Capes :)

I think my cape-making project was a success - whew!

Here is a (dark) video clip of 3 of the kids running around the house on Christmas Day with their capes on:

My aunt first thought that I had purchased these for the kids! Nope - 100% handmade. Well, I didn't weave my own fabric or anything, but you get the idea :)

Santa's Little Helpers

This past weekend we were hit with 2 winter storms that dropped around 12 inches of snow on us Friday and Sunday. So Christopher and I hibernated ourselves indoors. I only left the house to walk the D.O.G with Christopher and Tyson making regular trips out to keep our driveway and sidewalks clear.

Whilst holed up inside, we worked like little Christmas Elves. Christopher kept busy making batch after batch of his famous Almond Florentine, which we boxes up to give out to friends, family & neighbors for the holidays. And I worked diligently on making 6 superhero capes for the little ones in my family. The capes are double-sided (so that's like making 12 regular capes!) and have velcro closures at the neck (so the kids can't strangle/choke themselves). This was my first sewing project since making a pair of boxer shorts in Grade 7. We even bought a brand-new sewing machine just for this! I was plenty worried about ruining my cousins' kids Christmas gifts, nevermind wasting money on a sewing machine I would never use again.

All in all though, I think the capes turned out pretty well. I made logos for Batman, Superman, Wonderpets, and a Princess crown. Hope they like them!

Nature vs. Nurture

The other weekend when we were back in Canada we stayed with Christopher's parents. After they went to bed we decided to take the dog for a walk.

When we went to the closet to bundle up with our coats and boots we came across an interesting site - two pairs of the same shoes. After closer inspection it turned out that Christopher and his dad have the exact same pair of Merrell hiking shoes. Each pair purchased independently of the other and through different channels (online vs. retail store) and in different countries (Canada vs. US).

The part that makes it even funnier is that Christopher hemmed and hawed over which shoes to buy over the course of at least a week. We had a friends & family coupon for Zappos, so we wanted to make sure we made our selections carefully. He read all the reviews and comments on the shoes that were highly rated by the site. And those shoes even come in 3 different colors.

But after all that research, I guess there's no denying what's in your genes. Chris looks so much like his father that there never was any question as to their relationship - but if there ever was, I guess this settles it!

Harnessing the Power...

of humans?

I have often wondered if it would be feasible to capture the energy generated by people working out at the gym. All those treadmills, elliptical trainers, stationary bikes, and even weight machines could be set up in such a way that the energy exerted is stored in a battery of some sort. The power collected could be used by the fitness facility to subsidize their energy usage.

I am all for reducing waste. I am a big fan of leftovers. I love selling/giving away things on Craigslist/Ebay. I find it very cleansing/therapeutic to take bags of used clothes to Goodwill. But there always seemed to be something a little odd about all the people sweating like mad to burn calories just for the sake of burning calories. Images of some poor donkey walking in circles to mill flour pop into my head.

Well - the Internet has the answer to everything I guess. Look what a quick google search turned up: http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/03/08/human-powered-gyms-in-hong-kong/

Hibernating

Last week I was in Anaheim for work. I didn't fully appreciate the warm weather and sunny skies until returning home. It has been freezing this past week!! I am writing this curled up on the couch under a warm blanket, relishing the heat emanating from my laptop with a steaming mug of peppermint tea beside me.

The weather is unseasonably cold for this time of year; the average low-high should be 32-52. But these days we're in the 18-36 range.

This sudden cold spell had totally caught me off guard. I still have some leaf raking and yard work that needs tending to, but I just can't bring myself to do it. I wish I could, but I just can't. So I'm trying to find indoor chores to do so I can feel somewhat productive this weekend. But the problem is that they all involve extricating myself from the warm comfy coziness of my blanket...

Halloween '08

This Halloween I didn't want to get my hopes up after our low turnout last year. But in the back of my mind, I was hoping that with the new neighbours moved into the house on the other side of us, that this would draw more trick-or-treaters to come and visit us.

For decoration this year, we proudly displayed our largest pumpkin ever:

As luck would have it, this year we were visited by more than four times as many trick-or-treaters as last year!! Record numbers of children out on the street asking for a handout - a sign of our poor economic times?

Baltimore, MD

As a fan of Maryland blue crabs Christopher was sweet enough to plan a weekend getaway for us to Baltimore.

I ate crabs for 2 nights in a row - even though the process kindof grosses Christopher out:

We went to the aquarium and saw

a dolphin show:

frogs and lizards:

& a 3-d movie:

It rained for most of Saturday, but since we we spent most of the afternoon at the aquarium we didn't mind. And that meant that Sunday was a beautiful, warm & sunny blue-skied day. That afternoon the Baltimore Ravens were playing the Raiders at home, so we made a last-minute decision to walk over to the stadium and pickup a pair of tickets. This was the first NFL game for the both of us and we had a blast!

