Sitting here and typing away with a view of the Toronto skyline amazes me. While the view is spectacular from where I am, what truly amazes me is how different my life has been from my last blog entry to…well, now.

Back then (September 2010), my view was my gardienne’s courtyard which were fenced off by intricately winded plants. They have a dog as big as a pony, and a cat as big as a dog – no kidding! I have always wanted to ask our gardienne if her pets were genetically modified or something, but since my French is…uh, elementary, I never got to ask. Good for me, I guess! Oh, I also remember that if I wear my glasses (I have such bad eyesight), I can also see my retired neighbor’s uncoordinated flower pots in full bloom from her window sill. At first, it bothered me that her pots and plants were mismatched. It goes against my idea of beautiful, which is having to see a certain rhythmn and cohesiveness in what I am looking at. But having to live with her mismatched garden for a year, I have come to see how it lends that typical french charm in our neighborhood. In fact, I think I will get myself some mismatched pots in memory of my neighbor. Oh, there’s also this guy from across the courtyard who takes the time to put all those half-naked victorian statues around his plants. He has a whole courtyard for himself and that is definitely a big bonus if you’re living in cramped Paris. He has such a pretty little garden that watching him rearrange everything — plants, statues, and little fountain included — every Tuesday morning is quite a treat for me. Well, I also have a neighbor who cleans his balcony wearing nothing but his thong! That is not a typo, I really did mean “thong”. I guess everybody gets an odd neighbor every now and then. :)

Fastforward to now (May 2011), I am taking in the beautiful Toronto skyline from the 18th floor. The view is cosmopolitan, but there is still more than enough green patches to calm a mom’s racing thoughts. I love it that Canadians managed to marry nature and city-life so well that neither one or the other is overbearing. Before coming here, I am not really so fond of nature trails, children’s park, and splash pads. I am more of a “boutique” girl and you cannot blame me for that — I can’t resist what Paris has to offer for the past two years! But since moving here, I must say that I gravitated towards the “greenery”. Where I live, we have an abundance of well-maintained parks and I enjoy taking my daughter there…weather-permitting. I am over the top happy with the community centers here, too. I was warned over and over again that I will die of boredome here in Canada…but that is so untrue! At the community center, I was given a 300-paged schedule book of all the activities that my family can sign up for. We did go for the parent-and-tot swim class because my daughter somehow got this idea that she’s Little Mermaid. When she starts going to school, maybe I can somehow fit the jewelry-making class in my mommy-schedule!

There is one thing, though, that I terribly miss — great food. I cannot help but notice that fastfood joints are still a booming business in this side of the world. That is the only thing that makes me sad. It has become very tricky to find a good restaurant here in Mississauga. In the four months that I’ve lived here, I have eaten in 16 different restaurants, and the only restaurant that has made it in my list is Cora’s — but I am still hoping that they’d soon use organic produce. I am confident and hopeful, though, that Canadians will soon move towards healthier and sustainable food options. I guess that will just be a matter of time since organic groceries like WholeFoods, Planet Organic, The Healthy Butcher (to mention a few) are expanding their businesses in Ontario…I guess that means more and more people are gravitating towards organic produce. Yey!

Before I turn this post into a “wellness campaign”, let me just say that on nights like this, gazing out into an entirely different skyline, a part of me still misses the charming allure that Paris has…but looking far into the night, a part of me is glad to be able to finally plant roots in this beautiful Canadian soil. I just hope that we’ll soon have an equally spectacular (organic) cuisine in this side of the world — sorry, just can’t resist!

Good night everyone!

Posted: May 30th, 2011 under Random Thoughts.
Comments: 3

Today is Mama Mary’s birthday, and I thought it fitting to write about her Most Holy Rosary — a devotion that I try to keep. I commit (although I sometimes fail) to pray the rosary every night, but since it is meditative, I sometimes find myself falling asleep in the middle of praying. Now that I have a young daughter and a husband to take care of, and a household to maintain, I find it harder to keep my devotion of praying the rosary…mostly because at the end of the day, I just want to collapse in bed due to exhaustion…hihihi!

But still, I find myself picking up my rosary by the bedside table every night and making the sign of the cross to pray to Mama Mary. I guess I am one of those people who hang on to her 15 promises to those who devoutly pray the Holy Rosary. Life in itself is quite challenging, and I would surely want some heavenly aide as I go through it! Wouldn’t you?!

