Bellini-induced Brain Freeze

Out with the old, in with the new Don't get me wrong! I cannot possibly complain about 2006. 2006 was amazing, fantastic. Health and happiness: the two things we predictably wish upon everyone every year...well, this year was full of all that. Two trips in one year! I hope I can keep that up. :) New babies all around me. Everyone is getting better job opportunities. Everyone has been healthy. Of course, there are always things that could be better but I'm not going to be ungrateful for everything we've had this year. Here's hoping we all have an even better 2007! PS: Yes, I'm home on a Saturday night. No, I'm not sick but I am exhausted. I even had a nap this afternoon! Holiday time with the familia is like one crazy marathon.

"...would you run to me if somebody hurt you... "...even if that somebody was me?" (I hope I did well by Mrs S with, hopefully, the proper use of grammar and punctuation in there.) So that's a line from a song for you. TLC, Prince, take your pick. Just smile and nod if you don't follow me...the line goes along with today's topic of discussion. At least in my Leah-world it does. I do not understand people who make someone their entire world. One. Person. They just latch on and make the other person into their life. They're joined at the hip forever and ever, amen. Or at least until something awful tears them apart. Maybe I never will understand it. Am I missing some romantic fairytale element in my DNA? Am I, as Daisy is prone to describing herself, "the guy in the relationship?" Once a guy tried to swoop in and infiltrate my circle of friends soon after I introduced him to the group. MY friends . I guess I'm not so good with sha...

Nice job if you can get it... I did quite a bit of my Christmas shopping online this year. And if I didn't do it online, you can bet I went on a weekday off to a lesser-shopped mall. Every year it gets worse; they don't have the size/color you're looking for, there are lineups as far as the eye can see, your arms ache from carrying all your bags, your patience wears thin trying to maneuver around the crowds. And to top it off this year, there is barely any staff. To be more specific, there is barely any knowledgeable staff who are willing to help . I mean, why should they inconvenience themselves by offering to help you? The city is so crazed for workers that A&W is offering workers twice what I made in my first job for flipping burgers! You can earn a good dime just standing around filling out a company's payroll. All the little slights add up. After paying for her purchase, the sales clerk walked away from the till and left my mom to reach over the counter and g...

*sigh* So this morning the Usual Suspects, Weird Kid's crew, and I went to various Sport Chek locations across the city to get our tickets for the New Year's Eve game. Or so I thought . I would have never guessed that I would be denied. Weird Kid and friends have had such great success nabbing tickets for all the other games we've attended. Heck, I had tickets given to me for Christmas at the office Christmas party. Whodathunk I would not be going to the NYE game. I was so picturing myself at that game with all my friends and family, the thought of not being in the Saddledome on that evening was a faraway joke. Latina and I lined up half an hour before store opening and were 4 people away from getting tickets. Weird Kid and friends chose a Sport Chek with the shortest line and had the tickets run out one person ahead of them in line. Civic got to his store shortly after they opened and they were already sold out. Apparently people had started lining up since 6 in t...

On the Map Slowly (but hopefully surely...?) I'm getting back into the blogging swing of things. Latest tweak, obviously, is my new travel map. Not done "dotting" everything, but clearly most of my travelling has been to North America thus far. And it's beginning to look a LOT like Christmas...

Bringing you up to speed Though really it's for my own recollection more than anything. :) Ang and her man got married! baby sis is now considered an adult all across the globe! Daisy dragged me to a Ben Lee show and in my own state of disbelief I stood behind a pillar all night staring at my hand (which looked gorgeous and slim that night, by the way, I can't explain it) Another girl who got dragged to the show was kind enough to ask if I was ok. After some fun compassionate conversation (she was invited to the show by a couple of Australian guys, though she paid for her own ticket...at least I was in there gratis courtesy of Daisy) it turns out she thought I was high yet miserable. :) That became the dawn of the blee-show. During Flag-girl's birthday we met some British and Welsh guys. I thought they worked at a cannery. Consensus was they were in the British army. Daisy, knowing her, went and had a good snog with one of them and as fate would have it, so did I. ...

