Calgary Zoo - Foggy's 46th Birthday | Ruff Ruminations

We went to the Calgary Zoo yesterday to help Foggy the hippo celebrate his 46th birthday. We got all decked out in our Stampeder's gear to show our support for the team and watch while they fed Foggy some birthday watermelons. The celebration was also part of the zoo's spotlight on Hippos for October and November.

Grady was so excited about a birthday party for a Hippo, his new favorite animal. He talked about it all day. He told his preschool teacher, he told his friends, he told the ladies at the A&W counter where we stopped for lunch. Basically he told anyone who would listen and even those who weren't that we we going to a Hippo Birthday Party!

Foggy and Sparky must have known something was going on as they were very visible and vocal for the time leading up the the event. We arrived about an hour early as I didn't know how busy it would be.

We got to see the zoo set up for the event and it was nice to see all the staff excited. I would say though that there was just about as many staff as visitors there for the event. I was hard to tell the best place to stand and the process of events etc as it seemed the zoo was more concerned about good media coverage rather than playing to all the kids to who had come to celebrate. But we still had  great time!

The zoo's African Savannah building has been redecorated a bit to help spotlight the hippos. I really liked this life size hippo photo where the kids could really get up close and see how big these guys really are!

Another fun thing they had for the day was a hippo head the kids could put on and pretend to be a hippo. Grady loved it, I think he would have worn it all day if they had let him!

Of course there are other animals in the Savannah building so we stopped by to see them while we waited for the birthday party to start. We have had really great luck our last few trips to the zoo with lots of animals being out and active. And this trip Grady was feeling especially photogenic so I got lots of pictures.

Posing with the Red River Hogs

This is Sparky the female hippo. She really knew what was going and was right up front waiting for her watermelon the whole time

And Foggy as he just came out of the pool, you can really tell that he is aging but still ready to enjoy himself. They say that hippos in the wild live about 40 years so Foggy is doing really well at 46! He is one of North America's oldest hippos living in captivity and has been in Calgary since he was 9m old!

On the left you can see Sparky getting ready for watermelons and the two Stampeders and one cheerleader that were lucky enough to dole out the birthday treats.

I would love to tell you that we at some point got a better view than hippo butt, but we didn't. Like I said it seemed the media was of utmost importance and although it would have been easy to roll some of the watermelons towards the crowd so that we could at least see hippo face they didn't :( And I would like to tell you the Stampeders who showed up and that we had a chance to meet them but they didn't introduce them and there was no opportunity to meet during the 45min that we stayed to watch.

Grady was very happy to meet Ralph the Dog. And I think Ralph liked meeting him. There was only about 5 people including ourselves who showed up in Stamps gear so Grady loved all the extra attention he got being dressed up. He was sad to not get to meet a real football player but got over it pretty quick when the zoo gave him a bag of candy on the way out as a thanks for coming. Even Hippos have loot bags at their parties!

Ralph giving great a sloppy kiss when he thought he was getting a hug!

And apparently the day was exhausting! Which I paid for that night by letting him have a nap because he stayed up until midnight!

Wurst Wordful Wednesday | Ruff Ruminations

For our anniversary slash Brian's 30th birthday we invited a large group of friends down to Wurst for some drinks and dinner. We had been there once before and had been super impressed with the atmosphere and the modern take on a Bavarian Beer Hall. We had visited several during our stay in Munich and have always thought it was a great concept that would translate well to Calgary. So of course we were excited about the opportunity to return to Wurst with a big group.

I called on the Monday before the Friday that we wanted to go because I knew that they would be busy and that I needed a table for at least 16 people. Their reservation policy is clearly stated on their website which is nice so i was able to know in advance that I would not be able to book a table for 7pm as I hoped but would have to go for the earlier 6:30pm time as that is the latest they accept reservations in the Beer Hall.

Unfortunately when I called there was no answer and I was only able to leave a message which was not returned, so I also sent an email to the group booking person. Unfortunately the email was also not returned. So I called again on Tuesday and was disspointed to hear from Geoff that there were no tables available for reservation. I did my best negotiating possible and was able to convice him to please make an exception for my large group. He was happy to oblige and we were one step closer to our awesome night.

As you all know we parents look forward to those nights out without the kids as they are few and far between but when the stars aline and you can arrange a babysitter you are that much happier when everything falls into place. And I know in the future that if I want to book a large group on a Friday that I should make my reservation at least 10 days in advance.