If you are anything like me, maybe you will find that these promises will give you comfort and hope. That when things are confusing, frightening, and over the top miserable, you can still say to yourself that everything will be alright…that Mama Mary will hold true to her promises, which are as follows: Read more »

Posted: September 8th, 2010 under Random Thoughts.
Comments: 1

Today, the most important woman in my life turns 59 — my mom! I feel very blessed that I haven’t missed any one of her birthdays — even now that I live halfway across the world from her. What do you know, she had to come here in France to help me through the first bouts of motherhood and the timing is just right — she gets to spend her birthday here in Paris! But knowing mama, it’s not Paris that thrills her, but the fact that she’s spending her birthday with her first grandchild. :)

You see, my mom is the simplest person I know. She reminds me of Mahatma Gandhi, who owned only three things: a piece of cloth to wear, glasses for reading, and a notebook to write in. My mom doesn’t have much and has never wanted much. She doesn’t even wear earrings, nor does she wear a watch. She doesn’t have a make-up kit like all the other moms I know. She doesn’t even have a bank account on her name, nor a driver’s license. Thinking of how little she has does not make me sad for her. In fact, I envy her simplicity because it doesn’t take much to make her happy. It must be really liberating to be in such state. Read more »

Posted: March 20th, 2010 under Random Thoughts.
Comments: none

Since I blogged about the names I thought for the little cherry that’s growing in my tummy, I have received countless inquiries on where I got those names. I didn’t know that people would actually be interested…hehe. You people are incredible! I love you!

Ok…let me see. How did I ever come up with those names?

The letter “M” is probably a no brainer…my name’s Monette and my hubby’s name is Michael…so naturally, I want my kid’s name to start with the same letter. Hehe. Easy, right? :) Read more »

Posted: July 19th, 2009 under Random Thoughts.
Comments: 6

Today, of all days, is the best time to blog. Why? Because my “all-day sickness” has temporarily left me. It must be the baby back ribs I ate for dinner. :)

Oh let me share the good news: I AM PREGNANT! — for real! My family and friends can’t believe it, and neither can I at first. My husband was actually in denial for a few weeks, he said that my supposedly hard tummy must be a combination of gas and poop! What a meanie! But when all the pregnancy test kits showed double lines, he quietly took a seat in a corner and stared at me like I’m some sort of an alien. Did I tell you that men can have the most horrible reactions at the momentous events of your life?! Oh, but he has been a sweetheart after he recovered from the shock…he now cooks my meals, does the laundry, does the ironing, prepares my fruits, etc. Hihihi! If there’s anything I love about this phase in my life, it’s my princess-mode. :)

As I am writing this, my baby is 8 weeks and 4 days old. I think he or she must be the size of a cherry now. My little cherry, apparently, likes Filipino food. I crave for palabok, chicharon, siopao, sisig, lugaw, and all other pinoy food that are not found here in baguette country! And my timing is incredible…it’s either 2:00 in the morning, or when it’s raining really hard. I tried to substitute these cravings with the wonderful french cuisine that are within my armslength, but for some weird reason, I find them repulsive now. My usual french cuisine favorites no longer appeal to my tastebuds and I started to think that they smell funny! Everything smells funny when you are pregnant…even my husband! :) I hope my love for french food will come back when I give birth…if not, they will probably revoke my visa! :)

There’s a little story behind this pregnancy which I wanted to keep as a secret, but thought the better of it. To be honest, my husband and I are not really so bent on having a baby. We like the idea of having one, but with all the fertility issues that we are facing, we told ourselves that it’s ok if we don’t get to have one — we will just enjoy our lives together and tour the world, hehehe! We sort of agreed that we won’t storm heaven for a baby…we will just sort of leave it up to the high heavens if they grant us the grace. Our prayers had been like this ever since, although I’m sure our family are praying more fervently for us to have a kid…hahaha! Then one day, I came across the story of Saint Catherine Laboure and was delighted that the chapel where Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal appeared is here in Paris! I went there and was mesmerized by the message of our Lady:

“Come to the foot of the altar, it is there that graces will be showered on all those who ask with confidence and fervor”. Read more »

Posted: June 27th, 2009 under Random Thoughts.
Comments: 14