W/E rush flips to "Mundane Monday" in snap of a finger!

January 30/12.

Time flies when you're.....too busy to notice!
After recovering from my sudden illness, (which had me bedridden on Thursday), I luckily felt well enough to join my sister, Carrie, to take our cousin Kevan out to dinner for his (belated) birthday, on Friday night.

He chose Sauvignon in the Beaches, one of his fave restaurants. Carrie and I had never been there, but - nice selection! (restaurant, company and wine)! We shared a light & fruity Pinot Grigio - very good year!

We split appetizers - a salad and a heap of sizzling sweet potato fries. Main course - for Carrie and I? - pickerel. For Kev? - lamb chops. Carrie & Kev shared an unusual chocolate/chili dessert. (I couldn't partake - just a bit too much for me after Thursday!) But, ALL great. Every morsel, every second! It's the first time in our lives just the three of us have gone out for dinner together. (It's always been at family dinners in the past). But we had a LOT to talk about. Among a million shared stories over the decades, we also added, (of course), the loss of Kev's Dad, (our Uncle Ev) in the past year, and our Mum (Kev's Auntie Jill), all which happened within the span of just two months of each other. Plenty to commiserate about and compare notes on. Here's to those we loved and lost, to surviving the year gone by, to happy, healthy times ahead and to Kev, for his birthday! Cheers!

A lovely lady named Donna, who works at the restaurant, recognized Kevio from his Rough Trade days, came to our table and mentioned her memories of the night the band played out east in New Brunswick. Kev clearly recalled that night and said it was a great evening out there. I snapped a shot of him with his "long lost fan"! (in return, Donna kindly took the restaurant shots of us!)

With Carrie -

Only a couple of months before, Kev was laid up for 46 days at Bridgepoint in rehab after the horrendous fall off his cottage roof.

He's come a LONG way baby, and has made a miraculous recovery! Thank goodness!

On the way out, had to laugh as we waited for the ten-second autocam to click. Carrie's camera clicks twice with TWO flashes and fools you EVERY time!

Carrie had some leftover Christmas gifts to give to Kev and fam, plus some birthday prezzies for him. Don't believe she was giving him sexy undies, (so that black bag MUST be leftover from one of MY recent sizzling shopping trips)!  Hoo haw!

Thanks for joining us Kevan. (and as you have often been known to say to us, we'll throw it right back at ya, - "You da BEST!!")  Kev wants to make this dinner an annual event, and we agree!

The next day, over the weekend, I had to start work on creating character voices for my 4th Find Your Voice session on Tuesday night. Our teacher, Jason Deline, has given each of the students a homework assignment to create five different voices from various suggestions he's made. It's a challenging and nerve-wracking thing for me, as it's right out of my element/comfort zone.

Luckily, enter Carrie again (Polka Dot Door expert/voice Queen/puppetry master), who sprang to my aid through SKYPE to give me some tips! By Tuesday night, hope to have SOME kind of voices in good enough shape to perform and record them.

Here's an example of the kind of thing Carrie can improvise her way through! When she discovered a squirrel had chewed a hole in the screen outside her apartment balcony window, she brought in her most realistic puppet - Prickles the porcupine to provide some incentive to get the squirrel to vacate the premises.



Sadly, her plan didn't succeed, but the video is a riot, and is on youtube! SOOOOOOOO funny! (she also said I could steal the voice for class! - I would, if I could DO it!)

On Sunday, drove uptown to take my parents-in-law grocery shopping at Lawrence Square.

They are very shy about having pictures taken, so my Mum-in-law took an "exciting" one of me (Corn Flakes and all) at Fortinos! Took Jean & Ben back to their condo and then drove home to do more voice prep. Still have Monday & Tuesday to try & turn myself into "animated mode". - Shouldn't be TOO tough. (I mean, afterall, - I've been Looney Tunes a LONG time now)!!

P.S. - Happy birthday to my oldest friend, Karen (Robbie) Hall. Today, she finally catches up to ME!!

