Merry Christmas!

Sorry its taken me so long to blog but the holidays are a busy time. Lots of eating, lots of celebrating and new this year, lots of "bleeeech"... barfing. There was a terrible stomach virus making its way through my family and on boxing day, it reached me. I can honestly say that I've never been so sick in my entire life. I spent the entire night expelling my insides from one end or another. Eventually I ended up passing out in my hallway and in the morning I noticed that my mom had put a pillow and blanket on me. Thank goodness I had my mommy there to take care of me. She brought my pillow everywhere and made me all kinds of home remedies. After spending the entire day Saturday on my back, I was finally able to get up and around on Sunday morning. On the plus side, I managed to lose 4 pounds! I also realized the importance of my health. There's nothing like feeling like you're on death's door to make you appreciate something simple like good health.

Unfortunately on the one day we did celebrate, I forgot to bring my camera so the only pics I have are from the day after our family party. So here is a pic of my extra cute niece Charlotte in her new Christmas dress. (This was taken before we both got sick.)

Tomorrow is New Year's Eve. Usually its a big party but this year I just want to keep it low key and vomit-free. I think I'll be joining Saadia and Raju at one of their friends' parties and then it'll be an early night home to rest up for family New Year's celebrations the next day.

Lady in Red

Here are some pics I took today while having lunch at my mom's. My sister was trying to bond with Charlotte and see if she remembered her Aunt Sooky. But I would yell "Stranger Danger" everytime Sooky came around so that my niece would always know which aunt was number ONE. At first I had my glasses on and my hair in a pony tail and I noticed that Charlotte wouldn't come to me. Then I washed my hair and put my contacts in and came downstairs and she ran right over. Turns out "ugly Diana" doesn't get recognized. What can I say, my niece has discriminating taste.

Happy Birthday Grams!

Saturday we celebrated my grandmother's 92nd birthday. My mom made all the food (and I brought my "good" gingerbread,) and we all headed to my aunt's house to celebrate (aka pig out!). It was the usual feast with so many tasty deelights: kalbi, chicken wings, sesame noodles, kimchi (of course) and a ton of sashimi courtesy of my uncle. My cousin David even worked his 16 year old butt off making spicy tuna for all of us unfortunately by the time he was done mashing all the tuna in the spicy sauce, we were all so full that it was barely eaten. (However I enjoyed plenty for lunch today.) Hanna ate her weight in cake and brought her newest medical "toy": her stethoscope and blood pressure kit. Then of course, as soon as all of my aunts and uncles saw it, they insisted she take their blood pressure. She was a trooper though and did everyone. Good practise I say! Her stethoscope was really cool, I got to hear my heartbeat as well as all the gurgling in my stomach after eating so much. She also taught me some of her medical examination techniques so next time any of you feel congested, make sure you let me know so I can "officially" diagnose you. (Its scientific!)

My sister managed to make it in on Friday night so she could join the feast on Saturday. Today, we spent the morning with Grams again and then played with Charlotte before I met my cousin Carol and Mad to watch "Australia". It was ok and Hugh Jackman was definitely pleasing on the eyes. (But it was THREE hours long! I had to take TWO bathroom breaks!! Definitely not a movie for the weak bladdered.)

A great (family) start to the holiday season. Next week, we'll all be meeting again for dinner at my brother and Nancy's. Carol has already started planning her desserts, can't wait!

Gingerbread... Take TWO!

With last night's snow storm I figured it was the perfect time to stay in and bake more gingerbread cookies. After my last experience I knew I had to get more molasses so I stopped by Sobey's on my way home and picked up a few ingredients and then got to work! (As a side note, I LOVED walking in the snow with my new boots. Its like being in a car with snow tires! I watch all the dainty walkers trying to step into existing footsteps and while I can just go plowing right into the snow banks beside them. Makes trekking in the snow so much easier!)