The gods were not smiling on me too much the afternoon of the our big night out at Wurst as it took me 1.75hrs to drive to Airdrie to drop Grady off for a sleep over at Grandma+Grandpa's and then another 40min to get home! So much for my plans to curl my hair and stop to pick up a new top to wear that night! Instead I rushed to get ready to make that 6:30 reservation!

But thankgoodness for good friends who show up on time. We were happy to be greeted by a table full of people when we arrived! The table was packed and we were just able to squeeze in so if you are making a reservation and want to keep your group on one table they don't fit 20 as the restaurant may suggest, I would say 12 is a better estimate as the tables are long and beautiful but held up by 4x6 beams that take up some of the squishing space :D But better to be squished with great friends than surrounded by none!

We had a fabulous time and the food was miles above any pub fare! I had peeked at the menu earlier in the week and was excited to eat there. There was so many yummy choices that I think I took at least 30min before I finally decided on my fav, Rack of Lamb. It was superb, I was expecting a little more than 3 ribs for $36 but the quality of the food more than made up for the smaller portion size. Everyone was raving about their food choices so I think you really can't go wrong.

I'm sorry I don't have any photos, I was enjoying myself too much to stop and pull out the camera! There were lots of beers enjoyed and I ordered the Blackthorn Cider. It was very tasty and the prices on their bar menu are very reasonable with sizes from 200ml to 2L so you can really try a lot or a little. Unfortunately there were not any 2L boots available that night so the Birthday Boy had to make do with just the 1L, actually maybe that is not so unfortunate!

The place was packed and lined up out the door, in fact a few of our friends were no able to come in due to the line ups and opted to leave rather than wait. I don't blame them, at our age who wants to stand in a line. We are glad they made the effort to come out and are sorry that they weren't able to celebrate with us.

The only downside of the night? With a large group Wurst requires one bill for the table. This is a common policy and though annoying is understandable. BUT the waitress, Shal did not do a good job keeping track of everyone's seperate payments as each couple came and left. So when we were down to last men standing there was $115 unaccounted for. Rather than run out on the bill as I knew that all my friends had paid and that a Visa slip was simply missing. I paid the owed amount because I didn't want it to have to come out of the waitress' tips, which although against labour laws in Alberta is common practice. Becauase she assured me that when the missing slip showed up it would be no problem to be reimbursed.

After many phone calls and text messages to everyone who had come I was able to account for all of the money. A few people underpaid which is not unusal and totally understannable when trying to read a single reciept for the food and drinks of 18+ people. But I was able to find the missing amount and called the restaurant late Monday morning to sort it out because (surprise!) they didn't call me as promised. I couldn't get  a lot of help from the manager, Drew, aside from a reassurance that he would look into it.

Disappointingly my Monday morning phone call was not returned as promised by Drew by Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning at the latest. So I yet again found myself being the one to make a phone call. Drew was kind but unapologetic and said he would need until later that day as he had not yet had a chance to talk to the accounts person. I wasn't holding my breath for another phone call as was also hoping that I wouldn't have to put my fighting boots on.

Luckily for me and Drew he called back Tuesday around 4:30 and caught me just as I had come back from picking up the Coach wristlet I had won. I was frustrated by iTunes but in a better mood due to fun things found in the mail, lucky for Drew. And he had good news I could either have the now accounted for $70 back or a $125 gift card. I sprung for the gift card because I REALLY want to go back. I think it is my new favorite place which is saying a lot given all the hullaballoo with the bill.

In Summary (if you've managed to read this far without getting bored or thinking I'm a total bitch):
-Wurst is awesome, you should go there
-Group bills suck if you have people leaving at seperate times keep their copies of the visa reciepts and all the cash until the END and then sort out the bill all at once
-Wurst is awesome you should go there (oh wait I said that already, well I mean it)
-I'm looking forward to going back, maybe just hubby and me to eat in the restaurant part for a belated anniversary date :D
-Wurst is awesome, you should go there and invite me :D
-Thanks Geoff for booking our table, Shal for doing a great job serving, and Drew for sorting everything out. I do hope this is used as a learning experience on the importance of keeping payments on group bills together and organized. I've got nothing against group bills I just know there has got to be a better system to breaking down the bill so that neither waitress or last man standing gets stiffed.

