Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Hanging out with friends

It has been a year since I last got together with Debbie and Louisa, but we try to meet at least once a year. We all worked together over 10 years ago in Daycare. But we've remained good friends.

Louisa moved sometime ago to the outskirts of Toronto, and is presently living in Whitby working as a social worker.


Debbie lives only 25 minutes from me, and is training to be a midwife.

Louisa wanted to do something different, so after meeting at the Eaton Centre, we walked to an Indian restaurant for dinner and then on to Second City to watch a comedy show. I enjoyed most of the humour, and one comedian in particular. After the intermission they did a little improve. Louisa was worried about the 2 extra chairs that had been set next to her, concerned that they were adding more people to the table. As it turned out both Debbie and Louisa became a part of the show. The 2 seats were occupied by a couple of the troupe and the scenario was a car stuck in a traffic jam. It was very funny, especially having them both in the skit. Debbie was mortified that they chose to sit there, but she attempted to pretend to drive the car and honk the horn!

After the show we went to Gabby's for some drinks and to laugh about our fun we had just had, and the silly things we used to get up to!

Friends, no matter how often or seldom you see them are the spice of life.

Monday, December 29, 2008

Christmas Day Events

This is likely the last post for 2008.

I just wanted to document my Christmas day.
Thomas and I opened our gifts and I was surprised by a beautiful cup and infuser that Thomas brought back from Korea, as well as 4 delicious herbal teas. Kay also sent me a gift of rice cakes for Korea. I had requested a bath robe from Thomas and he found the greatest robe that I will try out tomorrow. He also gave me a mouse for my new laptop, and loads of candy and chocolate and chips from an English store I just found.
WOW it was great.
I gave him clothes and boots that he picked out as well as a pair of slippers that clean the floor while you wear them!

Later that morning Thomas made himself a nice pancake breakfast and I just fasted as I had an upset stomach and wanted to feel better for dinner.

I called my sister Lorna and spoke to her. Although my dad was there I didn't get to speak to him as he was sleeping. They had a great Christmas and were just chilling and were going to watch Lorna's favourite DVD Weekend At Bernie's.

I made dinner later. Thomas had bought a whole roasted chicken for himself that I heated in the oven. I made roasted vegetable lasagna for myself. We also had peas, broccoli, carrots and roast potatoes. For dessert we had apple crumble which is Thomas' favourite.
Later that evening we were watching my all time favourite movie, Lost Horizon (1937) and I had just finished making a cup of tea when there was a bit of commotion in the hallway outside my door. I heard a child calling out that there was a fire in the building. We opened the door saw and smelled smoke and then got ready to leave the building.
It was a fire in the garbage chute that the fire fighters had out quickly. We had the same fire in the summer time.

Of course I took my tea AND my camera!

Some of the good natured residents smiling when I said, "Merry Christmas"

(Yes there were a number of good looking fire fighters around)
When we got back into the apartment we finished watching the movie and watched t.v. and ate our chocolates.

Now I am preparing myself for 2009 and another great year. This year I predict a big change in my single status!

Sunday, November 09, 2008

Novemeber photos

Well so much for this great idea! I tried and then when I uploaded the pictures onto my computer, I somehow managed to delete them. So now I am a few days behind. Oh well here are the ones that I managed to save!



My metropass

My desk

Tomatoes

Scrapbook supplies



Omlette

Box in a bag

Sunday, November 02, 2008

November pictures

The plan is to take a picture each day and then cut a 2x2 piece of it out and make 12 x 12 scrapbook layout for the month of November. So far I have taken 2 pictures and this is what they look like.
A very late dinner
Laundry..... it must be Sunday!

Saturday, September 27, 2008

What MARY means




What Mary Means



You are confident, self assured, and capable. You are not easily intimidated.

You master any and all skills easily. You don't have to work hard for what you want.

You make your life out to be exactly how you want it. And you'll knock down anyone who gets in your way!



You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection.

You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive.

You have the classic "Type A" personality.



You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something.

You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense.

You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun.



You are a free spirit, and you resent anyone who tries to fence you in.

You are unpredictable, adventurous, and always a little surprising.

You may miss out by not settling down, but you're too busy having fun to care.

Friday, August 22, 2008

Weekend Scrapbook Retreat

Keitha and I drove down to Romeo Michigan where we met Kathy and Felicia for a weekend of scrap booking.  We stayed at the Scrap Palace where they treated us like queens.Michigan 08 026

Keitha and I shared the blue room.  There were 7 other women there who were from Michigan.  A loud lot.