Giant Pumpkin

This Halloween we carved our biggest pumpkin ever - 118.8 lbs!

When we first moved to the Connecticut, one thing I found was that I needed to allocate a much larger budget for pumpkins compared to back in Toronto.

Around Halloween Loblaws always had some doorcrasher where they would sell pumpkins of all sizes for $2 each and I would often buy at least three - and sometimes as many as 6 or 7.

But around where we live now, you pay for your pumpkin by weight - 50 cents/lb. So a large pumpkin can run you over $12-$15.

While visiting a corn maze last weekend, they had pumpkins of all sizes for sale - and giant ones for only $15! After seeing this I had to have one - it was bargain I could not refuse.

The pumpkin itself weighed 118.8 lbs and after I cleaned it out it was 79.8 lbs - 39 lbs of pumpkin innards alone!

Lucky for me, my friend A's super-strong husband M was able to muscle the pumpkin into our trunk, while the rest of us just watched in amazement.














Stay tuned for pics of the carved pumpkin...

Corn Maze

This weekend our friends A & M came down for a visit. Up for an adventure we decided to put our orienteering skills to the test in a corn maze.

After a little online research, we decided to drive up to Sunderland, MA to visit Mike's Maze. It seemed like the most elaborate one around. None of us had ever been to a corn maze before, so we didn't really know what to expect.

To navigate through the maze, they set up this map with a game you can play. It's neat how they do this so you get to explore all the different areas of the maze.

It's pretty cool how they are able to make a maze like this. I have no clue how they plant the corn to make this pattern so perfectly.

Waterfire

This weekend Christopher's parents came down to visit us and to see the fall colours.

It was also the last weekend for the Waterfire exhibit in Providence, RI where they light 100 bonfires along the river that runs right through the center of the city. I had been meaning to check it out all summer long after first reading about it in the paper, but never had the time.

Fortunately for me, our visitors were up for the drive to Providence so off we went. The weather was perfect - a clear night that was just warm enough. The fires were a sight to see and the reflection off the water was beautiful. I've always had a thing for fires - I can sit and stare at a campfire all night. In our house I (more than Christopher) am the one to suggest a fire in our fireplace and am the one to build it.

The pictures don't really do it justice, but here are a few so you get the idea:

Kitchen Project

Having gained some confidence in our DIY prowess after seeing how well our railing turned out, we decided to take on our most involved project yet.

Before: ugly exhaust fan

During: hole

After: patched siding & microwave with outside venting exhaust fan

Accident

While in Atlanta on business this past week we were in a freak car accident. A driver ran a red light and took out the front end of our rental car. Thankfully nobody was injured.

I was sitting in the rear passenger side with my seat belt on and the car hit us from that side. If we had accelerated slightly faster through the intersection the car would have hit the passenger cabin...

First trip to Fenway

We managed to pick up some last-minute tickets on StubHub for the Red Sox-Blue Jay series that started last Friday in Boston. We managed to get 4 tickets all together in the Infield Grandstand for less than face value - quite the steal! And the convenient thing about these tickets was that they were e-tickets. StubHub just e-mailed me the PDF, which I forwarded on to our friends so we could all print our tickets out beforehand and just meet at the seats. That way we didn't have to try and find them outside the stadium.

It was pouring rain on Friday and we were actually surprised that they played the game. Lucky for us our seats were in the back of our section so we were well covered. But the grounds-crew was certainly busy all evening:

The Green Monster - not sure what this guy was doing with the ladder though...

It was our first trip to Fenway for both of us so we tried to make sure we got the full Fenway Experience. We ate Fenway Franks and during the rain delay had our caricature done:

Second Chance to Make a First Impression

Even though I struggled to make myself watch the entire 2hr series premiere of the new 90210 last week I decided to give it a second chance last night. But I couldn't do it again - I totally lost interest halfway through the show. And last night's episode was only an hour! It was just too lame.

And it certainly doesn't help that 90210 is on the night after my all-time favorite show Gossip Girl! It pales in comparison. I can't even count how many times I turned to Christopher and exclaimed in disgust "they would never say/do that on Gossip Girl!". And yes, C is kind enough to sit with me during my favorite show, not without his laptop the entire time though! At least he doesn't have to suffer through 90210 anymore as I am dropping it from my lineup - PVR space is valuable my friends, especially in HD!

