I Know What You Did This Summer

August. Wow. We got to do some of this:

And some of this:






And now we're off to do a whole lotta THIS:

I apologize in advance for the amount of photos I will have to share with you when we get back.

Happiest Place On Earth - here we come!

Sweaty, Happy

I did my last summer session of Cardio Plein Air tonight and I just wanted to share that with you three all. Out of a possible 20 classes, I made it to 11. In my defense, I missed at least 5 due to either insane heatwave or thunder/lightning storms. And last week I skipped one because I wiped out in the middle of the crosswalk and actually hurt myself. Like "limp all the way to the closest taxi with tears and everything" kind of hurt myself. I think it was mostly my pride, but it was a no-brainer to skip the sweat and head for the bath.

Speaking of pride, there was only one other hardy soul working out with me tonight (it's like 30-something degrees here right now with 1500% humidity - ugh) so it hit me with painful clarity that what we do looks a lot like something out of Monty Python's silly walks. When there is a group of 10 of us, it looks a little more official. Cool, even. With just two, well, let's just say that the people of Jarry Park had a good chuckle tonight.

My favourite, favourite part of doing the class? Being outside. Being outside in a PARK where it's green and fresh and full of people doing fun, outdoorsy stuff. I love focusing on the soccer game in the distance as my triceps wobble. I love doing push ups on the bleachers. I love brushing grass off my legs and swatting bugs. I really love lying under a tree while stretching and looking up into the leaves. When was the last time you did that? It's not something that happens a lot in my everyday life (we lack a backyard, le sigh) so I soaked it up.

In fact, I haven't exercised outside like that since PE class in high school. So maybe there is some nostalgia thrown in there? And man, on a related tangent, why the heck did we complain so much about gym class? What's not to love about an entire hour of school devoted to MOVING YER BUTT, essentially playing outside?

Suspicious symptom #39 of aging - ranting about how the young kids don't appreciate PE class.

The good news is, I already signed up for the fall. Also, adorable, peppy Ralph will again be my instructor. The bad news is, IT WILL BE THE FALL. Eventually cold, wet, rainy, snowy, windy FALL. We'll see how poetic I'm feeling in November.

Anyway, all this to say that I'm so happy to have exercise back in my life. My hormones are happy, too. As happy as evil soul-munching goblins can be of course.

So, here's something wacky about Quebec: kids are already back in school! In August! As a born and raised B.C. girl, I just can't get my brain wrapped around that. Yes, they finish earlier, but STILL. Isn't that the whole point of Labour Day? One last long weekend before routine sets in? I'm telling you, this whole distinct society thing isn't always as fancy as it sounds.

ANYWAY, this back-to-school time is knowns as "la rentrée" which literally means to come back inside. People take time off work to get their kids organized for "la rentrée," pools close because now it's "la rentrée", newspapers carry articles about first day of school, lunch box recipes, etc. I bring all of this up not just to ramble (although that may be Suspicious Sign of Aging #40), but to say that what I LOVE LOVE LOVE about this time of year is that... I don't have to go back to school! Oh, and we're going on vacation... in September! Somewhere hot and summery! So suck it FALL, I'm not done with summer yet.

Not My Usual Monday Afternoon

I took a little break from the Monday routine today to help out a friend.

I got to be in a demo for a new series called Kitchen Mobile!

The idea is that hot shot chef Mathieu Cloutier (of Kitchen Galerie) helps unsuspecting shoppers cook something that they have never tried before.

Basically I got to spend my afternoon at the Jean-Talon Market hanging out with cool people and learning how to cook.

The shopper reveals their special challenge ingredient to the crew beforehand and then you present it to Mathieu on the show. He asks questions about allergies and preferences, then comes up with a meal that you can make.

(I had some time to kill before my segment started to I lurked in the herb garden and took photos.)

This was the subject of the segment just before mine. I had to look up the name of her dish to be sure and yes indeed, it was sweetbreads. I definitely don't know how to cook sweetbreads but I'm not too sad about that fact.

Her daughter was getting excited by the sage-infused cream sauce. I was too actually, it smelled amazing. Unfortunately it was going over sweetbreads so that kinda killed it for me.

I went for a walk around the block to photograph the front of the restaurant. Don't ask me how I managed to cut the sign off, it's not like I was in a rush or anything... It's artistic.

The menu is based on whatever is fresh from the market so it's never the same.

I didn't really recognize anything on the wine list, which is a good sign.

Dad - we are so coming here when you visit. Jaime, you can come too.

Look! I got the yellow flip flops! Even better, I got them for $10. I LOVE the end of summer sales. Frankly, it's about the only good thing about the end of summer.

Still waiting so let's meet the crew!

This is Kathia (researcher) and Pascale (everything else):

David, the director:

Martin my pal the producer with David and the man himself, Chef Mathieu Cloutier. Yes, he is that young. And cute.

It was finally my turn and I got a quick sweep of powder to keep the shine off and away we went.

We're doing a quick run-through with an emtpy pot in place of the secret ingredient that I will reveal to Mathieu. (He said I could call him Mat. We're tight.)

Thank you for ignoring the extra thirty pounds the camera adds. Oh yes, thirty. The new HD cameras are really heavy. Not like the old ten-pounders.

The big reveal.... shrimp! I've always wanted to know how to cook fresh shrimp. And how to get off the shell and veins and everything. The twist here was that it has to be something I can cook quickly and that the whole family will enjoy.

