Killer Cover

Love this cover of 'Human' (The Killers) by Robbie Williams on BBC Radio 1.
Brilliant.

He totally makes it his own. So fab.

Happy Birthday Mr. Hart

In celebration of Mr. Corey Hart turning 48 today here is one of my favourite videos by the man with the sunglasses at night.


Everything in My Heart (1985)....he is so dreamy in it.

Inspired Soup....

So I had a version of this soup (based on a traditional soup in Argentina) at the Queensway Carleton Hospital Gala last night at the Casino de Lac Leamy. 

Since I couldn't find pumpkin or chorizo and was too lazy to drive out to La Bottega or Nicastro's for pancetta, I modified it slightly with ingredients that I was able to find at my local Farm Boy.

I think it rivals the one that Chef Tim Wasylko made last night...just saying.  And my husband and kids love it...and in the end that's all that matters.

Ingredients

3 Farm Boy Portuguese sausages [brown them first and then dice them up]
6 strips of bacon [diced up]
1 acorn squash - diced
2 medium turnips - diced
2 small sweet potatoes - diced
1 small cooking onion - diced
3 cloves garlic - minced
1 1/2 packages of Campbell's low sodium beef broth
1 cup frozen corn kernels
salt to taste
2 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp red hot pepper flakes
1 cup of white wine
1 tbsp finely chopped basil
1 cup of water
juice of one freshly squeezed lemon
juice of one freshly squeezed lime
fresh cilantro

Preparation

In a large stock pot on medium heat ...

1. cook diced onion till softened
2. add 3 cloves of minced garlic
3. add diced bacon till cooked
4. add diced sausages
5. add diced squash, turnips, sweet potatoes and frozen corn kernels (cook without adding liquid for about 3-4 min)
5. add paprika, basil and red hot pepper flakes
6. add all the Campbell's beef broth, followed by the 1 cup of water , 1 cup of wine and juice from lemon and lime

Simmer on low heat for 90 min [taste and season with salt to your liking]

Garnish with freshly chopped Cilantro.

Preparation Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

The Dress....

I covet thee.

Foot Wear...

R.I.P Dennis Hopper

Concert Heaven

How my screams were not heard all over the city of Ottawa...I don't know.
David Gray and Ray LaMontagne together...in concert.

August 27, 2010 at the Molson AMP in Toronto.
For realz.
Bliss.

And cue continued squeals of delight.

Concert roadtrip indeed.

David...




Ray...

The Journey

Love this track from Richard Ashcroft....'The Journey'.  I love the Brit music scene.

R.I.P Gary Coleman

Do NOT Mess With Season Finales.

LMAO moment of the day.
Hell hath no fury like a Criminal Minds fan scorned.
Mother Nature can be such an inconsiderate bitch.

See more funny videos and Entertainment Videos at Today's Big Thing.

Ozzy's Moment of Pure Brilliance...

Ozzy Scare at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum.

Lee Dewyze: American Idol

Enough said.

Wordless Wednesday.

Sex and the City 2 premiere. World Exchange Plaza.

Shoe porn.

Swagger Wagon

Brilliant.
Love this.


SWAGGER WAGON Official Toyota Music Video..."The Sienna SE. You get it for space. But fill it with your family's swagger."

Ramblings from the Motherland

Is amazed and somewhat impressed at the warp speed of one princess of destruction.

How quickly my 2 year old daughter can empty a box of pastina all over the floor (15 min after Mommy vacuumed the main floor) and then make her escape. 

Hopefully this accelerated state of hers will be applied to her homework in the future.

(image credit: David Goliath Trouble Maker)

Ottawa Chldren's Festival

The Ottawa Children's Festival is celebrating their 25th Anniversary this year.

The Ottawa International Children’s Festival was established in 1985 and is an annual celebration of the best in live performing arts for children. For over two decades the OICF has presented an abundance of award-winning artists from around the globe and made wide-eyed children out of attendees of all ages.

New to the festival this year is the Family Games Pavillion.

The festival takes place May 26-30, 2010 at Lebreton Flats Park.

Simply put this festival is inspired and fun...makes you want to be a kid all over again.

For tickets and information: 613-241-0999, www.ticketweb.ca, www.ottawachildrensfestival.ca.

"Toking" with Lawrence Welk

Ahh the Lawrence Welk show.  So good, wholesome and pure...a show that the entire family enjoyed.

Well maybe not as free from sin as Mr. Welk thought...

Guess this one got past the censors. 'One Toke Over The Line'.

Weight Loss Ads

Over the years really haven't come that far when it comes to the allure of weight loss products.

To this day we're still looking for that magic pill, shake or lotion that will instantly transform us into that woman with the ideal fab toned body...

Here are two of my favourite ads from the 20s and 30s...and they do amuse.

Wednesday Musical Inspiration

A brilliantly inspired, feel-good track for your Wednesday.

Matisyahu 'One Day'.

So sick.

This kid's voice is sick.
Amazing...and he's only in Grade 6. Wow.
This is what Greyson Michael (13 years old) had to say about his musical inspiration:

I am very inspired by Lady Gaga and Augustana. Lady Gaga is a freak but she has so much talent and her style of music is what I would like mine to be when im older. Augustana is one of the most underated bands I think ever to step the planet. They have so much talent it is not funny. They have such a good concept with folk and rock. It is very sad that they are so unknown.


His take on Lady Gaga's 'Paparazzi'...at Edmonds Sixth Grade Festival. 

The Court Yard Hounds

Sisters Emily Robison and Martie Maguire are back with some phenomenal new music...but his time not as members of the Dixie Chicks but as the country duo, the Court Yard Hounds...a literary reference to the novel City Of Thieves.

The Dixie Chicks went on hiatus back in 2008. Maguire and Robison decided to record a new Dixie Chicks album in 2009, but when Natalie Maines stated that she was not ready, the sisters decided to record a side project under a different name.  And so The Court Yard Hounds was born.

"It was time," said Emily Robison. “We had been on hiatus from The Dixie Chicks for about a year, I was getting very restless and needed to be creative for my own sanity.  And at the same time I was going through my divorce so it was very fertile ground for writing.” Emily took her sister’s advice to heart and held onto the songs, thinking perhaps they could be new material for The Dixie Chicks.

The Court Yard Hounds’ features Emily Robinson on lead vocals and the songs are profoundly personal and evocative songs (some tracks are based on her divorce from Charlie Robison).  The lyrics are woven into melodies that are both individual and universal. Jakob Dylan of the Wallflowers, makes a guest appearance on the album.

Their self-titled debut album, recorded in Maguire's home studio was released last week. This summer, the ladies will be back on tour as The Dixie Chicks (performing with The Eagles) and then Court Yard Hounds will tour amphitheatres at the end of summer, as part of the Lilith Fair tour.

Finally got a chance to listen to CYH release - simply put, phenomenal.

I'm a huge Dixie Chicks fan and I've always been in awe of the incredible talent of Emily Robison and Martie Maguire as musicians. Emily on lead vocals is a fantastic musical treat.  You will not be disappointed.  The sisters manage to explore a more homespun storytelling style than whet they did with the Dixie Chicks and they do it with an incredible talent that seems almost effortless.

The Court Yard Hounds are definitely worth checking out.

Bad 80s fashions

Someone please explain to me why the most hideous of 80s fashions are back?

A harem pant...in a capri.  Really?

Like really, really?

SATC 2 continues

Another fab track from the SATC 2 soundtrack....

Ricki-Lee 'Can't Touch It'.

SATC 2

A fab new track from the upcoming 'Sex and The City 2' film.

Jennifer Hudson & Leona Lewis. They sound brilliant together. Love it.

'Love Is Your Color'

Vivo Per Lei

One of the most beautiful Italian songs...

Andrea Bocelli & Giorgia...'Vivo Per Lei'...I live for her.

Superficial

Hands down the worst video I've ever sat through in my entire life....hear that Starship [relax 'We Built This City' comes in at a close second'].

Heidi Montag Pratt 'Superficial'.

Yes this is the 'official' video.  So not lying.

Lady Gaga it's not.

Happiness....

Coca-Cola's happiness machine...

MOMoirs...

I found out about this fab contest from a posting on my friend Michelle's blog...so props to her.


From SMITH Magazine:


Six-Word MOMoirs! • CONTEST: Six words on being a mother or your relationship with your mom.


Whether you are a mother or just have one, everyone has a six-word mom story to tell—a "Six-Word MOMoir." SMITH Mag is teaming up with TruuMomConfessions and Postcards From Yo Momma for a six-word mom challenge. We'll choose our favorite six six-word stories about being a mother or your relationship with your own mom. Each winner will get a book of their choice from one of the above sites, or a T-shirt with his or her MOMoir on it from our partner, Spreadshirt.


My entry?  Just in case you were curious...


Karma kicking me in the ass.  


[Yes my dear 2 year old Isabella that one's just for you.  Mommy loves you.]


(photo credit: zazzle.com)

Little minds...

I'm drained.

