I am attempting to make Crispy Orange Beef, which was something we ate when Lola and I went out to our fabulous dinner at The Spice Route.
As I always do when I get back from Toronto, I start telling the girls about the awesome food we had and then I either buy or attempt to recreate it.
The Naan bread I tried to recreate last time I went to Toronto didn't go so well.
Anyway, I found a not-to-hard recipe for the crispy orange beef and bought all of the stuff I needed yesterday and told the girls about it last night.
THis morning while I was making breakfast, I noticed the beef in the fridge and told Amanda, "oooohhh, we're having crispy orange beef for dinner!"
And Amanda rolled her eyes (as almost thirteen year old girls are prone to doing no less than 387,865 times a day).
Emilee, who is a lover of all things food, asked me what it was.
Amanda jumped in and said, "Oh just something Mom had in Toronto. Everything is better in Toronto." Then she looked at me and said, "Maybe we should just move there EH?"

Labels: Amanda, cooking, Emilee, recipes, Toronto trip

Getting to New York...

Never, never, ever do I want to make that trip again. Not because of the delay in taking off, not because I was traveling with a small companion, not because I opted to carry my heavy ass bag on rather than pay the fees you have to pay now to have it stowed under the plane, not because two people can barely fit in an airplane loo...
None of those reasons.
In fact, the trip itself, delays and loos aside, wasn't that bad.
Taking your almost-seven-year-old daughter to spend four days in a foreign state with someone you don't particularly trust and who will be about six to seven hours distance from you is just about the worse feeling in the world. My baby. And not just that she is the youngest, but also that she is so different from other kids, from other people and he doesn't take that seriously.
In preparation for this trip and on account of how Trin is different than other kids, she and I made two lists. The first was a list that she dictated to me of things that she'd like to have available to eat. Now Trin is a very picky eater. And if you don't give her something that she will eat, she will just go without. Until she is sick. The thought of her not eating makes me sick. So the two of us sat down one day in the kitchen and I emailed her dad the list of foods she wanted him to have available to her.
The following is an edited email we sent him... [edited so you don't get bored and leave. We don't want that :)]
I am discussing packing with Triniti this morning and we wanted to make sure and send you a list of foods she will eat, she is VERY picky and if you don't have something she wants to eat, she will just not eat until she gets sick. So not only do you want to make sure she has food available to her that she likes, but you also need to make sure and ask her several times a day if she wants something to eat. If you don't ask, she won't remember to eat and she will get sick.

Make sure you have a LOT of apple juice and chocolate soy milk. Occasionally she likes a glass of regular milk but she should have at least one glass of the chocolate soy a day. The omega3 in it keeps her balanced out. She will also need to take her vitamins twice a day, the omega3 in those also keeps her balanced. Without the omega3 and enough sleep, she turns into a totally different person, one I'm hoping you won't see while she's visiting you.

Trin LOVES bagels and cream cheese and we have been giving MAD PROPS to New York for having THE BEST BAGELS IN THE WORLD so you can totally use that to your advantage.

Apple Juice (1-2 gallons, 100% juice)
Chocolate Soy Milk (one-two 1/2 gallons)
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Chicken Nuggets
Tater Tots
Bagels and cream cheese
Hashbrowns
Pancakes
grilled cheese (wheat bread)
funyuns
Lay plain potato chips
honey comb cereal
Popsicles
spaghetti (she likes it with a little butter and melted shredded cheese on it)
seedless grapes (either green or purple)

She likes tortillas with melted cheese, I will try and remember to bring tortillas since they are probably easier to find here than there :) You can always try other foods with her but if she doesn't like something, PLEASE make sure she eats enough. Also when she goes to bed at night, she drinks a whole glass of juice or soy milk and if she hasn't eaten for a few hours, she will want something to eat.
If she asks for food, try and give it to her because she only asks for food when she is REALLY hungry.

Simple enough right?
I decided that since we'd covered that, I would also send him an email that outlined Asperger's and how it relates to Trin....

