Lucky Me

Jeans is one of my favourite items to buy but it's also the hardest. I went into Gap and checked out all the different styles. I thought, for sure I'll find one here. I started off the the long and lean (although I'm neither) and they didn't have my size. I then moved on to the curvy (I'm kinda curvy) and can only find a size 2. So by now I'm just looking for anything in my size but everytime I found size 1 I couldn't find it in ankle (a nice way of saying short). After at least 20 minutes they told me ankle only starts at size 4. That was news to me. So off I went to other stores in search for jeans. We ran into a new store called Lucky that just opened up in Canada. I walked in and picked up the first pair of jeans that I saw. Thirty seconds later a fella comes up to me and asked if I wanted to see jeans that would actually fit me...length wise. Oh my gosh, he's a mind reader. Off we went to the back of the store where he showed me two pairs. One is the popular skinny jean and the other a sexy weekend jean. It was like he made the jeans himself...so full of information. So I try them on and they fit like a glove. I didn't know which one to buy but Norm was quick to point out which one my butt looked good in. Pig. I think I've found my new favourite store to buy jeans. So I'm spreading the word...check out this store. You may get lucky!

What's with our weather?

It's been stressful for the last few weeks planning the big Sunnybrook BBQ. Imagine, planning a BBQ for over 8000 staff and not knowing who will come. Do we have enough food? Enough tables and chairs? Food? So this morning I anxiously turn on the TV to check the weather and there it was....forecast for rain in the afternoon. Is it possible? We always have it during this time of the year and we've always had wonderful Indian summer weather. What's with our weather these days? I feel like I'm in Vancouver all over again.

Happy Birthday Paul

Charissa invited the whole family to Congee Queen for a surprise birthday dinner for Paul. Paul has been busy with MCATs, school and work so he misses out a lot on our family get togethers which is why Charissa got us all together for his birthday. Afterward we went to Richtree (formally known as Marche) for dessert. Crepes all around! We actually ran into a couple of people there - Vic being one of them. It was so weird because we were just talking about him earlier that day with Ger and Di. Oh yes, I forgot to mention our brunch date with the lovey dovey couple. We went to eggspectation and then went shopping at the Eaton Centre. Di was trying to find that pregnant belly thing you can try on at Maternity/Baby Gap. I guess she wanted to scare Gerwyn away.
Sunday was our day to clean and get my fall/winter clothes out of storage. Wishful thinking. I woke up at noon, watched Jerry Maguire, and then we decided we were hungry so we went to Wah Sing. That's right...Wah Sing. It was as good as I remembered it plus we had left overs to bring home and eat for the next day. Cindy (our waitress) also packed us 2 huge containers of Taho. I was wondering why the take out bag was heavy. I don't really eat Taho but Norm sure enjoyed it. And as usual, she packed me extra fortune cookies. Isn't that nice?

David Usher

Norm's favourite day of the week is Friday so usually we go out for dinner, go for a walk around the city (or the mall =) and chill in front of the tube for the rest of the evening. Well this Friday was extra special since David Usher was throwing a free concert at Nathan Phillips Square. We got there early enough to listen to the other performers which included a steel drum band as well as another alternative artist. Then came David Usher. We stood away from the crowd, singing along, kinda dancing, hands up in the air. Norm was truly in his own little world. Too bad there was no BC bud to accompany his happy mood. I guess you can't have everything.

Passing the Torch

Sunday afternoon was spent at Grandma and Grandpa's house learning how to make Grandpa's famous empanadas. I had made the filling earlier that morning so the only thing we needed to learn was the dough. Grandpa put in 4 cups of flour and then the rest was all blurry. Grandma kept talking to me so I couldn't pay attention to what those two were putting into the bowl. Anyway, after waiting almost 2 hours we had our first taste of Mel & Norm's empanadas. It was delicious, especially right out of the oven. To top it off, Grandpa gave us his Kitchen Aid mixer, rolling pin, and apron. The passing of the torch...make him proud Norm!