So after I got home I made dinner and then started on my cookies. Ok, I have to admit, using "fresh" molasses made A TON of difference. The cookies turned out totally different. The molasses itself was less like tar and more like syrup. Then the dough was soft and airy instead of tough. Lastly the cookies themselves really ended up spreading out and being soft and chewy instead of round little "turdy" balls. (But hey, I STILL got a lot of compliments from the folks at work about my first batch!) Turns out using "non-expired" ingredients really makes them better. Good to know!

WND... Saadia Style!

This week's WND was held at our guest chef Saadia's house. She so kindly hosted the entire WND crew plus Caroline and Rob and their new baby Anderson at her place for a holiday feast! We had mushroom lasagna, mini shepherd's pies and veggies and salad. I made a stuffed mushroom cap appetizer and Evelyn made her famous Banoffee pie (Banana and Toffee mixed together, yum!). Everything was deeleecious and as usual, I stuffed myself past 120% capacity. I had to stay up til 12:30 am that night just to digest. I suppose it was good practise for my stomach to stretch a little since this weekend will be the first of a few of my family holiday feasts. Its Gram's birthday and my mom is doing the cooking so its sure to be good!

Thanks again Saadia for such a great dinner and being such a lovely host!

Write a letter!

Just an update to my "new boots" story from a couple of posts ago. I bought those boots from the Bay because I thought they were on sale. When I found out at the cash register that they weren't, I ended up getting anyway because I already had them on and the amount of effort to take them off just wasn't worth it at the time. Anyway, I was a bit upset about paying full price as I would not have put them on to begin with had I known they weren't on sale. When I came home that night I decided to write Customer Service at the Bay a letter and this is what they just sent me in response. Sometime it pays to write a letter!
____________________________

Good Morning Diana,

Thank you so much for taking the time to contact us and provide us with your feedback. This is the only way we can improve.

I would love to make the adjustment to your bill and issue you the 30% off.

I am so sorry for the inconvenience this has caused you.

Please fax the bill to me at 416 861 4154 or if it is convenient for you, you may contact me as well and read the numbers underneath the bar code on your receipt. (416-861-6807) If possible could you let me know the credit card number and expiry date that I will be refunding the amount to?

I assure you I have forwarded your concerns to our Group Sales Manager for Footwear.

Thank you again Diana for taking the time to contact us.

I hope you are having a lovely holiday season!

Best Wishes,
Emily Delo
Executive Assistant to Richard Montgomery, Store Director The Bay, Queen Street

__________________________________

My original letter sent via their website:

Store Inquiries
From Name: Diana Lee
From Email: diana.lee@3genius.com
Subject: Store Inquiries
Inquiry Type: Store Inquiries
Order:
Language: en
Company: HBC Online
Comment:
To Whom It May Concern,
Today I purchased a pair of Timberland Winter Boots (item#883240689200 for $140.00) in the Queen St. store in downtown Toronto. I was drawn to the store due to the advertised 30% off sale on all regular priced women's winter boots. I was informed at the cash register that the boots I had chosen however were not on sale. I was disappointed by this as all the instore signage (specifically on the table where these boots were
displayed,) stated that 30% would be taken off the regular price. The brands or styles to which this discount applied were not indicated on the signage. I am not a frequent Bay customer however this experience will most likely ensure that I will not visit this store in the future.
I have a copy of the receipt which can be sent via email or fax,and am hoping that you may review the purchase, and if possible credit the 30% discount onto my credit card by which the purchase was made.
I look forward to hearing from you and appreciate any help that you are able to provide.
Thank you,
Diana Lee

Giggly girl!

My niece is just sooooo funny. Now that's getting older, she's become much more interactive. Today I came home and she was already in the house. She heard me come in and I saw her little face peek out from behind the living room wall to see what the noise was all about. Then when she saw me, she smiled and started teetering toward me in her unsteady walk with such a cute little smile on her face. Then when she reached me, she gave me a big hug. She actually put her arms around me and squeezed, it was so cute. Then we ate lunch together and then her and my mom played with grapes. She took turns putting them in her own mouth and then my mouth. When one accidentally fell out of her hand, she realized that they were more fun to throw around and started giggling everytime one hit the ground. It was just the best sound. Her tiny giggle and then more squealing as she went to grab more. Can't wait til next weekend when we celebrate my grandma's birthday. It will be baby central again! (not to mention all the tasty food my mom will be making!)

