Syrup without maple is Like Pancakes without Syrup

This past week was “Fat Tuesday”, or “Pancake Tuesday”, or as I affectionately refer to it, “every day of my life”. Any excuse to devour a stack of pancakes is a good excuse, am I right? So of course I did just that! Some friends and I got together bright and early for a homemade pancake breakfast, complete with what we call “the Tower of Power”. Read: a whole lot of pancakes stacked so high it becomes a physical challenge to eat them. We had all kinds- blueberry, banana, chocolate chip, weird experimental fusion flavours...it was delicious! As we sat down to eat, my friend asked me If I wanted some maple syrup. “Obviously!”, I chirped in reply.

And then something scary happened. Something truly shocking, that rocked me to my very core. I don’t know if I can even say it.

(Deep breath)

Winter Time and The Livin’ is Not So Easy

This morning a very strange thing happened. As I stepped outside, all bundled up in my winter coat and scarf, my eyes were immediately assaulted by brightness; some kind of yellow orb was shining rays of light and warmth down on me!

Then I remembered: oh, the sun. It still exists!

How to be Good at Sports: Be a Good Sport!

Ahh, can you smell that? No, not your new lavender scented deodorant...the intoxicating aroma of Gold Medal Potential in the air!

It’s official: Olympic fever is sweeping the nation! (The only epidemic I’ll ever get behind, now that I think about it.) With Sochi in full swing and the Muskoka Winter Games coming up, this colder than cold season is definitely heating up with competition. As the youngest sibling of three brothers I, like many Canadians, am no stranger to the chill of winter air inside buzzing hockey arenas and the sound of sharp blades carving the ice. When I was 9 years-old I would go with my family to every game and dub myself a “cheerleader” as I led bleachers full of spirited hockey moms in loud, borderline obnoxious (I prefer the term “catchy”) cheers. Hooting, hollering, stomping my feet….now that was a good time!

Winter Warm Up: The Art of Drinking and Staying In

If there’s anything as essential as staying active during the winter months, it’s definitely staying warm. It’s a sentiment I sometimes forget, like that one night I stayed at a friend’s house in the city and decided I absolutely needed a buffalo chicken taquito from 7-11 at 10:00 pm. I thought a quick jaunt down the street would be fine in a pair of sneakers without socks, no scarf, and my winter coat unzipped. As I stepped outside and instantly felt a wind chill so biting it nearly knocked me off my sock-less feet, two thoughts entered my mind: “Snowpocalypse is upon us!” and “...I’m an idiot”.

But enough about my wardrobe blunders. The important lesson I learned is to dress appropriately for the weather - and appreciate the warmth of my home! Is there anything better than wrapping up a day of vigorous outdoor activity with some well deserved down time and a hot cuppa?

After the skating and tobogganing, it’s always nice to head back and get comfy with some fun board games and a hot drink. Speaking of which, here are a few of our favourite winter warm-ups:

Top 3 Tips for a Very Happy New Year

As the year draws to a close, it’s time to look back on the highlights and convince ourselves that everything we did was in total alignment with last year’s New Years Resolutions. If I’m being completely honest, the only one I really kept up with was “don’t sleep on my face so much”.  A praiseworthy accomplishment, so I will go right ahead and pat myself on the back.

I’m fond of celebrating milestones big and small, and reflecting on the many lessons and little nuggets of wisdom accumulated along life’s journey. So on that note, what better time to get all deep and introspective than the holiday season?

Here are my top 3 tidbits I learned this year and will be keeping in mind for next. Ponder, share, and add your own to the list.

Top 10 Crazy Christmas Songs (with a Canadian bent)

When I’m with family, I love to listen to charming Christmas tunes of yesteryear or the more typical renditions of festive favourites by popular musicians.  But when I’m with my friends, nothing beats a bit of Christmas comedy.

Want to magically unite your friends in a chorus of merry sing-a-long up at the cottage this year?  Pull out a couple of these top 10 crazy (and loved) christmas songs of every year...

How to throw a white elephant gift exchange

White Elephant is no ordinary gift exchange.  We love this game in our annual Christmas tradition because it's that wonderful and elusive combination of simple and hilarious.  All you need to do is to show up with a wrapped gift and hope you don't end up with the white elephant ...

Top 10 Popular Christmas Songs

After the rest of the family saw my lovingly prepared list of Top 10 Christmas Songs of Yesteryear, I was bombarded with a number of rather salubrious requests for changes to the list. (Okay, salubrious may be pushing it.  We are in the decade of epic fails and twerking, after all.)

Rather than sacrifice the sentiment and originality of that inaugural list, we decided to compromise on the creation of a brand new list.  So here we go, our family's Top 10 never forgotten - and always loved - Christmas songs of every year.

After all, it's Christmastime, pretty baby...

Add Extra Laughs to Your Holiday with an Ugly Christmas Sweater Party

In parts there yonder and around (huh?), the Ugly Christmas Sweater theme has already broken ground and made its way into popularity.  We went to our first one last year and absolutely regret not having participated, so this year we vowed to host our very own.

Wherever you spend your holiday party, we hope this activity makes it into your traditional rotation of Holiday time highlights...

Top 10 Christmas Songs of Yesteryear

When I was a child, I used to love to listen to my mother's four album Reader's Digest "Joyous Noel" song collection.  It was special to me not only because I was only allowed to play it in the month of December - under threat of death from my, shall we say, slightly less-than-joyously-spirited big brothers - but because it had a quality of songs and singing that I rarely heard otherwise. Suave voices of the 1940's and 50's, mixed in with 30's big bands and soulful singers of the 60's. When you're in the middle of the Big Hair 80's, hearing someone sing with passion and soul, accompanied by real instruments rather than electronically generated sounds, is like an ice cream sundae for the ears.

For most of my adult life, I've been parted from my beloved Reader's Digest collection and I recently found myself trawling high and low in what is clearly the 21st century's version of a dusty, old attic - the Internet - seeking tunes that evoke the same sense of childlike wonder and awe for the quality of the sound and the innocence of the message being sung.

I have stumbled across a number of beauties and I thought it would be appropriate at this sharing, caring time of year to give a little back to the Internet, and you, in the form of my personal Top 10 list of perhaps forgotten - but always loved - Christmas songs of yesteryear.

Here's hoping you and your loved ones will enjoy sharing them, each and every one!