Just a big thank you!

Stephen Eli Harris is the man behind The Newfoundland and Labrador Blog Roll. He tracks and promotes all the sites you see on the lower left hand side of the my blog under the Newfoundland Flag. I imagine it is a lot of work - thankless work at that. Recently he created an award for the best Newfoundland Blog and was interviewed about it by the lovely Angela Antle on the Weekend Arts Magazine. The pod cast for that interview can be downloaded here.

Missing the Rock is in the running for this award but is as far from winning it as Tiger Woods is from reconciliation with his wife. Karen, John, and Barry are kicking major ass. As they should- they do outstanding work. If you haven't checked out their sites you are missing out. Go grab yourself a beverage of your choice and have a look- and while your at it check out a few more on the Roll: Townie Bastard, Product of Newfoundland, and Oh Me Nerves just to name a few. Then go the the Blog Roll and vote! It is your duty as a Newfoundlander!

The best thing about this award is that it has highlighted all the quality work that Newfoundlanders are contributing to cyberspace. It is amazing to see the quality, variety and heart that is put into the work. I really encourage my regular readers, and you over there in the pink sweater dropping in here for the first time, to check out some of the blogs on the Roll. You will be delighted by what you find.

Thank you Stephen for doing this for all of us! And to those who have cast your vote in my direction, I sincerely appreciate it.

Watching what we say.

I haven't been blogging, or reading blogs much these days. I have been a very busy bunny. Each day follows the same routine: I wake up and get my son and husband ready for work, drop the big guy off, and take the little guy to the gym with me (I am trying to shrink my circumference- I noticed a few weeks ago I had a few small moons orbiting around my ass). The gym is a sweaty and thus far, fruitless endeavor which has yet to yield any shrinkage. But I still go, clinging to the hope it will work eventually.

Next I head back home with Wil, we play a bit outdoors, or inside, have lunch and then he has a nap. While he naps, I check my email, and tackle the day's project. It could be packing, or gutting, or cleaning. Good times. Yesterday for example, I cleaned out the garage. Packed up what I could there, dodged spiders and large freakish blue ant like monstrosities that kept flying into my hair, and threw out a lot of junk.

Once the daily task is complete, I wake up the little guy and we a) go to park, b)play in the back yard, c) go to Little Feet d) go to the mall.

Then we pick up husband, get dinner, clean up, bathe boy, catch up with husband, go to bed, start the whole mess all over again the next day. Aren't you envious?

Yesterday I checked my email, and saw one from Karen, with the subject header "busted". In it was a link to Wayne's blog to a page where this blog was called out. It was a sad day folks.

It seems that Missing the Rock is one of the NL blogs with the highest Cuss rate. When I first read Wayne's post, I was indignant, my blog isn't that bad! I might let the odd shit and ass go, but rarely the F bomb! Did ya check out Adam Fire Fist Shows No Mercy Wayne? Did ya, huh?

And then, I remembered what happened the morning before, as we were rushing to get Don off to work on time, and Wil ready to go to the gym with me. First Don couldn't find his wallet, then I couldn't find my keys, then Wil was running off with his sandals. I chased after him, tackled the slippery little wiener and started putting on his sandals: "Come on Sweat Pea, help Mommy, we can't be late." I whispered, struggling to get them on his feet, then I realized his little toe was caught: "Oh Shit!" I said, flustered.

And then, in the sweetest voice, on a register and tone reserved only for angels and toddlers: "Oh Shit" followed by a giggle.

Oh shit indeed.

There are times when I have to watch my mouth, and by extension, what I type. I really do need to make an effort to watch what I say at home- because I have a young and impressionable audience (who is learning to talk). I must consider how I want him to speak. However, what I do here is a little different. I do tend to write very casually here, this is something I do because I enjoy it, I have fun with it. This isn't The New Yorker (thought they seem to get into enough trouble without the cussing) or The Globe and Mail. Nobody is paying to read what I write. (Sometimes I wonder if anyone is actually reading what I write) A few colorful metaphors here and there can't hurt- not here. Right?

Wayne's post made me wonder though. Should blogging be something that is a little more formal in tone? Do we need to censor ourselves? Do you think it bothers the average reader? What do you think?


Oh and for the record, this blog's cuss level was medium...See Wayne, I am no Andrew Dice Clay!



Created by OnePlusYou

So you say you can't cook?

Well now folks, (let's face it people, we are mainly addressing the males of the species) here is a blog for you: Pioneer Woman Cooks

This woman has a variety of meals as long as you want great flavour and nothing remotely close to low fat. I mean, there is probably three recipes on there that don't require butter. She has great wit too, you can't help but smile as you read her blog. Essentially she goes through each recipe, step by step, with photos of each part of the recipe, and tips on how to make it turn out just right. From the assembled ingredients, to the finished product, it is all laid out clearly for you. The instructions and visual aids are so clear that you would have to be either allergic to kitchen utensils, or have attained my husband's level of culinary ineptitude to screw it up.

So next time you have that hot date, or maybe the in-laws are coming over and you want to impress, check out her website. She will get you through it....a few pounds heavier then you were when you started, but hey, nothing is perfect.

