TheMommyBlog

I’m so glad you had some time to relax and rest.Smell the flower’s so to speak!

sounds fabulous… well except for the freezing rain part! enjoy the next few days away.

Sorry if there’s no cake or M & M’s left when you get here…

PMS, you know....

That sounds wonderful!  Good for you for ditching.  You deserve it!

The last conference I went to, I had to present. I was a wreck even after my presentations. Your strategy sounds soooo much better.

Wow your three days sounds like my everyday!

Okay maybe only the part about stumbling around with a hangover searching for coffee.

Listen to all these nice and polite comments. Good for Mindy, La-dee-dah. Well, we’re all thinking it, so I’ll just say it: JEALOUS! WANT ROOM SERVICE AND A MASSAGE AND WANT IT NOW! AND A PONY!

It’s hard to miss you if you won’t GO AWAY.....wait.....did you say you had beer AND coffee for breakfast?

You so rock.

Mindy, I did that when I went to Edinburgh a few years back. It feels SOOOOOOO good, doesn’t it? (Yup, right down to the obsene amount of books purchased) didn’t have Beer for breakfast tho..... HAD WHISKY DRAMS FOR BRUNCH & Lunch!! I really LOVE ME SOME SCOTLAND!!! (that’s the good thing , whereeevr you go, there giving free...YES FREE samples!)

But I agree with Pam, I want room service and a massage now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!um, did you mention truffles? GIMMIE.

Did I read that right - “I wore nothing but a sweater and that funky hat...”?  Why do I have the strange suspicion that the next call anyone gets from Mindy will be from a Canadian jail!?  =)

BTW, have you indulged in any poutine yet?  My newest brother-in-law is Canadian, and I was informed it was something of a right of passage regarding having a true Canadian passage.  If you do indulge, might I suggest a cold beer at the time of consumption and two tums an hour later?

YES!!

Wow, funny you should mention both things actually--I realized later that I neglected to mention that I did indeed wear a shirt, proper undergarments, cords & clogs under the sweater and the hat. Although I presume that Canadian jails are clean and pleasant like most other institutions here…

And the poutine? I had to Google that, and yo and behold, I had it for lunch yesterday! A colleague and I wandered around until we found a wine bar (let’s see, I believe I was slated to attend a session on Internet Security and Trust), where we had a fabulous, full-bodied red that cost a mint, and asked the maitre’d to design a lunch around it.

The very first dish he brought was a huge bowl filled with french fries, scattered about with oregano and feta, and doused in lamb jus. My buddy Jordan and I exchanged startled looks and gingerly dug in. It was very interesting--a bit heavy, and I am not a fan of goat cheese, but there was something very satisfying about sitting in a wine bar at 2 in the afternoon, drinking ridiculously large glasses of hella expensive wine and scarfing fries soaked in gravy.

Sounds like you had the gourmet version.  Either that, or I had poor man’s poutine (feels like you’re saying something dirty, doesn’t it?). 

What I had was whipped up by a 20-something year old guy who is now living out of a VW bus somewhere around the grand canyon with my wife’s sister.  In 30 words or less: crinkle fries, shreaded cheese, brown gravy (I bet the tums comment makes a bit more sense now, doesn’t it?).

Oddly enough, I have had poor man’s poutine cravings every once in a while since then...crazy, eh?

Toronto?
I would have gladly crashed the party and introduced you to some great wines!!!
(BTW, no one really eats poutine, especially that yuppy version you were served, although it has become a ubiquitous menu offering, thanks to the province of Quebec.)
Glad to read you took advantage of your surroundings. It’s actually a great place...when the weather is nice!

I am (like the others) SOOOOO jealous.  You work so hard, especially on that last deliverable that you really do deserve it.  You will come back happy and refreshed.  That should last for 2.75 hours, then back to reality. 

A number of years back, after my second daughter was born, I took a three day/two night trip to Newport, Rhode Island.  I said to absolutely everyone I knew more than once, until they finally got the message that I was going alone, solo, solitary, by myself.  Everyone looked at me like I had two heads.  My whole philosophy was that everyone always needed things from me and wanted things from me.  I wanted a few days where no one wanted anything from me.  I told people that the entire goal was not to talk to anyone that wasn’t being paid to serve me.  It was fabulous.  It was the first weekend in October and the crowds were gone but we had a lovely Indian Summer weekend and I strolled the art shops, ate expensive meals, took afternoon naps and long jacuzzi baths and really was soooooo happy.  Of course back to reality almost gave me whiplash.

coooooool. kudos to you. You be doin’ it up right.

Yeh--what you had is *not* poutine. Properly, it’s nasty soggy diner fries, canned gravy, and cheese curds. Sorry there--I’m all about TO, and I’m all about sampling local delicacies.

Does no one like chili fries with (obviously) chili, loads of shredded cheddar cheese, & jalepenos with a dollop of sour cream on top anymore???

Damn, I have the midnight munchies.