the only one awake

I am at the Ponce's house and I think that everyone is asleep. Mike is beside me, happily snoring. Yes, I think that I am the only one awake and what am I doing...blogging. Well, it's been pretty fun so far, had our Starbucks, a delicious dinner, yummy popcorn, caught up with Richie and Jes and got to play with the two kids. Rylen is addicted to Nintendo DS (just like me but has better games) and RJ is a bundle of joy, always so happy to just be kicking it with the older folks. The highlight of the night is when they discovered Photo Booth on Mike's macbook. This is the cutest picture ever!

I can't wait for breakfast tomorrow morning and thanks again for the bday presents! Pajamas are always the best - didn't I just blog about that the other day?!?!

sleepovers

Sleepovers. Remember them from when you were a child. You would have one friend sleepover or have a slumber party with several of your friends. Those were the good, old days. Now, we are adults, into our 30s, have our own homes, maybe even have kids...yet, tomorrow Mike and I will be going to a sleepover in Ajax. I know it seems silly, to be an adult and staying over at your friend's house but I think it's okay. We rarely get to spend time with our friends, everyone is so busy with their own lives but being able to spend 24 hours is kinda cool, especially when you haven't seen them in a couple of months. Plus, I know that Rylen will enjoy the company of Tita Leesh and Tito Mike. There are only a few of our friend's kids who remember me and Mike so it makes it so worthwhile when Rylen is really excited when we come for a visit. Richie and Jes are truly great friends. They still include Mike and I in their lives even though we don't have our own kids. And because we are so close to them, I really feel bad that I haven't been around since RJ was born and he is already 9 months old.

So, in my eyes, sleepovers are awesome and you are never too old for a slumber party!

so long...farewell...

This afternoon, my director informed our team that she has quit and her last day in the office will be December 12th. No one saw this coming but we should have. Her making me do many of her day to day tasks, her asking me to take the lead on program days, all these little things should have been a clue but I didn't pick up on it, none of us did. I am happy for her that she has made this decision to stay home with her kids, though at the same time, I am shocked!!! Utterly shocked. JG has been the best boss I have ever had. She could drive me crazy at times but she is such a smart, driven woman. I am glad that I have acquired some of her traits over the four years that I have worked with her. I am sad to see her go, things will be different without her. We had a great team with JC and the addition of CL. RB and I will have to manage through what is next to come.

Am I ready for change? I don't know. Am I ever really ready for change? So much has happened this year, that for once, can something just be stable in my life?

christmas shopping - part 2

Here is the second part of some of my ideas for Christmas gifts.

For the person in charge of the household or avid traveller:
Sometimes it's hard to keep track of who should be doing certain chores, this notepad sure will help - Pad - Chores or who someone who travels a lot and need a checklist of what to pack (luckily I have created my own personal checklist that I am always happy to share with those who need it) - Pad - Pack This

For music lovers, again:
I had posted speakers that were giant ear buds but these speakers are smal and compact - Retro Block iPod Speakers

For the person who will never buy things they don't really need:
No one ever buys themselves pajamas, people always wait to receive them - Aerie Boyfriend pj set

For movie buffs:
I never gave much thought to Blu-Ray movies but after watching Interview with a Vampire and Wall-E at Sam's Club, Blu-Ray is a must. So buy your family, your parents, your loved one a Blu-Ray player or if you already have one, stock up on movies (I attached a link to Best Buy's website but I find that Blu-Ray is cheaper at Wal-Mart) - Blu-Ray movies

fulfilling my obsession

After several emails with a girl, (she shall remain nameless) who is obsessed as I am with Twilight (it's okay for me to admit it but I don't want to bait out others), here are some links to check out (only bother if you have developed a strong addiction and have become a Twilighter - what I like to call myself, yes I am a geek):

