Welcome to Friday.  Yesterday's little whiff of spring (while not nearly as sunny as we'd been promised by the forecaster who was whiffing something else, methinks) was just a tease; today, as the day goes on and into the weekend, we're firmly frozen in winter again.  ~ Sigh ~  Care to watch some baseball from Dunedin?

Before I finish off the week and wrap up the "Do Overs" of yesterday, I want to ask you - have you noticed something missing from your Sunday Sun?  If you're a regular reader,   you may be a fan of Debbie Holloway's weekly shots of celebs and names you know taking part in various charity fundraisers, etc..  Whenever money was being raised, Debbie was there, camera and note pad in hand, ready to give the event some press and help the cause.

Well, now Debbie Holloway is the cause.  Her City Life pages in the Sun have been dropped, after years of helping charities, hospitals, etc..  Debbie was always extremely proud and honoured to be an ambassor of the Toronto Sun, and we were always happy to see her at events, not because it meant OUR pictures were going to be in the paper, but because the name of a truly worthy cause would be getting some much-needed ink.  There has not been a City Life spread for the past two Sundays, and if you miss Debbie's contribution to the paper, you're urged to contact the Sun's publisher.  Here are a couple of names for you to e-mail: KinMan.Lee@sunmedia.ca (publisher) and Lou.Clancy@sunmedia.ca (editor in chief).

Consider it a favour for someone who's done so much for so many great causes in this city of ours.  Thank you.

Now - to the topic we mused about here yesterday and "Do Overs".  I have one big one to close with today.  If I could go back to the fall of 2003 and the months of rehearsal and performances of Cinderella at the Elgin Theatre, I'd have HAD MORE FUN!  And this, my friend, is one of the biggest life lessons that I got from that tumultuous time in my life.  I was so nervous, so afraid that I wasn't good enough, so obsessed with the knowledge that I wasn't the director's first choice to play the Fairy Godmother (producer Ross Petty fought for me, I think, because he knew it might bring some good press - and I'd like to think he was right) that I forgot to take the time to enjoy the experience.  I mean, it was a blast!  The lights, the applause, the laughs, the joy that was a reality every night and matinée were so incredible and yet only a fraction of the marvelous experience got through to me.  What a pity!

But I learned from it.  I don't want to be on my death bed (or death beach blanket, if I happen to go the way I want to!) looking back at my life saying, "What the hell was I so afraid of?  Why didn't I enjoy every single minute?"

Every day is a chance for a do-over.  Don't forget it.  Enjoy this weekend and we'll talk to you Monday.  Speaking of do-overs, remember we have our "Best Of" shows every Saturday morning at 9 am and Sunday evenings at 6.  We think you'll enjoy them.  In the meantime, I'll talk to you Monday.

Erin

As you see above, this is February 26.  And somebody has decided that this is "National Do Over Day", the day when every Canadian supposedly gets the chance to relive events to do with love, family, sensuality, travel, social life, etc..  Or, on the darker side, repair career-ending blunders, socially suicidal moves, immoral or criminal acts or pretty much anything falling under the heading "regrettable".

Toronto media buying firm Wills & Co. asked "thousands" of focus groups what they'd like to do over.  Some of the results in the "righting the wrongs" category:

    -   Botching a job interview - 23%
    -   Sending a threatening, mocking or stalking email - 19%
    -   Owning a lame vehicle - 8%

    Within the "reliving the right" category were these revelations:

    -   Falling in love for the first time again - 39%
    -   Becoming skilled at an activity they never thought they could master - 33%
    -   Enjoying an unforgettable meal - 27%

We'll be talking about this on the show today, no doubt, but it got me to thinking.  What would you like to do over?  What wrongs would you make right?

For me, those are tough questions, which I guess means I've had it pretty good.  I mean, I wouldn't marry a different guy, I wouldn't have made different career choices and I don't even think I'd have done anything differently in raising Lauren.  So, to the little things.

First thing that came to mind: our wedding.  I'd love to have had a larger, classy, everybody invited (with all drinks covered) kind of wedding.  The kind with a string quartet (although my sisters on organ and oboe did a lovely job!) and an orchestra that I wasn't up singing with (but that was huge fun!).

I'd want the people I knew then and know now to be there.  But we didn't have the worldliness to pull off something like the wedding I wish we'd had.  We didn't even know what we didn't know - you know?  And the money?  Nope.  We went cheap and very, very cheerful.  It was a great day....

Okay, no "do over" on the wedding.

I do know that the part of our honeymoon that wasn't at Disney World, should have been different.  We spent it on a sad and tired little cruise ship that was a refitted ferry and had every bit of the ambience.  That's what I get for taking payment for a year of voice work in travel contra (the company had no money).  It was not a pleasant voyage - any way you slice it!

But, given that the ensuing years have been smooth sailing - how much can I complain?

What else would I do over?  I would look at my time out of radio in 2003 as a gift instead of a time of anxiety and sadness.  If only I knew how it was going to turn out (hindsight being 20/20 and all of that...) just think how much I would have enjoyed that time off!  I must say though, that every morning I awoke to a sunlit room, I did say a silent prayer of thanks.  At least I was present enough to enjoy the sleep-ins!

Still with that time - I would have tried to have more say in the W Network show that bore my name.  Instead of letting bosses bury the humour and improvisational elements of me that brought me to that place, I would have tried to inject more personality and fun to the show.  I would have ignored the edict to "Never, never be earnest".  For heaven's sake, if you Google Image "earnest", my picture comes up!  It's who I am and I firmly believe that what comes from the heart goes to the heart.  You know, maybe given that our little live nationwide show was up against "Ellen", it was sunk before it sailed for a season.  But I'd have done a few things differently there, for sure.

I never felt I got the true shot at TV that I really wanted, and that's one regret I do have about this charmed career of mine.  I love radio most of all, but television is a challenge I don't think I really got a good solid chance at.  Even the W Network show could have gotten really good had we given it more than one season but...that's showbiz.  Given the dire straits that networks are finding themselves in today, I'm not expecting another suitable television opportunity to come by.  And you know, that's a blessing too.  In a youth-obsessed medium such as television, the pressure would be there to be taut and tight and botoxed and big-lipped.  Would anything be worth that?

So I will be happy with what I have and who I am.  No complaints, just gratitude.  After all, as the Dalai Lama said, "When you lose, don't lose the lesson".

My biggest "do over", I'll save for tomorrow.  It's a life lesson that you might find helpful, and I'm happy to share it with you.  'Til then -

Erin

Good day - and thanks for stopping in.

