Sunnyside Beach, Toronto, ON

When Gord dropped me off at Beata's on Saturday, we were struck by what a beautiful view there was from her new 'hood.

So today we caught the Queen streetcar to Humber Bay. We took a couple small bottles of wine with us and sat on the rocks.

Downtown Toronto
(it was very hot and hazy today)

Lots of birds ... swans, geese and ducks

Swans

Geese

Gord on the rocks where we sat

A goose bum

More goose bums

We'd sat on the far pile of rocks

Then we walked east to Sunnyside Cafe and sat on the patio for a couple hours.

There's Gord at our table

My beer tasted very good after the long hot walk 

Look how far we'd walked
(from the left side of those buildings)

We had supper at the Cafe.

I had Cajun fettucini with chicken and tomatoes ...
It was very good!

Gord had a chicken wrap and fries ... he enjoyed it.

And look who walked by on her way home from work ... Beata!
So she stopped and had a drink with us

It was fun watching the beach volleyball league and dragon boats

And then we walked home.

Boston Pizza, Ancaster, ON

Gord and I spent the afternoon in Hamilton (about 45 minutes away) with Ken, Gord's son.

We saw Live Free or Die Hard with Bruce Willis and Justin Long.

It's the beginning of the holiday but New York City Detective McClane isn't celebrating. He's had yet another argument with his college-age daughter, Lucy, and received a crushingly routine assignment to bring in a young hacker, Matt Farrell, for questioning by the FBI. But for McClane, the ordinary has a habit of exploding into the extraordinary, abruptly hurtling him into the wrong place at the wrong time. With Farrell's help, McClane slowly begins to understand the increasing chaos surrounding him. An attack is underway on the vulnerable United States infrastructure, shutting down the entire nation. The mysterious figure behind the scheme, Thomas Gabriel, stays several moves ahead of McClane as he implements his incredible plans, known to uber-geeks like Farrell as a "fire sale" (as in, everything must go!) .

It wouldn't have been my pick for a movie but Gord and Ken wanted to see it. Surprisingly it was pretty good. Very farfetched but the action was fun!

Then we went to Boston Pizza for an early supper.

Gord and Ken

Teena and Ken

Gord, Teena and Ken

Book ~ "The Reverse Diet" - Tricia Cunningham and Heidi Skolnik (2006)

From Amazon. com ~ The adage "breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper" inspired this book, for Cunningham, a motivational speaker who lost 172 pounds in nine months with that approach. She and coauthor Skolnik, a nutritionist, met while filming a food-centric segment for Good Morning America, and have paired up to recommend a lifestyle change that emphasizes fueling up with a larger meal early in the day and, in the later hours, replenishing as needed via snacks and smaller meals. While much of the duo's advice is not new (whole foods are preferable to processed ones, eat more vegetables, avoid sugary sodas), it is intriguing. Food lists, portion information and recipes help with planning ahead — preparing meals ahead of time is also key, the authors say. A section on setting realistic goals aims to help readers manage their expectations, and recommendations for using a "hunger scale" encourage mindfulness.

I've read about this concept before and it makes sense to me to eat the larger meal in the morning and smaller at night. I tend to be a grazer so I'll try this strategy after our vacation to see how if it makes a difference.

There is a website and forum to support the program.

Book ~ "Dirty Laundry" - Tori Carrington (2007)

From Amazon.com ~ Five months have passed since Sofie Metropolis caught her would-be husband, "Thomas-the-Toad," flagrante delicto with her maid of honor on their wedding day. In this cute if predictable sequel, the zany Greek-American from Astoria, Queens, is a PI-in-training, working on mundane cases for her uncle Spyros's investigative agency. When Apostolis Pappas (aka Uncle Tolly), the popular elderly owner of the neighborhood dry cleaners, goes missing, Sofie jumps at the chance to find him. The only catch is Uncle Tolly might have been laundering money for a sexy Italian mobster. Carrington (nom de plume for a Greek-American husband-and-wife writing team) depicts Sofie's world with the nutty sweetness of baklava. With the focus on fun rather than blood, this chick-lite mystery further develops Sophie's relationship with Jake Porter, the handy but possibly dangerous Aussie bounty hunter, who adds just the right amount of delectable sexual tension to this crime confection.

