Stiletto Diaries

I had wanted to write a post yesterday before we left for Calgary, but I didn’t have time. Ah well. It’ll wait, churning about in my brain, until I have the time to get it all out here.

I’m writing this from V’s computer, while we get geared up to head out for the evening. Tonight we’re going for drinks with friends at one of our regular hangouts here in the city. I’m really looking forward to seeing everyone. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen some of them, and I’ve missed them all terribly.

Yesterday I stayed awake for 22 hours, and last night I got 3 hours of sleep. I’m running on Starbucks and Spanakopita, which is a pretty hilarious combination really. This morning I spent some time with K, and bought a few new beads for my dreads. V and I had lunch together (she had to work today) and then I buggered around a little, taking a little solo tour of the city and rediscovering all the familiar places.

I’ve been taking some photos that I’ll be able to share once I get home. Mainly things I miss around Calgary which may be of no interest to anyone but me.

Tomorrow or Sunday I really want to eat at Globefish, since it’s my favorite restaurant ever. I have plans with LD in the evening which will hopefully involve some full-frontal nudity. Tee Hee. Certainly there will be interesting blog posts to come.

Nearly time to head out so I’d better get a move on. I hope everyone is having a truly fabulous weekend, wherever you are!

It’s been a week…a week without posting.

I suppose I should have predicted that I wouldn’t have much time to blog with a ton of life responsibilities piling down the pipe at me like some sort of twisted avalanche.

Really I’ve not minded that much, except I miss blogging, and chatting, and generally having a life that does not involve drilling holes in things and rewiring light fixtures and painting and staining and sanding and attaching things to every manner of surface found in this dwelling.

Today I sorted through our CD collection, and I discovered that Jack is secretly a 40 year old lesbian. Seriously.

As V once said (with a smirk) “Jack is the only straight guy I know who would ever utter the words ‘You know, I really like Celine Dion’ and actually mean it.”

He’ll probably kill me for telling you that by the way, but it’s worth it.

So aside from the house related stuff, there are also a ton of party plans in the works. Due to one of the organizers having a bit of a life crisis, I’ve taken to helping out a lot with getting things done. Since I have a friendly business-type relationship with some of the people over at Happy Hedonist, they have generously helped us with advertising and attracting more guests. Local networking is very important, and so we’ve been very pleased to receive some assistance and sage advice from the site owners when it comes to holding big sex-themed social events.

Also there are all those god damned penis chocolates to make. I think I have like 50 or so done now…

I helped stuff gift bags a few nights ago. Imagine 200 cock rings, 600 condom, and 150 bottles of lubricant all over the place. It was a lot of fun. The guests at this party are going to be spoiled rotten with all of the great stuff they are giving away. I even donated a glass dildo to the cause, as a door prize.

Anyway, I should be asleep, but I wanted you guys to know that I am not dead, or abandoning my blog, or anything else. Just crazy busy. I booked my next appointment for waxing so I’ll let you know if my second experience with the new gal goes as well as the first one did.

Hopefully I can also get some of my reviews caught up. I feel like I’m falling terribly behind on everything that isn’t either involving this party or my house.

Ah well, only a couple more weeks to go and then it should all settle down.

So, this weekend I’m having Nia over to meet Jack and the kids.

The last time I mentioned introducing someone I was dating to my kids, my comment board erupted with horror and disgust. Seriously, if you don’t remember that, go and check it out, it was crazy!

You’d think I had suggested roasting my own young ones on a spit, and then eating them with hollandaise sauce.

Seeing as I haven’t had a negative comment here in months, I doubt that will happen again, although it would be very entertaining.

We were discussing Christmas Cards, and she offered to come over to drink tea and write our respective cards together. Since Jack and the kids plan to hunker down with snacks and beer helmets and foam fingers to watch The Grey Cup on Sunday, we decided that would be the perfect opportunity for tea and strumpets…err..crumpets.

I’m all excited about having her over, although I need to get some tidying done before Jack will permit me to bring anyone into the house. He’s a bit…uh… *insert word that rhymes with ‘tit-hickey’* about how The Lair looks when we have company.

Plus it gives me a perfect excuse to do a little Christmas baking, which I generally try to avoid for the sake of my waist line. Does anyone have any favorite holiday recipes they care to share with me? I was thinking butter tart squares (like butter tarts for lazy people) and maybe some chocolate orgasm cookies…or cinnamon buns, Yum! I have recipes for those things, but if you have others to add, share away!

I’m still feeling a bit under the weather, but nothing serious. I seem to be getting better, rather than worse, which is a relief. The kids and Jack seem to have avoided contracting whatever unpleasant thing I’ve been suffering from.

Hopefully I will have a review to post tomorrow, and I am sure the weekend will present a lot of interesting and fun events about which I can blog.

For now, I bid you a good evening, for I am off to write my shopping list and perhaps take a nice long bath with a cup of hot tea and a book.

Click on Day One to read the first chapter of our adventure here in Ontario.

Day Two we drug ourselves out of bed at some ungodly hour (I think it was around 10:00 am) after staying up late and enjoying wine and food the night before.

We got ourselves ready to go, which felt odd, I mean being dressed in pleather so early in the day. We looked hot though, I just hoped none of the neighbours spotted me as I darted out to the truck.

Off to Exhibition Place we went. Being somewhat silly I had forgotten to double check what time the show actually started. We sauntered up to what looked like the entrance, and we were just about to stroll inside the open door, when a security guard stopped us. She had assumed we were working at The Show initially, but decided to ask to see our passes just in case.

