My dad said that if he won he would’ve said “Get to bed Gilly, it’s way past your bed time,” while holding his Oscar with pride.

I’ll never forget the year my dad was nominated for an Oscar.

He was up for best sound mixer for the movie Unforgiven.

It was the most glamourous I’d ever see my parents, and I still love to pull out the photo of my dad in an expensive tuxedo, my mom in a floor length gown with her hair in big loose curls.  I always thought they looked like movie stars.

My mom says I remember the pure unadulterated luxury of all, feeling as if Rob and I were in some extravagant Hollywood movie.

I saw him for a split second on the red carpet.  No one else saw it, but when we rewinded it to see it I was right.

Apparently their limousine didn’t arrive so Morgan Freeman invited them to share his.  My mom couldn’t stop smiling.  Freeman left the limo first and the crowd went wild.  They followed him up the red carpet with Jan Fonda just ahead, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins following behind.

My dad didn’t win that night, but he brought home a chocolate Oscar and was still a winner to us.  I remember bringing a piece of that chocolate Oscar to school wrapped up in saran wrap.

My mom says my dad was relieved he didn’t have to go on stage, and that he knew that simply being nominated by his peers at the Academy was honour enough.  She said he was happy to leave the glitz and the glamour and slip into his Berkinstocks.

My dad doing a radio interview in LA

That’s why I love my dad.  I grew up knowing he was good at what he did.  Every morning he would be up at the crack of dawn, his big work van filled with sound equipment warming up in the driveway while it was still dark outside.

He’d usually come back when I was already in bed.  But he would leave sweet treats under my pillow so that I knew he cared.  When he got off early one day he showed up to my gymnastics recital to surprise me.

I loved visiting him on film sets.  Cast and crew would always come up to me and tell me how much they loved my dad.  Even with the long hours he always had a good sense of humor and did his job well.

That year was his big break.  He didn’t need a gold Oscar to know how important it was, he’d already won.  He put in the time, effort and skill.

Tonight we got together at a friend’s house.  A feast was made and I made big bowls of gourmet popcorn, one salty, one sweet, and we took in the show.

My dad sat quietly, still humble, knowing how close he came but just as happy to be sitting comfortably with a home cooked meal surrounded by those who love him.

All the games are over now and it’s time to look back on the last two weeks and smile.

In Canada we won more gold medals than ever in history.

In Vancouver we came alive and showed off our city with pride to the rest of the world.

At the Royal Canadian Mint Pavilion we made millions smile and were the most popular place to be the city.

It was a long two weeks with a lot of chanting, bell ringing, bursting out the national anthem and sporting red Canadian gear.

I participated in my own way, working hard and cheering silently at home at the end of the night as I watched the game re-caps.

To be honest, I’m glad it’s over, but I’m happy it happened.  It was an experience I’ll never forget.

I got to experience it all first hand, speak French and English every day, and hold the beautiful Olympic medals whenever I wanted.

Holding the gold medal


My shoes after two weeks on my feet

Fun in the photo booth on the last day

We did it Canada!

At work today a girl I’ve known for less than two weeks said “Every time I smell something delicious I think of you.”

I’ve been bringing in batches of cookies, muffins and treats when I can.  I love food and I love to share food.

But I haven’t always had the healthy relationship I have with food now.  There was a stage in my life where words like butter and sugar were  fat and carbohydrates, not essentials in my kitchen.

This week is National Eating Disorders Awareness (NEDA) week and I want to talk about challenges I have faced with my own body and eating issues.

When I was sixteen I moved to Northern Ireland for a year.  I was far away from my friends and most of my family and needed some kind of control.  I became obsessive with what I thought was “healthy” and started to cut out more and more from my diet.  My diet became low-fat, low-carbohydrate, and I became a bit of a low life.

When I first moved to Northern Ireland

As time went on my jeans started to sag, my bras became too big and the rings on my fingers became loose.  I felt cold all of the time and my long blonde hair became thin and limp.  I lived in a pair of track pants and stuck my hair back in a ponytail.

Near the end of the school year I had a few weeks off to study for exams. I went in one day to see a teacher and she looked at me and said “Please go home and have a big lunch.” I remember very clearly that I had planned on not eating until dinner.

Around this time I stopped getting my period.  I calculated my BMI in a health and diet book and realized I was underweight.  A sick voice inside of me was happy, but my eyes filled with tears.

Before flying home to Canada I spent the summer in France.  Friends in the village I’d known for years seemed worried.  A family friend who had come to visit told me straight forwardly “You look malnourished.”

I remember being confused.  Hadn’t the magazines always told me that those last 10 pounds were what I wanted to lose?  Wasn’t everyone trying to lose weight?  Weren’t models admired for their thinness?  How come I had achieved my goal of losing weight and my only prize was a malnourished body, no menstruation and little left of the beautiful sixteen year old I was supposed to be?

I learned something very important around that time.  I learned how important it is to consider the real outcome and motive of a goal before pursuing it. I learned that empty goals like attaining the perfect body or the perfect wardrobe could never make me happy.