From the Mouths of Babes | Ruff Ruminations

Image by Ultravioletphoto

Something to make you laugh this Monday morning:

A conversation with Grady from Sunday morning:

Me: "Grandpa's here, let me get dressed and we can go out and say Hello"

Grady: "But I likes your nipples" (I was wearing PJs so no idea where this comment came from!)

Me: silence, laugh "Um ok but I still have to get dressed"

Grady: follows me to my bedroom, lifts his shirt and tucks it under his chin "Do you like my nipples?"

Me: laugh

Grady: "Are they beautiful?"

Me: more laughs (I mean what do you even say to that?)

Then for lack of knowing what to say I just got dressed while laughing as Grady kept repeating "Are my nipples beautiful?" over and over since it was getting such a good laugh out of me!

Hope we made you laugh!

5th Anniversary | Ruff Ruminations

Today is my 5th wedding anniversary. Brian is golfing and Grady and I are going to a mom and tot yoga class (not what I envisioned 5 years ago but awesome nonetheless). Later we are going out to Wurst to celebrate and mostly celebrate Brian's 30th tomorrow. I wanted to post more of the photos that Lisa did but blogger was acting up. So you get to enjoy just this one.

Calgary Zoo Trivia Hunt | Ruff Ruminations

On a whim and given that the sun was shining yesterday I decided to set off for the zoo and Grady agreed as long as we didn't have to see the dinosaurs. Thanks for that Dinosaurs Alive by the way, ever since that fateful day a year ago that we tried to see the exhibit and Grady left in tears we have never set foot back in the Prehistoric Park, not that I think it is that good anyways, maybe one day when the love of Dinos is so strong we will go to the zoo without being told "But I don't have to see the dinosaurs, just the animals". Tangent aside I took Grady to the zoo with a plan in mind, to fill out the members only trivia hunt for kids. Answer a page of trivia questions and voila an entry into a draw for a Zoo Experience.

This trip began with a little boy who very much figured all he wanted was a wagon ride, well I didn't come to the zoo just for the nice walk! So after some debate outside the Hippo Enclosure Grady was convinced that he did in fact want to see some animals, and from the looks of things he decided he might like to learn a thing or two :D

Not that you can tell but that is the two hippos in the background, Grady is as far away as he can get and still allow me a picture!

Zebras

And a pretty good shot of two giraffe butts

Once he got into it and had some lunch, he decided to give me a break from wagon pulling. Lunch was terrible by the way. I don't know how the zoo can do such a wonderful job of meals for special events and such an awful job in the cafeteria. It is by far the worst cafeteria I've ever had (and I lived in residence for 3years!) We had chicken fingers that had sat under the heat lamps for who knows how long along with their accompanying fries as well as some "haddock" which as far as I could tell has also been way over cooked and was the same fish used for the fish burgers as it was a decidedly square shape. Not light and crispy as I imagined when deciding I would only need a fork to cut it. Nope the fork broke and I had to go get another and a knife to help saw through. Reminded me why I have been packing a lunch lately. Please Zoo cafeterias across the country are able to beat you by leaps and bounds for less money too. I'm all for paying too much for food at attractions as long as it is half way decent. In future we'll pack lunch again or stick to hotdogs since they are impossible to screw up.

In any case lunch did not ruin our adventure and we caught some of this beautiful fall weather we've been having and I think the last of the butterflies, although I couldn't find any information on the Zoo's website I think they are done soon. They were lovely as always!

I'm impressed with my ability to catch one butterfly mid-flight. He was bugging the heck out of this guy trying to take a break on the plant!

Grady checking out the chrysalis'

We managed to get all but two questions on our Trivia Hunt answered so we will definitely be back again. Grady announce after butterflies that he was ready to go home and I had high hopes of having tired him out enough for a nap, no luck. But a good trip overall. I'd let you know the questions as I could really use some help with the last two, but that would take the fun out of it for all you other members looking to win the prize!

Happy Zoo Adventures, let me know if you attend the Zoo's A Royal Affair

Wordless Wednesday | Ruff Ruminations

150 4.5 inch squares

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Motivation and Inspiration | Ruff Ruminations

Hello, Today I found myself with the first true "free" time since Grady started playschool. So even though Grady was up at 4:40am today and calling out every 20 min or so until around 7am I stuck with my plan to go for a run. I finally managed some motivation and I wasn't going to let it go no matter how hard the day was making it! I dragged Grady out of bed (literally, he told me he didn't want to go to school and wanted to stay in bed!) and dropped him off at school.

