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!