I managed to get 16 pages completed as well as 2 cards and 2 make and takes that Keitha demonstrated.

The food was really good, and even though I am vegetarian, Amy and Pierina were able to come up with some great dishes for me.  Snacks and drinks were always available. 

Archivers

Scrap Palace has a great variety of tools, inks, stamps, paper cutters, punches and a host of other scrap booking supplies available to use.

I had a 15 minute massage on Saturday which really helped out the pain I had in my neck and shoulder, and made my headache disappear.

We also spent sometime and money shopping in Archiver's a great scrapbook store.

The 2 nights we spent there were quite enjoyable and I know that if the opportunity arose to go again, I'd definitely go.

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Villa Cuba

Other than the fact we sort of missed 2 days due to travel, our vacation to Varadero Cuba was wonderful.

The hotel itself was much better than I had anticipated. I read reviews from Tripadvisor.com just to know what we were about to venture into, but other than the Pepto Bismol pink walls in our room, the hotel was fine.

The staff were both happy and friendly always with a greeting and a smile.

The food was way better than my last trip to Cuba 14 years ago, and even though I am a vegetarian there was enough to eat. A good variety and plenty of it. We tried out a couple of the restaurants and their food was excellent. However being in the lobby lined up to make reservations was ridiculous. After 2 days of being unable to get into the Asian restaurant I was advised to talk to the hotel rep, who made it happen for me. So take that piece of advice.

There were quite a number of bars throughout the hotel, as well as one close to the beach. The beach bar seemed to have a little less alcohol in the drinks, which is probably wise since the ocean is right there, and drunks and water don't mix! The bar near the pool never had a shortage of alcohol in their drinks. If you require a special frappuccino made with amaretto ask Evidio. He is the master. Pick up your espresso at the Cafe Cuba and take it to the bar near the lobby where he will whip up an amazing drink for you.

If you want a great coffee, don't expect it in the buffet restaurant, go back to the Cafe Cuba and ask there. They make a mean cappuccino as well as other coffee drinks.

The entertainment was good, although I only caught 2 shows. The mosquitoes will eat you alive at night, so make sure you take muskoil with you. I heard other tourists comment that the best entertainment was when they included the guests in their show.

The water sports were fun too. We took a paddle boat out and another day we went on a 2 hour catamaran boat ride where we snorkeled with the fish. The guy on the boat threw in huge chunks of bread and the fish just swarmed around me to get it. I didn't bother with the kayaks as they seemed to be too much work, along with the wind boards.

We went on a double decker bus, paid 5 pesos and could ride all day long getting on and off whenever and go from one end of Varadero to the other. We also took a day trip to Havana. We found a local who took 12 of us in a mini bus for 35 pesos, half the price of the organized trip.

I'd have to say that I had a wonderful time in Cuba, enjoying the sea, the sun and the Cuban people.

Monday, June 30, 2008

Mosaic of me

I found this idea on another blog, and thought I'd give it a try. Turned out pretty cool I think.


1. patent mary janes and white anklets, 2. ready for the party......???, 3. Lovers, 4. freedom, 5. 536.png, 6. SOUTHERN COMFORT, 7. Stand Still, 8. Merangue, 9. don't worry be happy new year, 10. The Earth is God's Canvas., 11. Hobbit Road?, 12. Little Wishing

You can try this yourself.

Answer each of the questions below. Surf over to Flickr and type your answers into the search bar. From the choice of pictures shown only on the front page, click on the one that moves you. Once the page with your picture opens, copy the URL. Surf over to the Mosaic Maker, set up your mosaic, and paste your URLs. Click Create. Voila!

The Questions:

What is your first name?
What is your favorite food?
What high school did you attend?
What is your favorite color?
Who is your celebrity crush?
What is your favorite drink?
Where would you go on your dream vacation?
What is your favorite dessert?
What do you want to be when you grow up?
What do you love most in life?
What is the one word that describes you?
What is your Flickr name?

