Welcome to Canada!

Tonight was the 1st WND at Ev AND Stu's place! And to commemorate Stu's arrival, Mae, Glenn, Jared and AJ decided to join us.

Ev & Stu's menu:

appetizer: salad
main course: homemade burgers, corn, and onion rings
dessert: banana cake, and caramel crunch cake

It was delicious! It was definitely more fun with the kids entertaining us. Welcome to Canada Stu!

Congratulations!

I had lunch with Sebby today. He had announced shortly before I left for my vacation that he had gotten ENGAGED! I, of course, needed the details. So we met up for lunch, and I got my fill of the romantic proposal. So sweet! :)

Congrats to Sebby and Leslie on their engagement!

And onto other engagement news:

a CONGRATS to Brian and Bernice on their engagement as well!

And finally, to my cousin Danny and his fiancé on their engagement (I haven't even met her yet, therefore, no photo of her).

It really does come in THREE's!

;)

Our last class...

Quel and I had our last self-defense class today. Let's hope we never have to use what we learned (don't mess with us)! There was a dinner after class, and the whole group (shown above) ate together and chatted. It was a nice change from the 'attack me' situations we've been having during class!

We then met up with Quel's family at Pacific Mall! I ended up buying 4 movies (yes, all pirated) for $8: The Bucket List, Atonement, Run Fatboy Run, and The Kite Runner!

Little men!

My Saturday was spent with the little men in my life: Matthew, Justin and Zarius.

Tanaz picked me up in the morning so I could help her in picking out the new colours, tiles, flooring, counter tops and shelving for her new house! I watched Zarius as he lead me all over the place, while Tanaz would show me combinations of various items in between.

I then picked up my nephews, Matthew and Justin for an afternoon of playing video games with Uncle Ron! I think Ron finally met his match with his Halo 3 game on his Xbox 360. My 7 & 10-year-old nephews kicked his @ss! It's funny because Ron had played this game with my nephews just last summer, and he had told me that they weren't very good. My nephews got the Xbox 360 for Christmas, and then the Halo 3 game shortly after. It amazes me how quickly kids can pick things up! Ron was impressed, and a little bit embarrassed actually. Haha! I was so proud! I even joined them for a few games and got the "Sorry Tita Sally!" every time one of my nephews shot and killed me in the game.
:S

Meet & Greet!

I met up with Rose for lunch today. She's been travelling for the last few months to Philippines, Malaysia, Cambodia, Singapore, and Thailand. But she was in Toronto for a few weeks before she heads out again for Spain, so we had to meet and catch up with each other!

After work, I met up with Melanie and Rowena at Brant House. We had the half price 5-7pm drinks and appetizers menu, so it was great! There, we saw Huddy with his girlfriend, Brenda (who I've never met before), so everyone met everyone else. And then Rose was in the area, so she came by and met everyone as well!

WND - Mel's turn!

It's been a while since we all met up for WND. With everyone's busy schedules, and the nice weather coming, it was nice to sit down and catch up with everyone.

Mel's menu:

appetizer: artichoke dip with crackers
main course: Portugese chicken with rice & potatoes (yes, it's take-out!)
dessert: crepes with ice cream
(yes, that's Di licking the chocolate off the plate! Classy Di, real classy)

Can't wait for next week at Ev and Stuart's place! That's right folks, the English bloke is moving to Canada next week and is staying for good! Now I won't be the 'newbie' of the group. heheh

Hula-hoopin'!

A coworker of mine told me about this hula-hoop she's been using to exercise with. It's not your regular hula-hoop. This one is heavier, weighing in at 2kg (approximately 4.41 lbs.), and she's been using it every day for 10 minutes each day.

She said she lost about 4" on her waist doing this (probably eating healthy as well knowing her), but I decided to try it! I went out and bought one and I guess we'll see if it works! After all the buffet eating in Mexico, I need whatever help I can get! So we'll see...

Doing the hula-hoop brings me back to a memory from back in grade 2. Almost 26 years ago, Diana and I were in gym class together, and there was a hula-hoop competition with the entire class! There were only 2 left standing by the end: Diana and I. My recollection of the winner of this competition in comparison to Diana's seems to be different though. I think I won, but Di seems to think SHE did. For all you folks that know the both of us... who do YOU think won?? (exactly)

;P

Back to life, back to reality...

Ron and I just got back from our trip to Meh-heee-co! (sigh)

We had a great time! We stayed at the Riu Tequila resort, in Playa del Carmen... which gave us access to the other Riu resorts nearby (including the Palace)! It was very relaxing... just what we needed! We took a day to go into downtown Playa del Carmen, one to go to Cancun... and then another day to go into Cozumel. All the other days were lazily spent doing whatever we wanted: going to the beach, swimming at one of the many pools, playing ping pong, walking around, taking a nap, watching the dance shows (my favourite being Grease on our last night) and eating at the yummy buffets and a la carte restaurants!

On our last night, we decided to stay up late and attempt to party with the 'youngins' at the resort's nightclub. We danced and had a lot of drinks, including a shot of Tequila (fitting, I thought), which put me over the top. Yep, that's right... I got sick and threw up a couple hours later. :S

TEQUILA!!

