A baby 'get-together'...

Ron and I were invited to his friends' baby 'gathering'. I say this because when it came time to writing something on the card, Ron realized he didn't really know what the party was for or what it was called. It would be equivalent to a baby shower... but because he didn't know what it was called in his friends' religion, he didn't know what to write. So in the end, the card said "Happy Indian Party!" haha. That's Ron for ya'....

It was held at Sahara Indian Restaurant in Mississauga, and Tanaz, you would have been proud at my plate of Indian food! For those that don't know, I'm not a big fan of Indian food partly due to the spicy factor... but I picked well from the buffet selection, and enjoyed my entire plate! BTW, doesn't the photo of Ron, Eswin and baby Mikael look like it's THEIR baby?!!? hee hee

Family day at the Beach!

Before everyone goes back to school, the cousins decided to head on out to Sandbanks beach to get one more day of summer in. My sisters & their families, my brother, Sam, Lorna, Leonard, Ryan, Che + 3 friends, Falesha, JoJo & his family, Ron and I all headed on down to the beach! Ron and I actually got there really late, as we stopped off in Napanee first for some shopping, and then we got lost trying to find them! All in all a great day with the family, and the weather was fantastic!

Happy Birthday Quel!

Quel turned 33 today! She is the last birthday of the 'August' birthdays and to celebrate, we went to Milestones! We had a few bellinis, the spinach and artichoke dip, and we convinced the bartender to give her 2 free shots! Happy Birthday Quel! Welcome to cougarville...

Celine Dion concert...

Ron received complimentary company tickets to the Celine Dion concert tonight (box seats), so we decided to go! He got the pair of tickets first... and then a coworker decided not to go, so he ended up getting 4 tickets. My dad LOOOVES Celine Dion, so we decided to bring my parents with us to take the other 2 tickets (weird huh?). Another phone call from Ron later in the day, and he scored ANOTHER 2 tickets... so I told him to ask HIS parents, and they accepted (again... weird!).

Another phone call from Ron again, and it turns out NONE of his coworkers wanted to go to the concert, so Ron ended up with all 10 tickets (that's the whole box)! So who do we bring? Trying to find Celine Dion fans were a bit challenging, actually. Ron called his sister (who had a chuckle at mine and her parents going) and his friends... but they passed on them.

So then I made a few phone calls. At 3 hours before the concert starting, I managed to get my sister Shirley and hubby Mike, my cousin Leo and his girlfriend Irene to take the other 4 tickets! Whew!

The concert was pretty good, actually (but George Michael still tops the charts for me). She sang well live, which I always appreciate and both sets of parents loved her (as I knew they would). I actually knew most of the songs that she sang (although surprisingly, Leonard knew a lot more and was singing along)! Thanks again for the tickets Ron!

Below is a small clip of Celine in concert... it's a song that Ron and I danced to 12 years ago at my sister's wedding! ;)

Entourage...

Ok, I'm officially hooked. After Di finished watching all the Entourage DVDs (seasons 1-3), I borrowed them... just to see what the hype was about. Now I know! It honestly wasn't a show that interested me in the least when I saw it on TV, but Di was right... you have to see it from the beginning, and then it just sucks you right in! I think those guys are hilarious! And I love all the celebrity cameos. I started watching them around noon today, and I just kept popping in those DVDs, one after another. I am just going to take a dinner break, and then I'm back on it! :)

And ladies, if I ever become rich and famous like Vince.... YOU can be part of my 'entourage'. hehe.

Get those TV's ready!

The fall season premieres of all our favourite shows are just around the corner (why is it always the same time as when kids go back to school??). And with the writers strike happening, it seems like it's been a long wait!

I thought I would list all the schedules for your Fall 2008 Season Premieres below! Happy watching!

*All times based on eastern standard time*
(By Rachel Thomas, About.com)

Monday, September 1
8pm Gossip Girl - The CW
8pm Prison Break - 2-Hour Season Premiere - Fox
9pm One Tree Hill - The CW

Tuesday, September 2
8pm 90210 - Two-hour premiere - The CW
10pm The Shield - FX Network

Wednesday, September 3
8pm Bones - 2-Hour Season Premiere - Fox

Monday, September 8
8pm Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - Fox

Tuesday, September 9
8pm Fringe - 2-Hour Series Premiere - Fox
9pm Privileged - The CW

Tuesday, September 16
9pm House - Fox

Thursday, September 18
8pm Smallville - The CW
9pm Supernatural - The CW

Monday, September 22
9pm Heroes - Two-hour premiere - NBC
9pm Boston Legal - ABC
10pm CSI: Miami - CBS

