So long Bill Hader!

May 18/13.

Every May, I HATE the season finale of SNL because it means we won't see a fresh, inventive, timely, new episode again until well into the fall. Such a friggin' drag. Tonight's show is going to be particularly painful because it's the final appearance from the fabulously funny Bill Hader - (after eight seasons).

He played Herb Welch, the old man TV reporter who stuffs/shoves/bangs/whams his mic into the faces of ALL his unsuspecting guests.

 Devious horror flick star Vincent Price.

Political pundit James Carville.

And of course, his most popular character, Stefon! - Best known as the New York City correspondent on Weekend Update, Stefon Zolesky made his first appearance on the show - November 1st, 2008, pitching a movie with his filmmaker brother, (portrayed by tonight's host, Ben Affleck).

http://www.joblo.com/video/player.php?video=affleckstefon

As of tonight, Ben Affleck joins the infamous "Five Timers Club", which includes such illustrious members as

Justin Timberlake, Steve Martin, Chevy Chase (and Martin Short, who serves as a waiter at the club, since he hasn't quite made it to five times yet).

Justin boasts his five times! (So do Alec Baldwin, Christopher Walken, Tom Hanks, Bill Murray and Drew Barrymore).

With any luck, in the future, we'll see Bill Hader back on SNL as host. (or maybe Stefon will host!)
Who knows?

Haven't posted an entry on the blog in over two weeks. Still suffering anxiety, which seems to keep me away from writing. Here are a few things that happened since May 3rd.

My beautiful daughter, Kate got her hair cut, coloured and styled by the master,

Paul Taylor. (First time she had visited his new place of business, JC Salons in Bloor West Village).

Meanwhile, I started my long-overdue office cleanout.

Decades worth of files, paperwork, books and on and on. Will likely take MONTHS to get this accomplished, one teeny scrap of paper at a time! Can't BELIEVE the stuff I've found!

Not to mention, hundreds of special mags I've never been able to part with - finally decided it was time for them to go. (kept some, of course), but many went to Value Village.

As of May 8th, started running again at the Riverdale Park track. Haven't set foot on it since the fall, so wasn't sure I could get going again, but on the very first day, made it back up to my record of 7 laps - (2800 metres). Surprised myself. I always bring my iPhone and earbuds so I can run to music on shuffle. Helps a lot. The Beatles keep me going.

My old CFTR pal, Dana Lewis, (reporter in London, England - Fox News, NBC News, CBS News, etc.), swears to me that running is the way to go to deal with anxiety, to feel healthier and to build up the immune system. Ever since my cancer diagnosis, (more than two years ago), he's been encouraging me to run. He does it all the time on the streets of London. Good work Dana! You're an inspiration.

To keep the spirits up, I also like to dress colourfully,

check out the local garden centres - (at Loblaws and No Frills),

& buy fresh flowers every week or two. My late Mum, who adored gardens and flowers, always used to remind me that we need colourful flowers to feed our souls and nourish ourselves spiritually. She often quoted these little poems.

"If, of thy mortal goods, thou art bereft,
And from thy slender store two loaves
alone to thee are left,
Sell one & from the dole,
Buy Hyacinths to feed the soul"
- Muslihuddin Sadi,
13th Century Persian Poet

"If I had but two loaves of bread
I would sell one of them
& buy White Hyacinths to feed my soul."
- Elbert Hubbard
(1856-1915)

May 10 - Went for a very belated bone density test at the Yonge/Davisville lab. With all the Vitamin D/Calcium supplements plus running, I'm hoping the old bones are holding together! Will get results soon.

Kate kindly accompanied me. We had lunch together at Tim Hortons. Was fun! She is an incredible person, funny, smart and insightful.

The next day, May 11th, was my fabulous, phenomenal sister, Carrie's birthday. She was out singing at a funeral in the morning and then at baseball in Brampton with her son Lee for the rest of the day, so I couldn't see her, 

but delivered birthday gifts and a cake to her apartment, which she received later. 

Her son, Lee and his girlfriend, Emily, lit the candles and sang Happy Birthday to her. Have a GREAT year Cayr! xx

My father-in-law, Ben Bornstein, lives about four blocks away from Carrie, so I drove over to his condo, 

and, as requested,  took him to the bank at Lawrence Plaza.