I felt like the biggest dumbass ever when she said that The Show was not open to the public for another hour and a half. Bleh.

So, we wandered a little ways and found a convenience store. We got a snack and then sat in the vehicle for a while and bullshitted. At least we got awesome parking.

Finally it was time to go in. We received a nice little goodie bag at the door, which I appreciated, since past years in Calgary I ended up filling my purse with all of the handouts and business cards one seems to collect at these things.

We began wandering around, checking out this stall and that stall. They had quite a large dungeon set up in a curtained area. Unfortunately no one in there seemed particularly friendly, nor was anything actually happening inside of it. How dull really. I hoped that they had some demonstrations planned for later in the day or something.

Now, V and I being who we are, it’s difficult, if not impossible, to impress us when it comes to sex. Particularly speaking of mostly vanilla sex. There were no new or innovative toys (that we hadn’t already seen) to be found, nor was there a heck of a lot of selection when it came to toys we were familiar with. There was only ONE stall that had Fun Factory toys, and it was difficult to find suitable vibrators for a couple of our friends who had requested that we shop for them. The selection was sad really; I was not impressed at all.

Also, and this is just a personal pet peeve of mine, the exhibitors seem to assume that everyone there is a complete idiot about sex toys. One woman in particular acted like this really middle-of-the-road toy she was demonstrating was the best thing since sliced bread. I felt like saying “You don’t have any idea who I am or what I do, please don’t talk to me like I am clueless. In fact, let ME tell YOU a thing of two about vibrators missy.” However, my mumma didn’t raise me to be rude, so I just smiled and nodded and indulged her. A few times, when someone tried to sell me on something I had already tried, I would just comment “Oh I already have one of those” to save them some effort. I wasn’t there to buy for myself. I am up to my neck in toys as it is.

V and I both felt that compared to Calgary, Toronto had absolutely nothing new to offer. In fact, I found the show here to be inferior in many ways. I noted that no one had a sex swing set up, nor could I find a copy of Whiplash Magazine (which has it’s very own booth in Cow Town) anywhere. Very odd.

As is our tradition, we each sucked a chocolate penis while browsing. Eventually I found a porn movie that looked pretty alright, and that ended up being my big purchase of the show. Yes, I’m really exciting that way, LOL.

It was getting close to our dinner reservation, so once we were certain we had seen everything (which only took 2.5 hours, and we looked at everything twice) we left the show and trotted back to the truck with our bags. It’s worth noting that I didn’t take any photos due to the fact that at the entrance it practically forbids you from doing so. Meh, no biggie, there wasn’t anything to see anyway.

We navigated our way through China Town to Batifole. After finding parking (which proved a little interesting) we arrived exactly on time for our reservation. The very good-looking host/waiter seated us and brought menus and water.

After scanning the menu my eyes caught something that made me stomach turn a little. Horse steak tartar. Yes, I know some people consider horse meat a delicacy, but I am not one of them.

I glanced up and watched V’s face. I knew she would discover it as well. Just as I imagined a look of utter disgust came over her and she looked up at me. At that moment I knew both of us were entertaining the idea of getting up and leaving, just on principal. We commented to each other about how awful it was that they serve horse and after a few moments of weighing our options we decided to stay anyway, since we were starved and I didn’t want to try to find some place else in the zoo that is Toronto at rush hour.

Each of us settled on items from the Prix Fixe menu. I ordered the Wild Boar Terrine & Condiments for an appetizer, while V had the Escargot Fricassée. The boar was almost like eating meatloaf, and was accompanied by a few tiny pickles, some toasted baguette slices, and a fantastic house made relish. There was much tasting and raving on how good it all was.

Next was our entrée. V had the Sea Bass, while I ordered the Braised Veal. Everything was delicious, including the Frites, which were served with a fantastic mayonnaise dip.

A tiny Vineland Pear drunk in Calvados was brought out, served in a little long-steamed glass. We enjoyed the pear and then drank the booze. It was quite a nice intermission between the main course and dessert.

V selected the Crème Brûlée, which was totally amazing. Being more of a chocolate gal myself, I had the Frozen Chocolate Mousse Profiteroles. It was very good, and I think that both of us were completely satisfied by the end of the meal.

We had each ordered a glass of wine with dinner, and at the end of it all, the bill came to about $100.00, which I felt was money well spent. The restaurant is very small, but beautifully decorated and very classy. I am certain that I would go there again.

V and I had plans to go out for the evening. We decided to leave the truck at home and catch a cab out to a bar or club. After refreshing ourselves and selecting a suitable destination, off we went for the evening. No sooner had we stepped out of the cab and onto the sidewalk, than a group of obviously drunk men started catcalling us.

“Hey short skirt!” one of them hollered from across the street “What you got going on tonight?”

V and I exchanged amused looks and went inside quickly, not wanting to encourage them any.

Neither of us had been to this bar before. It was very nice inside, it sort of reminded us of The Vicious Circle back home, except there was a dance floor in this one. We ordered drinks and danced and laughed. While we were dancing this attractive guy just came up randomly and asked V if she wanted to have a drink with him. I think she was caught off guard, since most men just come up and start bumpin and grinding with us without so much as an introduction. She accepted and although I felt sort of like a tag-along, I followed them over to the bar. I think he paid for my drink as well, out of politeness I suppose.

We all chatted a bit, he pointed out a friend of his who looked like the slimy drug-dealer type and had an attitude to match. Yeck, I was not going to be ‘taking one for the team’ in this case.