After lunch I took the Go train home and met my highschool friends Dora, Sandra and Sarah for a manicure and then dinner at Dora's house. Slow cooking seems to be all the rage lately so she made a brisket in her new slow cooker. It was pretty tasty (and I am SO full as usual.)

Now I'm watching the Giants/Cowboys football game and then I'll probably head to bed early. All that Christmas shopping yesterday and running around today has tired me out!

No more WET FEET!

Tonight I decided to get going on my Christmas shopping by stopping by the Eaton Centre on my way home. Today was a pretty slushy day and my extra comfy Geox that I purchased last winter developed a rip in the seam right by the toe and now I have wet feet everywhere I go. Not a good thing when you live in a snowy and wet city like Toronto!

As I perused the aisles at the Bay, I discovered they were having a sale on practically everything. After price checking a few items, I wandered into the shoe department (dangerous, I know) and decided that 30% off all boots was a good excuse to replace my Geox. Turns out the Bay has a wide variety of winter boots. I was looking for an extra ugly heavy duty pair that were #1 WATERPROOF, #2 comfortable and #3 warm. I figured with these three priorities, fashion would most likely have to suffer. I picked out a few selections and then found a decent looking pair of Timerlands. They looked interesting with their fancy laces but most of all, they really delivered on points 1 and 3. They go right up to my knee! They were a bit of a production to put on though. So much so, that after I got them on, I was so exhausted I just decided to wear them home. A bit crazy but I was so hot with my winter coat and scarf on and I just wanted to go home by that point. So now I have new boots. And I noticed by the time I got home, my feet weren't wet. (Well, not from water getting in anyway.) Maybe just a bit sweaty. Those boots are really warm!

Weekend Update

The One of A Kind craft show turned out to be pretty good. Saadia found a winter hat and I managed to pick up two gifts as well. There were a few other things that I wanted for myself but they were all so expensive! I guess that's because it's ONE of a kind.

Today I went to Scarborough and took a nap with Grams and played with Charlotte. Today she seemed much more confident walking and wanted to walk all around the house. On my way home, I stopped off at the grocery store and bought another roast beef and some stuff to make gingerbread cookies. My roast turned out pretty good and my cookies also except for one thing. I didn't notice until after, but my molasses had expired. Like REALLY expired. The cookies still looked great and tasted pretty good although there was a funny "cupboardy" taste that might have been due to the old molasses. I think I'll bring these cookies to work tomorrow.

Now I'm watching Elf on tv. Its one of my fav Christmas movies. I think this is my 3rd time watching it this month (and its only the 2nd week of December!) I think by the end of the year, I'll have the whole thing memorized!

Dinner and a movie with Mahi

Last night Mahi and I went to my favourite Thai restaurat Salad King and then watched "Slumdog Millionaire" which was a film festival movie that Raju recommended. I knew nothing about it so I was skeptical (especially since last time I let Mahi pick I was disappointed,) but the movie turned out to be amazing. It was an Indian movie however I thought it was very unlike the typical Bollywood films with cheesy romance and dancing (not that I don't like those movies, I love to turn the lightbulb and pet the dog right along with the dancers!) until the end. But after Mahi explained a bit of irony of it, then it made more sense to me and I liked it even more. (At first I was taken aback as I wasn't expecting any dancing for such a serious movie.) Anyway I very much recommend this movie to everyone, it was very sweet and funny and gut renching all at the same time!

Dinner was deeleecious too, we had Panang Tofu Curry and my new fav dish "Vegetarian Hot Thai Noodle". I was starving so by the time the spring roll appetizers came out I wolfed mine down and burned my entire mouth in the process. Mahi on the other hand, trying to maintain some level of class, carefully peeled his spring roll and ate it piece by piece so it could cool off. I have to say it took everything in me not to just grab it from his plate and shove it into my mouth. I was SO hungry!!

After the movie I walked home in the freezing cold and went to bed. Now I'm waiting for Saadia to come over for breakfast and then we're heading to the One of a Kind show.