The next day was Mother's Day. Even though I'm happy being a mother myself,

it was sad, 

because I miss my Mum, (3rd one without her), 

my Auntie Ray - (1st one without her),

and my Mum-in-law, Jean, - (also the first one without her).

However, had a very nice Mother's Day, courtesy of my son, Max, - who gave me the gift of Season One of Two and a half Men (yep, - STILL love Charlie Sheen!)

And Kate, who gave me two presents,

Season four of one of our fave shows - Will & Grace, plus a beautiful little bird journal (to remind me of my Mum, who adored birds).

and cousin Kev stopped by to bring me TWO Mother's Day cards - (also got gift cards for Cineplex from shy Sam, who doesn't like to pose for pics).

Kevio also compared shoes with Max. Seems these Rough Trade and Ghost Daze members BOTH adore VANS! Coolio!

May 13, went running and to my astonishment, made it to 7 laps again! Fave running song of the morning? The Long and Winding Road - (which is what I felt I was on!)

The next day, Max and his Ghost Daze bandmates, Charles Wilson and Emmett Webb, came over for band practice in the basement. Emmett asked me to take some promo shots in our back yard. This is the one I like best! Captured - so cute - and forever young!

This one turned out all blurry, but I love it anyway! - (I will NEVER make it as a photog in this lifetime!)

I am proud of Max for carrying on in the face of extreme sadness, following a breakup with his gorgeous girlfriend, Robyn after two years together. She was a special part of our lives and we miss her very much. 

I clearly remember what breakups were like in my teens. Painful. But, they're a part of life and there's not much you can do about it, except keep moving forward and believe in what the universe holds in store. I love you Max.

May 15 - Took Kate for allergy testing, after she suffered many weeks of sneezing and wheezing. Turns out, she is allergic to grass, 

but, thankfully, NOT to her precious cat, Tru! - Bring on the antihistamines.

Also went to get new Shellac nail work done by the expert, Tom. He took my pic out front of Urban Nails. Who knew there'd be a pink motorcycle parked outside that exactly matched my favourite nail colour,

Rosebud? - (Found out, they now keep Rosebud in stock, just for me!!)

On the 16th, went out running again, but could only make it to four laps. What the hell? 

Body just would NOT co-operate.

That evening, went to Hugh's Room to see Marc Jordan in concert!

It was Sam's belated birthday gift to himself. Went with Damian, Kate and Max. We had an ultra-fabulous dinner, 

and a GREAT front table!

Was SO happy to run into an old PR friend of mine, Dianne Schwalm (ex of Warner Brothers publicity) - now a filmmaker, 

preparing to shoot Jeffrey Archer movies. Can't even COUNT the number of interviews Dianne set up for me when I was at Global TV! We're going to get together for lunch sometime in June when she gets back from her next trip to L.A.

680 news music reporter Rudy Blair did a great one-on-one Q & A with Marc on stage. Marc spoke candidly about being dyslexic, but finding his way with music. Wish I'd had a chance to speak with Rudy. Haven't seen him in a long time, but couldn't find him after the show.

However, DID get the chance to talk to Marc, who sounded better than ever! What a stunning singing voice he has. And he is VERY funny.

Among the special guests at Marc's show? - Tom Cochrane!

Life is a highway
I want to ride it all night long
If you're going my way
I want to drive it all night long

What's next? - Tomorrow, will be over at Kevan and Marilyn's place to celebrate the birthday of my youngest little cousin, Sienna, who will be turning two on June 13th. We're doing the party early because her Mum, Sacha, (above), will be taking her back to Malta at the end of this month to see

her Dad, Mark, - a water polo player living in Malta! - Sacha will be gone for many months and we will all miss her a lot! By the time Sienna gets back, she will be almost three! Yikes!

I'll be "back on track" again tomorrow, hoping to make it to 8 laps again.

Happy Victoria Day weekend everyone! 

Bring on the fireworks! Withrow Park, down the street, will be overrun with kids and parents putting on the annual blazing show of lights and sparklers!