Je me souviens...

Ok so Montreal was 2 weekends ago, but here's the recap on a post I started last Sunday:

Just got back from a weekend with the girls (Sally, Saadia, Raquel and me) in Montreal. But before I give the recap, I thought I would report on last Wednesday's dinner since it was MY turn! Oh wait, no, it was Norm's turn and then mine. Anyway, here's the short version: Norm did a mexican theme with fish tacos, wasabi shrimp and chocolate peanut butter pie (from Emeril) for dessert. IT was DEEE-leecious. Gerwyn stuffed his face with 6 tacos right out of the gates. We barely had time to finish one in the time it took him. Needless to say, he was not a happy camper that night. Stomach ache all night... The following Wednesday I chose a menu out of a Martha Stewart mag: Paprika Rubbed Roasted Chicken with Dill green beans and stuffed baked potatoes. Dessert was a chocolate chip cookie with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. (Gerwyn says my cookie was over baked. At least he didn't get a stomach ache!!) Then it was off to Montreal, the trip was great except it rained all weekend. We shopped (at Simon's), we ate (at Schwartz and Cafeteria), we got rained on (the entire weekend) and got massaged (by strange most likely unregistered Eastern European masseurs... it was odd to say the least). Anyway, for full details I suggest you check out sally's blog. How's that for a recap?!!

Onto last weekend: Friday night I shopped til I dropped at the mall and bought two pairs of shoes and some pants at the Gap. Saturday I went to Janet's to give Calla her birthday present and then headed back to the mall to pick up my second pair of shoes (they were ordered in) at the Bay. Coincidentally, I met Susie and Josh there who were in the midst of registering for their wedding and then Gerwyn came by on his bike and we all stopped for coffee before Gerwyn and I went to Terroni for dinner. It was SOOOO GOOD! Gerwyn practically inhaled the mushroom salad, I barely got a bite. Then his left temple started sweating from his spicy pasta that he ordered. He had to go to the washroom to "dry off". (I would agree, it was pretty spicy.) Then we walked home and digested our meals and prepared to watch Borat but ended up falling asleep on the couch so we just went to bed instead. Sunday I got up early to visit Grams and Gerwyn went for a bike ride with Vic downtown. I ended up running into Gerwyn again as I was walking back from the GO train station. (I think he is secretly stalking me...) We ended up going to my place and I made mini pizzas with grilled vegetables and we watched Amazing Race. Since he didn't feel like riding his bike back home, he ended up staying over again and we were able to have breakfast together on Monday. It was quite nice (except for having to actually get up EARLY to MAKE the breakfast..)

Whew, I think that's it. Now I'm off for some mani/pedi time with Ev and then a little Sushi at Japango, haven't had sushi for ages so I'm really looking forward to it! YUM!

Trip to Uxbridge!

This past weekend Gerwyn and I went up to Uxbridge with Susie and Josh to check out her wedding site. She's getting married at her brother Scott's house in his backyard. It was about an hour drive and on the way we stopped to visit her mom so she could meet Gerwyn and I could say hello. I don't think I've seen her for almost 10 years. Seeing her was like finding a piece of home. I have so many childhood memories at her house and although she lives somewhere different now, it still felt like "Kimball House" when I entered her apartment. Tons of pink everywhere with the occassional memento from back in the day (her encyclopedias from the late 70's, her teacups...). It was so great to have her meet Gerwyn too. She was so excited. She told me that I should get my mom's approval before I get married and I said "I talked to my mom already" and she said "not THIS mom!" It was so sweet. She asked Gerwyn all these questions about when he wanted to get married and have kids, she really put him on the spot but he was pretty good about it, didn't even break a sweat. Then on the way out, when he hugged her (of course he had to get a hug and kiss in there,) she said "you won't find anyone better." Almost makes me cry to think about it. She was such a big part of my life growing up, I'm glad I got to introduce the past to the future.

Then we headed to Scott's and spent the rest of the day in his massive backyard. It backs onto a forest and Susie had a few places spec'd out for where she wanted to get married so we took a little tour and then Gerwyn played frisbee with Josh and Susie's nephews while we talked decorations in the barn. It was a beautiful day to be out and we had a great time!