WND at Mel's!

Tonight was WND at Mel's house and it was Mel's turn to cook. Her theme was Thai. We had oriental party mix, panang chicken curry, peanut chicken satay and super spicy garlic shrimp. For dessert, she made the Williams Sonoma Sprinkles Red Velvet cupcakes with cream cheese icing. As you can see by my pics, they were deeeleeecious! (And its not that I didn't like the rest of her meal, I just forgot I had my camera until we got to dessert.) Mel did her impression of Beyonce's "Single Women" video and then she and I did a spur of the moment "Salt'n'Pepa" duet. (Remember those days?)

Thanks for a lovely WND Mel, its always a par-tay!

Charlotte Takes A Walk (one of her first!)

This is video of Charlotte's early steps. She just learned to walk last week and you can see that she is still very unsteady. I was worried she was going to revert back to crawling during my video but she stuck it out and made it all the way over. She's turning into such a clown now. If you do something she doesn't like, she just shrieks or shakes her head "no no no". And she seemed to be obsessed with my nose. Too bad her Aunt Diana has a major nose phobia. My heart started to palpitate and I had to end that game pretty quick. But just to hear her giggle, it was almost worth it. Almost.

Earlier this weekend, I met Saadia on Saturday for a much needed massage at Shizen. The technique was a little odd but overall not bad. I especially liked the big jacuzzi afterwards. After our massages, I met Sally and we went back to Mississauga to pick up my shoes from the bridal dress store and then shopped at heartland mall. Our intention was to do Christmas shopping but I don't think either of us ended up with many presents. (Other than the ones we purchased for ourselves.)

Tonight I decided to make (another) big dinner for one. There's just something about big Sunday dinners that I love. Too bad I have no one at my dinner table! I ended up making this great pot roast dinner with garlic roasted sweet potatoes and lemon madeleines for dessert. Unfortunately being a party of one, I barely made a dent in my dinner. Oh well, leftovers to last all week I guess! (Although I think I'm on my 4th madeleine. They turned out soooo good.)

This week I'm going to get a "crown" at the dentist. I'm not looking forward to it. Don't only old people get crowns? You never hear of teenagers with crowns. Hmmm, yet another sign I'm getting old..

My sister, the Balloon Handler!

Apparently the "Stamford Thanksgiving Day Parade" is the biggest Turkey Day parade next to Macy's and my sister got to be one of the lucky "balloon handlers" at this year's parade. I don't really know how you get to be a balloon handler, or what the qualifications are, but it does look like fun. She said it was harder than it looked because the big thing to do at these parades is "spin" the balloons. As you walk down the path, everyone yells "spin!" and kids even hold up homemade signs. So all the handlers have to start running in a circle as fast as they can in order to make the balloon spin in the air. Apparently a lot harder than it looks.

Anyway, this might have been my sister's 15 minutes of fame (its even broadcast on the local Stamford news!) so I thought it was blog worthy.

Sally, don't forget my shoes!!

Today's wedding dress shopping was a great success! Well, we didn't exactly buy a dress, but in all the times I have accompanied friends shopping, this was by far, the easiest. Wedding dress shopping is usually a bit of a stressful experience when you shop without appointments and just want to "browse". The salespeople are like vultures and usually all over you with a million questions by the time you step in the door and then pulling and tugging at you while you try dresses on. This time, by Mae's suggestion, we went to Elizabeth Stuart in Mississauga first. It was supposed to be very reasonably priced and you didn't need an appointment.

As soon as Sally and I stepped in, I knew it was going to be a good experience. There was not a salesperson in sight. In fact, they didn't even come to the front to greet us. We just started a browsing and then heard a voice in the back say "let me know if you see anything you like and I'll get a changeroom started". It was the best. We started with about 3 dresses and didn't feel any pressure at all. And as a bonus, all 3 dresses ended up being beautiful. I was in love with the first, until I saw the second. I was shocked we had such great success right off the bat but considering how apprehensive Sally was to go in the first place, it was a very good sign.