Tuesday, September 23
8pm NCIS - CBS
9pm The Mentalist - CBS
10pm Without a Trace - CBS
10pm Law & Order: SVU - NBC

Wednesday, September 24
8pm Knight Rider - NBC
9pm Criminal Minds - CBS
10pm CSI: NY - CBS
10pm Lipstick Jungle - NBC

Thursday, September 25
8pm Ugly Betty - ABC
9pm Grey's Anatomy - (special two-hour season premiere) - ABC
10pm ER - NBC

Sunday, September 28
9pm Cold Case - CBS
9pm Desperate Housewives - ABC
10pm Brothers & Sisters - ABC
10pm The Unit - CBS

Monday, September 29
8pm Chuck - NBC
10pm My Own Worst Enemy - NBC

Wednesday, October 1
8pm Pushing Daisies - ABC
9pm Private Practice - ABC
10pm Dirty Sexy Money - ABC

Friday, October 3
8pm Ghost Whisperer - CBS
9pm The Ex List - CBS
10pm Numb3rs - CBS
10pm Life - NBC

Thursday, October 9
9pm CSI: Crime Scene Investigation - CBS
10pm Eleventh Hour - CBS
10pm Life on Mars - ABC

October 10
10pm The Starter Wife - USA Network

Tuesday, October 14
10pm Eli Stone - ABC

Friday, October 17
9pm Crusoe - Two-hour premiere - NBC

Premiering Early 2009: 24, Lost and Reaper

Sadness...

Alas, I lost Quel to the working world. She started her new job today and now, I have no buddy to hang out with during the day! Sadness...

On the upside, maybe this is just what I needed to help motivate me to look for a job. Afterall, it's no fun being unemployed by yourself... hehe.

Congratulations Ev & Stu!

After a year of planning, Ev and Stu finally got hitched! It was a beautiful wedding and that includes the bride herself! It was held at the Distillery: the ambiance was romantic, the food was delicious, the alcohol plentiful, the music was great and the little details that helped to make her wedding special were excellent (especially that guest book... hehe). Great job planning the wedding Ev! Oh, and thanks for calling my name out on that mic when it came to tossing that bouquet! For those that weren't there, I was in the bathroom when I heard my name being called out on the microphone... apparently, my presence was required in the small group of 'single' women out on the dance floor. By the time I came out of the bathroom, the crowd was cheering. Thanks Eb. And who knew I would actually catch 2 of the 4 bunches of the bouquets tossed... hmmm... someone trying to tell me something?!!? :P

Happy Birthday Ron!

I brought Ron's first meal as a 34-year-old to him from Tim Horton's: a breakfast sandwich, hash brown, a medium French vanilla coffee, and his favourite donut for dessert.

We didn't really have anything planned for the day, as I wanted to leave it for him to decide whatever it is he wanted to do. I was at his service and for the one day, I let HIM be the boss! ;) hehe

It turns out, it wasn't hard to please the birthday boy - all he wanted was a quiet day at home relaxing on his day off (since we'll be partying it up at the wedding tomorrow). We ended his special day with a dinner at Canyon Creek (his choice): Bacon wrapped scallops, Chipotle sirloin with a loaded baked potato, Garlic shrimp with rice pilaf and veggies, and for dessert... a Lindt chocolate cheesecake. Happy Birthday Ron!

Let's go to the EX!

It's all about the food. That's what the CNE has always been for me... the FOOD! I've never been on the rides, and I don't really play that many games. It's the food.

Ron took the day off today so we headed on down to the EX. The main food items I used to get each year at the EX were: Tiny Tom donuts, corn on the cob, 99 cent spaghetti (just because it's 99 cents!), candied apple, St. Louis wings, and the chocolate bars where you could mix and match a bunch of them for a set price. I was able to get a few of my usual items before we headed onto Ontario Place. I'll have to make another trip to get all the other food items I didn't get!! :)

Calm and collected...

I'm not a big fan of dogs. Ever since Diana's little chihuahua scared the living crap outta me when I was 7 years old, dogs and I have never really 'clicked'.

Meet Kuma (a French mastiff -dogge de Bordeaux... like the dog in the movie 'Turner & Hooch"). This is my brother's friend's new puppy. He was over at the house today, and was THE most calmest puppy I've ever met! He was so laid back that even I wasn't scared of him. Why can't all dogs be like him?!!?