I had the dogs all packed up and went to Southland dog park with my new app that would time out the runs for me. Since I am new at this and I know my limits I figured I would do 1min run followed by 4min walk for 30min. 1min was pushing it for this chubby ole lady but I pushed through almost all of the 6 sets, I think I only cheated a couple times so I at least got in 5.5min of running total. 4min was too long of a break so when I try again on Thursday I'm going to bump it down.

I don't need you to congratulate me, I've done enough of that myself all day. But you may be surprised to hear that it only now later in the day that I appreciate pushing myself through. At the time I hated it and I did not feel awesome when I was finished I was tired, and hungry and beat. But since I felt no afternoon lull today despite the 4am wake up it must have been worth it and I am determined to force myself at it again and again until I start to enjoy it again! Because I did at one point love to exercise and running so its in there somewhere!

What I learned:
Rebar sucks as a running partner - she wanted to lean against my knees as I ran as well as tripping over my heels!
It is an interesting experience to run with a bag of dog poo in one hand
Not all dogs at the dog park get that you are trying to go somewhere, several of them really want you to say hi!
Mardi is an excellent running partner - she loved it
1min seems like an eternity when you are not used to it, I'm looking forward to when those days are behind me
It was great to do something for me at my pace, neither trying to keep up or waiting on a toddler :D

Afterwards I went to Sportchek to return my dodgeball shoes as the tread was peeling off one, they were great and exchanged them without a question even though I bought them in March, it pays to keep you receipts! Then I had just enough time to have a quick snack and go pick up Grady. Boy does that "free" time fly by!

In any case if you live in my area and are interested in joining my on my slow but steady course to running more than 1min at a time eventually, drop me a line and you should join me!

And I hope this time I am providing you the inspiration to get up and do something!

Mardi (and why our Vet is awesome)

Oh Mardi! We do love you so but you are trouble in the best kind of way. As you may or may not know Mardi's foot has been causing her and our wallet grief. In august she went to the vet twice, got xrays twice and all they could do was give us anti-inflammatory and anti-biotic. But the swelling went down and she seemed to be fine, until yesterday. Brian noticed her nail on that same toe had split all the way down the middle right past the quick to the base, poor Mardi. At least it wasn't bothering her, but it meant another trip to the vet, sigh...

So I called them and of course they said to bring her in but there was no appointments and they were busy but still she needed to be seen. Off we went and Brian took Rebar and Grady to the park so that she could get exercise without Mardi feeling left out. At the vet they took Mardi into the back had a good look and cut the nail all the way off in hopes that it will grow back properly. The vet thinks that the nail has been the cause of all the problems as it looks to have been torn off the quick at some point and growing back improperly. So they bandaged her up and brought her out to me. She's fine! She just likes and knows how to milk it. Got a plate of french fries? Suddenly her paw hurts so much she can't put it down, the only thing that will help is a french fry! The quick will be exposed for a bit until the nail grows back so we'll have to pad her paw before walks but it won't bother her.

Now you ask why is our vet so awesome? Because during all of this I was always seen within a 1/2 hour even without an appointment. Our vet always let us know all our options and always recommends the cheapest option or finds a way to make it cost effective. For example because the x-rays were more because they wanted to have a better look and not because they we absolutely necessary we didn't get charged for either of them. (This doesn't mean to say you should go in there and ask for free help!) We have been going to this vet for 6yrs. When we first had Rebar they didn't have a clinic yet so they did house calls, AWESOME! Sometimes when we see them multiple times for the same issue they will just charge us for the meds etc. We have spent our fair share of dollars there, I would estimate $2000 at least. But they are all so great. All of our friends that we know who go to the same clinic have similar stories of awesomeness to share.

Mardi's eye is another story of their awesomeness, they could have charged us $700 to biopsy and remove the lump and we would have been none the wiser but instead they were super honest and said that they could just remove it right away and charge us just for the removal. Because it was a small lump and we wanted it off anyways why not just take it off. Thanks for the honesty and just getting the job done! Awesome! Only cost $300, less awesome but more awesome than $700 :D

Because Mardi is a special girl to us. She is a one of a kind booze hound and we love her. I'm not saying that we would or wouldn't spend thousands if she or Rebar needed it. We would be realistic and look at the circumstances, but I know that our vets would be giving us the best advice possible and not just be trying to make a buck.