We left in good spirits and even decided to check out "vulture central" Windsor Bridal on the way home. Even though we saw some great candidates, we just needed a little more browsing to seal the deal. On our way to Windsor Bridal we found a new place called My White Dress. It was a big warehouse and they had tons of dresses, all for $300!! We had low expectations and just thought it would be a lot of digging but turns out they had some great finds. We found Alfred Sung and Pronovias raw silk beauties! Unfortunately they just didn't fit as nicely as dresses number 1 and 2, but it was still a great place (again, no vultures and relatively relaxed, they even let you take pictures of the dresses!). After that (I think I made Sally try on at least a dozen different dresses,) we were pooped and stopped for lunch at Katz Deli before heading home.

Oh yes, as per my subject line, I forgot my dress shoes at Elizabeth Stuart so Sally, please don't forget to ask Ron to pick them up next week! A small price to pay for a great wedding dress shopping experience. Can't wait til next weekend...

Dinner and a Movie!

Last night I met Huddy and Sally for dinner and a movie. Huddy also brought his new gf Kim who I've heard lots about but never got a chance to meet. She had a bunch of free movie tickets so we all got treated to the movie.

Dinner was at Jack Astor's at Yonge and Dundas. I decided to take the subway from work since it was so cold. Leaving Dundas station brought back all kinds of ryerson memories. The station has changed since then and it was strange to see such a huge exit now (but that would have been very helpful during our school days where you would be squished into the crowd trying to get up the stairs.) Dundas Square was beautiful with all the Christmas lights. After dinner we watched the rest of the Raptor's game at Milestone's and then watched "Body of Lies" with Leonardo DiCaprio. I quite liked the movie but it was very long. I think we were the only ones in the theatre too. I guess its not so popular anymore.

Now Sally and I are getting ready to head out for our first visit to the wedding dress stores. I'm sure this will be one of many and I'm very excited to see Sally try on dresses. Its like something we've pictured when we were kids and now we're actually doing it for real!! Sally isn't keen on clothes shopping normally so we'll see how she does. I've made her promise to try on at least 3 dresses before she gets tired and wants to quit. Wish us luck!

KeBAB?

Last night was WND at Norm and Mel's. It was Norm's turn and his theme was keBABs! I should've known considering it was all he could talk about on Friday night at Mae's house. There's something about the way the English pronounce that word that we just couldn't let go of. Its not a "keBOB", its a "keBAB". Luckily, Stuart doesn't mind our endless "English" jokes!! Dessert was a deeleecious dulce de leche cheesecake from President's Choice. It was very good. Too bad I still didn't work there so I could "steal" a few from work!! Definitely miss those days...

Thanks for another great WND chef Norm! Looking forward to next week at Ev and Stu's.

COSTco!

Tonight Evelyn and I went to Costco. I emphasized the word "COST" in my subject line because that's mostly what I end up with whenever I go. Tonight I wanted to get a head start on my Christmas shopping. I managed to get 4 presents plus a couple of stocking stuffers so I guess I didn't do too bad but of course, I ended up spending over $200. (Had to throw in a few steaks, some gum and treats for the office too.)

After Costco, I got home just in time to watch my favourite tv show this year, "Privileged". I'm totally addicted. Its one of those girly romantic shows where I literally hang on every word, I can't even run to the bathroom during commercial just in case I miss a minute. I don't know what it is about it, but its just really sweet. No violence, no (major) sex, just girly relationships and romance. What more can I ask for? Plus I noticed that Megan, the main character, was wearing the exact blouse I just bought from Anthropologie last month! I wonder if that means it will be out of season by the time I wear it next summer? Oh well, I'm still wearing clothes from highschool!!

Tomorrow is WND, wonder what Chef Norm will be cooking...

Dog Days...

Just thought I'd post a few pics of my dog-sitting days. Oh, to be a dog. Kahlua was carried to and from work every day since she refused to walk and then spent the day lounging around the office with Diego, the other office dog. Then she'd get her "lift" home only to spend the rest of the evening as per the photos above.

And I thought I was a princess...