So here we are at Wednesday.  I had a nice - albeit brief - visit yesterday with a listener who stopped by CHFI to drop off some photos and a gift.  We spoke with Stephanie on air last week about her trip to Ottawa to see Barack Obama; you may have heard the interview.

She and friend Debbie took a bus arranged by our sister station CHYM in Kitchener and managed, not only to see the US President, but were tipped off by a friendly cop in Ottawa to stay exactly where they were so that when Obama came by on his way to the market, they were right there to witness it.  Stephanie is still flying high and brought Mike and me T-shirts made by a fellow adventurer to commemorate the first visit of Obama to Canada.  So thoughtful.

Interestingly, it was my friend Robina's trek to Washington, DC for the inauguration last month that inspired Stephanie to make her trip to Ottawa.  Today, I'm meeting up with Robina for lunch and a long overdue visit, and I'm sure she'll regale me with all kinds of wonderful stories that came out of that adventure with her children to watch history in the making.  I can't wait.

I found it downright strange to talk to people in Florida a few weeks back who didn't vote for the new president.  Now, obviously, a look at the numbers makes it clear that plenty of Americans did not choose to back Obama, but I still had a hard time getting my head around why.  That is, until I realized that some people treat their political leanings as though they were eye colours: you stick with what you're born with, and don't even consider what else might be out there.  Me, I can't imagine being tied to one party, thick or thin and I think many Canadians feel the same way.

Time was, your religion or geographical co-ordinates determined how you would vote, regardless of the issues, the candidates, etc..  But I have voted for almost every party there is (and continue to) according to whom I do and do not want in charge.  Again, we get back to the travesty of not being able to choose our leader and our local representative separately - a policy that won't be changed by whoever is in power, since it's what got 'em there!

At any rate, there doesn't seem to be the hatred and vitriol among Canadians, when it comes to parties and politicians, that exists among Americans.  That intolerance was exemplified loudly and clearly on the weekend for me when a great little entertainment website I frequent turned into a liberal/commie bashfest.  How?  The right-leaning Drudge Report linked to it, in a story about the Oscars.

How do people live with such bitterness in their hearts about everything that isn't what they believe in or voted for?  Spurred on by hate-filled, loudmouthed talk show hosts, it must be unbearable for them to face four (or eight) years under a party or a leader that they so despise.  But perhaps American history has always been filled with such division.  Remember, there are still people who, in their hearts, refuse to admit that the south did not win the Civil War!

I wish you a peaceful Wednesday.  We'll talk to you here tomorrow.

Good morning - and welcome to Tuesday.  It was an evening of glamour and honours last night as I hosted the Premier's Awards for excellence among Ontario college grads.  I was a nominee myself a few years back; alas, like Meryl Streep on Sunday, I was not a "recipient"...but in darned good company just the same!  It was a pleasure and honour to host last night's ceremonies at the Harbour Castle Westin.  What a spirited group and such inspirational recipients!  A Grammy winner and a Member of the Order of Canada, to name just two of the six finalists.

We had fun with a bit of a post-Oscar theme and when I first took the podium, I said to the table nearest the stage, "Ask me who I'm wearing!"

They went along with the gag and asked...to which I responded, "Spanx!"  It got a good laugh.  I told the women at the table they could explain it to the guys later.

As I sat on the stage, I was in the fine and funny company of Minister John Milloy, whose portfolio is Training, Colleges and Universities.  Now, we didn't get a chance to chat, so I didn't bring up with him the subject of today's journal.  (Likely wouldn't have, even had the opportunity arisen, but I expect he might have had an opinion.)  Anyway, here we go:

It began with the Stamp Act of 1765 and anger among colonists in America grew.  The rally cry was, "No taxation without representation!" if I remember my high school history correctly.  And it's exactly what we felt like crying when Rob and I were gently turned away after driving an hour from our cottage (and in a direction opposite to home, our eventual destination) to an advance election poll on the weekend.

You see, there's a by-election being held in the enormous riding where our cottage sits.  Last month, we had a sit-down with the highest profile candidate, our acquaintance and Toronto neighbour John Tory, and bent his ear about a long-standing problem with the proliferation (more like plague) of quarries in our area.  As a result of that chat, Rob and I made a point of getting to the poll to make our voices heard.

Here's the problem: in a provincial by-election, you can't vote in the riding if it's not your primary residence.  Apparently you can if it's a municipal election, but that doesn't fly in the "by".

Now, I understand the principle of not being able to vote in more than one place.  After all, in a country with, say, 18 million elgible voters, it would look more than a little suspicious if 22 million votes were cast (not that anywhere near 100% of Canadians would turn out to vote anyway, but let's just say, for the sake of a minor rant).

However, we pay taxes both in downtown Toronto and in the City of Kawartha Lakes.  Although my driver's license says "Toronto", my tax bills also say "Kawartha Lakes".  So why can't I have a representative in both places?

The wording on all of the Elections Ontario information we read is decidedly undecided.  In fact, it's downright vague.  Among the criteria, it states you have to reside in the riding in which the by-election is being held, but it doesn't say principal residence.  Yes, that's implied, but we DO reside at our cottage three nights out of seven throughout the year.  Some clarification is definitely needed and from what we read at the polling office Sunday, this rule - vague as it is - stands for every provincial election.

Right now, we pretty much have to accept the the fact that we can't vote in the upcoming by-election.  But if our candidate loses by two votes, we'll be more than a little steamed with the rules, their vagaries and how - at least to these two tax payers - they're just, plain, stupid.

Good morning.  Could I get another coffee over here, please?  Yep, your loyal blogger here stayed up 'til the end of the 81st annual Academy Awards.  And yes, news stories later today will tell us all that they were the lowest-watched Oscars in history (blah blah blah) but as usual, I couldn't miss a minute.  After all, for the first time ever, I think, Rob and I saw all five Best Picture contenders.  And we really felt we had a stake in the show.  Honestly, in the midst of an endless winter, why not have a little something to keep you up late and offer some excitement, right?

Well, besides the 50 million dollar 6/49 draw Saturday night!  Awoke yesterday to the news that two winning tickets (of a total of four) had been bought in the GTA.  And I'd bought quick picks on Friday in honour of our 21st anniversary (21 tickets, of course).  It was so cute: the woman at Metro in Newmarket said, "I guarantee that's a winning ticket - right up until draw time!"  We laughed.  We lost.  Just as well....

