Happy Halloween!

Doing the right thing...

When I took the kids to the movies last week, my nephew found a wallet on the ground in the parking lot. It had $20 in it, and a card for the Canadian Children's Opera Company. He asked me what he should do with it, and I told him we should return it. Since there wasn't any I.D. (it obviously belonged to a child), I said that I would drop it off at the theatres another day in case someone came to look for it.

I have to admit, part of unemployed me wanted to just keep it. :P When I looked at the wallet again, I examined it more thoroughly and when I flipped the card over, there WAS a name, address and phone number. I called the number, and it turns out the wallet belongs to a 12-year-old girl named Sarah. I asked her to describe the wallet and the contents of what was in the wallet for me (have to make sure it's the right owner after all), and she described it quite thoroughly!

I just got back from meeting her and her mom at McDonald's in the Walmart across the street. She was very happy to get her wallet back, so it was definitely worth it. I guess doing the right thing has its advantages.

Winter Tires for SALE!

Hi all! Thought I'd spread the word, as I completely forgot that I still had these winter tires lying around. They were from my Honda Civic, which I no longer need. They're fairly new, as I had bought them a year prior to my car accident, so only used in one winter! Specs are below, if you know of anyone looking for them! Looking for best offer.... thanks!

Pirelli Winter Carving with Steelies
Mounted and Balanced
185/65/14
4x100 Bolt Pattern
Thread Life: 90%+ remaining

Oh, to be young again...

My younger cousin Lorna called me today for a favour. It seems that for her 21st birthday, she bought herself a nice present: a 2004 Acura RSX! The favour she needed was for me to drive her to go and pick up her new ride.

I remembered what it was like to go and pick up your very first car.... ah, the memories of my little Honda Civic. It was a momentous occasion, and I wasn't going to let her down. I picked her up from work at 1pm, and then she took me out for lunch (which was a nice surprise). We actually had a nice chat during lunch and were able to catch up on each others lives. It made me realize when she grabbed the bill and paid for ME that my little Lorna was all grown up. And I must say that I'm proud of the way she's turned out - she's got a good head on her shoulders! (look at me sounding OLD by saying that!!! geez!)

After all the paperwork was taken care of, we both headed out on the road! How exciting! I'm sure she's got a lot of plans for her new ride - I remember I did! I got her to the 401 and then she was off on her own. I quickly made my way to Tanaz's house for dinner after as I was running a bit late.

Zarius was waiting for me as I arrived - he's so cute! He had new songs, phrases, and a new dance to show me. He also gave me a gift - an engagement gift as a matter of fact. It was a very nice picture frame with our names engraved on it - for our future wedding photo! Thanks Tanaz, Mo and Zarius! :)

Dim Sum... Gimme Some!

My family and I meet every now and then for dim sum, just to catch up as a family. Today, however, was my dad's treat (which never happens)! Usually, the kids all pitch in to pay for the bill. He wanted to thank us all for throwing his surprise birthday party, which I thought was really nice of my dad! If you knew my dad, you would know that this was a big thing for him to do and organize himself. And it was even nicer, that he asked me to call Ron to invite him. Once my dad personally invites you..... you're IN Ron! :)

Thanks for the good eats daddy!

HSM3

After going to 2 theatres, the kids and I finally ended up at Yonge/Hwy 7 to watch Highschool Musical 3 (HSM3 is what the kids call it). The other 2 theatres we went to were sold out for the day, can you believe it?? Geez! But it being a PA Day and HSM3 coming out in theatres today, I should have known better when I volunteered to take them.

But I secretly enjoyed watching HSM1 and 2 actually (I love teeny bopper movies), so I didn’t mind volunteering to take them to the 3rd one (I have to see what happens to Troy & Gabriella afterall – who are dating in real life you know).

I have to admit - I liked it! It was so cheesy, but cute... just the right amount of teeny bopper level that I enjoy. All the kids in the theatre started clapping as soon as it came on, and then they all cheered and clapped at the end of the movie as well. Who wouldn't enjoy that?!?

He's IN!

When my niece draws a picture like this, I think it means Ron's IN! She wrote: I love tita sally and uncle ron. You're finally accepted as being part of the family Ron! (at least by Aleenah). hehe.

Marathon photos...

Just thought I'd share some of the photos taken of all of us on Sunday, which were just posted. We all received medals at the end of the race!

