i left my heart in san francisco

I miss SF. It sucks being back at work. I miss my cousin. It sucks that I have to unpack and then pack again for Vegas. I miss breakfast. It sucks that my colleague just quit.

WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS GOING ON HERE???

I am not going to write up a daily report on what we did in San Francisco, I will just link up Mike's blog so that you can read about what we did. I will jot down a few thoughts on our trip so I can remember. But first, I must deal with things on my desk, deal with the news of Jesse leaving and deal with what clothes I will pack for Vegas.

MGG - thanks again for letting us stay with you and for taking us on the "Marilen" Tour of SF. We enjoyed it tremendously and it was FREE!!! I grew up with no cousins and never knew what it was like to have a cousin around. I love how we are very similar in many ways and get along so well. I am glad we have devised our vacation plan for the next couple of years. So, now the questions is, where are we meeting in 2009!?!?!?! BTW - please check your LV purse, I left something in there for you!

this is it

My last day at work before the San Fran trip. I have tomorrow off and I am going to start my vacation off with a massage at 10:00 am. I need to be relaxed and I have been meaning to get a masage after the Sopinka competition back in March.

I will finish up my packing tonight and then paint my nails. I also want to read a bit more of Sophie Kinsella's new novel, Remember Me? It's pretty good so far since I haven't read any chick lit books in a while. I will also be taking the book with me so I can read while waiting for our plane to leave.

I am excited that Mike and I get to enjoy the Air Canada or Maple Leaf lounge before our flight. J & A were kind enough to give us free passes. We can eat and read magazines and sit in nice seats!

Hopefully the weather in San Fran is as nice as it has been down here. I can't wait to try out some restaurants, see the Wharf, go shopping and mainly, hang out with Marilen. It's only been about 8 months seen we last saw each other but it's better than the last times we saw each, June 2006 (my wedding), May 2004 (her wedding) and then back in 1984, I think. We are getting better at visiting more often.

Stay tuned for a post on our vacation and pictures!

san francisco, here we come!!!

That's right, Mike and I are leaving for San Francisco in three days to visit Marilen. We will only be there for 3 days and 4 nights but I think that we will have a great time. Short weekend trips should be fun, if you pack in your days and that is what we will be doing - Alcatraz, Fisherman's Wharf, Golden Gate Bridge, Ocean Beach, shopping, food, bus tour of downtown, Union Sqaure...we are doing it all in downtown SF. And we may even see DJ AM spin...if you don't know who he is, he dated Nicole Richie, hahaha!

I was wondering if these days will go by quickly and I think that it will. Tonight is a long TV night with Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill and The Hills. I will treat Mike and I to some Wikki Hut. Tomorrow I have lunch with Mare (hopefully plans will go through) and dinner with Edilka and Hayden. Wednesday, I will pack. Mike and I are off on Thursday but our flight isn't until 8:50 pm. I wonder what we can do to kill time during the day???

This weekend was a good weekend. Saturday, Mike and I cleaned around the condo. Mike cleaned the balcony, like cleaned all the nasty grime from the windows and I cleaned the inside of our suite. We also rearranged the living room and dining room. Mike had some guys over at night to watch UFC. Julie saved me from watching it by asking me to watch Forgetting Sarah Marshall. It is so funny. If you haven't heard of this movie, see my earlier post on the movies I want to watch. I am sure that you have probably seen the ads (it's white and in black writing, "You look so fat in those jeans, Sarah Marshall!) It was cool to hang out with Julie two days in a row since at times, we may go a month without seeing each other. Sunday, Mike and I walked to the mall, bought some small items for our trip and then chilled out for the rest of the day. It's back to work and I think that I am going to take an extra long lunch!

first time out in a long time

Last night, we went to Rich and Gina's engagement party at Spacco. It's been almost 6 months since I have been out. I am not talking about a club, I am talking about even just a bar. It was nice to see almost everyone but it was difficult to talk to anyone because the music was so loud. By the time we left, my throat hurt and my voice was all hoarse. I feel bad because I made a comment to JIT and I hope that I didn't insult her, I was only teasing. Gina made really cute "save the date" magnets. I was wondering why they would have their party on a Friday night because since we are getting old, it's hard to stay up late after working Fridays. But after finding out that their wedding is next year, April 18th, it all made sense. Speaking of weddings, Trix and James asked Mike to emcee their wedding reception. I think that was pretty cool of them to include Mike.