New Feature: "I would like to recommend:"

Ever since I started this whole blogging thing, I have started to pay attention to other blogs. What are they doing? How often do they post? What do they talk about? And I have to tell ya, there is a lot of stuff out there. Some of it really interesting, some of it...well not so much.

I came across a blog recently that I believe is really worth your time. It is called Don to Earth, and it inspired a new feature I will be adding to my blog called: "I would like to recommend". Catchy phrase that. Sigh. I never said I was a member of the Literati folks.

Henceforth, I will on occasion blog about something that has caught my fancy. It could be a film, a book, a restaurant or as happens to be the case today, a blog.

Donald Crowdis, born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on December 24, 1913 is one of the last living survivors of the Halifax Explosion. He was the first host of the popular CBC Television series The Nature of Things and he was Curator, then Director, of the Nova Scotia Museum. After World War II, Crowdis spearheaded an effort which led to the construction of the Halifax Memorial Library. Don was also a member of the executive team that oversaw the establishment of the Ontario Science Centre.

Now in his 90s, one of the worlds oldest bloggers is watching his wife fade away in a nursing home and reflecting back on his life and looking at what lies before him. Don is taking time to share his life and observations with anyone who is willing to read them. He hasn't updated in awhile, but the material he has posted is beautiful, sometimes sad and often poetic.

I recommend : dontoearth.blogspot.com

Home Movies

I have been exploring this whole blog thing and I noticed that Bloggers can now upload video we have on Google or You tube, and I thought to myself- I must try this. Hey, there is laundry to be done, but that can wait. Newbie must play with the shiny buttons.

But do I have any video?

It turns out I have some- the cutsie kind. You know the ones you take of your children when they are babies and you still love them.

It got me thinking about all those scratchy home videos we see featured on your average Hollywood “Family Movie”. Remember Chevy Chase all dolled up in woolen hats, fur shawls and tacky broaches, trapped in his attic watching the reels? Did you actually know anyone who had this stuff? I don’t. My family certainly didn’t.

As a matter of fact there aren’t a lot of pictures of us kids past the cute baby stage…Aside from those horrid school photos. Come on, you know the ones. There is a windmill behind you buried in fall leaves, and you have your hands folded oh so naturally on something that can pass for a reasonable facsimile of a log. If you are lucky, you have all your teeth. Unlucky? Well you are missing at least two, there are a few poking out at unnatural angles and you’ve got braces with purple rubber bands. But in our house, even those pictures stop around grade five.

Of course I am not really blaming Mom and Dad for this. I am mostly to blame. When I see a camera I do my best to shrink out of existence. I am not Amish or anything, I just don’t like having my picture taken.

I am trying to get a little better with the whole photo thing ever since Wil was born. And so we have taken over 800 photos since his birth. That is about four times the amount of pictures we have taken since my husband and I started dating in 1991. So there is progress being made here people.

Anyhow back to the blog video of Wil, either learning how to kiss Mommy, or teething (and mommy’s chin is so much nicer on the gums than the nuby she bought him). Anyway, enjoy, and if you got them, dig out your own home videos and pictures. I promise you will smile.

Missing The Rock

Well, I swore I would never do this. Yet here I am.

I never really got the point of this whole "Blog thing", who really wants the read the bland daily minutia of someone else’s every day life? Have I just added another daily chore to my ever expanding list? I don’t remember being given more hours in a day. So why am I here again?

Still not exactly sure.

I think part of me wants to just jump right in because I miss writing. I used to keep a journal, but I got out of that habit when I went to university. I just had too much other stuff to worry about. Then it was off to real life, and well that just beats the heck out of any creative bent you ever had to play with. But aside from the need to start playing with words again, there are other reasons for entering the blogosphere.

I am a Newfoundlander who is living away from the Rock, and I miss home very much. I miss the people, the clean air, the land and the water. I miss my family. It is an ache in my heart. Over the years that dull ache seems to have burned a hole there- a hole that has gotten bigger since my son was born.

It pains me to raise him here in the province that at times seems to lack a soul- a sense of self, of community, far away from friends and family. As he gets older, I won’t be able to simply let him outdoors to play- like I could when I was young. Too many freaks. Not enough green spaces anyway. No, he will be under constant surveillance, he won't be able to give me a kiss (Awww Mom!!) and just run to the park and play. Perhaps I will hook him up to some sort of GPS- ah! we can micro chip him like we did the cat! Bubble boy meets world.

It is hard to raise him alone too. My husband and I have only one family member nearby (Uncle Brendan and his brood) and while we lament the fact we are missing family, they are also missing out on their only great-grandchild, grandchild, and nephew: Wilson (or Iron Wil as we like to call him). They are missing all his firsts, his daily discoveries of the world around him, his smile.

It ain’t fair.

So I guess the other reason why I am here is to reach out and just make the connections I miss so much. Seems that the electronic method is the modus operandi of choice these days. And so I will give it a whirl.

I do not promise to write everyday, my aim for now is to write twice a week….and we will see how it goes from there shall we?