Last Day (for now)

Believe it or not but today was my last day at my current job for a very long time. See, last year I scored an interesting opportunity to go on a Government interchange for a year and it starts tomorrow.

I'm super excited...but also nervous!

I rarely talk about work on this post (this blog post was a rare exception) but it's a huge part of my  identity. I've been at my current position since June 2012 and a lot of life has happened in that period. It's hard to remember everything that's happened since that time (although here's another old post that captures most of the key life events). To think I was only in my young thirties back then and now I'm firmly ensconced in middle age!

Because I knew I was leaving a few months ago I've kindof been experiencing a long goodbye. That made the actual leaving today simultaneously anti-climatic, but also poignant. 

When I left the office at noon I was holding a copy of my degree, my work shoes, and a bag of knick-knacks. Haha to a passerby I probably looked like I had been kicked out of the building! The smile on my face would have probably thrown them off though.

Into the unknown...

Because my interchange is only for one-year I'm not saying goodbye to my current position as much as "see you later". Still, I can't help but feeling that one chapter in my life has ended and another is beginning. 

Will it be good, bad or ugly?  Regardless I hope the experience will give me a fresh perspective on where I am, and where I want to go. One thing's for sure, it's going to be an adventure.

Camp Fortune

I used to go to Gatineau Park a lot more. When we lived in Hull it was just so easy to hop in the car and drive to one of the many trails. But I've noticed that we do that a lot less these days.

Part of the reason is that there are just so many decent trails on the Ottawa side of the river. They aren't as epic as the ones on the Quebec side, but often they are much easier to get to.

Still, sometimes, I am reminded just how amazing the area just across the border is and how close we are to some pretty amazing activities. For example, on a last minute whim this past weekend, Margot and her cousin N, decided to go night skiing at Camp Fortune. It was the last weekend for night skiing (and, with the way things are heating up around here, probably any skiing), so we didn't want to miss it.

Even though it can feel like you are really driving into the wilderness when you go into Gatineau Park, with lots of craggy rocks and snow covered trees, it's actually only 25-minutes from our door to the slopes - that's pretty good!

It was still light when we dropped the kids off

Of course, Margot being a responsible kid, stuck to the easy beginner slopes....

Not my best photo. Just had time to snap Margot zipping down (on the right)

 ...NOT! Of course she tried out the Black Diamonds!

Luckily, she's pretty good at ski camp all week so she redeemed herself pretty well. Meanwhile, Glosette Girl and I chilled out at the Biscotti & cie cafe in Old Chelsea, which is a cute nearby village.

Yup, we certainty are sometimes spoiled for choice around here.

No Pineapple Pizza!

As much as I prefer craft industries and local businesses, there's a Domino's franchise down the street, which serves as a handy (and cheap) place for party food. And last weekend, to celebrate the homecoming of Glosette Girl's family coming back to Canada after a Caribbean cruise, we took full advantage by ordering three scrumptious pizzas.

The first pie was plain pepporoni. Nothing special. All good.

The second was a thin-crust, Brooklyn-style pepperoni and green pepper. Margot can only eat thin-crust now that she has braces. Again, all good.

And the third and last was pepperoni and pineapple.

Let's take a look at what Margot and her cousins thought about that one in this four-part docu-drama:

Pretty impressive for an impromptu video right? I mean, I would subscribe to that channel!

Maybe go for "all-dressed" instead next time!

Anti-gen

Is it just me or does it seem like the news cycle has moved on from COVID? First came the freedom convoy and now there's the invasion of Ukraine. 2022 sure seems to be trying hard to prove that time inevitably marches on to the next crisis.

But we're not done with COVID quite yet in our household!

A couple of days ago Glosette Girl wasn't feeling too hot (she had a persistent headache) and so she decided to take an anti-gen test to see if she had coronavirus. It was actually a novel experience for us because besides taking Margot in for a PCR test way back in December 2020 we haven't ever felt the need to get tested. In fact, except for getting sick as a consequence of our second and third COVID shots, I don't think our family ever had such a long run of good health in our lives.

But not perfect. 

And with her headache and all the free anti-gen tests around here, Glosette Girl decided to play it safe and test herself. And the results were....

NEGATIVE!

Yay, negative! Guess our good luck is holding up.

Guest Post: Youth Yoga Jeunesse

One of the cool things about the pandemic is that it has inspired a lot of people to strike out and try something new. Glosette Girl is no exception; a few months ago she started Youth Yoga Jeunesse, which is a super cool business that...well why don't I let her explain.

Question One: "Tell me about Youth Yoga Jeunesse."

Pretty cool huh? Oh and she doesn't mention it, but Yoga Yoga Jeunesse is entirely bilingual - so all you polyglots, get on board!

Question Two: "What have you offered so far?

Hmm sounds varied. Quite the multitasker, that Glosette Girl. And this isn't even her day job!

Question Three: "What has been the biggest challenge and biggest reward?"

And the most important question of all...

p.s props to Glosette Girl for creating a profitable business in a global pandemic.
p.p.s. if you didn't know Glosette Girl's real name before, you do now!