And isn't it ironic...dontcha think?

Alanis Morisette knows what she's talking about.

I find it fairly ironic that I am currently reading this series because my 10 year old would like to read it when I was already reading Harold Robbins' and Sidney Sheldon's smut filled violence at the same age.

So far I've made it through Twighlight and New Moon and haven't been clutching my pearls in fear of what my daughter may glean from the pages. Seems pretty innocent to me so far (says the Harold Robins reading 10 year old.) Neither have I been enthralled with the story line or writing style. I asked Allie if she was really liking the books and she gave a sort "of ho-hum , they're all right" answer. Why then, am I patiently waiting to get my hands on the next book?!?! I guess I got sucked in and now NEED to know what happens to Bella, Edward and Jacob. I'm not on Team Edward or Team Jacob so I have no horse (or werewolf, as the case may be) in this race. I also heard the books get a little more risque as the series progresses so maybe I'm anxiously awaiting this but something tells me Stephenie Meyer probably didn't take notes from Robbins and Sheldon.

Three-Ten-Thirty-Thirty-Greco!

I am lucky enough to be married in to a family that takes its pizza pretty seriously. So seriously that they own and operate a large number of "Greco" pizza franchises (a Maritime based company.)  Now, I may have mentioned here before that I don't particularly care for pizza...I know, strange, isn't it? However I absolutely love all things donair. Donairs, super donairs, donair pizza, donair subs, donair flipwiches (donair fixings wrapped in pizza dough which has been slathered with heart attack inducing amounts of garlic butter and then baked and coated with even more garlic butter.) Back in my university days when all my floor mates were ordering pizza delivery I was pretty much the lone donair eater...as an aside, the absolute BEST SUPER DONAIRS come from the Wheel in Antigonish, NS. If you are ever down that way try 'em. I'm seriously pushing my alma mater (St.FX) on the girls, not for its excellent rankings in McLeans or its small school mentality and strong social network (you all know what I mean by that!) but just so I could visit them and make a side trip to the Wheel.

When we go home to the Maritimes we are treated to Greco meals many days (usually on the days we aren't being fed lobster, scallops, crab, oysters, etc. - sometimes we eat both Greco and seafood in one day but that is just mean of me to share that with you.) Do you think it is a bad thing to have a donair flipwhich for lunch AND dinner?

When we travel home to the Maritimes we do the obligatory Maritime touristy things, number one being head to the ocean. One of the things on the top of the girls' list of things to do is to actually go to Greco and eat in. See, we normally have large gatherings and order multiple pizzas, garlic fingers, wings (and a donair flipwhich or two) so the "eat in" part doesn't suit us very well. We do make sure that the girls do get to eat in at least once every trip but this year was extra special. We planned to go in between the lunch rush and the dinner crowd so they could actually enter their own orders in the computer and then make their own food. Talk about a thrilling experience for them (and an enlightening one for me - this is where I actually saw how much garlic butter goes on a flipwhich!)

Here's a layout I created about their experience. If you are a Maritimer you know the jingle that goes with the phone number.

We actually found a Greco in Ontario this summer while "vacationing" in Petawawa. Not sure if it will catch on in the rest of Ontario. I'm sure 90% of the military population in Pet has been posted to Gagetown at some point in their career where they were introduced to Greco so it would be a familiar site to them. My brother in Calgary said that when Pizza Delight (another Maritime chain) first opened out there when you went in all you heard was Maritime accents.

So if I can't get Greco's famous donair flipwhiches here in the Ottawa area I can now get the next best thing. I am thanking (I think????) my mother in law for bringing 5 pounds of Greco's donair meat and the accompanying sauce and pita bread (and lets not forget to mention the lobster and scallops!) on her recent visit. Now I can create my very own Greco donairs in the comfort of my own home. The problem is that the kids and Dan also like them so I have to plan my donair intake to times when the fewest family members are around so that I can stretch my supplies out.

A Hot Date!

A bunch of scrapping friends decided enough was enough! We have been saying for years that we should get together more often to scrap but we find it hard to commit. Funny, none of our husbands has a problem committing to hockey leagues, golf tournaments, traveling around the world (OK...so for Dan that is kind of a work thing and he is pretty committed to bringing home a pay cheque...and I'm pretty committed to spending it.) We usually do our twice yearly weekends away but needed something more to keep us going. Every once in a while we'd organize a get together at someone's house and then madly run around re-organizing furniture, begging for tables and chairs, etc. Always fun but it kind of put the hostess' house in a big mess.

Well, we finally did it!

Stevie took the lead and organized us and now 18 of us have a hot date one Saturday a month for the next year. We are meeting at a local community hall and gasp! have to set up our own tables and chairs but for $3.33 per day I'd say that is a pretty great deal. The best thing is that it is about 8 minutes down the road for me. Umm, on second thought, the best thing is quite possibly the pot luck, but the 8 minute drive is a close second.

Here are a couple of pages from last Saturday. I was working under pressure for the design team reveal over at  ScrapShotz. As usual, I always work best under pressure so the timing of the date couldn't have been better for me. Most of the products used are from Glitz Distressed Couture Collection.

Our next scrapping date is on April 17th. Anyone wanna take bets on whether I actually unpack from March's date before then. The odds are definitely in your favour if you go with "No! She won't unpack"