Vanity Fair Article

Vanity Fair Interviews with the Cast

Vanity Fair Photos

Vanity Fair Video

US magazine Cheat Sheet

In Style Page

Twilight Central on EW

the life & times of GO train rides

Yesterday, I was wearing my grey Chinese Laundry high boots with skinny dress pants. This girl who always takes the same train as me in the morning was lining up to exit the train and having a conversation with her male friend. She was speaking to him as if I wasn't even there. This is what she said, "If she can wear dress pants tucked into her boots like that to work, then I probably can. I have seen her wear them with skirts and other girls have done the same thing so I don't see why I can't. I have these boots that I want to wear but I didn't think that dress pants tucked into boots were very professional-looking to wear to work." I was right there...no headphones on and I wasn't sleeping. I knew that she was talking about me.

Anyway, today I saw her and guess what...she was wearing skinny dress pants tucked into her boots. I find it too funny that she would say it one day and immediately do it the next day.

who wants poutine?

For my cousin Marilen in the States, the next time you are here, we must take you to this place (Maureen just told me about it, I have yet to try it) Smoke's Poutinerie.

again, i'm in love

I fell in love with the books and I think that I am falling in love with the movie. Like Bella to Edward, the movie & book are my personal heroin. I'm addicted. I first watched Twilight on Friday by myself. I worked so hard so that I could leave work Friday afternoon to watch the 1:40 pm show. After two hours, I left the theatre unsure of how I felt about the movie. I spoke to Mike and Stfne and told them that I loved the movie but hated it at the same time. I really did not know what to think of it. All I knew was that I hated the movie because it missed many detailed parts of the story (I can't explain, you just have to have read the book), Edward didn't seem like Edward in the book, and I loved the movie because K. Stewart was so perfect for the Bella part. Then, after dim sum with MoRo and Mike, we went to watch Twilight. This time, I fell in love with the movie. I fell in love with Edward and I fell in love with how they showed the Cullens. I am glad that I watched it again because I now feel different about it. I do though, want to read Twilight and New Moon again. Mike enjoyed it and I really hope that he decides to read the book. We got home and watched Interview with a Vampire. Too graphic for me...I still love the Cullens - the good vampires (but I have to admit - James is hot!) For those who have read the book and for those who have not...let me know what you think of the movie. Go out and watch it...I want to hear your thoughts and opinions.

birthday wish list

As requested by my BFF, Julie, I have added my birthday wish list to the side bar. She needs a few ideas...

Twilight Time

Twilight opens this weekend. I wish that I had tickets to the advance screening but sadly, I must try and watch it over the weekend...and I am not sure when. Right now, it looks like I may just have to watch it tomorrow during work hours. I have too much going on this weekend.

After reading all four books, falling in love with the saga, all the hype about it, this is one movie I have to watch on the big screen. I see how people get obsessed, like Harry Potter...

I hope this movie does justice to the book. You know how it is, the movie always lets you down and of course, the books is so much better. The only movie that was better than the book is The Devil Wears Prada (in my opinion!)

To all you Twilighters out there...see you in the theatres!

FABFive on rotation

So, I still really need to update my iPod. My excuse is I am going to load up songs to Gino's iPhone and I just haven't had time to do it. Here is my list of what I listen to on Mike's laptop:

It's Over, Jesse McCartney - kinda embarrassed to admit I listen to Jesse McCartney but he has catchy songs. After hearing Leavin', he got me interested.

Let It Rock, Kevin Rudolph f/ Lil' Wayne - I have no idea where and when I first heard this song. Mike laughed at me when I played it for him, and he loves it as much as me.

Angel, Natasha Bedingfield - She has a great voice and now I remember her singing this song when she opened for NKOTB.

Miss Independent, Ne-Yo - who doesn't love this song? He makes the best dance/R & B songs. As Stfne says, all his songs sound like summer...

Keeps Gettin Better, Christina Aguilera - I really enjoyed her performance at the MTV Music Awards but the song didn't do anything for me. But now that I hear it again, it's grown on me.

via email

My cousin sent this to me through email but I thought it would be fun to answer it on my blog...

