Tennessy Willems

With a blizzard on the forecast (which didn't really materalize but oh well), we decided to play it safe on the weekend and stay in the area. However, we didn't want to be cooped up so we made a reservation at Tennessy Willems, a Wood Oven pizza place almost right down the street.

Considering how close the restaurant is to our house its kindof amazing we haven''t been here since we moved into Hintonburg.I think our reluctance was a combination of remembering a negative experience we had here five years ago, combined with the fact that we weren't sure Margot would appreciate a hipster pizza joint like this.

"Come join us, my friends!"

Luckily, our fears were unfounded. We each enjoyed our meals (Margot - spaghetti bolognese, Glosette Girl - margherita pizza, me - marinara pizza) and especially loved the dessert, a lemon tart, which we shared.

Large but suprisingly light

The atmosphere was hipster, but family-friendly hipster,  with at least one other family being present. Although there wasn't a kids menu, there was enough options on the menu for Margot to find something she linked so I didn't feel out of place bringing Margot there. Truth be told, I think Margot has reached the age where she can go to many restaurants and other places that we were previously reluctant to take her. I wouldn't yet take her to a "fancy" restaurant, but I definitely think she's graduated from soulless chain place to cool/funky experience. In the past, I think Glosette Girl and I were a little quick on the draw when it comes to making assumptions about what she enjoys.

Good Influences

As Margot gets older I'm trying to make a conscious effort to show her good role models. Glosette Girl is fab of course but there's only so much real estate in a kids mind that parents can occupy. Other sources of role models are her teachers, but I find that teachers seem to be in a special, almost infallible, category for kids. So they're good, but I like the idea of introducing Margot to young adults closer to her own age.

So what does that leave? Well some of her activities are taught by teenage or young adult instructors, which is good (especially her horseback riding instructors. Margot's eyes are full of stars when she thinks of them!) . Another alternative, that we discovered this weekend, are collegiate athletes.

Last Saturday was insanely cold and so while trying to think of a good indoor activity to do, we stumbled across the idea of going to see a Carleton Ravens women's hockey team game.

Even apart from letting Margot see what a group of high level female athletes can accomplish, there were a few cool things about the game. First, I'm a Carleton University alumnus so it was nice to support my alma mater. Second, the tickets were dirt cheap. $16 for the three of us, all in! The popcorn at the game was by donation. Finally, a plodding period in the middle notwithstanding, it was fun! The Carleton Ravens beat the Montreal Carabins in the second overtime on a sudden death goal. Even before the winning goal was scored, the small but feisty crowd was on the edge of their seats.

So far, Margot hasn't shown a keen interest in participating in organized sports. But what I liked about the Ravens event was all the camaraderie the girls' showed each other. They all banged their hockey sticks on the ice (a good thing) when their names were called on the loud speaker. They called out in support of each other when someone made a good move. They demonstrated teamwork, skill and coordination in overcoming an obstacle.

Celebrating the overtime winner!

Margot was skeptical about the event before we got to the game, but by the end she was as much into it as anyone there. This was actually the first ever collegiate sport game I've attended in my life, but I liked what I saw. Maybe we'll go see another game, in a different sport, soon. Basketball anyone?

Parent Date Nights

On Sunday, Glosette Girl and I sneaked away for a date night with the parents of Margot's friend, A, at Trattoria Cafe Italia, a restaurant in nearby Little Italy. It was a fun night of wine and pasta in a quiet, but atmospheric setting.

Parents only! (Just kidding, they do take kids but shhh..)

Glosette Girl and I actually make a point of getting to know, socially, the parents of Margot's friends. It takes effort because I find that I can't really fall into making new friends like I did (a million years ago) in my twenties at University. I don't think I'm unique in this regard because I get the impression that Glosette Girl and I are relatively rare as a couple in meeting new acquaintances like this on a semi-regular basis.

I'm not sure why that is the case though because almost every time we have one of these parent-date-nights they tend to be great experiences. We gossip about all the trials and tribulations of our little ones and often learn about the very different lives of people who are outside of our social circle or normal relationship network. The wine doesn't hurt either!

Don't get me wrong - I prioritize my longstanding friends and go out with them on a more frequent basis. But it's nice to know that new ones are sometimes closer than you think.

p.s "Parent Date Nights" are different than "Parent Play Dates". Both are great, and involve mixing it up with cool parents, but no kids are included in the former!

