New Years Eve

We will be having Norm's cousins over for New Years Eve - 10 adults and 3 kids. Last night we were rearranging our condo so we can all fit comfortably. We moved the dining room table to the den so that our living room will be more spacious. We won't need the table since we'll be going out for dinner (whew!). I think the plan is to go to the Keg for 5pm. I know it's early but the Keg does not take reservations and we don't want to wait 2 hours for dinner - especially with 3 kids. After dinner we plan on heading back to our place to hang out and play some games. If it's not too cold we will head over to Nathan Phillips for the free concert and the countdown - since I'm a bit sick, I'll stay home with the kids and watch it on TV.

For 2007 I plan on learning how to swim; doing more scrapbooking; filling my walls with art/pictures; losing the 5 lbs I gained over the holidays; or maybe getting pregnant and gaining 30 lbs.

I look forward to what 2007 brings.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Christmas 2006

Norm's family spent Christmas at his cousin's place in Brampton. It's probably the biggest house in the family that can accomodate the 43 members of the Barrientos clan. It was also nice because it forced everyone to sleep over or at least stay for the whole party. We didn't go to bed until 3:30 AM that morning. The party started with Grandma and Grandpa giving out the insane amount of gifts under (and over) the tree. At around the same time Mr. Carlos Primeros made an appearance which made the party much louder than ever. (I didn't think it could get any louder). Down in the basement they had dancing and later karaoke. Upstairs we sat around Grandma listening to her stories. The next morning we (Norm, Fran, Trae and myself) were in charge of breakfast so we whipped out the tocino, longanisa, garlic fried rice, ham, cheese, pandesal and 3 dozen eggs. I love breakfast so this was a nice treat. Shortly after we had to speed home in time for the Marquez family Christmas at our place. Mom and Has & family came over for lunch and some stayed for dinner, too! The next day was Boxing Day and even though I was exhausted I managed to get to the mall for 7:30AM and found some decent sales. That night we went to the Cruzada's to visit our Godchildren and to spoil them with hugs, kisses and oh yeah, the gifts. The day after Ev treated us to a Raptors game. Can't beat the service and the 3rd row seats! Thanks Ev! What a nice Christmas treat.

Right now I'm fighting a cold that I managed to get from one of the kids. I am hoping to feel better soon because I am hosting New Years Eve at my place.

Happy New Year everyone!

Ahhhhhh.....

What a wonderful feeling to be off at last. Yesterday was my last day of work and although I had to stay until 8pm to finish my work, I am happy that I don't have to go back until January 2nd. Yahoo! So what do I do now? I think I'm going to hit the malls to see what deals I can score. I guess I should also prepare my dishes for Christmas. This year it's going to be at our place and I will be serving roast beef as requested by Flo. Usually I make Mom's roast beef but this time I'm going to make my mother in law's roast beef recipe for a change. I will pair it up with roasted potatoes, green beens, carrots and rice pilaf. Mom is taking care of the appetizers and Flo will bring dessert. The only thing we're missing is... Han & Al! C'mon guys...join us!

Weekend Review

On Friday we took Seyla to see Santa. She's terrified of the big guy but I managed to talk her into taking a picture with him. It's way too late to send her letter so she had to hand deliver it. At first she handed him the letter and ran away but somehow this Santa managed to get her back and put her on his lap quickly enough to take a picture. Yay! Mission accomplished

The next day was a BIG day for us. We've been planning Mom's 65th birthday for the last couple of weeks. In the end, it turned out to be the most perfect day. For lunch we went to Star Walk buffet. She thought it would be just the 6 of us but when she came into the room there were 42 family members waiting for her. Surflies! And out came the happy tears! After lunch we went to the Barrientos household and had yet another surprise waiting. Norm had worked so hard to make a cake for mom but not just any cake...mom's coffee cake! Mom was so touched by this. More happy tears. She has always made cakes for everyone but no one has ever made her a cake, let alone her coffee cake! After coffee, cake and presents she headed home just in time to get ready for church but no time to rest just yet. The last surprise was 2 tickets to see the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular at the Hummingbird. She loved it and Dad had a comment or two about the beautiful kicking legs. We ended the night off at Congee Queen where we had a late dinner with just the 4 of us. How perfect was that?!

Yesterday we went to Sherway with our Wednesday crew - Ev and Di. We went shopping and Norm went to the bar to watch the football game and had a few drinks. Later we headed out to the burbs where Bruce and Harita were hosting a Christmas/Housewarming party. It was nice to end the weekend off with good food and great friends. Cheers everyone!

Scary Santa?