These legs were made for walking...

And that's just what I DID! Five hours worth of walking to be exact.

I headed downtown today in search for a certain someone's birthday gift. I figured, with all the stores downtown... I'm bound to find SOMETHING! I parked my car at Di's place, put my headphones on and started walking to Yonge street. I walked all along Yonge to Bloor, to Yorkville, to Queen Street... down to Bathurst! I was exhausted!

I was supposed to meet Di after work so we could go for a run. But after the 5 hours of walking, my legs were already quite sore and I had to take the streetcar to meet her back at her place (just couldn't walk it anymore). So what does my good friend do? She made me WALK with her to Saads' place instead (approx. 30 minute walk).... hehe. In her defense, she did feed me with a lovely dinner first (then made me wash all the dishes).
:P

Ron's office!

I finally got the chance to visit Ron at Fieldgate Homes! We had to go pick up his new suit, so I came by to pick him up and to check out where he spends his 8 hours of the day! (sometimes 9)

I'm not sure about the rest of you, but I find it helps me to 'visualize' and to relate more to his work stories when I've actually seen where he works. Thanks for the office tour Ron! (I've forgotten what one looks like!) heehe.

:)

Team Sugar!

As I was surfing through the web, I found this website: www.teamsugar.com

Each girl in the illustration has their own blog, or topic of interest (shopping, food, family, technology, etc.)... and they have this website which joins them all together to discuss other topics.

I just loved the cute illustrations! Maybe WE should start a Canadian version of the same thing?? :)

Grand opening in Thornhill!

Every time I go to Ron's place, I would look out the window to see how the construction of the new park was coming along. I took a few shots (shown above) from when they started building it... and today, was the grand opening! A couple of weeks ago, the residents of the neighbourhood got to vote for the name of the park online (among 4 names provided). Ron and I voted for 'Thornhill Green', as I thought it was the best choice among the others, and today, when they revealed the name of the park... it was: Thornhill Green! whooohoo!

There was music, free food (burgers, pizza, hot dogs, ice cream), speakers, and puppets/clowns all around! A few of the local stores around the area also set up tents to promote their new business by giving out some freebies. I got 2 ice cream tickets and since Ron was still kinda sick, he didn't want it and ended up going to Walmart for some medication instead of lining up for the ice cream truck. I didn't want to waste the extra ticket (plus I secretly wanted 2 ice creams), so I ended up double-fisting the 2 cones! I tried to pretend that I was only eating one, but then the other one started melting so I had to lick it... and vice versa. So much for trying to pretend not to double fist!

Happy Birthday to the TWINS!

The gang had the 'favourites' birthday party for the twins: Ron and Glenn. Ok, so what if they're actually born a whole year apart on the same day, and not related?!? It was fun nonetheless with tons of food, desserts, presents, and loot bags! I got them my favourite oldie, but goodie: Rubiks cube, caramel crunch birthday cake, and 'The Five Deadly Venoms' kung-fu movie! My brother and I grew up on all those kung-fu flicks. I love them.... "hmmm, right". I'm still searching for 'Superninjas' and 'Master Killer'... let me know if any of you see those!

Happy Birthday boys!

Quiet time!

I babysat my sister's kids today, and the minute you see the photo, you automatically want to call child services, right? But in my defense, the kids WANTED to play this game! They suggested they play 'quiet time' in which the first person to speak.... loses! And to help them NOT to speak, they wanted to put tape across their mouths. A moment of silence.... who am I to argue with that?!?

It lasted a good 2 minutes, actually. They had more fun putting tape onto their mouths then actually playing the 'quiet' game....

Storage solutions!

After putting it off for a year, I finally decided to clean out my storage space. I was just going to leave everything inside as is (you know, not knowing where anything was!), but I figured this was a good time as any to take on a project like this! But I couldn't have done it on my own. Thank goodness Quel was kind enough to come on down and help me out! THANKS SO MUCH QUEL... definitely couldn't have done it without cha'!!!

We took most of the items out of storage (and into the 2 hallways), to find and figure out where everything was... and then we put it all back in a neat organized manner, along with a diagram as to where each labelled box was placed! My Tetris skills really helped me out here! :P

After 3 hours of lifting and organizing, we were exhausted! But I feel sooo much better about that space, since I now know where all my things are (and I can refer to my handy diagram too!).

Happy Birthday Justin!

My nephew, Justin turns 8 today! He's pretty small for an 8-year-old... so small in fact, that his younger, 7-year old sister is actually taller than him!