Anyway - to the winners last night.  Rob, Lauren, Nathan and I gathered with Pepper, Molly and popcorn to watch the gowns, the pageantry and, oh yes, the awards.

The Oscars felt more like the Tonys from the get-go, with the whole opening number (the "budget" tribute to the Best Pictures) and later the song & dance number with the top hats.  There were some laughs: James Franco and Seth Rogan watching clips of movies they only thought were comedies, Ben Stiller spoofing Joaquin Phoenix's awful stint on Letterman, and the guy balancing the Oscar on his chin.  Cuba Gooding Jr. giving Stiller and Robert Downey Jr. a hard time for taking a role (in Tropic Thunder) from a black actor.  But other than that...cue the crickets.  We missed you, Billy Crystal.  Where were you, Jon Stewart?

Even a guy whose career has been built on comedy, Jerry Lewis, was flat and scripted.

At about 11:00 pm I started to think, uh-oh this could be a reallllly long one.  Turns out, I was wrong and it was the fourth shortest Oscars in history.  Perhaps the lack of suspense made it feel that long.

During a tribute to those who died in the past year, the Queen Latifa version of "I'll Be Seeing You" was lovely, although the tiny screens they showed us at home made seeing just who had passed away a real challenge.  Still, a lovely small moment during a night that seemed lacking in larger ones.  It was wonderful to see Slumdog Millionaire take eight Oscars.  This little movie about Mumbai captured the Academy's hearts, just as it did mine, and turned out to be just the perfect Hollywood movie: hardships and villains, love and triumph, music and joy.  Just everything a moviegoer could want, and it was saluted.  Nice.  I admit I had tears rolling down my cheeks when it won Best Picture and the joyful cast - including the small children who played the lead characters as kids - joined the film's producer on stage.

Speaking of salutes, I did love the "group introductions" of nominees.  It's a beautiful way to pay tribute to each nominee and it was touching for both the recipients and, in our house, the audience.  Each actor or actress spoke to a nominated peer.  Sophia Loren spoke directly to Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine addressed Anne Hathaway as a mentor.  Really classy and I hope they'll do it this way again next year.

Who knows?  Today the whole show will be lambasted and criticized and torn apart.  I don't care.  The Oscars producers keep struggling to make the show memorable and different.  And every year people tear it apart.  That's cliché and lazy.  I'd love to read or hear about better ideas...but until then, I'll continue to stay up well past my normal bedtime (even on weekends!) and enjoy Hollywood's biggest night.

Tonight, it's awards of another kind - I'll be emceeing the Premier's Awards for college excellence, being held at the Harbour Castle Westin.  A lower key affair than the one last night in L.A., to be sure, there's no doubt in my mind that these winners are every bit as deserving of accolades and recognition, and no less thrilled to be taking home a prize.

Talk to you tomorrow.  Now, where is that fourth coffee?  Anyone?

Erin

Welcome to Friday - and being February 20th, it's a very special day in our home.  This is the day, 21 years ago, that Rob and I said our vows before a small group of friends and family in a little church house on St. George Street downtown.  Don't bother wondering which one - it's gone now.  So is Rob's best man, the late broadcaster George Franks.  So is my Matron of Honour, my grandmother Velma Moore, as are many of the older friends who bore witness to our commitment that day.  But neither our love nor our memories has faded and this is always a very big day in our lives...but one we don't really mark in any huge way.

I'll explain.  See, we figure we celebrate our love every day (some days with more flash and fireworks than others) and so it seems a little redundant to make a big deal about our 21st this year.  I mean, we travel together whenever we have more than a two day weekend (the photo above was taken last year in Egypt and is one of my favourites of us as a couple), we dine out every now and then and we spend oodles of time in each other's company.  So, what could we do to make this day stand out?

We'll head to the cottage, enjoy the best nap of the week (the afternoon sleep at the cottage just rocks) and then get up, have a quiet dinner together and spend the evening as we always do: being grateful for the peace and tranquility of where we are.  It doesn't sound too exciting because it's not, but that's what we want.  Just quiet.  Sure, it'd be great if Lauren could join us, but she's working this weekend, so it's is just the two of us.

I know to a lot of people reading this, 21 years is nothing (Mike and Debbie are almost double that; my parents are at 53 years this August) but to us, it's still pretty cool.  Not once did we get close to parting - heck, we never fight and rarely disagree - but we do know that half of the other couples who married in 1988 didn't make it this far.  Maybe part of our success is that I was 25 when we tied the knot and I'd had a couple of longer term relationships before Rob. He'd been married 10 years to someone else (took a day off high school to tie the knot the first time!) so we both had some life and love experience under our belts.  I've no doubt that that's played a role in our success over the ensuing decades.

Lauren and her boyfriend are soon going to mark three years together, and are choosing their college and university with each other's plans in mind.  I know at nearly 18 it's early for her to be thinking of settling down with one person, as I changed so many ways and times from age 18 to 25.  But then, you see a couple like Mike and Debbie Cooper, who were literally high school sweethearts and remain devoted to each other to this day.

So who's to say?  I just remind her that there's no hurry to do anything.  Take your time.  And try to choose someone with whom you'll grow in the same direction, as she still has so much growing to do.  Are my words sinking in?  Probably not.  After all, what could I possibly know, right?

Perhaps we'll just let our record speak for itself, and I'll continue to remind her that no matter who she ends up choosing as a life partner, she'd do well to choose as I did: someone who has a great sense of humour, boundless amounts of patience and who will surprise her by unpacking her suitcase when she's come home from a long trip (which is what Rob did for me after Disney World).  Unexpected gestures like that show more love than a short-lived bouquet or sinful box of chocolates ever could.  And as long as neither of us takes the other for granted, I think we'll do just fine.

So Rob, this is my pledge to you today: if you'll keep unpacking my suitcase, I'll keep coming home.  Because as much as I crave travel, my home and heart will always be wherever you are.

(Of course, if you want me to unpack my own, I'll still come home, but it might just sit there for a few days longer than you'd like.)

Have a great weekend, enjoy the Oscars Sunday night and we'll share some thoughts with you here Monday.  Take care,

Hello again...and welcome to Thursday.  Wasn't yesterday just a mess?  If I'd had some spare time, I'd have considered going to the Toronto International Auto Show.  Just a nice pick-me-up on a dull day, a chance to take in all of those wonderful new car smells, and just to see beautiful shiny, clean vehicles that aren't all smeared with salt and muck and mud.  That's worth the price of admission right there!