1. What is your occupation right now? Senior Program Coordinator
2. What color are your socks right now? Not wearing socks
3. What are you listening to right now? Keeps Gettin' Better - Christina Aguilera
4. What was the last thing that you ate? Keebler Sandies Shortbread - Dark Chocolate Almond
5. Can you drive a stick shift? Can I even drive period?
6. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Dianne
7. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Of course!
8. How old are you today? 31, soon to be 32 in 21 days
9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV? Don't watch sports
10. What is your favorite drink? Stella Artois Legere
11. Have you ever dyed your hair? Yes 12. Favorite food? Junk
13. What is the last movie you watched? Quantum of Solace
14. Favorite day of the year? Halloween
15. How do you vent anger? In many ways...
16. What was your favorite toy as a child? Barbies, CPK, My Lil Pony
17. What is your favorite season? Summer
18. Cherries or Blueberries? Cherries
19. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back? I would if I was emailing this out
20. Who is the most likely to respond? If I was sending this by email, maybe Julie
21. Who is least likely to respond? Jessica
22. Living arrangements? Condo with Mike
23. When was the last time you cried? Monday
24. What is on the floor of your closet? handbags, books, shoes, knitting stuff, towels
25. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending to? probably Carm from back in high school or one of my cousins
26. What did you do last night ? Dinner with Mike, his parents and my mom
27. What are you most afraid of? cats
28. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers? I hate burgers
29. Favorite dog breed? N/A
30. Favorite day of the week? Saturday
31. How many states have you lived in? None, I have only lived in Canada
32. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds, after all, they are my best friend LOL
33. What is your favorite flower? Hydrangeas

game review: mystery case files millionheir

I bought this game, Mystery Case Files MillionHeir over two weeks ago but I was too busy reading the Twilight books. Mike and I went to Ajax on Sunday and the boys were going to play video games while the girls were off to a baby shower. I brought my DS and this game to keep me occupied while the boys played COD for Xbox 360. So far, it's pretty interesting and also pretty basic (although I am a bit slow since I apparently can't tell the difference between a POGO STICK - the toy you jump on and the corn dog you eat). You start off in story mode finding objects in various settings to help you find clues. There is also a quick play mode where you just have to find hidden objects. I can't give a full rating yet because I want to wait until I finish the game. I hope that I don't finish this game in less than a week which is what happened with Diner Dash, Cake Mania and Cooking Mama. Yes, I am a girly gamer!

blarkness rating (so far): 4/5

UPDATE (November 18) - I finished the game on my GO ride home. SUCKS! The game only lasted me two days. The bonus is I think, I can play story mode timed. Should be a challenge for me.

happy 30th birthday mike!

Mike - you are still sleeping right now. It's 5:53 am and I have to leave for work. I hope you enjoy your first day being 30, seriously though, it's not that bad. So - welcome to the club! You are now officially a grown-up... Happy Birthday!

Karma on Saturday

Although Mike isn't exactly turning 30 until Monday, we will be celebrating early at Karma Lounge in Mississauga with about 35 of his friends on Saturday. This place use to be the old Just Desserts. As you can see, they have totally renovated it and I think it's a great place to have a small, intimate party (they make awesome martinis and have this aussie server named Anita, she is so cool).

It will be nice to hang around friends who we haven't see in a while.

chocoholic

After Mike finding some Lindt chocolates at Target that he absolutely loves, I decided to check Shoppers to see if they sell them. And as usual, they don't...but I did find some chocolates that I would like to buy. I might just have to treat myself to these $12.00 box of chocolate desserts - Petits Desserts Ballotin.

goodbye LJ

I just heard the news from my co-worker. I am devastated - Lipstick Jungle has been cancelled. http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2008/11/breaking-nbc-ax.html

iWant

Yes, I am obsessed. I want this Chapters gift card and I am going to see if I can go buy it tomorrow morning!