Birthday "mi-yuk"

As per Korean tradition, its not a real birthday celebration until you have the traditional birthday soup. Its a seaweed soup made with either beef, chicken or anchovy broth. I'm not usually a fan, but seeing as how it was Charlotte's first birthday, I thought I would celebrate with my niece by having a bowl. Turns out its not as bas as I remember and Charlotte seemed to love it. She downed the whole bowl. Then we re-lit her birthday candles from the party yesterday and sang her her song. Turns out she's 100% Korean, she loved the "mi-yuk" but spit out the chocolate cake as soon as it was put in her mouth.

Happy Birthday Charlotte!

This weekend was my niece Charlotte's birthday. Her actual birthday was today but my brother and sister-in-law threw a big birthday party yesterday at Shilla Korean restaurant (the same place they had their wedding reception coincedentally.) The food was deeleecious and the kids were so cute. I was the official mini cupcake baker and bingo leader. I managed to eat just enough so that I would have room for 2 pieces of cake (there were so many to choose from!) plus squeeze in a few mini cupcakes here and there.

I can't believe she's 1 already, she can already stand on her own, clap her hands and give kisses on command. She also likes to pick up dirt and give it to you. (I wonder if my mom taught her that?) Happy Birthday Charlotte, can't wait for the years to come!

Its time to VOTE!

There may be a BIG election going on in the U.S. right now but I need your vote on a very important matter here at home. Yes people, we are talking about KNOBS. I bought some new knobs at Anthropologie and I'm not sure if I like them. You've seen the pic of my new cabinet, now I need your opinion on two options. Option 1 are the new white knobs with yellow flowers (first pic). Option 2 are the original coppery knobs that the cabinet came with. There will be 6 knobs in total.

Please vote. Thank you.

The BIG game!

Here's the recap from Sunday's game. Although the Giants won and had some great touchdowns, the Cowboys just weren't playing as well as they could have and so the game (for me at least,) wasn't as exciting as I had hoped. However, the experience of being up close and personal at an NFL game was amazing to say the least. Although I'm not a fan of American culture in general (or lack thereof), the one experience that I will always have respect for is the NFL. Its a money-making enterprise, yes, but for any football fan, its unbelievable. Sunday's game was even better since we had VIP treatment all the way. We got picked up in stretch limos at my sister's office with our tasty snack packs. Although we hit typical game day traffic, the limos were able to drive right up to the entrance and dropped us off after passing miles and miles of tailgaiting fans and their blue painted trailers with backdoor bbqs attached. Then we were led to the executive suite where we received our game programmes and high tech binoculars to see every detail of the game. Using the binoculars, I could see their facial expressions and read the lips of the coaches as they swore their heads off after a bad play. Even caught a glimpse of Bon Jovi while he was schmoozing pre-game with some mink-laden ladies and a bundled up Tony Romo on the sidelines (sans Jessica Simpson). We pigged out on tons of typical game-day food: chili dogs, cheesesteak sandwiches, pulled pork sandwiches, chicken wings, fries and brownies and walked out of there with some major heartburn. Another highlight of the game was Rodney Hampton, a retired Giants Running Back who came by all the suites to meet us and sign autographs. Too bad I forgot to check out his superbowl ring! A big thanks again to big sis for the ticket!!

Back from the Big Sister's in the Big Apple!

Just got back from my long weekend in New York/Stamford visiting Big Sis. We spent the first day shopping at the outlet (Clinton Crossing) which was the most dead outlet I've ever seen. There were literally no other shoppers there. Didn't find too many bargains (probably explains the lack of shoppers,) but the next day we headed to my favourite American store, Anthropologie. I could spend hours in that store. There is just so much stuff to look at. They have a mix of clothes and housewares/linens. I picked up a couple of tops from the sale rack and a ton of little knick knacks for the condo. I also picked up four of my very favourite candles. You probably think I'm nuts to go all the way there just for candles, but once you smell it, you can't NOT buy them. The scent is called "Angel Food Cake" and its the most deeleecious smell I've ever experienced in a candle.