They know Mardi's special too, she's the only unitard loving dog I've every known! Although I have seen those ads for Thundershirt so I'm sure there will be more dogs out there loving tight clothes :D

Because you can just tell she's brimming with personality and that far out weighs all the trouble she gets into. You swear she know something we don't, and I know she's got Brian wrapped around her paw. So I 've got a thing or two to learn still from her about always getting what I want out of him :D

Our 2nd New Duvet Cover

Since Brian didn't love the last duvet cover I made, and I liked it but didn't LOVE it. We decided I should make another one that was made of more durable fabrics as the last one was all cotton and small pieces with 1/4 inch seams that didn't stand up well to dogs and multiple washing. If you loved the old duvet cover let me know as I am going to make it in a quilt!

You may remember me asking this on twitter and facebook...

I was trying to get a good picture to really show all the fabrics and how well the colors worked together.

I went with long rectangles in a brick wall pattern

The photos don't do it any justice but you can see we decided on vertical, it made the room feel bigger. It gives the room a very zen monochromatic feel.

very relaxing colors and a lovely weight to the whole duvet cover, plus I'm not making a 3rd one!

Now on to my brother and sister-in-law's :D stay tuned!



Wordless Wednesday - Crafty Lady

I made these:

Just by looking at this picture :D

Thanks Merry with Children, this is my first time trying a link up!

Heritage Park

We went to Heritage Park today because we got a letter in the mail saying that our passes didn't expire until September 13th, although I thought they expired last year and had been spending the summer telling Brian that we could go! I phoned in the morning and then we set off once it was confirmed that our passes were still valid :D Thanks for the great customer service Heritage Park :D

We didn't know it until we go the gates but it is the Harvest Sale this weekend, benefiting several charity organizations like Alberta Children's Hospital and Heritage Park. We wondered why the parking lot had been so full and figured it was just because of the nice weather. But people were pouring out of the park carry CRATES of vegetables and fruit, and we thought is it a really good deal or something? How can one family each 150lbs of potatoes before the go bad? More on that later...

We arrived at the park with perfect timing and were able to walk right onto the train! We got it on its last trip before a 1hr lunch break so very lucky indeed.

Grady and Daddy on the train (I know! What's with the wonky eye baring teeth smile? I have no idea but that is what he practices in the mirror, I figured out on this trip I get a better smile by asking him to "Say Cheese" rather than "Smile for Mommy")

And then our luck continued with being able to walk of the train and right on the the SS Moyie just before it left dock! The Heritage Park Staffer on the boat was awesome going around asking if people would like him to take a photo. He did a pretty good job, made sure to catch a sailboat in the background for us.

The view from the outside of the boat, how nice it must be to finally be tall enough to see over the edge!

And this is what I saw at one moment when I looked over the edge! Cute little hands :D

And he kept trying to stick his head out the hole too! Thank goodness the hole was too small, I can't imagine how a stuck head convo would go with a staffer...

See? Much better smile from "Say Cheese!"

Driving the Caboose

Taking a break in the playground, I'm sure one day teeter-totters will really be a thing of the past because of safety issues from over concerned parents. But Grady really enjoyed it!

Pure swing riding joy!

It was a very good trip and just the right length to try some things out, see some new things and get lunch before the crankiness set it. And we got home in time that so far no crank has shown up :D

Now the market I know you are wondering are the deals worth it? We didn't buy anything, but I may go back tomorrow. We weren't prepared and you definitely need a wagon or dolly to help you get the big stuff back to your car because it is a walk.

Prices we saw (that I remember):

50lb potatoes for $10

1pint grape tomatoes $1

Crate of strawberries $10

10lb onions for $10

3 bunches celery $1

Watermelon $3 each

Other things they had that I don't remember the prices on:

Lettuce

Plums

Apples

Purple Onions

Cherry Tomato

Vine Tomato

Oranges

I'm sure that there was more. I would say it is a good deal especially if you have a Heritage Park pass otherwise factor in the price of admission to see if you still save over the grocery store. I'm sure their website has more details.

I know your thinking "Wait, I thought you said you didn't buy anything?" We didn't we got all that is pictured for FREE! Yes Free. There was a spin-to-win booth where each person won a prize of produce! And they let us all spin! Looks yummy and like I don't need to think about some parts of dinner tonight :D

Do you go to the Harvest Market? Tell me about it...