Japanese Cheesecake

A new restaurant in Toronto that opened up at the end of March always has a line out the doors.  It's called Uncle Tetsu's Japanese Cheesecake, and as a lover of cheesecake, I really wanted to try it before we moved. 

Now Benjamin is up at 6:00 a.m. almost every day, so I figured I'd use that to my advantage, and have company while I waited in line. We went on a Sunday morning, and we still had to wait in line for 25 minutes. (They can only make 12 cheesecakes at a time, as they only have 3 small ovens.  But 25 minutes was nothing - from noon on the line-up is usually a couple hours long!)

The restaurant smelled divine, as it was like you were swimming in the wonderful aroma of cheesecake.  The cake itself has no crust and is extremely airy.  We had a few bites as soon as we got home, as it was still warm from the oven, and it was good warm. 

That night we ate the rest of it with friends, and we were all a bit underwhelmed.  It's only slightly sweet and not at all rich & decadent like a North American cheesecake would be.  Was it worth it to stand in line for 25 minutes?  Yes, for the joy of trying something new and knowing what the buzz is about!  Would I do it again? Sorry Uncle Tetsu, but no.

10K - for fun and friendship

This weekend my friend Christa & I ran a 10K together.  Our goals were to not stop running and to make another good friendship memory.

We reached all our goals easily.  It's amazing how quickly time running can go by when you're with a friend with whom you just never run out of conversation.

Our cheering crew was definitely the loudest and cutest!

There were all kinds of fun kid activities afterwards. Helena & her friend Holly have just started holding hands all the time.  It is so sweet.

Happy birthday to my two guys!

Today is the longest day of the year, Father's Day, and John & Benjamin's birthdays!  

Happy birthday to the little boy who is learning new words every day, who would be happy to run everywhere all the time - unless he decides he just must be carried, and who can bring a smile to my face without doing anything.

Happy birthday to the man who works tirelessly for our family, who can't wait to get home to see his family, and who loves to spend time with his family.  You are a wonderful father, John, and a great husband.

Second Cup

So I am sitting outside the U of T bookstore getting some work done, and I overhear an employee giving directions to a family.

Employee: "It's over there by the Second Cup."
Dad: "The what?"
Employee: "The Second Cup."
Dad: [pause] "I'm sorry, I don't know what a cup is. We're from the States."



He was looking down the hallway for this mysterious second "cup" that is somehow large enough to indicate where to find the thing they were looking for.  It's actually the name of a coffee shop.  Funny.

-John

John, a.k.a. Ph.D., The Professor

It's official - John is 100% completely done with his Ph.D.  He has completed his courses, finished his comprehensive exams, written his dissertation, defended his dissertation, and has been through convocation.  We can't believe it's over.

Unfortunately there was no funny hat for John to wear, but he looked great in his robe and hood.

There were celebrations before and after convocation with family. 

Nice work, honey.  I'm proud of you!

Just being real here

We move in less than a month.  I am not feeling excited about this.

Toronto has been such a good place for us.  We like life here. 

  

We know how to do life here and how to do it well.  We have such good friends.

I'm not excited about navigating those waters again.  They are always rough for awhile.

I'm so proud of John, for all his work leading up to a job and now for getting a job.

But I don't want to move.   I don't want to leave home.

The bright side of things, however, is I get to move with these three.

We're in it together.

Without them, I'd never be home.