Sunday was Gerwyn's "day" so he spent the entire day cycling around the city in his new bicycle shorts while I visited Grams, cleaned my apartment and grocery shopped. This Wednesday is my turn to make dinner. I've perused all my Food magazines and settled on a Martha Stewart menu of paprika roast chicken, stuffed baked potatoes and french cut green beans. We'll see how it goes...

Yeah baby, its bangers and mash!!

Ev decided to go with an "English" theme (seeing as how she just got back from a romantic getaway with her Englishman Steeeewart) for Wednesday dinner and made traditional English Bangers and Mash. She even got the recipes from Jamie Oliver. It was very tasty. Her appetizer was an arugula salad with pinenuts, pancetta and balsalmic. For dessert, she made a "Banoffee Pie", a toffee pie with banana chunks and whipped cream. It was deeeelish. Some might even say it was their 'favourite dessert' of all Wednesday dinners. I won't mention who that someone was, but needless to say, he won't be enjoying any more desserts at my house... hmph!

Tonight I've decided to meet Sally for drinks (because we can now that she's a T.O girl again) and then tomorrow I'm off to Burford, Ontario for a dinner party at Kim's house with Trish and Saadia. A pretty quiet weekend I'd say.

Easter Weekend!

This past weekend was Easter and you know what that means... c.h.o.c.o.l.a.t.e! (Yes, I'm a bad Catholic.) Friday being Good Friday, I had the day off work so I met up with Gerwyn and we ate fish (no meat right? See, I AM a good Catholic) and watched Blades of Glory. It was hilarious. At one point, Gerwyn even fell out of his seat from laughing so hard. Friday night we had dinner downtown (Taco Bell, nope, definitely NOT a good Catholic) and vegged out. Saturday was brunch at my uncle's house. It was the biggest feast ever. What started out as a small brunch among cousins turned into a huge family affair with crab, the biggest fish I've ever seen and sushi as far as the eye could see. Uncle taught everyone how to make california rolls. Even the aunts got into the assembly line. My cousin Jenn laid out the seaweed sheets, Mad and CAt applied the rice, uncle put down the avocado and crab and Carol's mom folded em up. And of course, Mad ate all the "ugly" looking ones. Turns out, about half of them were "ugly". Then they moved onto spicy tuna and salmon rolls, just as tasty and just as quick to disappear. Plus Carol made all the usual breakfast foods, french toast, bacon, sausages, potatoes and lots and lots of desserts!! We were so full.

I left Uncle's at about 4pm to head to my friend Mae's for another Easter party. Yes, even more food. However, by the time I got there I had digested enough so that I could try a few of Mae's ribs, Mel's chicken, Ev's scalloped potatoes and even the Chinese food that Sally and I brought. Plus the carrot cake and blueberry cheesecake. Then we had a little EAster Egg hunt before Gerwyn and I got our butts kicked at Wii. (We played Tennis against Ev and Glenn. Clearly they were cheating.)

Sunday was recovery day. Got up early to visit Grams and then ate a small lunch at home before heading back downtown to meet Gerwyn. We watched "The Holiday". It was definitely a chick flick so naturally, we both loved it. (Ok, so Gerwyn not so much. It was no "Notebook" apparently.)

This week is Ev's turn to cook Wednesday dinner, hard to believe I can still think about food, but I wonder what she's going to make???

Its almost Wednesday, you know what that means...

Its my turn for Wednesday dinner. Wonder what I will make??? Don't want to give away any secrets just yet...

On another note, Gerwyn suggested we do a "colon cleanse" together. That boy is so romantic...

Wii are at it again...