Eating out...

Ron has his last 2 Jewish holidays this week, so we decided to check out some wedding reception venues today. No, nothing decided yet. I just felt like we should check some out to feel like we're actually progressing with the wedding plans. hehe.

I took Ron to Casa Manila for lunch (yes, the FOB in me was craving it). I ordered the Kare-Kare, and the Kaldereta with rice... while Ron (who needed help figuring out what each dish was) finally decided to get the Adobo, and BBQ with rice. It was good... hit the spot since I haven't had Filipino food in a while. It's located on Don Mills and York Mills in case anyone wants to check it out!

For dinner, Ron and I decided to check out Chipotle at Yonge and Dundas. Eveyone was raving about how good it was, so I wanted to try it out for myself! We shared the Barbacoa Fajita Burrito - Shredded beef, braised with their own chipotle adobo, cumin, cloves, garlic and oregano - and the chips with salsa and guacamole. I have to say, I didn't enjoy it that much (with the exception of the Fresca soda!). The burrito was a bit too spicy for me, and am I just getting older, or was everything TOO salty??? The chips and the salsa were way too salty even for a girl like me that loves salty items more than sugar items! And there was way too much cilantro/coriander in everything- which I hate!

Not all heroes wear capes

Dwayne. That's my hero's name. I had to bring in my Macbook to an Apple store, because I couldn't access my files and you all KNOW how much I rely and looove my Macbook. I hadn't backed up my files in a while, so I couldn't afford to lose anything (lesson learned: backup your files!!!).

I took it into the store, and Dwayne did some tests. It seems my hard drive was failing, but because it was still under warranty, they just had to replace it. Luckily, I had brought my external hard drive with me, so he was able to get into all the files on my computer and back it up!! Whew! I had to leave my baby with them for a few days... Where will you put it? Is there security? Will it be ok? These were all the questions I had as I hesitated parting with my Macbook.

So now I'm having a bit of separation anxiety as I patiently wait for them to call me to pick it up... what does one do without a Macbook?!!?

Toronto Marathon!

Ron and I woke up bright and early this morning (at 5am to be exact) to head out to do the 5km Toronto Marathon with all his cousins. We had received these micro chips which we could attach to our shoelaces so that we would know EXACTLY how long it would take to finish the race. And the results are in:

Dex - 25:03.3
Rose - 31:04.8

Sally - 37:32.4

Ron - 39:17.6

Jen - 40:19.4

Wald - 41:34.3

Christine - 52:00.2

James - 52:00.6

After the race, we all headed out to Muddy Duck Restaurant out in Mississauga for a brunch buffet! It was fun, and there's now talks of doing another race on December 31st! I think Ron and I are gonna pass on that one though...

Happy Birthday Menalle!

Once we were back in the T dot and my sister dropped me off, I quickly got into my car and headed down to celebrate Menalle's 'faves' birthday celebration. She served Lin Garden, one of her faves, but was unfortunately a bit too too spicy for me to go for thirds (only got to a second helping). hehe. Happy Birthday Menalle!

Family in the Falls...

With love,
from Niagara Falls

Since my cousin's family is here visiting this week from L.A., we decided to take them to see Niagara Falls. I'm exhausted! We walked around the entire strip, and just got back from a very filling dinner at Ruby Tuesday. My sister and I split the mini burgers with fries, and the spinach and artichoke dip. We then followed that with a trip to the fudge factory, where we got a chocolate swirl cheesecake on a stick, dipped in chocolate, then rolled in Skor bits. mmmmm.

We decided to spend the night here, and I'm currently babysitting the kids while their parents are off to the casino. That's what I get for not being a gambler. :S

Di's WND!

Our first WND on an actual Wednesday was tonight, with Di cookin' up a delicious dinner. I would also like to mention that I actually was her 'sous-chef' for this one. Since Di was working and wouldn't be back in time to cook it all... I came by early so that I could follow her specific instructions that she left me.

Di's menu:

main course:
Roasted chicken
Crab and mushroom stuffing
Green Beans with dill
Mashed parsnips and carrots
Cornbread

dessert:
Crème Brulee with fruit for dessert

Saads also made an appearance at dinner tonight, with her nice tan from her 2-week vacation. She and Raju just got back from Hawaii and she was telling us all about it! Aloha and Mahalo for the wonderful dinner Di! :)

Freaky déjà vu!

