Holidays are almost over...

(Edit: This was a pic from New Year's at my sister's friend Melina's house.)

Christmas is over. Not even any snow. Too bad, but I had lots of fun with my family and stuffing myself silly. This year the party was at my brother's condo. The first time we've had it outside of my mom's or aunt's house. It was actually at a "kid's" house. How weird. But funny cause we were all in a cramped condo just like the old days when all my aunts and uncles could only afford small apartments so we'd all cram in for the family parties. It so cool to see how life just keeps on revolving.. what's that saying.. "As the world turns, these are the days of our lives?" Wait a second, that's from a soap opera. Anyway, you get the idea. At the end of the night, all the adults went to my aunt's house and just the cousins stayed at my brother's to exchange gifts. Gerwyn and I also exchanged presents at that time which I was nervous about but it didn't seem too bad since we all kinda opened our gifts at the same time so everyone was distracted. HOWEVER, just as we all finished opening our gifts and the excitement died down, Gerwyn pulls out a small box from his pocket and says "one more!". Needless to say, the entire room fell silent. You could hear a pin drop. Then he says, "Relax everyone, I'm not getting down on one knee." WHEW! For a split nanosecond, my heart stopped. However, when everyone started breathing again, I opened the box and saw two beautiful diamond earrings. Nothing like a little bling to make the holidays extra special!!

Now its time to plan New Year's...

5 more days til Christmas...

Its almost here and I STILL haven't done my Christmas shopping. I remember when I was younger I was SO into the Christmas spirit, I don't know what it is but this year just doesn't feel like Christmas to me. I think I'm starting to get stressed about buying gifts instead of enjoying the things I love about the holiday like the decorations, the cookies, and the SNOW! Where is the snow??? How can we have a White Christmas without it?

Tonight is my turn for Wednesday dinner. I'm making an arugula and tomato salad, chicken parmesan with grilled peppers and polenta and a berry tart for dessert. I also have another dinner party tomorrow night so don't be surprised if you notice a few similar dinner menu items Saadia. Another great part about the holidays is getting together with all your friends and family, I love the parties!! (And of course I love the food!) If only work didn't get in the way, I could get so much more done with an extra 8 hours...

Speaking of which, I guess I should get back to work. I have my work Christmas party on Friday night and then brunch with Sally, Saad and my sister on Saturday followed by some last minute shopping before I head to Scarborough for family time. Can't wait!!

Edit: Here's a pic from my work Christmas Party (We played Deal or No Deal and I won $140!!)

Miami: Part 2

Just to finish up the trip to Miami, our last few days were spent taking Jackson shopping for new shoes and getting stuck for 4 hours on Alligator Alley with a flat tire. The tire actually EXPLODED so that we were left driving on the rim. It was pretty scary but we (gerwyn, Jackson and myself) were all ok. I just ended up with over 40 mosquito and ant bites but I guess that's what happens in swamp land. Can I blame them for being attracted to my sweet blood?
Our last day in Miami was sad, we had to say goodbye to Jackson who was leaving to spend some time with his dad. I was in the shower so I barely had time to wave to him as he was being carted off to his dad's car. I wonder if he misses his Auntie Dow Chicken? (Don't ask where the name came from, I was just happy he could remember me.)

Now its getting closer to Christmas and I still haven't done my shopping, barely started in fact. I go out at lunch every day to try to knock things off my list but I just can't seem to find the right thing. Maybe everyone will get socks this year???

Mel suggested I shop first thing on Saturday morning so that's what I'm going to do. Pick up my caramel macchiato and shop til I drop. Tonight I'm going to Milestone's with the ex LBLers, Ken, Connie, Janet and Courtney. Then I'm off to Hemingways to meet up with more LBLers after their Christmas party. Tomorrow is shopping and Christmas parties (Saadia, Susie and Janet) and then Sunday is Bruce and Harita's housewarming. Wow, its going to be a busy weekend, but I love it. Who can complain about going to parties with friends???! What a better way to spend your time I say. Especially when you have friends as good as mine. Especially Mel, Sally and Saadia, they are by far, the best... hee hee.

Back from Miami...

