Bingemans

The long awaited "family day" was on Saturday and this year we went to Bingemans which is an hour north west of Toronto. This is the same place Norm and Francis went when they were kids so really I think they were the most excited out of the bunch. They started with some batting cages and then cleaned off their sweat in the pool. Gross. The kids had a lot of fun up and down the water slide. There were about 3 different types of water slides but Rayanne and Seyla preferred the more simple, smaller one. On to the wave pool, a smaller version of what they have at Wonderland but the kids didn't seem to notice the difference. For lunch we went all out and had BBQ, rice, salad, veggies and fruit while onlookers watched as they ate sandwiches. When it comes to food, there's no other way but to do it filipino style. It's also a lot cheaper with 5 kids. To end our day we went to A&W where Norm and Francis enjoyed a 10 piece chicken bucket with the left over rice from lunch. Luckily we found a seat outside. How embarassing.

Happy Birthday Di!!!

Happy Birthday DeeLee-cious!

Congrats to Norm

Just wanted to say Congrats to Norm for wowing the people at the Toronto CCAC who interviewed him for the home care Pharmacist position. He was offered the job yesterday so we celebrated with Chinese food and wine!

Cottage Country

Early Saturday morning at 6 am we picked up Sally, Di and Gerwyn and headed up to the cottage. It was rainy and muggy in T.O. but the further north we drove, the sky cleared and the sun was hot! Later on that morning Mae, Glenn, Jared and Huddy joined us. It was a full house! As usual, Wendel and Mom enjoyed the company of us young'ns. Here are a few highlights: Glenn was the first to step up to the plate when it came time for water skiing. His confidence made it seem like he had done it before but once the boat tugged on the rope, he fell face first into the water. Norm was next...but not successful. Huddy followed suit and after the third try, he succeeded...for maybe 5 seconds. To us, that was a big deal! Then there was the double dog. Di and Gerwyn got on and immediately fell off. They tried again and they were doing so well until Wendel started picking up speed and on a tight turn, there was a huge wipeout. At night we had a nice bon fire where we toasted up marshmellows and Di made smores with graham crackers. The stars were so beautiful and the lake so calm. Best part of all...I didn't get one bite! The next morning we were all awaken by the fire alarm. No one knew why it went off until Gerwyn confessed that it was him...boiling water. Who does that?! He couldn't work the water cooler because it was child proof. Who are you?!

All in all, it was a great weekend with great friends and of course, great food!

Maybe we'll have to make this a yearly thing. Until next year ...

Carlos 1

Carlos 1 (aka "Carlos Premiero") is a brandy that Uncle Vic got from the Philippines. Norm and him decided to drink a little while eating fried pork fat with a vinegar concoction (ew). It apparently goes down smooth but what Norm failed to realize is that it was 80 proof. Luckily we caught Timmy before he escaped for the night. His girlfriend Louise came in to say Hi and before we knew it, she was sipping a glass of Carlos Premiero. Francis Baguio also stopped by to drop off cherries from his cherry tree but soon he, too, had pulled up a chair with drink in hand. Tita came home shortly after and was happy that the gang was still around so she ordered pizza. It was a really fun night with lots of laughing and talking and of course, drinking. This is a perfect case of "the best plan is no plan". Norm and I just came to visit and all of a sudden it's a party...with Uncle! But none of this would have happened had it not been for Mr. Carlos 1.

I love weekends

What's great about this week is that it was short so the weekend came pretty darn fast. The sucky thing about it is that I have a lot of work to come back to but who can think about work when the sun is shining outside and it's 30 degrees! It's Saturday morning and Norm is on his way to the market to grab us some chicken & eggplant sandwiches as well as some Empire apples. Today we plan on driving an hour northwest to Elora Gorge and having a little picnic. In Nanaimo, we always explored different areas of the island and it was always a lot of fun, not to mention cheap. So why not do it in Ontario? It's just as beautiful. We will probably stop along the way because Norm is always adventurous, or shall I say, nosey. I hope we come across some cherry picking, not that I'll pick because Lord help me if I see a caterpiller, but I'll just buy the ones already in a basket. I love cherries, especially with salt. But most of all, I love weekends!

Epic

First off I would like to say that I love long weekends! The heat and the humidity is a true sign that summer is here baby! The highlight of the weekend was Sunday buffet brunch as Epic. Epic is located at Royal York hotel and if it looks poshy at first...that's because it is. We enjoyed the usual breakfast items as well as sushi (real sushi, not just california rolls), lobster, crab, shrimp, oysters, chicken, pasta, an assortment of salads but the kicker was the chocolate fondue. Everything tastes better with chocolate...especially marshmellows. As most of you know, I suck at buffets but this time I ate everything! But don't worry, that was the start of my one month diet. My cousin's wedding is a month from tomorrow and I plan on toning and losing 3-4 lbs? Is it doable? I don't know...I love food but most of all, I love going out to dinner with Norm. Last night we had salmon and salad and for lunch I have packed the salmon and veggies. That's a good start.

Happy Anniversary

Today is our 4 year anniversary and according to the books, we are to get each other "silk". This morning Norm left a card as well as a Chinese silk wallet - you know, the ones you get from the dollar store or Pacific Mall. When I saw it, i smiled...that's my Norm. We were supposed to go out for dinner tonight but Rennie's boyfriend is here from California and she wanted to hang out with us. There goes our quiet dinner but oh well. At least someone can take a proper picture of us. Just wanted to say Happy Anniversary to US. We've been together 16 years now... and still lovey dovey as ever.