He came up with a recipe on the spot (that he charmingly dubbed Crevettes à la Theresa) and his assistant ran off to buy all the ingredients: parsnips, baby spinach, yellow tomato, lemon, and orange. I think that was it.

He showed me how to take off the shells and the veins then threw together an amazing dish that I am afraid I didn't even have time to photograph because I ate it so fast. Pan seared shrimp, parsnip purée and a baby spinach salad with fennel and yellow tomato. SO GOOD.

My segment was the last one of the day so when we were done, they wrapped. I warned my new pal that I would be visiting his restaurant soon and bringing my family along with. He seemed cool with that.

Fun, right? How did you spend YOUR Monday afternoon?

New York, New Video

Stéphane took a lot of Flip video while we were in NYC last month and instead of posting a bunch of annoying adorable vacation clips, he cut this nifty little movie instead!

Hoping this buys back some affection from you my (three) loyal readers.

NYC in a beat from Stéphane Arbour on Vimeo.

MUSIC by A WEATHER - "Giant Stairs"

freemusicarchive.org/music/A_Weather/

Speaking about blog slackdom, I owe y'all a post just about Disney vacation planning. It could be a full time job my friends, a full time job. Luckily the all-important ADRs (Advance Dining Reservations in case you're not down with the mouse lingo) have been taken care of so now we're at the fun part of not freaking out about the NEVERENDING LIST OF CAN'T-MISS ALL IMPORTANT ACTIVITIES THAT MUST HAPPEN OR YOUR VACATION WILL BE NEITHER MAGIC NOR SPARKLY. *Breathe, breathe* Suffice it to say that we are eating at least one meal with Princesses. Ironically in the Norway pavillion. Which is good because I am half Norweigan so it's like cultural and stuff and yet, something tells me that Thor and his dirty band of pillaging Vikings and are not invited. Unless of course they bring their tiaras.

In the meantime I'll be slapping fruit flies and eating Ontario peaches, my two current favourite hobbies. People who know me are laughing because 1) I have really bad depth perception so killing a speck-like flying insect involves a LOT of spazzy clapping and 2) I used to have a hard time eating peaches due to their mouth feel resemblance to baby heads. Ironically, about the only mental improvement around here since actually HAVING a baby is that I can now sink my teeth into the fontanelle of that fruit with nary the blink of an eye. Let's not delve too deeply into what that really means, mmmkay?

Watch the video! Compliment the husband! Enjoy your summer!

Gone Fishin'

Sorry for my slackadaisical lack of new posts, but we've had a surprisingly busy summer so far.

I cleaned up the back patio and got a wee garden going:

We've had houseguests:

And BEEN houseguests:

We've been grooving in Central Park:

A little cranky in Times Square:

And celebrating milestones in Brooklyn:

And now we're home with a little time ahead of us to... maybe do nothing?

A proper update to come soon. In short, all is well. How is your summer going so far?

Portrait of the Blogger on Her Birthday

Funky, right? Taken from the rooftop terrace of the Hotel Nelligan in Old Montréal.

This is where the celebrations began...

And this is where they continued the following morning...

Sparrow. Yum.

That's rhubarb and strawberry french toast. Oh yes.

Neighbours, friends, Liliane's favourite people.

This photo gives you a good idea of the general chaos.

Rose and Liliane each had a chocolate beignet and then sparks starting shooting out of their butts. In a good, although energetic, way.

My kid, the Energizer Bunny. Only noisier.

This little guy was pretty calm. Hi Sam! Glad we didn't give you a chocolate beignet!

My faithful pals and dining companions, veterans of many a birthday meal.

Ariel and I comparing pedicures and silver sandals.

In the end I went to Candy and had a good time.

Stephane and Pierre comparing toys iPods.

I have no photo evidence for the rest of my day, including a movie date with Stéphane (we saw the Twilight movie, don't judge me! Although we only went because the times for A-Team weren't working out so you can totally judge me for that. ANYWAY.) but we had a great time and I felt thoroughly celebrated. Thanks everyone!

In other news:

*It's been captial-H HOT around these parts (sorry, Forrest Gump is on in the background so I'm typing with an accent) for the last week so my evening activities have been restricted to having a shower and watching the Big Bang Theory on DVD with the fan on full throttle. I'm only blogging now because I'm out of episodes. True story.

*My Grandfather has moved to an assisted-care facility close to my Mom (and two of my three uncles) and is doing pretty well. Grandma is still in the hospital but she is supposed to be released soon and the next step is to ensure that she can get into the same place. They can't live together since she'll need more help than he does, but they can live closer. I'm making peace with the changes from afar. I talked to my Grandpa this week and he sounds pretty good. I asked for a cozy blanket from their house. That makes me feel better.

*We have decided to plan our vacation this September to.. Disneyworld! Liliane will be almost 3 years old and it seems like a good time to just go for it. If you have ANY ADVICE AT ALL, please for the love of my sanity, share your thoughts! I'm in full-on research mode and feeling the anxiety. What if I choose the WRONG theme resort with the WRONG dining package resulting in the WRONG sparkly-magical-park-hopping-drain-your-savings Disney experience?

*Hey! I went to my first Outdoor Cardio class! I LOVED it. To confirm my newfound commitment, I completely bailed on my two classes last week. Call me a weenie, but I wasn't up for the HEAT STROKE section of the class that would fall somewhere between "Welcome everybody" and "Hey, who's the wheezing, sweaty, chubby chick back there?" I was managing to walk to and from work in 40+ degrees, but that was IT. So take a hike humidity, Mama has a double chin to work on.

Stay cool!