So now, I wonder when the crew will all get together again...

surprise, surprise

I can't believe Ozzy got voted off last night on Survivor. I honestly thought that he was going to win this time around. He must be so pissed and so must Amanda, James and Erik. It's crazy. Mike claims that he is not going to watch it anymore and I agree with him because now I don't know who to root for.

a "couple" of thoughts

NALEY - Nathan and Haley Scott from One Tree Hill. Everyone's been rooting for them since Nathan first decided that he should try and pursue Haley to piss off Lucas. After being tutored by "Tutor Girl" and giving her the bracelet from the Cracker Jack box, he couldn't resist but fall in love with her. Marriage, little Jamie and four years later, you are sadden by the fact that Haley wants a divorce. Again, we are rooting for them because you know they belong together. Will Haley stop being so selfish and give in to her husband's hot body? Or will she try to create more drama in the show by holding off and continue with counseling and leave us all wondering when they will get back together. But seeing from the last episode, she can't resist Nathan and once again, we get to see his hot, pasty body!!! I am surprise they didn't get it on in the shower since he's had so many shower scenes this seasn. LOL!

SPIEDI - Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag from The Hills. These two are the most irritating and annoying celebrity couple (if you can even call them celebrities). They are hunger for attention, they pose for the camera, and pretend to be fighting so that we might just be intrigued by them. Well, it ain't working for me. If it wasn't for Lauren (and hot Brody) on The Hills, I would ban The Hills from my TV line up. Seriously, watching SPEIDI on TV bores me and almost makes me throw up in my mouth. Will they two end up getting back together, will they get married, will MTV just kick them off the show because no one cares about them?

OZZMANDA - Ozzy and Amanda from Survivor - Micronesia. These two had eyes for each other since Day 1. Could they be together and not jeopardize making it to the final four? Would there be a fan or favorite who would pick up on their secret love affair and kick one of them out just like Joel did? Joel on the fan side gave Mary the boot when he realized her and Mikey were getting a little too close for comfort. OZZMANDA managed to do some late night canoodling while the cameras still rolling. And it got hot and heavy in their campsite when they thought everyone was sleeping. But days go by and then the merge...could Ozzy have eyes for a fan by the name of Alexis? In the last episode, when the merge happened and everyone was drinking, Alexis snuggles up to Ozzy and you could see the jealousy just flame up in Amanda's eyes. Will Amanda succeed in get Alexis voted off?

attention big wigs

And I don't mean business higher-uppers. For those of you who pay attention to your hair, here is an interesting article on what to save and what to splurge in hair products.

product review: Fresh Soy Cleanser

I am now starting the sample of Soy Cleanser by Fresh. I am on Day 2 and I am not liking it as much as I like purity. Although you only have to use a small amount, it foams up quitely nicely without any water. After rinsing it off, it leaves my skin tight and therefore I have to use more of the Juice Beauty moisturizer. I really like the Green Apple moisturizer and it's something that I am definitely going to consider purchasing even though it's $49. I believe it's worth it. With that said, I would like to look for a cleanser that isn't expensive. I can't remember the price difference with Soy and Purity but I think that Purity is cheaper. I am going to see Robin again today at Sephora and see if he has any other reccommendations.

fabFIVE on rotation

My last post on April 11th was my 100th post! I knew that it was coming up but when I actually looked on my dashboard this morning, I saw that I had 100 posts. I am at work today. I started at 7:30 am and Mike was kind enough to drive me in. I will probably have to stay here until 5:00 pm, maybe shortly after. It's going to be al ong 3 hours this afternoon. Anyway, here are my fabFIVE songs that are on rotation on my iPod:

Sucka For Love, Danity Kane - This is a really catchy song, DK has a really good album out.