Gerwyn and I got back early Friday morning (3:00 am) and have finally caught up on our sleep from the trip. (We slept in two twin beds pushed together so we each took turns falling into the crack.) Now we're refreshed and I'm ready to blog!!

Our vacation was SOOO relaxing, the sun was out, the temperature was HOT and Gerwyn's nephew Jackson was SO CUTE! Every morning we were awoken by a little voice knocking on the door asking for his "Uncle G". It was the sweetest thing ever. Then he'd jump up on our beds and give us a big hug and kiss to wake us up. And as hard as we would try to get him to lie down with us for a little nap, he would somehow manage to drag us out of bed and next thing you know we're in the living room watching cartoons in front of the tv.

We arrived in Fort Lauderdale around 8:30 pm on thursday night and Gerwyn's sister Cheryl met us at the airport. Jackson was already asleep in the backseat so we didn't get to meet each other until the next day but I admired his long eyelashes during the 2 hour ride home. When we arrived at Cheryl's place, we had a little nighttime snack and then went to bed.

The next day we all piled into Cheryl's car and she took us for a little tour of her town Naples. Picture a quiet, lazy retirement town with a beach. Just the kind of place for a nice quiet, relaxing vacation. We stopped in downtown Naples for lunch (sushi with kiwi and mango, very interesting...) and took a walk up and down the main street. It was really beautiful and even better at night! The streets are all lit up with Christmas lights, perfect for an after dinner stroll. Anyway, after lunch we went to the outdoor mall. Seeing as how it was "Black Friday" we thought we'd find some good deals but then we forgot that we were in a town with a bunch of rich retirees. They don't need sales. So we just window shopped at Tiffany's, Cartier, Burberry and Gucci. That night we went out for dinner with Cheryl, Jackson and her boyfriend Chris. The restaurant had live music (well, a guy playing a bunch of instruments anyway) so I asked Gerwyn to dance with me. Unfortunately someone was feeling a little shy that night so instead I got Jackson on the dance floor with me and the two of us gave the entire restaurant a little show. It was so much fun. (I even managed to get Gerwyn to dance with me for about 3 whole seconds before he ran off...)

Day 2: Miami Day! Saturday Gerwyn and I were planning on renting a car and driving to Miami for the rest of the weekend. We had originally planned on getting a Kia or similar (it was in our price range) but luckily the car they gave us (a Dodge something or other) had alignment problems so what did we end up with? A convertible! Whoo hoo! We drove out of that car rental place very happy campers.
Then it was back to Cheryl's to pack and head out to Miami. We managed to get to Miami without getting too lost, it only took us 1.5 hours along the highway they call "Alligator Alley". Apparently its dangerous and there is only one gas station along the entire stretch of highway so they say make sure you fill up before you leave. Gerwyn got to know this highway very well, but more on that later.
Once we arrived in Miami, we checked into our hotel and got ready for our fancy dinner on Ocean Drive. We ended up at an outdoor patio of a place called Fox Cafe. It was very romantic and of course, Gerwyn asked everyone and their brother to take our picture.
After dinner, being the old people that we are, we changed into our comfy clothes and went for a walk along the boardwalk. It was a beautiful (yet windy) night and I wanted to go right out onto the beach but I think someone (and I won't mention any names) was a little scared (it was really dark out there.) so we stuck to the boardwalk and then eventually walked home.

Day 3: We woke up and enjoyed our "continental" breakfast after running out to feed our parking meter. (We got a ticket the night before for being only 5 minutes LATE! $18 later we learned our lesson.) Then we checked out of the hotel and went back to the beach to enjoy the great sunny weather. Gerwyn spent lots of time in the water while I baked on the beach. We saw a lot of interesting characters getting some sun and of course, someone made sure to get lots of pictures of them. (Yes, even the topless lady!!) Then we went for a drive to the outdoor mall called Bayside and enjoyed the sights after we ate a couple of big steaks at the Argentinian Fast Food place in the mall. On the way back, we got a little lost (couldn't find the highway) and got to see the "bad" part of town, it literally changed from one street corner to the next. Beautiful outdoor mall to rundown dirty street littered with mattresses and homeless people. I was nervous because we had the top down on the convertible and they looked like they wanted to approach us. We ended up getting stopped at a light and I was all panicky but Gerwyn just laughed at me. (Can you tell the romance is dead?) Finally made it back to Naples just in time to spend an evening with Jackson while Cheryl went out on her date. We took Jackson to McDonald's (like any good aunt and uncle would do) and then watched some cartoons before going to bed. Jackson didn't want to sleep alone so Gerwyn and I ended up in his King Size bed on either side of him. Every so often I'd feel a foot or some other tiny limb thrown on top of me while Jackson got comfortable. It was so sweet.