I know you and I have talked about this some but I wanted to cover a few things before she gets there.
The most noticeable thing about AS is that the children who have it are socially awkward. They don't understand socially accepted behavior and they often come across as being rude or weird because of it.

Triniti is a VERY good mimic and because of that a some people who don't spend a lot of time with her don't even notice. She knows how to blend in. She also asks a LOT of questions when she doesn't understand something, try and explain your answers to her in a neutral way so she can figure out how she feels about it on her own because she will adopt your thoughts as her own if you don't.
She may ask totally random things... like the other day she asked me what "in-law" meant. Before I could answer her, I asked her where she had heard it and in what context to make sure I was answering what she really wanted to know (she heard it in school from another kid who said her "dad's mother-in-law" or something like that). And I always ask her if she understands because sometimes she doesn't and she won't ask for further explanation.

Triniti's whole life just moves a little slower.
You have to slow down and take your time with her. This was a HUGE adjustment for me and for us as a family.
And also, try and make sure you give her notice before you are going to do anything. Say you are going to take her to get the world's best bagels the next day, make sure you tell her that night, Triniti, tomorrow we are going to [wherever] and we're going to meet up with [whomever] and get the worlds best bagels. Then make sure and ask her if she has ANY questions about that. Because she will probably have a LOT. She likes to understand everything about it, which helps her prepare. Not being prepared will give her a panic attack and you do not want to be in public with her while she has one and more importantly, you just don't want her to have one. It's very unpleasant for her. If she starts to freak out and say her stomach hurts, I usually ask her if I can hold her and I try and hug her firmly and ask her to take deep breaths with me. Some deep breathing usually helps, as does the firm hug. Kids with AS like to be held very close, it helps calm them.
And ask her often how she is. She will tell you she's good or fine if she is. I probably ask her how she about twenty times a day and sometimes on that 19th time, she will not be ok. Make sure you talk to her if she isn't.
If you know what you are going to be doing on all the days she is there, having a schedule you can give her will be SO HELPFUL. We keep a calendar here and she checks it daily to see what we are doing, even if it's nothing.
If you have plans and you put them on a schedule she can carry with her, it will help her a lot.

I know you may think I am being way overly cautious and I hope I am and that she has so much fun with ya'll that nothing happens, but you need to know about all of this and please talk to your parents and the boys about it too.

Oh and teasing, try to avoid any joking around, being sarcastic or teasing because she doesn't understand it and she will think you are being serious and she will get her feelings hurt or believe you. Like, if you tell her you saw godzilla on the way home, jokingly - she will believe you and tell everyone that you saw godzilla. About ten percent of the time she will look at you and say, "you're joking" and you need to admit it when she does because otherwise she will think she can't tell the difference.
If she is in a really good mood, she will joke on you. And she will laughingly tell you, "I'm just jokin/kiddin!"

PLEASE ask me any questions or call me at any time if you see any behavior that you think is a little off. I will be completely available to you and her through out this visit. And please don't think I am trying to tell you how to parent, I promise I am not questioning your fathering ability at all, it's just that Trin is different from any kid you've ever met before. She isn't in therapy right now because she is doing so well at home and we try and do our therapies here now but any big set back will send her back into it.

Here is a basic list of things about AS:
Find physical contact and intimate touching uncomfortable (always ask her if you can hug her)
Find social situations difficult in meeting new people (always prepare her)
Like to spend a lot of time alone (Make sure you give her some time every day where she can just play alone)
Find it difficult to understand other peoples emotions and feelings (Don't get mad at her if she comes across as rude or disrespectful because she isn't trying to)
Misunderstand speech and think that its criticism and become very defensive. (No teasing)
Find it hard to make decisions and always leave up to somebody else
Can't explain their feelings
Find it difficult to understand peoples facial expressions
Use big words but do not know what they mean (She asks me all the time what words mean and I think when she uses them, she uses them correctly)
Like routine and don't like changes
Can become very angry and aggressive when anxious
Find it hard to build a relationship (You'll find she comes across as removed from situations, it's just how she is)
Have extra sensory sensitivity (She doesn't like loud noises and some not loud but different sounding noises will also bother her. She HATES yelling)
May sound very rude or hurtful in things they say (Because she doesn't understand inflection and is most likely repeating something she's heard somewhere else)
Their voice does not change tone when describing things
Have special interests (She likes playing online and alone, she'll have toys with her when she gets there too)
Before we get there next week, try and do a little online reading and familiarize yourself with Asperger's.
And please let me know if you have any questions.

