Sunny days ahead

He's here...he's home! I'm happy to announce that Norm is now recovering at home. I was reading my last blog and realized I left out an important person. Tita Nieves works at St Mike's (25 yrs of service) and we were lucky to have found her working that night. She came to Emerg and made it known to everyone that this was her nephew. After that, we were treated like royalty. Soon after a room was made available after waiting 9 hrs. We thought the operation would not be until the next day but 2:30 am we were awaken buy a team of surgeons ready to take in Norm. The next day we were greeted by the Charge Nurse (filipino of course) whom Tita Nieves had told to take care of Norm. She not only took care of Norm, but treated him like her own child. What I remember most is pacing back and forth in the room waiting for Norm to come back from the OR. I was scared and I couldn't sleep. Tita Nieves appeared and kept me calm and reassured me that everything would be okay. Norm said it best when he said, "It was like having my own mother there". Thank you Tita Nieves. Are you our guardian angel?

A long night at St Mike's

It was Thursday night after dinner when Norm started feeling pains in his stomach. We thought it must have been something he ate. Friday morning he went to work even though the pain persisted (stubborn boy) because he is dedicated to his patients. Luckily, his second patient cancelled and he made his way to the Dr's office. By this time he had diagnosed himself with having appendicitis because of the sharp pain in his lower right abdomen. The Dr confirmed his diagnosis and ordered him to go to ER. I met him in ER at 3:30 pm where they took blood work and monitored his pain. They were not convinced that it was indeed appendicitis because he was missing symptoms such as fever and vomiting so they decided to give him a CAT scan. Poor Norm. While we were waiting for the results to come back, I was close enough to the nursing station to hear everything. I heard the phone ring and someone asked to speak to the Doctor...it was radiology on line. I knew it had to be about Norm even though Emerg was fully packed. The Dr got on the phone and after a series of "yeah, uh-huh, yeah" she got off the phone and asked the nurses to call OR for "bed 17". I looked to see what our bed number was. It was 17. My body went numb and although I didn't want to show my fear, Norm can read me like a book. We weren't prepared for an operation. We were hoping it would be just gas and they would give him drugs and send him home. Instead, we were preparing for an operation. It was almost 12 midnight and we're still in ER. There were a lot of traumas that came in that night and were seen as more urgent so Norm was pushed back a couple of times. Soon they found us a room on the 9th floor so at least we can get some piece and quiet and so Norm can rest. We get to our room, get comfy, turn off the lights and try to sleep until we were awaken by the surgeon at 2:30 am. It's showtime. They wheeled him up to OR as I paced back and forth in the room. 5 o'clock came and at that time I went to the nursing station and asked why he wasn't back yet. She said he was probably in Recovery and they would bring him back up once his vitals are okay. You probably can guess what I was thinking - his vitals? does that mean he's not okay? At 5:30 I heard the elevator doors open and saw him waving from his bed...I got teary eyed. The worse part was over. I let him get some rest but I still couldn't sleep. The nurses said he had to practice on his deep breathing and start walking otherwise his lungs may collapse. Did I really need to hear that? Anyway, I'm happy to say he's doing well and is being released today. I'm getting ready to go there but first, I have to make a quick stop. I need to go to church. I have a lot to be thankful for.

Curves

So I joined Curves 2 months ago and thought it was a great idea. You only have to work out 3 times a week, half an hour each time. Sounds easy, right? Wrong. With a schedule like ours, it's hard to fit in dinner alone. Today was my first day at the gym this week. It felt really good. I love that it's only half an hour. I love that I don't have to think about what body part I will be working on that day. I don't even have to wait for the machines or share them with sweaty men. Does it actually work? I think so. There are women at my gym that have lost 8 lbs in 2 months. That's pretty impressive but I'm not there to lose weight. I just want to stay fit and healthy. They say exercise is key to preventing diseases. If that's true, at least I'm on the right track. And forget 3 times a week...I'm aiming for 4.

A Cougar Birthday

Last night we celebrated Foxy Tan's birthday at Bar Italia...30 yet again. It was nice for us to get together since Sally lives in Montreal and Mae has gone over to motherhood in suburbia. It's weird how we're all in different stages of life. I, for one, am overdue to have kids but I hang out with Ev and Di, the singletons. Sal has had a boyfriend for over a year now and although she loved the diamond earrings he gave her last night, she would probably prefer a diamond for her finger. And as for Mae, she's got the kid and moved about 45 mins outside of Toronto so needless to say, we see her only on occasions. But here come the birthdays and hence all the get togethers. Last night was fun. We bought Sally a lululemon outfit and signs for Ron's car for when they go to the Bluffs. Next up is Ev's birthday. She was hoping to fly us to Chicago to watch Oprah. Plan B is Montreal. Let the good times roll...