Day 4: Naples Day!
Today we started our day with Starbucks with Cheryl and then a trip to the Naples Beach where Gerwyn made us RUN (yes, I said RUN) for exercise. I finally had to stop before i passed out but gerwyn kept going and we met up halfway down the beach. It was good exercise while it lasted and made up for all the ice cream, pizza and chips we had ingested on the weekend. We got back to our car to find another parking ticket on our dashboard. Just as we're about to freak out, I notice its only a "Friendly Reminder" to pay for parking next time we come by. That's Naples for you, in Miami we get slapped with $20 for being 5 minutes late, in Naples, the ol' retirees only get "reminders". How nice.
Later that day, we picked up Jackson from daycare and took him to the local Farmer's Market where he and Gerwyn taste tested every fruit and vegetable they had. We ended up buying a big bag of tangerines and Gerwyn peeled about half of them in the parking lot while Jackson and I waited patiently with our mouths open.
That night we put up the Christmas tree and had pizza (yes, again) for dinner with a side of ice cream and chips. We were definitely on vacation.

Now I'm starting to get a little fuzzy on the rest of the week so I think I'll have to consult Gerwyn before writing again. Be back...

VACATION BABY!

Today Gerwyn and I are off to Miami!! Whoooo hoooo! We can't wait. He just emailed me now (its only 10:37 and we're not leaving the office until 12:30 but... "Don't bother emailing me, I'm officially shutting down my pc!!! I'll be in meetings until 12:30pm, call me on my cell if you need me. I'M ON VACATION BABY!!!") and it looks like someone is in vacation mode already.
Our flight leaves at 5:30 and lands at around 8:30. His sister Cheryl is going to pick us up at the airport, I'll be meeting her for the first time (and her son Jackson, I can't wait to squeeze him! I've yet to meet a baby I didn't want to squeeze!)

Hope y'all have a good week without me, I'll blog when I'm back...

A quick poll for the LADIES... (that doesn't include you Gerwyn!)

Scenario:
Your monthly "visitor" is soon approaching and you can feel the hormones coursing through your veins. You are completely on edge and VERY easily irritated. What's the WORST thing someone (especially a MAN) could say to you at this point???

Quiet Weekend...

This was the first weekend I had NO plans. Well, no major plans at least. (i.e. weddings or showers.) Friday night I went to Grant's birthday dinner at a restaurant called Politico (very romantic but not so much with 17 loud people). Then met up with Gerwyn around 10pm and we took a very looooong walk around the city. We walked from my place to Union Station and then to the Royal York Hotel. We stopped in each location to sit and admire the architecture. We were even thinking of hopping on the ferry and going to the Islands but after resting for about 20 minutes at the Royal York, we were too tired. My feet were throbbing (or "vibrating" as I like to say,) by the time we got home. But at least I didn't feel so full anymore.
Saturday was errand day. We had breakfast and then went to pick up my cousin's daughter Jessica to take her to piano lessons at the Royal Conservatory of Music. We were a bit late and my cousin Mad thought we wouldn't make it in time but Gerwyn being the "star" driver that he is, managed to make it with 5 minutes to spare. After Jessica's lesson, we dropped her off and then headed to the 'burbs (aka Thornhill) to go to the gym. But of course when we got to his place, Gerwyn was hungry and I was tired so he ate and I took a nice long nap. 3 hours later, we ended up at the gym for a very quick workout (we only had an hour until the place closed.)
Anyway, it was nice to have someone to work out with again, and he showed me how to use a lot of the equipment to do what I wanted. Personally I was just impressed that I could keep up with him on the elliptical. I only ended up burning about 30 calories less than him(because I went a bit slower) but I lasted the full 20 minutes. (Even after he kept raising my levels every 2 minutes!!)