(at least, AGE wise). In real life, I became a radio & TV reporter. She became a doctor. (U do the math!)
I'll be seeing you Saturday, Karen, when you come into T.O. for your late Dad's Celebration of Life.

Roderick Robbie, Canadian architect extraordinaire, deserves a HUGE send-off on Saturday afternoon.
Amazing man, incredible work, fantastic life.

Getting better!

January 27/12.

Got sick for 24 hours. Not fun. Didn't allow anyone to take pics in the state I was in, so will just use some
from OTHER days (instead of looking horrible in bed).

(this is NOT what I looked like yesterday, that's for damn sure!)

Here's what happened. Likely all my own doing. So many people have been concerned about my plumeting weight lately (down to 90 pounds), that I decided, OK, I'll just start eating and keep going. Not a wise move. Had perogies and later a big bowl of Shreddies with milk and fresh strawberries. A few hours later, I started to get really cold. Put my coat on and fell asleep on the den couch. Then woke up, shaking and absolutely freezing. Went up to bed, wore a bathrobe over my clothes, was under the Duvet and a big blanket, but NOTHING could stop the shaking. It was insane. Woke Sam up (which I never do), and told him I'm sick. He was thinking about calling an ambulance, but after about an hour, it started to subside a bit.

(I kinda looked like this.....not!  Had more of a half green/half blue hue).

Figured that after the many months of no appetite and then suddenly, piling on the calories - put my body into some kind of shock syndrome. By morning, I was still going in and out of major league cold flashes. My fingers turned white with cold (as it does in Raynaud's syndrome). Looked it up, and Raynaud's is usually related to exposure to cold. Also read this syndrome can be related to stress. (seems EVERYTHING can be related to stress!) At any rate, was very weak all day and spent most of my time in bed, sleeping or reading, (while shaking with cold). Weird or what? (thank you Shatner).

Sam went out and bought me a bunch of cans of Ensure (as recommended by my GP). Had my first one today....chocolate. Man, that stuff is heavy and dense and I'm not used to that at all. But I've promised everyone I'll gain weight, so I'm going to try to keep drinking it.

Maybe that way, I can get back to normal one of these days!

In the meantime, Carrie and I are taking our cousin, Kevan, out for his birthday dinner tonight to a restaurant called Sauvignon.

It will be the first time in our lives we've done this - just the three of us. (the original "stocking kids" as Carrie calls us) - since we spent every Christmas together as kids and ALWAYS opened our big red Santa stockings on the floor, as a team.

We have a lot to talk about. Kev is among the best men I've known in my life! He's like a brother to us, but also, a great friend. Glad I'm feeling better today. Here's to a great evening!!

Continuing the subject of highs & lows

January 26/12.

One of the best decisions I've made for myself in the past few years, was to FINALLY sign up for Find Your Voice,

the course taught by brilliant actor/voice-over specialist Jason Deline. I've always loved working behind the mic, with headphones, (but it's been nine years since I left Global TV). The above pic was taken Tuesday night at TA2 - (Tattoo Sound + Music studio), where the six-week course is held, - 483 Eastern Avenue at Logan, (directly across from the famous Weston Bakery). Every week, when we depart the studio, the gang is overwhelmed by the delectable scent of fresh-baked bread! I've taken to driving three of the students to the Broadview subway station after class, not only to give them a lift, but so we can yak at length, about the voice experience in the car! LOVE it! We're all overly-energized, adrenaline-fueled, laughing and it's so much fun.

Hope Jason doesn't mind me "stealing" this pic from his FB profile page. So cute. We've all talked about him after class, not just because he's good looking - (duh), but mostly because attending one of his sessions is like watching a one-man/solo comedy show! How he comes up with hilarious one-liners, fast patter, wild improv suggestions, feedback/constructive criticism, (without making students feel slammed in ANY way), we don't know, but he does it every week! He makes us feel part of a cohesive team, (despite the wide-ranging age differences!) LOL. - Right gang??