Last night was Wednesday Dinner again and this time was Gerwyn's turn to cook (as opposed to last week when he just "bought"). He went with a Middle Eastern theme and made Chicken Schwarma sandwiches and baklava for dessert. Now that Sally is back in town, we were honoured with her presence for her first official Wednesday dinner. A couple more and she'll be cookin' in no time! Gerwyn's friend Victor also came by and MelandNorm brought our favourite guest "Wii". Sally finally got a taste of the action as we all played a game of bowling (somehow she managed to beat us all... beginner's luck I say,) and then moved onto boxing and baseball. I scored two homeruns (one grand slam) on Gerwyn's lame pitches. (Fastball? As IF!) All in all, a very (and active!) night. Then we commuted with Sally back to Thornhill since she was heading to Ron's place. Having our boyfriends live in the same neighbourhood is proving to be verrrrry convenient! Makes up for the fact that we actually live so far away from each other. Anyway, I'm just glad Sally is back in town, it honestly felt like she never left but that just goes to show that her place in my life was never filled! I knew she'd make it back eventually...

Sorry for the delay...

I forgot my blogger password so I was locked out for awhile but now I'm back! So... a recap on what's been going on lately:

Valentine's Day: On the 14th we all had dinner at Ev's since it was Wednesday dinner night. She made a yummy lasagna and deeeleecious brownies for dessert. I also made chocolate covered strawberries in honour of the holiday. Later that night, I went to Gerwyn's house and gave him Valentine that I made, straight out of grade school with doilies and everything! I had told him that I thought we should "make" our gifts this year so we don't spend any money. So what does Vinder give me??? First, a pillow that he bought with a picture frame in it which of course he used to insert a picture of us. (I swear, ANY item with a picture frame in it and Gerwyn will find it.) AND for the "homemade" segment of the gift, he decided to "make" me feel good. Now ladies, get your minds out of the gutter, by that he was going to give me a much needed massage. I always massage his shoulders and back before we go to bed but for some reason, the favour is rarely returned so on V-Day, it was my turn to collect! And it was worth the wait, I got almost a full hour of good shoulder and back focussed massage. The great part about it was that when I usually go to the spa, I'm shy to tell them if its too hard or soft and where I really need them to focus so with Gerwyn, I could just tell him what I wanted. It was a great gift and definite points for creative interpretation!!

Last weekend we didn't do too much, Saturday we went to the gym to work out and Sunday I celebrated Lunar New Year with my family and pigged out.

Yesterday we had Wednesday dinner at my house. It was Vinder's turn to cook and he decided to treat everyone to Swiss Chalet instead. We even had a special guest: Victor Ricafrente (Gerwyn's best friend). Mel and Norm also brought their Wii and we finally got to try it out. Needless to say, we're hooked! Our favourite game was boxing. Even though everyone got a very good laugh at my boxing technique (or lack thereof,), it was still a great workout! It took me 3 rounds to knock the guy out and by then I was huffing and puffing and so tired. Who needs the gym when they have the Wii!!

Fight, FIGHT!

All couples argue. I know its a normal part of every relationship. But with my limited relationship experience, I had no idea how hard it is to communicate when you're angry and what effect it can have on others.

Gerwyn and I have had a few disagreements and they always work themselves out but most recently, our latest disagreement ended up with us not talking for a few days. It was the first major argument I've ever had with a significant other and quite a learning experience. Mel says being in a relationship is about working as a team. And even when you disagree, your focus should be on resolution and learning, not necessarily to make them feel bad or point a finger. Easier said than done, especially for me since I always "thought" I was trying to help by pointing the finger in the first place. (ie. pointing out what they did wrong.) I didn't realize what kind of effect this can actually have on someone else. Susie, who also gives great advice, says that there are four key ingredients to every successful relationship: Commitment, Trust, Communication and Respect. You don't realize how true this stuff is (or how much you may lack it) until you come into times of trouble.

Things are obviously better now, but boy, do I still have plenty to learn...

Ron holds a baby and pets the dog!

On Friday night I went out for dinner with all my cousins to Wah-Sing. My cousin Joon-Sook from Korea is here for 6 months or so learning English so to welcome him here, I arranged an impromptu dinner which everyone was able to come to which was great! There were 8 of us in total which meant we could order 2 orders of the lobster and 2 orders of the Cantonese Chow Mein. Everything was so tasty! I even got to have my green beans too. It was nice to see my cousin again, he said I looked exactly the same as when he saw me last which was almost 10 years ago I think. After dinner we went to my cousin Madeleine's house for tea and just talked. I felt bad for Joon-Sook a bit since we were all talking too fast, I could tell by the look on his face he couldn't keep up. But its good for him to be "thrown in" to this kind of environment. What a better way to learn right? And my cousin Mad was able to translate all the interesting parts. It was nice to catch up with family, so rare for me!