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Things about me

Five Snacks I Enjoy

  1. Veggies and dip
  2. Cheese on toast
  3. Mixed raw nuts
  4. Fruit
  5. Yogurt and granola

Five Things on My To-Do List Today

  1. Wash the dishes
  2. Grocery shopping
  3. Wax my underarms
  4. Work on page kits
  5. Host a mixer at Peridot at 8 pm

Five Jobs I've Had

  1. Receptionist at a brewery (I got free beer!)
  2. Quality control lab in a canning factory
  3. Dish washer on a cruise boat on the Rhine in Germany
  4. Travel agent
  5. Medical Records filing clerk in a hospital

Five of My Bad Habits

  1. Interrupting people when they are talking, (because I think I'll forget what I was about to say!)
  2. Raising my voice when I think people aren't listening
  3. Spending too much time on the computer
  4. Leaving the dishes in the sink until the morning, (I just prefer to wash them in the morning!)
  5. Dropping the 'g' when using words ending in 'ing'

Five Places I Have Lived

  1. Colchester, England
  2. Reading, England
  3. Ottawa, Canada
  4. Toronto, Canada
  5. New York, USA (only for 2 weeks then decided to leave my boyfriend!)

Five Random Things

  1. I was born on February 29 and just celebrated my 13th birthday this year!
  2. I miss being in a relationship. My partner died 11 years ago and I haven't been in another relationship since.
  3. I lost my 2 front teeth in high school while playing rounders. Rounders is a game similar to baseball.
  4. I am, and have always been a vegetarian. I do eat dairy and eggs, however I am in the process of finding out if I have a dairy allergy.
  5. I am passionate about my job working with children who have a variety of special needs.

Sunday, March 02, 2008

February 29, Leap Year

I am really quite a lucky person as life goes. What are the odds of being born on February 29? Pretty rare, no doubt.

I seldom watch t.v. in the morning, but last week I decided to turn on Breakfast Television, and then went to check my email. Within 5 minutes of turning the t.v. on I heard them say that if your were born on February 29 they wanted you as an audience member as they are hosting a big birthday party. So I sent an email to them.

Lo and behold I received a response the next day and called my friend Beatriz to ask her to join me.

We arrived just before 6 a.m. and sat in the front row. There was one other person there who was "13" as well. The woman sitting next to me was "22" and the youngest "leaper" there was "2."



We had pancakes and sausage from Golden Griddle, coffee from Maxwell House,



a huge birthday cake from Longos that we all signed our names to, and lots of balloons.

There was an illusionist who levitated one of the younger leapers, and an astrologer who told Beatriz she'd get what she wanted and a cooking segment from Today's Parent magazine. There was also a deejay playing birthday music for us!



I was chosen to play a game "pin the crown on the frog prince" and although I didn't win the game I got a great consolation prize from Reebok. The other 13 year old won a laptop computer for choosing the shortest ribbon on the balloon.

It definitely was a party to remember, thanks BT .



I went from the studio to work where the kids seemed very excited about the fact I was on television, one even referring to me as "famous!" After work I went to my friend Andrew's house and prepared for the upcoming pyjama party. He was making food for the guests and left nothing for me to do. On the menu was beet soup, Caesar salad, vegetarian curry, rice, and a black bean and mushroom dish.

There were 2 cakes a black forest one from Andrew and a chocolate one from Richard and Sharon. Mmmmmm!

I got some beautiful flowers and gifts from my friends and returned home tired and happy.

Thanks to everyone who helped me celebrate, and a very special thanks to Andrew.

You Tube

I am a subscriber to some great You Tube video makers, but this is the cutest video ever.

Saturday, January 12, 2008

New Year: New Attitude

So 2007 passed and I am looking forward to a year of adventure and accomplishments.

Having just hosted my 3rd Board Games night in my apartment I have decided that this will be a monthly activity that I will host. The first Friday of each month invite people from MEETin as well as friends from other areas of my life to come and join me in playing an assortment of board games.

Last night's event was the biggest one so far with an attendance of 23 in my new 1 bedroom apartment. It was quite squished and often loud at times. This was solved with a group playing Trivial Pursuit going into the bedroom and playing on my bed.

The rest of us played Outburst, with 2 teams, followed by Apples to Apples, and then the new WOW Cranium.

There was a huge assortment of snacks and drinks, the chips kept on coming! But we did have some healthy choices of veggies and cheese and crackers too.

As the evening rolled on players left, until there were 5 of us left. We sat and talked about mushrooms, Columbus's Egg, the influence of today's media, and much more. Finally at 4:15 am I decided it was time to wrap it up!

Next games night is February 1st.