Wishing you all the happiness I found when I met Norm...

Happy 30th Ev

We celebrated Ev's Birthday at the Branthouse last night. She looked all pretty with her pink dress and pink stillettos. Norm said her dress was too short. I think what he meant was it was too revealing in the chest area. I say, shake what your mama gave ya. Unfortunately my mama gave me the wrong things - huge hair and long toes but hey, I'm not complaining. It was really nice seeing Age, Bruce & Graham. Still the same old party boys. Except now Bruce had to leave at 1:30...he's a dad now you see. Another great addition to our party was our great old friend, Gerwyn. We've been friends with him since highschool so sometimes it feels like I'm 16 all over again. Especially when he busts out the house moves. And then there's Ms Tan who graced us with her presence. Norm was so impressed that she drove all the way from Montreal and still had enough energy to put her party hat on. What a friend! The only one missing in action was Mary who is always flying away on last minute deals. The last time she did that she was pregnant. Hmmm.

Happy Birthday Evie!

Baby Boom

Last night we went over to Jeff's place not only to celebrate his 30th Birthday but also to celebrate the announcement of their little bambino on the way. Jen is 13 weeks pregnant and may is due around Christmas or Boxing Day. I don't think anyone can ask for a better Christmas gift. And as for Jeff's birthday...he's in denial. He thinks he's still 19. When his boys are around, I also feel as if I'm 19 all over again. It's always nice to see those Neil boys and it doesn't surprise me that they're still so close.

Happy Birthday Jeff & Congratulations on your baby!

Swiss Chalet

Tonight we went to Swiss Chalet for dinner. You can never go wrong with good old, Canadian Swiss Chalet...although I'm unsure of why they call it "Swiss". Sally always talks about St. Huberts and how it's so good. Oh yeah? Does the chicken taste so good that you don't even need the sauce - although what person doesn't like Swiss Chalet sauce. Does St. Huberts offer the little bowls with lemon that you can wash your fingers in? Now that's what I call ingenius! And during holidays, does St Huberts offer the Festive Specials? How about the toblerone bar? You just can't beat it Sal. Swiss Chalet rocks! Best part of all...it's only $6.99!

Another Barrientos on the way

Congratulations to Kuya Freddie & Ate Car who are expecting a little baby early next year. They moved to Canada 2 years ago hoping for a better life for their son, Carlo, who is now in high school. Carlo has always wished for a sibling. I'm glad his wishes came true...15 years later.

Woofstock

This weekend was Woofstock along Front Street where everyone from near or far brought their best friends, their dogs! Unfortunately I didn't have Zoe or Cisco to show (they don't like big crowds) but I did go down to dog watch. My favourite dog was a huge St Bernard that I saw playing with the tiniest of chiwawas. No niocitrin around his neck though. Norm's fav was the English bulldog - the one with lots of rolls and wrinkles. Seyla's favourite were...you guessed it...the ones that looked like Zoelicious. Apparently this is the biggest Woofstock in Canada. I just hope everyone scooped their own poop. Just one pet peeve of mine.

Happy Birthday Monsters

Happy Birthday to Han & Has - my twin siblings, kinda. Both born on June 10th but exactly one year apart - what are the chances? Celebrations are under way in Vancouver for my sister's house warming/ birthday party. Wish we could be there but I am saving my vacation for your big day, when you'll need me most. As for Has, he is dropping his kids at my place and going to paint the town red with Floree. They will be enjoying a steak dinner at Hy's. Don't worry kids, I made steaks, sweet potatoes and orzo for us at home. We're going to have our own party. Better run, I have to Hayden proof my condo.

Happy Birthday guys!

Blog Worthy

Okay Di, here it goes.

We had our Wednesday night dinner at Di's place last night and she has definitely raised the roof. Although we've been trying to "bring it down a notch" we seem to be challenging each other with dishes you would only see at the fanciest of restaurants. Since it was such a beautiful night we went up to the rooftop patio where we were greeted with Toronto's majestic skyline. When ever I see that, I think...it's nice to be home. Di started off with grilling two huge tuna steaks only 2 minutes per side. Once they were done, they were placed on top of our nicoise salad. As a side dish, she also made cheese gougiere, or as Norm calls them - cheeseburgers. Man, talk about fancy. What really made this dinner special was Di's special table cloth. It's the small things that make a difference. I'm sure everyone on that patio was hoping we would invite them over. For dessert we went back to her suite and had angel food cake with marinated strawberries and whipped cream. Can it get any better than that? We'll see. Stayed tuned for Ev's Wednesday night dinner. No pressure Ev.

My Sisters Wedding

At last, I have some time to work on my sister's wedding invitations. I cannot believe her wedding is in 5 months. First of all, I am so happy that she's marrying Al. When we moved to BC, we had the chance to get to know him and my first impression was ... this guy is funny. Put Norm and Al together, and you have a comedy club. But aside from being the joker that he is, he's very caring and giving. On the down side, he doesn't like to be waken up early when I call my sister T.O time. We can't help it if we're early birds. I also remember him being neat. I can only imagine how their house is. I'm sure they each have their own ideas on decorating. I'll save the rest for my speech on the big day but all in all, we love Al! As long as he takes care of my sister...that's all I ask.

Stay tuned for the wedding invitations.

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...