The BEST boss...

I would like to dedicate this blog to my old boss, Kathy.

When I came out of university, she hired me at Today's Parent Group. Here, I discovered that work didn't have to be a place you HAD to go to... it can be a place you WANT to go to. I loved this job! We had sooooo much fun, and I made alot of friendships. Although most of us have gone our separate ways, we all still keep in touch!

Kathy was a boss that would dance on boardroom tables during our lunch hour, let me watch movies next door at the Paramount during lunch, offered wine to me during work, did leg-wrestling at company functions, and she laughed so hard when I gave her the middle finger! (I was crossing the street, and she kept honking at me... I didn't even look to see who it was, I automatically gave the finger! hehe). You just can't find another boss like that... and I'll never forget her.

(below is what was written about her)

-----------

Kathy Ellen Bergen

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our dear Kathy. Surrounded by friends and family she provided us with joy and love until the end.

Mother of Franny and Tim, partner of Scott, sister of Tom (Debbie), pre-deceased by her parents Kay and George. Kathy will be missed by countless friends and family.

Kathy passed away at home on Friday, April 4th, 2008, surrounded by her family and embraced by the love of the countless friends she touched over the years. Kathy was a leader in helping make Today’s Parent the true parenting resource it has become but more importantly she was the best mother a child could hope for. The lessons she has taught us, while faced with her journey through cancer, have made those close to her better people.

After being diagnosed with cancer 18 months ago, Kathy chose to live each day to the fullest. Her love of life, people and her children brought her much happiness over the years she was with us. Her one fear in dying was not what lay ahead but rather the well being of those she was going to leave behind, especially Franny and Tim. We are grateful for the support we have been given by friends, family and our healthcare team. Seeing and feeling the love we have experienced has helped us understand the impact Kathy has had on the people in her life and taught us the value of friendship.

Please join us on Friday, April 11th at 1:00 p.m. in the Floral Hall of Edwards Gardens, Toronto Botanical Garden (777 Lawrence Ave East, Toronto) in celebration of Kathy, who will remain in our hearts forever.

Donations can be made to Mt. Sinai’s Temmy Latner Centre for Palliative Care (in support of International program activities of the Centre) or Wellspring (81 Wellesley St, E., Toronto) in honour of Kathy.

Double communions = Double church mass

I haven't gone to church in a loooong time! But today, in honour of both my niece and nephew's first communions... I went TWICE!

First, it was Jaylene's turn at St. Thomas Moore.... and then 3 hours later, we were all at St. Barnabas for Justin's communion. That's them in the photo... hard to believe they're the same age with the height difference! hehe

The Home Show!

No, I don't own a home. But Ron got free tickets to this year's National Home Show, so we decided to go! It was more to see what Ron's 'style' was in comparison to mine. Luckily, we came out of there agreeing to a lot of the same things (whew!).

We got lots of freebies too (air fresheners, cleaning products, hot sauce, aspirin).. which I always like! And Ron must have checked out every single massage chair in the place! OH, and I saw Sofia Gomez from highschool ladies... remember her? She didn't see me, but she looks the same...

The family clock...

For my parents' anniversary, my oldest sister had given my parents this family clock. It's got all of their kids and grandkids (and dog).

I had dinner with the family at Swiss Chalet, and then we all came back to my parent's place. They looked at the clock and said "It's Tita Sally o'clock! Yay!" I thought that was hilarious!

And then of course, they asked if they could each stay up until it was time for their 'o-clocks'...

My sister told me that as soon as I have a child, my kid will replace Irie's slot (the dog).... thanks sis, thanks. :P

TEQUILA!!!

The Riu Tequila that is... Ron and I finally booked our vacation!

From April 12-19th, we'll be lounging around and relaxing in Mayan Riviera, Mexico! :)

It was quite stressful trying to figure out where to go, since we kept putting it off, and waiting for the last minute deals. There were so many options and tons of research to do! But I can finally breathe, and relax, and count down the days until next weekend! whoo-hoo!

It's only fitting that we would stay at a resort named after one of Ron's favourite drink!! Although, let's hope he doesn't end up in the hospital with alcohol poisoning (as he's done in the past).

George Michael concert...

Tanaz has been inlove with George Michael since I met her 18 years ago...

And even through all the bad publicity George Michael has had over the years, Tanaz remained a true fan! I've never met such a hard-core fan before...

And on Thursday, July 17, 2008... I will join her as we watch him at the Air Canada Centre for his '25 Live' concert. I'm almost curious to watch Tanaz's reaction more than the actual concert! haha

A relaxing dinner for Di...

Di's WND menu tonight:

appetizer: Garlic Bread and Salad
main course: Lasagna Rolls with ricotta, spinach and proscuitto
dessert: Chocolate Mousse

I think this was the first time Di wasn't stressed! AND, she was able to enjoy the dinner and the company and the conversation, since everything was prepared the night before! That's the way it should be ladies, right? (that's why I'm ordering again next time you come over to Ron's!)

;)

When Ronnie Met Sally...

Have you seen this movie?? hehe

You don't have to see it, because you've all been a part of it! And today marks our 3-year anniversary!

Happy Anniversary RON!