I called him that night to make sure he'd received all of the emails and he said he had and more or less said he didn't agree with it. And that he didn't "allow those foods" in his house. I told him that wasn't something I was willing to compromise on, he said he'd "humor" me. Which wasn't exactly what I wanted to hear right before I jumped on a plane with my kid to go and see him and leave my daughter in his care.
During the week leading up to this trip, Trin started freaking out about it. She said she didn't want to go, she was scared, she didn't want to be away from me. I asked her father to call her nightly to talk to her and help ease her fears.
He called twice.
I was becoming more and more discouraged about taking her and really wishing I could back out of the trip but at the same time trying to remain optimistic.
Any optimism I had quickly disappeared when he texted me right before I had to turn my phone off as our flight was about to take off from Atlanta to Buffalo.

Hey forgot to ask when I talked to you earlier but you don't mind paying for half of the gas/tolls/food do you? It would be $60.

I wanted to get off the plane and go home when I read that.
Instead I turned my phone off and clung to the little shred of hope I had that this all wasn't going to blow up in my face.
When we landed, he had sent several more texts asking where we were (as if I could answer him with my phone off while we are flying!?) and what gate we were landing at (he had all of the reservation info emailed to him). I ignored all of the texts and focused on Trin who had cried almost the entire flight because she was so scared. I was having a hard time trying to calm her down since I was also terrified.

Thank goodness Lola was there.
I don't think I would have made it if she hadn't swooped in and taken control of the situation. My brain wasn't doing a very good job of making things run smoothly. In fact, it was looking for an escape route.
Fifteen minutes later, after I declined to give him any money, he was walking away with my daughter and as soon as she couldn't see me, I lost it.
It was just about the worst I've ever felt as a mother.

Labels: Asperger's, Being Mommy, Toronto trip, Triniti

As if it is even possible for you, or anyone else for that matter, to have escaped the mad wave of Twilight hysteria. (I've linked to the author's webpage which has the fascinating story of how she wrote and published Twilight as her first book rather than some fansite on account of how you all pretty much know about Twilight but may not know just how cool the author is.)
I was late on the Twilight train. I didn't know a thing about it until the premiere of the movie. Suddenly everyone was talking about this Pattinson guy and teenaged girls were fainting in front of posters and suddenly there was THIS CRAZE and Wal-Mart had a Twilight isle and I didn't know what the heck was going on.
It was like Harry Potter part two.
Except I had been in on the Harry Potter craze and now I suddenly felt a little in the dark.
The creepy, sexy, vampire dark.
Only one person in my circle knew what the hell was going on and that was Jiffinner. But Jiffinner reads a million books a month on her Kindle and so I decided to wait and see the flick when it hit dvd rather than run behind the Twilight train yelling, "wait for me! I want to ride too!"
With the train well out of sight, I rented the movie and watched it with the girls who were OH-MY-GOD, SO-EXCITED!!! and Fairy and you know what?
It was really good.
I watched twice more before returning it.

So last week, Emilee asked for the book for her birthday and I picked it up for her. And then I found myself wanting to read it so right before I left for Toronto, I asked Em if she'd started it yet... she said she hadn't so I asked if I could borrow it.
The vision of my alternate reading plan, You: On a Diet. was floating about in my head making me cringe.
She said sure and that was that.
Except, on the plane, I found I was hesitant to pull it out to read... a little embarrassed that I, a grown woman, was going to have my nose stuck in a book about teenagers and vampires.
In public.
Luckily, I wasn't sitting next to anyone on my Matthew McConaughey Scale of Adorableness, so I gave it a whirl.
There were four plane rides total and I have like a hundred pages left.
It is really good.
In fact, it runs so close to the movie that I don't feel like anything is really missing like the hardcore Twilight fans are bitching about on the net. It's just better than the movie because it's slower and a little more descriptive.
So, even though I'm not done, my conclusion to you is: Go forth and buy it and read it. It's so worth it.

