Erin's Journals

Hey – before we go any further – here’s an invitation to log on and join us for a webinar – just an online chat, to talk about the Tulip Time Cruise that Mike and I are hosting next April on AMA Waterways through The Netherlands and Belgium. The link to register is here. I’ve never been a part of one of these; I’ve logged on to passively observe and even write questions as it goes, but not actually as an active participant. So here’s to another learning experience!
 
I tried something completely different nearly four weeks ago and wanted to share it with you here today. Have you heard of microblading? It’s a technique for doing eyebrows, wherein tiny scalpel cuts are made and dye is put in. The cuts are all about the size and length of an eyebrow hair and eventually your brows look fuller, darker (if you want) and hopefully like you want them.
 
My eyebrows have never been spectacular – not that I thought brows could be; I mean there was Liz Taylor, Brooke Shields and that’s about it when I was growing up. But now women are sporting these beautifully shaped and manicured brows and I decided that I wanted to explore that side. Here’s a picture of how good the brows can look from a random model shot I found. 
 

 
I got a recommendation from a local esthetician I trust and booked an appointment with a lady near View Royal, about a twenty minute drive from us (which everything is, it seems). I took this before I saw Elham.
 

 
Then as I lay on her table, she measured and drew and dyed…
 

 
Then she applied a numbing gel which really worked for me; only once did I feel a little twinge. Then again, I have a pretty good pain threshold; this is a kid who had an acupuncture facial more than once. So, yeah.
 

 
And finally, with an extremely thin and fine blade, Elham (a lovely lady whose background is an exotic mix of Egyptian and Greek) began to draw me some eyebrows!
 

 
We had our challenges and I’ll tell you about them tomorrow, along with the “after” pictures. The first week was not pretty and I was very glad to have nothing on my calendar except a visit with my aunt and uncle, who refrained from any Groucho Marx jokes. 
 
Take care and don’t forget to join us today for the webinar at 4:30 EST . I can’t wait to see how this works!
 

What a journey Rob and I have been on the past few days! Not just our little Oscar party where we and our three guests donned tuxes and/or fancy fake jewels as we sipped sparkling wine or water and watched all of our favourites take home the coveted Academy Award…but we’ve been seeing some “moving pictures” of our own.
 
You see, we got a little extension on the deadline for the second and final manuscript of my book. Our editor, who is Vice President, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief at HarperCollins (how lucky am I?) has been so gracious and patient. She’s guided this newbie along through the whole process over the past 15 months and we’re about to send off the final (we hope) edition of our life’s work. Then she and her team will work their magic for the next 11 months and lo, these 93,000+ words will be in a book. 
 
But should I add to the word count by 6,000 because of six pictures and that old saw about one being worth a thousand words? Hmmm. 
 
It’s been a tough haul in the past month since we began delving into which photos, but no more so than the last week when we’ve been trying to get permission from everyone: my niece’s wedding photographer (who took our favourite picture of Rob, Lauren and me), the Blue Jays’ head office (for a shot of us singing the anthems on the field together) and Today’s Parent magazine (for permission to use Rob’s favourite of Lauren and me, at a microphone, when she was a baby), to name three.
 
But the question is this: how do you sum up the life of someone who went from being your baby to the mother of her own cherished child? It’s been a difficult process in so very many ways, but one that we’re honoured to undertake. We just hope we choose ones that she would be happy with.
 
When Lauren died, Rob was able to access her computer files so that we could find pictures that she had taken, to use in her memorials. What I didn’t realize at that time was how many videos she had taken of her baby son. Most of them are a minute or so and feature her cooing at him, him smiling and laughing or snoring and breathing softly. Just baby things.
 
But hearing her voice and just how much she adored that beautiful little child has brought me to tears more than once. It’s surprising how little Rob and I have cried over the past few months, but I guess it’s no surprise that immersing ourselves in this process one more time has been a trigger for tears.
 
There have been surprises, too. The nicest was this photo of me goofing around on an antique microphone. I don’t remember when she took it (the date on the photo is eight years ago this month), but I love that she worked to put an effect on it. This is a new favourite, I think. What a lovely gift from a girl who just keeps giving!
 

