And the living is easy.

Oh god, I love summer.  I think I tell you this every summer, but I really do.  Today was hot.  And yesterday was hot.  And the day before that was hot.  Like 30 degrees hot.  (Which is some hot number in the American system.  I can’t be bothered looking it up.  Sorry.)

I made these. Ha ha! No, I totally didn’t. I don’t have that kind of attention span. Someone did though, and kudos to them.

Some people complain about this, but the thing you have to remember about summer in Vancouver is that you have approximately two weeks to soak up your vitamin D for the entire year, so when they complain they get slaps from Stephanie.  Actually, that’s not technically true.  I’m anti-violence.  But they get mental slaps.  Because the rest of the year it rains.  It is hard on the soul and these few weeks are the only thing that get most of us through it.

I promise not to turn into a Mommy blog, but this happened and it was kind of intense, so I’m going to tell you about it.

So, as those of you who have both read my last few posts and can do basic math may have realized – I had a kid.  And I survived.

The Passing of Time Makes Me a Liar

There are things I thought I’d never do.  I thought I’d never like avocados.  And then one day I did.  I thought I’d never get a “real job” that lasted more than a year or two, but I’m an accountant and next week is my sixth anniversary with my employer.  I thought I’d never own furniture or live in any one city for more than a couple of years, but then I bought real estate.  I thought I’d never get married (not because of any fundamental opposition to the idea, but because my list of criteria of what would make an acceptable life partner sounded shockingly unrealistic), but then I met a guy who ticked all my boxes.

This is what time does.  It takes your ideas of how your life is going to go and it laughs.  I’ve always known that.  My life plans have never been solid.  If something doesn’t work out, I’m ok to move on and if an unexpected opportunity arises, I’m happy to go for it.  Or if my whims take me somewhere I didn’t know I wanted to go, I trust myself and see how it works out.  As a rule, this has gone well for me.

But we’re talking here about vague plans.  Things I thought I’d do.  Things I thought I’d never do.

But then there are the things I swore I’d never do.  The things so based on my understanding of myself that I never questioned that I might change my mind on them.

What a Good Day Looks Like

When I was in high school, someone decided the theme for all the literature we would read in grades 11 and 12 English would be “imprisoned lives.”  We did read some great books, but it was a gloomy couple of years.

One of the more painful offerings we studied was “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” by Aleksandr Solzhentisyn.  In case you’ve missed this one, (spoilers) it’s about a day in the life of a guy in a Soviet labour camp in the 1950s.  It’s a rough day, by our standards.  He’s sick and hungry and cold and he lays bricks and life is hard.  But at the end of the day, he’s kind of happy because it was a good day, comparatively, I think because he wasn’t beaten and maybe someone gave him a cigarette.  I don’t completely remember.  I can’t say I loved this book.

Pop Culture Cramming

So, we have here that most rare of things, a gorgeous sunny Vancouver winter day.  It is truly glorious.  Am I going for a hike?  No, I am not.  I do not hike.  Much.

No, instead, I am sitting inside enjoying the light through a window, which is how I most like to enjoy the sunshine.  I may have been a cat in a former life.  And what else am I doing as I luxuriate in the sun and write to you, my friends?

I am boning up on pop music.

And then THIS happened.

So, since it turns out I was a big fat liar when I said that my last cake post was going to be my last cake post, just thought I’d share a photo of my most recent cake, because it turned out rather nice, (even if I do say so myself) and there’s something very gratifying about doing something and having it turn out well.

Pretty, no?  I decided to move away from buttercream and instead went with this salted caramel cream cheese frosting recipe (which was neither as salty nor as caramelly as I had hoped, but still yummy.)  I don’t think it has the stiffness or stamina of buttercream, but it tastes loads better.

Did I Mention I’m Going to Mexico?

So.  I don’t think I told you that I’m going to Mexico.

Tomorrow morning.  Bright and early.  Or, actually, dark and early, because I have to be at the airport by 4:30 am at the latest.  But who cares; I’m going to Mexico.  In November, which everyone knows is the second most depressing month of the year.  I suppose it’s patting myself on the back, but it’s also honest to say that this was excellent planning, time-wise.

Mexico is a home of my heart.

I Don’t Think I Can Explain This – It’s Possible I’ve Been Possessed

Sometimes I really surprise myself by my reactions to things.  It’s like there’s this whole other person in me who I barely know but who sometimes just takes over and gets her way.  (And she’s pretty fabulous, so I’m cool with it.)

So yesterday, I was skimming through the daily free commuter newspaper that they give out at the seabus and I saw an ad for this:

Me the Enabler – Version 67

I would like a cat.  But I don’t really know if I’m responsible enough to have one.  So instead I encourage my friends to get cats so I can live vicariously through them.

His name is Nixxon. You totally want to adopt him, don’t you.

Cupcake Awesome

Oh yeah, this is totally my backup career plan for if the whole accounting thing falls through.