airwaves." It means that 60% of all television must be "Canadian" or, officially: "Evaluation of Canadian content in a television program is based on the following criteria: whether its producer and key creative personnel are Canadian; the amounts paid to Canadians for services provided to make the program; and amounts spent in Canada on lab processing." Cancon rules are in place so that US television programming doesn't completely swallow Canadian television whole. So, no Best Week Ever for me. Not Canadian enough. However, Canadian networks have frequently fulfilled Cancon requirements by airing series produced in Canada but intended primarily for the lucrative United States market. Recent examples include Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye, Zoe Busiek: Wild Card, and Stargate: SG-1. Even the current run of Doctor Who, a BBC/CBC co-production filmed in Britain, might be considered Cancon - the definition includes all programming produced in-house by the CBC. Probably the most famous example of Canadian Content are the the "Great White North" sketches on the comedy series, SCTV with the characters Bob and Doug McKenzie. The sketches were created to both fulfill and make fun of the Canadian content rules, as the sketches were loaded with Canadian stereotypes. Take off, Hoser! A CANADIAN FACT! In addition to SCTV, some other popular Canadian shows that are shown in the United States include, The Red Green Show, Kenny vs. Spenny and Da Vinci's Inquest.

Toronto Crime Blotter

So, The Boy and I were walking to the store after I picked him up from day care yesterday. We had just passed the front door of a LCBO Liquor Store and just then I hear a man yelling "You're under arrest! Call 911!" The man, an LCBO employee, had jumped on the back of another man, who was, I guess, under arrest. The LCBO employee was pounding on the guy and yelling at his co-worker to call the police. As LCBO guy was trying to subdue the Accused, another guy in a grey hooded sweatshirt jumped off his bike and entered the fray. Now there is a group of four people, LCBO guy, his co-worker with the phone, Accused guy and Hoodie, wrestling on the sidewalk in front of the liquor store. I didn't stay long enough for the cops to get there, but I probably stayed a lot longer than I should have. I don't know if LCBO employees can legally perform citizens' arrests. I mean, technically, since the LCBO is a government-owned liquor store (as all liquor stores in Ontario are), the the employees are, technically, government employees. Maybe, a stretch perhaps. The LCBO website says that they try to prevent minors and intoxicated persons from buying alcohol, but it doesn't say anything about beating the crap out of a guy. But, not to worry, The Boy and I are ok and we made it to the grocery store in one piece. A CANADIAN FACT! As per the LCBO website, "The LCBO is the largest single purchaser of beverage alcohol in the world and one of the largest retailers, buying wine, spirits and beer from 67 countries for Ontario consumers and licensees."

Boy Update

On Monday, The Boy and I went to his first Canadian pediatrician appointment. Overall it went really well, my only complaint being that the waiting area was really small with no toys and a wide open door. The Boy kept running out the door and into other doctor's offices. Oh, it was cute the first 87 times, but I was trying to fill out paperwork and it made me look foolish to the other mothers. I always find that I'm comparing myself to other parents. Of course it's not fair if the other mother has a 6 month old and I have a busy toddler, but I can't help it. I doubt I'm alone in feeling this way. Anyway, when we finally got in to see the doctor, the appointment was actually pretty quick. The Boy was a robust 30 lbs. and I forget how tall, but he's in the 75-95th percentile on height, weight and head circumference, so he's proportionate. He's also healthy, talking a blue streak and running around. He's doing really well. When he got his immunization, I got to hold him in my lap and he only cried for a minute. By the time we were in the waiting area again, he was back to running around. He really is a busy boy. We were trying to come up with all of The Boy's vocabulary words and we came up with quite a lot. Some of his current favorites are "Elmo," "bolo" (which means book, I guess), "baby" (which means anyone in a stroller, regardless of age) and, happily, "Daddy." He loves books and his favorites are "Goodnight, Moon" and "The Big Red Barn." We read them every night before he goes to bed. He'll crawl under the covers and lay back on the pillow and wait for his stories. He's really a great little boy and he's so much fun.

Coming Out of Hiding

I know. I know. Trust me, I know. I've been slacking off on the blog, as I don't use every minute my valuable free time (and I'm still super busy at work) to jot down my thoughts on the Internets. But, I'm here to give all four of my readers an update on the comings and goings of the "American" family. This past weekend was the Taste of the Danforth festival here in Toronto. The Danforth is the center of Toronto's Greektown and so, naturally, a lot of the food was Greek. Since we live only a few blocks away, we had no choice to walk up and take a look. But we didn't eat any Greek food. We went to Pizza Pizza, instead. They say it's the largest street festival in the world, and while I have no real documentation for that fact, it certainly looked pretty crowded to me. We could barely move the stroller through the dense crowd. Here is some video footage about the festival. It also gives you a brief look the Danforth, where I spend quite a bit of my time spending my hard-earned money. Going on at the same time was Shakespeare in the Rough, which was presenting "Antony and Cleopatra" in Withrow Park. There wasn't a huge crowd and I don't know if anyone could hear the actors what with the neighborhood ice cream truck playing music and all the kids in the playground not too far away. But, you know, good for them! Even the mighty oak started as a tiny acorn. That's all for now, but later this week I'll give you the thrilling story of The Boy's latest doctor checkup.