Itchy Doggy

It's the time of the year that Tyson's seasonal allergies flare up. He's been modeling the stylish cone-head & black booties look this fall so he doesn't make any raw spots on his skin when he scratches himself. Poor guy - he looks so pathetic!



Tyson never had any allergy problems when we lived back in Toronto. Here in Connecticut there is just so much more green space that the pollen count must be much higher. But too much green space is a good problem to have, especially as far as my frisbee-obsessed dog is concerned.

I find it mildly amusing that Tyson has allergies. When I was growing up I begged and pleaded for a dog, but my parents told me that we couldn't get one because I was allergic. And now I have a dog (and am not allergic to him in the slightest) but he has allergies. Go figure!

Labour Day Weekend

Christopher and I spent our Labour Day weekend in Canada this year, as opposed to enjoying the Labor Day festivities in the US.

We enjoyed at low-key relaxing weekend back in Burlington/Oakville. As usual, I tried to hit up as many of my favourite eats while there. I stuffed myself with enough dim sum, Swiss Chalet, and congee/noodles to stave off the cravings until our next trip back home. And we happily found a new congee place, Congee Dynasty in Mississauga, which is closer and way less busy than our usual Congee Wong.

One highlight of the trip (other than spending time with our respective families & inlaws of course) was our trip to Waterloo to see M & C's new baby J. When we saw him, J was only 17 days old, so he's now at the top of the leaderboard for the youngest baby we have ever visited. He was so tiny (but very healthy and gaining weight every day), that both Christopher and I declined the offer to hold him for fear that we might do some permanent and irreversible damage. Besides, everyone knows babies can smell fear and there is no doubt that as soon as he was in our arms that he would be screaming at his parents for letting such incapable baby-minders handle him.

While enjoying some sun & sushi on a patio I was paid a surprise visit by my old university friend K. She was in town from Vancouver for a wedding that weekend and was heading back the next day. It was too bad that we couldn't have coordinated ourselves better to have a proper visit, but since we both live far from home we understand how hard it is to fit all our obligations into a brief trip. But nonetheless, it was wonderful to see & hug her in person and remind ourselves that we should do a better job of staying in touch.

Boys Weekend

This past weekend Christopher's friend G who is in Boston for a 2-week business trip came out to visit us for the weekend.

As boys like to do when they get together, we consumed copious amounts of meat at the local eat-all-you-can churrascaria. And then they headed out to check out the new MGM Grand at Foxwoods and play some poker.

A fun time was had by all - the boys returned home a little "less rich" than they were at the beginning of the evening, but were still in good spirits.

Olympic Fever

Christopher and I have Olympic Fever! Ever since we recorded the Opening Ceremonies on our DVR and watched the whole thing from beginning to end, we have been tuning in every night. If you add up all the Olympic viewing I have done in my entire life up until Beijing, I don't think it would total to half as much as I have watched of these games so far (and there are still 4 days left).


I think there are three main contributing factors to our increase in Olympic viewership:

• USA: we now live in the US and the US Olympic team got off to a great start in these games (thanks to Michael Phelps!)


• HDTV: for me sports is meant for viewing in HD. And now that we have a new HDTV, we find ourselves watching different programming than before. If something is only offered in a 4:3 SD format, there is a good chance we won't be watching it. If it's upconverted SD, we'll consider it ;)


• Time Difference: with live events being broadcasted every night right around prime time, we can't help but tune in. And if we needed any more excuses to stay up later than we already do - the Olympics would be a pretty good one. Me: Please Christopher, I'll go to bed as soon as Rogers/Dalhausser finish this match

There certainly has been lots of excitement during these games - Dara Torres, Michael Phelps, Nastia Liukin, & Shawn Johnson to name a few. Most recently we've been rather entertained by Usain Bolt's antics on the track. I wonder if we'll ever get to see this guy actually break a sweat!

Work Hard Play Hard

This weekend Christopher and I put our carpentry skills to the test and built a railing for the steps up to our front porch. Our insurance company had identified the lack of railing as a potential exposure and it is also against the building codes for our town. So after putting it off for several months Christopher hit up the lumber yard for some wood and I borrowed a miter saw from a friend at work.

Here are the results of our handiwork:

Before: no railing

Back Porch Railing: our goal was to match this

After: completed railing - just needs a coat of paint

And to reward ourselves for our hard work, we hit the beach on Sunday :)

And here is our truly finished railing, after two coats of paint:

Fascinating isn't it - but we're just so proud! You always remember your first :)

Barter

Every once in awhile I peruse Craigslist for our area to see if there is anything interesting available. For the first time, I decided to check out the 'Barter' classifieds.