Labels: Toronto trip, What I'm reading

After my 7:30am bus I almost missed and that was late getting to the Buffalo airport, to the flight to Atlanta and the the "train" to the other terminal, to the eventual early landing in glorious San Antonio, to the hour long drive to my house, we were finally home - twelve hours after beginning our journey.
I wanted to blog.
I wanted to post pics.
I wanted to hang out with the girlies.
However, I was bushed.
I bathed my darling, darling daughter that I worried about so tremendously. I sent my other two darling daughters to take showers immediately thereafter.
"Geez Mom, do you think we are all contaminated?"
And then, clean and in pajamas, I had everyone in bed at ten after eight where I immediately passed out and slept through the thunderstorm that had the rest of the state awake for half the night.
Stay tuned...

Labels: Amanda, Being Mommy, Emilee, Toronto trip, Triniti

Really, I love it here. I love the city, I dig the people, I love the trees, I love the way there are people just everywhere.
It never stops.
There is hustle and bustle and chatter and movement all the time.
It's just different. The vibe is different, the people are different. And whenever I'm here, I find I like it.
I like the sandwiched together houses and the tidy little gardens. I like that quite literally anything you could want or need is within walking distance. I like the different kind of quiet you hear in the city compared to what I hear in the country. I like the vast variety of colors and plants and smells.
Toronto is this place that isn't really a place as much as it is this thing... this living breathing thing that practically pulsates with all that is going on in it. It feels less like a place and more like someone you're coming home to.
It's quite fortunate for me really that they have these god awful things here called "blizzards" and "snow" and "winter" because if they didn't, I would seriously be considering relocating.

Labels: Toronto trip

Labels: Toronto trip

Labels: Toronto trip

I should be asleep because Lola has promised me that we will be rising early in the morning to go and check out several of the places that will be available during Open Doors Toronto tomorrow.

Just a couple of the ones we are going to try and go to tomorrow are...
Anshei Minsk Synagogue
This is located near Kensington Market which is where I also hope to check out the Kiever Synagogue, Canada Life, and The Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre Centre (which is the last operating "double-decker" theatre in the world, built in 1913 for vaudeville and silent films).
Also, if we can squeeze it in, Fort York, Exhibition Place: Scadding Cabin (which is the one Lola said "oooohhhh" on when I mentioned it :-D), The Distillery Historic District(another of Lola's favs... we went there last time I was here too) as well as a Farmer's Market that Lola says it phenominal and a couple of cutting edge "green" buildings and a green roof and living wall.
There will be pictures.
Lots and lots of pictures.
Stay tuned.