The guy who was flirting with V was cute, but his attitude and manor were lacking. He would disappear anytime that V wasn’t paying 100% attention to him, and then reappear suddenly with his arm around here any time she talked to another male. I found him annoying, since his ‘gone and then back’ act reeked of drama.

Towards the end of the evening another young man seemed to have his eyes on her as well. The Flake had done his vanishing act again, and so she and I were dancing by ourselves when I noticed him checking her out. He didn’t come over right away, so I introduced myself and got his name. He expressed interest in V (no surprise there) but she was being distracted by a very strange man in a suit who looked about 45.

The bar was shutting down for the night and so we went outside onto the sidewalk. The Flake was trying to convince V to come back to his hotel with him. The second guy was trying to convince her to come back to his place. Decisions, decisions.
The Flake didn’t treat her nearly as well as the second guy did, and he was offering us a ride, while The Flake and his moron friend were walking to somewhere (they didn’t actually have a room at that point, just hoping they could find one I guess).

We got in the car with V’s new friend, and his buddy JP. By this stage of the evening I was feeling relatively sober, and since I know the area better now I wasn’t too nervous to go home with strange males.

They showed us inside their condo, and V went out for a cigarette with her friend while JP invited me up to his room. I checked out his bookshelf (impressive) and his enormous shoe collection. That man puts most women to shame. His footwear was kickin, AND he was smart. Bonus points all around.

He told me about going to University and then we got talking about polyamory and marriage and relationships. He seemed genuinely engaged and interested during the conversation, which I appreciated a great deal.

Somehow the topic of this blog came up and he wanted to see it. Against my better judgement I gave him the URL and he came to check it out. He seemed impressed, particularly with the reviews, and remarked that he was book marking it and intended to read it all.

I am just keeping my fingers crossed that he doesn’t get the wrong impression. I have the feeling he wasn’t really that interested in me, especially since I gave him my number and haven’t heard from him, but whatever, it is what it is I guess.

We lay on his bed and talked for what felt like a long while. I’m not actually sure how long it was. I really liked talking to him at any rate; I appreciate men who are smart and thoughtful like that. Being tall and easy on the eyes didn’t hurt him either.

I wish I could say what time it was when V and I decided we’d better go. It was late, or rather early. Either way, JP drove us home, which was very generous. We exchanged numbers before I left, but as I said, haven’t heard anything and I haven’t called him either, which perhaps I should. Maybe I’ve waited too long already, I dunno.

JP, if you read this and you wanna hang out at some point, just as buddies (totally not about the pressure for anything else, honest) then give me a holler or something.

V and I got back to my place and flopped into bed, exhausted. Overall it was a great night, it was a great change to meet some polite, respectable guys rather than the pervs we usually get.

Day Three will be posted on Saturday, so check back then for more awesome tales of our weekend!

In case anyone is curious, I had a wonderful time over the weekend. V and I had a lot of fun and excitement during her visit and I know at least a couple of you are interested in hearing all the details. I’m generally not one to disappoint, so I’ll get right to it. The re-telling will likely have to be broken into several parts, so read on!

V arrived very late on Wednesday night. After I picked her up from the airport and drive her back to our place we basically went straight to bed. After all, I had a busy schedule for us to follow.

Thursday morning we drove out to Niagara On The Lake. I took V to the historic downtown and we wandered a bit before having lunch in this charming little old school diner. We enjoyed the traditional architecture and decorative charm of the area. If you ever have the chance, go there, just to browse all of the interesting little shops, including the now-museum apothecary and the Christmas store, which feels (and looks) like the holidays all year round.

Scroll Over Images To See The Titles

I drove her down to a path on the waterfront of Lake Ontario so that we could walk off our lunch before the wine tasting, and take some photos. It was a gorgeous day, and the leaves are still in the height of fall down there. She and I strolled down the shaded path, chatting and snapping pictures of the amazing surroundings. It reminded both of us a lot of the interior of B.C, with the lush greenery and that fresh woodsy smell.

Once our meal had settled it was time to make our way over to Peller Estates for the food and wine tasting. Their winery is breathtaking. Beautifully appointed both inside and out. We stopped at the desk to reserve our spot at the tasting before wandering into the boutique part of the winery. There were so many amazing and appealing wines to consider. For a moment I entertained the idea of forking over $90.00 for a bottle of their Ice Wine, until I remembered that I am not a big fan of Ice Wine actually and moved on.

We decided to wait to purchase after the tasting, so that we would have a better idea of what we wanted. She and I sauntered past the restaurant and took a peek. Wow! I’d love to have dinner there sometime. Hopefully soon, at that. We also went out back and stood by the fountain and looked out over the expanse of grape vines. The interior of the winery was equally beautiful. Rick, dark woods and classic stone work. The bathroom was nicer than any room in my house, LOL.

The lovely hostess took out small group up to the tasting room, where little plates of canapés and empty glasses in several shapes sat waiting. Since the kitchen had prepared more food then we needed, we all got a little extra to go with the tasting.

There was aged cheddar cheese with a little mound of Ice Cuvee gelee on top. Followed by a creamy, herbaceous, salmon mousse. Finally a slice of pumpkin bread topped with a paper thin sliver of smoked squab.