 
And finally, a bit of travel business! The AMA Waterways Tulip Time trip that Mike Cooper and I are co-hosting next April (yes, 2019) is booking up with several double and single cabins already spoken for. If you’re curious, please join us for a webinar (it’s dead simple – Rob and I have logged on to two in the past few months with Rogers radio and Rotary International). If you have time, it’s at 4:30 pm EST tomorrow – Wednesday – so please join us!
 
All of the details are below and you can just click on the photo to be taken to the registration page. (You need to register ahead of time if you want to listen in.)
 

Welcome to a brand new week. I hope that you’re not too sleep-deprived (that is, if you stayed up for the Oscars last night). Of course, here on the west coast, everything began at 5 pm. Where were these hours when I was getting up at 3:15 on Mondays? Honestly! But we had over a couple and another friend and we dressed up just for fun – Rob in his tux and everything – and I’ll get to that tomorrow, if it’s worthwhile. But for today…another kitchen adventure.
 
Every time I bake – which is admittedly not that often – I worry that I’m going to pour in soya sauce when I was supposed to put in vanilla or, when I’m doing a stir fry, the reverse. I have a couple of bottles that look rather similar (as do we all) and there’s always the risk of that if you’re trying to do too much all at once.
 
But a week or so ago I got caught and I was almost relieved to find that Rob did, too.
 
We have yogurt in the fridge (and that’s on purpose, not just some milk that we’ve forgotten about). We like to keep plain on hand so that we can mix it with fruit in the morning or use it in place of higher calorie sour cream as a topping on chili or baked potatoes. Maybe you do the same. 
 
Rob had a rather unusual sort of culinary experience when he scooped out a dollop and put it on his potato. What a surprise he got with his first mouthful when he realized that the yogurt he’d used was not plain – it was vanilla!
 
That’s the sort of mistake you only make once, right? Nope – not us. It wasn’t a week later that I was serving up chili and plopped a big tablespoon of that same yogurt onto each bowlful. I realized it before we tasted it, though, having remembered Rob’s misadventure. So I scooped it out and on we went.
 
Now, you’ll understand our confusion when you see these two containers side by side. Basically the only difference is a subtly coloured flower and a vanilla bean. Not enough when you’re rushing to get your meal together. 
 

 
My solution? To take a big Sharpie and write VANILLA across the container. Simple, but effective; at least I’m hoping that it will prevent any further accidental toppings. But, then again…this is us. We’ll likely do it again!
 
Have an easy day and we’ll be back with you tomorrow.
 

Welcome to Friday and, for many of us, it’s an exciting weekend because the Oscars telecast is this Sunday. Over the past year, we’ve come to love Jimmy Kimmel and look forward to him returning as host. This year we’ve really leaned into the Best Picture race, having seen all but one of the nominees. Nine out of ten! (The one standout, Call Me By Your Name, had come and gone from Victoria by the time we got around to seeing it. So we’ll catch it at home on demand.)
 
My Best Picture winner would be The Shape of Water because it’s so unusual and like nothing we’d ever experienced: a film where almost every character is looking for a heart-to-heart connection. Was it for everyone? Oh, heck, no…but neither is my #2 pick, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. My favourites are the films that I haven’t stopped thinking about since seeing them. Which puts Get Out right up there, too. 
 
We saw another contender, the Daniel Day-Lewis movie Phantom Thread,this week. It, too, had already left the city, but a local theatre in tiny Sidney was showing it, so we got one last chance before Sunday’s awards. 
 
I don’t know when I’ve been to a film where so very little happened over the course of 2 hours and 10 minutes. I mean, Phantom Thread – about a high-strung dressmaker in the 1950s – got a most respectable 91% on Rotten Tomatoes and I didn’t go in expecting a laugh or a car chase or an explosion (the latter two don’t make movies for me, but the first never hurts) but oh, my…it was ponderous.
 
It doesn’t help that none of the characters is particularly relatable or likeable. Yes, there are some great acting performances (it’s Daniel Day-Lewis – what do you expect?) but I just can’t say I loved or even particularly liked this film. Shows what I know, right? Audience reviews were 70% positive, but I have to say I relate to this review from Matthew Lickona of the San Diego Reader: 

Phantom Thread is an unforgiving dress. It presents an ideal and even inspires wonder, but it does make breathing difficult, and heaven help you if all you want is to have a good time.

