BT Edmonton Blogs

We won the prize we sought.  The Shameless Self Promotion prize.  What logos?  ha ha.

Our team. Producer Jenna, Ryan, Bridget and me. Thanks Christmas Bureau for inviting us.

There were other entries.  Really good entries.  Check out the Edmonton Sun’s.

The Edmonton Sun's entry was very creative. Really liked it.

The CBC team…bless their wonderful newsy hearts…cheated like no body’s business. They recruited Brett Roy from Sweet Lollapalooza , a chocolate shop from Commerce place to put them over the edge.  They won most festive.

This team won most festive. But brought in a ringer...a professional chocolate maker.

We all had a lot of fun and left on a sugar high.  But we all left knowing that we, in our little way, helped the Christmas Bureau.  You can help make a difference in some one’s life by donating on line, at local malls, or any fire hall.

Icing in hand. Gingerbread man. Check. We are ready to decorate.

Another year.  Another sticky fingered, icing covered debacle.  We along with other media teams decorated gingerbread houses for the kick off of the Christmas Bureau.  It’s an institution here in Edmonton.  This year they are raising 1.8 million dollars to provide a proper, festive Christmas to those who might do without.  70-thousand this year.

Go Shameless self promotion. Or go home!

Our goal is simple.  Go BT or go home.  So we painstakingly cut out dozens of BT logos and pictures of well…ourselves to use to decorate.  We also went with the breakfast theme.  Coffee for the roof shingles.  Bacon siding.  And chocolate eggs for good measure.  Not a nutritious breakfast but a recipe for success.

I so wanted to go to Fat Burger.  It seems everyone else in the newsroom was heading there.  They have these fries with chili, cheese, sour cream and tomatoes.  My stomach is yelling at me. “Why are you giving up the nacho fries!!!! ” Sorry stomach…we are going to a place less appetizing.  A place  some call The Murder stairs.  Once or twice a week my co-workers and I kill ourselves on those steep 202 steps just down from the Hotel MacDonald.  It’s also the place where someone lost their life.   But that’s just one of many stories told on those stairs.

The city painted over the spot where a young man was killed several years ago.

Michele (our weather specialist), Greg (City TV engineer) and I aren’t always disciplined enough to go.  We get up early.  Most of our energy is spent on 3 and a half hours of live TV…but some days what we have left, we give to the stairs.  What I can tell you, and this is probably something you already know,  is that we have a beautiful river valley.  Our view is more beautiful than any gym. No membership required.  I am no meteorologist, but it also seems to have its own climate.  No matter how windy it is walking down Jasper Avenue…there are no gusts in that pocket of the river valley.

There is also no shortage of life there.  I’ve never seen a deer.  But we have seen people who just woke up in the brush and wandered sleepily onto the stair case.  More than once we interrupted young people sparking a joint. We did the stairs one morning with BC Lions coach Wally Buono.  We just inserted ourselves into the tail end of his workout.  He told us to pump our arms faster to make us forget the pain in our legs.  The man knew what he was talking about.

Michele, Me and Greg

That half an hour is not just about getting some exercise.  And we don’t get a lot.  We usually manage 3 sets.  Our highest was 5.  We did that once.  My trainer looks at me cock-eyed when I rave about my 2 sets of stairs…apparently that’s not enough.  No, it’s about bonding with my co-workers.  It’s about venting about the day. It’s about brain storming.  It’s about enjoying our city for its beauty and its reality.  It’s about cheering on each other.  Pushing each other to get to the top of those stairs. It’s about discussing the pain in our calves the next day.

Michele and I heading on up.

With the weather getting cooler…we may be forced back indoors.  I will miss our adventures on those stairs.  How do you work out in the winter?  Do you suck it up and dress warm?  Do you switch to the gym?  Do you snow shoe?  We are thinking about maybe walking through the pedways to the Shaw Conference centre to tackle the stairs there.  Or I may be forced to find some stairs near Fat Burger.

As a mom, I have two heads.  The stubborn one will never follow the pack.  Won’t play victim to the hype.  I won’t be that lemming jumping off a cliff in a supposedly orchestrated display of nature.

Ha.  Fat chance.  Who am I kidding?  I want my kid to have what everyone else has.  I live to see a smile on her face. I don’t want to disappoint her by not getting what she wants for Christmas…and most likely what she wants for Christmas is what is popular.  She wants what her friends have.

Remember this craze from the 80's?

Remember the craze over Cabbage Patch Kids?  I remember my mom dropping junior-high-me off at Sears in Brantford, Ontario (where we were living at the time) at 6am.  I sat in line with the other ‘lemmings’ waiting for the doors to open.  Come 9:00, we all rushed in…mostly adults and in a frenzy of elbows we grabbed the prize.  An ugly fabric doll with a birth certificate and a genius marketing team.  Parents did the same thing for Tickle-me-Elmo.

Tickle me Elmo

Saying all that…parents want to know what is hot. So do aunties, uncles, grandmas and grandpas.  So here is one of many lists of top toys for 2011. Enjoy and keep your elbows up Moms.

http://besttoysguide.com/

How’s your kid in a candy store?  It’s not exactly a sweet experience for me and my little Olive. My 2 year old not only brakes for chocolate, but she will hold you hostage as she lies limp on the floor of a crowded store until she gets that pink cupcake with sprinkles.

I scream for ice cream, cupcakes, chocolate bars, gum ...should I go on?

She is a chocolate fiend, but so am I. And that’s why I keep dragging her into these stores.  I am not a glutton for punishment. Just a glutton. Here’s a few of our favorite places to get that sugar fix.

