it's not like it sounds...

last friday night (I know, I'm slow to blog, but busy with life), we took Sam over to "Happy Hour" at the embassy so that he could sell his share of raffle tickets for his school festival. He did great - sold 40 tickets in about an hour, and developed a nice little patter, too ("part of the money will go to tsunami relief" - who could say no to that?).

And then he was sitting at the bar drinking his hot chocolate and eating the caramel-pretzel things that someone had brought along. I was standing next to him, chatting with a couple of people - embassy staff and moms of the other kids here. Sam was pigging out on the pretzels, so I asked him to slow down, save room for dinner, and leave some for other people. And he turned to me and said:

"don't worry mom. I'm not taking marajuana, I just like them."

on my part: stunned silence

on the part of those around us: stunned silence

I realize where that came from - from Steve letting him watch clips of Monday Report - one of which shows Canadian icon Pierre Berton giving tips on how to roll a joint.

So much for the benefits of exposing him to Canadian culture...

ahhhh... yesterday

was an eight-year-old's (my eight-year-old's) idea of a perfect day:

1. friday
2. grandma arrived last night
3. snow
4. SNOW DAY!!!!!!

What more could you ask for?

And, as a bonus, the parents (me & Steve) got to go out to a movie, without paying for babysitting! That means we only spent $60 on a movie and snacks! Wahoo!

I had this thought that not only is it great to have Steve's mom here (her first visit to us since we moved overseas), but that we will also save all kinds of money while she is here: for every hour that we go out and leave her and Sam together, we save about $12 - by the time she leaves, I plan to be rich!

And in the throes of post-wine club happiness and 2 glasses of wine, I had a fabulous idea:

a cocktail club!

It would be like a wine-tasting club, but the drinks would taste better. You know, you'd pick an alcoholic base (vodka, rum, gin, shochu - whatever) and then play around with the mixes for an evening. I picture: lots of friends, lounge music, snacks, general mayhem. Oh, and of course, scintillating discourse about the qualities and merits of each drink.

n.b. all costs in Canadian dollars...