I’ll close today with a note I got from a journal visitor a few weeks back when I wrote about The Shape of Water. And I wanted to share it with you so that if you don’t give a fig about any of the films going into this weekend, Sharon’s note might just give you the nudge you’re looking for!

Thank you so much for recommending the Oscar nominated Shape of Water in Today’s journal. I, too, would not have ventured out to see this film, as it is not my usual “cup of tea” movie. However, I work here at Deluxe Postproduction Toronto, where Guillermo Del Toro spent hours and hours, as our Colourist and OUR own Oscar nominated Deluxe Toronto Sound Mixers worked endlessly on this emotional and beautiful movie. We are SO proud of our guys, and to tell you they are just “gob-smacked” to be recognized in this way (as they also were while attending the Oscar Nominee Photo Shoot & Luncheon, in LA) is an understatement. I just wish the Canadian Media would give them all the kudos due, instead of continually focusing on the A-list Actor nominees.
 
Thank you again and, as you watch the Oscars on March 4th, please pay particular attention to the Sound Mixer category & root for Christian Cooke and Brad Zoern, and the Sound Design category for Nelson Ferreira and Nathan Robitaille. We will certainly be cheering loud & strong here in TO!!!! Have a wonderful weekend Erin 🙂

Thanks, Sharon – and you can bet a brow full of botox that we’ll be waving the maple leaf and crossing our fingers for The Shape of Water to make Canada proud once again! Have a terrific weekend and we’ll be back with you here on Monday.
 

Welcome (and hello March). I forgot to tell you something Monday which you may have seen if you pop by our Facebook page: just as the radio show here in Victoria was ending, I awoke on Friday morning to news from Rob that I’d gotten a voice job. Like so many others, I audition for hundreds and get maybe five or six a month. Nothing I could live on, that’s for sure! But this one is as the voice of a crow in a video game(!) and we did it by Skype on Monday with a producer in Denmark. What a world! Always a new adventure awaits!
 
Today I wanted to share with you someone else’s labour of love, for a change. I mean, you’ve been here through so many of the steps and turns that this kid has taken in the past 15 years that this blog has been going – yes, we mark a decade-and-a-half this month – that I thought I’d share with you a brand new website that I’ve just had time to immerse myself in.
 
A woman I know and truly love has partnered in a brand new website called cultivating-kindness.com. Its content is helpful, interesting and inspiring; from the benefits of having a sister to mental health tips (the two are sometimes not unrelated!) like rewiring your brain to be healthy. It’s just lovely and, best of all, the spirit behind it is one that is meant to be shared, spread and even taught. Here’s some background on the site’s creators:

Anita Reynolds MacArthur is MBSR certified and recently completed The Chopra Center’s Mindfulness for Kids program. She is the author of two award-winning children’s picture books. MacCheeky Book #1 focuses on getting along and Book #2 focuses on sharing. Anita presents in schools on the importance of literacy. In each story, the main character learns how being mindful of others and self leads to happier experiences for everyone. As a mom to three teenagers, she chaired Parent Council for a decade and is a Huffington Post blogger. Anita was introduced to meditation 10 years ago and has been practising ever since.

Meantime, here’s what you need to know about Anita’s partner in this new venture:

For the past 10 years, Stephanie Gomez has lent her Marketing expertise to pre-schools and meditation organizations. She leads workshops and provides consultation on all aspects of Marketing including web design, social media best practices, and online advertising. Steph has been practising meditation for more than 10 years.

Between the two of them, they have more than 25 years’ experience in educational publishing, from kindergarten through grade 12. And they’re even offering you a chance to submit articles for their consideration. If that’s something you might be interested in doing, I’d urge you to send a note; I haven’t met Stephanie but I can tell you that Anita is one of the kindest, sweetest and most deeply connected souls I have ever met.
 
If you recognize her married name, it’s because her husband is our longtime producer and lifelong friend, Ian MacArthur. This site is, as I say, a labour of love for two very busy women who just want to make the world a better place. I think you’re going to like it a lot. Make a note to please visit cultivating-kindness.com (or via Instagram and Twitter – all on the site). It’s like a warm cup of chamomile for your soul. And who doesn’t need that?

Tomorrow, tying up some movie threads as we get set for this weekend’s big awards night – and why we need to cheer on Toronto!