I used some down time yesterday to get through e-mails - they do have a tendency to pile up - and get some answers to people who've written to me in the last month.  While I do appreciate the e-mails (the forwarded ones are usually way down the priority list), some days I'm almost at a loss as to how to respond.

Last week I got a note from the daughter of a man Mike and I met a few weeks ago in a professional capacity.  The e-mail said that this lovely man had been laid off; would we keep our ears open in case something appropriate came up?

Another one came in just a few days ago from someone for whom I did some work in 2007.  He, too, has been "downsized" and was hoping that if I heard of work that suited his (considerable) skills, that I'd keep him in mind.

In both cases, I said, "Of course!" but honestly, I just don't hear much.  We tend to have a fairly insular life in our little studio and our lives are all about the show we do from 5a to 9a every weekday.  I only wish I could be of help to these two acquaintances, along with the dozens and dozens of CHFI listeners who have written to me in the past few months telling me that their lives have been changed by sudden and unexpected layoffs.

When I was out of work in 2003, not knowing what the future held - if I should move out to BC or even just give up radio (both serious considerations) - I remember some advice I got from a fellow who just happens to be a well-known singer here in Canada.

I ran into John McDermott at the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa.  Rob, Lauren and I were running away from home for the weekend and he was there performing for the 4th of July festivities at the American ambassador's house.  We got together that evening in his suite (along with, ahem, Rita McNeil and Vern Dorge of Blood, Sweat & Tears - name dropper!) and at one point we had a little heart to heart about my recent change in employment status.

John's advice to me - and I'll never forget it - was this: don't do anything for a three months.  Don't make any moves or decisions; if you can, just sit tight and let things settle.

Well, as it turns out of course, he was absolutely right.  I could never have imagined how the next year or so would unfold: a season on the W Network, a great role on stage in a wonderfully fun play and, of course, teaming up with Mike Cooper.

While I realize that "sitting tight" may not seem like an option if you're just trying to put dinner on the table, I do know that the advice John gave me worked for me.  My only wish is that, somehow, the folks who've written to me about being newly jobless can find the same happy endings or, at the very least, new beginnings that I was so fortunate to find.

And that they never give up hope.

Take care and thanks for coming by - you're part of my "happy ending" and I am so grateful, every day.

Wednesday already!  With the Academy Awards fast approaching (this Sunday night) Rob and I caught one more of the nominees for Best Picture yesterday.  Milk stars Sean Pean, a Best Actor nominee for his portrayal of the San Francisco city supervisor who was assassinated at age 48 in 1978 (along with city Mayor George Moscone).

It's not difficult to see why the members of the Academy chose to honour Penn for his personification of the gentle, joyful, doomed Milk.  Even though Sean Penn is as notorious as he is gifted, it wasn't difficult to forget you were watching this mercurial star.  His portrayal of Harvey Milk is one of tender vulnerability, optimism and perseverence.  A wonderful performance.

The film, however, is not my pick for a Best Picture win. It didn't have the writhing moral dilemmas of, say, Doubt, or the meandering wonderment of Benjamin Button.  It would seem - at least in this movie - that Harvey Milk rarely took the time to tally losses or lick his wounds; it was always sort of "onward and upward".  One election follows another, which follows another.  A lover dies and there's no time to mourn.  Can this really have been the case?  Did he ever simply want to give up?  If he did, that part of Harvey Milk's life isn't really depicted.

He is, however, portrayed as a true trailblazer, a man who deserves to be honoured and remembered for what he was - the first elected openly gay politician in America.  He galvanized people in a fight against a proposition that would have fired gay teachers and those who supported them.  One wonders what Milk might have accomplished had he lived.

Milk does what good films do best: it shines a light on the best and worst of humanity (which likely winner Slumdog Millionaire does to perfection).  It reminds us of the hideousness of bigotry and those who would hate what they don't know, what they fear or even what they are.

Have a good Wednesday and we'll be back with you here tomorrow.

Good morning - welcome to Tuesday.  Can I ask a favour?  If you didn't stop by here yesterday (and I expect at least 2/3 of our regular visitors had the day off, and didn't) would you just click HERE and take a moment to read it?  I wrote about families, our Family Day and the importance of taking in every moment - or at least trying!  I also confirmed for you what I learned via text message last week from Rob while I was in Florida: Lauren's in at Algonquin for their radio course, and is going to be moving to Ottawa later this year.  We are SO proud of her and happy for her, and looking forward to lots and lots of trips to Ottawa over the next few years.

Hey - look at the date!  We have broken winter's back.  I know this week's forecast isn't exactly balmy, but when you realize that it's February 17th and baseball players are reporting for spring training, you just have to take heart and realize that we've got more winter behind us than ahead of us.  Thank goodness.

I hope you enjoyed the photos I sent home last week to Rob so he could post them in my daily journal.  I know some were blurry and the nighttime shots weren't quite the quality I would have preferred (iPhones don't have flashes).  But I have to tell you it was more than a small triumph for me, not only to be able to take pictures on a new gadget, but to send them anywhere and allow you to share them!  I'm not a complete idiot, but technology intimidates me and it took a lot of reading and familiarizing myself with the thing in order to get it to do what I wanted it to do.

If you're like most, you're probably wondering what the big deal is.  I mean, even my 76-year-old dad has an iPod, burns CDs of his favourite barbershop stuff on his computer, and all of that.  (Yes, it turns out we don't all get sucked into some mysterious black hole if one tries to use digital technology for BARBERSHOP, of all things!)  But then again, he DID fly big passenger planes back in the day.  I would find it a bit suspect if he could fly planes but couldn't figure out his Mac or an iPod!

Speaking of flying, today we begin several weeks of new 7:30 am giveaways.  Instead of $10 Grand in Your Hand, we'll put boarding and park passes in them, as we send families to Walt Disney World Resort starting today.  Hope you're in on it, and that you'll be listening faithfully (or perhaps more appropriately, "loyally") all this month for those trips.  After all, $1000 or even $10,000 can buy you a lot, but the memories you'll make at Disney World are, to borrow a slogan, priceless.

Have a great day and we'll be back here with you tomorrow.  Thanks for coming by.

Welcome in - and Happy Family Day.  Rob, Lauren and I are sharing what is, for many, a long weekend. If you're not off work today, my heart goes out to you.  As much as a long weekend in, say, June might be better for us weather-wise, I think just the extra day to sleep, catch up on chores or use the time to do what the "Family Day" moniker suggests is welcome no matter what the month.

I wrote to you here on Friday that I had a few teary moments this past week at Walt Disney World Resort and, yes, it had to do with family.  (As so many tears do!)

