It would have been more romantic if it weren't a glowing review for eyeliner.

Even though it may make me seem just the teensiest bit braggy. Ignore that and just know that there is some seriously great eyeliner out there.

I was sitting at a train station in Toronto waiting for my friend to meet me on the platform. I looked up from my book (which was the amazing Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, which has nothing to do with anything except that you should read it because it's very good.) I saw a man on the train looking at me. He didn't wave. I didn't wave. I just went back to my book and the train took off.

Five minutes, and a few pages later, the same man comes running down the stairs at the platform. He approaches me all breathless and says, "I just had to come back to this stop and meet you! You are so pretty."

Whatever he was on or whatever his game was, I don't care. The fact remains that he did this and it made me feel awesomely awesome and I'm still taking it to the bank, one week later. He was Brazilian and therefore had a sexy accent. He asked me, "Where are these eyes from?" Mesmerized, I answered, "Vancouver... Well, the rest of me is also from there, but that's where I meant that my eyes were from because you asked about just them and I was thinking that you meant the whole package because I'm attached to them and they don't come out although when I take my contacts out I say that I'm taking my eyeballs out even though I'm not really but I say that to my daughters because they're young and I have daughters with my husband and I'm married."

He made a very convincing attempt at being fascinated by my inability to sound like a normal person. He asked me for my phone number. I told him I couldn't give it to him. So he gave me his card and I said thank you but explained that I wouldn't call him because I'm married. So he said, "That doesn't mean you are dead," and this opened me up to a whole other pointless diatribe which would fully convince him that he wanted nothing more to do with the strange lady from Vancouver.

However, he made my freaking day!

I credit the new Bobbi Brown eyeliner I was wearing. It was totally because of that. Because the day before I wasn't wearing any and that did not happen. So I recommend Bobbi Brown and hanging out in the St. Clair subway station with a book. It's very good for the ego.

Bad Ass

This is my three-year-old. Clearly, she's practicing for being a bad-ass - with her black T shirt, shades and cigarillo. See the stance? That's pretend Harley ridin' baby.

I know this because yesterday she told her bear to "piss off".

When I told her that's not a nice thing to say, I half expected to hear, "That's how I roll, mofo!"

Can you make this up?

The Anxiety Olympics

Welcome to another day of Anxiety Olympics ladies and gentlemen! We're here at Pearson International Airport, which has been beautifully designed to overwhelm the travellor. Now, first up, we have the Canadian contender here, she's going to check in with...oh, she's got TWO bags plus a carry on. So her coach has really piled on the weight for this one. Looking carefully at the luggage, one of the zippers doesn't work, so that will of course add to the stress level. So she's fully kitted out for the event.

There's the starter gun! She's off, looking bewildered - which we often expect here - and she's going up to a uniformed person and asking which lineup she should be in. Okay now, that's going to cut down on her anxiety significantly, so she's knocking some points off right there. Off she goes to stand in a very long line. Oh...she's looking very calm and controlled. Wait until she's been standing there for thirty minutes and they tell her she's in the wrong line. We'll check back in.

Yes! We've seen the first sign of freakage...she's got it in check. Just went obediently to another line. Okay - so far, she's relatively unfazed. All good. The other team has thrown in a few loud Germans, which is always very effective in upping the stress level, but our gal seems to be managing. Alright, it's been twenty minutes and here she goes up to the second desk now. Let's watch:

The ticket is for the 19th of March, not February. This is it folks! This is the make or break part - how will she handle the news that she's not getting on this plane? Oh, wait - I see the hyperventilating start. And she's off! The hands are shaking, and...oh she's pulling out a cell phone. She's on the phone with her coach - it looks like she using some strong language and waving her arms around in the air.

Former Anxiety Olympian, Jerzy Spazz is here to comment, "Typically, people under these pressures exhibit all kinds of responses, but the Canadian here in the Anxiety Olympics is displaying a classic show of panic. Her execution is perfect! The brow is expertly knitted and you can tell just how much training has gone into the arm movements. An anxiety athlete can actually speed up her heart rate with this kind of focus on doom."

Wait...it looks like something has happened. The gate closes in 6 minutes. The coach will have arranged a last-minute seat deal. Yes. There it is! She's checked her bags, she sprinting to security. The shoes are off, the bag stowed...through the metal detector without any resistance, down the escalators, knocking a few people around...and there's the loud-speaker, "This is the final boarding call for Air Canada flight 1169 with service to Vancouver. All passengers must now be on board,". That's the final momentum, there she goes - full sprint to the gate...and...

and...

she makes it!

Gold for the Canadian!

I'm baaaaack!

A whole month of silence is so unlike me. But so is keeping a really good secret. See, I was in on this surprise so I couldn't write about it on my blog, even though it was pretty much the only thing on my mind.

I went to Toronto to surprise one friend and visit another. I also went to see my centurian grandfather and my cousins. It was awesome. How a city so bleak and slushy can be so fabulous is still beyond me...no, wait. It's the shopping. Whatever you want, they have it. Even vegan cupcakes.

So amid blustery days, icy walks and entirely too much coffee, I had a week of pleasures! Reconnecting with friends is so good for the soul. Almost as good as coming home to warmth and sunshine and the gratitude of being 'home'.