As some of you may remember, a year ago this Thanksgiving weekend was the car accident to which I lost my first vehicle - the Honda Civic Coupe Si.

This year, it was my cousin Leonard's Civic that he lost. I just got off the phone with him, and he was in a car accident last night on his way downtown on the DVP southbound. The woman behind him didn't stop in time, and he was sandwiched in between two cars once he was hit by her.

Thank goodness he's ok! Another thing to be thankful for this Thanksgiving holiday. This was also his first car, and if you knew my cousin you would know that he absolutely loved his car (it could have been in The Fast and the Furious movie!).

Please be careful out there drivers! We can be as great a driver as we can be... but there's always someone else out there that shouldn't be behind the wheel.

Happy Thanksgiving!

My Ate Nini, her hubby and baby Riley all flew in from L.A. to spend a week here in Toronto this Thanksgiving. Their first stop was at my sister's place in Ajax on Saturday night. Today, we had the whole family over at my aunt's house. After that, Ron and I had to head over to Mississauga to his parents place for Thanksgiving dinner. It's been a weekend of eating, and we have leftovers in the fridge to keep us fed for the next few days!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Sibling Rivalry!

Word got around that Ron asked my parents for their blessing before proposing to me. Both of my brothers-in-laws were mad at Ron for doing that because it made THEM look bad (since they didn't do that). And, to add fuel to the fire they said that the diamond ring that Ron got me was 3x bigger than the ones THEY got my sisters.

So what do my siblings do at the next family party? They EACH bought a fake diamond ring to wear so that funny enough, MY ring was the smallest in comparison (even my brother had one). "Who's got the bling now?" was what they said. These are my siblings for ya'! haha

Stu's WND!

Di and I just got back from Stu's first attempt at WND (yes, on a Friday). It was deeelicious, and everyone was very impressed!

Stu's menu:

appetizer: carrots and pita chips with baba ghanoush dip
main course: chicken with pancetta, leeks, and roasted potatoes
dessert: Cadbury caramel cake

Unfortunately, I forgot to take photos of his delicious dinner, as we were all drinking wine and some of us enjoyed another treat that Di had brought with her. ;)

It was a fun night, full of laughs and interesting conversation about passing gas. Who knew you could have an entire conversation about THAT?!!!

After dinner, I came back to Di's place as she just bought her very own Nintendo DS! whoohooo! We played her new game 'Arkanoid', as well as 'Brain Academy' which I kicked a@ss in! Keep practicing Di... maybe we can play again after you've had some of THAT! heehe :P CHALLENGE!!

Dolce & Duff's

I met up with the Montreal crew tonight: Karen and Shaun! We haven't talked or seen each other for almost a whole year, so we were due for a get-together. It always amazes me when friends meet up after not having spoken that long, and can carry a conversation like no time has passed. This was one of those nights. We headed to Duff's first, for some wings and beer. We joked around and talked exactly like the way we used to back in Montreal - except this time, we were all sober! :)

Everyone caught up on each of our lives: Karen's moving to NYC by the end of the month to be closer to her Korean man who lives in Philadelphia, Shaun just got back from an internship in Singapore & Hong Kong, and has a new Korean girlfriend (whattup with dating Koreans!?!? hehe)... and then of course, there was my engagement (to a FILIPINO)! I had such a great time! I really missed these guys. They're the only ones that make my memories of Montreal REAL!

We then headed to Dolce for some gelato, and more catching up. Karen taught Shaun and I some Korean words to use on our girlfriends. This is for you Di: Sal dang heyo, and Mo see saw. ;)

Karen actually asked me to help her with the big move to Manhattan. She's renting a U-Haul and driving all the way to her new home, so she wanted to know if I wanted to come for the ride to keep her company and help her settle in. I of course, said YES (having the time during unemployment has some advantages. hehe). Di, it may be when you're there so maybe we can head back together??

The game of perfection...

As a child, my siblings and I had the game of Perfection. Do you all remember this game? And as a child, I remember NOT being able to put all those damn pieces in before the clock stopped ticking, and the whole level of pieces pops up to remind you that your game is OVER!

The kids brought this game over, so I decided to try it out. After all, I'm an adult now, my hand-eye coordination should be better than when I was a child right? WRONG!

I wound the clock up and started putting all the pieces in. Just when I was going to put in the last piece, the stupid thing popped up!! Ok, so there were about 5 missing pieces as well... but I think THAT'S what threw me off! :P

Back to squash...

