The Chocolate Thief

Merry Christmas to all! We've been celebrating the holidays the last few days with plenty of food (the diet starts next week!) and just being together. It's been wonderful to have both of my daughters home this year.

Last night we decided to go out to see "Les Miserables" which opened yesterday in movie theatres. Great show! Loved the acting and the singing. I remembered the songs from seeing the theatre production many years ago. "Les Miserables" remains one of my top favorite musicals of all time.

Returning home after three hours (yes, the show is that long), we were greeted by a scene of devastation in our living room. Ripped wrapping paper and torn boxes once containing chocolates were strewn over the floor. The culprit - our dog Lou, a notorious chocoholic. In our rush to get to the movie, we'd neglected to put the opened chocolate up high where she couldn't get at it, and left it instead on the coffee table. She cleaned out two chocolate boxes that were almost empty, one box we'd just opened, and an unopened 'chocolate orange' (a solid ball of orange flavored milk chocolate the size of an orange). All that was left were the empty boxes and a dog with a guilty expression.

We really should have known better. The same thing occurred a few Christmases back when the dog ate an entire box of expensive Belgian chocolates given to us by a friend. Back then I'd phoned our veterinary clinic and was advised that chocolate could be toxic to dogs. I was told to give Lou a teaspoon of hydrogen peroxide to make her throw up.

So guess what I was doing last night? Cleaning up after the dog. Merry Christmas to me.

On the bright side, this morning I found the chocolate orange that we thought she'd eaten yesterday. She'd taken it out of the box and then carried it into my office where she'd hidden it behind a box, presumably to finish later. Aside from a couple of teeth marks on the foil wrapper, it was totally intact.



Lou, the notorious chocolate thief

Note to self: next Christmas hide all the chocolate. Otherwise, make sure to have plenty of hydrogen peroxide on hand.

Family Reunion



Cenotaph at Toronto's Old City Hall



I'm back from my mini-holiday in Toronto. It was wonderful to spend time with our oldest daughter and to get to know her boyfriend, who I've only met once before, a little better. I enjoyed being together as a family. With daughter number one living in Toronto now, the four of us don't get to do that too often anymore.

Since the last time we were in Toronto in June, our daughter has gotten a new full-time job and a new apartment. Unfortunately, it's just a one-bedroom apartment which meant that hubby and I slept on an air mattress in the living room. Ughhh! My aching back! I’ve never been so glad to see my bed in all my life.



But despite the less than stellar sleep, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. We got to see a bit of the city and do a little shopping, mostly stuff for our daughter. We also got to see my husband’s nephew and his family for a wonderful visit and a fabulous meal. It happened to be my husband’s birthday so we were treated to a to-die-for chocolate birthday cake.  Our extended family is quite spread out, so we don’t get to see our nephew’s family often enough either. It was a real family weekend.

The weather was fabulous for mid-November, and we did a lot a walking, busing, and subway riding. November 11th was Remembrance Day, and shortly before 11 am, we were on a bus on our way downtown, when the driver asked for a moment of silence to remember our fallen solders. I thought it was a lovely gesture. Unfortunately, we just missed the big Remembrance Day ceremony at Toronto’s old City Hall, but we got to pay our respects at the cenotaph after the services.



Dundas Square, Toronto



I’ve never been to downtown Toronto before, so it was all new to me. Lots of things to see, lots of people on the streets. I have to admit it’s a bit overwhelming. Big city living is exciting, but I’ll stick with life in the slow lane, thank you very much.

So now I’m back home and ready to continue revisions on my current manuscript. Or at least I will be after work. Or maybe after Pilates class. Maybe tomorrow.



I want to submit my current WIP before the deadline for submission on December 31. But so far I haven’t been able to fire myself up and get into the right headspace to do the necessary revisions.  I haven’t exactly figured out why. I’ll be exploring my lack of motivation in posts to come.

Do you have anything, writing or otherwise, that you’ve been putting off? Have you had a chance to go on any mini-holidays lately?

Leaving on a Jet Plane

http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=230

By the time you read this, I may be airborne. My husband and I, along with our youngest daughter, are flying to Toronto to see our oldest daughter. She moved there a couple of years ago to go to university, and has stayed on past graduation. We haven’t seen her since her graduation in June, so we’re looking forward to seeing her.

Her birthday was the other day and she turned 27. It’s hard to believe! It seems like only yesterday she was a baby. Of course, I’m not getting any older.

Aside from visiting our daughter, I think we’ll do a little sight-seeing and a little shopping. And we’re going to see our nephew and his family who also live in the Toronto area. I’m looking forward to this little mini-vacation.

But on the other hand, I’ve got a full plate here at home. I have a manuscript that needs editing and a blurb and synopsis to write if I want to submit before the deadline. I’m trying to get this blog off the ground, and my website always needs work. Don’t even get me started on the work I still need to do on Facebook. I feel guilty for leaving. Almost.

There never seems to be enough time for the writing, or for all the necessary promotion. But that can’t mean I take time away from family in order to write.

I know I need to can the guilt. Family always comes first. But when life gets crazy, what do you do? Do you let something go, or do you put it in high gear and try to do everything?