UPDATE!!! - Yes, I did buy the card today. I was going to get it on Tuesday but I thought I was being silly. I put $15 on the card and then bought 3 puzzle books. They are my latest obsession!

facebook

Last night, my cousin, TMI, kindly shared her username and password with me so that I could check out Gino's facebook page. I had a great time reading his wall, seeing all his friends post up comments. What put a big smile on my face were the silly remarks he would make - like having a mini heart attack from drinking too much red bull or trying to quit smoking in 5, 4, 3, 2... For those who didn't have the privilege to know Gino - he was so quirky and just fun to be around. He always came up with hilarious remarks (only lines that he would come up with and would be allowed to get away with saying) and crazy theories. We all remember the good times we had with Gino and we will never forget them. I hope that his profile never gets removed from facebook. It will be nice to check his page from time to time and just remember how much fun we had when we were with him. I only wish that G blogged more because of his seven or something posts, it was a trip to read what he was up to - from his endless suggestions for upcoming artists, his concert reviews, his rocks missions, his Friday night drinking with his co-workers - he had great thoughts and memories that he wanted us all to remember.

G - we all still miss you like crazy. It's been so difficult not having you with us everyday. Our lives feel empty without the "Gino" putting a smile on our face. Thoughts and memories of you is what gets us through each day and we all can't wait until we see you again.

So this posting is about facebook - will I join? Nope. I can see the hype of why everyone is on it, you stay connected with new and old friends. For me, there is one person that I would to connect with and he is no longer here and can't save me as a friend. That breaks my heart and make me NOT want to join. But thank you T for allowing me to peek around. I hope that in some time, you will let me use your profile to see Gino's page.

Check out his blog and his myspace.

talent = manicures

I must say, I am really proud of myself that I have perfected my manicure. I don't do a full out manicure but I am getting better at painting my nails (especially my right hand) and also cleaning up around the cuticle afterward. My boss, JG, even complimented my nails today and was shocked that I painted them myself. My mom must be so proud of me in what I have accomplished (LOL). My mom always said - if I were to enter a beauty pageant, my talent would be painting nails =)

kai

As I mentioned in a previous post, I was able to meet up with my friend Darina and her son, Kai last month just before I left for Niagara-on-the-Lake. The last time I saw Darina was late November of last year and then she gave birth to Kai in January 2008. Darina and I were together back at Taxi 1999-2001 and we have remained friends since. She has moved around, like even lived overseas, got married, had Kai and now she is back in T.O. for a few months. Even though I only got to chat with her for about an hour, it was nice nice to see her and meet Kai. This kid is adorable...

I have to make sure that I get to see her, Chris and Kai again before they leave to go back to North Carolina early next year. When I was really sad after Gino passed away, I wanted to get away and I was thinking of calling her up to see if I could visit her...I should have called, she had told me after that she would have loved a visit from me. Maybe one day...

i love halloween

This post is delayed a bit. I should have posted it last weekend but I am lazy to upload the picture. Every year, I pay my co-worker's son to go trick-or-treating for me. I am too old to go and I don't have a kid to take. So I paid Liam $12 to go and boy - did he deliver. I guess since it was a beautiful warm night, he was out longer and got so much candy...and it was all for me. His mom didn't let him keep any of the candy except for the chips. I was so excited when I got the bag...I am in heaven!

christmas shopping - part 1

Since I am skipping Christmas this year and not buying or receiving presents, I thought that I might help some of you with some gift ideas:

For your co-worker:
With the cold weather approaching, who wouldn't want a hot cup of tea? - Mighty Leaf Tea

For your girlfriend with OCD:
What better than to have a journal that has the check boxes already in them - Pierre Belvedere Pocket To-Do List

For the ocean and gaming lover:
Bring the ocean to them with this puzzle game for Nintendo DS - Zenses Ocean