Aloha Hawaii Geez, I really need to get this done and done . So much else has happened since then and I have not bothered blogging it! August 5th, 2006 So the time had come for us to finally bid Hawaii a fond "Aloha." Get up, get sorted, get breakfast. Jack-In-The-Box is your friend early in the morning and you don't have the time for a sit down meal at Denny's/IHOP. Over brekkie we got to discussing where we figured our transfers would come and pick us up. Earlier, they had dropped us off on the side, but would they pick us up at the front since it was more prominent? Luckily our driver came looking for us at the front desk as we were checking out (a tad late, oops) For future reference, if you stay at the Ohana Waikiki West and you take your transfers with Aloha VIP you'll be picked up at the side of the hotel. Pretty specific nugget of info, but there you go. First off was our interisland Aloha flight back to Kahului with their yummy guava punch. :) When ...

Synchronize watches Well, it’s taking me a loooong time, but I’m getting close to finishing this story. : ) August 4th, 2006 Free day, or free half-a-day. Civic had been texting me asking if I had “lost” Daisy yet. Nobody had banked on us being able to tolerate one another 24/7 for a whole week. And we weren’t splitting off to do our own things because we couldn’t stand each other anymore. Daisy was headed off to Hanauma Bay to go snorkeling, and I’m not a very strong swimmer so I passed on that. I needed to go shopping, and that wasn’t very high on Daisy’s list. So the plan was: have breakfast together, split off, and then reconvene in the afternoon to check out the huge Hilo Hattie store. Oops, I must have been more exhausted than I thought. I somehow slept through Daisy’s alarm clock, beyond her trying to gently wake me up, and I did not even stir when she left. When I woke, there was a note on my pillow wishing me a good sleep and that she would meet me in a few minutes ...

Honor and Family August 3, 2006 Waikiki travel tip: If you’re interested in seeing Pearl Harbor DO go as early as you can. We had read this piece of advice in several sources and only in one guidebook did it actually suggest that wait times may be shorter in the afternoon. Trust us, even if you show up at 11:30AM, note that it’s not even afternoon yet, you will be TOO late to catch a tour. This is just based on personal experience. But don’t you worry your pretty little heads, we woke up at 5 so we would be ready for TheBus that would get us to Pearl Harbor a couple of minutes after 7:30 (when the visitor centre opens). We actually had a sit-down breakfast, which caused us to catch TheBus later than planned, so we got there at 8 instead. The line did not seem too long, it coiled around once on itself on the lawn. It was I would say 8:45 by the time we got into the centre and were handed our tour tickets. We would be on tour 11, 10:15am. This gave us plenty of time to take the...

Tour of beauty August 2, 2006 Today was our Grand Circle Isle tour. It’s really hard to convey through words everything we saw. I’m certain it will not sound like very much, even looking at my pictures they do not look like a whole lot, but I have lots of memories and that’s all that matters. First off, before our tour even started, we texted Civic and waved to him from the Duke Kahanamoku statue. The night before when we visited Duke a guy said that we were on the internet. I was glad that he explained himself since it sounded kind of sketchy his claim that I was on the ‘net. Turns out there’s a webcam that looks down on the statue 24 hours a day. So this morning we surprised Civic when we asked him to check out the statue and he found us standing there. Heehee. Our first picture stop was at Hanauma Bay. Despite all their warnings about protecting the reef (Daisy went back to snorkel there on a later day, they make you watch a video about the reef before you enter the water) t...

Rise Up August 1, 2006 This morning was our “welcome breakfast” put together by Aloha V.I.P. tours. Daisy was raring to get on with the rest of our day, and I did not blame her one bit, but this was just something I had to do so I would be able to let everyone back home know if it’s worth their while or not. (A few friends of the family are going to Honolulu in the next couple months. It’s like a Hawaiian revival amongst the social circle.) It was a little hokey as they placed fake flower leis around your neck as you pose for a picture in the hotel’s garden. Apparently they used to take your picture as soon as you deplaned with your real leis. But given that some tourists arrive late at night and look a bit haggard after their long flight the pictures would turn out a tad undesirable. Now they take it the morning after so that you are refreshed and looking your best. A phoney arrival photo, yours for 18 dollars! We passed. Yes, the breakfast did take a bit long (I think it wa...

Surf’s Up Before I forget, Lahaina Shores Beach Resort was the hotel where we stayed while we were in Lahaina. GREAT location! Very nice room, too. Huuuge closet (if you’re planning to stay a long time this is great), a dignified kitchenette (though we only ever used the coffeemaker, fridge, and microwave) and a great bathroom. I don’t know what those are called when the sink is in a separate “room” from the toilet and the shower/tub…but those always come in handy, especially in the morning. Another thing I forgot to mention: If you do decide to take surf lessons and they give you the option between short and long-sleeved rashguards go with the long sleeves. Trust me . No, it is not hot wearing the rashguards. Yes, you will still tan under the rashguards (so make sure you get your shoulders and your back and backs of your legs since you’ll be face down in the water for most of your lesson. Don’t forget your face!) But those long-sleeves will save you a lot of grief in the lon...

Walk on July 30, 2006 I forgot to mention: first swimsuit I donned for my first day in paradise? A bikini! 3 cheers for me, I had never done anything like that before. Mind you, I felt like I was “popping out” of this particular top so I never wore it again the rest of my trip, but it was still a first to celebrate! Snafu no. 1: We weren’t able to find an available tour for this morning’s sunrise at Haleakala Crater so for now it remains on my “must-do”s for my next Hawaiian adventure. But even with that glitch in our itinerary, we were not lacking for things to do in Lahaina. We had breakfast at a quaint little joint called the Sunrise Café. Great breakfast, and I could almost swear that it was owned by a warm-hearted Filipino couple. (Yes, I’m bad with identifying Filipinos, but Lahaina had LOTS of them….just my hotel front desk alone was manned by no less than 3 Filipinos. One of them even commented on my great surname when I was checking out. Reminding me that it is the s...

And away we go Since I did not bother with keeping up my travel journal last week, I better write down everything I can remember before it all fades away. July 29, 2006 Everyone was stunned when I told them about how much I was taking with me for my one week in Hawaii. What can I say? I tend to pack the world with me. Four pairs of shoes? A bit much? I didn’t think so, they were all going to serve their own purpose. Hiking shoes for Diamond Head, flip flops for the beach, my trusty Pumas for long walks sightseeing, and some dressy sandals for the flights there and back. We were going to try and dress the part of business class passengers in hopes of an upgrade. It never worked. Let’s see, what else…at least 10 tops, only one of which had sleeves and those were short (you all know me, I wilt easily in the heat) and one long sleeve yoga zip-up…but I expected to only use it on the plane. A sundress for the luau, two pairs of shorts, and a skort. Forget about jeans, I don’t thi...

Aloha oe Right now I forget what oe means, but I'm sure I'll learn about it in half a day's time or so. And I'm sure it's relevant to right now. Anyway, wish me luck! Here's to plenty of stories to share in a week's time!

Hot child in the city From what I've heard it's just hot everywhere you go in the world these days. Even my basement is not as cool and comforting as it usually is. Sooo harsh. Last weekend my cousin and his wife had a renewal of vows as well as the christening of their son (they got married in the Philippines a while back, and not very many of us were able to travel there to attend). The reception was held at the Sheraton Suites Eau Claire. I always knew it was a nice hotel but I had no idea just how nice . To put it into perspective I don't think I want my wedding reception to be at the Palliser anymore. The service and quality of everything they had at the Sheraton was UNBELIEVABLE . I'm in love with the Sheraton now. And it's a bonus that it's so close to the river I love so much. I would have to say this cousin is one of my favorites out of those who have married into our family. I think she's so sweet and kind...and it's tough being a wom...

"Ballroom blitz" I almost forgot! Saturday (the day at the Stampede) we sat at the ATCO Blue Flame Kitchen to rest our feet while Buzzards Cowboy Cuisine demonstrated how they cook some of their specialties. For all those who are not in the know, Buzzards is famous for their annual "Testicle Festival" which usually coincides with Stampede time in the city. So guess what they cooked up for us that day? Yeah. I ate (albeit just a small sample, those puppies are big!) a pan-fried prairie oyster in gravy. It's a lot chewier than I thought it'd be. Interesting. Perhaps since they did not pressure cook it. My mom makes a really good beef tongue dish but the tongue is so tender from pressure cooking that it practically just melts in your mouth. Not so with fried prairie oysters. So there you have it, I've tasted a toro's cojones. And now, back to our studio!