But I like it! I like that he's so small because he remains 'young' and a 'kid' in my mind! Happy Birthday Justin! Don't grow up quite yet!

A trip to the gynecologist...

I just got back from my first visit to the gynecologist. Fun! My doctor recommended I go see one to make sure everything was A-OK down there. After waiting an hour in the waiting room, I met Dr. Logaridis, and he asked me all these questions (sad):

how many pregnancies have you had?
how old are you?
are you sexually active?
what birth control are you using?
are you TRYING to have a baby?

After all the questions, he got up and said, "ok, let's take a look". He left the room, and told me "stomach down" on his way out... which really confused me! I've had pap smears done on those tables before but I've never had my stomach down! I thought 'weird' but ok. He came back in, and he started laughing. Apparently, I was facing the wrong way!! (why would he tell me 'stomach down' then?!?!). Anyway, after turning over, he checked all the 'parts'... and then told me to come back for a microscopic test. So next month, I get the pleasure of having a microscope check me out down there.... more fun! :P

Ah, the joys of being a woman!! And I found that doctor to be a bit too touchy-feely for a man. As he was explaining things to me, he had to have a hand on my shoulder or on my back... whattup wit dat?

Suit yourself!

I met Ron at Yorkdale today to go shopping for a new suit! I've never actually gone shopping for a suit before, so it was a new experience for me. It's definitely different than shopping for a dress! He tried on a total of 3 suits (photographed to your left), and finally decided to buy one of the three you see here.

What's your vote?? (top? middle? bottom?) You can't really tell the colour difference in the photographs, or the style or material of the suit... but that's what I found when shopping for suits. Men's suits definitely have less variety than women's dresses!!!

I guess you'll have to see which one he bought on Ev & Stu's big wedding day... which is where he will be wearing it! There's something about a man in a nice suit that I love! They look so distinguished, so clean, so mature! It's a nice change from the jeans and runners I'm used to seeing on Ron! Work it baby... work IT! ;)

Mr. Tough Guy!

If there's one thing I can't stand, it's when kids bully other kids... especially one of MY kids! When I was a child, I was always one of those that stuck up for my friends that were being bullied (yes, I kicked some a*ss for them too!)... and as an adult, well, that hasn't changed much. I'd still stick up for one of my friends should they ever need it (I got your back ladies). I remember in university, there was a conversation we had where this guy had to use one word to describe everyone else in the group, and when it got to him describing me... he said "tough". Of all the words out there, THAT's the word he chose for me!

I took the kids to the park today, and there was a whole summer camp there as well. There were only 4 swings, and one of my nephews managed to get one. Apparently (this is what my other nephew told me), one of the kids went up to Justin and said "Get off. It's my turn." And the kid grabbed him to get out of that swing! I didn't see it myself... all I saw was Justin telling Matthew the story. When I heard what happened, it took a lot out of me to not go over there and kick some young butt!! I asked Justin to tell me which kid it was, but he said he didn't know where he went. So I let it go.... and THEN, I saw another kid throwing sand at Matthew while he was on the swing. I slowly walked over, and heard the kid say 'Get off, it's my turn' (and then threw more sand at Matthew). Again, I stopped myself from doing anything stupid, but waited to see what Matthew would do. I heard him tell the kid to stop throwing sand. But shortly after that, the kid threw MORE sand at Matthew. That was IT! I went over there, and said "Why are you throwing sand at him?"... He said "cause he won't get off the swing"... I say "well, why can't you wait like everyone else? and why are you throwing sand? how would you like it if I threw sand at YOU?!"... he said "he's been there for a long time, and it's my turn" .. I say "no, he hasn't been there for a long time, because we just got here. You have to wait your turn like everybody else!"

How do parents do it?? Geez, I don't know what I would do if my child was being bullied in school... what do you tell them? Kids these days... where is the discipline?!?

More birthday celebrations...

Over the weekend, we celebrated 3 more birthdays: Jessen's 1st birthday, my sister Shirley's 36th birthday, and last but not least, my Tito Nard's 58th birthday! It was full of food, cake, and um, drinking. The cousins always want to drink, and I of course, will always join them! :) We actually tried a mango tequila bottle, and Jello shots... which was pretty good! Happy Birthday!

Are diamonds really a girl's best friend?

Ron and I went to the mall, and I thought it would be fun to go into one of the jewellery stores to see what Ron thought a nice diamond ring would be... we have such different tastes, that I just wanted to see what he thought a nice ring was.