I couldn't help but find it humorous that the listings were looking for such specific items as well as what was being offered for trade. For example:

• snowboard, guitar & Xbox360 for golf equipment/PS3 bundle
• tattoos/body piercings for fishing equipment & guns
• commercial grade slushie machine for utility trailer
  
• tandem bike for moped or tandem kayak
• almost new lawn tractor for reliable car

It just seems so inefficient to me, but I have never bartered before so maybe I am missing something here. I mean, wouldn't it be easier to list these items for sale on Craigslist to get money so they can purchase whatever they are looking for? I am sure it is possible to find a match for these exchanges, but if I traded in my reliable car for an almost new lawn tractor it would certainly take me a long time to get to work!!

The Rez

Just around the corner from our house are 6 water reservoirs located in 3,000 acres of beautiful forested land, with hiking trails and bike paths.

Because it is so convenient you would think that we would have visited the Reservoir at least a dozen times since we moved here. Like many things worthy of procrastination, a trip to the "The Rez" fell into this category. 'We can go any time' we told ourselves, the trees aren't going anywhere.

But driving home from work today it was such a beautiful day that I decided to find out what we were missing. So we strapped on Tyson's new red backpack and treated him to a bonus walk. And a great time was had by all - we'll definitely be back!

Nancy Scissorhands

This weekend I trimmed about 175ft of hedges in our front and back yard. Usually I do this in two separate weekends, but I decided to tough it our and just get it done in one. Boy were my arms tired from holding the hedge trimmer up high above my head.

Before

After

All my hard work was appreciated when we had our neighbors over for drinks on Sunday evening and we could see out from our front porch.

The Irony of Blogging

Yes it has been awhile since I have updated this blog. I am going to use the excuse that I was "too busy". And isn't that the great irony of blogging? When you have lots of stuff going on in your life, you just don't have a spare minute to sit down and document it. Or that's the excuse anyways!

Well I am back now on the wagon now and going to make a more concerted effort to update the blog with all the fun an exciting things going on in my life - and write some posts to fill in the 5.5 month gap.

PS. Thanks to all of you that voted for Tyson in the Bissell contest. He didn't come anywhere close to winning but don't worry, I still love him just the same! I was shocked to see how many pets were entered into the Bissell contest, ~3000 each week?!? It's nice to see so many well loved animals out there!

Ricotta Salata

I am addicted to a new cheese called Ricotta Salata.

After catching the "Italian Picnic" episode of Everyday Italian on the Food Network (because I am a picnicking fiend), I wanted to try making the main dish of Orzo with Sausage, Peppers, and Tomatoes, since orzo is one of my favorite pastas and who doesn't like sausage!

Note - I am not sure if I agree with the folks at Food Network for classifying this dish as "picnic-fare" since it is served hot, but it's quite tasty nonetheless.


This dish calls for ricotta salata, a salty crumbly cheese that I would describe as an Italian version of feta. Now like feta, I get the impression that ricotta salata is mostly used to finish off a dish. But, much like feta - I love sneaking cubes of it all on its own!! I found it it my regular grocery store, which is nice since I don't have to make a dedicated trip to a specialty store to find it, but dangerous at the same time as I could eat an entire block in a week's time :)

Tyson's New Trick

To celebrate Canada Day & Independence Day we decided to take the week off and head home to visit family & friends. We had a busy social calendar with Chris's dad's retirement party, my cousin's son's 1 year birthday party, my uncle's 80th birthday party and the requisite Canada Day trip to our friend S's cottage.

It is at the cottage that we often end up teaching Tyson a new trick. It was here that he had his first swim in open water when he was only a few months old. Dog + cottage = hours of entertainment :)

Here is a video of Tyson's new trick:

Guanella Pass

This week I was visiting some customers in Cheyenne & Denver. Nothing very exciting - in fact I find Cheyenne so boring! I did meet up with another coworker when I was in Denver and we managed to sneak in a drive up to the mountains since it was his first time to Denver and he had never been up in the Rockies before.

We stopped at a Starbucks along the highway and the barista recommended that we take a drive up to Guanella Pass. Here are some pics along the way:

Cruisin'

When I go to visit potential customers I often spend most of my time in their super air-conditioned lab filled with racks and racks of equipment. And if I have forgotten to bring a sweater with me I almost always leave with a cold.

This time I was lucky enough to be visiting a Disney cruise ship in Florida! I most certainly enjoyed the balmy weather and taking a relaxing walk on the beach just behind my hotel. At the end of my visit a crew member was even kind enough to give me a little tour of some of the non-passenger areas of the ship. Not really as nice as the passenger areas, but still interesting to see what goes on behind the scenes!

Note the blue skies and the palm trees - aaah :)