Andrea Mulder-Slater

by Andrea Mulder-Slater “Girls have balls. They’re just a little higher up, that’s all.”  ~Joan Jett  My husband and I don’t often talk about his boy bits but when we do, I’m usually throwing out questions like, “Hey, do those ever fall out of your underwear” , “How do you fit everything inside your pants?” and, “Can you please put that stuff away now?” I mean come on; those things aren’t cute. You know I’m right. Still, I feel for the men, I really do. It can’t be easy, walking around with all that junk. When I asked my guy what it’s like having a set of testicles, he said, “It’s like having pocket watches permanently attached to your crotch.”

by Andrea Mulder-Slater A criminal court judge married my husband and I. It was his first – and likely his only – wedding. His chambers were large and dark with lots of wood paneling, big leather chairs and an endless array of sports paraphernalia including a number of bobble head baseball dolls. Geoff and I hadn’t planned on being wed this way. Although we did know we wanted a “civil ceremony” rather than a fancy event sprinkled with bells and whistles. We often joked that the two of us shared a fear of microphones, flower girls, and tiny pieces of fruitcake wrapped up in tin foil. However, when we decided to get married, it just so happened that half of the city’s populace was keen to get hitched in city hall. We were faced with a decision; wait 10 months as names were crossed off a list, or, find another way. That’s where the criminal court judge (a family acquaintance) came in. A few weeks after we arrived home from a brief honeymoon in Algonquin Park, Geoff and I host...

by Andrea Mulder-Slater Part of the fun of back-to-school, is all the fresh new supplies! This month, I was thrilled to receive a box of goodies from the Dixon Ticonderoga Company , featuring several of their art supplies (as well as a group of competitor's products) for me to put to the test. I began with a set of Prang Large Triangular Colored Pencils ... These colorful pencils have a unique, chunky triangular shape which makes them easy to hold - for both big and small hands.   OnceI  started working with the pencils, I noticed immediately how "creamy" they were... they seemed to just glide on the paper. By comparison, a leading competitor's brand was kind of "scratchy". The Prang colors were rich and bold and the variety was fantastic. I'm a big fan of metallics so I was especially taken with the inclusion of silver and gold. The pencil sharpener (two pencil sizes) was a nice added bonus. All of that aside, I wanted ...