The wines we tasted were the Signature Series Ice Cuvee (so fabulous I bought a bottle immediately afterwards) followed by a 2004 Private Reserve Chardonnay, finishing with a 2006 Private Reserve Pinot Noir. Wine reviews will come, over on Whine And Cheese, eventually. However, I will say that we had a most enjoyable experience. The food was amazing, the wine was excellent, and our hostess was friendly, knowledgeable, and easy to talk to. Nobody liked the squab, except me. V referred to it as ‘Wild Blood Duck’ due to the strong gamey flavour.

Wine and food were finished, and then back to the boutique we went to pick up a bottle of Ice Cuvee, two bottles of the Pinot Noir, and a box of four Ice Wine chocolates.

As we were both feeling a little glow from the wine, we took a walk across the grounds to take some photos of the vineyards and the winery itself. It was a fabulous way to spend an afternoon, and I am certain it will not be my last tasting there. In fact Jack and I are planning to join their wine club quite immediately.

Quite content and ready to head home for more wine and tapas, we hopped in the truck and off we went. I got us hopelessly lost somehow and we ended up driving all over the damned province, in the dark, and fog no less! Eventually we found our way, although V was quite irate that I refused to phone Jack for directions.

We made it, at any rate, and I got busy in the kitchen fixing us some snacks for the evening. I made two small wheels of Camembert, wrapped in layers of phyllo brushed with butter, baked and then topped with a field berry coulis. There was also fresh, homemade brushetta, pork liver pate, and artichoke spinach dip. I toasted some big, thick slices of baguette, and opened a box of assorted crackers. We opened one of the bottles of Pinot Noir, as well as a bottle of Reisling I had in the fridge. Much eating, drinking, and merriment followed.

The three of us retired to bed late in the evening. It was such a perfect day, winding down to the perfect evening, and eventually a lovely sleep with my two favorite people in the world.

Day One was a smashing success and you will just have to wait patiently for the next installment to read about The Sex Show and the excitement that was Day Two.

Only 2 more sleeps until V arrives! I get to spend 5 WHOLE DAYS WITH HER! Can you tell that I am really pumped?

On Thursday I am taking her out to wine country for the day. We’re going to do some sight-seeing and shopping in Niagara On The Lake, and then I’m taking her to a food and wine tasting at one of the local wineries. We’re going to tour around some more after that and perhaps have some more wines at home later in the evening. I picked up a lovely Riesling and a Cabernet Franc Rosé last week in preparation for her visit. I’m making up a grocery list for tomorrow so that she and Jack and I can enjoy some yummy tapas with our wine that evening. I’m thinking a little baked Camembert and some brushetta with toasted baguette.

Friday we are heading in to The Sex Show early. We decided to go on Friday, rather than Saturday, because weekends are always insane and it can be difficult to look at stuff with some many people around. We plan to spend most of the day there, browsing all of the exhibitors and checking out the stage shows. After the show I plan to take V out to one of the restaurants participating in East End Eats Out. Basically restaurants offer up a limited menu, including some of their favorite dishes, for a flat fee (generally $25-$40 for three courses). We have reservations at Batifole, which the critics have been raving about recently. I can’t wait to try it!

After supper we are planning to go for cocktails somewhere. I’m still working on a game plan for that. Perhaps my readers familiar with Toronto can suggest some clubs/bars in the downtown area that we might enjoy?

Saturday we are heading to Yonge Street for shopping and sight-seeing. I want to take her to St. Lawrence Market and Eaton’s Center. Jack is going to meet us for supper somewhere (we found a sitter and I want to see how the kids manage under her care for a few hours) and after that we are checking into our hotel and getting ready for an evening out. We decided it would be wise to get a room somewhere near to downtown so that we wouldn’t have to worry about taking a cab all the way home.

Has anyone been to Fluid Lounge? Any others you might recommend? We have no idea, but I’ve been checking out club reviews all night.

Sunday we’ll drag our tired asses back home and spend the day vegging out with Jack and the kids. Maybe we’ll rent some movies and cuddle up on the couch all day. Monday we might take the kids to the pool and just generally spend family time together. Lots of rest and relaxation for the last two days she is here, since clearly I intend to wear her out for the first part of her visit.

She heads home Monday night and then I won’t see her again until New Year’s Eve, so I am planning to make the most of this weekend.

Really, REALLY excited!!!

Hope everyone had a great weekend

I’ve been enjoying a spoiled and indulgent weekend! Yesterday I got to spend the entire day shopping with a brand new girl-friend (and I mean that in the totally platonic way) in T-Dot. She took me to the most incredible Asian mall! I spent hours wandering through all of the interesting shops, while sipping pineapple bubble tea and talking about relationship stuff.

While out and about I treated myself to a sexy new Pupa eye shadow. There were a LOT of things I wanted to buy, LOL, mostly for my new house but I’m trying to stick with the ‘little at a time’ mentality. I did decide to take advantage of a great sale that was going on and picked up some really gorgeous handmade pottery pieces.

I’ve been on a real tea kick lately, mostly loose leaf black teas, so when I happened across this awesome little tea shop I selected about half a dozen varieties that smelled absolutely amazing. I’ve been tasting a few and yum, yum! So worth the money I spent on them (even the flowering teas, which are pricey, but such a treat). I think next to sex and books, tea is my very favorite thing in the world.

She and I went for sushi at this really trendy restaurant near the mall. I got a few excellent decorating ideas while I was there, with their artful use of chain and bold colors. The bento box I had was fab, although the service was slower than hell.