Labels: Lola, Toronto trip

Labels: Being Mommy, Toronto trip, Triniti

And then there was the hangover.
Holy fuck.
It was the worst hangover I had ever had that didn't involve me becoming intimate with a toilet. And it was my own fault for not drinking water before I passed out. Such a dumbass.
You know those hangovers where you just need to lay very, very still and pray?
It was one of those.
And I knew I needed to get up. I knew we had plans. I knew that I had totally earned the hangover and deserved every miserable minute of it.
Yet, when Lola came down and said, "Kate, you totally have to get up, we've got stuff to do." I believe my exact response was to put a pillow over my face and cry.
So Lola sits on the stairs and says to me, "Kate, I just want to let you know that I wasn't trying to make you feel bad about making out with that guy last night."
And I dug deep into the memory section of my brain to try and remember her even having said anything to me at all, be it about the random doctor boy or otherwise.
But I came up empty handed.
"Sweety, I barely remember making out with the boy, nevermind talking about it afterwards. Don't worry about it."
I eventually separated myself from the sheets and got into the shower where I spent many minutes contemplating death and how similar it must feel to a really awful hangover. I finally got out and while I had to take many breaks, I managed to dress and was begrudgingly ready to go.
Now I have to say that very last thing I wanted to do in the whole wide world was get dressed and go outside, the very idea made me want to crawl into my suitcase and zip it closed. But it ended up being the best thing for me.
Not the driving part.
No, the driving part had me teetering dangerously between Miserable and Nauseous. And Lola could totally tell because every time I took a deep breath to quell the rising unhappiness, she asked me "are you ok?" And I lied and said I would live. But once we got out of the car and the cold weather I had been dreading hit me in the face, I was totally fine.
This is why people can drink so much where there is winter! Cold air is the fucking cure to any hangover.
The fifty something temperature sucked the hangover out of me and within minutes I was ready to consume coffee, which I did while sitting in the grass at a little part that was having a perfect little Celtic Festival.
We walk into this absolutely stunning green park and there are a couple hundred people, some of whom are sitting in their fold out chairs facing a stage where a little old man is singing things like "The Fields of Athenry" & "Oh Danny Boy" & other songs that aren't so popular and that I don't know the name of and the rest of the crowd is milling about at the various booths set up around the park.

And for reasons unknown to me, I got completely overwhelmed with emotion and had to excuse myself so I could go call Amanda and cry like a complete idiot on the phone.
Thank god for sunglasses.
I did so much on this trip but my favorite part was just sitting in the grass sipping coffee and listening to Lola's family and family friends (all from Ireland) talk about every day stuff with Irish folk music in the background. I'd have been content to just sit there all day.


We couldn't spend the whole day there so we got up and went to breakfast. Lola was so sweet, she kept saying "so are you ready for food now?" and I kept saying I just needed a few more minutes as we walked down the street looking into little shops.
This was my favorite shop, all pretty and purple :)


And if ANY of you out there know what the hell Dirty Bingo is, I need an email about it because I am dying to know!


We ate at this super tiny hole in the wall restaurant that is Lola's most favorite breakfast place in the world and I once again can't remember the name of it. (I am such a dissapointing tourist huh? I can't remember the name of
any thing.)

What did we do after that? Geez, my poor brain. I believe we then went to IKEA. HOLY CRAP people! Have you ever been to IKEA? I had never been, although I often read on Dooce about how rad IKEA is but I never knew.
I just never knew.
We go into this fucking blue warehouse full of awesomeness. That's what it is. It should be called WFOA instead of IKEA. Unless IKEA stands for something cool too and I just don't know what it is.
I'd google it but I am at work and on the King of the Ancient Dinosaur Computers. The very fact that I don't put my face through the monitor is amazing.
We were in IKEA forever and yet it felt like no time at all... much like when you first meet some dude you are totally into and that first date is like nine hours long and you end up sitting in a park somewhere watching the sun come up? IKEA is so like that dude. You can just walk around for hours and look at all the cool shit and time ceases to exist.
This is what I bought there:
A package of 48 scented tea light candles, four packages of glass colored tea light candle holders (each package with four glass holders, for a total of 16), two woven polypro bags with cool designs on them (which I am using for grocery shopping now that Toronto has inspired me to stop destroying the enviroment with plastic grocery bags), a roll of drawing paper that is like a million feet long and a rod to mount on the wall to hold the paper.
Total cost (Canadian): 24.99
I am now in the process of planning a road trip to IKEA with Jiffinner, The Cake Lady and Fairy because that is just way too cool.

Lola? What did we do after IKEA? I think we went back to Lola's house...
I know we had plans to go out that night...
I don't remember! And do you know why, dear reader? Because I had become entirely obsessed with what I was going to get everyone. I had been lucky and found perfect gifts for Amanda and Trin at the festival, but I couldn't figure out what to get Em... and then I started feeling bad because I hadn't gotten Ruthie anything and here she was being all super awesome.
I know that we did go back to Lola's to rest because we had plans to go out with two of her friends that night for drinks... and Lola had to work.
We did go back to her place and kick back for a few hours. She chatted with her boys about what we were going to do that night and it ended up that we were all going to a movie. But not together, lol. They were going to a movie and we were going to a movie and then we were all going to meet up afterwards.
And we, being chics, decided to go see The Nanny Diaries.
But did we get to see The Nanny Diaries?
No.
And do you know why?

