Nosebleed!

Ever since I was small I always had nosebleeds. And ever since I was small, they've always been scary. When I was 7 I ended up going to the Emergency room and being admitted because my nosebleed was so bad I needed a blood transfusion. It was very traumatic. Even to this day, seeing someone with a nosebleed (even on tv) makes me anxious. Eventually I got my nose cauterized with those silver nitrate sticks which burn the blood vessel shut to prevent future eruptions.

This weekend I was supposed to meet Sally to check out a bridal show. It was extremely cold and very very dry. Perfect nosebleed weather. As I was getting ready to meet Sally downstairs I felt that sudden rush of fluid in my nose and knew right away what it was. It had been so long since I had a nosebleed I panicked and ran to the bathroom to get tissue. My heart was racing but luckily it was over within a few seconds. I quickly finished getting my coat on and went down to meet Sally in her car. During the drive I noticed her car was quite warm and then all of a sudden, that dreaded rush came back. I think that first one was just the calm before the storm because this one was just like my old ones from back in the day. Blood was gushing everywhere and I was soaking through the tissues before I could get the next one out! My heart started racing and I started to panic. And then it started to come out the other side!! What a nightmare! Luckily Sally ended up getting lost on the way to the Direct Energy Centre so I had enough time for my little nose blood vessels to clot. We waited in the parking lot while I cleaned myself up and then I just crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. Luckily there were no more "episodes" and I managed to get out of there nosebleed free and full of wedding cake samples (which was very timely as I'm sure my blood sugar was low!)

Just goes to show that something that scares you as a kid, is still just as scary when you're an adult!! Time to go lubricate my nose...

WND (on Thursday)

Last Thursday I hosted my first WND of the new year. I made an antipasto platter for my appetizer and went with a latin theme for my main course: ropa vieja (shredded beef), black beans and rice and fried plantains. For dessert I made my cousin Carol's amazing bread pudding. After dinner everyone was so full I barely made a dent in the dessert. Everything turned out really good which was such a relief cause they were all new recipes that I hadn't tried before.

Thanks Sally for the pictures, I got so carried away with dinner I forgot to take pictures of everything!

Happy Birthday Samara!

This weekend my family celebrated my niece Samara's 1st birthday. My cousin Mark and his wife Meredith decided to have the party in my condo party room. It was a day of chaos, cooking, lots of great food and many many people! My cousin Carol outdid herself on the desserts and decorations and from what I could tell, the party was a huge success. I hope Samara will remember all the trouble her parents went to to make her first birthday special.

Since my entire family came for the party, many of my aunts and uncles took the opportunity to tour my condo. They had never seen my place before and it was nice to finally show them that little Diana is a big girl now and owns her own place! My uncle also officially christened the place by taking a nap on my hard wood floor. (My uncle always falls asleep at family parties and I felt special that he felt comfortable enough to lie down on my dirty floor and take a nap.)

Unfortunately I missed my chance to scoop some of the leftover desserts: mini tiramisu, bread pudding, mini carrot cake, brownies and mini cupcakes. Luckily I have photos to look at instead. Less calories.

Shopping Cart!

This holiday season I was lucky enough to get one of those "ol' lady" shopping carts. I've wanted one for awhile and tonight I finally got to try it out. At first I had some trouble, I didn't put the wheels on properly and then on my way to the grocery store they kept falling off. The 3rd time they fell off, I started cursing the #@#@% cart and kicked the wheel back on. That seemed to do the trick. The rest of the way, I was wheel trouble free! I wandered through the aisles of Metro picking up various items and for once NOT worrying about how heavy everything was. By the end, I spent about twice as much as I usually do, and I had to drag that cart to the cashier, but I was able to get everything on my list without making another trip!!

I love being an ol' lady!

Tracksuit Party 2009!

This Saturday Susie and Josh had their annual Tracksuit Party to celebrate Josh's birthday. (See Josh's birthday tracksuit above.) As usual there were plenty of shenanigans (aka party games) involving a spoon tied to a string which we all had to put under our clothes and then travel around her apartment as a team and then another game where we had to score goals using a grapefruit tied to a nylon around our waist. (I scored a goal!) It was a great party and I managed to stay out til 1 am!

Dinner at Mae's

Last night the girls and I gathered at Mary Ann's for dinner and our Christmas gift exchange. It was great to see the girls and catch up on our holiday activities and play with Mae's kids. They get bigger and bigger every time we see them. Mae's next addition to the family is also getting bigger, she's about 7 months along now and very pregnant. She had her waddle down pat.

We pigged out on Chinese and cheesecake and then swapped gifts (I got a new plastic free water bottle and a gravy boat!)

Today I met mahi for brunch at a new spot called Peartree Cafe. It was nice inside but the food was only ok. After brunch I came home and took a long nap. Now I'm planning my menu for this week's WND (on a Thursday) and then I'll get ready for Susie's tracksuit party. Wonder what I should make for dinner....

Brunch at 95 Dearbourne Cafe!

Last Saturday my cousin Mad's kids (Jessica 11, Michael 8 and Stephanie 2) decided to host our entire family (well all the cousins at least) for a special brunch at their house. They were the official "wait" staff and they took our coats when we came in, gave us our play money to pay for our meals and even took our drink orders from the menus they made. It was lots of fun. Unfortunately the 20 or so "customers" were too much for 3 kids to handle and eventually they decided to make the restaurant a buffet so we could all help ourselves. Having kids at parties really makes all the difference. Our little "brunch" turned into an all day affair while everyone ate, played with the kids and made them do various entertaining performances (playing piano, Steph did yoga and tae-kwon-do and Samara and Charlotte just ate while everyone watched).

The night before was Saadia's birthday so I went over to her place where her husband had made dinner for a few of her closest friends and family. It was so nice to see Saadia relaxing and having a good time for a change while her husband did all the work. After dinner, we played Rock Band where unfortunately I only scored 34% while on lead vocals. Good thing I have another job.

Saturday night I went to Mahi's surprise birthday party. I was worried that Mahi was not a "surprise party" kind of guy but it turned out that when you have no choice, a surprise party ain't so bad. He had a good time and managed to stay in shock well into Monday.

This week its back to work and back to the daily grind. I'm dogsitting again. This time its Diego, my friend Dora's dog. Last night was a little rough while he barked at any and every sound he heard outside my door but I'm confident we'll get our act together before the week is over.

Happy 2009!

Happy new year everyone! Since I still wasn't feeling 100%, I decided to keep this year's celebrations quiet and spent the night in with my cousin Hanna and my sister. Hanna and I got into our pjs and rented movies and ordered in. It was the perfect way to ring in the new year. No fighting for a cab, no freezing my butt off and no spending a ton of money! My sister came home from dinner just in time for the countdown and after a little gingerale for all, we went to bed at about 12:30.

The next morning we all got up early and headed to Scarbs. As per Korean tradition, we had to get home as early as possible to wish our parents "happy new year" and wish them all the best as we bow to our elders. You're actually supposed to wear traditional Korean outfits, but since we didn't have any, we just looked "tidy". After eating traditional "duk-gook" (chicken and rice cake stew) at my mom's, we headed to my aunt's house to wish them all happy new year as well. The kids all had their Korean outfits, so they put them on and the paparazzzi session began. There were so many cameras and pictures but how could you not take pictures of those cute kids??? Everyone took turns bowing to everyone else's parents and then all the kids got their new year's "money" (the best part when I was a kid!). After that, it was pig out central. Now I'm home and struggling to digest. Gotta gear up for another family brunch this Saturday. Gotta love the holidays!