The market next to the mall was fascinating. Not my first trip to an Asian market (I shopped at one in Calgary as well) but since it’s Toronto, everything just seems…bigger. We sampled lychee and iced green tea. There was a really great price on live lobster and I was thoroughly tempted to buy a couple to take home. We still had a lot of things we wanted to see and do at that point and I didn’t really like the idea of the little critters hanging out in my vehicle all that time on a hot afternoon. Maybe next time though. I haven’t cooked lobster in a while and it’s one of my favorite foods.

My new friend is also pretty new to the GTA so I think she was as excited to hang out with me as I was with her. We met through a mutual friend and hit it off immediately. She does not know about my ‘double life’ at this point, and we may never get that close as pals, but regardless she’s fantastic and I know we’ll hang out again soon. I haven’t come up with a nickname for her yet, for future writings, but I am working on it.

The next couple of weeks are going to be hectic for me (normal life stuff), so I am hoping to get a couple of reviews cued up for posting. That way it’s not totally quiet around here. V is coming out for The Sex Show in about three weeks and I am so excited I can hardly stand it. The best part of having a busy couple of weeks is that the time will pass really quickly.

Speaking of The Sex Show, I am already debating what to wear this year. Last year it was my blue corset and a long black skirt. This year I am thinking shamefully short skirt and a dressy(ish) top. Maybe fishnets and stilettos as well.

The luscious Padme has a birthday coming up in a few weeks! I put her gift in the mail already, since I normally procrastinate terribly and this year I didn’t want it to be late. I also didn’t want to accidentally forget, which is totally possible considering how nuts things will be for me between now and then. I’m really hoping she will love her gift, since she’s a sweet and wonderful friend and I wanted to make it something special.

I hope everyone is having a good weekend! If I am not posting anything of substance for a couple of weeks, bear with me. There will be LOTS to tell after my weekend with V, and a few hot reviews in the mean time!

My weekend was all kinds of awesome! I’m feeling pretty banged up and sore all over, and I suffered a few bruises but it was all in the name of hedonism and having a great time.

On Friday Jack told me to go pick up this single-serve coffee maker that I have been drooling over for weeks. See, we have a regular coffee maker, which is awesome, but I don’t drink a whole pot a day so I’d end up dumping half eventually (and I didn’t waste on purpose, I’d still drink it anywhere within 24 hours of making it since we have a vacuum-sealed thermal carafe). It was bad enough in Calgary, but the water tastes like ass here, so we buy bottled, and I choked ever time I had to pour half a pot of coffee-infused bottled water down the sink.

So just make half a pot to begin with, right? I mean is seems obvious.

I just could never master that though. My coffee always ended up tasting vile and then I’d dump the rest of it anyway. Perhaps I am just too picky, but whatever, I won’t force myself to drink swill.

Buying a single-cup maker seemed like the smartest solution. We would of course keep the bigger coffee maker for company and so forth, and just use the smaller one when it’s less than four or so cups we are making.

Weeks ago I launched into my usual pre-buying research. Yes, I research. When I am shopping for an appliance I investigate every possible option I can find. I even have a book specifically about what to look for in kitchen appliances. Doing this sort of intensive research accomplishes two things:

A) I get the most suitable appliance to meet my specific needs

B) I don’t buy a piece of shit

Even if it means spending more than I would normally like to on an appliance, quality is not often something that comes super cheap. On the other hand don’t just be paying for a brand name.

Just get the book I’m not going into it all here.

After narrowing it down, I went to several appliance stores to check out the machines in person. I also wanted to figure out what sort of coffees were available locally for each type of machine (most of the higher-end ones can’t just brew your regular coffee grounds without special adapters). Buying a machine and then having to special-order pods/disks/cups for it from some obscure factory in the Congo is not my idea of efficiency or practicality.

At long last, on Friday, I was ready to buy. I had settled on the Keurig B60 which brews coffee in nifty little k-cups. There was also an easy to use (and easy to clean) refillable k-cup that would enable me to use my own coffee if I wanted to. It also brews coffee in three ’sizes’ which refers to quantity (espresso sized, regular coffee cup sized, and travel mug sized). The controls are also super-easy to use and the water tank on it was a good size. Not to mention being able to adjust the temperature of the water by a few degrees (you should have it set on the highest temp for most coffees and then lower it for brewing teas).

We brought it home, fired it up, primed it (you run a cup of water through it before your first use) and then made some coffee with it. Yum! We were both impressed and pleased. We made some Timothy’s breakfast blend for the first run, and then Jack tried an English breakfast tea k-cup and he said that was really good too.

I know this sounds like a review, and I guess it is, but I get pretty excited about coffee. I love this thing! If you want to get one of your own I’d suggest Linens N Things, which carry the machine, the reusable k-cups and a selection of pre-packaged coffee k-cups. I haven’t yet tried loose leaf tea in the reusable k-cup, but used our regular brand of coffee in it and that was awesome.

So, if you’re a coffee junkie like me and you want a really great one-cup making machine and you don’t mind laying out some extra cash for something super, I’d highly recommend this one.

Ok, enough about the damned coffee maker, LOL

* * *

Saturday things kicked off with my first ever sex-blogger face to face meet up. A very wonderful and lovely sex blogess was in my area quite by coincidence and so we arranged a quick get-together at a local coffee shop to gab and get to know each other a bit better. Out of respect for her privacy and need to remain anonymous I shall not share nor hint as to her identity unless she feels comfortable outing herself either on her own blog or on my comments board.

Being able to sit and chat with her was fantastic. She’s wonderfully charming and it just seemed like we’d been friends forever almost immediately. We didn’t have a terribly long time together as we both had other engagements to attend to, but she graciously extended an invitation for a future meeting which I plan to take her up on at the earliest mutually agreeable convenience.