After shopping we headed to my sister's friend Trish's apartment in Manhattan. The last time I visited Trish in the city, she lived in the tiniest of tiny cubby hole apartments. Living space is hard to come by in the big city and Trish's old apartment was very typical of the standard New York one bedroom place. This time, she was able to purchase two neighbouring apartments and combine them into one. The result was one of the biggest apartments I've ever seen. It was a 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom with dining room and kitchen. It was such a change from her last place and I felt like I was in a palace considering it was right in the heart of Manhattan. Trish topped off my New York experience by purchasing their favourite cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery. Last time Sally and I visited, we stopped by Sunshines Bakery which was supposed to have the "best" NY cupcakes according to a co-worker of Sally's. They were very good so I was skeptical to try Magnolia's but once I had my first bite, I had to admit, they were just as good. They were pretty dense which I don't usually like in a cupcake but the flavour was really authentic, the vanilla tasted like they used real vanilla beans. Definitely adding them to the list of favourite New York experiences.

All in all a great little weekend getaway.

Go Giants!

In about 8 hours I'll be off to New York to visit my sister (in Conn.) and watch the Giants-Cowboys football game on Sunday. The Giants officially became my favourite team when I watched my first live football game last year with Saadia and Raju in Buffalo. Everyone was cheering for Buffalo (naturally,) but ever since watching my first game on tv (which also happened to be the Giants,) I liked Eli Manning. Gerwyn introduced me to the team and explained that Eli was Peyton's little brother. Peyton always got all the glory being a star QB on a SuperBowl winning team (the Colts,) and I thought it would be nice to cheer for the little brother who probably always lived in his big brother's shadow. Ever since watching that first game, I've been hooked on them. (Of course there are plenty of other great players on the team too!) Can't wait to see them live again in my sister's corporate box. Go Giants! And go Big Sister for the free ticket! And go Freddie for giving me his air miles! Woo Hoo!

In addition to the game, my sister and I will also be hitting the outlet mall, checking out Manhattan, possibly going to the spa and visiting her gym. (Her gym is one of the nicest I've ever seen. Very spacious and bright, and plenty of state of the art equipment.) We'll also make a pit stop at my favourite store, Anthropologie and probably try to squeeze in a Thanksgiving dinner in there somewhere. I'm just looking forward to the change of scenery. Nothing like a new city (ad country for that matter,) to make you feel like you're on vacation...

View from the top...

Here's a pic I took while the sun was setting during the football game last night. The last bit of light was disappearing behind the CN Tower and it just looked so cool. This photo doesn't do it justice but I thought I'd try.

Kids!

Sunday I went to Scarbs to visit the fam and while I was at Grams, my cousin's other daughter Stephanie was visiting her grandparents. Now that she's two, she is very entertaining. She will copy what you do and what you say. While Michael was playing with his DS, I decided to distract her with a little yoga. Or in her case, mini-yoga. I taught her how to do a tree pose on command. It took awhile for her to get balanced but once she figured it out, she could stand for a full 2 seconds before falling down. Eventually I could just say "TREE" and she'd hop up on her little stool and do her tree pose. What a little yogi!

Later in the day I went to my mom's for lunch and to celebrate Nancy's birthday. Michael and I had made cupcakes the night before for her and my brother's friend Neel and his wife Arti also stopped in from Peterborough with their newborn Sohan. He was 6 months old and had the longest eyelashes I've ever seen on a baby. So cute!

After dropping Michael off with his uncle Mark later in the afternoon, I was totally wiped out. I barely had enough energy to take Kahlua for her evening walk. I watched the rest of the Steelers-Giants football game (which was amazing, can't wait to see the Giants play next weekend!) and then passed out in front of the tv at 8pm. I ended up going to bed at 9. Kids just have a way of wearing you out!!

Kahlua and Michael

These are the guests at Chez Diana this weekend. I'm dogsitting Kahlua while Ev and Stu are in England for a couple of weeks and this weekend I'm also "kid"-sitting my cousin's son Michael while she's in New York with her daughter.