I couldn't help but remember joyous days spent there when our little family included a sweet, small child with white blond curls and boundless wonder in her bright blue eyes.  It's a little tough to be in Disney World without your child - no matter what age - when family is what that magical place is all about.  But work is work, play is play and rarely the twain shall meet!  It's not as though she could take time off school and work anyway....

So, there I was, thinking of Lauren, and something dawned on me: just how big a role this House of the Mouse has played in our lives.  Rob and I had our honeymoon at Disney World.  About five years later, we brought our little toddler to Orlando for the first time, but we used the visit to entice her to finally make the move from diapers to Pull-Ups.  It worked; we had an accident-free visit to Disney World and a little milestone was marked.

Fast forward to 2009.

As soon as the Toronto-Orlando Air Canada flight landed one week ago today, my phone indicated I had a message.  My heart leapt in my chest as I read a text from Rob telling me the great news: Lauren had been accepted at her number one college of choice!  Yep, she's off to Ottawa in the fall to begin her own radio career.

So where do the tears come into this story, then?  It wasn't until later in the week when we were on our way home from "Mickey's Backyard BBQ" on a dark, warm Florida evening.  Maybe it was fatigue, maybe not, but I was nearly literally awash in emotions when I realized how this place had provided me with two significant bookends: Lauren's first steps out of babyhood, and now, word of her first real steps towards adulthood.  

Of course, if you add the fact that her parents' first vacation as husband and wife was also spent in the same place, then you get yet another milestone!

It made the whole theme of "What Will You Celebrate?" seem very real to me.  I heard that honeymoons are the second biggest event for people coming to Walt Disney World Resorts (behind birthdays and ahead of anniversaries) - which made me feel better, 'cause I always thought it was kind of silly to have your honeymoon surrounded by families and children!  But, obviously, we weren't the first to come up with that idea, and we sure weren't the last.

Anyway, that's just something I wanted to share with you on this Family Day 2009.  Next year on this weekend, Lauren will be in Ottawa (and probably working in addition to her studies, if things go according to her plans).  We are all aware that this is likely the last time we'll have three unfettered days together as Mom, Dad and Loo.  But one thing is for sure: although this whole long weekend is pretty new, I'm so happy that we managed not only to make the most of it, but to know enough to cherish each moment we have together.

Tomorrow, it's all about sharing too - but this time, we're giving away family trips (for six days) to a four-star Walt Disney World Resort.  Be listening for your name after the 7:30 am news, as we help you to make some memories for your family, too.  Be well.

Erin

Well, here we are at the end of another exciting, whirlwind week in the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, etc - all the wonderful places that make up this magical place called Walt Disney World Resort.  I'm telling you, you'd need at least 6 days (coincidentally, the duration of the trips we're giving away to WDWR starting next Tuesday) even to begin to see and experience most of this incredible resort.  How lucky are we - not only being here for four morning show broadcasts - but being able to come home with a suitcase full of trips to give away?
 

Erin
 

Good morning and greetings once again from Walt Disney World Resort here in Orlando, Florida.  We've had a packed week so far of fun and excitement as we're shown the newest attractions here this year.  But first, a star stopped by our CHFI studios yesterday and I wasn't even there to see him FACE TO FACE!
 

I can whet your appetite a bit: the weather is just perfect, the attractions are - as always - jaw-dropping and it's amazing to us, year after year, to see what's new here in our favourite family resort.  You can be sure of one thing when you visit Walt Disney World Resort: you'll never have the same adventure twice.
 
I told you yesterday about the welcome we each got - and that you'll get, too - in the rooms here at the Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa and throughout Walt Disney World Resort as they mark this year of Celebrations.
 
I opened the door to this on the wall...

Maybe you're having a birthday here?  Boy, there's one way to take the sting out of another year.
 

I do hope the photo quality is okay (apart from the one just above, which is a blurry crop job by the art department here at erindavis.com).  I sent the shots to Rob on my iPhone and the quality isn't as good as if I'd uploaded shots from our little digital camera, but frankly, techno gadgets are not my friend right now.
 
A guy in Montreal named Isma is, though.  Until yesterday afternoon, I figured that job #1 when I got home would be finding out what's up with our roaming internet provider.  Rob and I signed up with the company last year (only because Rogers didn't have the same capabilities at the time, and I do tend to be loyal to my employer!) with the express purpose of having internet when we're outside Canada, specifically for our annual visit to Disney World.

Last year, it worked.  This year - in Nevada, in Arizona and now in Florida - it didn't and I was three shades of furious with an undertone of blush.  I doubted that, even if the carrier could figure out what was wrong, I wouldn't be able to figure it out from this end.
 
I am relieved to tell you that Isma walked me through installing something to help my internet roaming return.  Turns out that Windows Vista did something that thwarted my computer's attempts to roam.  Isma spent about 15 minutes on the phone with me as, step by step, we made it all better.  I was so nervous, and so relieved that, when it was over, I felt like a flight attendant who'd landed a plane with the help of air traffic control.  Or someone who'd just birthed twins thanks to a paramedic on the phone.  Honestly, that's how I felt.  Thank you, Isma.  What a relief!
 
Don't you just hate it when technology leads you down this path of ease and convenience and then just slams the door shut?  As one of our fellow broadcasters (from Connecticut as it turns out) said yesterday when we were all having internet hiccups at the broadcast site: "Radio is easy - it's the internet that's gotten tricky."
 
Boy, we are spoiled.  Three or four years ago, the idea of having internet at a broadcast site so we could stay intimately in touch with our home cities, where our listeners are, was just a dream.  Now we have it - now we don't - and again, that's the frustrating part!   Don't give me a taste of something and then just yoink it away!
 
Okay - no more ranting.  This is, after all, the Happiest Place on Earth.  And who on this planet would let something as annoying as internet problems, spoil an otherwise perfect adventure?
 
We went "old school" last night, touring the Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground and had a real good ole time.  I hope to share some shots with you here tomorrow - let's just say I had one Goofy partner!  And speaking of great shots (or at least that's what we're going to hear!) Mike was out on the course here for 9 holes yesterday.
 
It's a funny thing to go from shivering and seeing our breath during the show to slapping on the SPF 45 and enjoying some solar recharging later in the day.  Now, that was after I slept about three hours (or just about what I got the previous night).  There's so much to do here that you just hate to nap, but there wouldn't be a show today if we didn't!
 
Take care and have a great Wednesday.  We'll be back here with you tomorrow.  I have a funny (sinking?) feeling that I may be auditioning for something in the new American Idol show here at Walt Disney World Resort...so stay tuned!
 