(left to right, Jason, Brittney Scott, Chris Truax, Suli Ahmed & Meryle Trouble)

Everyone is casual & kind enough to allow me to take pics for the blog, even during weekly "warm-ups". Luckily, this shot came out blurry, due to the low lighting in the studio...(well, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it). Jason has a theory about reading scripts with your tongue out. Tough to do, - and sounds AWFUL, but he insists it helps with the final result.

Diana Galligan wasn't visible in the "speaking in tongues" pic above, but believe me, she's right up there when called upon for ANYTHING. Watching her in action on Tuesday night was incredible. She can do WHATEVER is required, at the drop of a hat, (if she HAD one)!  Really, watching EVERYONE was great! I feel like this team has quite a future!!

Jason, (who was ACTUALLY wearing a cool hat!),  is more than tolerant, & puts up with me taking all these blog shots during class, (here with the lovely Brittney), who is not only a very talented voice artist, but also a real sweetheart.

Jason watches, (but mostly LISTENS), intently, to everything his students say or do, talking to us constantly in our headsets, giving unbelievable directions. Meanwhile, easy-going recording engineer Dave Clark is there to support us too, and rolls with all the punches, no matter HOW bizarre  He's terrific. Dave runs in & out of the studio at least 47 times per evening, re-setting the mic, getting water for everyone, recording every inane thing we do, - whatever is required.

Jason NEVER stops hurling comments, thoughts, orders & ideas. Wish I could think as fast as he does!

But I never stop watching him & taking notes! Jason says we should only write in PENCIL, so we can ERASE! (I discarded my pen before the end of the first session)!

Suli and Meryle.

On this third night, we got to perform "two-handers" together, (commercials with two voices). We paired up and it was an absolute riot. We also got the opportunity to do animation character voices, (or TRIED to)!  Jason tossed us SO many over-the-top challenges. Meryle, (who is the funniest in the group, in my opinion), had my fave moment of the evening, when Jason asked that she perform her commercial as an 80-year-old lady. She did it instantly, NO prep, and I was in hysterical laughter. Truly great, inspired bit! We listened to her playback, laughed our heads off, and all agreed, it was the best class yet.  I would recommend this voice course to anyone who is interested in learning the art of voice work!

Next week? Our homework assignment is outta control! Won't go into detail, but we have to create all kinds of character voices, based on lists of ideas given to us by Jason. Can't WAIT to see what this creative/talented group comes up with! (As for me? I have no clue! - Yikes! Gulp! Gak! Egad! Ai yi yi! Help)!!

Before the Tuesday voice-over session, my sister, Carrie & I had to meet with the tax man downtown to finally wrap up the last of our late Mum's tax files. We didn't expect it be emotional, but it was. Afterwards, we went for a rare tea together at a place called Jet Fuel Coffee Shop on Parliament Street (recommended by the tax man). Turned out to be a really weird experience with surly servers, no menu board and we didn't know we were expected to bring our dishes to the front counter when we left!

We sat at the back and had two Earl Grey teas, and split a croissant and a danish,  (the only items they had left!) Had a great chat and caught up on life. We're planning to take our cousin, Kevan, out for dinner on Friday night as a birthday gift.

Yesterday, I had one more doctor appointment with my GP to straighten out the paperwork, etc. for the upcoming MRI on Sunday February 11th. (Used to be I spent all my time taking Mum to the doctor. Now, it's me!) Hopefully all will be well!

Highlights/Lowlights (and I'm NOT talkin' hair colour!)

January 24/12.

This new year has been challenging to keep up with. Days often just seem to fly by. Used to write a blog entry per day, but lately, tough to do. Motivation down, "Intensity Entity" low, stress high, weight low (yes, everyone, I'm aware), responsibilities high, downtime low, emotional overload (both high AND low). Every which way but loose.