It took a lot of convincing for Seyla to visit Santa. She simply said, "I'm scared" and I don't blame her? You've got this man in a red suit and a red hat to match and most Santas have funny looking fake beards. I told Seyla that she has to tell Santa what she wants for Christmas and this was her response: "I don't want presents. I will buy Santa a present". Isn't that the sweetest thing? Anyway, a couple weeks passed by and I kept working on her. She finally agreed to see Santa if I promise to stand near her. We took her to the Santa located at the Bay. Its a little hidden secret up on the 6th floor next to Christmas Street. It was great...no line ups! And even better, Santa had a real beard and he didn't look as scary. At first Seyla quickly gave him her letter and started to run away but he asked her a couple of questions and she eventually made it on his lap.

Santa is coming to town

So Christmas is almost here and that means good ol' Saint Nick will be making his rounds. Have you finished your shopping yet? I went to the mall early Saturday morning when it was quiet and the stores were still neat and tidy. It made such a huge difference. Anyway, like Floree, I got sidetracked and found myself going into stores and trying things on. I should have really stuck to the plan and finished my shopping but how can you just bypass the SALE signs at Banana Republic? Floree just bought yet another jacket at Old Navy for 50% off. What a steal! Diana emailed me tonight to see if I wanted to go shopping with her. I would have loved to but going shopping with a friend is even worse. Imagine trying on that beautiful jacket at French Connection and having Diana convince me that I have to buy it. I'll just wait to see what Santa has for me. I hope I'm not on his naughty list.

Day 11

So what do we want to do on our last day in Vancouver? With no hesitation we went to Shabusen for a late lunch. Allan has been craving sushi and it was only fitting that he share this craving with Norm. This was our favourite hang out during the summer months when we lived in Nanaimo. Sometimes we'd ride the ferry over, eat at Shabusen and head back to Nanaimo. Crazy, I know, but we will travel far for good food. I guess it's because our mother's are such great cooks so we're big food critics. We're still trying to find a good cantonese chow mein in Vancouver. You would think that in an asian dominant city there would be some good noodles. Toronto still has the best chinese food but Vancouver has the best Japanese without a doubt. After dinner we walked along Robson and it started to snow. Heather got a little frightened by the snow so she went to Roots and bought a scarf and a hat. In hindsight, that was a good call. Before heading back to the house, we stopped by at Goldilocks. By the time we got out the snow had gotten worse. No worries, we've got a Toronto driver behind the wheel. Allan was certain the snow would stop and everything would melt. "It never snows in Vancouver and when it does it doesn't stick". Well, we were lucky our plane left that night. It was difficult driving to the airport because our van was not equipped with winters and all the signs pointing us to Richmond/Airport were covered in snow. The next morning we arrived in T.O and as we walked outside the sun was shining and the weather was mild. In Vancouver, Han tells me it's now 30 cm of snow. Poor Rihini.

Well, that's our trip out west. As usual it was fun filled and way too short. We would like to revisit soon but first we have to save up for yet another wedding. Houston, here we come!

Happy Birthday Hazel

Just wanted to say Happy Birthday to my beautiful niece Hazel Marie. I love the way you have grown up to be such a lovely little lady. Just like your Aunts!

Day 10

We came home at 6AM after a whirlwind shopping experience in Seattle. As we all were getting ready for bed, Norm was getting ready to go to his Pharmacy conference. Allan drove him to the sky train but Norm had no idea it would take 25 mins just to get to the sky train so Norm was late getting there and he also went to the wrong hotel by the time he was downtown. In the end, the conference was "boring" (I think he was just tired) so he made his way back home via skytrain and went to sleep. Later that evening Norm, Rohani and I made our way back to the States to Bellisfair mall which was only half an hour away. The malls were still crazy but it got us into that holiday spirit. After a little more shopping, we were finally satisfied so we went home and packed. Only one more day to go. (sigh)

Day 9

On this day we had dinner with Allan's family - The Umlas. Prior to dinner Auntie Yolly was so adamant about taking us out to eat so we had appys at White Spot. By the time we got to the Chinese restaurant, I was ready for round two. I don't normally eat like this but hey, I'm on vacation! Uncle Rey ordered the whole menu it seemed - rice, noodles, hot & spicy wontons, crabs two ways - creamy or with ginger and onion, sweet pork, seafood birds nest, soup, squid. It was so nice of them to take all of us out. We really enjoyed the food and the company. After dinner the Umlas came over for some majong. The "kids" went to bed to prepare for midnight madness shopping in Seattle. We thought we were ahead of the game by going this early but by the time we reached the outlets, there were barely any more parking spaces left! Line ups were everywhere - especially for Coach and Puma. The deals were great but we couldn't stay long because Norm had to be back for a conference in Vancouver the next morning. Let the Christmas madness begin! Happy Thanksgiving to our neighbours down south!