After that I was STARVING so we went to all you can eat Sushi by his house which was SO GOOD (Sal, remind me to tell you where it was... they had 2 PAGES of choices!!) Gerwyn and I were both practically rolling out of that place by the time we were done. Then he drove me home to Scarborough where I got lectured by my mom and then spent the night.

Sunday morning I visited Grams and the kids again, played with Jessica and Michael and then took another nap at home. In the evening, I met Gerwyn for dinner at Amore at Yonge and Eg and then went back to my place where we were very surprised to find Hanna and her "friend" Lucas.... still trying to block that one out of my memory!!

All in all, a nice, quiet, relaxing weekend...

Time before the game....

Tonight we're using Ev's tickets to the Marlies game so I have to kill an hour and a half before the game. I don't have much to report because I already wrote about my weekend so perhaps I'll just share the conversation I had with Gerwyn this afternoon. I'll just report the facts and let the unbiased readers decide what to make of it...

We had originally made plans to go see a movie (Borat) and have dinner at Yonge and Eglinton. Later in the afternoon, Ev sent the email about the hockey tickets which I forwarded to Gerwyn to see if he wanted to go. He replied with an email to me asking what I thought. I replied back to him saying I was happy to stick to our original plan (afterall, I hadn't seen him in a few days and I was looking forward to a nice romantic date,) but if he wanted to see the game I would be ok with that. Then he calls me in the afternoon and the conversation went like this:
G - So did you want to go to the game?
D - I don't mind doing either, do you want to go to the game?
G - Well what do you want to do? I talked to Norm and he said he was going but I said I would ask you first.
D - Well, its up to you, if you want to go, let's go.
G - Ok, I told Norm we'd meet him at Gate 1 at 7pm.

Now ladies, does anyone notice anything strange about this conversation?? As I said before, I won't point it out, I'll just let the unbiased readers decide...

EDIT: And so ends our 100 days of bliss...

Saadia's BIG day!

Saturday, Gerwyn, Sally, Ev, Susie and I went to Saadia and Raju's wedding. It was extra special as I have known both Saadia and Raju since highschool and saw their relationship grow from teenagers in highschool to present day at their wedding. The day was amazing, Saadia looked so beautiful in her 2 Indian wedding outfits and again in her wedding address. She had asked me to say at speech at her reception so I was extra nervous. I was supposed to say my speech first right after Saadia and Raju entered the hall and I didn't have alot of time to rehearse so I decided to have a couple of glasses of wine to ease the nerves. Although, the drinks did succeed in making me tipsy, it didn't take away any of the nerves and when the MCs called me up to the stage I was petrified. I was telling Caroline (who was also saying a speech after me) that I was going to hyperventilate while I was standing at the podium. I think I was extra nervous because I was going to be saying some meaningful things to Saadia who has been such a good friend for so many years, it was just an emotional event for me. I've included the speech below in case Saadia wants to keep a copy of it. Overall, I think it went pretty well, I was actually able to make Saadia cry which I don't think I've EVER seen in all my years of knowing her (she's an ice queen during the saddest of movies,)and I managed to say the whole thing without bursting into tears and turning into a mess. My voice only wavered once and I think I recovered pretty quickly.

After the speeches, they started the dancing right away (as is Sikh reception custom) and dinner was served during the dancing. The food was amazing, all of my favourites: butter chicken, naan, chana chick peas, mutter paneer, etc and the music was great too. He played a good mix of Indian, Calypso and even a little 80's. A highlight of the evening was watching Susie and Gerwyn go crazy on the dancefloor. Gerwyn made up his own "water jug" dance (balancing the jug on his head to the Indian beats) while Susie teased him with her scarf. They even had the wait staff of the restaurant mesmerized. I'd post the video if I could but I don't think my blogging skills have advanced to that level yet.

All in all, a beautiful wedding and a great night with some very good friends.