Awaiting results from ultrasound, with more tests to come. In the meantime, days are filled to capacity with all manner of things. Some ultra-FUN, some killer sad, some too hilarious for words, some too tough to even think about. I'm sure everyone goes through periods like this. What to DO about it? I'm not sure. The old cliche I guess - just live one day at a time.

Here's a look at some of the things which have been going on.

January 18 - American Idol returned for season 11! -  Yay! Always gives me a lift!

Love the show, (especially the audition episodes). Having worked with TV editors for 18 years, can only imagine the craziness involved in packaging the best highlights from the 1,002 Savannah auditions (not to mention, thousands of funny reactions from Steven, Jennifer and Randy), into a two-hour segment. The editing really makes it for me!

In the first show, one of my favourite parts was when the question was asked,  "What goes on in Steven Tyler's head when he makes those faces?"

Then they proceeded to show a squirrel on water-skis, (among other wild Tyler fantasies), and gave us glimpses of the great contestants mixed in with the usual number of knock-your-socks-off-awful contenders. In the end, 42 of the Savannah wannabes won golden tickets and are "GOING TO HOLLYWOOD!"


The next night of A.I. (January 19), moved on to Pittsburgh.

I kinda liked THIS guy! First thing I thought was, he's in a Justin Timberlake vein, when suddenly, JLo said, "Sounds like Jamiroquai & Justin Timberlake had a baby!" He sang his own original song, written on the way to Pittsburgh. A bold audition. 38 golden tickets were handed out on day two.

Before A.I. on Thursday night, met up with my old Global TV colleague and longtime friend, Rob Davidson, for a late lunch at The Friendly Greek on the Danforth. Has been quite a while since I've seen him, so a lot to catch up on. We've known each other about 25 years. NO shortage of conversation. (up until my car almost got towed away from the Danforth parking space at 4 o'clock). Thank goodness Rob spotted the tow truck seconds before it was too late! (never a dull moment, as usual).

Got through the Princess Margaret mammogram and ultrasound tests on the 20th and decided I'd do whatever I like on "Mundane Monday" to make myself feel better!

But not before a great Sunday afternoon visit with the amazing Auntie Ray at her condo, where we talked about everything under the sun,

and then, later on, back  home, decided to actually cook! Yep.

Made manicotti - two different kinds. (cheese and meat)

What a riot. Haven't whipped up manicotti in about three decades.

Forgot how time consuming it is! (especially the "ceremonial stuffing of the shells!"
Ai Carumba! But the final result was good!

"Mundane Monday" turned out to be GREAT! Went to the Eaton Centre.

Breakfast at Starbucks.

Shopped at Forever 21. (didn't buy anything).

next, The Body Shop,

for more of my favourite vanilla lotion, (big sale on, - buy two, get third one free!)
Good deal!


Dropped by the Bay Cat Hospital to pick up a bag of specialty food for our cat, Tru,

and visited with some very playful cats,

all up for adoption.

This one was particularly pretty!

Stopped off at our local mall, Gerrard Square,

for the big sidewalk sale,

Again, didn't buy anything, but there was plenty to look at!

To Shoppers, (where I seem to spend half my life),

and Canadian Tire, (where they didn't have the frying pan I needed). Guess I won't be able to cook.
Drat. (not!)

plus Loblaws,

where they had an abundance of exotic goodies that made me want to travel to a hot tropical island!

and to the Bulk Barn. Valentine's Day candy is everywhere!

(cinnamon hearts in bulk anyone?)

Hung out for a while with my good friend, Pam,

Went to see My Week with Marilyn for the second time. (Michelle Williams ended up getting nominated
for an Oscar, as I knew she would. She's fantastic in this movie!)

Later called cousin Kevio to wish him a happy birthday (though we had celebrated the occasion a few nights before). I hope it's a great year ahead for him!

Quite a "me day". Lots of fun, and a blast-&-a-half x 5!  But was pretty tired when I got home!

Next entry? - day three at Jason Deline's voice-over class!