Since the Scarborough YMCA closed down its squash courts last summer, I haven't been able to play squash. Mylene (my dental hygienist), who I used to play against has been inviting me to come and play at the Bayview YMCA for over a month now... but each time she's called, I had other plans and couldn't make it.

Quel made the trip down to the Bayview YMCA tonight, and we both met up with Mylene to play some squash. Oh, it's been a while! I was missing hits, and couldn't do my backhands the way I used to... geez! But it was fun nonetheless, and was a great workout.

After our game, Mylene presented me with a gift. I thought it would be dental-related... a toothbrush, some floss, maybe some toothpaste... but it was an engagement gift to Ron and I! She's never even met Ron, so I was quite shocked! Thanks Mylene! And a thank you as well to Saadia & Raju, and to Ev & Stu, who also sent us engagement cards in the mail. It was such a nice surprise to find in the mailbox! It will go into my future wedding scrapbook ladies! :)

mapmyrun.com

For runners out there that are training for a marathon, or just want to know how far they run when they go for a jog around the neighbourhood, this is a great website I just discovered (thanks to Ron's cousin, Dex).

www.mapmyrun.com

It's free to register, and you basically provide points on a map on what your route is and it tells you the distance, as well as the consistency of the elevation of that route (ie. uphill or downhill)! It's a pretty cool site that I thought I would share with y'all. Happy running!

Running for a cure...

After I got engaged, I have to admit.... my mind went all over the place with the excitement of it all that I kinda forgot about training for my 5km run. I figured, I'd try and run to see how far I could go. So early this morning, Di and I headed to Nathan Phillips Square for the CIBC Run for the Cure.

We started off well. I felt good, and it wasn't as cold as I thought it would be. I had to stop a few times to burp (no, I can't burp and run at the same time), but then I caught up to Di each time I stopped. We finished the race in 34 minutes, but it's actually probably less than that since we didn't actually start as soon as the gun went off. I'd shave off 4 minutes... oh, and Quel said she saw me on TV!! I didn't see it myself, but I trust that she recognized me on there! ;)

After the race, Di and I waited for Tanaz, Farah and Mo to finish walking, stopped off at the mall, and then went back to Di's place. We then decided to treat ourselves to a nice well-deserved lunch: wings and beer baby!! haha.

After lunch, I headed to Thornhill since Ron and I had to head out to Milton to have dinner with his cousin and his family. They congratulated us on our engagement and then gave us their thoughts on all the wedding planning during dinner. I think we're more confused than ever after THAT!! :S

Happy Birthday to my DAD!!

My dad had his 60th birthday on September 30th, but it was today that we held his surprise birthday party! After weeks of planning with my siblings (which became stressful at times), we finally pulled it off.

The evening consisted of eating, and more eating, a slideshow presentation in which my engagement was announced, a bellydancing performance by the lovely Falesha, line dancing (of course), and a special song by my nieces. See below:

Happy 60th Birthday!!

Here are the words in case you wanna sing along (or if you can't understand what they're saying - they were quite nervous, apparently):

Take a Bow
by Jaylene, Aleenah & Melia

Oooh. How about a round of applause. Yeah.
A standing ovation.
Ooh oooh.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
You look so shocked right now.
Standing there on the ground.
Trying to figure out, how we did this without you.
Please, just cut it out.
Don’t you know we love you oh so much.
Hope you have a very happy birthday from us all.
‘Cause we put on quite a show.
We really had you going.
Happy, birthday Lolo.
Happy, happy, Birthday.
This was quite a show.
Very entertaining.
It’s not over now,
Come on and take a bow.

The official return of WND!

Wednesday Night Dinners are back baby! In case you've all forgotten, the WND crew (not me... I'm the wine girl and an honorary member) all take turns making dinner each Wednesday at someone's house. It was our first WND with Ev & Stu as hubby and wife!

Mel made dinner and on her menu:

appetizer: tortilla chips and dip
main course: Chicken Pot Pie
(instead of pie, she gave it a mashed potato twist on top)
Scones
dessert: apple pie a la mode
(made from scratch and one of THE best I've had in a long time!)

It was delicious Menalle! I haven't been that stuffed in a long time, and I was actually happy to go for a walk after dinner in the cold, wet weather (now THAT'S full!).