The speech:
I've known both Saadia and Raju for over 15 years. I've known them since the beginning of their relationship when Raju first started chasing Saadia in highschool. And when I say chasing, I mean chasing. Saadia wasn't exactly open to the idea of dating Raju in the beginning. In fact, I think she was the exact opposite. But Raju, being the determined and ever-so-suave guy that he was, decided he could convince Saadia to go out with him if he just kept asking. Repeatedly. Over and over again. He even came up with his own little forumla: "Persistance = Success" and proceeded to share ith with everyone he knew. I'd see Raju in the hallway at school and say, "hey Raju, how's it going?" and he'd reply, "Good. Persistence = Success!!" I'd walk into the Student Council office after school and see "Persistence = Success" written in BIG letters on the chalkboard. Basically, no one, including Saadia could escape it. Obviously Raju's persistence finally came through for him because Saadia finally agreed to have lunch with him at McDonald's and now, 15 years later, here we are today.
For anyone who has met Saadia, I don't need to tell you what an amazing person she is. From the first time you meet her, she just exudes warmth and friendliness. Saadia and I became really close when we attended Ryerson together. I moved into her dorm building half way through my first year and really didn't know anyone. I remember I had just finished unpacking and was sitting in my room with nothing to do. I was too shy to go out and meet people and also had no cable so I couldn't even watch tv! Basically it was my first time living outside of my parent's house and I felt a bit alone. That same day, the phone rang and it was Saadia calling to welcome me to the building and invite me over to her room where I pretty much proceeded to live for the rest of the year. We eventually moved into our own apartment together and we lived together for about 4 years. However in all of our years of friendship, I will never forget that moment when she called me that day. She just made me feel so welcomed and at home at a time when I was feeling a little homesick.
Saadia, I have been blessed to know you all these years, you are the definition of a true friend and you will always have a place in my heart.
Enough with the mushy stuff, I'd like to end my speech by giving Saadia a little piece of advice for her marriage: If things get difficult while you're married (like Raju doesn't pick up after himself or refuses to do the dishes,) always remember what a wise person once told me:
Persistence = Success
So here's my toast to the success of your persistence, in the past and for the future.

Mary's Birthday!

This weekend has been a flurry of activity! Friday night we went to Mary-Ann's birthday dinner at Canyon Creek in Scarborough. Mae, Glenn, MelandNorm, Ev, Gerwyn and I. Unfortunately Sally couldn't make it because she was on her way back from Montreal that night and didn't end up arriving in time. The food was pretty good, Norm had the HUGEST pork chop I've ever seen in my entire life, I swear the thing was at least 4" high, he even had trouble finishing it. Ev had ribs and some really good french fries that everyone picked off her plate. The rest of us had steaks of some sort followed by a very yummy and extremely decadent chocolate brownie and ice cream. Gerwyn being back on his gym routine actually REFUSED to finish it, it was the first time I've seen him show any kind of restraint when it came to chocolate. I've also been trying to implement some dietary changes in my life, I've been strictly enforcing the only 80% full rule and trying to make a point of more vegetables and salad and less heavy stuff. Its only been a week or so but I've noticed a difference. I no longer go to bed completely overstuffed and unable to breathe and I also have less tummy aches, its amazing what a little restraint can do. Let's hope I can keep this up. I'm on my way to Jared's (Mary-Ann's son) birthday party now and I know its going to be a challenge to stay away from all those desserts, her mom makes the BEST cheesecake I've ever had. I feel my belt expanding already... Well, a little indulgence every now and then ain't so bad right???

Yesterday was Saadia and Raju's Sikh wedding followed by the hugest reception I have ever been to. The place was massive (afterall, it had to hold 500 people) and the food was amazing. (Restraint was a challenge last night but again, I managed to do it. Maybe it was because I filled up on the wine beforehand...) Anyway, I'll have to give more details later because I have to leave soon for Jared's party and I still have to shower! (Yes, I'm going to shower for the occassion. Happy ladies?) Lots of pictures and great memories to share. It was one of the best and most meaningful weddings I have been to, two great friends finally getting married!!

Be back soon...