Yup. Apparently the newspaper had ran an incorrect ad. So, the theater showing The Nanny Diaries was actually an official film festival theater and rather than letting us laugh at the drama-comedy and hate how cute Scarlett Johansson is, we had to watch The Princess Of Nebraska, which I can only hope you never have to watch.
Lola and I had agreed, as we were walking out of the movie 45 minutes in, that we would say it was "artsy" instead of "crap" but I just can't lie to you all.
So, rather than talk about the movie, I just tell everyone "I got to go to the Toronto Film Festival.." and they ooohhh and ahhhh and ask if I saw anyone famous.

After the movie, we walked around downtown in the super cold weather, stopped and got some coffee and then sat outside sipping it and watching all the people cruise by while waiting for her friends to call and say that their movie was over.
We eventually found ourselves sitting in a college bar called The Green Room. While we were hanging out there, drinking tea rather than alcohol - thank god, we just talked. Lola had a bunch going on right now and it was nice to just sit and talk and not be trying to pick up dudes or run to the next thing or worry about flight times or anything. We just sat and acted like girlfriends who live in the same zip code and who get together for drinks and bitching.
It was nice.
We did eventually go and meet her friends at another hole-in-the-wall restaurant. (I think all of these places are probably regular sized for Toronto and just look tiny to me :P) Her friends were charming, to say the least. One of whom had just returned from South Carolina and I had the best time just listening to him recap his story. They were great and we sat there for a few hours just chatting. Around three we left and headed back to Lola's house.
(Lola - I know I've left things out - post them in my comments!!)

Labels: Toronto trip

Sleep.
There was totally sleeping.
Like a ridiculous amount of me sleeping while Lola worked upstairs.
Did I wake up and hear her moving about the house? Absolutely.
Did I get up because I knew it was totally a good idea? Absolutely not.
I slept until like ten (Toronto time - I rationalized it being ok because it was Toronto time. It would have only been nine here in Texas...)
When I finally pulled my ass out of bed, Lola informed me that I needed to get all ready to go since she had a big day planned for us. A big day that would involve a LOT of walking.
So I grabbed a quick shower and threw on some clothes and we were off.
Now this day started off in a way no day in my life had ever started off before: we walked to the bus stop.
I know that may not sound like a big deal to you people who live somewhere that there is public transportation, but for this little country girl - totally weird.
We walk like two blocks to the bus stop and Lola is being such a doll and answering all of my ridiculous questions like:
"So your busses run all the time?"
"So you really don't need a car?"
"Is that a mail box?" - It was totally this cool thing that they have on like every block in Toronto where you put your trash. But it's separated into three different compartments so you can recycle.

"Do you have to bring all your trash to the recycling receptacles or will they pick it up at your house?"

We rode the bus for like, I don't know, six blocks where it dropped us off at the entrance to the subway.
Now people: I have never been on a subway before. I've never seen a subway. Never even been in a town that sports a subway (to my knowledge). So I was a total subway virgin. But I was so psyched that I was like a subway virgin on prom night. A subway virgin on prom night with the key to my very own hotel room in my purse.
We walk down the stairs and into this labyrinth of stairwells and hallways. If it hadn't been for Lola, I'd have been immediately lost and probably would have ended up huddled in a corner sobbing hysterically asking people to please direct me back to where there is sun. But she knew exactly where we needed to go and when we needed to get off the train. I felt like the only person on the subway who was afraid she would fly out of her seat every time the train started or stopped. Everyone else is all reading or "sleeping" like their center of gravity is totally in tune with the train and I just forgot to set mine to "Sudden Stop" & "Sudden Start".
"Is the subway free?"
"But if the bus drops you off at the 'I already paid the bus driver and can get on the subway for free' stop and it's totally open to anyone, don't people just walk up and get on the subway for free all the time?"
I wanted so. very. badly. to take subway pictures. But I couldn't bring myself to be that girl on the subway from Smalltown, Texas.
Not in The Land of Cool People.
So here are some pics I didn't take. Someone who was lucky enough to be on the train alone and who didn't have to look like a loser took this one:


Here is a map of all the stops, we got on at Woodbine:


One last one:


We got off of the train downstairs at the Eaton Center Centre.
It's pretty cool to get off the subway train, walk up some stairs and be in an effing mall. Lola told me where we were and I kinda just stood there looking at her like uhm, where? as I hadn't done my All The Cool Places In Toronto research. Which I am certain Lola does before she takes any trips because she is an Uber Awesome Traveling Chic and I am Holy Crap, A Subway! Girl. :) Which is one of the many reasons why we love Lola.
Here is Lola sitting in front of The Eaton Centre Fountain:


And here I am, standing in front of forty real life size Canadian Geese that are suspended from the ceiling being a total tourist:


Once we were outside, we were in Downtown Toronto:




There was this beautiful building and when I asked Lola what in the world such an unbelievably gorgeous building could possibly be used for? She said - their courthouse. Now I totally have Toronto Courthouse Envy:


I so totally want to post EVERY picture I took, but they are all on my flickr site if you want to see them all, so just one more of the adorable Lola hugging the Hug Me tree:


After all that walking, Lola and I stopped and had lunch at an outdoor patio restaurant where we had the dingiest waitress in the world who was also the sweetest chic. I can't remember the name of the place and I know Lola is rolling her eyes as she reads this right now :) Sorry! But it was lovely. And while we were sitting there, the news anchor woman for the station that Lola hates hopped out of a car and did a little clip standing ten yards from us.

We popped in and out of some stores before heading back to Lola's house to rest and get ready to go out on the town.
And holy crap, we went out on the town.

I'd like to put a little disclaimed right here: Due to the fact that Canada is allowed to put far more alcohol into their beverages than we Americans are, I cannot take responsibility for any idiotic things I may or may not have done (due to my inability to remember them all). Complaint letters should be addressed to the Toronto Government as it was their decision to give me twice the alcohol content in all of my drinks.

Lola's friend Kiki came over and we sat around drinking and eating snacks (which included this amazing Indian bread that I can't find ANY where here and am so very very bummed about) and talking for a few hours before actually getting dressed and hitting The Bier Markt.
Do ya'll remember Slutty Make-Up Saturdays? Well, we can add Jeans and Skanky Top Fridays to that :)
I can honestly say that after an hour or so, I had more than enough to drink so this is going to be a picture recap:

Kiki - I SO love this pic because the dude in the background had NO idea that we were taking pics and just happened to be flipping up his collar...


Boys who asked not be on Facebook. This isn't Facebook. The guy in the sweater? Yum.


Lola & Kiki being cute as pie.


Lola & Me: redheads looking for trouble.


See? You can tell I've had too much to drink because I look like I'm looking for trouble, like I'm just daring someone to come over and say hello:


Now the question becomes Did I find trouble?
Yup. I so did.
Apparently I spent some time making out with a boy who said he was a doctor.
The cool thing about Toronto is that people can just go out and make out and move on. There isn't this whole need to pursue more than that or need to talk again. Lola has said to me, more than once, "I just want to go out and make out with someone and then come home." And I always thought that sounded so weird because here, there is more than that. There is all that pre-making out stuff. In Toronto? No pre-making out stuff.
But all of that happened once I'd had much to much to drink so the details of the whole encounter are fuzzy :)
Drinks, dancing and making out were followed by food and water at some place I absolutely do not remember the name of and barely remember even being at and then back to Lola's where I over-tipped the cab driver and fell fast asleep, after drunk-texting Snow, at three something.

It was one hell of a Friday.

Labels: Toronto trip