For the girl obsessed with make up:
Limited edition set are the best around the holiday season. This set is the ultimate for the girl who loves make up (it is pricey though) - Stila Blockbuster Set

For cute baby girls:
If your little one is a princess, these lil heels are perfect for her - Heelarious High Heel

For the busy mom who can't relax:
This is tried and tested my yours truly. Your mom can spray this on her pillow and she will definitely get a good night's rest - Pillow Mist in Lavendar Vanilla

For your music lovin friend:
These speakers are hilarious - 500XL Giant Earbud Speakers

For the main man in your life:
A t-shirt that isn't mass-produced and has special meaning to me - Cameesa - The Vinyl Lounge

For the avid book read:
I can't stress this enough, buy the bookworm the set if they haven't already picked it up - The Twilight Saga

That's about all I can think of for now....stay tuned for a part 2

The Vinyl Lounge T-shirts are In [New Cameesa T-shirt]

The Vinyl Lounge T-shirts are In [New Cameesa T-shirt]

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fortune time

I was thinking about fortune cookies this morning, thinking that it would be cool to have an application where you could break the cookie and get your fortune. It's not the same though because I love eating fortune cookies. I found this on the net, check it out...





Make your own Fortune Cookie!

buffalo shopping

Recently, Mike and I went to Buffalo with the Dagas (yes, I know that the dollar is bad). I wasn't planning to buy anything, well, maybe a new Cole Haan bag to replace my other bag that got raped. We basically went to the outlets very quickly and to Target. Here is the bag that I bought (this picture doesn't do any justice, you have to see if in real life):

Stfne also bought a bag. She wasn't planning to buy one until she found out that I only paid $150 for mine. We didn't have to twist her arm. Once Rex agreed to her buying a bag, she marched straight into the store (I guess she was eyeing one already) and pick it up to go and pay for it. Here is her bag:

I am not going into detail about our very fast shopping trip but I do have to say that it was nice to spend time with the Dagas. It was a warm sunny day, conversation was great, dinner at Spring Rolls was fun and the company was awesome. I am glad that I have now introduced Brayden to Peek-a-Pooh. S & R - Don't forget to always buy him one whenever you come across them.

Here is our driving playlist (all of Brayden's fav songs):

So What - Pink

Miss Independent - Ne-Yo

Lovebug - Jonas Brothers

Burnin Up - Jonas Brothers

S.O.S. - Jonas Brothers

Flo-Rida - In the Ayer

book review: eclipse

Eclipse was the last book that I had to read to complete the series. I have to admit that this book took longer to read. I didn't find it as intriguing as the other books but it went into more depth of the love triangle. And who does't like reading about Edward Cullen.

After reading this book, I decided to re-read Breaking Dawn to complete the whole series in order. Then I will read Midnight Sun, which is posted on the author's website because the draft was leaked (dirty scums).

These four books are now my favorite books. My therapist thought I was crazy for reading a book about vampires shortly after my brother died but really...reading a fantasy book helped me escape from some of the painful thoughts that were going through my head the past couple of months. I was so caught up in a fantasy world that it took me away from the reality I was trying to avoid.

blarkness rating: 4.5/5

product review: l'oreal voluminous mistake proof marker eyeliner

On my recent shopping trip to Target, I was convinced by bp to try out this new eyeliner. I am not quite sure it is new or if it's even available in Canada. But for $5.24, I decided that I would try it out. There was no black available, so I picked up black brown.

If you are new to liquid eyeliner or don't have a steady hand, this is a great option for you. As you can see in the picture, the tip is exactly like a marker. Therefore, you can line your lids thick or use the outer, thinner tip to make a thin line or line your lower lids. Going over your first intial line will intensify the colour.

I love how you can use the different angles of the tip and also how it glides on so easily. I now must look at the drug stores or Wal-Mart to see if I can buy it in black.

blarkness rating: 5/5