Are We In This Together, Day 26 - This song reminds me of Jodeci, loved it even before the album was released.

No Air, Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown - I have no idea where I heard this song but I like it. I actually also like Tattoo by Jordin also.

Chasing Pavements, Adele- Saw her performing on MTV live one night. Love the voice, almost similar to Any Winehouse.

Nasty Girl, Inaya Day - Watched Dan in Real Life and there is a scene where Emily Blunt is dancing to this song.

finally

My wish has come true...they FINALLY voted off bird looking Eliza off the island!!! I can't stand this chick - I can't stand the way she looks, I can't stand the way she talks, I don't even know why she came back as a "favorite". Who went and voted for her as their favorite? The sad part is, eventhough she is voted out, she is the first member of the jury so I still have to see her. YUCK! Survivor is going to get interesting...I really don't know how it's going to play out this time around.

movie mania

Here I go with my lists...this list will contain movies that I want to watch over the course of the summer. Wait, before I start my list, I have a little story to tell. A few months ago, I found about $40 worth of gift certificates from Famous Players. Mike's aunt usually gives the family movies gift certificates for Christmas and I guess over the last 4 years, they have accumulated in the glove compartment. One snowy day, Mike and I decided to try and use them to watch Jumper. The manager said that she couldn't take them because they expired back in December 2004. I was upset, and I know that I had no right to be because it's our fault we didn't use them in the alotted time. I then wrote a letter to Cineplex explaining that I think that the certificates still should be accepted because someone had already paid for them, etc, etc...I also included a copy of the expired certificates. Well, to my surprise a few days later, I received a letter stating that if I returned the originals, they would give me the equivalent in passes. So I did what I was told and received 4 general admission passes that expire October this year. So with this story, I want to make sure that I use them to watch some of these movies:

April 18 - Forgetting Sarah Marshall (I see so many cool ads for this movie)

May 2 - Made of Honour (Patrick Dempsey is in it, nuff said)

May 30 - Sex and the City: The Movie (Haven't we all been waiting to watch this since the series finale)

June 20 - The Love Guru (Justin Timberlake and Jessica Alba are in the movie, what more could you ask for)

June 27 - Wanted (cuz Angelina Jolie looks so sexy and hot)

July 18 - The Dark Knight (Batman Begins was excellent so I am curious to see how this one turns out, plus it's Heath's last completed movie)

August 1 - He's Just Not That Into You (I didn't read the book or anything, I just want to see it)

August 8 - The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (Read the book - loved it! Saw the first movie, love it too!)

September 12 - Nights in Rodanthe (I'm a huge Nicholas Sparks fan, if you like A Walk to Remember, The Notebook and Message in a Bottle, you will also enjoy this movie)

I am sure that there will be other movies along the way that I will want to watch but these are my "must sees" for now.

book review: The Choice

I started The Choice by Nicholas Sparks last week and it only took me a few days to read it. When I got home last night, I was halfway through the book (it's about 300 pages) when I got home from work, I read on the train sometimes. There was nothing to watch on TV so I decided to read. Well, four and a half hours later, I finished the book. I kept on saying to myself that I should put the book down and go to sleep since I was extremely tired but I couldn't do it. I had to keep on reading to find out how the story ends.

The story is about Travis Parker and his neighbour, Gabby Holland and how they came to meet. If you are a avid reader of Nicholas Sparks (A Walk to Remember, The Notebook) you will know that most of his stories are love stories and most of them will make you cry. I am not going to go into details about the story but it is a short, quick read. There is a part one and two. After you finish part one, you will want to keep on reading to find out what happens to Travis and Gabby...

ho hum

I recently found this...a cupcake tour of San Francisco. I don't want to go to all the cupcake shops they mention but I am glad that the one that is by the Wharf, Kara's Cupcakes, is the one that we will most likely go to. Mike and I can't wait for our little trip to San Fran. I am not sure what is in store for us...we sent a list of things that we would like to do, see and eat and the lovely Marilen is putting together an itinerary for us...did I mention that I can't wait? It's only two weeks away...