Gerwyn's First Crack at Wednesday Night Dinner

So we had someone new join our Wednesday Night Dinner Club. Welcome Gerwyn! He had no idea how serious we were about these dinners: searching for recipes days in advance, preparing parts of the meal the day before, maybe even trying out the recipe before the big day. Well, this was Gerwyn's turn to shine and oh boy did he ever! His appetizer was cho-mai with fancy, schmancy dipping sauce. Then for his main meal we had steaks, spicy shrimp that Ev devoured, and humongous scallops in yet another "Begonia secret sauce". He paired those off with a wonderful, tasty Begonia grilled pepper salad. We were all impressed! To top that off, he spoiled us with a chocolate mouse brownie white chocolate chocolate supreme cake that he had custom made just for us! It was heavenly. Okay Gerwyn, you've proved to be Wednesday worthy.

Oh Mom

So Mom calls me last night because it finally hit her...Hannah's getting married in 2 months! Eeeek! She started to worry about what dress she's going to buy, what shoes she's going to wear, how she's going to do her hair...Everything was about her! She's hillarious! She tried on a few dresses at Yorkdale mall but luckily she didn't purchase any as of yet. She saw two dresses that she really loved. The first one was a chocolate brown strapless gown and the second one was chocolate brown as well but with a criss crossed back. With that she said she would wear blue drop earrings. I started laughing. I told her moms should not really match the bridesmaids and she should instead wear something gold or off white. She said she really looks good in brown, and the lady at the store said she really looked good in the dresses. Of course she did, that's her job! Mom had a good laugh. She said she'll keep looking and that she wouldn't buy anything unless I've approved. Normally, I wouldn't care what mom wears. I have accepted that she is a YummyMummy but for this occasion, I would prefer that she be a bit more conservative. Oh Mom...

Weekend Summary

On Friday, Norm and I walked around Queen W to check out Caban since they were having a huge sale. I guess we got there too late because everything was pretty much gone. Norm managed to get a trunk that was originally $250 for $40. What a steal. Afterwards we ate at Sushi time and as usual, ordered way too much. On our way home we tried to see over the rows and rows of people standing around Much Music waiting for the Stars but we didn't see anyone. We also passed Roy Thompson Hall and it was full of star gazers.

Saturday morning we had to go pick up the trunk Norm bought at Caban. Since we were out we went to Kensington to try Jumbo Empanadas. Gerwyn raves about these all the time so we were dying to try them. They were pretty good and very mexican tasting. It reminded me of when we went to Mexico and how everything...even simple eggs and bacon tasted like salsa. Norm's Grandpa still makes the best empanadas in my opinion. I think Norm is going to learn how to make them in time for his Wednesday night dinner. Watch out guys! For lunch I headed into Pickering to meet up with Jo, Jenn, Chris and Mich. As always, it was nice to catch up. At around 6 we picked up Grandma and headed into Brampton for a family party. It's always nice to get Grandma out of the apartment and she really enjoys hanging out with the Grandkids.

Sunday I tried to sleep in because I was exhausted from the day before. We met Mom, Dad and Father Max at Congee Queen for lunch. Went back to mom's house for mass. Then met up with everyone again at Magic Wok for dinner. Fran, Uncle Vic, John and Tim had a basketball bet going and the winner gets to go to Magic Wok and order anything they want. Not only did Tim order everything, he also invited everyone so in total there were 16 of us. What a sweet deal.

This morning I feel exhausted. I can't wait until Friday...

My Wednesday Night Dinner

So last night we resumed our Wednesday night dinners and I volunteered to be first. The menu was Tapas: Hoisin pork ribs, Bbq chicken wings with a Korean sauce, asparagus, corn on the cob, broccoli and sweet potato wedges. The food was placed in the middle of the table and everyone pigged out. The dessert was simple because the main course was heavy. It was baked peaches with brown sugar paired with vanilla bean ice cream. The eating didn't stop there. The chocolates came out and everyone just kept on eating. Finally, as we were all relaxing on the couch watching TV, Di decides to cut open the watermellon. She's a monster I tell you. She can out eat any of us. The funny thing is she made this rule that she would only eat until she was 80% full. I guess that didn't work out too well. I must say, it was nice having Gerwyn join our Wednesday night dinners. It looked like he was having fun but every now and then his face changed from a smile to a worried look. It's because he's next on the roster to be the Chef and he was a little intimidated by my spread. I guess he had no idea what he was getting himself into. Wait until he sees Di's and Ev's and even Norm's. Everyone puts 110% into their dinners. As Di says, we plan the dinner way in advance and even prepare the night before. It's stressful for all of us to put on this huge dinner and hope it doesn't bomb but in the end it's worth it and it sure is satisfying to see everyone enjoying the meal you made. Gerwyn's theme next week is aphrodisiacs. That will be interesting. I'll be sure to blog about it.

