Operation Tubetop

Deepest apologies for not writing for over a week. It has been a crazy week and I have barely had time to catch up on celebrity gossip and that is criminal. Last week I went to the opera, had a craptastic meeting at the daycare, and took another test at work. Thursday night I was supposed to work later but luckily that didn't happen so a friend, Office Twin and I decided to have cocktails and dinner in the 1st. We left work just before 6 and stopped at Pickwicks since we had a couple of hours until our dinner reservation at 8. It was happy hour. We had mojitos. We had too many mojitos. And then we walked through the city to the fabulous Da Capo for wine and pizza and lots and lots of laughs. The fact that we weren't asked to be quiet is a testament to the lovely staff at Da Capo... or perhaps, since they are Italian, thought we were charming. We weren't. After an amazing dinner, we walked back through the city and tried to out-trivia each other... well, Office Twin and I ba...

I sometimes feel like I am in some type of Telenovela. Like it's my big wedding day and then BOOM! dead ex fiance shows up and knocks over the wedding cake. There are good days and there are bad days and sometimes I wish I could just Joan Collins it and call it a night. On Sunday we decided to take the Kid to the Museums Quartier. He was already a bit grumpy and we ignored it and that was our first mistake. He demanded that we bring his stroller (which is rare) and then we should have decided against our walk, which was our second mistake. There were red flags flying and we were like "Nope, can't see those." We let him sit in his stroller and made our way to the tram stop. He was a little kvetchy but we got on the tram (obviously we have death wish). I took him out of his stroller so he could sit on my lap and then he freaked. I quickly told the Husband to press the button and at the next stop we exited. We put him back in his stroller as he screamed bloody murder...

Happy Sunday and Happy Father's Day to all the great fathers out there! We celebrated Father's Day here last week since it was the Austrian one. Hope you all get a chance to go to the bathroom in peace this special day! It is one of those weird Vienna weather days. June is always a little touch and go on the continent. One minute you could be wearing a parka and the next, you are stripping down to your tank top, cursing not having shaved. We are still undecided about what we are going to do today. We could a) convince the Kid it is too gross to go outside b) take him for a walk around the neighbourhood and then convince him that it is too gross to stay outside or c) take a tram ride and get him a chocolate croissant. So many exciting options. In the afternoon I will meet my friend D.K. for a couple of drinks and then I have to hit the step machine. This past week has not been a great diet and exercise week. I did so well (I originally wrote "yell" and that works t...

Apologies for not writing sooner. It has been a busy few days! But as of tomorrow afternoon, my long weekend starts! Huzzah! Hurray! Friday I have the whole day off and for the first time in a very very long time, I have not made plans until the evening. The plan in the evening is the Concordia Ball and that is kind of a big plan. Last time I had a day off, I had something like 5 appointments and I spent the day running around like a mad woman. Not this Friday, my friends. No, I plan to lie on the sofa, watch Murder She Wrote and maybe even take a nap. I will probably go for a massage in the afternoon and then at 5 I have a very talented make up artist coming by. At 7 I am meeting friends for dinner at a French restaurant called Variation Bistro and I CANNOT WAIT! After dinner, we will cross the street and enter the fabulous neo-Gothic City Hall to get our Cuban on. Speaking of which, the last couple of days I have been listening to the Buena Vista Social Club album. I had this album y...

Hello Friday. Hey good looking. This week went by pretty quickly and I am so grateful for the weekend. Tonight is the big Euro match featuring Austria so I know what will be on TV at home tonight. I always love it when there is a big football cup because it gives me the opportunity to drink beer and look like a soccer fan (I'm a hockey fan because hockey), usually outside on a summer night surrounded by men. There is something about a crowd of cheering Europeans that makes me feel all happy inside... maybe because it's not the angry yelling I usually encounter when I accidentally step on someone's foot on the u-bahn. Awesome. After work today, I will head to the Esterhazy street festival. I should get there around 4 and I will go straight for a beer stand. I hope the weather holds because my hair is already looking like Ms. Frizzle from the Magic Bus. And that paired with a bright orange dress? You can't miss me! I will stay for a couple of hours and then go home to...

The sun has risen and I am exhausted because the apple of my eye has decided to act like a deranged spider monkey. At 3:30 in the morning, I heard him talking/singing to himself. We have no idea what he is saying/singing but I am sure it is something like "I am awake. Talking to myself. It's so daaaarkkk in here. I am going to run across my room a bazillion tiiiimees!!! CAUSE I AM AWWAAAAKKKKKEEEE!" I kicked the covers off and made my way to his room. Scary mommy was not happy and as soon as I pushed open the door he froze in mid run. He knew he had been busted and he ran back to his bed. "Go.to.sleep." I threatened in scary mommy voice. The voice that sends a million men diving for cover. I do not have a face that launched a thousand ships, but rather a voice and "the look" that could sink a dozen. He crawled under the blankets and I walked back to bed. 10 minutes later, "I AM AWAAAKEE! SITTING IN MY ROOOM! ALL BY MYSELF!!!" (again, he ...

It's done! We did it! Autism in Vienna's first picnic and it was, in my opinion, a success! I won't lie... I was a bit of nervous mess this morning. The weather looked dicey and the forecast was calling for a storm and flash floods. And I was 95% sure that we would have to postpone. By 9:45 the weather looked stable so I made the executive decision to go ahead with the picnic. I was not only nervous because of the weather but also because I am actually a bit of an internal introvert. Now, I know that seems insane if you have met me and my 10 piece band that follows me around. I am loud, I am outgoing, I will make inappropriate comments... but when it is something that involves me being an adult... I can be a little bit shy. Also, since this was an event I planned, I had a lot invested in it emotionally. It's amazing how 25 years later, you can bring up those childhood memories; those fears of no one showing up to your birthday party, being stood up or losing your Br...

Well hello there! How is it going? Welcome to the funhouse. Before I delve into the topic of me with the thesis title of "What is Wrong With Me?!?" I want to talk a little bit about the Kid and a little bit about dis and dat. Currently the Kid is running around in circles. I said to the Husband "He is WIRED today." and the Husband just shrugged. Then about 20 minutes later he said "He drank some of your coffee." to which I responded with "WHAT?!? Did he spit it out?" and he said "I think he actually liked it." to which I said "You didn't see the correlation between the coffee drinking and the fact that I have to peel him off the ceiling?!" to which I received another shrug. Ugh. The Kid has been great (not counting this afternoon. Never counting this afternoon)! On Tuesday, a lovely therapist came by to meet the Kid and our psychology student. She suggested we work on sign language with him. The three words we are focu...

June 1st. My anniversary of living in Vienna for the second time. I lived in Vienna for 4 years as a teenager and I was not a big fan. But of course I met an Austrian and 12 years ago we moved to Wien. It was not an easy adjustment. I gave up, what I like to think, a potentially incredible career in fashion. Left the comfort of Toronto and its great Dim Sum and with two suitcases, moved into an apartment in the 10th district. When the Husband told me that he lived in the 10th district, I said "No idea where that is." Back in the 90s I lived in the 18th and 19th districts; we lived in a house overlooking the vineyards, with  Kahlenberg in the distance and with a lovely garden in the back. I assumed the 10th would be just as nice and ha ha ha. No. Now, I have nothing but love for the 10th district but it was definitely not the Vienna I knew from my angsty teenage years. The first few years after moving back, I would come home almost daily in tears after being propositioned by s...