After taking Kahlua for her morning walk in the rain, I picked up Michael to take him to his Tae-Kwon-Do class at the Y and then we came back to check in on Kahlua, have some grilled cheese sandwiches and then go for a walk to Rogers to rent our evening dvd. Michael has been on a major Star Wars kick lately and even though he's seen all 6 movies plus the Clone Wars animated film, he wanted to watch Star Wars again. He didn't even really care which one the video store had. Turns out they only had 2 and 5 so he chose 2, "Attack of the Clones". After we got home, we took Kahlua for another walk and then we made our meatballs for spaghetti and meatball dinner. Then Michael did his Kumon and we ate. Then Michael made cupcakes for Nancy's birthday tomorrow (at my request,) read some of his book and then we took Kahlua for her final walk before putting in Star Wars. (He also had to play a little "Lego Star Wars" on his DS to get into the theme before the movie.)

Tomorrow its off to the Grandparents for the day. I know my cousin Mad will read this when she gets back so I thought I'd try to be at detailed as possible so she knows that he did his reading and his Kumon and didn't watch too much tv or eat too much sugar.

Dogs, rabbits, kids... I'm a full service agency!

The renovations continue... kitchen backsplash

This is the sample glass tile for my kitchen backsplash. In the store, I thought it was a great match. Now that I have it in my kitchen, I'm not so sure. Its very beige-ish. I thought it was complementary to my granite countertop (shown in pic) and also my brown cupboards but now I wonder if its just too neutral.

What do you think?

SO FULL!

After work I decided to go for a jog on the treadmill. After my run, I was starving (as usual) with not much options for instant gratification. Although I could've made a full dinner I just couldn't bear the thought of having to wait more than 15 minutes for it. So instead I made one of the frozen pizzas I bought from Costco and added some mushrooms and proscuitto. Once it was out of the oven I couldn't get it into my tummy fast enough. I practically ate the whole thing. And now, I can barely breathe. After working my butt off on the treadmill to burn a measly 200 calories, I realized that I had consumed about 700 within 10 minutes. Of course after my pizza I had to have something sweet so I also ate a fudgesicle. Well half a fudgesicle. I was honestly so full that I couldn't even finish it. And for anyone who has seen me eat one of those, you know that I must've been EXTREMELY full not to finish it.

Whoo. I think I need to park myself in front of the tv and digest a little.

Wednesday Night Dinner at my place!

This week was my turn to cook WND and by popular request, I was instructed to make Thanksgiving Dinner (as if the weekend wasn't enough!). I decided to make roasted chickens instead of a turkey and do mashed parsnips and carrots instead of potatoes but the rest was pretty standard (green beans with dill, crab and mushroom stuffing and cornbread). Dessert was courtesy of Costco, Creme Brulee was on sale so I just personalized it with a little minted berry mix.

For some of you this photo may look very familiar but due to my hosting duties, I forgot to take actual pics of everything so I just stole this pic off of Sally's blog. Thanks Sal!

Gobble Gobble with a side of kim-chi

Sunday we celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving at Hanna's parents house with a full turkey dinner plus another dozen or so Korean dishes. My cousin Carol also made a few of her amazing desserts: Caramel Apple pie, Pecan pie and one of my favourites: pumpkin bars. My usual M.O at these types of meals is to take it slow and only take a VERY little of each thing so I can try a little of everything. It has to happen in two shifts: first I go up for the Canadian Turkey dinner (turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy and cranberry) and then I go up again for all the Korean food (kalbi, kimchi, sushi, dumplings, sprouts, etc, etc, etc.) Due to the amount of Korean food, I usually have to go up twice so that means a total of 3 trips (not including dessert) up to the buffet. Its a logistical challenge to say the least. I also have a thing about my Canadian food touching the Korean food. Unlike Hanna (see pic included,) I just can't mix my mashed potatoes and kimchi... ewww.

I've also included a few pics of my cousin's daughter Stephanie eating her noodles. I tried to be very subtle in taking the pics because she would get all shy when she saw me but watching her eat her noodles was SO funny. The rest of the day was spent digesting our food, going up for more, challenging Michael with our Nintendo DS's and then going to a late movie with my cousins Mad and Carol. (We watched Burn After Reading.)