So long summer

Today we started the day off with a venti Caramel Macciato at Starbucks. I know, it's fattening but we only enjoy it on occasion and today just felt like one of those days. We picked up the Dynamic Duo - Di and G and we headed out to the burbs to have dim sum with Sal, Mae and Glenn. Sal was there first (wow!? she must have been hungry because she's usually late as per Diana) and she got us a number. We got there shortly after and after a few minutes I start noticing people being seated before us. We were trying to listen to the numbers but it was all in Chinese. We checked with the hostess and said she had called our number but we missed it. Of course we did, I don't know what 36 is in Chinese! This was truly a Seinfeld moment. Then came the food. The food was good but they came around speaking Chinese. Even when we talked back in English, they would still talk to us in Chinese. Forget it, just show us the food and we'll nod if we want some. My fav was the deep fried shrimp ball as well as Norm's "bocci bocci". No one knew what he was talking about so we figured it was a term Norm's mom came up with. It's the round deep fried dessert with sweet red bean paste. After lunch we had planned to do some grocery shopping at T&T but it was closed. That was a surprise. Pacific Mall was open but we decided to head back downtown and go to the Ex. Norm would usually prefer to ride the subway but for some reason he thought he'd drive. 2 hours later we arrived home - no beavertails, no funnel cake, no 99 cent spagetti, no chocolate bars. The traffic was horrendous and all the parking lots were full. We basically spent 2 hrs in the car touring the city. Anyway, for some reason today feels extra long. We just came back from a viewing. My coworkers husband passed away from cancer so I wanted to pay her and the family a visit. Everytime I go to a viewing I think...

Life is too short. Life is precious.

I'm glad I had that Caramel Macciato.

Saturday Night with the Cousins

Last night we went to Kuya Freddie and Ate Car's place for Carlo's 15th birthday. It turned out to be a great night hanging out with all the cousins and Grandma. We basically sat around the table (or should I say, around the food) and started asking each couple questions such as: How did you meet? When you fight, who gives in first? Who handles all the expenses? It was funny how each spouse had a different version of how they met such as HE called me first...but he would say SHE made the first move. The best part was listening to Grandma's stories of how her and Grandpa met. Grandpa would always follow her when she was in Med school but she never really paid him much attention. You gotta love how girls always play hard to get. But one day Grandpa asked to take her on a horse and carriage ride so when she got up inside the buggy, Grandpa "attacked" her with kiss after kiss. This is the funny part: After making out with Grandpa, she eloped to his house because she thought she was pregnant. Back then, they used to think that you get pregnant by kissing. Boy, I'd be in trouble if that were the case. Her greatest piece of advice was: Respect each other. All of us were quietly listening to each and every word she said. Grandma and Grandpa have been married for 67 years so we have a lot to learn. So far Norm and I are doing pretty good, but they say that changes when you have kids. I think we can tackle anything together, even with 10 kids, so long as we always remember Grandma's advice. Repect. I truly agree.

This is my Godson, Benjamin Joseph.
This was taken when we had family day at Bingemins.
It was his first time in the water and like all kids, he loved it!
It's too bad he lives all the way in Markham.
I would love to see him more often but Norm and I refuse to live that far. At least not at this point in our lives.

I love chubby babies. Especially this one.

I love this picture. This is Seyla and Rayanne, our Goddaughters. Rayanne is 4 and Seyla is 3 - although when you see them together Seyla is actually taller and has bigger feet! In this picture Seyla is sad because Rayanne took her doll "Baby Cole" and would not share with her. After telling Seyla that Rayanne does not have any dolls of her own, Seyla waited patiently beside her...but not without the saddest face ever. Later on she went to "Uncle Nom" and asked him if he can buy Rayanne her own doll.

Kids...ya gotta love 'em!