I am not that busy at work. I am tired of surfing the net so I am going to start reading my next book on my list, An Innocent Man by John Grisham. It's almost 2:00 pm, I have got two more hours to kill...

yummy cupcake

Yesterday was my last coaching session and since I am never in the Yonge & Eglinton area, I had placed a special order for a dozen mini cupcakes. Six Opposites Attract (my favorite), three Frost Me (love it too because it's vanilla frosting on a marble cake) and three of Strawberries n' cream (vanilla cake with strawberry swirl buttercream). Mike ate three last night and I had two. I think Mike secretly likes cupcakes and just doesn't want to admit it.

my non-relaxing weekend

I started off this weekend by going to LifeFest with Stfne and Brayden. The show itself wasn't anything exciting but I truly enjoyed the company. I got turned off by the number of women who go to LifeFest with a cart so that they can stock up on free samples. Stfne and I came out with some decent things - tinted softlips, dove chocolate, razors, etc... - but we were wondering how women came out of the show with a friggin cart load of things. We thought that maybe we forgot to go to a certain section but it turns out, they probably went around the whole venue two or three times.

Saturday, Mike and I got up early and started to buy things for the balcony. Mike wanted to do up the balcony this year, and although I said that everything is up to him, I still tagged along and gave my opinion. Our balcony is now complete and ready to be used. Feel free to invite yourself over for some wine, beer and if you lucky...tapas! We ended Saturday with a visit to Brampton. Mike showed us this cartoon on youtube and I had to keep on watching it over and over again, it's just too funny.




Sunday was the same thing over again...a few more things for the balcony, the purchase of a new luggage for Mike and my dad's birthday dinner at his house. By the time we got home, we were pooped. I was suppose to relax over the weekend since I will be working this coming Saturday but that didn't happen so hopefully, I can lounge around when I get home from work each night!

P.S. - I bought Season 4 of One Tree Hill for CHEAP! Future Shop had it on sale for $29.99, that's $20 off the regular price.

product review: purity / volume couture

Today is day 4 of me using Philosophy's Purity face cleanser with Juice Beauty's Green Apple moisturizer. The combo has been pretty good so far. My skin feels fresh and clean. With Purity, after I wash my face, it doesn't feel tight. My skin usually feels tight after cleaning with Cetaphil or Spectro Gel. I also like how Purity also removes the leftover traces of my mascara (which is usually waterproof). I will give my thoughts about the moisturizer another day.


My mom stopped by last night and brought me Max Factor's Volume Couture. I asked her to pick up it up for me during her recent trip to San Jose. I can't remember if I blogged about this mascara before. But I read about it on a website that it's comparable to Chanel's new mascara. And guess what, after using it this morning...IT IS!!!! It's $23 cheaper than Chanel's mascara. The only problem is that Max Factor is no longer available in Canada, so I have to make note that when I go to the States, I have to stop buy a drugstore to purchase it. So, for all you mascara heads out there, you must definitely try this one. It coats each lash evenly, it volumizes, lengthens and thickens without clumping. It also holds the curl. And this is the one problem that I have with mascaras, some formulas are too thick and heavy that it weighs down my lashes and it loses its curl.

correction

Somewhere I posted that Mike brought me back some Bliss products from the recent stay at the W in NYC. Mike reminded me a few nights ago that it was actaully Adaiah's idea to bring back the products to me. THANKS ADAIAH!!!!

Speaking of A & J...I miss the Hakkim Hotel...one night Japanese Curry with fake scallops was served at the hotel and Mike fell in love with it. A & J were kind enough to get the fake scallops and the curry so that Mike could make it himself. Well last night, Mike was running late getting home so I ended up having it cook it. It's pretty easy but I was worried about the outcome. But after eating it, MIKE LIKES IT!!!!