Day 8

Today we leave the island and head back to the mainland. In the morning we had breakfast with Norm's old boss. I can tell he wants Norm to come back but yet he was the same guy who scheduled Norm to work nights and weekends while I was home alone. I think that was the hardest part of our venture out west. After breakfast we had an appointment with our Accountant. That's right, we still use the same accountant. Had we more time maybe we could have seen our dentist as well! The weather was truly that of an island. It was so sunny one minute and the next minute it pouring pigs and cows! So with that, we grabbed the 3PM ferry which got us into Vancity right during rush hour. No problem, we'll just hang around downtown until the traffic dies down. Heck, let's eat at Shabusen again! And so we did.

Day 7

This morning we decided to surprise our former coworkers so off we went to the Vancouver Island Health Authority and next door Norm went to the Superstore. My coworkers were surprised to see me and asked if I was coming back. It didn't take me long to answer that one. But retiring on the island is an option! For breakfast Norm and I went to our favourite restaurant, Ricky's. It was nice to be able to take our time especially knowing everyone else was working. This is what I call vacation baby! After breakfast we went to Nanaimo's only good mall - Woodgrove Centre. Norm always found great deals at Winners and this time was exception. He bought 3 pairs of shoes, one for his brother of course, a pair of jeans and some boxers. I could have easily bought a few items but I decided to save my money for shopping in Seattle. We made our way back to the resort to sit in on a 1.5 hr schpeel on timeshares. Yadda yadda yadda, we're not intersted - but thanks for the $99 special for 2 nights! Later we drove back into Nanaimo for dinner. This time we tried a new restaurant called Sushi Eh and it was awesome and the prices were cheap! We ate our faces off (c'mon, we're on vacation) and instead of going to watch a movie as planned, we went to Chapters to grab hot chocolates and headed back to the resort. As Norm got caught up with his CSI's, Vegas, etc. I went to bed. What a nice, simple day on the island. Except that it was raining for most of the day. Boo!

Day 6

It's 3AM and we were awaken by luggages rolling down the stairs of the house. South Carolina was getting ready to leave in order to catch their 8AM flight home in Seattle. There were 9 of them leaving this morning and they only had a 7 seater van. Norm and I decided to drive them so long as Han & Al take care of James whose flight was not until 8PM also in Seattle. It took us three hours to drive them to the airport and three hours to come back. After all that driving I think we deserve Shabusen. Off we went the all you can eat sushi and kalbi and we were just in time to catch our ferry at Horseshoe Bay. Nanaimo, here we come! Instead of going up to the deck Norm and I decided to stay in the van and sleep. It must have been the driving...and all that food.

1.5 hours later we were "home". The sun was shining here on the island. Funny how the weather can be so different here. We went straight into Parksville where we checked in at Pacific Shores Resort. It was a little hard to find because it's tucked away along Craig Bay. We dropped our luggage in our room and quickly went back to Nanaimo to grab a late dinner at Blue Ginger, our favourite restaurant. It was nice to be back.

Day 5

So here I was enjoying the nice duvet covered king size bed at the Marriot when my brother calls at 7:30AM...that's right 7:30AM to ask if we can pick them up and head over to the house. I slowly get out of bed and vow to hit him when I see him for waking me up at such an early hour while I'm on vacation. Luckily we stop for Starbucks beforehand. My caramel macciato. My hero. We pick up the family and head over to Hannah's house for one last horrah with the South Carolina people. As we watched Russell Peters, Mom and Auntie prepared lunch for the guests coming over for the gift opening party. Again, Norm is at everyone's beckon call: he drove Auntie to T&T for last minute food items for the cooking fest; drove Has and family to the airport as they flying home today; and drove Wendel to return his rental car. When he came home, he quietly snuck upstairs to get some rest. After all, he was probably going to drive cousins Kate & Brian to the Seattle airport tomorrow morning. I, too, called it an early night as I've never felt this exhausted in a long time. G'nite!

The Wedding Day

Notice how I didn't mention the picking up of the bridesmaid dresses in my prevous blogs. That's because we picked it up this morning at 9AM. Everyone's dresses seemed to fit perfectly, except for mine. It was a little too big and the straps kept falling off everytime I would raise my arms. The back of the dress was supposed to dip down like a little v but mind ended up being a big V. I would even call it backless. But, this was my sister's big day so I got over it quickly. There were so many things going on in different areas of the house. In the kitchen, we had a flower making sweat shop. After so many weddings and other occasions, our family has perfected the making of the boutonnieres. The only problem was, there's no way you can do this ahead of time because you want fresh looking flowers. It was pretty quick to do - considering we had a dozen helpers. Upstairs, Floree was setting up shop and Rohani was her first customer. Floree did an amazing job with our makeup. Thank you to Rennie for providing the MAC makeup. While she was taking care of makeup, I somehow got stuck with hair. I enjoy playing with Hazel's hair because it's exactly like mine. I mean, it was like mine before I got the Japanese hair straightening. With Kate's help, the flowergirls looked simple but elegant. Just what the bride wanted. Downstairs in the living room Hannah was getting her hair done by her hairstylist and friend, Jeff. He did our hair for free. Now that's what I call a friend!