We walked into the store, and the saleswoman immediately started chatting us up. All I wanted was for her to leave us alone.... afterall, I told her we were just looking! So Ron picked the ring that he liked out of all the ones in their window case, and surprisingly, it was one of the ones that I liked. Then the woman started asking us all these questions (how long have you been together, how long have you been looking for a ring, what type of cut do you want, etc.)... I started FREAKING OUT!! The minute she took the ring out that Ron had picked and held it out for me to try on... I got up and said to her: "ok, you're freaking me out" and then I left the store!

Can you believe I did that!?!? I think it was because she was your typical salesperson... putting pressure on me and I felt like she was violating my personal space! So many questions.... geez! Anyway, I won't be doing THAT again! :P

Steak Queen!

Years ago, during my 'clubbing' days... the guys and I would always head to Steak Queen (located at Victoria Park & Lawrence) to eat. Maybe we were just so hungry after a night of clubbing, that I always thought my meal here was soooo GOOD! I always ordered the same thing: Chicken souvlaki on a pita, with fries. I remembered the tzatziki sauce was amazing! THAT's the secret to a good souvlaki (in my opinion).

Today, Quel and I decided to try and play some tennis near her parents' place. After we got tired of running for all the tennis balls (since they weren't actually hitting our racquets), we decided to play handball! That actually hurt my hands, so that game didn't last long. We tried a few other 'school' games from when we were kids, and then we decided to venture on out to Steak Queen for a meal. We shared the infamous chicken souvlaki, and I have to say... I was disappointed. Definitely not the same as what I had remembered. Maybe my taste buds have just matured (since my clubbing days), maybe there are new owners, or a new cook? Whatever the case may be, I will have to find a new place for souvlaki... anyone have any they can recommend??

Happy Birthday Melia!

Today was my niece Melia's 5th birthday! August is a crazy month for birthdays... this is only the beginning of many more... 6 more to go (I think).

Melia wanted to celebrate her birthday at Woodie Woodchuck's. The minute I got there, she ran up to me yelling and screaming "Tita Sally, it's my birthday today, it's my birthday today!" She was so excited, and I couldn't help but be excited for her! She's a big girl now that she's a whole hand old (a full 5 fingers), apparently! :)

Melia's the youngest of all my nieces and nephews, so as SHE gets older, it makes me sad. Why do kids have to grow up so fast!?!?

Happy Birthday Aleenah!

My niece Aleenah celebrated her 7th birthday today, with a 'Highschool Musical' theme to it. She even dressed the part as the cheerleader! There were so many kids there, I almost went home with one... her name is Nevaeh (heaven spelled backwards), and is about 10 months old. Her face was so round, I couldn't help but squeeze her! She was so cute!

Sandbanks...

My sisters and their families decided to do a last minute trip to Sandbanks beach, and I decided to tag along for the ride. They met some of their friends there, so it ended up being a pretty big group. It's always fun to see the kids so happy to be in the water! I didn't go in, but my sister and I ended up throwing the volleyball, frisbee and football with each other for most of the day.

After I was done playing, my sisters and their hubbies decided to team up in a game, both in volleyball, and who could dress the weirdest! That's my family for ya'...

Girltime...

I met Di, Mel, Saads and Cybele at Peony for some foot pampering! All of our toes looked so lovely after all of our pedicures! We then headed over to Dundas Square, where we all shared a bunch of appetizers and a cold beverage on the rooftop patio of the newly opened Milestones. After our snack, Cybele and Mel both had to go, so Saads, Di and I went back to Saads place to hang out for a bit.

We decided since we were all so full, we would go for a walk. So off we went to the Danforth, checking out some cute little shops, until we finally got to the party store (which was the reason we headed out), only to find that it JUST closed! Sorry Saads.

Onto our next stop: Babycakes. We had heard about the cute little cupcakes from this store, and since it was on the way back to Saads' place, we had to go and try it! It was yummy (but the ones we had in New York still top the charts for me).

We ended up having dinner at Saads' place, with her sister, Camilla who came over later. We all helped in preparing the Korean BBQ ribs (I forgot how much I enjoy bbq'ing!), and had a nice dinner together!

More works of art...

Apparently, the word spread around to all my nieces and nephews that Jaylene did a drawing of Tita Sally and Uncle Ron. Next thing I knew, I received 4 more drawings!!

One from Matthew
(we're Japanese animations according to him):

One from Justin:

One from Aleenah:

And last but not least, one from Melia: