Christmas 2008

This year Mike and I stayed in Vancouver for Christmas.

We're pretty happy with our decision given the extreme weather that Canadians experienced from coast to coast this year around the holidays.

Everyone I spoke with who traveled for the holidays talked of delays, cancellations, sitting on the tarmac and lost luggage.

One guy at work trying to go east sat through almost a day and a half of delays and cancellations before he just decided to stay home and had his tickets refunded.

So I decorated our place with a little artificial tree and the little decorations I've collected over the years.



The neighborhood was decorated too which is nice and I didn't have to worry about a green Christmas this year, no sir.

Vancouver received record snowfall which was obviously part of the travel issue. However the temperatures were warm and it was nice to see snow at Christmas.

Also given there is pretty much no infrastructure for snow removal, when it stormed on the 24th people were advised to just stay at home given the slow or canceled buses, dangerous roads and backed up sky train.

Also it is a lot of fun playing with the dogs in the snow.

They get so excited with it and they bounce around chasing snowballs and catching them in their mouth. Even grumpy Tala seems to be a nicer dog when surrounded by snow.

It really was a good time to stay off the roads though. People were getting stuck all over the place because there are just really no plows, especially not on main streets. There are no little side walk plows and businesses just hire people to come out with shovels to clear the sidewalk in front of their business so the sidewalks are really messy.
On Christmas eve we made ourselves a little dinner and we had some wine and Baileys and opened some of our presents a l'Acadien style.

We watched A Christmas Story, A Christmas Carol, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Miracle on 34th Street, etc.

The next day we were going to a potluck Christmas dinner at a friends house for all the "Christmas orphans" among our friends.



I decided to make six pates. I got the recipe from Raymond and let it cook over night.

The next day it tasted just like six pates according to Mike, but it seemed a little darker. I think I may have used too many cloves. Regardless everyone had some and seemed to really like it.

Thanks, Raymond, I don't think it is Christmas for Mike with out that dish.




Thanks everyone for all the nice things we had a great Christmas.

Here is me in my pink hoody from Mom and Dad with my Chance perfume from Mike. Mike also got me a nice pink bathrobe and binoculars.

We'll be taking them to Hawaii this week when we go to watch surfers, etc.

We finished opening our presents the next day.


Here is Mike. From me he got some good sunglasses, a new book bag and a nice bottle of scotch.

He's also already worn the clothes that Mom and Dad sent him, so thanks guys for that too :)

So we went over to our friends place.

One couple made eggnog from scratch with egg whites, ice cream and rum.

While we were waiting for the turkey to cook we had some chocolates, appies and this delicious eggnog.






Here is everyone enjoying their dinner, yum, yum.

We had turkey and all the fixins as well as cannelloni and six pates.

It was delicious. We were all too stuffed to have dessert, but we finished off with some special coffees.






Sometimes turkey makes you sleepy, so here is mike taking a break with his furry buddy.

After dinner we played some cards and board games and that was our Christmas.

We had a very Merry Christmas and I hope everyone else did too.

Trip to UK

I recently had to travel to the UK for business meetings.

I was meeting with a client to propose their projects for the new year.

I was staying in a little town called Bradford. The largest city near Bradford is called Leeds.

Behind my hotel there was a little canal that looked to be a tourist attraction with these tour boats in the summer.

I was surprised by how cold it was there when I arrived and there had been snow. In Vancouver at this time we were still just having above zero temperatures and it had mostly been sunny.

Although I imagine these are the thoughts of every tourist, I was struck by the thought that even though I was in this tiny little town, everything still "looked British".

It looked as I imagined it to look from different movies and photos.

I'd arrived late on Monday afternoon and on the Tuesday I was to meet with the client in the early afternoon.



So in the morning, I walked around the downtown and took some pictures.

I got myself some lunch and had a little walk.

However given the 8 hour time difference, I was really feeling the jetlag. I was awake when I should be sleeping and sleeping when I should be awake.

Not to mention I would just wake up at around 4:00 am every morning and not really be able to get back to sleep.

So I had meetings the next few days and the last day one of our senior sales staff met us there to give the meeting where we would present the projects.

We were going to go to Leeds, stay the night there and fly out of Leeds to Heathrow (London) and then to Vancouver, but instead we changed it so that we stayed the night in London. That was awesome and I really appreciate getting things changed so that I could do that.

Given we have connections in the UK now, most of our senior staff have made the trip and it was nice to go too.
So after our last meeting, which had gone very well, we took a cab to a train station.

We took the business train to London. The train was pretty cool. It was similar to an airplane where stewardesses go around selling food and drinks and there are little bathroom pods.

Most business people are on the train. They have their laptops and blackberry's and cell phones and work most of the time.



After the train we walked through the old station up and down staircases with our luggage in tow.

Thank goodness I was forward thinking enough to cram everything into a small carry on rolling case and my laptop bag.

Again I couldn't get over how old everything looked. It seemed that everything you touched must be an antique. When I'd explained this to those I was meeting with their common joke was always "Yes, to us it just seems run down!"


So we checked into a Marriott and I went to get ready to go out for dinner. I was so tired I was almost ready to fall asleep on my feet, but I wasn't going to waste a chance to party in London for the first time ever.

In London all the cabs are these black cabs like this one. In the back there are two bench seats that face each other and the ceilings are so high you can almost stand up in them.




So we took a cab to the Soho area and walked around for a little while seeing what there is to see. There was tons of shopping and this was before Christmas so there were tons of sales.

I did get a couple of things, but you could spend an entire weekend just shopping. The clothes are so nice and there were really good deals. There were also double-decker buses all over and little rickshaws like seen here where the driver bicycles you to your destination. We tried one because we were kind of lost and it was easier than meandering around clueless.

We had dinner at a really nice Indian restaurant as the area is known for it's great "curries".

Here is me in one of the red telephone booths that dot the side walk.
We went to a traditional pub and had a pint of beer.

It was close to Christmas and people were very upbeat and in the Christmas spirit.






After that we headed back to the hotel and the next morning, got up and headed for Heathrow and that was the end of my little trip to the UK.

I definitely want to go back to Mike and see more of Europe, especially Italy and France.

Andrea's Christmas Party

My Christmas party was not as eccentric as Mike's.

It is usually at the same venue each year. It is a trendy little tapas bar just up the street from us.

I had just gotten back from the UK that day at around 3:00.

I'd greeted the dogs and took a nap until I had to get ready for the party.

The week before, I'd cut and changed my hair color so I got quite a reaction at the party and everyone wanted to know how the meetings had gone in the UK so I was very busy and I don't think I'd managed to get a bite to eat or a drink until I'd been there an hour.




We have quite a few people now and the place was just busting at the seams.

I made the rounds and said hey to my guys and their wives/girlfriends.

We had a champagne toast and then the place was opened up to the public, we hit our budget for drinks, so it was time to go.

The food was great and the desserts were too, but they were sort of floating around the room with them so I didn't manage to get much.

So the party moved down the street to our friends house and there Mike met up with me and walked me home. He'd been feeling kind of tired/sick and it's true, about 80% of the men I work with are giants, so he isn't a huge fan of being packed into that place.

Overall it was a fun Christmas party. It's always nice to hang out with your coworkers on a more social level.

MIke's Christmas Party

As we are in the holiday season we've been doing lots of Christmas partying.

We went to Mike's Christmas part at the Afghan Horseman. It is a great restaurant and Mike and I will certainly go back, very tasty.

They have pillow rooms, tassels and rugs hanging from the ceiling, very middle eastern authentic!

They featured these great tasty drinks that were either for 1 or two or four and were served in flower pots.

They served us in courses and there was so much food. From roasted eggplant to fall off the bone lamb and deep fried treats.

This picture gives you an idea of the decor.








There was a great dancer and she did the dance of the swords and also danced with cassenettes on her fingers.

She was doing a great job and obviously took tips :)

Here is Mike giving here a tip.

It's okay, really it was my idea and I think I was actually giving the bills to him.

She was really a talented dancer.

After a fantastic dinner, we went to a bar near the Granville Island Ferry called Back Stage.



There was a live band and we had a great time and finally took a cab home later in the evening.
Mike works with a great group of people and I can see why he likes it so much.

US Thanksgiving

I have a few friends out here now who are American. This has a very cool perk.

I usually get invited to two thanksgiving dinners :) One in October and one in late November.

The food at these parties are always fantastic. These guys know how to cook a bird!

They had actually soaked the turkey in "brine" for hours before cooking it. I 'd never heard of this, but they soak it in a mixture of water and spices and then the turkey takes in more moisture.

Then they kept infusing it with it's baste while it was cooking.

Finally when it was done, they sit it upside down so that all the juices move to the breast rather than go out the bottom.

Besides turkey we had baked sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, stiffing, lasagna and all the fixins.

For dessert we had a home made coconut cream pie which was almost the end of me!
Mike went too, but I didn't manage to catch him in the camera I guess.
Yum!

My Birthday

This year on my birthday, (which I also share with my Grampie, Happy birthday Grampie!), Heather came to visit me.

I took Friday off and we went to the gym and got our nails done. Then that night we went out for sushi with Mike.

The next day on Saturday I had booked a table at the Yaletown Brew Pub. I had not planned on doing anything much, but one of my friends was a bit disappointed that I was not, so I did kind of last minute :)

A bunch of us met at the restaurant, we had some good food and fresh beers and then we went to the pub next door.
I had a great time and I got lots of really nice things from my friends. I got some good wine and champagne from a couple of friends, a really cute little bag from one friend and Heather got me some really nice soaps.

I also got some great cards in the mail and some pajamas from Mom and Dad and some jewelry.

Also thanks for the emails and facebooks notes for a Happy Birthday.




Mike got got me really great chocolates from Purdy's and one friend got me a gift certificate at a great spa that Mike and I will have to try.
I even got the cutest mug for work that I adore and will guard it from the dishwasher with my life!

At the pub we did some dancing and watched the hockey game and goofed off a bit.




On my actual birthday on Tuesday, Mike made me a really nice dinner and we had a fantastic chocolate cake from capers and champagne.

This year, I really felt my birthday. Dirty thirty is starting to get close :(

I just have to make sure I keep great friends around to keep me young as I get old :)

Thanks everyone for all your love and support on my bday

Halloween and Madonna

So, I've been having a great time lately. Thursday night I went to Madonna.

Some friends had a spare ticket and it is a rare occasion to see Madonna, so I jumped a the chance.

She seldom does Canadian shows after police in Toronto almost arrested her in the 90's for her show there in her "Truth or Dare" tour.

After work I went out for dinner with everyone at a great tapas restaurant in Gastown called Cobre that I'll have to bring Mike to (my first time there).
Then we headed over to BC Place. Concerts are usually held at GM place which is a smaller venue, but better acoustics. So bands decide whether to have 2 shows at GM or one show at BC Place. Madonna decided to have one show at GM place and pack em in.

Here show was amazing though and I can cross another thing off my life list. Her sets were so cool from this white vintage car that they drove out onto the stage to a boxing ring, to this massive cylinder projector on the end of the stage that she would be inside either sitting on a piano and once on a bed. Her dances sequences and dancers were amazing.
Madonna is also in fantastic shape. She is 50 now but she is absolutely ripped and has fantastic muscle definition in her legs and arms.

Any woman at any age would count their lucky stars if they looked like that.

The only thing I would say about the concert was that it started way too late. We got there after the opening act finished and then waited for her for an hour. As a result it ended really late so I didn't get to bed until around 12:30 on a week night.

The next day was Halloween and up until I went to see Madonna, I didn't know what to wear and was likely not going to dress up.

Then after watching her with her electric guitar, I realized I have my guitar from rock band and decided to go as a Guitar Hero or Rock Band avatar. (the little figures in the video game).

So my costume was great and everyone loved it. After work I headed to yoga and then me and Mike watched scary movie, ate Halloween chocolate and watched the kids set off fireworks in the park. I didn't have much desire to go to a Halloween party, after the night before, I was beat!
Also a little while back I went to a girls night because my friend's husband was in Vegas about a month ago.

Mike is going to Vegas next week and I'm going to return the favor. It's fun to get just the girls together when the men are away.

Everything is going very well and we are both healthy and happy. We finally booked our winter vacation for early January to Hawaii. Can't wait! I need a vacation.

Work is going really well, I recently got promoted and I'm excited about my new role and the direction I intend to take it in.

Ioana Beach

A while ago, Mike and I went to Ioana Beach.

One of the guys at work told him about it.

Basically it is this long jetty that is a little over 8 kilometers long.

It is actually 2 four feet sewage pipes side by side that make up the jetty walking path and beside it is a bike route a little lower down.

I know you are probably thinking "yuck" now, but it is very pretty out there. The sunlight glistening on the water and the odd way that the water on one side has large lapping waves, and the other is completely calm due to the jetty separating them.

It was a really nice day so we decided to get our exercise and briskly walk the 9 k.
Before it got out into the water the jetty was surrounded by all these raspberry and blackberry plants that were just dripping with fruit.

We stopped and stuffed ourselves with them.

And yes we thought about the whether or not it is really a good idea to do so and decided it was fine. They were likely clean.

So Mike jumped down and picked some berries for us and then I helped give him a lift back up.







This is the actual beach area in the distance.

Lots of pretty drift wood and high grass.














The jetty is very close to the airport, so the whole time airports were coming in to land.

Mike found this really interesting and also on the way out you see all these cars parked and the people are actually just sitting there and watching the planes land.

So other than that what have we been doing. We had a great thanksgiving. I hope everyone else did as well.

We went to a friends house and they made a great turkey with all the dressings and I brought Raymond's meat pie recipe and everyone really liked it.

I was recently in Toronto on business. There is another account we are likely to get soon and I went as a technical consult to make sure we could do what they needed.

I'm going to see a Madonna concert at the end of the month which I can't wait for and I believe in early November I will be going to Vegas for a weekend trip. Right now work is really busy and we are continuing to hire, so if the economy is not doing well, no one has told our customers yet.

Mike is really enjoying his work as well and he is becoming a very essential part of their team.

Well I think that is just about it. We are happy and in good health and I hope everyone else is doing well too.

Andrea

Hair Cut!

I recently got quite a hair cut.

I had been wanting to try short hair for a while.

My hair is not naturally straight and in the rainy weather in the winter here, it is a mess. All frizzy, it won't stay straight and I keep it in a monstrous looking bun most of the time because I don't have the time to do anything with it.

I also saw an Oprah episode where Hilary Swank cut off her ponytail to donate to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths.

Pantene then has the hair made into wigs for women and children with cancer who are going through Chemo.

I thought that was a great idea so I grew my hair as long as I could before I couldn't stand it anymore then I made an appointment.


I brought the little kit with me and the dresser read it and took the little elastics I brought and divided my hair into sections and cut the 9 inch ponytails.

She had never done anything like that before and thought it was very different, but a great idea.

When she was done with that I had a terrible mess left and I was starting to doubt if I had done the right thing, but obviously she was going to clean it up.

Besides the cut, I wanted to get a bit of color as I think my hair is getting a bit darker and duller as I get older, so we added platinum blond highlights. She thought it was such a great idea that she didn't charge me for the cut and only charged me for the highlights.

I love the result. I just wash and scrunch it and it looks great all day. My curl is no longer a curse. I can use all these great little accessories and it even looks good when I am working out and doesn't get in my way. Rainy days are no longer an issue and I can use all these cute little accessories that just didn't work before. I definitely love it and I don't think I'll go back for a while. Mike also seems happy with it and thinks I look like a different person, it's nice to have a change. So if you are thinking of a change and would like to give a great gift to a good cause: http://www.beautifullengths.ca/

Cheers, A

Barb and Raymond Come to Visit

A couple of weekends ago, Mike's parents came to visit us.

They had flown to Edmonton to see Kim and Tina first and then they drove through to Vancouver much like Mom and Dad did this summer.

We met them in Kelowna and we all stayed in a cabin for the long weekend.

We had a great time, we had campfires, had some good food visited one of the wineries and Raymond and I went into Kelowna on the sea walk.
The dogs love the little cabin because they can run around outside.

Accident-prone Unos was a little too exuberant and managed to cut his paw badly on something.

He's finally getting better now, but we had to bandage him up to keep it from getting worse for a while.





Saturday is Barb's day of rest and Mike wasn't impressed with the weather, so Raymond and I went into Kelowna to see what there was to see.

We mainly walked around on the sea walk and drove by Knox mountain just to see it.

We had lunch on the water at a little pub and people watched. We saw 2 wedding parties while we were there. One bride, oddly enough, was sitting fully dressed with here bridesmaids at the bar, another drove by on a nice looking white Harley with her groom.

Here I am with Ogopogo. It is an old statue of a monster that is supposed to live in Okanagan lake.

This is I think the first picture of me since I cut my hair. It is much shorter and quite a bit blonder now. I love the change.







Every night we had a campfire. The cottage has a number of fire pits, but the favorite is the one that overlooks Lake Okanagan because of the view.

Here is Mike tending the fire. He is fully equipped now with a head lamp now.

We had some beers, weenies and marshmallows and sat around and watched the fire.




Here is a gorgeous picture of the vineyard at the Grey Monk winery.

We had dinner here with Barb and Raymond (first picture). It was actually their anniversary weekend so that worked out well.

On the Monday we drove home to Vancouver.

They stayed with us for about a week and a half.

We went out to dinner a few times and also Raymond cooked for us quite a bit. He is a fantastic cook and I really appreciated it.
He made Six Pates, spaghetti, lasagna, sweet and sour chicken and shepherd's pie.

Also during the day while they were exploring Barb was on the hunt for sweets and she sure found them.

From the bakery on Granville Island, to Beard Papa's cream puffs, to Cupcakes' cupcakes, she found them all and we had dessert after every meal. I think I gained somewhere between 5 and 10 pounds while they were here, but it was great.


Also while they were here Barb kept cleaning our place! She was doing the laundry, the floors, you name it.

Raymond and Barb joked that they were pretending to be Jose and Juanita, the hired help who were cooking and cleaning.

I certainly didn't expect them to cook and clean, but I surely enjoyed it. :)

Barb loves to swim and she discovered the massive outdoor pool near Stanley Park. She went during the day, but on the weekend, I went with her.
She swam and I went mainly to work on my tan.

The pool is right by the seawall and you can see the ocean from the pool.

I believe it is partly salt water, but it is all clean and chlorinated. It is a gorgeous pool.

I think that they really enjoyed themselves while they were here and we certainly enjoyed having them.



They looked around at some of the near by communities like Burnaby, North Vancouver and Raymond and Mike went out near Point Grey.

Raymond is retiring soon and looking for possible cities to retire in.

Vancouver is a good choice as it doesn't have the extreme cold in the winter and ice and it also doesn't have extreme heat in the summer or many bugs.

Anyway, thanks guys for coming to see us we had a great time. :)