Woman in Real Life

I'm officially a dog fostering failure. And this is one instance where I'm happy to fail. When I decided to foster a dog, everybody told me I would want to keep him. But I insisted I could help more dogs by allowing them to move on to other homes.

It turns out my friends and family knew me best. I took one look at sweet little Ace and I fell in love. I defy you to see him and not want to take him home with you. He is that cute. Ace was abandoned, sad and afraid when Our Angels Dog Rescue pulled him out of a pound in Kentucky. (Yes, our little guy is American.) The family who nurtured him before he came to Canada says that he was the most fearful dog they had helped this year. And they have helped lots of dogs.

Jolene "trapped" behind some boxes during a clean-up of my daughter's room.

Our plans for the weekend have been pushed aside while we deal with a sick doggy. Jolene has been unwell for a few days and she no longer wants water or food. Since she is normally a voracious eater, we are concerned.

This week, I'm calling on all of you expert collectors out there to help me with two questions: What is this thing? And, what should I do with it?

My mom gave me this (very large and heavy) crock last time I was at my parents' house. My husband was really thrilled, I'll tell ya. One more thing to add to the collection of dishes, knickknacks and assorted furniture that is crowding our house at the moment. But I am a sucker for anything with a sense of history.

This week's look at the weekend is a little bit different. With the Victoria Day holiday Monday tomorrow, more of the weekend is still to come. It's amazing how one extra day makes the weekend feel so much fuller and more satisfying, isn't it?

It feels like we have done so much already. We started off Saturday morning with a visit to a farmer's market, where we picked out a pot of organic basil.

Happy Friday folks! I hope you are all looking forward to a beautiful weekend with lots of sunshine and warm weather. The forecast looks good here: mainly sunny and around 20°C/68°F. It could be a bit warmer, but let's not complain. Once it's hot, it will be too hot.

It is my Friday tradition to share simple cell phone photos. This week, I am also sharing photos that my husband took on his cell phone. My favourite is this photo of his golfing buddies, above. They are a hilarious bunch. I thought this particular photo called for a vintage filter.

Join me on Instagram @ziajojo.

Happy Friday! I hope you are looking forward to a fun-filled weekend, light on laundry duties.

My husband is playing in a volleyball tournament tonight with other teachers, which means he will likely spend tomorrow complaining of sore muscles (and possibly bones). Once you reach a certain age, sports don't come easy. But hey, he's trying. My son has a soccer game tomorrow afternoon. At the age of 10, I'm sure he'll recover nicely. The most exercise I will get is cleaning a bathroom floor by hand or passing laundry from washer to dryer.

It's Friday and time for a look back at the week using simple cell phone photos. Follow me on Instagram if you like (@ziajojo).

I think we have had all four seasons of weather in the last week or so. We had snow just last Thursday. Then, last Friday, we had icy rain.

For those of you in warmer climes, yes, you read correctly...snow day edition. I'll get to that in a second.

Here's an Insta-Friday look at the week using simple cell phone photos. First, a couple pics of what Jolene the beagle mix and I did on Monday.

After a very busy weekend away, it was nice to return home on Sunday afternoon. Fortunately, we had taken some time to tidy up before we left. Nothing worse than coming home to a giant mess.

I have had very few custom-sized dresses in my lifetime so far. I think the most recent was the bridesmaid's dress I wore over a decade ago for my sister-in-law's wedding. So, when eShakti contacted me offering me a free custom dress in exchange for a review, I was pretty excited. To be honest, at first I thought the dresses might be unappealing. But I couldn't have been more wrong.

Happy Friday! Are you looking forward to the weekend?

I have had an interesting week. My son stayed home with me one day when his class went tubing. He didn't want to go tubing for an entire day.

Unfortunately, the trip fell on a day when he had lost his TV and iPod privileges. This was the result, above.

She: is hatching a plan to take over the spare room now that her room is so messy

Have you ever been this relaxed?

We really should take a lesson from our four-legged friends, like little miss Jolene here. That girl knows how to kick back (literally). Perhaps it was the scent of my son's coat, tossed on the couch, that made her extra chill last night.

I'm trying to make sure that I rest a bit on Sundays, maybe do a bit of reading, look away from the laundry pile for a moment or two.

Today, I read a couple of chapters of "The Virgin Cure" by Ami McKay. Spellbinding story. That was until my girl came home from her cousin's house. Then I watched two episodes of "Gilmore Girls" with my own little Rory. She insists that we hold hands while singing the show's theme song together.

My son has a friend over and they are currently engaged in a Nerf battle with dad.

Now, I've got a menu for the week to plan...but that shouldn't be too mentally exhausting. Then, there's that laundry pile, ever beckoning...

How about you? What's your favourite thing to do on a Sunday?

First, I showed you my office organization for the new year. Next up was my kitchen organization. This week, it's the family room. Here it is after my cleaning and organizing mission, above.

Sure, it's easy to say that you've organized your space, right? But can you prove it? Maybe it just stays clean all the time. I wish.

Here's my scary before picture:

It's Friday. And we're alive. I don't pay too much attention to end-of-the-world stuff, but I'm happy it wasn't true. You know what's bad? When people are disappointed that it's not the end of the world, because now they have to finish the stuff on their holiday to-do lists. I ran into a neighbour while walking the dog this morning and that's how she felt. She's kidding, of course, but it just goes to show you the stress that Christmas expectations can cause.

On to Insta-Friday, now, and sharing simple cell phone photos from our week. I bought myself an early Christmas present. These two owl mugs. They were like five bucks for both at Winners. Unfortunately, I broke the handle off my favourite owl mug. I dropped a bowl on it. It's now on my husband's work bench with the many other odds and ends requiring repair. So, for the next couple of weeks, I'm using these puppies. Not that the mug will be fixed in a couple of weeks...it's just that these mugs are for Christmas and I figure I gotta stop using them some time in January.

It's Friday...and I'm about to share a bunch of seemingly random photos. They are united under the "Insta-Friday" theme...sharing simple family cell phone photos from the past week.

Last weekend, I went to get my hair cut. I hadn't been to the salon for, oh, something like 10 months. My hair was ragged. Here's my little gal all decked out for a cold day in the city of Toronto.