After her and I parted ways it was off to downtown T-dot for yours truly. I had my first ever solo driving expedition through the insanity that is GTA traffic. However, I managed to arrive at the house of The SmartAss unscathed and in proper time. I only got a little bit lost and had to phone him a few blocks from his domicile.

We sat down in his living room and talked for a bit, which somehow escalated to a prolonged play fighting match on his couch. Perhaps it’s childish, but I was giggling madly as he pinned me down by my wrists and very cautiously kissed me (I think he was afraid I might bite, which I did). I was stronger than he expected and it took him a lot of effort to overpower me. I broke free briefly and made it as far as his kitchen where he pushed me roughly against his counter and kissed me again, longer this time, and his hand found it’s way up my summer dress to between my legs which was unprotected by panties (since I only wear unders with pants). I stopped fighting for a minute while he stroked me and kissed me hard.

Then I pushed him away with a grin. He was only caught off guard for a moment before he backed me forcefully into his bedroom and pushed me down onto his bed. We were both already sweaty and out of breath and before long the clothes were in a heap on the floor and he was dragging his nails up and down my back. When he got between my legs and pushed his length into me I let my eyes roll back in my head and a little sigh crossed my lips.

The sex was rough, passionate, all of those good things that first-time-with-someone-new sex usually is (at least in my experience). At one point I was flat on my belly with my legs together and he was fucking me from behind, panting into my ear while I groaned and arched my back. He bit my neck, my shoulders, and wherever else he could get a bit of skin between his teeth. He left marks on me that will last for days perhaps.

When I came for him I buried my face in his pillow and screamed while my body arched and quivered. He fucked me harder, his head over my shoulder, nibbling my ear and giving me tingles right to my toes. He asked me if I wanted him to cum in me (all in the name of play since yes we indeed used a condom) and I said yesssss with a hoarse moan. He climaxed with several enthusiastic grunts and then laid beside me and ran his finger tips over my sweat-coated back.

“I really like how you arch your back. You look very feline” he commented, giving my rear an affectionate squeeze.

We laid in bed to recover, cuddled up and debating where we might go for supper. Chinese? Or perhaps Greek was in order? We were both starving so before long we settled on this great little Indian place he knew of. After sorting ourselves out and getting dressed he drove us to KamaSutra Indian Restaurant & Wine Bar for some sustenance. It looked like a really nice place, and we asked for seating on the patio since it was still warm out.

The food there was incredible. I really enjoyed it a great deal, the menu was mouth-watering and we decided to share a couple of dishes along with rice and naan which comes with most of the entrees. It was fantastic, I want to eat there again for sure. Dinner for two costs about $50 so not somewhere you want to go to everyday but certainly once a month or so if you can manage it.

After dinner we went back to his place and cuddled up on the couch to watch some Red vs Blue, which is totally hilarious. Even if you’re not a gamer I am sure you can appreciate the humor. It was nice to just have a little down time, but eventually I started to get tired and The SmartAss was having a friend in crisis over for movies and ice cream so we said goodnight and he showed me the way to Yonge Street, since I could find my way home from there.

All in all it was a really great day and I totally enjoyed myself.

* * *

Today was down time with Jack and the kids. We did a little shopping, did a little driving, I had an excellent Greek salad for lunch. Made coffee in my fabulous coffee maker, looked for a new purse (still have not found exactly what I want) and bought some pitchers for storing milk (you Ontario people with your milk in a bag, SO WEIRD!).

I’m also on the count-down for my birthday, which is during the long weekend this year. I have to tell you it’s a little discouraging not to have at least two dozen people to go out with, or enough local friends with which to throw an awesome party. It’s not horrible to be spending the day with three of the people who love and adore me most in the world, but two of them are my kids which is great but also not conducive to a grown-up celebration. I really wish we had sitter here so I could have a little alone time with my favorite male That would be a perfectly excellent way to celebrate. Who knows, I still have a couple of weeks left to find someone to take the kids, even for a couple of hours, so that we can have dinner together at least.

Please forgive the length of this post. I just feel like getting it all told in one big entry while I am in the mood to write it. I hope that everyone else had a great weekend! This week could be a little dull around here so share with me some stories of your weekend debauchery (even if it was dull, make something up).

*James Patrick Kelly

Since my last few posts have been a little…melancholy, I thought you would all be glad to hear that I had my very first date here in Toronto yesterday!

It was wonderful.

Since I am hopeful that the male in question will become something of a regular around here I have been contemplating an appropriate letter. Then I was wondering if I should abandon the ‘letter’ thing and start giving people some other identifying designation, because I’m getting low on letters and what happens after that? Combinations? Well then I might as well give them names. Since we’ve moved and it’s all ‘Turning Over A New Leaf’ and that, I’ve decided to leave letters alone and designate some sort of label for new people. That may also ease any confusion about when/where people are from in relation to this blog (The Calgary Period vs The Toronto Period).

So my friend from yesterday shall be called The SmartAss, because he’s often full of amusing and witty comments. He’s also very intelligent, not to mention quite attractive. I don’t intend to tell him about this blog, but I somehow feel that he would approve of the name, LOL.

The SmartAss and I have been talking for weeks now via messenger. We met on a dating site and have been getting to know each other while I tried to carve out some free time during which to meet him. Finally last week Jack said that Sunday would be as good a day as any, so arrangements were made and at the appointed time I met him downtown near Union Station.