It's now 12:20 and we're all searching for the car keys for the Yukon - the bride's chariot. The wedding was at 1:00. Eek! After calling in a search party, I finally located the keys in Hannah's robe pockets in her closet, in the hamper. That's right, I went into their hamper. Now that's what I call love!

1:00 It's showtime. Everyone was lined up ready to walk down the isle. Remember, there was no rehearsal so everyone was a bit confused as to where they stand. I went back to the car and there's the bride, smoking wtih Floree. Although it wasn't picture perfect, I say give the bride whatever she needs to get through the next hour. She was as cool as a cucumber...at least that's what I thought. Once I brought her into the church, out they came. Tears just rushed down her face as Floree was trying to save anything left of her beautiful make up job. I guess it finally hit her. ...she's getting married! It is quite emotional once we got into the church. There's just something about it and believe everyone should experience it. We also knew Dad was right there, beside her. Later she told me she felt his presence as she was walking down the isle. I don't doubt it.

2:00 Horray! It's officially Mr & Mrs Almero.

Before we headed to White Rock for some picture taking, we passed by the graveyard to visit Allan's mom. I know, it's a little weird to be going to the cemetary in your wedding dress but once we were there and saw how much this meant to Allan, it was a good call. Pictures were taken at Whiterock and although it didn't rain, it was freezing cold. Luckily I stayed under Han's cape to keep warm. It quickly turned dark so off we went to the reception.

Let the party begin...

The whole night was amazing. A couple of us booked rooms for the night so it was a great place for us to crash. Especially for those who went to the casino last night and did not get home until 6AM. Ahem. Highlights of the wedding were as follows: My whole plan of dancing to Sexy Back did not work out because of my dress. I was afraid it would fall off completely. Speeches were good - I tried to make mine humorous knowing the others would be tearful. My brother almost broke down. He said it was bittersweet because he gave away his last sister but he has also gained another brother. And now there were 3! Hannah was a little upset that she lost her speech but she did a good job at winging it. At the end of the night, Floree and Katie were dancing like no one was watching. It must be the effects of the open bar. Floree also got all emotional on me. Again, the effects of the open bar. It was priceless.

As I kicked everyone out of our hotel room, Norm and I enjoyed our duvet covered King sized bed. It's been awhile since we've slept in a normal bed. This was actually the best sleep we had during the whole trip. Thanks Han and Al...for the open bar!

And for those of you who keep asking me to put my speech in my blog, here's part of it. My blog for today is long enough...

...As a big sister Hannah was always the one giving us advice but since I've been married for almost 5 years now, this is my chance to share with you a few tips in marriage:

1. Never go to bed mad. Stay up and fight
2. If you fight, get naked.
3. The best way to remember an anniversary is to forget it just once.
4. Road maps are a good thing. GPS is even better.
5. Make sure to share everything together, including housework.

I wish you both a wonderful marriage. Allan, welcome to our family.

Please raise your glass for Hannah & Allan:

To Love
To Laughter
To Happily Ever After

Cheers!

Day 3

I cannot seem to recall eveything we did this day. It's all a blur. Han and Al were busy running around so Norm and I were in charge of entertaining everyone. So guess where they wanted to go? Chinatown! South Carolina is deprived of such things. They have one store that sells Chinese/Filipino products so they went crazy here at Vancouver's Chinatown. The kids enjoyed the Chinese bakery where Norm made them try all sorts of pastries. Who can resist the coconut bun? After shopping, Norm and I took some of them to the downtown core. Our goal was to eat at Shabusen but Norm got lost. We ended up at Hons and had a nice lunch. We wanted to finish it off with a nice Starbucks coffee but Starbucks was not serving any hot drinks because of the water advisory. Why even bother staying open? No one goes to Starbucks for cold milk. We headed home with a van full of sleepy passengers. Back at home the power was now working so let the cooking fiesta begin! That night we worked on the wedding favours, programs, centre pieces and more wedding favors. As the night wore off, so did our helpers. In the end, it was just Floree, Han and myself. Norm and Uncle drove into Seattle to pick up 3 more South Carolinians. They didn't get back until 4AM. Once again our sleeping arrangement changed. Floree, Has, Hayden and Hazel stole our bed so Norm and I had to regroup somewhere else. The joys of a house with 21 people!