Grandma and Aunt Freyapup Visit

Sorry for the repeated posting delays, but I can't help that work keeps me super busy in summer. Yesterday was the August Civic holiday here in Toronto. I guess the powers that be in Canada make sure that every month has a long weekend to enjoy. We especially enjoyed this long weekend as Devoted Husband's Mom and sister came up to visit us for the first time since the Big Move. We kept pretty busy hitting all the usual places, the Riverdale Farm, the stores downtown, etc. The weather was lovely the entire weekend. They brought The Boy lots of cute toys and clothes and they brought me an awesome Peep to put on my backpack. Hopefully, we'll get some new pics soon. I guess everyone had a good time, but the only one who I was sure had a good time was The Boy. He always has a good time, that one.

$25 Million For Me!

Whoo-hoo! I always wanted to get my own copy of this legendary email in my inbox. I knew all my hard work was due to pay off. I guess now I can move to Easy Street and live the good life. See below... (all typos and misspellings courtesy of the author, Mr. Ahmed) FROM THE OFFICE MR KARIM AHMED. AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK (ADB). OUAGADOUGOU BURKINA FASO. WEST AFRICA. TRANSFER OF ($ 25,200.000.00) TWENTY FIVE MILLION, TWO HUNDREN THOUSAND DOLLARS. I AM KARIM AHMED, THE AUDITOR GENERAL OF AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK HERE IN BURKINA FASO. DURING THE COURSE OF OUR AUDITING, I DISCOVERED A FLOATING FUND IN AN ACCOUNT OPENED IN THE BANK BY MR JOHN KOROVO AND AFTER GOING THROUGH SOME OLD FILES IN THE RECORDS I DISCOVERED THAT THE OWNER OF THE ACCOUNT DIED IN THE (BEIRUT-BOUND CHARTER JET) PLANE CRASH ON THE 25TH DECEMBER 2003 IN COTONOU (REPUBLIC OF BENIN). HERE IS THE(WEBSITE=HTTP://WWW.CNN.COM/2003/WORLD/AFRICA/12/26/ BENIN.CRASH/INDEX.HTML).AND NOBODY HAS OPERATED ON THIS ACCOUNT AGAIN, THE OWNER OF THIS ACCOUNT IS MR JOHN KOROVO A FOREIGNER, AND A TRADER WHO TRADE ON GOLD AND MINING, HE DIED, SINCE 2003 AND NO OTHER PERSON KNOWS ABOUT THIS ACCOUNT OR ANY THING CONCERNING IT, THE ACCOUNT HAS NO OTHER BENEFICIARY AND MY INVESTIGATION PROVED TO ME AS WELL THAT MR JOHN KOROVO DIE ALONG WITH HIS TIRED FAMILY. THE AMOUNT INVOLVED IS (USD 25.2 M) TWENTY-FIVE MILLION, TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS ONLY , I AM CONTACTING YOU AS A FOREIGNER BECAUSE THIS MONEY CAN NOT BE APPROVED TO A LOCAL PERSON HERE, BUT CAN ONLY BE APPROVED TO ANY FOREIGNER WITH VALID INTERNATIONAL PASSPORT OR DRIVERS LICENSE AND FOREIGN ACCOUNT BECAUSE THE MONEY IS IN US DOLLARS AND THE FORMER OWNER OF THE ACCOUNT MR JOHN KOROVO IS A FOREIGNER TOO, AND THE MONEY CAN ONLY BE APPROVED INTO A FOREIGN ACCOUNT. I NEED YOUR STRONG ASSURANCE THAT YOU WILL NEVER, NEVER CHEAT ME AS SOON AS THIS FUND HIT INTO YOUR ACCOUNT. WITH MY INFLUENCE AND THE POSITION OF THE BANK OFFICIAL WE CAN TRANSFER THIS MONEY TO ANY FOREIGNER'S RELIABLE ACCOUNT WHICH YOU CAN PROVIDE WITH ASSURANCE THAT THIS MONEY WILL BE INTACT PENDING OUR PHYSICAL ARRIVAL IN YOUR COUNTRY FOR SHARING. THE BANK OFFICIAL WILL PROVE ALL DOCUMENTS OF TRANSACTION IMMEDIATELY FOR YOU TO RECEIVE THIS FUND LEAVING NO TRACE TO ANY PLACE AND TO BUILD CONFIDENCE. ON THE CONCLUSION OF THIS TRANSACTION YOU WILL BE ENTITLED TO 30% OF THE TOTAL SUM AS GRATIFICATION, WHILE 10% WILL BE SET ASIDE TO TAKE CARE OF THEEXPENSES THAT MAY ARISE DURING THE TIME OF TRANSFER AND ALSO TELEPHONE BILLS, WHILE 60% WILL BE FOR ME. SO ON THE INDICATION OF YOUR WILLINGNESS I WANT YOU TO FORWARD TO ME YOUR :FULL NAME: SEX: COMPANY: IF ANY FULL CONTACT ADDRESS: PHONE: CELL: FAX: CITY: STATE: ZIP CODE COUNTRY: OCCUPATION AND ALL THE NECESSARYINFORMATION WILL BE SENT TO YOU ON THE ACCEPTANCE TO CHAMPION THIS TRANSACTION WITH ME. HERE IS MY PRIVATE TELEPHONE NUMBER: 00226 76 12 29 38. THANKS YOURS TRULY KARIM AHMED This is almost as good as the time I won the European Lottery when I didn't even buy a ticket. See ya, suckers! A CANADIAN FACT! There have been over 400 reported complaints in Canada for this exact email fraud.