This was one of my Mom's favourite songs:  When I was a girl, our whole family would sometimes sit in the living room in front of a crackling fire, listening to this song on the record player, often over and over again. We all knew the words, and we often sat side-by-side in a pile together on … [Read more...]

The Swan Thieves is Elizabeth Kostova's much-anticipated second novel. Back in 2005 Kostova made headlines  when her first novel, The Historian, became the first debut novel in history to enter the New York Times Bestseller List at number one. The Historian tells the tale of a … [Read more...]

This was a really fun vehicle to drive, and certainly generated a lot of interest from friends, neighbours and passersby. Model Tested: 2010 Ford Flex with EcoBoost: A crossover utility vehicle (CUV) (transports up to 7 passengers)Key Competitors: • Chevrolet Equinox • Toyota … [Read more...]

Have you ever heard that one? It's loosely taken from the Myers-Brigg's Typology "prayer". I am an ENFP type according to the famous Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (arguably the most famous and most common personality typing tool in the world). People who know me well won't be surprised to learn … [Read more...]

Thanks so much to everyone for your great advice on what to do about my dying van last week.I have resolved the problem (as those of you who follow me on Twitter & Facbeook know).Wanna know what I decided? I wrote about it over on thisiskat.com so go check it out.Hint...I'm feeling blue... … [Read more...]

This is my car. Correction: this is my van:Or rather it was my van? Maybe? (This is where the woe part comes in, fyi.)It is a 2001 Sienna XLE. It's actually a pretty sweet ride (for a van). It's totally loaded - to the gills - with features. JBL speakers (which apparently means something really … [Read more...]

We all know one of those moms. You know, the ones who bake absolutely everything from scratch? While I'm sure we've all done our fair share of baking, there are times when we're going to buy store-bought snacks for our kids. And for those times, isn't it great to know that there's actually a brand … [Read more...]

I've always been a big fan of the Winter Olympics, but I gotta be honest with you: I think Vancouver 2010 is going to go down in history (at least my own personal history) as the best Olympic Games yet. I found them exciting, entertaining and engaging, and I have to admit to feeling a sense of … [Read more...]

Okay, I'm not going to pull any punches here: we LOVED this car. I was a mite worried at first that the B-Class was going to be a sort of dumbed-down version of a Mercedes; a cheaper, less luxurious and essentially stripped-down version of the archetypal luxury vehicle. Wrong! The … [Read more...]