Those with refined tastes already know Duchess Bake shop on 124 St. It’s French, expensive and the high end clientele might look at you with furrowed brow if you drag a whiny kid in there, but they have take out boxes.  Is the macaron the new cupcake?  Not sure.  Need to taste more. Yum. The small almond flour meringue cookies (not to be confused with macaroon) aren’t too big for a little tummy.  But the price tag may be too big for a little wallet. They are more than a dollar each.  Their Duke cake with the salted caramel is really good too.

We go to the Strathcona Farmer’s market when we need a special cake or an ‘it’s Saturday and I need sugar rush’ cake. Baked and sold by an older, lanky man and his sweet wife, there are no sprinkles or Dora the Explorer add-ons.  Its just great cake with an ingredient list I can pronounce. My favorite is the carrot and the chocolate is amazing.

My take: Flirt and Crave are the best for Cupcakes

I talk about it on the show all the time.  I love cupcakes.  It’s true.  Olive only likes the pink ones.  But I am a bit pickier.  I’ve hit most of the cupcake places around town.  My 2 favorites are Crave (great icing and I love the minis) and Flirt (my favorite is the Oreo one with a cookie baked in the middle of the cake).  If you like filled ones…Big city cupcakes are pretty good too but the cake is a bit denser.

Carol’s sweets on High street in Glenora is a great place for a sugar-coated time warp.  All the old school candies are there.  For a healthier choice..maybe I should put ‘healthier ‘ in quotation marks…go to Rocky Mountain Chocolate factory. They have those great caramel apples which are then covered in chocolate, gummies, oreos and everything under the sugar-spun sun.  I consider that those part of the food group.  Apples are healthy right? Olive, who is assuming the limp position on the floor is screaming,”yes mama”.

Why do Canadians still pay more for the same thing compared to Americans?

Books are the most obvious items where the discrepency is obvious because the prices are put on the back.  But from clothing to greeting cards, Canadians are paying more than Americans for the same thing.

Why?

Here’s some of the reasons that can contribute to it.

1. Currencies are volatile.  The dollar is high now…but may drop next week.  Businesses can’t drop and raise prices on a whim.

2. Higher tarrifs and taxes in Canada

3. Freight costs to ship things north of the border

4. Companies must bear the costs to produce mandatory bilingual labelling

5. Contracts to purchase goods are made months in advance.

6. And let’s face it…and it may be an ugly reality…the US has more buying power than Canada.  Alberta has 3 million people…the same amount as a New York City suburb.  We are not the most desirable market in North America.

This may not reduce the budgetary sting of this seemingly unfair situation but it may give us some insight on why it’s happening. And of course if you are planning a trip to the U.S. bring Mr. Visa.

It was date night.  Me, my husband and our third wheel…2 year old Olive.  We like taking her out. Most times. The other day, my husband went into an Italian restaurant we always wanted to try.  Nothing fancy, but classier than Pizza Hut. He asked “do you have a high chair.” A server replied “no.” “Then you don’t have my business”, and we walked out.  Olive needs to be restrained while eating.  The terrible twos are not a myth.

Actual sign in a North Carolina restaurant

There’s a restaurant in North Carolina that recently made headlines for posting a sign for parents, “screaming kids will not be tolerated.”  My kid screams.  Not a lot…but she’s broken a few glasses with her upper range. I want to go to a place where I am not on the receiving end of dirty looks.

I put it out on Twiter…where is the best kid-friendly restaurant?  Here are a few Edmonton place  my fellow parents and I recommend for those with hungry kids who aren’t always on their best behaviour.

The seemingly constant line ups at Cora’s (3 locations) aren’t great for kids.  But if you can get in, there’s an extensive kids menu. The children’s meals are big portions, maybe too big. When our food was taking a while, the server brought cheerios and bananas for an antsy Olive.

At Ragazzi (near Bonnie Doon Mall) you and the kids can watch the home-made pizza pie crust being hand tossed.  I have even heard of them letting the kids toss their own dough.

Red Robin (4 locations) was a popular choice among parents.  They like the spill proof cups, fun activities, and healthy, kid-friendly food. There’s even a kids section on their website. Also before you go, you can check allergy alerts and gluten free options on line.

Other restaurants with good kid-ratings include Tropika for its’ kid friendly dishware.   And nothing can beat Montana’s and the tablecloths you can colour on.

If you cater to kids, the parents will come.

Baby food recalled

Voluntary recall of Heinz baby food

These baby food jars are being recalled because of possible deformity in the glass jars.

Strained beef with broth: 0 571650 0 0081, 2013JA08; 0 571650 0 0981. expiry date 2013AL07.
Strained chicken with broth: 0 571660 7 0091, 2013JA09; 0 571660 7 0491. expiry date 2013FE18.
Strained lamb with broth: 0 571670 4 0501.  expiry date 2013FE19.

I love reading the news.  I hope I give each story it’s just due and respect.  But my run in with grade 4 student Fiona was a first for me.   Her comments and especially her last statement in the story about education cuts is one I will never forget.  Watch the story. Watch me lose it. Watch me struggle for composure for the next 2 stories.   Politicians take note…Fiona got me…and she may get you too.  Ha Ha.

I love passionate people.  I love people who love their jobs.  I love that people get angry and passionate when they stand up for what they believe in.  But in a historic building,  in what is supposed to be a dignified forum (the chamber of the legislature where non-politicians rarely get to go)…what happened in Question period on Wednesday was a side show.  It was funny at first…but eventually I found it sad.  ALL parties are guilty of it…debasing each other and the issues.

They are not getting attention for their issues acting like kids in the school yard…we are just laughing at their words and how Brian Mason grabs his head after David Swan talks about the Premier of Alberta’s testicles…or lack of them. What’s next?  Hair pulling?  Take a look at what I am talking about.