He wanted to take me to the St. Lawrence Market, but being Sunday, it was closed. He suggested his favorite French restaurant, which apparently has crepes to die for, but I felt under dressed (read tank top and a cotton mini-skirt made out of that sweatpants material). It was then that he remembered Taste Of The Danforth was happening and suggested we hop the subway down there.

I had never ridden a ‘real’ subway before so that sounded super cool to me! We found the nearest station while he told me all sorts of interesting things about Toronto. He explained where the Gay Village is and pointed out at least half a dozen awesome restaurants I might like (making notes to me as well about which were kid-friendly, such a thoughtful man!) and I did my best to soak it all in.

We went down to the subway and he gave me a token, which is about the size of a dime. Makes sense when most people buy 20 of them at a time, LOL. We plunked our tokens into the machine and went through those rotating bar things and onto the platform. Since I’d never been on a subway he led me to the end of the platform, where the front of the train is. I found this sweet because he wanted to make sure I could see out the front of the subway car and really experience this subway thing.

Our train arrived and we hoped on and found some seats. All this time we had been chatting about life, various relationship-related things, etc. I enjoyed the subway very much. Eventually we made it to Danforth (which is a neighbourhood in Toronto) and started walking through the festival. The street was blocked off and there were dozens of tables and booths set up on the sidewalks. There was food everywhere, and people, and music. It was so awesome. The SmartAss pointed out a few other great restaurants he likes, including an all-you-can-eat sushi joint.

We stopped and got chicken souvlaki on a pita, which was amazing. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Then we picked up a 10-piece plate of assorted deep-fried seafood, which was really delicious as well. I could have really gone over-board there but I kept my healthy eating plan in mind and curbed myself. I did splurge a little on an ice cream sundae for dessert, but with all the walking we did I figure it about balanced out.

It started to rain as we were walking along, which felt wonderful. The day had been so hot and a little rain cooled things off nicely.

After much looking around and eating of the food we decided to head to his house so that he could pick up his car and take me on a drive. I think he was hoping (at least to some extent) to get me back to his place for some tail, but I had already decided that I was not going to sleep with him on our first date. I have to at least give the illusion of having some class HA HA

We caught the subway back to his area and he took me for a lovely walk in the rain through a beautiful scenic area. I found him so thoughtful and easy to talk to. My first impressions of him online have been somewhat different. He’s a bit of a pessimist which generally turns me off immediately, having dealt with enough moody people who complain all the time and generally do nothing to improve their situation. However, in real life I felt that his pessimism comes mostly out of frustration with failed relationships and with some of his current life circumstances that he can’t yet afford to change. He’s quite mature for a male his age (he’s 24) and yet I can see places that he could do things to improve himself which would likely make him less skeptical. However, we’re not quite close enough for me to start pointing them out yet.

I greatly enjoyed our stroll in the rain. I haven’t done that with anyone in ages. He led me into his house (I desperately needed to use the bathroom) and then showed me around his place. He rents a basement suite in the summer months and lives on campus during the school year while he is getting his degree. It was modest yet functional. Not tidy but certainly not dirty (I wasn’t disgusted when I used his bathroom) and rather average as far as male dwellings go.

He showed me some funny short movies on his computer that he thought I might like (and I did) before we got into his car and took a drive around Toronto. That’s when we stopped for ice cream at this really nice place over-looking a valley with lots of trees and a river. It was quite nice to be spoiled a little and shown around his favorite places. He’s the first guy I’ve dated in a great while who has his own transportation (although he generally takes transit since it’s easier than finding parking). I loved the break from having to drive places and I loved taking transit with him because it’s so new and different for me. I’ll take the bus any day if it means I don’t have to drive about!

We talked a lot about sexuality and he asked rather shyly if I might educate him on some of the basic aspects of BDSM. This was not a come-on from him but a general curiosity and desire to learn something different (all of his previous girlfriends have been fairly vanilla). I offered to loan him some books on the subject (my copies of Screw The Roses and SM 101) and he said he would like that very much. I don’t think I have the time or patience to teach someone from scratch, so if I can get him to learn a bit himself it’ll be far easier to help him practice a few techniques in real life.

I think that we hit it off very well. He told me that he found me exceedingly charming in person and quite a wonderful date as he felt comfortable and unawkward in my presence. I love that I seem to have that effect on people.

He drove me to where Jack was picking me up (I haven’t braved downtown on my own yet, in terms of driving) and despite feeling somewhat uncomfortable, decided to meet Jack and get that out of the way. I introduced them and they shook hands. The SmartAss commented on how totally adorable my kids are (and they are you know) which I found adorable, since most of the males I’ve dated feel uncomfortable around my family.

The SmartAss and I hugged goodbye with the promise of another date in the very near future. I felt really great about our date and had a wonderful time.

I can really only identify one problem with this going forward into a very satisfying Friends With Benefits arrangement, and that is the issue of birth control, which I should maybe save for a post of it’s own.

Nah, because then I may never get around to writing it, LOL.

So, Shasta can’t do birth control pills/anything hormone based at all. I have very sensitive hormones and tampering with them even a little bit generally pushes me over the depression deep end. I’ve tried many different kinds of pills, I also tried Depo which was HELL ON EARTH! They all fucked me up, made me feel like crap, and it’s basically come down to having to go on Prozac if I want to take birth control. Considering I’ve managed to avoid depression meds for over three years now I’m not in a hurry to go back on them. While I am not against them at all, and would happily go back on them if it became necessary again, I won’t put myself in that situation on purpose.