Cultural Phenomenon

It's not too often that I get a chance to participate in a veritable cultural phenomenon. However, this past week, with my geek mode set to maximum, I had an opportunity that was too good to pass up: be one of the first to try out the new Star Wars rides in Disney World.

It was a crazy - but fun - experience!

First, my family (yes, Glosette Girl and Margot came along for the ride too) dragged themselves out of bed at 5:45 am. Then we took an uber over to Hollywood Studios, in Disney World, and walked into the park around 6:30 am, which is before the park rides officially open.

The dark rises...and the light to meet it!

You might be thinking we were one of the few who did so. Not so! I'm guessing we were joined by about 20,000-30,000 other Star Wars fanatics who all had to be in the park to join a virtual queue for the new Star Wars Rise of the Resistance ride at 7:00 am. On some days, this virtual queue fills up in about 20 minutes.

We booked our spot at around 7:05 am, which meant we were able to get on the ride at around 7 pm later that day (did I mention that Rise of the Resistance is insanely popular?).

Luckily being in a virtual queue means you are free to do other things until your virtual  number is called up. So what did we do after we virtually signed up to one queue? Well, of course, we hopped in another queue - this time a real one -for the other new Star Wars ride, Smuggler's Run.

You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy...

Smuggler's  Run is not as popular as Rise of the Resistance so it only takes about two hours to get through. But c'mon. You get to ride the MILLENNIUM FALCON.

Who wouldn't wait 2 hours to drive this? 

I'm not going to give any spoilers away about either ride but if you are near a Disney World park and are even mildly amused by Star Wars, you have to check out the Star Wars world that Disney has created.

Even if you get stuck in a line (and you will) it'll be a memorable experience. There's just something fascinating about sharing an experience with thousands of other souls who are willing to go the extra mile for something they love. May the force be with you!

p.s. bonus points to Glosette Girl for sticking this out with me. She isn't even a Star Wars fan...yet.

A New Decade

I can't believe it's a new decade already! So much happened in Glosette Girl, Margot and my life in the 2010s that its mind boggling. When I started this re-booted version of my Tough Cookies blog I summarized what had happened in the five years since I had last written a post. But five years doesn't quite capture the grandeur (in my mind!) of a decade of milestones. So here's another look at what's happened in our little corner of the world over the past 10 years, plus some extras:

• 2009 - Just before 2010, Glosette Girl and I bought our first house in Hull, Quebec. Around this time, Jen started her current job.
• May 2010 - Margot was born!
• Dec 2010 - I wrote my first blog post of my original blog, Tough Cookies.
• April 2011 - I started my current career.
• June 2012 - I switched to my current job. Glosette Girl became tenured in her position.
• 2010-now - we have had three wonderful cats: Luna, Marshmallow and now Panda.
• September 2014 - Margot started school in Quebec.
• August 2016 - we moved to our current neighbourhood in Hintonburg, Ottawa (actually, this was a super stressful experience that really started when we put our original home up for sale in January. Glad I don't need to do that again soon!)
• September 2016 - Margot started her first day of grade one at her current school in Ontario. This was the start of Margot and I walking to school together, which is a real treat for me. Previously, in Quebec, she was driven to school by Glosette Girl. Hard to remember what life was like before I did this.
• Spring 2018 - Margot tried horseback riding for the first time. If you ask her, this is likely the most momentous event since she was born.
• June 2019 - I turned 40 and celebrated the milestone with my best buds in Iceland. Wow!
• Tons of travelling with my family over the past ten years: Atlantic Canada, Vancouver Island, New York City, Iceland (with Glosette Girl this time!), Hawaii, Disney World, Costa Rica, getting to know my roots in El Salvador, Newfoundland, visiting our dear friends in France (twice!) and then Switzerland. Super grateful for being able to travel so much.

That's just for starters. There's also been some sad milestones in that time period, which have greatly affected us too.

Looking back I would say that the 2010s were the decade I became an adult. It just seems that all the stuff that society says makes you an adult (getting a house, family, career) happened over this time period.

Hmmm sounds serious! Fortunately, activities like playing piano, going for walks in nature, goofing around with Margot, and even writing this blog keep me young at heart (I hope!). I wonder what the next ten years will bring?