A Walk in the Park

Hey...ho...I'm back. Whew, this past week was kind of a rough one. I worked too much overtime and got in an argument with HR, almost died of strep throat (overdramatic, yes but the ambulance was involved at one point) and received a hefty tax bill in the mail. I've been mad face since Friday but am dealing. And as my Norwegian aunt says in a deep slavic voice "stop your complaining!" (when speaking about Canadians in general at a lunch we had recently).

I decided to deal by going shopping and buying myself a pair of badly needed shorts to enjoy this beautiful weather that we all expected to have all weekend. Unfortunately, the only glimpse of said nice weather was this evening, when B and I decided to take to the streets:

This girl is all about enjoying every single moment of life, even when life puts things up your nose. I think I'm going to take a page from her book of life and not sweat the small stuff.

We also took B to the aquarium for the first time ever on Saturday. And I must say, this girl is more interested in playing and interacting with all the people rather than really caring about the big fish. And much more interested in her goldfish crackers than the beluga whale show. She has an agenda of her own and I truly love it.

Remembering Pixie

I guess it's been ages since I updated y'all on life in casa Bella Vida. I had been so busy leading up to my grandma's memorial that I hadn't had a chance to post about it. It's now been a week since family gathered and remembered the life that was. It went off well, we chatted and nibbled and celebrated a fiercely independent woman's life. And here is the montage I put together to accompany the speeches (WARNING: I am posting this for Bella's sake when she's older...not sure it will be of any interest to anyone else):

The theme of all the speeches was that my grandma was unlike no other. She was a liberated, independent woman...a woman who "wasn't into mothering" but rather into living life to its fullest. She was a woman who never ran out of words in any situation. She was a man's woman...or should I say, she loved men and men loved her. Even in her care home, she preferred sitting with the men. She always said they were more interesting. And I remember the day she asked that I call her Pixie rather than grandma...not wanting to give away her age.

During the speeches, my brother kept walking in and out of the room, at times just poking his head in to say (loudly) "Linda, Victor wants to ask you something". Or "MA, can you come here?". Meanwhile, Victor was outside with Bella as she rapped on the window "Moooooommmy!!!". It's nice to be wanted but man, I just wanted to listen to the speeches. Overall though, it was great. You can't have a family gathering without some entertainment I guess.

Speaking of family, I feel badly for the mom dissing in my last post. She's actually quite an amazing woman but there are times where a daughter and her mother have issues, no? Can't always be perfect. C'est la vie and life goes on.

Now I better get back to vegging. It's been a tough week and Bella is mad ills. Like illa sick. She had popsicles for the first time today, which was fun. But that was the extent of fun. She's also been super snuggly which is the BEST thing in the world. Yet it's not because she wants to be, she's just too tired to squirm or squawk or push herself out of my arms.

That's it, I'm outtie. Ciao for now.