I’m a Barbie girl. Er, well now a Barbie Mom. I grew up on Barbies. They were some of my first toys, my favourite toys and I collected them by the dozens. Barbie campers. Barbie cruise ships, Barbie cars, Barbie clothes by the case. Kelly, Skipper, Midge and yes, even Ken. I loved those dolls. The singular smell of a new Barbie still has the power to send me back to the 1970s where Barbie was, in my room, master of her world. Not mistress. She danced and dreamed and charged forward through space and captained boats and then came home to…

It’s time once again for London’s Santa Claus parade. This is my family at the parade last year. The year before that I think it poured rain and I took no pictures but hid under an awning and shivered. Saturday night Santa Claus will make his way down Dundas Street as usual. The night parade starts at 6 p.m. London Transit is offering free bus rides to those headed to the parade. TheMet will be open serving hot chocolate and having a bake sale. Don’t forget a can of non perishable food and mail carriers always take the letters to Santa…

Every woman knows someone who has been touched by cancer. And if you know someone right now struggling with the incredible challenge of a health care battle that is so emotionally and physically draining you know it’s not always easy to find the words that say what you mean in light of the terrible daily reality. There are cards and presents and flowers. And they all have their place. Nothing is as meaningful or helpful to a family dealing with cancer as real acts of support such as offering child care, or bringing food or driving a loved one to their doctor’s…

 My seven-year-old thinks outside the box. She is mostly a hands on kind of gal. While my ten-year-old was dreaming of princesses at her age, my youngest well she was climbing trees and sliding into home plate ripping holes in all her jeans. I love their differences and think it’s kind of great to have a kid who doesn’t care to be a pretty pink princess. This year she is Batman. She loves her costume and has worn it every day after school for the past week. On the weekend she showed the furnace repair guy that she was Batman and…

I have been fortunate enough to attend two conferences recently. I was named one of the 200 Most Connected Women in Canada and, for the second year in a row, took part in the She’s Connected conference in Toronto. I also bought a ticket to Blissdom Canada for the first time ever which solidified in my mind the need for a whole wardrobe makeover. Not a frumpy affair. I have gained a lot of insights into blogging as a business and I will share more of that with you soon. These events always come with samples and swag and so…

This is the best freebie I have seen in a long time. I am super grateful that Cineplex sent me this email for my readers to enjoy. Cineplex theatres throughout Canada will throw open their doors tomorrow morning (Saturday, Oct. 22nd starting at 8:30 a.m.) for free. So Skip the Saturday morning cartoons and head over to Silver City theatres in London at 8:30 a.m. to catch a movie. Concession items will be sold. All of the proceeds will go to the Starlight Foundation. The Starlight Foundation helps children who are seriously ill and their families through offering education, entertainment…