So the female version of birth control is out, which generally leaves condoms and sponges as the most convenient methods available. That’s all well and good for the most part.

Why not an IUD you ask? Lets just say my family has a history of uterine issues and I am not eager to have my entire reproductive system removed before my 30th birthday. Am I being paranoid? Perhaps, but I’d rather be safe than sorry and keep my girl-parts where they are.

I’ve been debating a diaphragm, but do people even use those anymore? Being without a family doctor at this juncture I want to figure out what exactly I need before I make an appointment at a walk-in clinic. Please give me advice about diaphragms if you use them.

This wouldn’t all be such a problem if I didn’t have a specific set of personal ethics which would prevent me from having an abortion in the event of accidental pregnancy with someone other than Jack. I don’t believe in it, I never have, and I will never change my mind. That is NOT up for debate here so if I get a bunch of Pro-Choice comments happening I’ll just delete them. I have my personal morals and beliefs, I do my very best not to shove them in anyone else’s faces, please respect that and don’t try forcing yours into mine.

I also will not take a morning after pill as it’s essentially the same IN MY OPINION. Also not up for debate. Please don’t try to educate me, I am not one to go around having beliefs based on things I haven’t done any research about. I already know how it works, not for me, but thanks anyway.

These circumstances understandably make most men nervous to become involved with me. I can appreciate that, which is why I am upfront about it (now, I’ll admit I was oblivious in my first few poly relationships) so that they can make an informed decision about having sex with me. I won’t compromise my personal beliefs just to get laid, and I won’t compromise another person either. They need to know where I stand on this even if it means we don’t hook up.

The SmartAss is understandably reluctant. Since Jack and I do not want any more children I am debating having my tubes done. Obviously not just to prevent pregnancy with others but to prevent any other pregnancies within my marriage as well. The idea of having it done makes me a tad nervous (not because I am afraid of going under the knife but because I’ve heard some horror stories about how it can mess up your hormones). Can anyone share some experiences with that? I’d love to hear them for sure. Also I am well aware that Jack could easily get fixed but that still doesn’t solve my problem with outside relationships.

Jack and I have discussed what we would do as a couple should I become pregnant with a child that isn’t his. While I suggested adoption as a solution Jack would not be comfortable with that and would prefer to raise the child as if it were his (unless the father in question wanted to be involved in some way) and there would be no expectations of support either emotionally or financially from the other male. That might sound fucked up, but it’s how we have decided to deal with it in our situation. Jack knows and supports my feelings on abortion, and after some reflection I decided that I agree with him about the adoption thing being less than ideal in our situation. I am fully supportive of adoption (being adopted myself) and if I was not in the stable and secure situation I am, which would easily allow me to take on another child, I likely would not opt to keep any unplanned babies.

Soooooooooooooooooo that is the dilemma of the moment. I need better methods of pregnancy prevention (STI issues aside, because we already have the whole testing thing and knowing your partners sexual history, seeing test results to back it up, etc covered). Give me some advice here!

All in all we had a brilliant time together and I like this guy quite a bit already. I’m hoping we can find some middle ground so that we both feel comfortable and safe being intimate together. I’ll keep you all updated no doubt.

Hope everyone had a great weekend and all!

*Vernor Vinge

The first order of business in the update mania: My Calgary Stampede experience!

Yes, I know I promised photos, but we have begun packing for the move and it’s in a box somewhere already (I had intended to leave it out but we had people helping us and it got tossed in by accident). So, photos will have to wait until I either get a new hookup to the computer or until the box gets unpacked.

At any rate, we had a fantastic time. Jack and I headed in Tuesday afternoon and picked up F. We hopped the C-Train down to the grounds and met P just inside the gate.

After exchanging pleasantries and having a corn dog (YUM!) we formulated a plan that P and I would head off and put our ride passes to good use, while Jack and F perused the ‘trade show’ inside the Roundup Center. So we did just that. P and I trotted off merrily to have our innards turned upside down on the midway, leaving F and Jack to have some good one-on-one friend time together.

I can’t recall exactly how many rides we went on. We tried out the new swing tower, which was nothing to write home about. It was high up, and that’s about it. We also rode the Twin Flip, Orbiter, the Original Fireball, Alpine Bob’s, and some others I can’t think of. It was loads of good fun!

V and M arrived a little later and shortly after P had to leave. Jack took F home since she wasn’t feeling well, and then the four of us wandered around the grounds together. The guys played some games. Jack won a Stewie and M won this really adorable white tiger for V.

V and I went on a ride called The Polar Express, which has to be the funnest ride on the entire midway. We screamed and laughed until we were hoarse.

I got to have my corn dog, some mini-donuts, a caramel apple with nuts on it, and even a bit of cotton candy. It was a nice treat!

It was pretty late before we sauntered out of the gate and onto the C-Train. Jack and I gave V and M a ride home before heading home ourselves and crawling into bed, exhausted. We had an awesome day, and I feel content that I made the most of what will be the last Stampede I go to for a long while.

Jack bought me an awesome surprise there as well. It’s a really unique lamp for the new house we are moving to. It looks something like this, but it comes in pieces and you can arrange it many different ways. He is so thoughtful, I think the lamp is going to look brilliant in our new bedroom.

That’s my Stampede story, the Transformers movie and dinner at Bragg Creek will be coming up over the next couple of days!

Hope everyone had a really great weekend I’m looking forward to tomorrow because there is a very special package waiting for me at the post office! You’ll have to wait and see what fun toys I’ve received this time, Tee Hee.