Emotionally, mentally and this bout of insomnia which I can feel coming on [it's going to be a long night] we can add physically drained to the mix in about four hours.

I'm drained because my 4 year old son wanted to talk about getting really sick, getting old, dying, angels and heaven. The things that go through little minds...it amazes me that they are as aware as they are...

It was not the conversational night-cap I was expecting when I went into his room at 7:30 to read him his three bedtime books. I was caught completely off guard and I stumbled my way through half-assed explanations filled with too many pauses, 'umms' and 'ahs'.

It was not my finest parenting moment.

He came to me to with lots of questions and seeking just as many  answers and I was lost as to how to dumb it down to explain to a 4 year old...a 4 year old who is wiser beyond his years.

The only experience my son has had with death is when my Zio Guido passed away this past Fall.

My son would often go for walks with my dad and they would stop in for visits with my aunt and uncle.
He associated those walks and visits with the balloons, cookies and treats he would ultimately get from my aunt and uncle.

Since my uncle's passing, my aunt moved and just recently sold the house that my son would visit on those evening walks with my dad.  Every time we drive by their old house he always asks if Zio Guido is coming back.

I explained to him, as best I could, that he wasn't coming back. Zio Guido had gotten really sick and he was now in heaven.  I told him that if he missed him that he could talk to Zio Guido in his dreams. I assured him that Zio Guido was safe and that he didn't have to worry about him.  Zio Guido was now an angel and he was happy about being that angel in heaven.

That explanation seemed to have satisfied his curiosity for a few months but lately the subject has resurfaced.  He's concerned about my aunt who is living in a new house by herself.  He often says in passing that he's sad for her because she must be really lonely because she has to eat all by herself and no one kisses her goodnight when she goes to bed.

In the last few days or so, he's become fixated with people getting older and dying.   I know this interest in the subject comes in waves...peaks and valleys kind of thing. And I know it's natural for him to ask these questions...I mean it's life...death is a part of it...but this Mommy is having a hard time digesting the 'how to handle it' part.

Last week he told me that when he got older he was going to be a scientist and invent a vitamin that would keep everybody he loved young so that they couldn't get old and die. Cue the heart melting and Mommy at a total loss at what to say.

Tonight he was really concerned that my dad hadn't been over for lunch in quite sometime...'Mommy I miss having Nonno come over for lunch.  I like when he brings prosciutto and mortadella and the panini.  It's fun having lunch with him.  I don't want to forget what that's like when he comes over for lunch because he's getting old...and one day I can't have lunch with him because he's in heaven and they don't have planes for me to visit and eat with him.  So Nonno should come over tomorrow because I don't want to forget. I don't like that Nonno's getting old. It makes me sad. It makes my heart break.'

Sometimes I forget that I'm talking to a 4 year old boy when I hear him say things like that...he's so curious, sensitive and intuitive way beyond his age.

Before he fell asleep, holding my hand in one hand and his stuffed Teddy and Freddy in the other, he kissed me on my nose and said,  'Mommy I don't want you to die, ever, I'd be so sad because you couldn't read me my books at night.'

And with that he went to bed.  And Mommy just watched him with a heart filled with so much love I though it might explode. I wished in that one single moment that I could stay almost-37 and he could stay 4 years old forever.

For almost 30 minutes I watched him...with tears streaming down my face.

Le sigh.

[photo credit: istock]

Creep...

Seriously how much do I love Macy Gray's cover of Radiohead's 'Creep'? So brilliant. 

There is nothing this woman can't sing.

K'Naan

This FIFA World Cup Anthem is so much better than the one chosen as the official song:  Shakira's 'Waka Waka'.

Love K'Naan and David Bisbal doing 'Wavin' Flag'.

This exemplifies everything about the FIFA World Cup.  Fab.

Alex Cuba

I'm in a total Alex Cuba music vibe mood today....

Momma needs a vacation apparently.

"Agua del Pozo"...

The Better Marriage Blanket

I really need to start inventing things and start selling it...there is apparently money to be made with the stupidest of inventions.

You sell it and people will buy it.

A "fine anniversary or wedding gift" indeed. 

Michou - Eavesdropping

Another fab video by the Canadian band [Windsor, ONT] Michou....

'Eavesdropping'....love the yellow balloons.

Owl City - Train Mash Up

Gotta say I like this mash-up...the two songs really blend well together.

Owl City 'Fireflies' and Train 'Hey Soul Sister'....




(mash up courtesy of viktor666borbely on YouTube)

Hey Soul Sister

Cover of Train's 'Hey Soul Sister'....

Love the ukulele. Awesome cover.