morning gruel

the hottest hot

Morgaine and I spent a night in Whistler this week. She was shooting a wedding and I went along as the nanny.

To make our trip more enjoyable, I decided to invest in commuter mugs. I imagined us sipping tea and eating freshly baked scones as we drove along the Sea-to-Sky Highway. It's good to own a commuter mug -- I always cringe when I stop for a cup of tea on the go and end up with yet another paper cup.

As it is with so many other consumer products, I discovered that if I spent a few extra dollars on our commuter mugs, I could get those of superior quality. So I bought us a couple of stainless steel Thermos brand mugs. The selling point? Thermax. I don't know exactly what it is but it was touted on the label to promote the 'coldest cold' and the 'hottest hot'. Good idea, no?

No. The presence of Thermax does not make for a better commuter mug. Quite the opposite. Half way to Whistler, I took a sip of tea and burned my tongue. In fact, my tea wasn't a realistic drinking temperature until we arrived at our hotel.

It's not a commuter mug, it's a drink-it-when-you-get-there mug.

expanding man

Hello My Darling Readers...

It's been too long. I think it's pretty obvious what I've been doing, but just to clarify: I've been quite busy parenting. And as if that isn't enough, I have also been up to a whole bunch of other stuff that I'll cover in future posts. For now, let me tell you this...

I always thought that it was a cliche when parents would tell me that having a child changes your life. I mean, of course it changes your life, but they would say it like some great secret was finally revealed or something.

And then I discovered that they were right. Okay, it's not exactly like some great secret has been revealed -- I don't have any more answers than I had three months ago. But having a baby has allowed for expansion where I didn't know I had room to grow. And every time my son smiles at me, my heart expands more and more to the point where I think it can fit the whole world.

And you're all there too...