Erin

Good morning from Orlando, Florida!   As we announced yesterday at around 5 pm on Bob Magee's show, we're down here in the Most Magical Place on Earth, so that when we come back this weekend, we can bring with us weeks and weeks worth of six-day family trips to Walt Disney World Resort here in beautiful Florida.  You probably got details this morning in your Scoop newsletter...or find out more at chfi.com.

I don't usually do much weather research before I take a trip.  I figure that rain or shine, snow or sun, you're going anyway, so other than finding out what to wear, you just have to suck it up, pack it up and go.  I was more than a little surprised to hear on the weekend that just last week it was pretty cold down here.  Indeed, for a time it seemed they were growing frozen orange juice right on the trees.  However, the forecast this week is much, much nicer - as it is at home, of course with the promises of mild weather - so we're going to have some pleasant conditions in which to experience all of the new attractions that Disney has to offer.  Some of them you'll hear about on our shows this week, and some you'll read about here.  But most of all, you can find them at www.chfi.com.  Be sure and check it out.

I will try to post pictures as well (you know how technically challenged I can be) through my iPhone.  I'm going to take photos on my phone, email them via phone to Rob's computer and hope he'll be able to add them to my journal.  We shall see.  As of last night I was unable to connect to the server or something...don't ask me.  It's just frustrating as heck, is all.

I wish I had more to tell you today, but honestly we arrived on our Air Canada flight and it was already dark.  We checked into our hotel, the same sprawling, luxurious resort as we stayed in last year, the Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa.  It's just gorgeous.  As soon as we arrived, we shot some videos for them (we sort of step into "skits" about their Vacation Club properties), had some quick refreshments and headed to our rooms.

Well, what a welcome!  There were balloons on the wall, little metallic mickey silhouettes all over the place, a basket overflowing with treats, a personalized blanket (Awwww!) and a stuffed Mickey Mouse the size of a five year old child.  Little plastic Mickey footprints had been placed on the carpet and led me into the room with its magical decor. I truly felt like a kid again and got the boost of energy I'd need to get up in five hours to do the show!

Today we were up and out by 4:45 am to get to our broadcast site, which, happily enough is here at the Saratoga.  Today Mike is going to enjoy 9 holes of golf while I tour some of the resort properties, then there's talk of some American Idol auditions that we might be taking part in.  Oh boy, ham alert.

Again, wish I had pictures to share today (I did take some of the room when I arrived to show you the amazing welcome Disney's giving people during this celebratory year) but there's something going on with my carrier, and roaming and all of those things.  I can't even get on line on my laptop from the room, and a plan that I bought a year ago specifically for these Florida shows, has failed me.  I'll get it sorted out - I hope - otherwise I'm really in a bind.  In the meantime, do check out things on the CHFI website.  They always get it right.  Take care and enjoy the shows this week.

Erin

Yay!  Friday!  This is Bob Marley Day in Toronto, as declared by Mayor Miller.  Bob would have been 64 today.

And wouldn't it be just delicious, given this day, if we could just enjoy a day where the temperature was 22 Celcius and not FAHRENHEIT?!?!  Speaking of warmer climes....

On Monday we're going to have a surprise for you as Mike and I announce we're taking the CHFI Morning Show on the road!  Where?  I am not at liberty even to hint about that right now, but you'll hear Monday, I promise.  And we're going so that we can bring back a whole suitcase full of trips to share with YOU.  It's very exciting and you won't want to miss a minute of Monday's show in case the announcement comes then.

Not to worry - after today, there's yet another $10 Grand in Your Hand winner to come, next Friday.  This contest is never really going to go away - we know a winner when we've got one - so don't you worry.  It truly is the most exciting contest Mike and I have ever taken part in.  And I think all of our winners (and listeners, for that matter) would agree.

If you're planning on seeing an Oscar contender in the next few weeks, I can't say enough good things about Slumdog Millionaire.  It's got everything: romance, tragedy, suspense, a hero and heroine, villains and a terrific story.  Oh, and a soundtrack that's interesting and entertaining.

Slumdog Millionaire is a two-hour ride not to be missed and no matter what your preconceived notion (I somehow thought it would be a frothy, feel-good diversion to all of the doom and gloom, but it's not - it's not!) this is a film you do not want to miss.  I came out of the full theatre at the Varsity last night saying to Rob that this was the near perfect film.  No wonder this movie is making such huge waves this year.  For once, something lives up to the hype.  That's worth your $12.50 right there.

Have a great weekend and I'll talk to you (here) on Monday.  And Happy Bob Marley Day.  I definitely think a little jerk chicken is in order, don't you?

I will be back here with a journal on Monday and then my trusty little red laptop gets set for another road trip.  Hope you'll come along!

A few notes of "this and that" for a Thursday as we make our way through another frigid day en route to a warmer weekend.  We hope.

I wish you could have seen me out there in my nightgown, long coat, toque and boots yesterday morning on a downtown Toronto street, shivering in the cold and begging the dogs to do more than just piddle.  Using two words I thought they could comprehend, I just kept saying, "Poo!  Treat!  Poo!  Treat!"

Pepper "the performer", did and he got one.  I love that little dog!   Anyway, we had a great laugh about the whole dog walking at 4 am thing when the show began at 5 am yesterday.  If you're not quite up at that hour, you'll hear that bit on Saturday morning when we rerun it between 9a and 10a.  Some moments are too funny to be left to 5 o'clock in the morning!

Gah.  Three hours later, we had a major slip-up on the Ticket Blitz when a question I found in a book made its way to our 10 question list, but ended up having a wrong answer.  Our contestant Laura made it to question number 10 and was about to win tickets to Dirty Dancing when we asked: which is more valuable - a flush or a full house?  She answered (correctly) a full house; we said it was wrong and had to let her go.

Not a moment after the contest ended did we realize (actually Mike caught it) that we'd been wrong - of course, the full house is worth more.  So, we came back on, apologized for screwing up - hey, if Obama can do it, so can we, right? - and promised Laura her prize if she called.  She did, and she's off to see the musical.  All's well that ends well.  But it just goes to show you...despite our best efforts, the Screw-up Fairy can come to visit at any time.

I ran home after the show wrapped up and walked the pups again.  Then it was back to CHFI for a two-hour interview-style taping for the new channel Equator HD.  (Part of their International Women's Day programming, you may see some of the results on March 8th).

When I told Michelle what I was doing she said, "HD?  High Definition?  Are you crrrraaazy?"

