Calabria Bakery

Check out my review of Calabria Bakery on yelp.ca. That's where all those yummy Portuguese buns come from! It's kind of in a weird spot of town on Victoria and 33rd, but man it's worth the trip! They have a huge selection of Italian bread and sweets. Makes you want to bring home a giant bag of biscotti and drink an espresso. I'm defrosting their pizza dough for dinner tonight. YUM!

Top Playgrounds on the East Side

Now that Baby is semi-mobile, meaning I hold his hands while he walks, he shown much more interest in playgrounds beyond the swing set. While training for the Sun Run, I happen upon some parks I had not explored before. Here are some of my favorite so far rated based on do-ability of a 15 month semi-mobile boy from best to worse.

Tecumseh Park (Commercial and 43rd): This is my new favorite spot. The park itself is just a green square, but the playground is awesome. It's brand new, has the newest swings, teeter-tooters, a farm tractor, a smaller slide for the little ones, and a tall twisty one for older kids. There's a great sandbox with a water station for messy fun. There are lots of benches for tired moms and a big picnic table. Definitely worth many visits.

Clark Park (Woodland and 14th): It's a good park for younger and older kids. There's a ball hockey and basketball court, which is different. There's a beautiful view of the mountains as most of the park is on a slope with amazing old trees.

Victoria Park (Victoria and Kitchener): This park and playground has received a wonderful facelift. I remember this park mostly because of the Italian men playing Bocce, but also because it seemed a bit shifty. Now, the playground is brand new, has lots of slides, climbing ropes, a gorgeous sandbox full of toys, and swings. It's always well used by the community and seems to have banished the shiftiness.

Trout Lake: It's such a beautiful spot with a super view of the North Shore mountains, so for mom, that's a bonus, but the playground....nah. Not that good. Unfortunately, the small playground is one of those older wooden ones and the slide and tire swing is for bigger kids. There's no designated sandbox. Dog owners are pretty lax about leashing their dogs and I've had big dogs barreling through and scaring Baby a few times. Great place for looking at ducks though.

Sunnyside Park (Inverness and 17th): This park adjacent to Dickens Elementary is not bad. There are two sections in the playground one for older and another for younger kids. There is no designated sandbox and only one swing for babies. Overall the play area just pales in comparison to the super amazing stuff on the Dickens playground which is only for older kids. Poor Baby just kept pointing at it.

General Brock Park (Brock and 29th): This grass square has a small but new playground. Worth stopping if you stumble upon it, but not to make a special trip for it.

Renfrew and Renfrew Ravine Park (Renfrew and 22nd) This park is interesting, I like the ravine and it's handy to have the community center and library there, but the playground is little. Nothing to write home about.
 
Brewers Park (Victoria and 26th): This small park is bit noisy being right on Victoria and small playground seems a bit rundown. Some moms have told me that they like it because of the small water pool which is open in the summer. Hum...

You are Beautiful! Banishing FAT TALK!

It's been a while since I've written. I could say that it was a combination of taking care of a more and more active Baby, picking up food off the floor 4-5 times a day, training for the Sun Run, but really I needed a break from writing. Plus I haven't found anything much to write about until this morning.

On my way to work one morning a few years ago, I saw that someone had painted: "You are beautiful." on the wall of an overpass. It made me smile. After that, I noticed this was written more and more in random public places around the city. It always made me smile, but I would soon forget about it and I never did find out what it was all about until this morning. I picked up at the library "Operation Beautiful-transforming the way you see yourself one post-it note at a time." by Caitlin Boyle. She states that the mission of Operation Beautiful is to post anonymous notes in public places for others to find, spreading the real truth that WE ARE ALL BEAUTIFUL; we are enough... just the way we are. Her book is full of photos of women and notes from all over the world, abolishing FAT TALK and taking back the power of their unique beauty.

I first started noticing my own FAT TALK in my late twenties. I can't remember when I started, but I've Fat Talked a lot. It starts in the mornings, in the showers, in the closet, at the gym, on the street, at work, while eating, while watching tv, and it doesn't stop. I've done it alone and with others.

"I'm so fat."
"Did you lose weight? You look great!"
"I wouldn't be caught dead in that bathing suit."
"What's with size 0? Is that a size?."
"I haven't run this week, I feel so guilty."
"Don't give me any of those, I'll eat a whole bagful."

The only time I've ever had a break from Fat Talk was when I was pregnant. I was FREE!!! I felt beautiful, round, sexy and happy. It was SO AMAZING to NOT think about weight, size, food, exercise etc... It was such a significant change, I couldn't believe it. That inner voice was gone.

