Eventually...

I'll be back to posting semi-regularly, I promise. I know you're concerned.

January Booklist

One of my New Year's resolutions was to read two books a month and review them here...I actually read four this month, so I'll review the best two:



Shanghai Girls by Lisa See is a beautiful story about two young sisters born in Shanghai to a wealthy business man and his wife. They live a privileged, modern life (by Chinese standards) until their fate takes a turn for the worse. The are forced to move to America, where they find themselves living a life they never expected. This is a heart-rending story about the bonds of family, the importance of tradition and the plight of immigrants of visible-minority to America before the civil-rights movement (many of the sentiments, I am sad to say, are still entrenched in the hearts of North Americans today.) I love Lisa See, and have read several of her books, I also love historical fiction...I would highly recommend this book, especially if that genre is of interest to you.



Still Alice by Lisa Genova was an incredibly well written story about a brilliant Harvard professor in her early forties who develops early-onset Alzheimer's. The story is written from Alice's point of view, and it chronicles her journey as she tries to identify with her family and herself as her brain, and the life she once knew, deteriorates. It's a story about redefining self-identity, the strength of familial bonds (again) and it offers keen insight into the mindset of someone suffering from Alzheimer's. Once again, I highly recommend this novel...It will certainly make you hold your friends and family a little bit closer. NB: Read with Kleenex close at hand.

I'll be joining the book club at the Oakwood branch of the Toronto Public Library starting in March. I've already read the February book, so I figured I could wait. I've also booked our hotel in Ottawa for Winterlude this year. I can't wait for a weekend of skating on the Rideau, eating beaver tails, speaking French and spending time with good friends....
I'll also be taking a pottery class and starting up with yoga again as soon as my job at Oxford officially ends in three weeks. Not that I'm counting :)

Dodgeball Champions!

This past weekend was one of the best I've had in a loooong while! S and I play in a charity/birthday dodgeball tournament called "The Budd Cup" put on by a few of our good friends. This year the tournament benefited the victims of the earthquake in Haiti, and it also went to promoting artistic endeavors for at-risk children. We had so much fun, and I really improved my game...our team, The Harlem Globedodgers (aka the American Apparel team...just look at the photos and you'll see what I mean), even went on to win the tournament! I've got a few of the 445 (yes, 445) photos that S took of the day. I have mostly included photos of myself, not because I'm narcissistic, but because I don't want to share photos of people on my blog that haven't given me permission to do so...No one likes getting in trouble with the law.


Ready to play...looking sufficiently deceptively innocent, complete with a Stephanie Tanner-worthy side ponytail.


Catching turned out to be my new-found skill. I even caught two balls at once...but as cool as it looked, it technically meant I was out, because you can only handle one ball at a time...


Throwing was certainly NOT my skill...the ball weighs nothing, and I was trying to throw it like a baseball.


S and I relishing the big win.


Snuggling the cup.


The Harlem Globedodgers...a damn good team!


Things got a little silly at the after party, as they are wont to do.

S and I also won some excellent raffle prizes...tons of CDs and a Flip video recorder...which has already become an integral part of our lives...Needless to say, I see some video blogs in the near future!