She was referring to the fact that HD means every nook, every cranny, every imperfection (and who hasn't got a list of 'em) shows up, big time, on screen.  I was jokingly going to ask them to use a wide angle or fisheye lens just to complete the beauty treatment, but decided to tough it out with just HD!

Wouldn't you know it - I just found out last week about a new line of makeup designed specifically for the horrors of high def, called Cargo Blu Ray, but hadn't gotten my hands - or face - on any yet.  A makeup artist, who was touching up Mike and me for some new ads we're doing, told me about it and I can't wait to try it.

Apparently - and this works in "real life" too - it just sits on top of the skin rather than working its way into all the crevices, lines and so on and adding those infamous years to your face that television is wont to do.  I didn't have Cargo Blu Ray this time around, but will give it a try.  Turns out this same makeup artist, Carole Nelson Brown, also does my good friend Lisa for her work on Where Are They Now?.  I assume that title question can now apply to little wrinkles, too!  How cool is that?

Speaking of cool - if you'd like to add some cool - no, cold - hard cash to your stash, you've just gotten a step closer.  Cargo is your bonus word worth 250 points.  Good luck - another 10 Grand in Your Hand winner comes tomorrow morning!  (Those points will be redeemable after 7 am today.)

My day didn't end with the TV shoot.  Mike, Gord and I went to enjoy a matinee of the stage production of Happy Days at the Elgin Theatre.  Crowd-pleasing, fun and frothy, this light-hearted musical, set in 1959, has Richie, Potsie, Ralph and (most of all) The Fonz trying to save their beloved hangout, Arnold's, from a developer's claws.  Kudos to TV show creator Garry Marshall for finding an actor who not only bears a striking resemblance to Henry Winkler, but manages to make believable a singing and dancing Fonzie, at that.  Happy Days runs at the Elgin only until February 15th.

Oh, and who do you think we saw as he took his seat, and later, during intermission in the lobby?   The man himself - Garry Marshall.  Actually, Mike and Gord saw him; I was back in my seat texting Lauren to see how her meeting at the college in Ottawa went.  (It went very well although she's not 100% sure of anything).

Funnily enough, Mike just didn't know what to say to Marshall - even tho' we'd interviewed him in December to promote the show - so he didn't end up even saying "hello".  Mike told me that Mr. Marshall was pondering a poster in the lobby during intermission, all the while listening to what patrons of the show were saying.  Interesting, that.  He wants to hear feedback - an instant focus group, if you will.  Still tweaking, one wonders?

Thanks for stopping by and sharing some time here today.  I'll be back with you here tomorrow to help wrap up the week and tell you what adventures Mike and I are up to next week (they involve passports).  Take care and have a great day.

Thanks for coming by today - and it is a c-c-cold one.  I know this first hand, because before this morning's show I leashed up the pups and took them outside for a quick piddle (on their part, not mine).  Yep, at 4:40 in the ayem.  Ugh.  Their usual walker, "Daddy", is in Ottawa with his older, less hairy and generally paper trained child.

Yes, today Lauren walks into the college she's hoping to call her own come September.  It's Algonquin, known for its radio program but also just far away enough from Toronto that we'll still be able to visit each other but, most importantly, will allow her to forge her own identity and life as a student and then, hopefully, a broadcaster.

It's funny.  On Monday evening she got home from school, exhausted as usual after a Bye Bye Birdie rehearsal and I greeted her with not one or two, but three college correspondences.  The second one she opened notified her of an impending follow-up interview.  The third, an acceptance (to a Toronto college).  But the first one she tore open, perhaps most fittingly, came from my alma mater, Loyalist College in Belleville.  She was accepted there.  And given that it was on the top of the mail pile (who did that, I wonder?) she was accepted there first.  Nice.

As she opened that envelope, she said, "I've just been accepted at a college!"

Then she looked up at me and said, "Wow.  This is a life moment."

Yep - it is, kiddo.  A life moment.  The beginning of a beginning and a first step towards a new, grown up life.  I love that she took a second to stop and realize just what that particular moment was, and what it would mean to her.

Now, of course, it's purely academic (yes, pun intended) since the school she really wants to go to is the one she's visiting today.  I wish I was with her; we love Ottawa and despite these extremity-numbing temperatures, we might even have tried to spend an hour skating the Rideau Canal.

But there'll be plenty of chances for that in the next few years.  We'll probably spend Family Day weekend in 2010 in Ottawa - whether Lauren likes it or not! - and I've no doubt we'll getting good and acquainted with the flight path between YYZ or YTZ (Island Airport) and YOW.  As much as we enjoy most parts of traveling with VIA, it takes about four hours longer and costs the same, so I'd rather have the time on the other end and just pick up a rental car at the airport.

But for now, the important thing is enjoying every day that we can spend with her.

I'll be busy today in Rob and Lauren's absence: a crew from the channel Equator HD is coming in to the station to do an interview with yours truly (not sure why, but it should be fun) and then Gord Rennie, our technical producer and friend, will be my date this afternoon for a pre-opening night performance of the new Garry Marshall "Happy Days" musical.  We'll tell you about it here tomorrow.

And speaking of happy days, it is indeed a celebratory one in our home - today Mom turns 76.  I'm grateful she's healthy, she's happy and that we had a terrific time together over the New Year's break.  No doubt she's already planning her next Vegas adventure!  Happy Birthday MA!

Erin

It was 50 years ago today that, to quote Don McLean's American Pie, "the music died".

Ritchie Valens (aged 17), J.P. Richardson (aka "The Big Bopper", aged 28) and the most famous of all, Charles H. Holley - better known as Buddy Holly, who was only 22 - all died when the small plane they had chartered crashed into an Iowa cornfield at around 1:00 am on February 3rd.  (Some almanacs have the crash occurring on Feb. 2; that is the date of the dance, but not the crash).

There are a great many side notes to this tragedy which shook a nation of young fans who embraced the gangly and bespectacled young Texan, Buddy Holly, just as they had already come to love the rock pioneer who'd influenced Holly: Elvis Presley.

Buddy Holly left a long string of hits behind, including "That'll Be the Day", "It Doesn't Matter Any More", "Every Day", "Maybe Baby", "True Love Ways", "Rave On", "Peggy Sue" and many more.

Holly was one of the first inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.  (Valens was later inducted in 2001.)

But you probably know all that.

What you might not know is that the winter dance tour wasn't even supposed to stop in Clear Lake, Iowa.  It was a last-minute addition to the already jammed itinerary and one of several instances in which some twists of fate, cruel and kind, were clearly evident.