When I moved back to Canada I took my health in my own hands.  I started eating a high protein diet and working out so that I could put on weight healthfully and still feel good in my body.  I started socializing more, teaching myself how to cook, and remembering how fun life was before I became pre-occupied with starving myself of life’s pleasures.

Celebrating my 17th birthday with friends

My best friend saved me.  I slept on her sofa, cried on her shoulder, danced on her kitchen floor, cooked on her stove top and wore half of her wardrobe.  She reminded me what being a young woman is really about.  We shared an appetite for good food and appetite for life.

My friend Shirin and I in Spain the summer after grad

I graduated from high school that year with a healthy body, the best grades of my life, an award in English literature and an acceptance letter to the university of my dreams.

The night of my grad

When I think of how many young women lose their dreams to eating disorders it breaks my heart.  I would never have been able to accomplish what I have had I stayed focused on self deprivation.

Of course I still have moments of unease with my body.  I am not immune to the pressures of society or the pressure I put upon myself.  But I push through.  I invite a close friend for dinner, confide in my boyfriend and remind myself that I want to be a positive role model for other young women.

Food plays a major, wonderful role in my life and these days I work very hard on sharing that pleasure with as many people as possible.  It is nourishment, pleasure and something we all have in common.

These days I put love, health and real accomplishments before empty pursuits.

With my life in my own hands, I might as well make it as delicious as possible.

Eating spicy diva popcorn in Paris

First, graze the menu and let the pictures give you an idea of what will excite your palate most while enjoying Korean pop music playing in the background.

Next, order a no-fail dish like Bibimbap, a mixed rice bowl with vegetables, fried egg and meat.  Slather generously in Korean spicy red pepper sauce before mixing together.

A spicy chicken dish will also do.  The Koreans understand a perfect level of sweet and spicy in all of their dishes.

Enjoy the complimentary little side dishes that come with your meal.

Dig in.

And enjoy that big bottle of spicy red pepper sauce.  It’s so good it puts ketchup to shame.

Just don’t forget to wipe away the evidence afterwards.

Every day I pull on my black shirt, fleece vest and staff pass (with a growing pin collection on the sash)

Then run to work, sometimes lucky enough to pass the burning cauldron

I sneak in as much of the games as I can during breaks in the staff room

As well as as some of the great catered snacks

Our staff caterer puts out some of my favourite foods every day!

Then it’s back to work, sometimes watching over our real gold bar (it’s worth half a million dollars and weights 28 pounds)

And the million dollar coin (worth 3.5 million)

Sometimes I manage the photo and video booths and try to help people get their best shot

Otherwise I’m doing coin exchange, organizing the crowds, or walking around with a megaphone to warn people of the 7 hour wait to see the Olympic medals.  You may even spot me on CTV news as I manage the crazy lines!

By the time I get home, I’m exhausted from dealing with thousands of people and usually try and bake something delicious that I can share with friends and work and my boyfriend.

(Banana nut muffins)

It’s crazy times in this city, but every day is an adventure!

Please feel free to keep asking me questions here

I’ve got lots of it.

For the woman who loved me from day one

For my goofy, wonderful dad

For my brothers who have always been there for me


For a young man who makes me glow in a way I’ve never known before

For friends who never forget about me

And those who came into my life at just the right time

For family that live across the world but still feel so close

And total strangers that became  family

I am full of love for so many people. For the simple things in life. For everything I’ve been given.

My boyfriend and I both spent Valentine’s Day at work,  but their were moments of tenderness, a single rose and a chocolate heart.

Canada won gold for the first time on Canadian soil and the streets were smiling. In its own way, it was a perfect day.

Late last night I crawled up on the couch with my boyfriend and watched the opening ceremonies for the 2010 games.

We both worked through the actual event but didn’t want to miss a beat.

I was in the middle of the hype all day, helping tourists and locals make videos, swap coins, and have  a look at the Olympic medals at the Royal Canadian Mint pavilion.

I came home to an email from my grandmother saying “It was the most fantastic, enthusiastic, production of anything I have ever seen.”

The visuals were incredible and as I watched the dancers and listened to Sarah McLachlan singing Ordinary Miracle, I felt proud to be Canadian.

Most of us are here because our parents or our grandparents wanted something better for their families.

My grandfather moved to Canada from Ireland with my grandmother and two daughters, including my mother, on a whim.  He happened to be with a friend applying for immigration and applied himself.  His friend wasn’t accepted and he was.  When his father-in-law said “You’ll go to Canada on the boat called the Never Budge,” he decided to prove him wrong.  No wonder I’m so stubborn.

I was moved by the dancers and by Shane Koyczan, who performed his poem Ever More. He made me proud to be Canadian and described some of my favorite things about our country:

and some say what defines us

is something as simple as please and thank you

Or

we are first-rate greasy-spoon diners and healthy-living cafes

a country that is all the ways you choose to live

a land that can give you variety

because we are choices

Still spending my time surrounded by money at the Royal Canadian Mint Pavilion!  Our giant million dollar coin is worth more than 3.5 million and could set most people up for life.  But you need a crane to get it in the building so good luck trying to pocket it!  I also uploaded another quick video!