Later that night, Gerwyn stopped by after a night out with his old high school friends. I could tell he had a great time because he had a big smile on his sleepy face when he got in. Saturday, we took Hanna and David (who was spending the weekend at my condo) out for breakfast at George St. Diner and then suited up for some basketball! Gerwyn was nervous that he might not be able to keep up with a 14 year old but he managed to hold his own and even beat David at all the games we played. (He was relieved.) Just give him a couple more years Gerwyn, then you'll be in trouble!!
After b-ball, we headed out to Mae's to catch up with everyone and hear about Ev's trip to Thailand. I ended up drinking 3 glasses of wine so I was pretty tipsy. Gerwyn kept throwing Kahlua on Ron's lap (knowing he was afraid of dogs). I have to admit, it was pretty funny to see his arms thrown up in the air while he was shrieking every now and then. He didn't actually PET the dog, but it was on his lap which was close enough. (A first for him I think.) Then came Andrew Jacob, Mae's newborn who wasn't even one month old. Of course all of the girls took turns holding him while the boys watched. I decided to pass him to Gerwyn who then passed him to Ron who had never held a newborn in his life! (Check out Sally and Mel's blogs for pics. I have a great picture of Ron's scared face as he's holding the baby. Hopefully it'll get posted soon.) After the dog, baby and 4 cups of coffee using Mae's new Tassimo coffee maker (which Gerwyn just couldn't get enough of!) we went home and I took a nap while Gerwyn bounced off the walls. He ended up watching a move until 3 am that night! That's what you get for drinking all that coffee! Needless to say, I was late to visit Grams in the morning.

Sunday was quiet, after Grams, I had lunch with my mom and took the train home to go to the gym and have a nice looooong bubble bath. I haven't done that in ages and boy was it relaxing.

Birthday Report...

So last weekend Gerwyn and I celebrated his big day! At 31 years old, we're still waiting for him to mature but at least he's well past his pre-buscent years (although there was that pesky pimple that just wouldn't go away for awhile...)
On Friday (the actual BIG day) I woke up to go to the gym and then went for a massage at Sutherland-Chan. (Gerwyn's birthday was a great excuse to treat myself!) Then I met Saadia for coffee and ran to the grocery store to buy my big boy a cake. By the time I got home I only had about 45 minutes to bake the cake and take a shower before I had to leave to meet Gerwyn at Finch station. Barely enough time to get the cake out of the oven and then out the door! After I met Gerwyn, I gave him his first present (homemade Toblerone shortbread and a Colgate 360 toothbrush) and then we went for Sushi at our favourite place Ginza. Then we went to Promenade for a bit of shopping before watching Babel and eating popcorn (with BUTTER!) After the movie, we headed downtown. I made Gerwyn close his eyes while I iced the cake and lit all the candles. Then when he opened them I sang him a song and he blew out his candles and then we GORGED on cake. I think we almost ate half of it that night. After cake, Gerwyn opened his presents (Kiehl's shampoo and conditioner, a red iPod Nano and a Chili Peppers Guitar book with play along cds to look good on his coffee table) and then I read him his card. It was 31 reasons why I was glad he was born. (I won't bore you all with the list.)

Saturday, we had waffles with ice cream and bacon for breakfast (apparently it was birthday WEEKEND) and then we played basketball (I lost again!) before going to Square One. Original plan was to go to Niagara but we hit traffic in Mississauga and changed plans.) One watch and a pair of shoes later, we ended up back downtown for more cake and a dvd. (Did I mention someone had KFC at the mall? It was like the boy had never eaten before, the whole thing was devoured in seconds!!)

Sunday was quiet. Just went to Grams in the morning and played with my cousin's kids (my cousin Cat from the States was visiting with her 2 kids too) and then went back home to watch the football game. Yes, I watched football. And I think I may have even enjoyed it. Which is good cause Superbowl is in 2 weeks and I have no choice but to watch the game. If you can't change them, might as well join them... I'm ready for some football!!