It wasn't long after my baby was born, that the FAT TALK came back. If I managed to tame it, reveling in feeding and caring for my newborn, there were plenty of skinny moms at the new mommy groups who had apparently given birth only a few weeks prior. "Really?" The rest of us, round belly moms, wondered when we were going to fit in our old clothes again. Some moms were already on diets, doing hard-core training in the rain with their babies in strollers. What is with that?? It's sick. The funny thing is that I haven't minded that my boobs are bigger and point a little more to the south that before. I love that they are feeding my boy so wonderfully and he truly seems like he's in heaven when drinking his momma's milk. BUT the weight around the middle? That's not okay. It's not??

This paragraph from Caitling's blog " Healthy Tipping Point"  summarizes what FAT TALK really is.

"So, what do we really mean when we say, "I’m so fat"?  We  actually mean that we are FULL WITH AN EMOTION. Oftentimes, it’s shame.  Or sadness.  Or fear.   Why do we express our inner turmoil by hating our bodies?  Because that’s what Fat Talk and society tells us to do.  Don’t admit you’re scared, just feel fat!  Don’t admit you’re lonely or depressed, you’re just fat!   We can deal with ugliness, we cannot deal with weakness.  The next time you feel the urge to say, "I’m so fat," think about what you REALLY mean. By berating your body, you aren’t doing any favors.  But by honoring your emotions, you’re living a happier, more honest life."

Last week I completed a 10km run in 1 hour and 9 minutes. I trained for it for 4 months, running in the rain with Baby in the stroller. It's been 6 days and the FAT TALK is back. I heard it. Yesterday I stood on a scale for the first time since I gave birth. I couldn't believe it what I was saying to myself. I won't ever repeat it. So I'm fighting back:

This break is well deserved!

Thank you body for taking me to the finish line!

Let's have fun today and move so that it is fun!

My body is awesome as it is!

My body is feeding and taking care of Baby so perfectly!

I am beautiful!

http://operationbeautiful.com/

Ode to the High Chair

You are one tall, sticky chair
Full of stains and wear and tear
Old black banana crust
Hard bits of bread a must

Banged with bowls, and spoons and toys
Scratched with things that he enjoys
The perfect place for Baby's lunch
Snacks and other things that crunch

Learn How to Dance

Last Saturday, I attended my Zumba instructor's, Maggie Lima, "Learn How to Dance" class. It was great. What's nice about it is that it's not a specific dance like salsa or samba. She teaches how to move your body more consciously, find the music's tempo and actually dance rather than just going through the movement. I've taken a few dances classes in the past, salsa, hip hop, reggaeton, etc.. and it's a lot of fun too, but sometimes the teachers do a certain movement that I couldn't replicate no matter how hard I concentrated. I think it was partly because I wasn't just "feeling" it and also because I wasn't able to connect my brain to a certain body part. For example: I can do the shoulder shimmy, (shaking you shoulders quickly from front to back alternatively) but if I try to do it with my legs going, forget it! I look like I'm having an epileptic seizure. So, anyways, not that I've mastered this yet, but Maggie showed us some tips on how to get the right muscles to get going. If anyone reading this is interested, check out her website: www.magdalenalima.com

April Fools!

Got my husband really good this morning. Babe and I went upstairs last night while he was out and unpaired all his socks. I rolled up the singles as if they were paired up and hid the others in another drawer. Hee hee hee! :)

I don't know if that would drive your partner crazy, but my husband HATES single socks! And he has lots and lots of blackish, brownish, socks that kind of look the same but don't.

April Fools Babe! Gotcha! :)

Spring is in the Air! Or is it?

I've decided to invite Spring to come a little earlier than it wants to this year. Come on out, I say! Don't just sit there behind those gray clouds, poking your nose in once in a while! Do it with drama, something like, um... a whole week of sunshine!

So to keep preoccupied while I wait for Spring's dramatic entrance, I've done a few fun things:

1. I've bought a pair of sexy sandals ( I should probably take care of my winter feet...)
2. I've taken to wearing my sunglasses, just in case, you never know when you might need them right?
3. I've registered for a dance class to keep that body moving and sexy.
4. I've made diner plans with friends.
5. I'm about to eat a big pile of asparagus.
6. I've donated clothes baby and I don't fit in anymore.
7. I've taken a pair of boots to be fixed and polished.
8. I took a colorful necklace I bought in Brazil to be restrung so I can wear it again.
9. I plan on doing some finger paints with Baby this weekend.
10. I started using an exercise band to strengthen my upper body.
11. I've gone through all the spices, medicine and condiments and thrown out anything that was expired, don't ask me what was dated 2008...;)

So that's it for now. I think I'm doing pretty good to keep those rainy day blues away! Click on the post and leave a comment to let me know what you're doing to bring a bit of sunshine in your life.