Carl Bunch, the drummer accompanying Holly, Richardson and Valens on the tour, had been hospitalized with frostbitten feet because of a poorly heated tour bus.   The persistent bus malfunctions prompted Holly to hire a plane - at $36 per person - to get to Fargo, North Dakota en route to Moorhead, Minnesota and their next gig.  Carl Bunch stayed behind.

Dion DiMucci (of Dion and the Belmonts), also on the tour,  couldn't in good conscience spend on one ride what his parents put down every month in rent in the Bronx.  So he rode the cold bus instead, saving his own life along with that $36 fare.

The pilot of the ill-fated plane chartered by this sickly and tired group of young rockers was 21-year-old Roger Peterson.  Presumably unbeknownst to the young rockers, Peterson had performed poorly on his previous flight instrumentation tests and was not rated for nighttime flying.  They flew at 1 am in a snowstorm.

The last song that Holly purportedly performed was Chuck Berry's "Brown Eyed Handsome Man."  An anagram of that song's title is "Rhyme Man be Dead on Snow".  Okay, I am not making that up.

The youngest of the bunch, was Ritchie Valens, who'd had mammoth hits with "La Bamba", "Come On Let's Go" and "Donna" in the year just ended.  He wasn't supposed to be on the plane.  But because he'd never flown in a small aircraft (a Beechcraft Bonanza) he asked Holly's bandmate Jimmy Allsup to give up his seat.  Jimmy was reluctant, so at the last performance the stars would give, a DJ tossed a coin to determine who'd get that seat.  Young Ritchie Valens "won".

And you've perhaps heard the story of Waylon Jennings, who'd go on to become a country legend, and how he, too, was supposed to be on the little plane that crashed 50 years ago this morning.

Indeed, there was a seat meant for Jennings, Holly's bass player.  But J.P. Richardson, whose claim to fame as "The Big Bopper" was the novelty hit "Chantilly Lace", had come down with the flu.  (Both Holly, who hailed from Texas, and Richardson, who came from California, were ill-prepared for the brutal Midwest winter weather; Ritchie Valens's mother had sent him a pea coat on tour to try and keep her boy warm).  An ailing Richardson asked Jennings to let him go on the plane instead.  He did.  When Buddy Holly heard of the swap, he laughed and said to Waylon Jennings, "I hope your damned bus freezes up again."

To Jennings's everlasting horror, he jokingly replied to Holly, "Well, I hope your ol' plane crashes."
                                            ........

Many of us weren't alive on this day fifty years ago, but it's still an event that reverberates through pop music history just the same.  Some consider Buddy Holly to be the first martyr of American pop culture.

For example, The Beatles were named with a nod to Holly's band The Crickets.  Lennon and McCartney admitted that Holly's style was a huge early influence on the Fab Four.  Another fan of Holly was Robert Zimmerman - later to become Bob Dylan - who was among the crowd of at the Duluth Armory just three nights earlier.  He swore that Holly looked right at him that night.

This tragedy happened at a time when a relatively new musical era was really kicking into gear and, in the case of Holly alone, it gives you pause just to think what kinds of innovations he would have brought to rock and roll in particular and music in general had he survived.

By February 3rd, 1959, he had split with the Crickets and former management, he'd moved to Greenwich Village with his pregnant wife Maria Elena and he had big plans to start a record label, a publishing company and even a record plant.

This tour, which crammed 24 midwestern shows into three frozen weeks, was going to bring those dreams closer to fruition.

As one tribute today puts it, "Imagine if he'd stayed on the bus...."

Welcome to Groundhog Day.  I always wonder what new Canadians think of this whole thing - prodding some sleepy, cranky rodent out of his hole in the ground and making a big deal about whether it produces a shadow, thus predicting (or not) six more weeks of winter.  Honestly, six weeks would be a godsend right now.  Bring on six weeks!  And as you can see here, this little guy isn't going to take the blame for the weather we've endured the past two winters!

Yesterday, Rob and I enjoyed a spectacular winter's day with blue skies and temperatures just above freezing.  Of course, we had a fire blazing through the entire day (and weekend) but we dug out our cross country skis for the first time in at least two winters and made our way up and down the cottage road.  I'm gloriously pain free today and given that the cardio machines I use at the gym focus on many of the same muscle groups, I guess it's no real surprise.

When I wasn`t studying the iPhone for Dummies that I got my hands on on Friday (thank you, John!) I was having a ball all weekend in the kitchen!  Yes, the girl who cooks the bare minimum in the city during the week turned into a comfort food contessa on Saturday, preparing not one but four filling (and fulfilling) dishes simultaneously.

I had two crock pots going with chili, and there were two puréed soups to enjoy at the end of it all as well: carrot and turnip (with maple syrup) and another puréed delight, squash coconut curry soup.  Honestly, I'd share any recipes I have with you but I just Googled the main ingredients I wanted to use and then used the guidelines I found as a starting point.  I'm very big on improv when it comes to soups, so there was a lot of "this and that" in both of them.

But that's nothing compared to the chili!  I started with extra lean ground beef, added a package of spicy turkey sausage, some garlic, celery and onion and browned the lot, then divided it between two slow cookers.  About twelve cans were opened (tomatoes, tomato sauce, five kinds of beans plus button mushrooms), some peppers and about half a bag of frozen corn were added.  Plus, sweet potatoes and a can of beer.  (Yep, pretty much everything in the house.)  Oh, I also chopped up and added half a can of jalapeno peppers, plus a very liberal glop of chili paste.  And I tossed in some dark chocolate chips to add that bit of "je ne sais quoi".

Both pots were left to simmer for about seven hours and, in its final hour, I added pasta dots to thicken it up.

A warm pan of cornbread (with jalapenos, of course) made for a great side dish - again, a recipe I found online - and voilà.  A "super bowl" of chili.  And oodles of leftovers to freeze for weekends to come.

As for the football game...well, the favourite won, but the team I picked a few weeks back (before they even made it to the big show) held on and did themselves proud.  Final score Pittsburgh 27 Arizona 23, giving a six-pack town an NFL record six Super Bowl Championships.  Sure, I lost my $5 bet but it was fun to pretend to care about football even for just a few days!

Take care, have a good one and I'll be back with you here tomorrow.  Oh, and here's a prediction I can make without the help of a groundhog: just to put that Ten Grand a little closer to YOUR hand this week, I'll include a bonus word or phrase in a journal here some time in the next few days.