This novel reminds me of a Stephanie Plum wannabe. There are lots of similaries but this series is lamer. It was okay but didn't have the same fun as Evanovich's series. The mystery was solved at the end but it wasn't really a mystery, no big deal.

Would I recommend it? Yes, if you have nothing else to read.

As Sophie is Greek, I found I had a craving for Greek food the last couple of days so satisfied that tonight by getting takeout from a local Greek restaurant.

Fish Philosophy Network

During the week I mentioned that I was thinking lately about the Fish Philosophy. I've read the books and seen the movie and felt the urge to be reminded about their four simple principles.

1. Be There - To “be there” for another person has a powerful effect. Think about how good it feels when someone gives you her or his undivided attention, focusing on your needs and feelings. Now think about how it feels when someone with whom you are “interacting” barely looks at you.
   
   
2. Play - Everyone can benefit from a little lightening up during the day. People who find ways to incorporate “play” into their daily lives approach their work, responsibilities and challenges with energy and enthusiasm.
   
   
3. Make Their Day - “Make their day” can be a big production — giving a present, taking someone out to dinner — but it doesn’t have to be. It might be as simple as holding open a door for someone, asking about a person’s family, saying thank you. It might mean telling a friend, from your heart, how much you appreciate all they do for you. It moves past just being civil or pleasant — it’s taking that extra step you didn’t have to take. And that makes all the difference.
   
   
4. Choose Your Attitude - Most of us believe our attitudes are caused directly by outside influences like unpleasant experiences or negative people. But while external pressures may trigger our feelings, we are the ones wearing those feelings like a suit of clothes. We can either be subservient to external events, few of which we have any control over, or we can take charge of our own response.

As a result, I got a comment from Griff Wigley who is the Manager, FISH! Philosophy Network, about a site that they are launching this summer.

I joined and so can you! Click here to check it out.

Beata's Condo-warming

Beata moved into her condo two months ago and invited the Boxing Babes over to check it out. Beata's condo is very cute. Her building is right on the Lake.

I met Beata through Yvette. Yvette was my trainer at the gym in 2004. Then I took her boxing classes for a couple years. Beata, Susan, Shawna and Trish also took her classes. Now we get together every month or so for supper.

Beata in her kitchen

Beata and Susan

Yvette and Shawna "the Shark"

Beata and "Tombstone" Trish

Trish, Jen (Susan's friend), Susan, Shawna and Beata

Teena and Yvette

The Boxing Babes
Beata, Shawna, Trish and Susan
Yvette and Teena

Dark Horse Pub, Toronto, ON

I met some friends tonight at A Dark Horse Pub in Bloor West Village (Bloor W/Jane) tonight. Lots of fun! Lots of laughs!

I've known Angie since 2001 when I joined Girls' Night Out Club, a women's social group she started. I met the other gals through the club. Coincidentally Darlene moved into my 'hood last month (and I've run into her about five times!).

Chris, Angie, me, Yvonne and Darlene

Darlene, Ian (a friend of Chris') and Chris

Rob (Angie's boyfriend), Angie and Yvonne 

Yvonne, Sue and I

Frank (Chris' boyfriend) and Chris 

Rob and Angie

Bungalow Cafe, Toronto, ON

To celebrate our anniversary, we went to the Bungalow Cafe, a restaurant in our 'hood, for Bunga-Licious - a three course dinner for $25.

Rob, the owner, gave us a bottle of our favourite wine there, Oyster Bay. Wasn't that nice?We both started with salad.

For the main, I had chicken ... it should be stuffed with cheese (I'm not a big fan of cheese) and there should be veggies too but I passed on them.

Gord had mushroom pasta.

Our dessert, chocolate and orange creme brulee.

Gord and Rob

Gord and Jeff (he took good care of us)

Teena and Kyle (he took good care of us too)

Rob

If you haven't been to the Bungalow, you should go! Yummy food and great people!

Happy 5th Anniversary to Gord and I!

Sarah, Teena, Gord and Ken
July 26, 2002 ~ 5:30pm

City Hall, Toronto, ON

Happy birthday to me!

45 years ago today ... at 2:12pm ... I made my arrival into the world at the Grace Maternity Hospital in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

I'm looking forward to another 45 years!

My first birthday

Fish Philosophy

I've been thinking lately about the Fish philosophy.

I read the books a couple years ago so went to their website today to be reminded of the four simple practices.

The last one is my favourite!