Just thought I'd share with you my favourite photos. This is Seyla Ryan, my goddaughter.

Ki

Last night was Ev's turn for Wednesday night dinner but instead of cooking she took us out to Ki. Ki is a contemporary Japanese restaurant that has a cutting edge design that incorporates a high profile bar as well as a lounge area and dining rooms for parties as small as 2 but as large as 30. Norm has been dying to try out Ki so we were planning on going on his birthday - which isn't until February. Ev takes her clients out there all the time and tells us it costs approximately $160 for just two people. This is why Norm and I were saving it for a special occasion. Anyway, we started off with drinks - martinis for the ladies and Norm had beer. As an appy, we had edamame (kicked up a notch with cayenne and salt) as well as sweet potato wedges. Then came the main meal - dynamite rolls, lobster rolls (yes, lobster), butter fish rolls, spicy tuna, and korean short ribs. While I was eating I was thinking, man - i can't believe Di is missing out on this. For dessert we had the trio cheesecake - my fav was the Matcha cheesecake. Anyway, just wanted to say thanks to Ev for a wonderful dinner. It's Norm's turn next week. I think he's going to bring it down a notch...roasted chicken anyone?

Take the lead...

On Tuesdays, Norm and I take salsa lessons. We have completed level 1 and will begin level 2 starting next week. We were thinking of taking a break for the summer but realized all of our hard work may go down the drain if we break for the summer. I must admit, I love taking the lead. When Norm's grandpa gave us ballroom lessons, he taught me the moves and Norm just followed my lead. With salsa, it's a whole new ball game. It is truly a man's dance...where the man uses the pressure of their hands to spin and move us any which way they please. During the last couple of classes, Norm really impressed me. He had me spinning all across the room. As it turns out, it's kinda fun not having to be the one to lead.

Welcome Back Summer

This weekend we went up north to officially open up the cottage to prepare for those endless summers of fun and sun. I actually took the wheel in Barrie and the drive itself was beautiful. It reminds us a lot of BC but instead of huge mountains, we have tiny little hills. When we got to the cottage, the black flies were out in full force but later in the evening the wind blew them all away. Thank goodness for Off spray or they would have eaten Norm alive. Other than that, the cottage is always a nice get away from the big city. Looks like we can have both Toronto and Nanaimo living afterall.

Just Confirmed

I, along with John, had the honour of being godparents for Mikey's confirmation last night. It's amazing how fast these kids grow up. It was only a day ago when he was baptized. I have no doubt in my mind that Mikey is going to grow up to be successful in everything that he does but what is our role as godparents? I really don't know but I will try to guide his spiritual path in the right direction. Being a role model for these kids is a hard job but someone has to do it. But even as adults, we need role models. My role models are my aunts and without them, I don't know where I'd be.

Wednesday Night Dinners

Every Wednesday my friends and I take turns cooking dinner. This week was my turn so I decided to go French. First I started off with Camenbert cheese on little Paris toasts. The cheese smelled like fart but it tasted really good. I take advantage of living so close to the St. Lawrence Market so I try as many unique cheeses as possible. Next I served a simple green salad with vinagarette dressing along with a slice of the same smelly cheese. The main course was beef bourgignon - had I more time, I would have wanted to cook it longer so the beef falls off your fork and melts in your mouth. But due to time constraints, I had to serve is as is. The grand finale was a blueberry cheesecake. I love cheesecake. All in all, our dinners are fantastic. It gets our creative juices going and brings us together weekly despite our busy work weeks. There are many people who live so close to their friends and never get the chance to see them. Maybe it's because everyone is "busy". I don't buy that. We should always make time for good friends...and good food.

Having Kids...

We get a lot of pressure about having kids but the way I see it, we have many. These three kids shown with us are Jonathan, Hazel and Hayden - my brothers' spawn. This day we had lunch at Licks, played glow in the dark putt-putt, and Chuck E Cheese for the lil' one. Like that wasn't enough...they didn't want the day to end so we went to the park where I got my new $110 shoes dirty running after the lil' monster Hayden. After that, guess what? They were hungry again...so we bought chicken and had it filipino style...brought it home and ate it with rice and ketchup. This was a Sunday and we didn't get home until 10pm. We love kids, especially these ones, but maybe we can wait a little longer for our own.

I'm officially a Blogger

I'm usually a really private person but my sister has asked that I start blogging so she can see what I'm up to without having to call me long distance. I'm still not sure about this but I will give it a try. I will make this one short because I don't know what to say. I'm still trying to figure out how to make my page look as pretty as hers. Help...